DISCO SAUCE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF PENNA ALLA VODKA, 35min,. USA
Directed by Roberto Serrini
Penne Alla Vodka is America’s dirty little secret. You can have it hungover from the diner, or for 40 bucks a plate at the finest restaurants. While it’s secret origin might surprise you, it’s sordid history will baffle you, which is why two best friends decided to deep dive into this disco sauce and discover it’s secret powers that polarize the culinary world like no other dish.

From filmmaker Roberto Serrini:

My previous documentary with Peter was called “Italy In Bocca” (www.italyinbocca.com if you want to get hungry) and it really put us on the map. We had a few show runners and production companies calling us asking if we were interested in developing the concept into a series. Because we felt like the food film scene was so saturated with these high stake shows we wanted to do something really different that focused on why we love food: because of the way it brings people together. So we wanted to see if we could take a recipe like Penne Alla Vodka, something seemingly inconsequential, and blow it completely out of proportion like they do on all these other cooking shows, really deep diving to the point that you can’t believe anyone went to that kind of trouble to make a simple bowl of pasta. I think it worked.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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COOKING INSIDE: FROM PRISON TO HOME, 23min., USA
Directed by Brent Lambert-Zaffino
Two men who were formerly incarcerated together recreate a prison meal exactly as they made it inside. Cooking Inside explores America’s cruel and broken prison system through the humanity of food.

https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/cooking-inside-from-prison-to-home/
https://instagram.com/brentlzfilms

From director Brent Lambert-Zaffino:

Adrian, our producer and one of the subjects of the documentary said, “I want to be able to talk about my time inside without depressing everybody.” Telling that story through the crazy MacGuyver-like methods he had to utilize to have a decent meal kind of sprouted from there.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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GURGLE: PULLING WATER, 57min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Richard Van Kleeck
A documentary featuring courage, teamwork, adventure, and life lessons explored through the lens of the sport of rowing. Featuring Tori Murden McClure, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic; archeologist, author, and rower John Hale; the amazing story of Oksana Masters, the world’s most decorated paralympic athlete; and a host of other interesting characters that inhabit the world of rowing. Directed by Richard Van Kleeck.

From Richard Van Kleeck:

I have always been intrigued by the sport of rowing and knew that there is a wide diversity of very interesting people involved in this sport. Little did I know how many incredible people I would meet while making this film.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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MODUS OPERANDI: BRISBANE’S RIPPER SUSPECT, 8min., Australia, Documentary
Directed by David Hodkinson, Alice Walker
A student film that explores a myth of over 130 years. Did ‘Jack The Ripper’ flee to Australia and lay to rest in Brisbane’s Toowong Cemetery?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15522038/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
https://www.instagram.com/dghfilms

Get to know the filmmakers:

Alice: I think what motivated me to make this film was that I wasn’t always connected to this project – I joined it because I found myself getting invested in the story researching it in my spare time and I thought “oh, this is actually a very cool and unique story that I would love to help actually turn into reality and portray it on a screen.” I also knew I could do it in a really unique way with David, and I really wanted to be able to go in there with his whole crew that had already been established with the story and kind of show them my perspective on it, and introduce our audiences to new angles and nuances about the story and it’s origins.

David: I always feel that Brisbane gets left out of Australian stories compared to Sydney and Melbourne. I wanted to tell something unique to Brisbane and what could tie it to the rest of the world and this ‘myth’ pops up occasionally in our media as a joke. Well that was enough for me to say ‘Hey! Let’s explore it and see for ourselves’. Boy did we see for ourselves with endless rabbit holes and over a century of history to research. I was compelled from the very start and never looked back.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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AN ELIXIR FOR THE EXTINCTION OF EXPERIENCE, 11min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Clay Antonatos
The threats of the climate crisis are more and more becoming a reality, posing immense challenges to human and ecosystem health, yet it continuously proves difficult to make any meaningful change. We can’t see meaningfully due to a result of our collective “extinction of experience” with nature driven by urbanization, industrialization, and digitization of our worlds.

From Clay Antonatos :

On a very superficial level, I made elixir to fulfill the thesis requirement for my undergraduate Environmental Studies degree without having to write 75+ pages… making a film sounded much better to me than having to spend the year sitting inside and writing! On a deeper level, though, I made elixir as a way to make myself and my audience more attuned to the natural world that surrounds us. I am a firm believer that a lot of our climate and ecological crises can be attributed to a lack of attention to, care for, and knowledge of the natural world. elixir was a way for me to begin to chip away at the artificial disconnect between humans and nature through an approachable medium (video) in a manner that emphasized personal outdoor experience over the often exclusionary realms of academia and scientific study.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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WE’RE NOT GOING BACK!, 79min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Pamela Torrance
Pro-choice documentary film to promote awareness of what’s at stake before and now that Roe v Wade has been overturned.

https://torranceproductions.com/were-not-going-back-1
https://www.facebook.com/RoeRoeRoeYourVote
https://www.instagram.com/roeroeroeyourvote/

From Pamela Torrance:

I wanted to do something impactful to support reproductive rights when I saw Roe v Wade being threatened in late 2021.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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REFUGIO, 9min., Bolivia, Documentary
Directed by Rebecca Basaure
Sergio, a 27 year old environmental engineer, veterinary student and environmental activist in Bolivia makes it his life’s mission to save animals and the vulnerable ecosystems we depend on. His journey takes us to Senda Verde, an animal refuge in the jungle with over 900 wild animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. Sergio and Senda Verde work to inspire us to take action and create a world that is kinder and more responsible with nature.

http://www.co-labs.us/

https://facebook.com/rebeccabasaure

https://instagram.com/rbasaure

From Rebecca Basaure:

As a filmmaker, I am very passionate and motivated to use film to teach, learn and inspire people about conservation. The stakes are so high and giving people who deserve a platform to speak up about environmental degradation and climate change, is not only important but necessary.

In 2019, fires were raging in Bolivia, largely as a result of intentional burning to convert forests to farmland. As our forests continue to burn and our governments continue to put profit over life, it is hard not to feel powerless and betrayed. We want to call them out and make them accountable for not only allowing but fueling these environmental disasters. And we should. But we often overlook those who tirelessly fight to protect our ecosystems, those who save and protect wildlife, and who dedicate their lives to conservation. This film was made to celebrate those people.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE LOVE SONGS OF OEDIPUS REX, 21min., Canada, Documentary
Directed by Luke Sargent
Documentary about musician Benjamin Hackman (The Holy Gasp) processing personal loss and heartbreak, through creating a massive concept album.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3303039/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2

From the filmmaker:

Filming was a pleasure, but also a real challenge to do all by myself. I’d do things like plant the Zoom audio recorder in one room, and then shoot into that room from another room to make it feel like there was a bigger crew. Also, because we were shooting in the same studio for the whole time, I prepared by listening to the temp-tracks of these songs (which sort of act like another character in the piece) and tried to establish a visual theme for each song. That way it wouldn’t feel repetitive or boring in the edit.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE END OF BLINDNESS, 55min., Documentary
Directed by AJ Martinson
Dr. Samuel Bora is the only ophthalmologist for over 3 million people living in rural Ethiopia. His mission: end all preventable blindness in the country.

http://www.theendofblindness.com/

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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ISLE OF RUM, 52min,. Documentary

A glimpse into life on a remote Scottish Island, human inhabitants about 37 and counting...

https://www.sarahvianney.co.uk/

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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FEAR INCARNATE, 7min., UK, Fantasy
Directed by Dylan Coburn
A boy faces his ultimate fear to protect his family.

https://www.fearincarnate.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/fearincarnatefilm

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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“From renowned adventure filmmakers Safari Productions and cinematographer Hamish Pattison comes Andrew Englisch’s world first attempt to cross treacherous Bass Strait on his Wing Foil. A stunning, intimate and raw portrait of Andrew’s journey to raise himself out of the depths of depression and be the first person to cross one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the planet, despite only learning to wing foil 12 months earlier and before his 55th birthday.”

https://gonewiththewing.com.au/
https://instagram.com/englisch

Director Statement

I am a pirate. I travel to the world's most dangerous, beautiful and scary places and bring back the loot. A bounty of film, photos and stories. When not scouring the world for interesting stories I work to improve awareness around mental health.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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Michael McCulloch, a retired NASA engineer, would like to bring you along on an incredible journey – the 4-day trek along the Classic Inca Trail to one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu, Peru. It is a little over 26 miles and scales two nearly 14,000-foot mountain passes. The appeal of this particular trek is the stunning combination of Inca ruins, magnificent mountains, exotic vegetation and extraordinary ecological variety. The trail goes over high passes with unforgettable views, through cloud forests, and finally into subtropical vegetation.

https://youtu.be/_043vAPMSVI

At 64, Michael is the oldest blind person to hike this amazing trail. He had three able-bodied volunteers who helped train and get him in shape for the trek. He trained and prepared for more than a year. Then, the three sighted guides provided him step-by-step instructions in undertaking one of the most demanding hiking trails in the world in June 2019. The film highlights the teamwork, commitment, and personal and physical obstacles Michael had to overcome on his journey. It will empower you to get out of your comfort zones, take on new challenges and see that all things are possible regardless of your abilities.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

The World Cruzer travels through a future of nature pollution and climate chaos. Mankind is organized more democratically fighting for the survival of their own species. We share moments of insights with the World Cruzer on his mission to save the planet. His crew supports him with familiar voices, speaking about the many facets of being human. A modern movie with contemporary electronic music from Berlin clubs. It wants to change our point of view and to call upon mankind to find a global agreement - a new common sense pact.

Project Links

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Braving the realities of the harsh Montana winter and changing hunting regulations, hobby and career biologists track and study wolves in the Northern Tier of Yellowstone National Park. While the fate of wolves remains uncertain, the devotion and passion of Yellowstone’s Wolf Watchers are always a constant.

https://www.instagram.com/wolfwatchersdoc/

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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Would you eat human for humanity? By 2050, the global population will be 10 billion. How can we produce food without wrecking the planet? The aim of the campaign was to highlight this question, and Sweden’s answer. In the film Eat a Swede, viewers follow Erik Karlsson, a Swedish scientist with a controversial business idea: to produce and sell lab-grown human meat to feed our planet. But you know what, why eat a Swede, when you can eat Swedish!

Project Links

• Website

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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Teo Belton is a French and Mexican film director and screenwriter based in Peru. His talent for photography and storytelling is immense, and it really shows in his recent short film CUIDANTSIQMI: Love and Care for the Land.

“The Wari Indigenous people of the Llupa community, located below the Cordillera Blanca of the Peruvian Andes, are facing an environmental disaster that is directly affecting their physical and mental health.”

Director Statement

Dedicating myself to film directing has allowed me to be versatile in my interest and ability to reveal unique worlds and atmospheres in both fiction and documentary.

I am interested in staging singular worlds, since I can understand them from my own life, forged from encounters and dreamlike journeys, since my childhood since I was born in Zapopan, a town in Mexico, where I lived and grew up with native peoples. Native cultures have always accompanied me and today they persist as memories that direct my gaze towards different ways of existing.

The cinema is for me, the possibility of continuing with an oneiric journey that marked my existence.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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BLOSSOM IS SILENCE is an amazing extreme sports short documentary about the meaning of life.

“Laura ran away from home after junior high school, but she found her self in vertical caving and painting. This film is about extreme sports and meditations on how to live an authentic life.”

Director Statement

There are plenty of films about the coolness of extreme sports. However, I want to focus on the reasons behind it. This film is about caving but more about how to be a modern hermit. It's made for young people who are wondering about their place in this over-competitive society. I want to inspire them: it's okay to step out of what the society tells you.

Read blog interview with Zhihao Deng: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/blossom-in-silence

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service today. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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Shopping Cart People presents an unflinching exploration of people living in today’s world as homeless and those advocating for them. Stories are told, lives are shared, as a filmmaker delves into a community’s efforts to help those without a voice and protect their belongings. You’ll see interviews with community members and activists as they grapple with this controversial issue.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/shopping-cart-people-trailer

https://matthewtoffolo.com/2022/07/28/interview-with-filmmaker-duffy-hecht-shopping-cart-people/

Director BIO:

As a producer, Duffy’s films include the independent feature “First, Last and Deposit.” Peter Marin of Atlantic Magazine called it “the best movie about the homeless since Midnight Cowboy.” After winning awards at the San Francisco and New York City Independent Film Festivals, “FLD” became a popular staple on TV's Independent Film Channel.

His next two films were with with writer-director Stuart Gordon (Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Re-Animator). Their first project was the film version of Charlie Higson’s novel “King Of The Ants,” followed by “Edmond,” written by Pulitzer-prize winner David Mamet. “Edmond” featuring William H. Macy (Best Actor winner at Mar del Plata and Newport Beach), Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna and Mena Suvari.

His films and videos have screened at many of the world’s great film festivals including Venice, Telluride, Seattle, Sitges, Leeds, the Berlin Film Market (sponsored by IFP and Kodak), Vienna, Deauville, Santa Barbara (twice), Seattle, Rio De Janeiro, Puchon (Korea), Cinequest as well as IndieFests in the US and abroad.

A life-long political activist, Duffy served on the board of the Santa Barbara Legal Defense Center. This activist spirit is reflected in his directing debut, “The 8th Street Bridge,” as well as his next directing effort, “Occupy Santa Barbara.” Both were Official Selections of The Santa Barbara Film Festival.

In 2020, Duffy Produced and Directed the documentary “Our Two Years With Trump” which screened at film festivals in Los Angeles, Taos, Prague and Bengal, India, winning awards for Best Documentary and Raising Social Awareness.

His latest documentary as Producer/Director is “Shopping Cart People” a look at an underreported segment of the homeless community. This project reunites Duffy with composer Bobby Johnston (This American Life, Wristcutters) for their third project together.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

From October 15, 1979 to January 16, 1992, El Salvador endured a civil war. More than 8000 people were forcibly disappeared, over 80,000 died, 1 million were displaced, and 500,000 were internally displaced. The Woman in White is a short documentary, produced by Jaberi Dance Theatre, that explores the true story of a nurse and mother, Juana Irma Cisneros Ticas, who was captured and forcibly disappeared in El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War.

"What an incredibly poignant film – it’s an amazing piece of work."
—Samer Muscati, Human Rights Watch

Project Links

• Website

• Instagram

Director Biography - Roshanak Jaberi

Roshanak is an Iranian-born Canadian artist, producer, director, and a Dora nominated choreographer and performer with a career that spans over 20 years. She is also the founding artistic director of Jaberi Dance Theatre, based in Toronto. Described as a “force to reckon with,” she has created and co-created over 30 works in dance, visual arts, film and music, has performed in numerous dance works, and has presented her work in Canada and internationally.

Roshanak is the recipient of the ISPA-International Society of Performing Arts Global Fellowship (2020, 2021) and the Chalmers Arts Fellowship (2019), and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from York University. She has been a guest speaker and lecturer in various forums, and her work has been referenced in adult education courses and in critical pedagogy at the University of Toronto.

Director Statement

We often hear stories about victims of forced disappearance, but rarely do we experience them from the perspective of their families who are still searching. This photo exhibit and film offers an intimate look into a daughter’s journey through love and loss, and her quest for justice. The items featured in these photos–an ID card and graduation cape–hold special memories and are among the few remaining pieces belonging to Juana Irma.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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