Cinemafile

Mike Kaspar

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Film Interviews

Cinemafile showcases the very best in independent, documentary and foreign films through our conversations with the more than 2,000 filmmakers who made them. Through Cinemafile we will do our best to bring the most interesting and accomplished filmmakers from around the world to your attention.

15 hr ago

The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs - Co-directors Matteo Norzi & Èlia Gasull Balada

Sara Flores, a visionary practitioner of kené—the design system of the Shipibo People—spent a lifetime with little recognition before finding herself, in her seventies, suddenly embraced by the global contemporary art world. As gallery invitations, a Dior collaboration, and international travel transform her family's fortunes, Sara struggles to reconcile her simple lifeway with the excesses of the West. When her body begins to fail, medical tests offer no clear answers, and an ayahuasca ceremony reveals a spiritual cause tied to both the evil eye of a neighbor and the Amazon's environmental crisis. On the day of her 75th birthday, Sara opens up in a stream of thought to her pet monkey, expressing a new awareness of her mortality. It's a political awakening that leads her to join a group of young land defenders fighting to reclaim Shipibo ancestral territory. After a trip to the United Nations in New York alongside the group's leader, Sara comes up with an idea on how to turn her art into activism. She decides to use the commission for her first museum exhibition in Lima to address the Peruvian state and begin a new body of work centered on the dream of Indigenous sovereignty: a flag for her Indigenous Nation. Directors Matteo Norzi and Èlia Gasull Balada join us in conversation about the gorgeous film. About the filmmakers - Èlia Gasull Balada is a NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker. In 2021, she was listed in the DOC NYC 40 under 40 list, and in 2023 she was selected to be part of the Berlinale Talents. Èlia has extensively worked as an editor and writer for documentaries and narrative films. Films include THE REBELLIOUS LIFE OF MRS. ROSA PARKS (Tribeca 2022), which won a Peabody Award and a Gracie Award, and received a Television Academy Honor. The Emmy and Peabody nominee THE SIT-IN: HARRY BELAFONTE HOSTS THE TONIGHT SHOW (Tribeca 2021) and the Emmy and Grammy nominee THE KING (Cannes 2017). On the narrative side, she edited SON OF MONARCHS, winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and worked on ICAROS: A VISION, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. More recent credits include SONS OF DETROIT (DOC NYC 2025) and NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET (Apple TV 2025). About the filmmaker - Matteo Norzi is an artist, writer, filmmaker, and Indigenous rights activist, born in Italy, and based in New York. His acclaimed directorial debut, the feature film ICAROS: A VISION, marked his first major collaboration with the Shipibo People and premiered in competition at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. With years of firsthand experience and in-depth research on Amazonian cultures, he is the co-founder and executive director of The Shipibo-Conibo Center, the nonprofit organization that has brought to international recognition artists such as Sara Flores and Celia Vásquez Yui and that acts as the cultural advisor for this film.
1 day ago

The Oldest Person in the World - Director Sam Green

THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD is a decade-long odyssey chronicling the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. As the title inevitably passes from one supercentenarian to the next, acclaimed filmmaker Sam Green traverses the globe to meet each new record holder, his personal fascination with what the title means becoming entangled with events and milestones in his own life. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a poignant meditation on the passage of time, the randomness of fate and the joy and profound human experience of being alive. Green encapsulates what it means and feels like to witness history through a single, extraordinary life while reflecting on the fleeting nature of our own, and the ones we love. About the filmmaker - Director Sam Green is a New York-based documentary filmmaker. THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD marked his seventh feature documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. His previous film, 32 SOUNDS (2025 Oscar Shortlist; Best Documentary, Cinema Eye Honors), played opening night of both the 2022 Sundance and SXSW festivals. Along with 32 SOUNDS (with JD Samson), Sam’s other recent “live documentaries” include A THOUSAND THOUGHTS (with the Kronos Quartet, 2018), THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS (2014), THE LOVE SONG OF R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER (with Yo La Tengo, 2012), and UTOPIA IN FOUR MOVEMENTS (2010). With all of these works, he narrates the film in-person while musicians perform a live soundtrack. Sam’s 2004 feature-length film, THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for an Academy Award and was included in the Whitney Biennial. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
2 days ago

Black Zombie - Director Maya Annik Bedward

BLACK ZOMBIE digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie’s buried and unsettling origins. Long before it became associated with flesh-eating ghouls, the zombie was a living metaphor for slavery: not a monster, but the ultimate victim of colonial power. A symbol of stolen agency was recast as an object of fear, while Black spiritual traditions were distorted, sensationalized, and erased. Director Maya Annik Bedward traces the evolution of the zombie from colonial Haiti to contemporary Hollywood, reconsidering iconic films like WHITE ZOMBIE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW alongside archival footage, vérité scenes, and interviews with cultural historians, artists, and genre legends including Yves-Grégory Francois, Mambo Labelle Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, and Zandashé Brown. Part cultural reckoning, part horror remix, BLACK ZOMBIE exposes how a figure born from enslavement, spiritual belief, and resistance was transformed into one of pop culture’s most profitable monsters. Director Maya Annik Bedward joins us for an entertaining and informative converation. BLACK ZOMBIE will open in select theaters on September 11th starting in New York at Quad Cinemas and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Nuart Theatre with national rollout to follow, courtesy of Kino Lorber. About the filmmaker - Maya Annik Bedward is an Afro-Caribbean-Canadian film director whose work blends history, resistance, and pop culture through bold, genre-bending storytelling. Her work has screened at TIFF, Hot Docs, BlackStar, and the New Orleans Film Festival. Her credits include the short films The Haircut (2018) and Why We Fight (2021), as well as the TV series LIDO TV (2022) and BLK: An Origin Story (2022). She is a founding member of the Black Screen Office, championing stories that center Black creativity and power.
3 days ago

*Why Labor Day Matters* - Who Moves America - Director Yael Bridge

UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company, moving millions of packages across 200 countries and territories every day. With their 2023 contract set to expire, the Teamsters mount increasing pressure on UPS to improve working conditions or face 340,000 workers walking off the job and grinding the global supply chains to a halt. WHO MOVES AMERICA joins UPS workers across the United States—a budding UPS driver in California, a veteran of the 1997 strike in New York, a part-time warehouse worker juggling college and multiple jobs in Kentucky, and their co-workers—as they organize, vote, and navigate the challenges of solidarity before their contract expires. On the heels of a tentative agreement, they debate whether they should accept the new contract proposal or vote it down and go on strike. From their position as the largest collective bargaining agreement in all of North America and their vital role in the economy, their decisions will have lasting implications. About the filmmaker - Yael Bridge is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Her first feature documentary, The Big Scary "S" Word, traces the history and resurgence of socialism in the U.S. and premiered at Hot Docs and sold to Hulu. Her second feature, Who Moves America, was funded by ITVS and is premiering at the True/False Film Fest 2026. She produced Classroom 4, which was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award, shortlisted for an Academy Award, and broadcast on POV. She also produced Left on Purpose, winner of the Audience Award at DOC NYC, and Saving Capitalism, a Netflix Original, starring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, which was nominated for an Emmy Award. As Director of Productions at Inequality Media, she created viral videos unpacking complex political issues that gained over 200 million views on social media. Yael was included in DOCNYC's 40 Under 40 list and was President of the Documentary Producers Alliance, where she now sits on the board. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University and an MA in Media Studies from the New School.
3 days ago

*Cinemafile Archive* - The Teacher - Director Farah Nabulsi

A gripping and emotional drama filmed and set in the West Bank of Palestine, THE TEACHER, the debut feature from Oscar-nominated director Farah Nabulsi. The film stars renowned Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (The Band's Visit) — who Farah dubs "the Daniel Day-Lewis of the Arab world" — and the acclaimed British actress Imogen Poots ("Outer Range", The Father, Green Room). Inspired by true events and having won over 18 International Film Festival Awards, THE TEACHER follows Palestinian schoolteacher Basem (Saleh Bakri) faces personal turmoil after a tragic incident involving his son. He finds solace in a deep bond with his student Adam and British social worker Lisa (Imogen Poots). Meanwhile, an American attorney and his wife push for the return of their son, an Israeli soldier held by a Palestinian resistance group, leading to tensions over a potential prisoner exchange. The intertwining stories highlight themes of empathy and conflict, culminating in a powerful narrative marked by unexpected twists. Director, Screenwriter and Executive Producer Farah Nabulsi (Today They Took My Son) joins us to talk about how the short she did with lead actor Saleh Bakri morphed into The Teacher, Working with Imogen Poots and Muhammad Abed El Rahman and the significance of releasing The Teacher in this fraught political environment. About the filmmaker - Farah Nabulsi is an Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning Palestinian-British filmmaker and human rights advocate. She is the daughter of Palestinians who were fortunate enough to make a home in 1970's Britain — unlike the millions who continue to remain stateless in refugee camps. Born, raised and educated in London, Farah began her career as an institutional equity stockbroker. She ended up with a CFA designation at JP Morgan Chase before moving on to build a children-focused business that she ran for 10 years. Since 2016, she has been writing and producing fiction films inspired by socially relevant themes. Her first short film, Today They Took My Son, was endorsed by British director Ken Loach and screened at the United Nations. The Present, her directorial debut, which she also co-wrote and produced, premiered at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2020 and won the coveted Audience Award for Best Film. It went on to win over 60 International Film Festival Jury and Audience Awards, a BAFTA award, and it scored an Academy Award nomination. The Present was licensed internationally including to Canal+ and Netflix Worldwide. The Teacher, Farah’s directorial feature-length debut, had its World Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. It had its MENA Premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where it took home the Best Actor award and the main Jury Prize (the jury was headed by director Baz Lurhmann). The film stars renowned Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri and British actress Imogen Poots and has won over 15 International Film Festival Awards. Farah has been invited to serve as a jury member at numerous festivals and as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
4 days ago

The Incomer - Director Louis Paxton

Sundance Award winning comedy, The Incomer is a modern folk fairy tale set on a remote Scottish island, where two siblings survive by hunting seabirds, retelling the stories of their ancestors, and defending the isle from dreaded Incomers'. Their world is upended with the arrival of an awkward council worker who has come to uproot them from their homeland on behalf of the government. Director Louis Paxton joins us for a lively conversation the making of his beautiful and heartwarming film. About the filmmaker - Louis Paxton is a writer and director from Edinburgh, Scotland. After studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he completed an MA in Directing at the National Film and Television School in London. His award-winning short films-spanning comedy, drama, horror, and musical-have screened at festivals including Flickerfest, Glasgow Short Film Festival, LOCO Film Festival, and London Short Film Festival. His debut TV project, the sci-fi comedy The Spare Room, was selected for the BAFTA Rocliffe Drama Forum. In 2021, Louis directed the BBC Three comedy-drama Ladybaby, which was nominated for Best Comedy at the Broadcast Awards. In 2022, he received a BAFTA Scotland nomination for his short film Neville Is Dead, and was also nominated for Best Director at the New Voice Awards. His RTS- and Digital Broadcast-nominated BBC comedy short Calamity James followed in 2024. Louis has since directed episodes of the BBC One prime-time crime drama Shetland, as well as the BBC Three horror-comedy Wreck. He is developing original comedy series including Shearlings with BBC Comedy and Breadwinner with Birdie Pictures. His feature debut, The Incomer-an offbeat comedy supported by BFI and Screen Scotland, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke, shot in 2025 and will have its premiere in 2026.
5 days ago

Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers - Director John H. Cunningham

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS is a feature documentary that journeys back to the 1970s and early 1980s to tell the origin story of Jimmy Buffett’s original Coral Reefer Band. Set against the creative backdrop of Key West, the film explores the musicians, friendships, touring years, and studio sessions that helped shape Buffett’s legendary sound. Through rare, never-before-seen archival footage and deeply personal interviews with founding members, tour managers, producers and music legends, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD captures the camaraderie, chaos, and magic of an era that thrived on freedom and lived without a rulebook. Narrated by Academy-award winner Jeff Bridges, OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD offers fans a deeper look at the people behind the music and the era that helped define Jimmy Buffett’s lasting legacy. Directed by John H. Cunningham, award-winning festival favorite OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: THE FIRST CORAL REEFERS features Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes, and The Coral Reefer Band. About the filmmaker - John H. Cunningham is a filmmaker and USA TODAY bestselling author of the twelve- book Buck Reilly adventure series and The Last Raft, a reimagining of the Cuban embargo. Before film and fiction, he spent 35 years in commercial real estate, serving as an Executive Vice President and Regional Director in New York City for Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE symbol ARE), where he was pivotal in developing a multi- billion dollar portfolio and establishing the city’s life science industry. Now splitting his time between Virginia, and Key West, John is focused on producing, directing, and writing. His unique background brings a fresh perspective to film, combining business acumen with a passion for compelling storytelling.
6 days ago

Teenage Wasteland - Co-directors Amanda McBaine & Jess e Moss

Set in 1991 in upstate New York, Teenage Wasteland follows a group of teenage misfits, inspired by a renegade English teacher, who embark on a student film project and uncover a vast conspiracy that is poisoning the ground beneath their feet. Banding together to confront the indifferent adults, corrupt politicians and a violent criminal organization threatening their small town, they produce an investigative documentary that causes shockwaves in their community. Teenage Wasteland is a coming-of-age story based on exclusive access to hundreds of hours of candid, humorous and nostalgic video outtakes, and the cooperation of Fred Isseks and his intrepid students as they reckon – thirty years later – with a defining event in their lives and a remarkable story of civic courage. Co-director Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine stop by to talk about their harrowing true story of teenagers growing into fearless truth tellers. Teenage Wasteland is now available on NETFLIX. About the filmmaker - Director, Producer, Writer Jesse Moss’ directing work includes Girls State and Boys State (winner, 2020 Sundance Grand Jury Prize), both with Amanda McBaine, War Game (with Tony Gerber), The Overnighters (winner of the Sundance Special Jury Prize), The Mission and Mayor Pete. He won Primetime Emmy® Awards for Girls State (directing) and Boys State (Outstanding Documentary). He has twice been nominated by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) for his work, and twice shortlisted for the Academy Award for Feature Documentary. About the filmmaker - Director, Producer, Writer Amanda McBaine’s directing work includes Girls State, Boys State (winner, 2020 Sundance Grand Jury Prize) and The Mission, with Jesse Moss. She produced The Overnighters, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Prize, Mayor Pete and The Bandit. She won Primetime Emmy® Awards for Girls State (directing) and Boys State (Outstanding Documentary). She is a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nominee for Boys State and twice shortlisted for the Academy Award for Feature Documentary.

Cinemafile showcases the very best in independent, documentary and foreign films through our conversations with the more than 2,000 filmmakers who made them. Through Cinemafile we will do our best to bring the most interesting and accomplished filmmakers from around the world to your attention.

Creator

Mike Kaspar
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

254
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Copyright 2026 Mike Kaspar
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