Faux Reel Podcast

US Air Force JAG Attorney Yvonne Bradley volunteered to defend a man named Binyam Mohamed who was facing a death penalty case at Guantanamo Bay in 2005. Believing the detainees at Guantanamo were ‘the worst of the worst’ in the war on terror, Yvonne’s world was turned upside down as she arrived in Cuba and began to untangle an unimaginable case. Spending the next 4 years battling to uncover the truth, Yvonne’s is a captivating story of taking responsibility in the face of corruption at the highest levels of power, and the dangers of choosing to stand up for what you believe in.  What’s the difference between a terrorist sympathizer and a hero?  Would you risk it all to do the right thing? WE ARE NOT GHOULS is a feature-length documentary which premiered at the SXSW 2022 Film Festival and won the SXSW Audience Award for the Documentary Spotlight section. 

In this episode, Dawn talks with filmmaker Chris Thompson and the subject of the film, Yvonne Bradley. They talked about Chris's personal experience with a friend from college and how that inspired him to make the film, what it was like for Yvonne to stand up for what was right while it was not in her best interest to do so, and the commitment to the bigger picture that they each made during the making of this film and to the trial. 

WE ARE NOT GHOULS was acquired for distribution by Gravitas Ventures for commercial release on February 28, 2023.

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“Home is the center of everything. It is the issue where everyone can come to the table.” - Sara Terry   

In this episode we explore the compass that developers, bankers and real estate executives use when making decisions on land use and rights when it comes to others' housing security. Mobile home parks are the lowest rung on the pole of the American Dream, but for many that's all that is feasible. But now that many mobile home parks' land is getting sold to large development companies, that dream is quickly falling apart and there's no way for those mobile home owners to stop it. How can one choose personal wealth and greed while actively destroying others' lives? Dawn and Sara discuss this in addition to comparing photojournalism to documentary filmmaking, and recounting the progress of Sara's career spanning the last several decades. 

A DECENT HOME is a feature length documentary film by Sara Terry that addresses urgent issues of class and economic inequity through the lives of mobile home park residents who can’t afford housing anywhere else. The film asks, Who are we becoming as Americans? — as private equity firms and wealthy investors buy up parks, making sky-high returns on their investments while squeezing every last penny out of the mobile home owners who lack rights and protections under local and state laws, and must pay rent for the land they live on.  

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A visually stunning narrative documentary, NAKED GARDENS immerses audiences in the complex, unseen world of a family nudist resort in the Florida Everglades. Filmed over one season at this lush tropical campsite, the film follows the stories of individuals drawn to an unusual community, which promises both non-conformist values and, more importantly for some, a cheap place to live. As aging owner Morley and his residents prepare for the largest gathering of nudists in the US, the Mid-Winter Naturist Festival, they are faced with challenges both as a community and as individuals.

Filmmakers Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan (Pahokee) are known for their verité stories that reimagine ways of seeing America, and its people. Embedding themselves within communities typically outside of the media eye, they capture the relational foundations upon which individual lives are built, alongside the historical and economic currents that shape the most intimate aspects of American existence. In NAKED GARDENS, the filmmaking duo creates a portrait of the rebellious retirees, LGBTQ loners, exiles from conservative America and families with young children, all of whom have decided to make this nudist resort their home.

In this episode Dawn talks with Ivete and Patrick about the underground filmmaking scene, American vs European film festivals, opening themselves up in new and vulnerable ways, and the importance of support systems on set for the filmmaking teams and protagonists.

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Wildcat follows the emotional and inspiring story of a young veteran on his journey into the Amazon. Once there, he meets a young woman running a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center, and his life finds new meaning as he is entrusted with the life of an orphaned baby ocelot. What was meant to be an attempt to escape from life, turns out to be an unexpected journey of love, discovery, and healing.

In this episode, Dawn talks with co-Directors Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost about making a conservation-focused film that has other touch-points for audiences through sharing a veteran's story, childhood trauma and mental health struggles. They also discuss the logistics of making a film in the Amazon, like bathing in a stream with a bucket, and the emotional toll documentary filmmaking can take on its makers. 

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RANGER is a story about rite of passage.  Set within Kenya’s Maasai homeland, an intimate and contemporary story of self-discovery unfolds, as 12 women become East Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching unit. Upending the male-dominated, reliance upon military-style training to make a wildlife ranger, Virginia, Liz, Momina and Damaris instead undergo a year-long program of deep trauma-release and healing, triggering profound transformation within themselves and sending shockwaves through their communities. The film screened at the Mountainfilm Fest 2022 in Telluride, CO. 

In this episode, Dawn and Austin talk about the importance of being present, his wife's midwifery work complimenting his making of this film, and the ethics of intervention when you're a documentarian. 

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Emelie Mahdavian's sweeping documentary BITTERBRUSH follows Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline, range riders who are spending their last summer herding cattle in remote Idaho. Totally off the grid with only their dogs as companions, Hollyn and Colie brave inclement weather and perilous work conditions while pondering their futures. A portrait of friendship, life transitions, and the work of two skilled young women in the isolated and beautiful landscape of the American West, BITTERBRUSH is an intimate portrayal of a way of life rarely seen on film.

On this episode, Dawn and Emelie talk about being a woman in a male-dominated profession, shooting a film in remote locations, and balancing filmmaking and motherhood. This film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, and is now available to stream on Hulu. 

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At the heart of THE HOLLY is Terrance Roberts, an ex-member of the Bloods, who had since raised funds to open a youth center in his neighborhood, The Holly. Gang-member-turned-activist Terrance ends up shooting a man at a community event he organized focusing on non-violence. What unfolds is not black and white. The film reveals multi-level corruption in Denver's government, police force, and local media to weave narratives about gang violence in the city. THE HOLLY is the directorial debut from journalist and writer Julian Rubinstein. The film is based on his book, The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood, which was a NYTime's Book Review Editors' Choice.

In this episode, Dawn sits down with both journalist Julian Rubinstein and the film's protagonist, Terrance Roberts, to have an open conversation about what it means to participate in a documentary that is so revealing and intertwined with powerful and dangerous people, the role toxic masculinity plays in gang culture, and what we can all do to help better communities like The Holly. The conversation around who is ethically allowed to tell stories about various communities has come up in several episode of this podcast, and continues in this episode. 

The film premiered at Mountainfilm Fest where it won the Audience Choice award

TW: Discussion around gun violence. 

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When a young woman turns to the camera for refuge, she ends up with a firsthand account of what will become the deadliest man-made epidemic in United States history. Filmed over thirty years, ANONYMOUS SISTER is director, Jamie Boyle's chronicle of her family's fall into opioid addiction, providing a poignant and timely study of what it means to experience life in all its beauty and pain.

On this episode Dawn and Jamie talk about the balance of healing and pain that comes from making a film so personal, self care in filmmaking, the value of storytelling in this epidemic, and how it can be taken a step further with post-screening Narcan trainings. 

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After the inconclusive death of his young niece, filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown, preparing to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to excavate the depths of generational addiction, Christian fervor, and trans embodiment. Lyrically assembled images, decades of home movies, and ethereal narration form an idiosyncratic and poetic undertow that guide a viewer through lifetimes and relationships. Like the relentless Michigan seasons, the meaning of family shifts, as Madsen, his sister, and his parents strive tirelessly to accept each other. Poised to incite more internal searching than provide clear statements or easy answers, NORTH BY CURRENT is a visual rumination on the understated relationships between mothers and children, truths and myths, losses and gains.

In this episode Madsen and Dawn discuss how trust was built in his family in making this film, the link (or lack thereof) between gender transition and death, and how you cope when having to discuss and relive traumatic events many times over.

TW: Death, substance abuse

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SPIRIT OF THE PEAKS is a film about the struggle for balance between two worlds. For Hunkpapa Lakota skier Connor Ryan, skiing in Ute Territory has always raised questions about being in reciprocity with the land and its people. As a skier who connects with the land through sport, he empathizes with the injustices that have displaced the Utes and ongoing colonization, erasure and extraction impacting the Ute people. This story connects conflicted pasts to an awakening in cultural awareness that can create an equitable future for Indigenous people and skiers. 

I am putting out this episode as a direct response to Utah's annual July 24th holiday Pioneer Day. Pioneer Day celebrates the arrival of Brigham Young and the white Mormon settlers to the lands of the Diné, Hopi, Goshute, Paiute, Pueblo, Shoshone, Timpanogos and Ute people. Living in this state, it is uncomfortable to have folks around me celebrating the arrival of colonizers who brought mass eradication, forced assimilation, boarding schools, and generations of trauma to the Indigenous people who were already living here. 

Please take a listen to this episode to hear more about how we can develop a reciprocal relationship with the land, what reclamation to Native culture can feel like, and who are other inspiring Indigenous activists and artists out there right now. 

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Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.

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MAXIMA follows Peruvian indigenous farmer Máxima Acuña in her fight to protect her land as she stands up to the largest gold producer in the world: US-based Newmont Mining Corporation. 

Throughout Máxima’s fight for justice, the film provides an illustrative case study in the tactics used by transnational corporations to commit human rights violations and environmental crimes, the role played by non-profits and The World Bank, and, ultimately, the resilience of one woman who refuses to back down. Dawn and filmmaker Claudia Sparrow talk about the challenges Claudia had to navigate in making a film in a remote area of the Andes Mountains, the difference each of us can make in fighting for what we believe in, and how Máxima has inspired and forever changed Claudia's outlook on life. 

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GIRL PICTURE is a coming-of-age film from Finland that focuses on three young women over the course of three weekends. The girls are questioning their sexuality, and for one girl her lack of sexuality, navigating their relationships with their parents and each other, and reconciling with the idea that their childhood dreams may not be the direction they still want to go in. 

Dawn and Alli talk about the stylistic choices made for the film, how you can storyboard and plan so much but unexpected moments still happen that can make the film feel more real, and the importance of complex female characters on screen. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it went on to win the Audience Award for the World Cinema Dramatic category. 

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A coming-of-golden-age film about Florida's most dedicated dance team for women over 60 - The Calendar Girls. A film that is shaking up the outdated image of "the little old lady", and calling for everyone to dance their hearts out, while they still can. 

Dawn talks with documentary filmmaking couple Love Martinsen and Maria Loohufvud about how they were drawn to this dance group and built relationships with them, how The Calendar Girls inspired them in their own lives, and what lessons we can all take away from these women. The film just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and will go on to have a theatrical distribution later this Spring. 

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Rita Baghdadi's documentary SIRENS premiered today, on her birthday, at the Sundance Film Festival! What a way to celebrate a birthday! The film follows the Middle East's first all-female metal band in Beirut as they wrestle with friendship, sexuality and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars. In this episode we talk about the value of multi-faceted female representation on screen, intergenerational trauma associated with political and familial histories, and some of the more tender moments that are captured between these badass rock stars. 

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An intimate portrait of mothers and daughters and the effects of trauma, JACINTA follows a young woman in and out of prison as she attempts to break free from an inherited cycle of addiction, incarceration, and crime. Now streaming on Hulu. 

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On this episode Dawn sits down with Colombian-American filmmaker Emily Cohen Ibañez for her documentary FRUITS OF LABOR. They discuss trickle down issues from systemic racism and immigration policies, children of immigrants having to step up to help support their families, food insecurity, and finding peace in connecting to our food and land. 

A Mexican-American teenager dreams of graduating high school, when increased ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become the breadwinner for her family. She works long days in the strawberry fields and the night shift at a food processing factory. Set in an agricultural town on the central coast of California, FRUITS OF LABOR is a coming of age story about an American teenager traversing the seen and unseen forces that keep her family trapped in poverty.  A lyrical meditation on adolescence, nature and ancestral forces, the film asks, what does it mean to come into one’s power as a working young woman of color in the wealthiest nation in the world?

The film is now available on PBS's POV series. 

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On this episode Dawn talks with documentary filmmaker Brooke Swaney for her newest film DAUGHTER OF A LOST BIRD. The film follows adoptee Kendra as she discovers her Native culture that she didn't grow up with, is welcomed in, meets her birth mother and other blood relatives, and learns more about how her story fits in with the bigger picture of ICWA, boarding schools and assimilation practices forced upon Indigenous people. Dawn and Brooke talk about making a film from an emotional place of empathy, share stories of their own Native backgrounds, and discuss the importance of representation in media. 

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On this episode Dawn chats with Director Adam Nawrot and Producer Sonia Szczesna for their debut feature doc GODSPEED, LOS POLACOS! They talk about their sense of adventure that matches the subjects of their film, some behind the scenes stories, and their Polish roots.

The film tells the story of five kayakers on the edge of adulthood who skillfully pull the strings of the Soviet system, and find themselves on a kayaking expedition in the Americas with a six-wheeled military truck, homemade equipment, and little to no whitewater skills. The story follows their epic two-year journey that culminates in the record-breaking first descent of the world’s deepest canyon, and finds the kayakers in Soviet cross-hairs after they leverage their newfound fame to fight for democracy in the Eastern Bloc.

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On this episode, Dawn has a powerful conversation with filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein and film protagonist Claude Motely about gun violence in their home city of Milwaukee, trauma and its ripple effects, healing, the justice system, and the importance of community, friendship and family. 

Claude Motley thought he’d beaten the odds: a business owner who moved his family from the violence of Milwaukee to the suburbs of Charlotte. Yet there he is on a trip home for a high school reunion: black male victim, 43, shot in the face during a carjacking. Two nights later, Claude’s assailant tries to rob nurse Victoria Davison, but she has a gun and shoots him during the struggle. A rush of guilt overcomes her as she overhears the paramedics – the boy she shot, Nathan King, is only 15 years old.

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On this episode, Dawn talks with filmmaking partners Willow O'Feral and Brad Heck for their documentary Sisters Rising. The film is an intimate portrait of 6 Native women who have survived sexual violence and/or domestic violence in their lives, and how that has transformed them. Through their trauma, they have become inspiring women who are fighting to help other women in their communities by providing support, sharing their stories, and working to change tribal and federal laws to protect women in the future. Dawn, Willow and Brad talk about the process of getting to know people in a community that is not your own, the impact these stories have had on them and why they're important to share. The film is streaming now on PBS' America Reframed World Channel. 

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On this episode, Dawn talks with filmmaker Mariem Pérez Riera about her new documentary RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT. It's an inspiring story of the first Latina EGOT winner, and the struggles she had to go through to along the way. Through therapy, she has been able to heal and move forward and continue being an inspiration to others. The film hits theatres June 18th! 

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On this episode Dawn connects with filmmaker Wes Hurley for his autobiographical narrative POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA. Hurley is a Seattle-based, Soviet Union-born LGBTQ filmmaker. POTATO is based on his upbringing in the Soviet Union watching pirated American films on a secret tv channel, and then moving to America seeking a better life after his Mom became a mail-order-bride. Dawn and Wes talk about what films he's seen 1000 times on bad VHS tapes, craving bland Russian food, and being drawn to experimental art and filmmaking. 

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On this episode Dawn chats with fellow Midwesterner Tasha Van Zandt about her debut feature AFTER ANTARCTICA. The film focuses on Minnesota-based explorer Will Steger via archival footage from his historic International Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1989-90, and then today as he continues his expeditions at age 75. The film is a beautiful reflection on life, and the effects of climate change then and now. Dawn talks with Tasha about what inspires her as storyteller, they share stories of humbling moments in nature, and what brings them comfort when they're away from home. 

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We have all seen sex trafficking popping up in the news at alarming rates recently, making many of us realize that it is not just happening overseas, but in our own backyards. THE ZEN SPEAKER: BREAKING THE SILENCE is a personal portrait of Amy Ayoub, a prominent public speaking coach, confronting her traumatic history to help change Nevada sex trafficking laws. In coming out with her truth, Amy is able to release herself after years of shame, and is now able to connect with other survivors and help empower them. 

A therapeutic film...with lots of blood. VIOLATION is a horror film built from trauma, about a woman trying to reconnect with her sister while dealing with relationship problems, and then a life-altering experience with her brother-in-law. On this episode Dawn chats with VIOLATION co-directors Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli about bonding over trauma, revenge, and some of their favorite horror films. VIOLATION played at Sundance, TIFF and SXSW and is now available to stream on Shudder.

Dawn and Edson Jean dive deep into personal experiences and family histories in this episode. They talk about the immigrant experience, the importance of finding your community, financial literacy of lower and middle classes, the power of story and a whole lot else. LUDI is about a Haitian immigrant living in Miami overworking and getting caught in the hamster wheel that is capitalist America because she has to take care of herself and her family in Haiti. LUDI was the opening night film at the Miami Film Festival and recently screened at SXSW. Excited for you to listen to this episode and keep the conversation going. 

Recorded just before their Sundance premiere screening in the Midnight section, on this episode Dawn chats with Swedish filmmaker Frida Kempff and KNOCKING star Cecilia Milocco. KNOCKING is thriller about a woman who is released from a psych ward after experiencing a mental breakdown following the death of the one person who truly understood her. Now she's in a new apartment and thinks she hears morse code knocking from a woman in danger but no one believes her. Dawn, Frida and Cecilia talk about women's experience with gaslighting, strong emotional responses to trauma, and trying to fill up more space in the world. 

On this episode Dawn interviews filmmaker Angela Washko after the world premiere of her documentary WORKHORSE QUEEN at the Slamdance Film Festival. WORKHORSE QUEEN follows RuPaul Drag Race contestant Ed Popil (Mrs. Kasha Davis) as he navigates his career and personal life post-Drag Race. Mrs. Kasha Davis stood out from the rest because she was an older contestant emulating Ed's mother, quite unlike many of the youthful and highly energetic drag queens. Dawn and Angela talk about how Mrs. Kasha Davis resonated with Angela, Angela's creative community in Pittsburgh, and the difference gender and sexuality education and exposure could have on future generations. 

On this episode Dawn talks with filmmakers Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley for their Sundance hit STRAWBERRY MANSION - a wildly imaginative film about a dream auditor who finds his time-transcending soulmate while on the job. They talk about childhood inspiration for the film, the creative and quirky set and prop design, and share some of their own memorable dreams.

This week Dawn talks with young visionary Carlson Young with her feature film debut THE BLAZING WORLD after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. They discuss fantasy history and inspiration, their dream worlds, and advice to upcoming filmmakers. 

Welcome to Season 2!! Kicking off this season with an interview with the talented NYU alum Erin Vassilopoulos for her debut feature film, SUPERIOR. SUPERIOR had its world premiere last week at the 2021 virtual Sundance Film Festival. Dawn and Erin talk about the importance of collaboration, shooting on 16mm, location and vintage prop scouting, and more! 

Dawn shares one of her favorite Q&As she hosted from the Freeland Film Fest! CURRENT SEA is a documentary directed by Christopher Smith and stars journalist Matt Blomberg. Christopher and Matt are covering a wild and inspiring story of marine conservationist, Paul Ferber, who has had to resort to physically protecting the sea animals off the coast of Cambodia from illegal fishermen from Vietnam. He patrols the sea (often at night) and runs a program during the day working with college students to come up with lasting solutions for protecting the wildlife.

In this episode Dawn interviews fellow Utah filmmaker Robert Machoian for his newest film THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS. They talk about their academic backgrounds, local art scenes and the influence of place and home in filmmaking. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was bought by Neon. It's currently scheduled to be out in theatres Feb. 23rd, 2021. 

In this episode, Dawn interviews Native filmmaker and writer Sterlin Harjo for his newest documentary feature, LOVE AND FURY. They discuss the traditions of family storytelling, and the importance of modern Native storytelling through writing, filmmaking, music, painting, and more. Harjo also shares his newest project, FX series Reservation Dogs, that he's co-creating with Taika Waititi.

On this episode of Faux Reel we travel back to the Sundance Film Festival where Dawn sat down with MUCHO MUCHO AMOR co-Director Kareem Tabsch. They talk about the influence of Walter Mercado on the Latinx and Latinx gay communities, and what it's like to meet your idol. Mucho Mucho Amor is now streaming on Netflix.