Film Roundtable

In our latest Film Roundtable we’re joined by Cinematographer Michael Goi ASC, Cinematographer Christian Sprenger, Cinematographer Tehillah DeCastro, and the President of Motion Picture and Entertainment at Kodak, Steve Bellamy, moderated by Hannah Welever.

In this enlightening conversation we discuss the future of shooting film in higher education, the foundation of cinematography, and how film as a format is here to stay. We invited this panel together after it came to our attention that Columbia College is discontinuing their expansive film camera courses from their curriculum. Columbia College’s extensive film program is what attracts students to Chicago and to this degree, and is one of the last remaining film schools to teach film cameras & photographic theory at this level.

Along with the discussion, Film Roundtable partnered with Hannah Welever to gather signatures from top industry professionals for a letter addressed to the administration imploring them to reverse their decision.

In an almost 2 hour "therapy" session, Bradford and Reed talk about their personal paths, what brought them to where they are now, how they manifest their individual artistic expression and most importantly what they want to see change moving forward personally and in this new landscape of filmmaking.

This conversation focuses on how multiple DP’s from around the world collaborated with a former astronaut to capture the attempt to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe. Moderator Doug Torres discusses the filmmaking process with Col. Terry Virts and Cinematographers James Neihouse, Jannicke Mikkelsen, and Bill Bennett.

In this Roundtable we are joined by Wendy Levy and Kimberlin Bolton. Wendy is an Executive Director of The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture and the co-founder of Arts2Work, a new award winning creative workforce initiative that centers racial and gender justice in a new model of Apprenticeship for digital media careers. Kimberlin is an executive Director of re:imagine/ATL, an organization that trains, equips, and inspires Generation Z to build careers in the creative and digital media industries.

Moderating is Kisha Imani Cameron, a film and television producer and a film coach. Cameron founded Africa First, a program for emerging filmmakers and was the former COO of Ghetto Film School.

These three powerhouse women are out to transform this industry in more ways than one, and in this conversation they spend time discussing how real change takes place at the root. The overt lack of diversity and inclusion in the film world is a systemic issue that cannot be ignored any longer and to even begin making a difference takes a village and each one of us taking action. These three guests, each doing their own part to redefine the greater collective of the film community, work together and support one another in reciprocity. One could not exist and be successful without the other. We need to similarly support these organizations, be aware of their work, and involve ourselves in order to be a part of the solution.

In this Roundtable, we are joined by Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber, the founders of the iconic Los Angeles video store, Vidiots. Vidiots opened its doors in Santa Monica in 1985 with a mission to provide access to art house films and rare titles. During its tenure, it served as a community space with events and became a mecca for cinephiles. Vidiots had to close its doors in 2017, but has found a new home at the Eagle Theatre in Eagle Rock. Construction will begin this summer with a plan to open its doors in the first quarter of 2022. The Eagle Theatre location will include a video store, a 250 seat cinema, as well as a 40 seat micro cinema, a bar, and an event space. We sat down with Patty and Cathy to discuss the history of their beloved store, the steps they took trying and ultimately succeeding in saving it, and their hope for the future of the theater experience.

You can find a link to a virtual tour of the Eagle Theatre with renderings of what the finished space will look like, as well as a link to donate to the Vidiots Foundation below:

https://www.vidiotsfoundation.org/donate

https://vimeo.com/wylde/review/530978837/0c6ef872f6