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Talkhouse

Wendell B. Harris, Jr. is an American independent filmmaker whose 1990 indie classic <a href="http://arbelosfilms.com/films/chameleon-street/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chameleon Street</a> is out now in a new 4K restoration through Arbelos Films. He trained in drama at the prestigious Interlochen and Juilliard Schools, and his family founded Prismatic Images, an award-winning film/video/audio production facility in Flint, Michigan, in 1979. Harris spent three years crisscrossing the United States in order to film and record intimately intense interview for the radio/video series Black Biography showcasing the lives of Black icons from the spheres of art, history, and politics, as told in their own words and voices. In 1990, Prismatic Images released its first feature film, Chameleon Street, a biting satire based on “compulsive imposter” William Douglas Street, Jr. which won the won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. After three tumultuous years in Hollywood, Harris returned to Michigan and Prismatic Images to make Yeshua Vs. Frankenstein in 3D, a two-hour documentary devoted to the power of media as social engineer. He has also appeared as an actor in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight and Todd Phillips’ Road Trip, while touring as a guest speaker at college and university campuses nationwide.

Wendell B. Harris, Jr.

Film

Crayola Crayons and the Price of Being Black

Adam Pally is an actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings and as Dr. Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project. Pally can currently be seen in <a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/champaign-ill-043fec9a-0c20-46d2-b214-e7b0d3d25d9f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Champaign ILL</a> on Hulu. The 10-episode comedy is written and executive produced by Daniel Libman, Matthew Libman, Jordan Cahan and David Caspe, who also wrote the pilot. Pally will next be seen in the animated TV comedy Crossing Swords 2 from creators Tom Root and John Harvatine IV. Pally was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the Critics&#8217; Choice Television Awards for his work on season three of Happy Endings. Pally has appeared in such films as Iron Man 3, Sonic the Hedgehog, Band Aid, and will next be seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. (Photo by Jeff Vespa, courtesy Adam Pally.)

Adam Pally

Three Great Things: Adam Pally

Originally from New York City, Matthew Puckett is an award-winning songwriter and composer based in Los Angeles. He has worked with such bands as Rogue Wave, Marsha Ambrosius, Jeremy Jordan, Shawn Hook and Kris Allen. Matthew won a Peabody Award for his songs and score for the seven-part documentary ABC Series Hopkins and was the recipient of an ASCAP Film/TV Award for his song Skyline, the theme to the critically acclaimed ABC series NY Med. Matthew&#8217;s TV and film scores include Caught, Guidance, Best Friends Forever, Dial A Prayer, Some Boys Don&#8217;t Leave, Gravity, Still Single and Before I Go. Other film and television music credits include Southpaw, Katy Keene, Eye Candy, NCIS: LA, Being Human, Hooking Up, Held Up, Never Again, and Make It or Break It and Finding Carter. (Image by David-Gabe Photography.)

Matthew Puckett

The Sound of Fear

Fran Kranz&#8216;s writing and directorial debut, <a href="https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/mass/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mass</a>, starring Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, and Martha Plimpton, is now in theaters through Bleecker Street. He is a Los Angeles native who has been working professionally as an actor for more than 20 years. A Yale graduate, his most recent credits include The Loudest Voice and Homecoming. He is best known for his work in the film Cabin in the Woods and has appeared on and off Broadway, most notably in Mike Nichols’ Death of a Salesman. (Photo by the Riker Brothers.)

Fran Kranz

Three Great Things: Fran Kranz

Originally a Fort Worth, Texas native, Carlson Young attended the University of Southern California where she studied Creative Writing. Carlson’s short film directorial debut The Blazing World premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and the feature version of The Blazing World had its world premiere at Sundance 2021. The film, starring Young, Dermot Mulroney, Udo Kier and Vinessa Shaw, will be released in select theaters and on demand through Vertical Entertainment on October 15. She is also an actor, appearing in Scream: The TV Series, Key &amp; Peele and Emily in Paris.

Carlson Young

The Shadow Work of My First Film, or: How Fantasy Became My Guide for Healing Trauma

Nadhege Ptah is an award-winning actor, writer, producer, director, and dancer. Whether it&#8217;s a dance choreography, a visual project, or some of her acting work, it&#8217;s pertinent for Nadhege to tell compelling stories that depict the human condition to connect with the audience. Her work was acknowledged and praised in her teens by the United Nations. Television audiences might recognize Nadhege from her recent appearances as a recurring co-star on the Showtime television series City on a Hill. She has also starred as the lead in her produced films, and appeared on major networks such as CBS, PBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox, to mention only a few. Nadhege&#8217;s performances have the deeper goal of portraying the human experience&#8217;s truth and exploring its depth and nuances. With every character study, she is not afraid to go deep and take it to the next level to add a more genuine flair to her roles and creative works.

Nadhege Ptah

Creative Light in Motion

Elle Callahan is an American genre film director, writer and sound designer. Her latest feature, the thriller-horror film <a href="http://www.momentumpictures.net/witch-hunt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Witch Hunt</a>, which she wrote and directed, was selected for the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, premiered at SXSW 2021, also played at Sitges 2021, and is out now in theaters, On Demand and digital through Momentum Features. A firm believer in story above all else, Elle is an alumna of USC&#8217;s School of Cinematic Arts. Elle&#8217;s focus lies in the genres of mystery and magic realism – as she sees the world through amber-colored glasses. Her first feature film, Head Count, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2018, winning the Special Jury Prize in the Nightfall category. Elle commonly sound designs her own films and is an advocate for the Women in Film movement.

Elle Callahan

On Fear and Femininity

Pisie Hochheim is an editor and filmmaker who works on documentary and feature projects. She most recently edited Ry Russo-Young’s HBO documentary series <a href="https://www.hbo.com/nuclear-family" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nuclear Family</a>, and also co-edited Brandon Colvin’s feature A Dim Valley. She and her husband and filmmaking partner, Tony Oswald, directed the Vimeo Staff Pick short film, Handheld. They are currently developing a feature film called Blind Hog.

Pisie Hochhheim

Putting Together the Pieces of Nuclear Family

John Leguizamo is a Colombian-born American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, playwright and screenwriter. He is currently starring in the prison drama <a href="https://filmrise.com/film/dark-blood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dark Blood</a>. He rose to fame with a costarring role in Super Mario Bros as Luigi and a supporting role in the crime drama Carlito’s Way. He later notably appeared in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has also appeared in Spawn, Moulin Rouge, Land Of The Dead, Summer Of Sam, Chef, John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, The Happening and Romeo + Juliet. He had a recurring role on ER and was a series regular on The Kill Point. He is also known for his role as Ozzy Delvecchio on Bloodline. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced over 20 films, starred on Broadway in several productions (winning several awards, including a Special Tony Award), and made his feature directorial debut in 2020 with the real-life chess drama Critical Thinking. He has been nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one in 1999 for his performance in Freak.

John Leguizamo

Three Great Things: John Leguizamo

Aharon Keshales&#8216; new film, the action drama South of Heaven, starring Jason Sudeikis and Evangeline Lilly, is out now in theaters, on VOD and on digital through RLJE Films. Keshales was a film critic and a lecturer at the Tel Aviv University before he co-wrote and co-directed his 
first feature, Rabies, in 2010. Rabies (aka Kalevet) was Israel&#8217;s first horror film and it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2013, Keshales co-wrote and co-directed Big Bad Wolves. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Saturn Award for Best International Film. The film was also named &#8220;The best film of 2013&#8221; by Quentin Tarantino.

Aharon Keshales

Intimate Spaces, Brutal Landscapes

Daniela De Carlo’s latest feature, <a href="https://www.theblackoutmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Blackout</a>, was released by Gravitas Ventures and is now available for streaming on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08T728J94/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon Prime</a>. Originally from Argentina, she worked her way up from P.A. to writer-director-producer, collaborating along the way with a myriad of industry heavyweights such as Alexander Payne, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, David E. Kelley, and Tony Scott. In 2010, she helmed the romcom Qualquer Gato Vira-Lata for Buena Vista International, which opened wide in Brazil to unprecedented box office success, and was one of six Hispanic directors on the 2014 feature drama Blue Lips. She was awarded the NBC/Universal Directing Fellowship and appointed to the USA Network show Royal Pains, and as a recipient of the inaugural NBC Female Forward program, recently helmed an episode of the primetime show Chicago Med. She is currently developing a biopic series about Xuxa, the most famous Brazilian pop star of all time. Daniela will exec produce, write and direct, in partnership with Xuxa and Gullane Filmes. She lives in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sari Thayer.)

Daniela De Carlo

Postcards From Hollywood: A Master of Fine Arts (with a Side of Fine Wine-Tasting!)

Shaina Feinberg (she/her) is an award-winning American filmmaker and writer. She spent her twenties making a stoner, punk sketch show called The Spew. She has been on This American Life, was a resident at Space on Ryder Farms (2018) and Twenty Summers (2021), a Reel Families for Change grantee (2022) and a recipient of the Reboot Studios grant (2023). Her film My Mom&#8217;s Eggplant Sauce (2022) played festivals around the world, including Hot Docs, Rotterdam International Film Festival and Palm Springs, won her a Best Director award and is featured on Short of the Week. Her short doc A Brief History of Hating My Face (2023), was commissioned by the New York Times. Her film Cleo From 8:20 to 2:35 premiered at the Aspen Film Festival (2024). Shaina is the author of three books, has written for The New Yorker, The Washington Post and Tablet and writes regularly for the New York Times. Her films and books have been written about in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Bust, Broadly, Logo, THEM, Indiewire and more. She is currently working on a film about Joan Darling, the first woman to be nominated for an Emmy in directing. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their two children.