John Wildman

SUNDANCE 2023 Interviews: AIRHOSTESS-737 director Thanasis Neofotistos

By John Wildman 3 years ago

Let me begin by applauding lead actress Lena Papaligoura, who was awarded Vimeo’s Special Jury Prize for Acting at Sundance. Now, regarding the film – I always have great admiration for someone who makes a well-crafted short film that can lead us down a path, entertain us, and manage to have a legit beginning, middle, and end within its brief runtime. And if you can pull that off by having your camera focused on a single person for the most part, literally a head and shoulders shot for the majority of the short film and STILL keep us on the hook? Well, hat’s off to you.

SLAMDANCE 2023 Interviews: CISCO KID director Emily Kaye Allen

By John Wildman 3 years ago

My personal thoughts: This is another film that I am currently working with as their publicist, so naturally I think it’s wonderful. This might be an odd way to compliment a documentary, but when I watched CISCO KID the first time, I kept thinking of Altman films or Malick films, because the combination of an independent, enigmatic character at the center of a story set with in a truly significant landscape is what I so often associate with that cinema when I hear those names. Allen and her camera become trusted companions to a charismatic, yet fiercely independent personality who hearkens back to a different time in their pursuit of restoring structure and life to a literal ghost town in the desert.

Sundance 2023 Interviews: FANTASTIC MACHINE directors Axel Danielson and Maxmilien Van Aertryck

By John Wildman 3 years ago

My personal thoughts on FANTASTIC MACHINE: This thing is so comprehensive and bombards you with photos and video since the first images were recorded to seemingly selfies and Tik Tok videos that were shot and recorded right before you watched the film. That’s what it feels like. And the effect is an overwhelming one, revealing how we are being influenced and manipulated by the photographic image and how we enthusiastically feed the beast ourselves. Like parakeets pecking at our reflection in a mirror, we can not deny the power it has over us and FANTASTIC MACHINE does an amazing job boiling it all down and focusing that conversation about what we have wrought upon ourselves with our cameras.

Slamdance 2023 Interviews: MASCOT director Remy Van Heugten

By John Wildman 3 years ago

My personal thoughts on MASCOT: Full disclosure is that I am working on the PR for the film, so I am obviously a fan of it. And the thing that I am most a fan of, is that while it follows a long tradition of European films that have dealt with hooligan culture and toxic masculinity (before that term had been coined), MASCOT is a rarity in the unflinching manner in which it delves into the environment that created that bubbling inner turmoil and rage in one young man. Specifically, this film looks into the relationship with the boy’s mother, misguided, mistargeted and unintentionally incredibly damaging. It gives the film an additional layer and element that adds to the building dread and threat of the young man potentially losing his hold on his emotions

Sundance 2023 interviews: MAMACRUZ director Patricia Ortega

By John Wildman 3 years ago

My personal thoughts on MAMACRUZ: A film – and subject – that could so easily have gone into a clownish or overtly provocative direction actually has a loving restraint, while still not shying away from its story of an elderly woman having a sexual reawakening while still honoring her devout faith. It is funny, but sweet, and deals with sexuality in a direct, yet entertaining way that films made in the states still haven’t figured out. I was completely charmed by the film.

Interview with the STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF team at Slamdance 2023

By John Wildman 3 years ago

My personal thoughts on STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF: This is a very entertaining (and at times harrowing to watch) film about a man going through an extraordinary experience thinking he could be extradited because he is at the center of a major bank fraud investigation. It is a nightmare that anyone with elderly parents has somewhere in the back of their minds. However, Jerry has one very special thing in his favor: He has a genuine zen regarding where his place is in the world at this time in his life. So, as we watch this creative approach to his story including a reenactment of this adventure with each member of Jerry’s family participating, ultimately we are buoyed by that knowledge.

AFI Announces Participants for AFI DWW+ Class of 2024

By John Wildman 3 years ago

“AFI DWW+ is integral to creating a pipeline of highly trained, diverse voices who have the power to drive culture forward and shape the future of the entertainment industry. We are thrilled to welcome this new class of accomplished artists to the AFI DWW+ program and guide them on their journey as directors and storytellers,” said Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute.

Steven Soderbergh Announced Miguel Faus as First Winner of $100k Andrews/Bernard Financing Awards on Decentralized Pictures

By John Wildman 3 years ago

News at Sundance: During FILM3 on the Mountain Director/producer Steven Soderbergh announced the first winner of three financing awards that his production company Extension 765 launched in partnership with blockchain-powered non-profit Decentralized Pictures (DCP). Spanish filmmaker Miguel Faus will receive $100,000 in finishing funds for his feature-length fiction film CALLADITA.