Blurb from YAMS:

Nearly, two years ago I met with Todorovic, a special director from Serbia. I am in love with her subjects. Her work hurts and inspires. Now, she is on her way to showing her documentary at the Cannes Film Festival! Kindly, click this link to donate via Kickstarter. Thank you. For more about Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. and Ivana Todorovic, kindly click here.

About A Harlem Mother:

Life is good as long as you’re living. A tragedy inspires a mother toward action, in the hopes of stopping deaths of the innocent by gun violence. A reason to get out of bed in the morning. In 1998, 18 years old Latraun Parker made documentary about harshness growing up in Harlem. Eights years after, he was shoot dead on the street. Today, his mother Jean fights youth gun violence and helps other parents survive the pain. Short documentary ‘A Harlem Mother‘ tells its story from the dual perspectives of Jean and Latron, using footage from his own documentary.

Photo: 'Sex Positive', a film by Daryl Wein

Sex Positive’s Synopsis:

Most young filmmakers quickly define themselves in terms of both their creative roles and genre specialties, however Daryl Wein has so far benefited from doing exactly the opposite. Born in Santa Monica in 1983, Wein grew up in Connecticut and commuted to auditions in New York City as he pursued a career as a child actor, mostly in commercials. At the same time, Wein’s father’s interest in chronicling their family life on home video lead the young thespian to become fascinated with being on the other side of the camera. At the age of 16, he made Life is a Train, a short film which won him an award at the International Young Filmmaker’s Festival in New York, as well as the inaugural You Belong in Connecticut Young Media Maker Award. He went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study drama and film, and also appeared in small roles in the films Magic Rock (2001) and The Hebrew Hammer (2003) as well as the Comedy Central TV movie Porn ‘n Chicken (2002). In 2007, he co-wrote, directed and edited the short film Unlocked, starring Olivia Thirlby and executive produced by director Stephen Daldry, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival. Wein’s first narrative feature, Breaking Upwards, which is based on Wein’s relationship with actress Zoe Lister-Jones and features the pair playing versions of themselves, premiered at SXSW earlier this year.

It is demonstrative of Daryl Wein’s openness as a filmmaker that, despite his strong acting background, his first feature length film is, in fact, a documentary. Sex Positive is a portrait of Richard Berkowitz, a figure now penniless and forgotten, who was a fearless and controversial AIDS activist in the 1980s and, along with Dr. Joseph Sonnabend and actor Michael Callen, one of the architects of the safe sex movement. Berkowitz was hugely unpopular for his contention that the AIDS epidemic was exacerbated by the gay community’s promiscuous lifestyle, however, he responded to accusations of being “sex negative” by proposing that responsible actions, such as condom use, should not inhibit sexual activity. Sex Positive has the virtue of not only telling an important story but having, in Richard Berkowitz, a fascinating subject truly worthy of scrutiny. Berkowitz is a compelling presence who talks candidly about not only his activism and his own battle with AIDS but also his time as an S&M hustler and drug addict. Wein ably balances historical background and his focus on Berkowitz, while the handsome work by DP Alex Bergman adds further character to the piece.

Photos: naginoda.com

Blurb from YAMS:

野田 凪 Nagi Noda.

野田 凪 Nagi Noda’s Bio:

Among her works are the short film Mariko Takahashi’s Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an “Ex-fat Girl“, the half-panda-half-something-else Hanpanda life-sized figures, and the video for Japanese singer Yuki’s song “Sentimental Journey“. Other works include direction of a television advertisement for Coca-Cola (with music by Jack White), collaboration with Medicom Toy to produce Nagi Noda Be@rbrick and the video for “Hearts On Fire” by Cut Copy, it was the last music video she made.

Nagi died on September 7, 2008, at age 35, after surgical complications from injuries sustained in a traffic accident the previous year.

[showtime]

Photo: 'Shortbus' Movie Poster

Blurb from YAMS:

For the readers who have gotten their cute, warm paws on GrungeCake Magazine’s “The Dance In My Belly Episode” can identify what Mr. John Cameron Mitchell is talking about. Two years ago, I had the pleasure of being introduced to this film when researching for the magazine. GrungeCakers, if you are can muster sexual graphics and comfortable with your sexuality, you will enjoy ‘Short Bus’ without a doubt. It is a film like no other. If I had the opportunity and revenue to promote and spread ‘Short Bus’ around to new audiences, I would. I hope that this trial works.

Shortbus’ Plot:

Numerous New York City-dwellers come to the exclusive club Shortbus to work out problems in their sexual relationships. Rob and Sophia are a happily married couple, except for the fact that she has never experienced sexual climax. This irony follows her to work, because she is a couples counselor who frequently has to deal with the sexual issues other couples have. Two of her patients are Jamie and James, a gay couple who have been monogamous for five years and counting. James wants to bring other men in to the relationship, and his own history with depression may hint at an ulterior motive. Ceth (pronounced like Seth) may be the perfect addition to their family, but Caleb, a voyeur from across the street, may have his own ideas about that. Sophia visits Severin, a dominatrix with secrets of her own to reveal.

To order, ‘Shortbus,’ kindly click here.

To order GrungeCake Magazine’s ‘The Dance In My Belly Episode,’ kindly click here.

A few years ago, I purchased the deluxe box set that contained all of the master’s greatest films, but I believe it had a running with my baby nephews. The first time I watched a Hitchcock film was back in college. It was The Birds. Our instructor Simona Prives played it for us, and we had to redesign a poster for the film. However, my execution skills were not up to par — I had a grand idea. Perhaps, Ill redesign the redesign to shower my growth — upon myself. For television listings, quickly click here.

The acknowledged master of the thriller genre he virtually invented, Alfred Hitchcock was also a brilliant technician who deftly blended sex, suspense and humor. He began his filmmaking career in 1919 illustrating title cards for silent films at Paramount’s Famous Players-Lasky studio in London. There he learned scripting, editing and art direction, and rose to assistant director in 1922. That year he directed an unfinished film, No. 13 or Mrs. Peabody. His first completed film as director was The Pleasure Garden (1925), an Anglo-German production filmed in Munich. This experience, plus a stint at Germany’s UFA studios as an assistant director, help account for the Expressionistic character of his films, both in their visual schemes and thematic concerns. The Lodger (1926), his breakthrough film, was a prototypical example of the classic Hitchcock plot: an innocent protagonist is falsely accused of a crime and becomes involved in a web of intrigue. For the full biography written by Charles Ramirez Berg, kindly click here.