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Talkhouse

Erik Jensen and his wife Jessica Blank are a multihyphenate creative team in film, television and theater; The New Yorker calls them “the foremost practitioners of documentary theater in the U.S.” Their new film, Brooklyn, Minnesota, starring Amy Madigan, Sadie Jensen-Blank and Erik Jensen, is currently playing festivals, with a theatrical release planned for 2026; their first feature, Almost Home, was released in 2019 by Vertical. They are currently developing a biopic of legendary rock critic Lester Bangs and have written TV for Fox, 20th TV, Gaumont, Levinson/Fontana, David Simon/Blown Deadline, and Ed Burns. Their plays include The Exonerated (Outer Critics Circle, Lortel, Drama Desk Awards), Aftermath (NYTW; two Drama League noms), How To Be a Rock Critic (CTG, Steppenwolf, Public Theater), The Line (Public Theater) and Coal Country (Public Theater, Cherry Lane/Audible; Lortel, two Drama Desk noms; original music by Steve Earle).

Erik Jensen

Film

Finding the Light: The Making of Brooklyn, Minnesota

Deborah Goodwin is a writer-director-producer whose work in film and television began as a development executive for Sanford-Pillsbury Productions (Desperately Seeking Susan, River’s Edge, How to Make an American Quilt). Deborah’s Urbanworld Film Festival Best Screenplay win for her darkly provocative family drama Cherrys launched her filmmaking path. She has written for Emmy-winning and Independent Spirit Award-nominated producers, and for shows like the cult favorite horror series Tales from the Cryptkeeper. She is a Film Independent and IFP lab fellow and an ABC and NBC diversity showcase director, best known for her horror fable Vampires in Venice and her action/drama The Pastor, released by Fathom Events and AMC. Her Icelandic noir Snaeland, which she co-wrote and produced, premiered at the Vail Film Festival and screens in the Brooklyn Film Festival 2020. Deborah is a Sundance Collab advisor and screenwriting professor at Brooklyn College, and a newly minted co-creator and writer of the noir-crime-thriller series Hot Freeze, with Canadian producer Nomadic Pictures (Hell on Wheels, Van Helsing, Fargo).

Deborah Goodwin

My Dad Was One Battle After Another

Josh Frank is a critically acclaimed artist, entrepreneur, writer, producer, director and composer. whose current focus is spearheading his latest original project, <a href="https://www.silentsynced.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silents Synced</a>, an independent series where Frank remasters classic silent films with contemporary music. The latest iteration of this is Silents Synced Presents: A Woman of the World vs. Pearl Jam, a reinvention of the lost 1925 classic, re-soundtracked entirely to Pearl Jam&#8217;s Vs. and Vitalogym, which premieres in U.S. cinemas on November 7. Frank is the author of Fool The World: The Oral History of the Band Called Pixies and In Heaven Everything Is Fine – The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers. Other books include his novel, The Good Inn, co-written with Black Francis of the Pixies, and Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made, which was nominated for an Eisner Award. His list of notable works also includes authorized adaptations of Werner Hergoz’s Stroszek, Mark Vonnegut&#8217;s The Eden Express and The Jonathan Richman Musical. Over the past decade, Frank has collaborated with some of the most innovative figures in music, film, and the arts, including Black Francis, David Lynch and Harold Ramis. He also runs the <a href="http://www.bluestarliteaustin.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Starlite Mini-Urban Drive-In</a>, which he founded in 2009, in Austin, Texas.

Josh Frank

If It Weren’t for the Werner Herzog(s)

Elizabeth Lo is an award-winning filmmaker whose latest documentary feature, <a href="https://mistressdispeller.oscilloscope.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mistress Dispeller</a>, the intimate portrait of the disentangling of a real-life love triangle, is in theaters through Oscilloscope from October 22. Her debut feature, Stray, an intimate portrait of three dogs roaming the streets of Istanbul, came out theatrically in 2021 and her short films include Hotel 22 (2015), Bisonhead (2016), Mother’s Day (2017), The Disclosure President (2016), Notes from Buena Vista (2016), Treasure Island (2014), and Last Stop in Santa Rosa (2013). In 2017, her collected shorts were released by Video Project as a DVD, The Short Films of Elizabeth Lo. Elizabeth was born and raised in Hong Kong and holds a B.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an M.F.A. from Stanford University.

Elizabeth Lo

Finding Mistress Dispeller

Ido Fluk&#8216;s latest feature, <a href="https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/koeln-75" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Köln 75</a> starring Mala Emde, John Magaro and Michael Chernus, is out now in theaters. Described by Variety as &#8220;a talent to be watched&#8221;, he was previously co-writer and director of the Tribeca competition title The Ticket (2017) and the Edinburgh title Never Too Late (2011), which also won the Regard D&#8217;Or at FIFF. He is currently working on the HBO series Empty Mansions in collaboration with Joe Wright and the legal thriller 24 Hours in June with James Schamus. Fluk is a graduate of NYU&#8217;s Tisch School of the Arts and lives in New York, where he used to play in bands but no longer does.

Ido Fluk

On Losing My Father and My New Film, Köln 75

Elliott Hasler is a 24-year-old award-winning British filmmaker whose debut feature, the historical biopic <a href="https://vindicationswimfilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vindication Swim</a>, is out now in theaters. Hasler’s passion for filmmaking began at a young age, with the production of WII: The Long Road Home. Made whilst at school and completed in 2017 when Hasler was just 16 years old, the film garnered praise from New York film critic Graham Fuller, who described the film as &#8220;a miracle achievement for a schoolboy director.” In 2017, Hasler also founded the UK-based independent film company, Relsah Films. (Photo by Gabriela Matei.)

Elliott Hasler

Reliving History for Vindication Swim

Caveh Zahedi is an autobiographical filmmaker whose body of work attempts to tell the story of his life as it unfolds. His latest film, <a href="https://www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/tripping-with-caveh-getting-stoned-with-will-oldham/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Getting Stoned with Will Oldham</a>, a follow-up to his cult classic Tripping with Caveh, 20 years on, has its world premiere on October 19 at the Roxy Cinema in New York City. His feature-length films include The Sheik and I (2012), I Am A Sex Addict (2005), In The Bathtub of the World (2001), I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore (1994), and A Little Stiff (1991). His short films and other series include Getting Stoned with Caveh, Bob Dylan Hates Me, Tripping with Caveh, and I Was Possessed by God. A box set of his films is available from <a href="http://www.factorytwentyfive.com/caveh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Factory 25</a>.

Caveh Zahedi

Another Wrenching Departure: Remembering Ken Jacobs

Sadie Bones is a 19-year-old screenwriter, director, and actor whose debut feature, <a href="https://ifthatmockingbirddontsing.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing</a>, is out on digital from October 14. Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York City, Sadie is the only child of actor Kevin Corrigan, and had a childhood infused with the magic of cinema. At just eight years old, she wrote and directed her first short Film, Ellipses, and also directed the narrative short The Vanishing Point and the documentary short film Existential Hokey Pokey. She attended the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and after graduating early, enrolled in the two-year conservatory program at the Lee Strasberg Theatre &amp; Film Institute.

Sadie Bones

Hound & I: How Growing Up the Daughter of Actor Kevin Corrigan Shaped Me as an Artist and Person

Zoë Eisenberg is a novelist and filmmaker living in Kalapana, Hawai’i. Her work has been supported by Tribeca Studios and Netflix, and has played on PBS, Hawaiian Airlines, and theatrically across Hawai’i. Zoë’s debut novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Significant-Others-Novel-Zo%C3%AB-Eisenberg/dp/0778369668?crid=1CODAXUET07M3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Significant Others</a>, was published in February 2024 by HarperCollins/MIRA. Her solo feature-length directorial debut, Chaperone, premiered at Slamdance in 2024 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Breakouts. It is currently streaming. Learn more at her <a href="https://zoeeisenberg.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official website</a>.

Zoë Eisenberg

This is Not a Love Story – How The Graduate Inspired My Own Age-Gap Indie Drama

Julia Marchese is a filmmaker, actor, podcaster, cinephile and film programmer living in Hollywood, California. Her first film was the award-winning documentary Out of Print, about the importance of revival cinema and 35 mm exhibition to culture, and she is currently the co-host of the popular horror podcast Horror Movie Survival Guide. She recently crowdfunded on <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-know-what-you-need-a-stephen-king-adaptation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IndieGoGo</a> for her forthcoming Dollar Baby short film I Know What You Need, based on Stephen King&#8217;s story of the same name from Night Shift. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @juliacmarchese.

Julia Marchese

1985 Was a Rad Year for Cinema

Terence Nance is an Artist, Musician, and Filmmaker born in Dallas, Texas in what was then referred to as the State-Thomas community. Nance wrote, directed, scored, and starred in his first feature film, <a href="http://ofherbeauty.com">An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,</a> which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically in 2013. In 2014, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow. In the summer of 2018, Terence’s Peabody award-winning television series Random Acts of Flyness debuted on HBO to great critical acclaim, and was renewed for a second season by the network. His latest release as a musician, Vortex+, came out in early 2025.

Terence Nance

Love the Thing That It’s Doing

Sara Zandieh is an award-winning director based in Los Angeles. Her latest film, <a href="https://doinitmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doin’ It</a>, starring Lilly Singh, premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival and is out now in theaters. She also directed The Other Zoey, featuring Andie MacDowell and Heather Graham, which topped Amazon Prime’s charts for over 10 months. Zandieh made her debut feature with A Simple Wedding, starring Rita Wilson and Shohreh Aghdashloo, and she has directed episodes of NBC’s Good Girls and Grosse Pointe Garden Society. Her acclaimed short films include The Pool Party and Reza Hassani Goes to the Mall and she is a Fulbright Fellow and recipient of a MacDowell Colony residency. Zandieh was also selected for the La Fémis Director’s Workshop in Paris and holds an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University.

film essay