Bond on Cinema

Ward W. Bond
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Veteran Television host Ward W. Bond brings you the in-depth interviews with the top film directors, producers, screenwriters, editors, composers, actors and more. Learn about the art and beauty of filmmaking. Meet award winning film professionals as they tell their side of the creative journey of movie-making. The ”Bond on Cinema” podcast is interviews with filmmakers for filmmakers. Bond on Cinema is also available on Prime Video and YouTube

  1. 07/12/2025

    Christopher M. Anthony on Making the BAFTA-Qualified Feature HEAVYWEIGHT | Behind the Scenes

    My guest today is writer/director Christopher M. Anthony and his BAFTA-qualified feature film, HEAVYWEIGHT. The film stars Jason Isaacs, Nicholas Pinnock and Jordan Bolger to name a few.  He taught himself animation and interned for The Jim Henson Company at the age of 15. His first official job in London was for Hensons.  Over the years he worked on a number of pioneering projects, developing the tools and pipelines that made London a world leader in VFX. The key turning point being Prisoner of Azkaban. He went on to develop perhaps the original atomization effect seen in many films today.  This was originally for X-Men 3, later used to kill Voldemort and later copied many times over. In 2008 he moved to San Fransisco to work at Lucasfilm on Indiana Jones and became a BAFTA member soon after.  Today we discuss his BAFTA-qualified feature film, HEAVYWEIGHT, where the greatest fight is in your mind and not in the ring.  Ladies and gentlemen, HEAVYWEIGHT follows wildcard boxing contender, 'Diamond' Derek Douglas, and his support team ahead of a title fight he doubts he can win.  The pressure escalates in real-time, as dirty tricks and revelations are revealed. HEAVYWEIGHT is an intense and visceral experience exploring a side of elite sport rarely seen. This film is character-driven and dialogue heavy, which I love. The film is actually fast-paced and gets to the heart of the story quickly. This is how you do a film right.  This film is tense, emotional at times, but helps us to learn that in life, the biggest fight is what happens when we let outside sources affect our thoughts. As long as we don’t allow those thoughts to enter our hearts, we still have a chance to win in life.  #boxing #MMA #fighting #sportfilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #jasonisaccs #nicholaspinnock #jordanbolger #trending #cinema #cinematography #bondoncinema #BAFTA

    1h 13m

  2. 07/12/2025

    This Oscar-Qualified Black and White Film About Forbidden Kissing Is a Masterpiece: TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALVIA

    My guests today are writer/directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh and the absolutely spectacular medium-length French-language film TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA.  NATALIE MUSTEATA is a writer, curator, and filmmaker. She holds a Doctorate in art history and a Masters in film from The Graduate Center, CUNY. She is the curator of several exhibitions including if I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution, Haverford College, and UNREST: Revolt against Reason. In 2018, she produced Alexandre Singh’s richly imaginative short film The Appointment, which played in over 40 film festivals where it won several awards for “Best Short Film”, as well as co-curated the exhibition A Gothic Tale at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco.  In 2024, she co-wrote, directed, and produced with Singh a medium-length French-language film TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA, featuring Zar Amir, Luàna Bajrami, and Vicky Krieps. ALEXANDRE SINGH is a Brooklyn based visual artist, born in Bordeaux, France, to Indian and French parents. His work is inspired by a love of imaginative storytelling. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and the Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris. In 2019, Alexandre made his debut short film, THE APPOINTMENT, which premiered at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco, in his solo exhibition A Gothic Tale, and then played at PÖFF Shorts, Leuven, and Bogo Shorts amongst many others. Their mind blowing cinematic masterpiece TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALVIA takes place in a society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face. And there is so much more. Ladies and gentlemen, TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA is about In a society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face. Angine, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store. There, she becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague. There are very few films that leave me speechless and this is one of them. It is one of the most original storylines, one of the most beautiful films cinematically and so engaging you want to watch over and over again.  The black and white visuals are so stunning, they are very portrait like. It enhances the emotion of every character and the close ups of each one makes you feel you can look into their soul.  There is something the French can do better than any other filmmaker, and that’s make a film with such romance, even if one is forbidden to kiss. You still feel that romance in the cinematography. The French do it better and TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALVIA is proof we need more French cinema in our lives.  #love #forbiddenlove #lovers #flirting #jealousy #film #frenchcinema #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #filmproduction #shopping #trending #cinematography #cinematographer #blackandwhitefilm #art

    56 min

  3. 07/12/2025

    This Oscar-Qualified Director Challenges Climate Change in Cinema

    My guest today is BAFTA-nominated and Oscar-Shortlisted Afghan filmmaker Elham Ehsas has he returns with There Will Come Soft Rains. Elham, whose acclaimed short Yellow earned both a BAFTA nomination and an Academy Award shortlist, is known for illuminating unseen perspectives with emotional clarity and unflinching humanity. With There Will Come Soft Rains, he continues this bold trajectory, casting a woman’s defiance as a metaphor for resilience in a changing world. Developed in close collaboration with global narrative-change organization Climate Spring, There Will Come Soft Rains challenges how climate stories are told on screen. Rather than relying on common tropes of dystopia and personal blame, spectacle or statistics, the film embeds the crisis in an intimate human story of grief, courage, and connection. It is one of the first films to explore climate change through the lens of Muslim faith and female defiance, voicing an urgent appeal to reimagine how we live, adapt to our changing world. Co-funded through Climate Spring and Film London’s Hot House Shorts Competition 2023, the production was also one of the first to adopt the Green Rider Handshake Agreement, ensuring a low-carbon, sustainable shoot. A powerful reminder that the climate crisis is both personal and universal, There Will Come Soft Rains reframes climate cinema as a story of faith, defiance, and human connection. It arrives as a film for our burning moment, timely, defiant, and unforgettable. Ladies and gentlemen, There Will Come Soft Rains challenges how climate stories are told on screen. Rather than relying on common tropes of dystopia and personal blame, spectacle or statistics, the film embeds the crisis in an intimate human story of grief, courage, and connection. It is one of the first films to explore climate change through the lens of Muslim faith and female defiance, voicing an urgent appeal to reimagine how we live, adapt to our changing world. Starring Olivia D’Lima as Mira, the film tells the story of a British-Pakistani woman haunted by the threat of rising sea levels who digs up her father’s grave to move him to higher ground. That single act sets faith, family, and the climate crisis on a collision course, forcing her to face tradition, authority, and her longing for sisterhood. The moment this film started, I noticed the framing and cinematography, which instantly telling me that it’s a multi-layered story.  Elham is a master filmmaker and he brings his mastery back to the silver screen with THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS. Think of famed directors like John Ford, Quentin Tarantino and you understand that Elham’s talent sits at the top of the world in storytelling and seeing something profound through the camera lens.  I’ve watched the journey this film as taken, and it is being talked about even more so than is award winning film YELLOW, which is still one of my favorite short films ever.  Climate Change is a polarizing topic, and there are millions who stand on the opposite sides of this issue. But Elham makes the topic more human than anyone I’ve seen cover this topic. It’s all about humanity and Elham puts a human face to it, but it gives it tremendous heart.  #climatechange #trending #global #earth #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #filmproduction #cinematography #cinematographer #filmscore #savetheplanet

    46 min

  4. 06/12/2025

    Oscar-Qualified Short About the Cost of Being Different

    DAVID TELLES - FREYR Short Film My guest today is David Telles, a Chicano filmmaker from Oakland, California, began his career in documentary film and music videos, mediums that continue to inform his narrative work. He believes stories can serve as medicine, offering audiences new ways of seeing the world. With Freyr, David delivers a daring and emotionally charged debut that underscores the transformative power of storytelling. As an Oscar-qualified film, Freyr stands as both a celebration of artistic vision and a testament to the opportunities fostered by Indeed Rising Voices, now in its fifth season of amplifying bold, underrepresented voices in cinema. Ladies and gentlemen, the Oscar-qualifying short film Freyr, directed by David Telles and based on an original story by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange, has premiered at the Academy-recognized HollyShorts Film Festival.  Produced as part of Indeed Rising Voices Season 5, the acclaimed initiative from Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Ventureland in partnership with Indeed, Freyr announces Telles as a bold new voice in contemporary cinema. A haunting and poetic story, Freyr follows Frank, born with a third hand growing out of his chest, and Tom, the only person who ever truly saw him. At Frank’s funeral, Tom recounts the unlikely bond they shared, revealing a meditation on otherness, belonging, and the human need for connection. Starring Benairen Kane (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of North Dakota; descendant of the Hochunk Nation of Wisconsin and Prairie Band Potawatomi), the film resonates as both tender and provocative, exploring how difference can fracture and bind us in equal measure. #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #disabilit #chicano #bondoncinema

    54 min

  5. 06/12/2025

    This Oscar-Qualified Film About Derek Paravicini Will Change How You See Genius

    My guest today is Daniel Persitz, the writer/director of the inspiring Oscar-qualified short film Key of Genius, based on the extraordinary true story of a blind, autistic musical savant and the Queen of England's nephew, Derek Paravicini.  The film was also co-written by the Academy Award-winning screenwriter David Seidler (The King’s Speech), the short film explores themes of resilience, brilliance, and human connection. By dramatizing the unlikely but life-changing relationship between Derek and his teacher, the film sheds light on the power of inclusion and the boundless possibilities of neurodiverse individuals. The film’s growing acclaim positions it not only as a powerful cinematic work, but also as an important cultural story about the transformative impact of mentorship and the extraordinary brilliance that can emerge in unexpected ways. Ladies and gentlemen, the inspiring short film Key of Genius, based on the extraordinary true story of a blind, autistic musical savant and the Queen of England's nephew, Derek Paravicini, has officially entered the Oscar-qualifying circuit.  Key of Genius is adapted from In the Key of Genius, the acclaimed biography written by professor and piano teacher Adam Ockelford, which chronicles his life as Derek’s mentor. The film captures the remarkable journey of a young man who, though born blind and autistic, discovered an extraordinary gift for music. It also celebrates the transformative role of mentorship, as Ockelford recognized Derek’s genius and devoted his life to nurturing his talent. This short film is extraordinarily beautiful in so many ways. These are the types of films I live for. Human stories that help us to become better human beings.  KEY OF GENIUS encourages us to become mentors, to look past a disability or even social status and see the gifts, talents and abilities that live in of us and those around us.  The message of this film is simple. We may well hold the key to help someone unlock their genius. Let’s be that someone.  I am going to keep my eye on this film as it makes its run to the Oscars and I want to see this one Shortlisted.  #genius #savant #neurodivergenct #autism #blind #piano #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #queenofengland #filmdirector #musicteacher #musicschool #cinematography #bondoncinema

    34 min

  6. 06/12/2025

    THE BOY WITH WHITE SKIN: This Real Ritual Inspired an Oscar Film—But He Was Never Allowed to Film It

    My guest today is acclaimed filmmaker Simon Panay as he unveils The Boy with White Skin, an evocative and haunting short film that weaves a powerful narrative exploring the collision between ancient tradition and modernity deep within the gold mines of West Africa.  This OSCAR-qualified live action short offers a rare and intimate glimpse into a little-known world where myth, sacrifice, and hope are deeply intertwined. With breathtaking cinematography and haunting performances, The Boy with White Skin invites audiences on a mesmerizing journey thro Ladies and gentlemen, The Boy with White Skin follows the story of a young albino boy entrusted by his father to a group of miners. The boy’s voice becomes a sacred tool in a mystical ritual believed to protect those who risk everything beneath the earth’s surface in pursuit of gold. In these gold mines, where myth bleeds into reality, albino children are regarded as possessing otherworldly powers. Their haunting songs, echoing through the darkness, are thought to invoke protection, fortune, and ward off unseen dangers. Through unflinching realism and lyrical storytelling, the film sheds light on a culture often misunderstood, revealing the resilience and spirit of communities shaped by the relentless quest for wealth. The Boy with White Skin is the result of over a decade of research, observation, and artistic evolution. While inspired by a real ritual that Panay was not allowed to film, the story remains firmly rooted in firsthand experience and a deeply personal vision. #albino #senegal #westafrica #goldmining #goldmines #myth #tradition #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #filmproduction #cinema #film #cinematography #bondoncinema

    44 min

  7. 06/12/2025

    This Mother's Sacrifice Hides a Darker Truth | THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT Film

    My guests today are writer/director Erik Jasaň and first AD, Patrik Krivanek and their Oscar-Qualified Short Film THE PROFESSONAL PARENT.  Erik is a Slovak director, screenwriter, and producer whose work addresses sensitive social issues. His debut The Professional Parent received an Honorable Mention at the 44th Thomas Edison Film Festival and was selected by multiple festivals. As a non-film-school student, he directed several short films and supported fellow filmmakers, creating student films under his direction that were included in official selections qualifying for the OSCARS.  Patrik Krivanek is a London- and Prague-based film and TV director, producer, and screenwriter. He explores diverse genres and creates visually and character-driven stories that are entertaining, socially relevant, and thought-provoking. Patrik is a member of BAFTA, BFI, ISA, and RTS. He has worked in assistant and executive roles on projects ranging from shorts to major features and high-end TV, collaborating with Academy Award, BAFTA, and Emmy winners including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman. Ladies and gentlemen, THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT is not only about professional care but also about moral choices within a system that offers few alternatives.  It is a story that reveals how society actually works, showing that people who think they are not racist often expose their prejudices in everyday life. The film also reflects on how inflation and poverty push families into situations where morality becomes a luxury. It is a sad and cruel reality, not only in Slovakia. The main character, Ingrid, at first appears to be a loving mother willing to cross moral boundaries—working in a grocery store during the day and prostituting herself at night to give her biological child a better life. Her intentions seem sincere, but gradually, as the story unfolds, her hidden racism comes to light, and Ingrid transforms into an anti-heroine. This is film is powerful and emotional. It shows us that in life, we have choices to make, both for ourselves and for others.  Those choices can test us and can reveal our true selves. THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT is lesson to all of us. We can all be better people, by simply treating those around us equally.  #slovakia #professionalparent #fostercare #fosterparents #film #cinema #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmproduction #filmdirector #cinematographer #cinematography #filmcomposer #parenting #bondoncinema

    41 min

  8. 04/12/2025

    The Story Behind the Oscar/BAFTA-Qualified Short 'Highway to the Moon' with Letitia Wright

    My guest today is BAFTA-winning actor and producer Letitia Wright, making a powerful directing debut with her short film, Highway to the Moon. This emotional drama confronts the devastating impact of knives crime, aiming to raise crucial awareness about real-life issues. The conversation explores her inspiration, the film's message, and its significance in addressing societal challenges. #filmmaker #shortfilm #interview #movie #bondoncinema #film #filmmaking #cinematography #oscars #academyawards #youthv #youthvoices #treanding

    17 min
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About

Veteran Television host Ward W. Bond brings you the in-depth interviews with the top film directors, producers, screenwriters, editors, composers, actors and more. Learn about the art and beauty of filmmaking. Meet award winning film professionals as they tell their side of the creative journey of movie-making. The ”Bond on Cinema” podcast is interviews with filmmakers for filmmakers. Bond on Cinema is also available on Prime Video and YouTube

Information

  • Creator
    Ward W. Bond
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Bond on Cinema