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Talkhouse

Sasha Rainbow is an award-winning New Zealand-born director whose new body horror Grafted is now streaming on Shudder. Her documentary Kamali, about a seven-year-old Indian girl skateboarder, was long listed for an Oscar, nominated for a BAFTA and was distributed through RYOT films. Sasha has been a mentee of the British Film Institute X British Academy of Film and Television mentorship since 2018 and attended the renowned Yaddo artists residency in 2019. In 2021, Sasha was selected as one of eight women for the Women in Film multi-hyphenate mentorship scheme in Los Angeles. Sasha is developing several feature-length scripted films, including BETA, a female lead sci-fi set in the Bay Area.

Sasha Rainbow

Film

How I Lost My Face

Summer Shelton was the recipient of the 2018 Independent Spirit Producers Award. Her directorial debut,<a href="https://www.summershelton.com/films/project-one-youandithemovie" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> You &amp; I</a>, which she also wrote, produced and co-starred in opposite Clayne Crawford, is now available on digital. She produced the acclaimed films Maine, Keep the Change, People Places Things and Little Accidents, and is a frequent collaborator of Ramin Bahrani, including working as associate producer on his features Goodbye Solo and At Any Price. She was the recipient of the inaugural Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellowship, awarded by the Sundance Institute (2012), a Rotterdam Producing Fellowship (2013), Film Independent Sloan Producing Fellowship (2014) and Cannes Producing Fellowship (2021) awarded by the Gotham.

Summer Shelton

On Losing It All and Gaining Back My Voice

Jim McKay is a filmmaker and co-founder, along with Michael Stipe, of C-Hundred Film Corp. McKay broke through with his debut feature, Girls Town (1996), the landmark Sundance-winning drama which is now in theaters in a <a href="https://www.filmmovement.com/girls-town" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new 4K restoration</a>. His other directorial features include Our Song (2000), Everyday People (2004), Angel Rodriguez (2005) and En El Septimo Dia (2017). He has produced and directed a full-length documentary, Lighthearted Nation; a feature-length concert film, R.E.M.’s Tourfilm; numerous music videos; and an award-winning series of public service announcements called Direct Effect. McKay has also directed numerous TV shows, including The Wire, Big Love, Law and Order, In Treatment, Treme, Mr Robot, The Americans, The Good Wife, Breaking Bad, Rectify and Better Call Saul. Visit <a href="https://jimmckayfilm.com/">jimmckayfilm.com</a> for more info.
Anna Grace is an actor, writer, and environmental lawyer. She is known for her work on Girls Town and has received grants and awards for her writing, including a New York Foundation for the Arts Award in Fiction. She was a trial attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice enforcing federal environmental laws from 2014 to 2021. More recently, she served as senior counsel and legal strategist for an environmental response trustee responsible for remediating and revitalizing contaminated sites across the United States.

Jim McKay and Anna Grace

Letters from Girls Town

Neil Burger is the director, writer and producer of the new thriller <a href="https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/inheritance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inheritance</a>, starring Phoebe Dynevor, which is now in theaters through IFC Films. His recent feature directing credits include Lionsgate’s The Marsh King’s Daughter starring Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn; and The Upside, starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman, which grossed over $100 million in North America and was Burger’s third number one opening in a row. He also directed Divergent, starring Shailene Woodley and Kate Winslet; Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro; and the critically acclaimed The Illusionist starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. His directorial feature debut, Interview With the Assassin was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Burger directed and executive produced the pilot and the final episode of Billions, the Showtime series starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti that ran for seven seasons. He also directed the first season finale of Showtime’s The Agency starring Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere, and Jeffrey Wright. (Photo by Chris Chapman.)

Neil Burger

Best of 2024: Neil Burger (Inheritance) on Nosferatu

Jharrel Jerome is currently playing the lead role in the biopic of wrestler Anthony Robles, Unstoppable, also starring Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle and Bobby Cannavale. He had his breakout role in Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award-winning film Moonlight and won many awards, including an Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Miniseries, for his performance in Ava DuVernay’s minseries When They See Us. His additional film credits include Selah and the Spades; Monster, opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Tim Blake Nelson and Nas; Concrete Cowboy, alongside Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin; and First Match, with Colman Domingo. Last year, Jerome starred in the lead role of the Prime Video absurdist realism comedy series I’m a Virgo, from writer-director Boots Riley, and was also seen in the limited drama series Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh, for which he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Jerome is also a hip-hop artist, who in 2023 released with his debut project, Someone I’m Not. (Photo courtesy Amazon Studios.)

Jharrel Jerome

Best of 2024: Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable) on The Penguin

Amber Sealey is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent film, <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/out-of-my-mind/5U9QeQMDIDaj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Out of My Mind</a>, premiered at Sundance 2024 to multiple standing ovations and is now streaming on Disney+. Based on the bestselling YA novel of the same name, it stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby and Judith Light, with Jennifer Aniston voicing the inner life of the lead. Her feature No Man of God, starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby, was theatrically released in 2021 to rave reviews. Her feature No Light and No Land Anywhere was theatrically released by Factory 25 and won a Special Jury Award at the LA Film Festival. Her second feature, How To Cheat, won Best Performance at LAFF and both Best Narrative and Best Acting at BendFilm. Her first film, A Plus D, was released by IndiePix. Sealey has a BA in theater arts and modern dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA from The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She studied Shakespeare at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She was born in England and lives in Los Angeles with her family. (Photo by Jack Caswell.)

Amber Sealey

Revisited: Neurodiversity is the Fucking Coolest Thing in the World

Joel Potrykus resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he works with a filmmaking band, Sob Noisse, including long-time collaborator Joshua Burge. His latest feature, <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/films/vulcanizadora-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vulcanizadora</a>, makes its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024. His films Ape, Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook and Relaxer have premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, and have screened at the Lincoln Center and the MoMa. He teaches filmmaking at Grand Valley State University.

Joel Potrykus

Revisited: Filmmaking and Fatherhood: Five Years Later

Sally Aitken is an Emmy® nominated director and writer, and a showrunner of multiple international series; her latest film, <a href="https://kinolorber.com/film/every-little-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Every Little Thing</a>, is out now in theaters through Kino Lorber. The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, where her 2021 film Playing with Sharks (Disney+) also played. Sally’s previous work includes Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles (Amazon Prime); her debut feature doc, A Cinematic Life, her legendary film critic David Stratton which played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017; The Pacific with Sam Neill (2019); and Getting Frank Gehry (2015). (Photo by Jacquie Manning.)

Sally Aitken

What’s Worth Saving

Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung are the director-writer-producer-stars of the meta Asian queer stoner coming-of-age bromantic comedy <a href="https://strandreleasing.com/films/extremely-unique-dynamic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Extremely Unique Dynamic</a>. Harrison has appeared on shows such as Shameless, Grey&#8217;s Anatomy, 9-1-1, and American Horror Stories. He is also an accomplished voice actor and has also worked as a marketing executive for studios like MGM, Open Road Films, Hulu, Blumhouse, and A24 and has helped numerous projects open to #1 at the box office and win both Emmys and Academy Awards. Ivan is best known for his work in both television and feature film, appearing in All American, Atypical, Superstore, Good Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Superfly, Sex Lives of College Girls, the SAG-Award nominated film The Tender Bar (in which he co-starred with George Clooney and Ben Affleck) and is lead of Skillhouse, produced by Ryan Kavanaugh and 50 Cent. Ivan is also known for his comedic rapping and the viral hit “Taco Loving Asian Guy” and is signed to Liquid Culture Records. (Photo by <span class="x1lliihq x1plvlek xryxfnj x1n2onr6 x1ji0vk5 x18bv5gf x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x1i0vuye xvs91rp x1s688f x5n08af x10wh9bi x1wdrske x8viiok x18hxmgj" dir="auto">Rielle Oase.)

Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung

From “Interesting Enough” Actors to Extremely Unique Filmmakers

Diane Warren, the subject of the new documentary <a href="https://greenwichentertainment.com/film/diane-warren-relentless/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diane Warren: Relentless</a> (which is in theaters from tomorrow and streaming on MasterClass starting January 23), is one of the most prolific and celebrated songwriters of all time, with a four-decade track record of writing mega-hits for industry giants. Boasting 15 Academy Award nominations, an Honorary Oscar along with Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Awards, Diane has etched her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is responsible for some of the most iconic songs of our time. She has penned nine #1 and thirty-three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and is tied for having written the most #1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history. Her distinguished catalog features beloved songs including “Only Love Can Hurt Like This,” “Un-Break My Heart,” “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Rhythm of the Night.” She is the sole owner of her publishing company Realsongs, the most successful female-owned and operated business in the music industry.