Author: Team Sbarge

Inside the Arthouse: Oscar Nominated Short Films

Posted on by Team Sbarge

If you like filling out an Oscar contest ballot, you know how important it is to have seen all the nominated films in a given category. For a long time though, actually getting to see the nominated animated, documentary, and live-action shorts was nearly impossible …even IF you were an Academy member.

But not now. For the past 20 years, Shorts International has been compiling the nominated shorts into programs that screen at theaters across the US and around the globe.

After starting in just a few markets, the Oscar Shorts program now screens in over 600 theatres, all pretty much during the few weeks between the nominations and the Oscars presentation.

This program is one of the highest-grossing limited-release programs at the North American box office annually, so art house operators are looking forward to the February 14 launch with anticipation.

In today’s episode, we talk with Carter Pilcher from Shorts International, to take a look behind the curtain to see how the program is put together, and discuss the impact a nomination can have on the life of an up-and-coming filmmaker.

Join us now, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

 

Inside the Arthouse: Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat

Posted on by Team Sbarge

A sensation when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT is where jazz and world politics collide. Cultural icons like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Maya Angelou, Max Roach, Nina Simone, and Walt Disney get entwined in a forgotten episode of the Cold War. This story of the undermining of African self determination feels like a John Le Carre spy thriller.  

But sadly, it’s all true. 

 And that action from the early 1960’s is still being felt today, as we see a country again racked by violence and instability.

From filmmaker Johan Grimonprez, this audacious film, SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT is now nominated for an Oscar Award for Best Documentary. 

Join us as we welcome Johan Grimonprez on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.

 

Inside the Arthouse: I’m Still Here

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On Inside the Arthouse, three time Oscar nominated director Walter Salles talks with us about his newest film I’M STILL HERE, a film which wowed audiences when it premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, and has the very rare honor of being  nominated for Best Foreign language film AND Best Picture, along with a Best Actress Nomination for Fernanda Torres.

Walter Salles came to the attention of the international film community with the Oscar-nominated CENTRAL STATION. With I’M STILL HERE, he returns to his Brazilian roots.  

This powerful film tells a true story from the period of Brazil’s military dictatorship. But with an amazing performance by Fernanda Torres in the leading role, it is as much a story of personal strength as it is a testament to political triumph.

Join us now as we welcome Walter Salles, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

Inside the arthouse: Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story

Posted on by Team Sbarge

You think you know Liza Minelli. 

But you don’t.

Behind the tabloid headlines, there is a person. The product of a tumultuous marriage. Someone who had to deal with the early and tragic death of their mother. A performer who had to deal with the expectations of being the child of one of the most legendary performers of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

In today’s climate where nepotism and privilege draw such intense scrutiny, it can be hard to remember that expectation can also be a crushing weight. 

But Liza survived it all. 

In LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY, filmmaker Bruce David Klein pulls back the curtain and allows Liza’s friends to reveal how she was able to use a coterie of collaborators and mentors to reach the highest peaks of stardom, even as her personal life did not always match that success.

After seeing the film, you will undoubtedly have a greater appreciation for this talented performer and complex individual.

Join us as we welcome director Bruce David Klein to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

Inside the Arthouse: Every Little Thing

Posted on by Team Sbarge

When is a documentary about Hummingbirds more than just another educational nature documentary?  In the case of Sally Aitken’s new movie, EVERY LITTLE THING, we discover that small things are very big things, and you will be more than a little surprised.

Hummingbirds’ wings beat fifty times per second, and with astounding high speed photography, they float like gossamer on the screen, captured like small magic sprites. Terry Masear, the films subject, runs a Hummingbird Rescue and she too, is magical and surprising. 

No bigger than your little finger, these remarkable birds become bigger than life, as we discover Terry’s care, attention, wisdom, and affection for these little beings. 

It’s a film that will stay with you long after you leave the theater. EVERY LITTLE THING is big and wide and will leave you thinking about how small acts of kindness, expressed to the tiniest of creatures, can have giant impacts. 

Join us for a discussion with the film’s director, Sally Aitkin, right now—on Inside the Arthouse.

 

Inside the Arthouse: Slamdance with Dan Mirvish

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Slamdance

In the 90’s, most indie filmmakers would have just given up if their debut feature was rejected by Sundance.  But not Dan Mirvish.

Combining forces with several other “rejectees,” they went rogue and started the Slamdance Film Festival, garnering attention for their films, even as they earned the ire of Robert Redford.

Mirvish went on to successfully self-distribute that debut film, OMAHA: THE MOVIE, plus several more over the years, including 18 1/2, a film about the 18 and a 1/2 minutes missing from the Nixon tapes which he shot during the pandemic.

A true renegade, Mirvish is the embodiment of a filmmaker who won’t give up on his film.

Listen and learn from the rest of our conversation with Dan Mirvish, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

 

 

Inside the Arthouse: Vermiglio

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Join hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge on Inside the Arthouse, as they welcome filmmaker Maura Delpero to discuss Vermiglio. 

Movies are often compared to dreams. In the case of Mauro Delpero’s new film, VERMIGLIO — we hear how the story was inspired by a dream and a nighttime visitation from her father. 

Delpero’s beautiful movie explores a moment in history when World War II loomed large against this Alpine Village — a distant, but constant threat. One day a deserted soldier arrives and the dynamics of one family and the village are forever changed.  

Quietly and powerfully, with searing landscapes and cinematography, this is a deeply personal story that will stay with you long after you leave the theater. It’s also a tender and intimate portrait of the woman in this small community, with every detail considered with care. 

A prize winner at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, VERMIGLIO has also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and has been shortlisted by the Academy for the 2025 Best International Feature award.

Watch the latest episode now on their Youtube channel.

 

Inside the arthouse: Los Frikis

Posted on by Team Sbarge

Join Greg Laemmle and I on Inside the Arthouse this week as we speak with co-directors of THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON,  Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, about their new film, LOS FRIKIS.

LOS FRIKIS is a powerful coming of age story inspired by true event of a group of punk rock iconoclasts defying the oppression of Castro’s rule in 1990’s Cuba.

Led by budding international star, Adria Arjona, the film is a kind of update on DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, weaving a tale where passion, love and art stand in defiance of politics.

Join us as we talk with Tyler and Michael about their two films, the pleasures and perils of self distribution, and the importance of believing in your work even – and especially – when the industry is telling you to move on.

We start with a clip from THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON, a film which has a connection to the history of Laemmle Theaters.

Join us for a fascinating conversation on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE!

Inside the Arthouse: Porcelain War

Posted on by Team Sbarge
Porcelain War

On our most recent episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Greg Laemmle and I welcome Brendon Ballomo, director of PORCELAIN WAR.

Winner of the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, PORCELAIN WAR is the most decorated documentary feature of the year.

In PORCELAIN WAR, amidst the chaos and destruction of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, three artists defy the devastation, finding inspiration and beauty as they fight to defend their culture and homeland.

In a war where professional soldiers target ordinary civilians, these artists choose to stay behind, armed with their art, their cameras, and, for the first time, their guns. Their journey is a stunning tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, embodying the enduring hope and passion of ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances.

Hear the extraordinary story behind the film, how Brendon Ballomo smuggled in cameras and worked remotely to get this film made, on INISDE THE ARTHOUSE.

Watch the episode on Inside the Arthouse’s Youtube channel:

 

 

Inside the Arthouse: Sabbath Queen

Posted on by Team Sbarge

Sometimes, it takes a documentary filmmaker a while to get to the essence of the story they are trying to tell. In the case of SABBATH QUEEN, filmmaker Sandi DuBowski needed 21 years to really get a handle on his central character, Amichai Lau-Lavie, and Amichai’s journey from being the son of a Holocaust survivor and the nephew of the chief rabbi of Israel to his transformation into Haddassah Gold, a cross-dressing Hungarian-accented rebbetzin. And that’s just the beginning of the story.

Following up on his landmark 2001 documentary, TREMBLING BEFORE GOD, Sandi DuBowski has created a film which is both a specific look at Amichai’s path, but also a kind of updated version of the centuries old work, THE GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, illustrating the path that we all walk as we try to reconcile the conflicting demands of family, tradition, faith and experience along the way to finding spiritual peace.

Join hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge as they welcome filmmaker Sandi DuBowski to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for a conversation about his critically acclaimed film, and the role that it can play in healing a divided world.

Watch on their YouTube channel, or learn more on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE’s website.