Creative

Footer Legal

Main

NavBar

Sections

Topics

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Talkhouse

Andrew Herr stars in the hilarious Hulu comedy series Letterkenny as the cocky but at times, dim-witted hockey player Jonesy. The series, which has been praised by critics and audiences alike and won the award for ‘Best Comedy Series’ at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, is now in its tenth season and is now streaming on Hulu. A Toronto native, Andrew made his acting debut starring as Mark Howe,’ a former NHL player and the son of legendary hockey player Gordie Howe, in the film Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story. A former junior hockey player for the Gananoque Islanders and the Napanee Raiders, Herr found an interest in acting after appearing in a high school production of the satirical play Never Swim Alone. Herr went on to attend the University of British Columbia (UBC), and upon graduation attended the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts.

Andrew Herr

Film

My Biggest Failure (and How it Led to Where I Am Today)

Ann Shin’s latest documentary, <a href="https://www.artificialimmortality.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A.rtificial I.mmortality</a>, which was selected to be the Opening Night film at Hot Docs 2021, is out now on VOD through Syndicado. Raised on a farm in British Columbia, Ann lives with her partner and two daughters in Toronto, where she writes fiction and produces films and TV series. Her documentary My Enemy, My Brother was shortlisted for a 2016 Academy Award and nominated for an Emmy. Her previous documentary, The Defector: Escape from North Korea, won seven awards, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director at the 2014 Canadian Screen Academy Awards, a SXSW Interactive Award, and a Canadian Digi Award. Her book The Family China (Brick Books, 2013) won the Anne Green Award and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Poetry Prize.

Ann Shin

On Filmmaking, A.I. and the Future of Memory

Born and raised in Lima, Claudia Sparrow is an Emmy-winning filmmaker who has been recognized as one of the ten most prominent directors in Peru. Her latest film, the documentary <a href="https://www.standwithmaxima.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maxima</a>, about Peruvian farmer and activist Máxima Acuña, is out January 11 in theaters and on demand. Prior to Maxima, she wrote and directed the romantic drama I Remember You, which is available on all major digital platforms. Claudia is the recipient of the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award for directing her film El Americano.

Claudia Sparrow

In Harm’s Way

Gianna Toboni is the director of the new three-part series Small Town Secrets: The Disappearance of Denise Pflum, which premieres on Vice TV on January 11. She is a multi-award-winning filmmaker with more than 40 films that have aired on HBO, Showtime, Hulu and VICE. She serves as a senior correspondent and producer for VICE News. Toboni was one of the first journalists in the world to interview ISIS fighters on the frontlines in Iraq. She’s covered escalating cartel violence and political corruption in Mexico, embedded with two Saudi sisters as they escaped their abusive family, forced marriages and country’s archaic guardianship system, interviewed the founder of Hamas in Gaza during the 2014 Palestinian uprising, tracked down Nigerian pirates at their illegal oil refineries, and interviewed an American death row inmate hours before his scheduled execution. Before joining VICE News in 2013, she worked as a correspondent for Al Jazeera and as a producer for ABC News. Toboni was named to Forbes&#8216; 30 Under 30 list for Media, is a TEDx Speaker and Peabody Finalist. She’s received an Emmy, GLAAD, Front Page, Gracie, and Webby Award for Best Documentary Series.

Gianna Toboni

To My Fellow True Crime Fans

Ebonée Noel is currently starring as the lead of OWN’s <a href="https://www.oprah.com/own-thekingsofnapa/kings-of-napa-coming-to-own-january-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kings of Napa</a>, a drama series centered on the power struggle between wealthy vineyard-owning siblings which premieres on January 11. Her additional television credits include series regular roles in FBI and Still Star Crossed, along with work on TBS&#8217;s Wrecked, Law &amp; Order: SVU and Eye Candy for Jason Blum, and her feature credits include I Love You Daddy and Long Nights, Short Mornings. Ebonée grew up around the world attending school in Cambodia, Croatia, Ethiopia, and Israel. She is a graduate of New York University&#8217;s Tisch School of the Arts and trained at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. She resides in New York. (Photo by Emily Assiran.)

Ebonée Noel

Five Essential Truths About Performing I Learned From Watching Wrestling

Sonny Mallhi’s latest film, the horror movie Hurt, is out now through Gravitas Ventures. Born and raised in Chicago, he has spent many of the past 15 years developing screenplays with top-tier screenwriters and up-and- coming directors, giving rise to numerous projects around town including The Departed and The Grudge. Sonny has produced several films, including The Lake House, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves; The Strangers starring Liv Tyler; House at the End of the Street starring Jennifer Lawrence; Old Boy directed by Spike Lee; and The Monster starring Zoe Kazan. In 2011, Sonny undertook a new role as writer and producer of the feature film, The Roommate, which was the number one film at the box office. Sonny made his directorial debut with the film Anguish in 2015. He also directed Family Blood for Blumhouse Productions and Netflix in 2018 and produced the recent acclaimed film The Dark and the Wicked.

Sonny Mallhi

“What Am I Doing Here?”

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.

Shaina Feinberg

Revisited: 9½ Weeks, Fatal Attraction and Me

Marnie Ellen Hertzler is a filmmaker living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. <a href="https://memory.is/crestone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crestone</a>, her debut feature which she wrote, produced and directed is now on PVOD through Utopia. Crestone follows a group of SoundCloud rappers who live in solitude, growing weed and making music for the internet. When an old friend arrives to make a movie, reality and fiction begin to blur. Her films have screened at Locarno Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, MoMA, and more. In 2018, Marnie was named one of Filmmaker Magazine&#8216;s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”

Marnie Ellen Hertzler

Revisited: What I Learned From Being Geralt of Rivia

Matt Yoka directed and produced the documentary <a href="https://www.whirlybirdmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Whirlybird</a>, about a husband-and-wife helicopter news duo who covered L.A.&#8217;s most historic events, which premiered at Sundance 2020 and is out now in theaters through Greenwich Entertainment. He began his career working on a wide range of TV with Vice Media (Vice Does America, Epicly Later&#8217;d, Huang&#8217;s World and the HBO special World in Disarray). During this time he also developed a distinct visual style directing music videos for record labels like Drag City and Sub Pop, collaborating most often with the artist Ty Segall. Whirlybird, his debut feature, draws inspiration from his childhood in Los Angeles and his research at USC&#8217;s Annenberg School of Journalism, where he received a Master’s Degree. He currently lives in L.A. and drives a 2006 Toyota Sienna.

Matt Yoka

Revisited: The Day Kobe Bryant Died

Stacy Rukeyser is an award-winning creator, showrunner and executive producer whose new show is the Netflix hit Sex/Life, about a suburban mother who takes a fantasy-charged trip down memory lane. Previously, Stacy was the showrunner and executive producer of the critically acclaimed, award-winning drama UnREAL, about the inner workings of a reality TV show. Her other writing credits include the Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy® Award-nominated series Without a Trace, as well as Crash, One Tree Hill, October Road, Standoff, Greek and The Lying Game. A cum laude graduate of Princeton University, she resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Stacy Rukeyser

Revisited: The Revolutionary Act of (Female) Desire

Australian writer, director and actor Joy Hopwood’s latest film, the romantic comedy Rhapsody of Love, is out now through Quiver Distribution. She wrote the screenplay for The Casting Game and made her feature debut as writer-director with The Script of Life. She is currently in post-production on her third directorial feature, the rom-com musical Get a Life, Alright.

Joy Hopwood

Changing the Narrative of How Asians are Represented on Screen

Virgil Williams is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter whose new feature, A Journal for Jordan, directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan, comes out December 24 through Sony Pictures. His last big-screen adaptation, Netflix’s Mudbound, netted him Oscar, Critics Choice, Writers Guild, NAACP Image and USC Scripter Award nominations alongside co-writer and director Dee Rees for their work adapting Hillary Jordan’s novel. He also executive-produced the film, which starred Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, and Garrett Hedlund. A trailblazing Afro-Latinx voice in Hollywood for nearly two decades, Virgil is a veteran television writer and producer, whose extensive credits include the groundbreaking, Emmy-winning dramas ER and 24, as well as Fox’s The Chicago Code.

film essay