Tag: Raphael Sbarge

Inside the Arthouse: The Teacher

Posted on by Raphael Sbarge
The Teacher

After receiving an Oscar nomination for her short film, THE PRESENT, Palestinian British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi set out to take audiences on an intense, emotional journey into the Israeli occupied West Bank. Based on real life experiences of relatives, the story lifts the curtain on the hardships and difficult choices Palestinians have to make. 

Starring the renowned Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri in a moving performance, the film follows the character of Basem, a teacher with a buried personal tragedy. Throwing himself into his work, he forms a deep bond with his student, Adam.

Shot entirely in Palestine, told with humanity and empathy, Nabulsi brings these threads together, leaving us with a sense of compassion and hope for a future, even as the present reality seems to offer none.

THE TEACHER premiered at The Toronto Film Festival, received Best International Feature Award at Galway, Audience award at San Francisco International Film Festival, among many others; the film has received over a dozen awards!

Join us and our conversation with filmmaker Farah Nabulsi on her journey to make 

THE TEACHER  on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  

Inside the Arthouse: Nora

Posted on by Team Sbarge
NORA

In the words of Thomas Wolfe, “You can’t go home again.”  … But if you do–it’s not likely to be an easy landing.”

As told by writer and director Anna Campbell in her new film, NORA, balancing parenting, working, and a creative life can be an impossible task. This is a portrait of the physical and emotional pressures of modern motherhood and a woman in rediscovery. Campbell also stars in NORA, and this is her directorial debut, which includes her original music. 

The film asks the big question, “Can a woman have it all?” Can she dream and pursue her passions, even while focusing on what matters to her— family, and her children? Forced to choose, more often than not, mothers are left at the bottom of the list. But music is a form of release, and it’s the artists who encourage us to reimagine a world where passion and big dreams can be included.  

Join us while we sit down with the writer, director, and star of NORA, Anna Campbell, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.

 

Inside the Arthouse: Janis Ian

Posted on by Team Sbarge

As a teenage singer-songwriter from New Jersey in the mid-60’s, Janis Ian had one of the more remarkable debuts in modern music history. At 13 she scored a hit single– “Society’s Child,” about an interracial love relationship, which launched her career. She then began performing in New York City clubs with future legends, and her songwriting and singing was heralded by no less than Leonard Bernstein. 

She would follow this with her biggest hit, “At Seventeen,” and continued a career that has spanned five decades. Winning Grammys while overcoming significant personal obstacles and producing an indelible body of music that has earned her a devoted following and critical acclaim.

JANIS IAN: BREAKING THE SILENCE is a new movie about her extraordinary life, directed by Varda Bar-Kar and which lands in theaters this week. It includes interviews with Ian and her collaborators, along with Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, among others. This remarkable portrait uses Ian’s songbook and her turbulent life story to capture a portrait of an artist and her songs that personified a generation of American women.

Join us as we sit down with the director on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now… 

Inside the Arthouse: EEPHUS

Posted on by Team Sbarge
EEPHUS

When is a Baseball movie, more than a movie about Baseball? 

As told by director Carson Lund in his debut film EEPHUS, it’s a chance to explore themes of escape, of camaraderie, and of a deep sense of time passing.  

Named after a rarely deployed curve ball, the “Eephus Pitch,” EEPHUS is set in suburban New Hampshire, where that stubbornly independent New England mindset informs the players as they face change, and gentrification.  The film uses a mix of comedy and drama, for both the baseball connoisseur,  and for anyone who’s ever lamented their community slipping away.  

EEPHUS is a baseball story that uses a non-traditional narrative, and one that leaves you with the feeling of a lazy afternoon, tuned to the rhythms of America’s eternal pastime. 

Opening in theaters, having premiered at Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, please join us as we sit down with director Carson Lund on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  

Inside the Arthouse: The Fishing Place

Posted on by Team Sbarge
The fishing Place

A new movie lands in theaters, called THE FISHING PLACE, directed by the indie maverick Rob Tregenza.  

The FISHING PLACE has drawn high praise with rave reviews from Richard Brody in The New Yorker calling it, “Spectacularly conceived,” and that Tregenza is “An artisan of the highest order.” Manohla Dargis of The New York Times calls Tregenza, “An Authentic Independent who holds you rapt.” 

Rob Tregenza has done a bit of everything in the world of arthouse cinema.

As a distributor, he brought to US cinemas works by Michael Haneke, Jacques Rivette, and Jean-Luc Godard.

As a cinematographer, he shot Bela Tarr’s WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES.

And, as a director, his films TALKING TO STRANGERS, INSIDE/OUT and GAVAGAI drew so much critical praise that he received a retrospective tribute from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  

As THE FISHING PLACE rolls out to theaters across the US, we asked Rob to join us for a wide-ranging conversation about art and the search for meaning and beauty in cinema.

Join us now, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. 

 

Inside the Arthouse: Oscar Nominated Short Films

Posted on by Team Sbarge

If you like filling out an Oscar contest ballot, you know how important it is to have seen all the nominated films in a given category. For a long time though, actually getting to see the nominated animated, documentary, and live-action shorts was nearly impossible …even IF you were an Academy member.

But not now. For the past 20 years, Shorts International has been compiling the nominated shorts into programs that screen at theaters across the US and around the globe.

After starting in just a few markets, the Oscar Shorts program now screens in over 600 theatres, all pretty much during the few weeks between the nominations and the Oscars presentation.

This program is one of the highest-grossing limited-release programs at the North American box office annually, so art house operators are looking forward to the February 14 launch with anticipation.

In today’s episode, we talk with Carter Pilcher from Shorts International, to take a look behind the curtain to see how the program is put together, and discuss the impact a nomination can have on the life of an up-and-coming filmmaker.

Join us now, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

 

Inside the Arthouse: Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat

Posted on by Team Sbarge

A sensation when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT is where jazz and world politics collide. Cultural icons like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Maya Angelou, Max Roach, Nina Simone, and Walt Disney get entwined in a forgotten episode of the Cold War. This story of the undermining of African self determination feels like a John Le Carre spy thriller.  

But sadly, it’s all true. 

 And that action from the early 1960’s is still being felt today, as we see a country again racked by violence and instability.

From filmmaker Johan Grimonprez, this audacious film, SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT is now nominated for an Oscar Award for Best Documentary. 

Join us as we welcome Johan Grimonprez on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.

 

Inside the arthouse: Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story

Posted on by Team Sbarge

You think you know Liza Minelli. 

But you don’t.

Behind the tabloid headlines, there is a person. The product of a tumultuous marriage. Someone who had to deal with the early and tragic death of their mother. A performer who had to deal with the expectations of being the child of one of the most legendary performers of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

In today’s climate where nepotism and privilege draw such intense scrutiny, it can be hard to remember that expectation can also be a crushing weight. 

But Liza survived it all. 

In LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY, filmmaker Bruce David Klein pulls back the curtain and allows Liza’s friends to reveal how she was able to use a coterie of collaborators and mentors to reach the highest peaks of stardom, even as her personal life did not always match that success.

After seeing the film, you will undoubtedly have a greater appreciation for this talented performer and complex individual.

Join us as we welcome director Bruce David Klein to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

Inside the Arthouse: Slamdance with Dan Mirvish

Posted on by Team Sbarge
Slamdance

In the 90’s, most indie filmmakers would have just given up if their debut feature was rejected by Sundance.  But not Dan Mirvish.

Combining forces with several other “rejectees,” they went rogue and started the Slamdance Film Festival, garnering attention for their films, even as they earned the ire of Robert Redford.

Mirvish went on to successfully self-distribute that debut film, OMAHA: THE MOVIE, plus several more over the years, including 18 1/2, a film about the 18 and a 1/2 minutes missing from the Nixon tapes which he shot during the pandemic.

A true renegade, Mirvish is the embodiment of a filmmaker who won’t give up on his film.

Listen and learn from the rest of our conversation with Dan Mirvish, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

 

 

Inside the Arthouse: Vermiglio

Posted on by Team Sbarge

Join hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge on Inside the Arthouse, as they welcome filmmaker Maura Delpero to discuss Vermiglio. 

Movies are often compared to dreams. In the case of Mauro Delpero’s new film, VERMIGLIO — we hear how the story was inspired by a dream and a nighttime visitation from her father. 

Delpero’s beautiful movie explores a moment in history when World War II loomed large against this Alpine Village — a distant, but constant threat. One day a deserted soldier arrives and the dynamics of one family and the village are forever changed.  

Quietly and powerfully, with searing landscapes and cinematography, this is a deeply personal story that will stay with you long after you leave the theater. It’s also a tender and intimate portrait of the woman in this small community, with every detail considered with care. 

A prize winner at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, VERMIGLIO has also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and has been shortlisted by the Academy for the 2025 Best International Feature award.

Watch the latest episode now on their Youtube channel.