Rewriting Hollywood

Jared Milrad interviews directors and Ogden Honors students at Louisiana State University, Ria Salway and Claire Sullivan, about their documentary feature film, FENCELINE, winner of our 2023 A Show For Social Change Film Festival’s Best Non-Fiction Award.

FENCELINE sheds light on Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, an 84-mile petrochemical corridor stretching along the Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The strip is characterized by high rates of cancer, which residents have connected to the excessive pollution in the area, and have tirelessly expressed their concern over. These local concerns and calls for aid have long been ignored by local and state officials, with industry leaders dismissing “Cancer Alley” as a myth. The film brings forth the expertise of several activists, scientists, and residents who live and work in the area to explain the history and reality of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley.

Ria Salway and Claire Sullivan open up to Jared Milrad about the importance of shedding light on Cancer Alley, how politics impact the environment, and overcoming the climate crisis.

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Jared Milrad sits down with filmmaker and visual development artist Erica Travia to talk about her animated short film, ARCADE, winner of our 2023 A Show For Social Change Film Festival’s Creativity Award.

ARCADE explores the topic of mental health through its protagonist, Milo (Gabe Richardson), a college student experiencing anxiety and panic, who is relentlessly pursued by a manifestation of his anxiety, Annie (Mackenzie Shaye Murray). When Annie overtakes the arcade, Milo’s only reprieve from her torment, it soon becomes a psychedelic nightmare. The film asks: will Milo ever be able to break free of Annie and the madness she instigates?

Erica specializes in environmental design and concept art. She has obtained her bachelor's degree at Savannah College of Art and Design, pursuing animation with a concentration in storytelling and concept development. Erica opens up about her journey as a visual development artist and filmmaker, how the pandemic impacted ARCADE and its making, and the importance of creating dialogue surrounding mental health.

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Jared Milrad speaks with film, television, and theater producer, Bruce Cohen, and film producer and co-head of Higher Ground Productions, Tonia Davis, about their new film, RUSTIN. Directed by George C. Wolfe, RUSTIN follows the life of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), a dedicated civil rights activist and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Aml Ameen). The film pays particular attention to his work with Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his termination from the organization due to his sexuality, as well as the prominent role he played in organizing the historic March on Washington in 1963. Cohen and Davis dive into working with the Obamas, the importance of shedding light on untold stories like Bayard’s, and amplifying queer voices.

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Jared Milrad sits down with Tony Award-winning writer/director Matthew Lopez about his directorial debut, RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE, which tells the story of a transatlantic romance that develops between the son of an American President and Britain's prince. Matthew opens up about his filmmaking process for RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (which is based on the novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston); the importance of LGBTQIA+ storytelling and diverse representation onscreen, and the global impact of the film. Matthew also talks about his upbringing as a self-described "gay Puerto Rican from the Florida panhandle with New York roots," finding his voice as a writer, and his Tony Award-winning play, THE INHERITANCE.

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Jared Milrad interviews writer, director, and producer Clement Virgo about his new film, BROTHER, a poetic adaptation of David Chariandy’s novel of the same name. Elegiac in its unfolding, the film reveals the intimacies of Francis (Aaron Pierre) and Michael (Lamar Johnson), sons of Caribbean immigrants facing questions of masculinity, identity, and family amidst Toronto’s budding and buzzing hip-hop scene. Clement opens up about his return to feature filmmaking after a period of episodic directing (including episodes of BILLIONS, EMPIRE, and GREENLEAF), his journey as a young filmmaker, and exploring themes of vulnerability, othered-ness, and the pressure for young men to mask themselves under societal notions of masculinity.

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