6th Annual Imagine This Women's Film Festival (NYC) Runs Sept. 24 - Oct. 3 with Over 163 Films Representing 32 Countries: Panels, Special Events and More Online

​As New York City opens it's doors for Broadway, for filming and more, film festivals are also getting back to business and bustling with creativity. This year the Imagine This Women's International Film Festival is back with a slate of excellent films covering many different subjects. The 2021 Women's International Film Festival (ITWIFF) will be presented from Sept. 24 through Oct. 3, 2021, in New York. The womxn's film festival aims to amplify and empower independent and aspiring womxn filmmakers from around the world. The sixth annual film festival is being presented digitally with screenings, panels, and events from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, 2021. 

A Case of Blue Film Starring Stephen Schnetzer and Annapurna Sriram to Screen at 2020 Virtual Imagine This International Women's Film Festival

Editorial Staff

A Case of Blue, a film by Dana Glazer is an official selection and will screen at the 2020 Imagine This International Women's Film Festival from September 24th-October 4th. There will be a  Live Director Q & A with Dana Glazer, who wrote and directed the film.There will also be a Q & A with the film's co-producers on September 30, 2020, Suzanne Ordas Curry and Dottie Fucito. Scott Rosenfelt (Home Alone, Mystic Pizza, Teen Wolf) is Executive Producer.

Interview with Founder and Filmmaker Patrice Francios: Why She and her Mom Susie Started the Brooklyn-Based Imagine This International Women's Film Festival, What's on Tap for This Year and Why We Still Need A Festival Like This

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

This year's Imagine This International Women's Film Festival kicks off on September 24  and runs until October 4. 2020. Their mission - to  to amplify and empower women in filmmaking. Due to the pandemic, it's a virtual festival. But as film festival fans have found out, these virtual festivals offer a  convenient way to view films and even to network - the two things we love best about film festivals.  And you can watch the films at your leisure. We chat with Patrice Francois, who along with co-founder Susie Francios started up this meaningful  festival five years ago. Read on to fine out who the special guests are, about their 300 + film lineup and about everything else the festival will be having - including some free special events. 

We also find out about what Patrice thinks about the progress being made for females in the industry - or rather how they still have a long way to go. 

Tell me why you started this. Are you accomplishing what you set out to do?

New Book Entitled American Boy: The Opioid Crisis and the Sister Left Behind Chronicles One Family's Fight Against the Opioid Crisis in America - Read what Mom Megan Megale Wants Every Mother to Know

by Suzanne Ordas Curry

Though in my time on this planet I have known many parents who lost children, losing one to addiction is one of the most difficult situations I have encountered. I try to choose my words and questions very carefully and often second-guess everything I say.

I had the pleasure and honor of being connected by a new friend to Megan Megale, whose son Matt died from a fentanyl/opioid overdose - in the bathroom of their home while she was in the next room watching TV. It was difficult to know what questions to ask this grieving and courageous mom, but i hope I have touched upon the main points so that anyone reading this can get a glimpse of the magnitude of her and her family's grief as well as the magnitude of the opioid crisis in this country.

The family has chronicled their events and emotions in a book written by Matt;s sister Shear, for all the world to see. Fortunately or coincidentally, Shea, who is wheelchair bound due a disease, was already a prolific writer who enjoyed putting her thoughts into words on a page.

The goals of the book are twofold. The family is bearing their souls for others to see what they went through, but they also want change to come from it. They want to change the way rehab in this country works and take the stigma away from addiction. They know they cannot change it all but hope that what they are doing makes some small change or makes someone, on any level, think differently. And, in speaking to Megan, I can safely say that one message they want out there is that this can happen to anyone - to any American boy.

BTS: Tell me what this book is about.

Review of Uncut Gems on Netflix: Adam Sandler's Standout Performance Leads this Edge of Your Seat, Nail-biting Thriller.. and it's Better the Second Time Around

By Harry Sherer

With the Uncut Gems’ arrival to Netflix, movie-watchers everywhere will have a second (and third and fourth) chance to watch the Safdie brother’s explosive collaboration with Adam Sandler. One of Sandler’s best acting performances in a decade, Uncut Gems was one of the best films 2019 had to offer, as well as indie-darling A24 Studio’s most successful film in the box office, grossing over $50 million domestically. From the first month of the film’s December 2019 release into early 2020, it felt like Uncut Gems was the film everyone was talking about.

With Sandler’s killer performance, the world-class editing, Kevin Garnett’s surprisingly polished acting chops, the ending that left theatres shocked, and everything in between, the film is an undisputed accomplishment for the Safdies, Sandler, and everyone else involved. 

The film quickly arrived on Netflix only a month after theatrical release and hasn’t left the trending page since. Given the boom of popularity surrounding the film’s release and it’s easy binge-watching access, this isn’t a review of what it’s like to watch Uncut Gems. This is a review of what it’s like to watch Uncut Gems for the second time. If you keep reading I’ll explain why this doesn’t really matter, but for posterity’s sake, I’ll warn you once: spoilers abound.

Event: Trent Dawson and Michael Park to Appear at Inaugural Event for Katonah Classic Stage in New York - Actors, Crew Positions Available

Trent Dawson

Katonah Classic Stage is pleased to announce its inaugural season. Katonah Classic Stage (KCS) is a new theater company in Katonah, NY whose mission is to offer exceptional, diverse and professional productions of classical and contemporary plays. This new theater company, (hosted by the Harvey School, 260 Jay St. Katonah), will bring professional plays as well as classes on the theater arts to the lower Hudson Valley.  The plans are to host productions throughout the year  tht will have an appeal to all ages. Though Katonah is near New York City, this theater will fill the void in the area as New York caliber productions will now be available on this side of the bridge. You can visit the website at https://www.katonahclassicstage.com.  

INTERVIEW: Lauralee Bell of The Young and the Restless on the Making of www.MiPromise.com - A Dramatic New Series About Texting and Driving

"If I Save One Life It Will All Be Worth It" - Lauralee Bell Martin

                                                                                                                                                                                                 By Suzee

My son just turned 17 and got his license on his birthday. Here in NJ, the anxious kids get their permits as soon after they turn 16 when their parents realize the inevitable has approached, they shortly thereafter learn how to drive, they log in the required hours with a certified instructor, and the piece de resistance is being able to schedule their lesson for first thing in the morning the day of their birthday. That day the kids don’t care how early they have to wake up to get to the DMV. Then they proudly drive to school that day. So on this date of my son’s 17^th birthday, he took the car to school after his successful driving test in the wee hours of the morning. 

Riley's first day with her new car

School lets out at 2:19 and he should have been home by 2:40 the latest. Time passed and I kept looking at the time. It was 3:00. I called him on his cell and he did not answer. That made my nervous but then again I always tell my kids (my older son already drives) not to pick up a phone while they driving, even on Bluetooth. I tell them to pull over safely and answer if they think it’s important.

A few minutes later after convincing myself he was alright, he walked through the door. I ran to the door and gave him a big hug, then delivered the warning. “First thing you do is tell me where you are going and when you will be home!” He answered, “Tommy (his BFF) wanted to go cruising so we cruised around for a few minutes.”  I replied, “That is fine but next time you have to tell me”.

  

In another household across the country, the same scenario played out in Riley’s house in California when she got her license on birthday (where the driving age is 16). Riley got a car for her birthday, and after the celebration, she took it out for a ride. This was every teen’s dream, freedom.

Riley was having a great week. Besides getting the freedom she yearned for, she was having some good luck with a boy she liked, Robbie. It was possible that he could become her boyfriend. So as she was out enjoying her first ride alone, Robbie was on her mind. Then, Robbie was on the phone. She knew this, because, like every teenager, the cell phone was in full view as she drove. She saw who the text was from. She knew she shouldn’t answer it. Her brain was telling her it could wait, but that teenage heart and that must-reply-instantaneously belief of the teen won out and she texted back.

Then the screen went blank. And her world was never the same.

Film Review: A Case of Blue Features Award-winning Performances by Stephen Schnetzer and Annapurna Sriram - It's A Story of Modern and Vintage Love

By Beth Brier Abramson

We have have spent most of the last year searching.  First for toilet paper.  Then Lysol wipes.  Lately any stray Xanax that might have slipped into the fuzzy abyss of our purse.  But - good news - the search for what to watch next is over.  Dana H. Glazer’s new film  A Case of Blue is not only what we have been searching for.  It is about what we are searching for.  The timing couldn’t be more perfect.

Stephen Schnetzer delivers an award winning performance as Richard Flicker, a recently retired accountant. To fill his newly free days Richard pursues an old passion and takes up drawing classes.  It is there he encounters Amelia played by Annapurna Sriram (Feral, The Blacklist) the granddaughter and striking imagine of his first love, Marci. Neither Richard’s wife, Ellie (Tracy Shane), nor his best friend, Kenny (Ken Baltin) seems surprised by this improbable but not impossible coincidence.  Nuanced symbolism blurs where the past and the present intersect.  Pause. Go back.  Look carefully.  Now go back to the beginning.  Watch it again. You will need more popcorn.  

Shutterflies The Movie - Interview with Spencer Muhlstock and Hayes Walsh: "It All Started With Old Camera"

Go behind the scenes and into the minds behind the film Shutterflies in this interview with Director/Writers Spencer Muhlstock and Hayes Walsh.

The short film “Shutterflies” by Muhlstock-Hayes Productions opened at the Ridgewood Film Festival in 2013 and in 2014 gained the title ‘Best Student Short Film - High School"  at the Garden State Film Festival. It also won Best Short Subject at the Ridgewood Film Festival 2014. It is headed this spring to the Hoboken Film Festival.

This film was written, directed and produced by Ridgewood High School students Hayes Walsh and Spencer Muhlstock. The movie takes place mid-century and centers around the mysterious disappearance of a local man. It was shot in Ridgewood, NJ and in surrounding towns.

Hayes also stars in the film. Tony-award winning actor Christian Borle (NBC’s Smash, Sound of Music), also lent his talent to this award-winning film. The film also stars Rosie Gunther McCooe (Bad Parents, The One), newcomer and grade-schooler Lily Walsh who learned sign language for the part and Andrew Grusetski.

View the latest trailer on the Spatpro Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/SpatPro

I had lots of questions for these boys, beginning with, What inspired you to make this film?

Spencer:  A large portion of the idea honestly came from the main prop in the film; a 1960’s Hasselblad camera. I desperately wanted to use it in a film, for some kind of period piece. Hayes and I

Females in Entertainment: Interview with Writer/Director/Actress Catherine Eaton of The Sounding Film: Hear The Incredible Story of How This Film Got Made

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

Catherine Eaton is a filmmaker, writer, actress, professor and also a director. The latter came to her in a most unusual fashion, which she explains in this interview. (You just never know who is around to lend a helping hand, or even point your life in a totally different direction.)

Her feature debut as a director and writer, The Sounding, starring Harris Yulin (Training Day, Ozark) and Frankie Faison (The Wire, Silence of the Lambs), has won two-dozen awards on the festival circuit (including four Festival Grand Prizes) and was called “a lyrical and audacious debut feature” by the WSJ. Catherine and The Sounding are the subject of a branded mini-doc by Stella Artois currently running on Hulu. Catherine was chosen for Tribeca's "Through Her Lens" Lab and Grant for her pilot "On the Outs," Her newest pilot script "Breaking News" – based on her personal experience working with freelance news crews in conflict zones – was selected for IFP's Independent Film Week Project Forum. She also co-wrote the dramedy pilot "Flawless - A Feminist Fairytale" currently being shopped. As an actor, she's been seen on Broadway, TV and film, and is currently nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. Catherine teaches Screen Directing at Harvard. We talk to Catherine about The Sounding and more. See the video for the full interview.

SBTS: I watched this movie with my husband. There are very few movies we both agree on...and we watched it to the end because it’s the kind of movie you have to watch to the end! So tell me how all this will be got started. I know there’s a fascinating story behind it.

Catherine Eaton: Yes there’s a super fun story behind it, thank you for saying that. It's super fun to hear when a couple is watching it  together and talk about it. The Sounding is definitely something that people want to talk about afterwards to compare notes and things like that so I love hearing that.

SBTS: And figure it out!

Interview: RHONJ Dolores Catania: On Her Second Acting Role as A Heartbroken Mother in Brad Forenza's Breaking Points Premiering at Ridgewood Guild Film Festival

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

Interview with Real Housewife of New Jersey Dolores Catania, on her latest role in the NJ based-movie  Breaking Points by Brad Forenza and how she got there, 

On Being A Tomboy and  Why she Doesn't 

Consider Herself a TV kid.

I wasn't a TV person growing up. we watched a lot of documentaries  or old movies. Growing up, there wasn't a lot of time. I I wasn't a TV kid growing up. I'm a tomboy I played outside a lot. I was either playing outside or when I got old enough I was working after school. I was also playing with the boys, I played a lot of football!

Four Classic Psychological Dramas by Top Directors to Watch Now: You'll Find Out You're Actually Doing Quite Well During this COVID-19 Isolation

By Ashton Samson

You can’t hang out with friends, go to restaurants, vacation, greet your neighbor or touch anything that isn’t your own. You feel as if you’re having a breakdown, like you are about to implode and run outside. Don’t do that. Instead, take my suggestion. First, watch three dark films about the psychological effects that being isolated can have on someone mentally unstable, to confirm that you're handling yourself really well in comparison. Then, watch one that presents positive messages. 

1. The Shining

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, a masterpiece of modern horror, is the quintessential cabin fever movie. From the film’s ominous commencement, to it’s frigid denouement, you will never feel safe, always thinking that you are secluded in The Overlook Hotel alongside Jack Torrance. There are so many things to love about this film; the phenomenal acting, haunting score and eerie vibes. 

Interview: NJ Resident and YES Network Baseball Analyst Talks his Book with David Cone Called Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

For New York baseball fans, or really any baseball fan, the book to read this season is The New York Times Bestseller entitled Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher. 

Written by  David Cone with YES Network Analyst Jack Curry, this book is filled with anecdotes, inside stories and lessons for any aspiring pitcher. David Cone has lead an extraordinary life in the world of baseball and it is captured vividly by Jack Curry, who has been writing about baseball for the past 25 years.

Full Count  covers Cone's journey from the minors to the majors and beyond. In this memoir Cone talks about the intricacies of pitching - every pitch - and about his perfect game 1999.

I had the opportunity to ask Jack Curry a few questions (full disclosure, he's my brother in-law) to get a read on what writing this book was like. I rather already knew how much work it was just by all the times we heard over the past two years his wife Pamela saying  "He's busy writing in his office" or "He's meeting with David today."

Hallmark Channel's Holiday Movie Mix: Being Good is Good for Business

I have been a fan of holiday TV movies for over a decade. It started with Falalala Lifetime many moons ago.

Then Lifetime started to diversify. Reality, more movies, more drama, not the goody-two-shoes plots of say, Comfort and Joy or Holiday Switch.

Back then the days before Christmas would be filled with holiday movies on Lifetime. You wouldn’t have to switch the channel. But that changed, and turning on Lifetime at some hours during the holiday season did not guarantee you would be seeing an elf, a handsome man named Nick or a pretty female heroine with some very important decision to make.

But alas, some clever executives over at the Hallmark Channel noticed this hole and filled it. And filled it and filled it and then started another channel and filled that one too.

The Hallmark Movie Channel and the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel are chock full of holiday faire, an up-to-the eyeballs menu of over-the top Christmas cheer.

Movie Review of JoJo Rabbit: A Satire Done Right and Here's Why

By Ashton Samson

In the opening scenes of JoJo Rabbit, I must admit that I found myself in a state of disbelief.  I couldn’t believe that I was watching a satire, where the principal character, JoJo, adores and idolizes Hitler. One can imagine the initial conflicting feelings that were swirling around in my head as the film started. Is it alright to laugh at what I’m seeing? Will there be an abundance of humor in this film?

I was thinking in the theater as the film started that Taika Waititi, a man known for his humor, shouldn’t include too many jokes in the movie, because otherwise, it could come across as a movie in which the audience is on Hitler’s side, laughing at his jokes, finding him to be a funny man. The answers to my questions were yes, it is alright to laugh because no, there won’t be an abundance of humor. Although it might not seem like it at first, JoJo Rabbit is an immensely successful film because it does what a satire is supposed to do.

Interview - Behind the Scenes with Collar The Movie Creators David Patrick and Nan Wilson: Cop Drama Stars Rebecca De Mornay, Richard Roundtree, Tom Sizemore

                                                                                          Interview by suzanne ordas curry

Movies, whether independent or studio-funded are years in the making. Here I interview David Patrick Wilson and Nan Wilson, a husband and wife team in the industry about their journey to create the film Collar.
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Watch it now!  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/collar
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David's first acting gig was starring against Patti LaPone in South Pacific. Over the next 5 decades he has shared stage and screen credits with such notables as Chlarleton Heston, Anthony Hopkins, Telly Savalas, Leslie Ann Warrn, Michael Keaton, Josh Brolin, Ellen Barkin and more. 

Review of The Sopranos: A View of this Iconic Show from A Young Fan - Five Reasons Why He Spent His Summer Watching 86 Episodes

 

By Ashton Samson                                                                              

I had to meet adult Tony Soprano this summer so that I could meet his younger self this fall! For many years, I simply avoided watching The Sopranos because of its length and the commitment that comes with watching 86 episodes of television. Additionally, my hectic schedule would scarcely grant me the time to dive into a show that I knew would enthrall me and leave me paralyzed, eyes glued to the screen, backside to the chair. 

As fate would have it, I concluded that this past summer, mere months before the release of the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark,  seemed like the perfect time to become acquainted with one of television's most iconic characters and my prediction proved correct. 

Daytime Emmy-Nominated Actor Trent Dawson Launches Katonah Classic Stage Summer Film Festival: Looking for Films Inspired by Classics Made by All Ages, Amatuer and Professional - Submission via Film Freeway

Females in Entertainment: Meet Filmmaker Luz Cabrales - She Talks about her Hometown Children's Show "PAlette" Inspired by her Hometown in PA

SBTS: You are such a busy and creative woman! I love your short Sing To Me, and now  you have a new project, PAlette. Tell me about what you do.

Luz Cabrales: I am a producer, director, and film editor. I have worked on promotional spots, films, web series, and television shows for her local community in Scranton, PA. 

I have worked on multiple local projects such as PAlette: Exploring the Colors of Pennsylvania (2023), Scranton’s Championship Season Documentary (2022), Julie & The Dearly Departed Players Documentary (2020), and Sing To Me (2019)

 I also founded of Scranton Films and The Independent Film Creative Hub as an outlet for artists to collaborate on projects and find talent and resources that grow the filmmaking industry in the Scranton, PA area. 

Cady McClain of All My Children Fame, Jon Lindstrom of General Hospital Help Kids in Foster Care Learn Showbiz.... with Help from another ABC Star Ty Burrell of Modern Family: Read about Kids in the Spotlight

Ty Burrell hosts the Kids In the Spotlight
Film Screening every year.

There's a little bit of irony in the fact that actress/director Cady McClain was on the long-running and highly-acclaimed daytime drama  called All My Children and Ty Burrel is on another award-winning and long-running show called Modern Family. And that's because both of these actors, true to the title of their shows have a need to give back to families and children.

Breaking News: Only Ten Tickets Remain for Paramount Studios Event on 11-2. Visit www.Kitsinc.org.

There's an organization based in Los Angeles called Kids in the Spotlight. Founded by producer/actor Tige Charity, this organization helps children in foster care by allowing them to participate in the cinematic arts. They learn about different levels of filmmaking, and in so doing, learn skills as they get the opportunity to express what has happened to them in their young lives. Many of them go on to join the Writer's Guild of America and make their own films. The sessions are 15 weeks long, and Ty Burrel is one of the instructors. He states, "I teach an acting class, and I am honored to host their award ceremony every year, but I do very little compared to those that are there every day... I got into this because my father was a social worker in the foster care system. Most of these kids have been through stuff that I can't even imagine." Listen to more from Ty about Kids in the Spotlight here: