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Talkhouse

Film

I Heard Sex Is Over

Aimee Kuge is a Japanese-American independent filmmaker with a passion for crafting thought-provoking horror films that explore the human experience. Her diverse credits include writing, directing, and producing <a href="https://wellgousa.com/films/cannibal-mukbang" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cannibal Mukbang</a>, which is out now on VOD, co-producing Black Eyed Susan, and serving as a story producer for MTV’s Teen Mom franchise. Aimee holds a BFA in Filmmaking and a BA in Studio Art from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently based in New York and New Jersey, she continues to push creative boundaries in her storytelling. (Photo by Eva Tusquets.)

Aimee Kuge

Steaming Up the Screen: On “Good Kissing” and the Need for Intimacy Coordinators

Christian Weissmann is a writer, actor and poet from Chicago, Illinois, whose first collection of poetry, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Her-Him-I/Christian-Weissmann/9781771683739" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He, Him &amp; I</a>, is out now through Simon &amp; Schuster. He’s appeared on shows such as Saved By The Bell, Dear White People and Girl Meets World. Weissmann got his start publishing essays in the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and Byline on topics like queerness and toxic masculinity. He lives in Los Angeles with his extensive record collection.

Christian Weissmann

Verses of Defiance

David Beck’s debut feature, <a href="https://www.regardingus.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regarding Us</a>, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Jennifer Bobbi and also acts in, has its world premiere at <a href="https://danceswithfilms.com/REGARDING-US/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dances with Films</a> in Los Angeles on June 27. Beck is a New York-based actor and filmmaker whose acting television credits include the Emmy nominated Fleishman is in Trouble and The Food That Built America. He is the writer, producer, lead actor, and composer of the award-winning short films For Francis (executive produced by Tim Gunn) and Backup Plan (which he also directed). Other screen acting credits include the indie films The Houseboy and the Streamy nominated web series Spring Street. He is the founder of the non-profit The Great Griffon, which aims to tell tales of the LGBTQ+ underdog, and as an advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, he has been quoted in The New York Daily News, Metro Weekly, OUT and Pink News.

David Beck

The Truth in Our Lies

Phoebe Nir is the writer-director of the new film Eco Village, starring Sidney Flanigan, Alex Breaux and Lindsay Burdge, which will premiere at the <a href="https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2024/films/eco-village" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam</a> on February 1. She holds a BA from Brown University in Writing for Performance and an MA in Drama Therapy from New York University. Her work in musical theater has been showcased in New York City at Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s 54 Below, LaMaMa Theater, and the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. As a singer-songwriter, she released two critically acclaimed EPs –Side Hustle and Red Tape Nation – and opened for the Modern English and James Chance &amp; the Contortions at SXSW. Find her @phoebe_devere on TikTok and YouTube to learn more about Oxfordianism, the theory that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the works of William Shakespeare under a penname.

Phoebe Nir

What Dreams Are Made Of: On Lizzie McGuire and the Sexual Innocence of Early 2000s Cinema

Writer-director Julio Vincent Gambuto’s new book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Please-Unsubscribe-Thanks!/Julio-Vincent-Gambuto/9781668009543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!</a>, is published by Simon &amp; Schuster on August 8, 2023. His 2019 debut feature, <a href="http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/team-marco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team Marco</a>, is out now on digital. The son of a bus-driver-slash-bread-baker, &#8220;Julie&#8221; grew up in a large Italian family on Staten Island, where aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered often around Mom&#8217;s seafoam-green formica kitchen table for “cake and coffee” — always an Entenmann’s crumb cake — to tell stories, argue about the Mets, and play cards with the neighbors. He graduated Harvard with a BA in English and American Literature and Language, with honors, and completed his training as a film director at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he was honored as an Annenberg Fellow. In 2020, Julio continues his writing and directing work. In 2017, Julio founded <a href="https://www.meetborofive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boro Five</a>, an independent film and television content production company. He serves as Executive Producer of the company’s slate. Julio has written and produced film and television content for Nickelodeon, PBS, E! Entertainment, and James Franco’s Rabbit Bandini. Julio lives in New York City.

Julio Vincent Gambuto

Exclusive Book Excerpt: The Dark Well

Sarah Elizabeth Mintz is a writer/director working in New York and Los Angeles. She received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she completed her thesis film Transit, starring Dakota Johnson. After graduating she assisted filmmakers Alejandro Iñárritu on The Revenant, Joachim Trier on Louder Than Bombs, and Cary Fukunaga on True Detective. Sarah was a Sundance Fellow in the 2017 Writer’s Intensive with her feature Good Girl Jane. She directed a proof-of-concept short film of the same name, which garnered interest and financing for the feature. Good Girl Jane recently premiered in U.S. Narrative Competition at Tribeca Film Festival 2022 and won the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature as well as Best Performance in a Narrative Feature for Rain Spencer. The film is written by Mintz and is inspired by events in her own life. Sarah is interested in stories that explore the complexities of human nature and the beauty that lies in gray areas that are often overlooked.

Sarah Elizabeth Mintz

Underrated/Overlooked: Sarah Elizabeth Mintz on Sharp Stick

Andrew C. Fisher grew up on the gulf coast of Texas. He studied Philosophy in college, and he has spent most of his adult years trying to figure out how to tell a good story through moving pictures and sound. You can find Thanatos and other work at <a href="http://www.andrewcfisher.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">andrewcfisher.com</a>.
Right after Cacia Zoo popped out of her mom&#8217;s womb, she was dancing! She always knew she wanted to be a performer and artist. She visited New York when she turned 16 and took an acting class throughout the summer. After that summer her life was never the same. She went back to Taiwan and came back to New York the first chance she got. Her creativity is versatile and spread through many different mediums. Whether she&#8217;s in front of the camera or behind it, with herself or collaborating with others, she has immense passion for performance and art. If she&#8217;s not moving or creating, she&#8217;s on her way to.

Andrew C. Fisher and Cacia Zoo

Revisited: Can We Talk About BDSM?

Can We Talk About BDSM?

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

The Revolutionary Act of (Female) Desire

Writer-director Barbara Miller’s latest film, <a href="https://www.femalepleasure.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Female Pleasure</a>, is in theaters through Abramorama from October 18. Miller, who was born in Switzerland and studied law, cinema sciences and psychology, worked on the Oscar-nominated documentary War Photographer. She has directed more than 20 acclaimed documentaries, ranging from the Anti-Globalization Movement to Domestic Violence, Youth Violence and The Clitoris. Her award-winning feature-length documentary Forbidden Voices was shown at more than 70 festivals worldwide. She is a member of the Swiss Film Academy and the European Film Academy EFA and is the President of the Swiss Filmmakers Association. (Photo by Jason Ashwood.)

sexuality