Tune in 12/14/20 at 9:00am pst - Janeane speaks with Hasan Oswald, Director of HIGHER LOVE, an award-winning film including the 2020 SLAMDANCE GRAND JURY WINNER - AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL ON NOVEMBER 3.

LISTEN | WATCH 

Daryl Gant is a Camden native, father of eight, and printing press operator. He was raised by a single mother and strives to be a better father than his own, who abandoned him at birth. His girlfriend, Nani, is the love of his life but struggles to cope with a crippling crack and heroin addiction, and the nefarious lifestyle to support it. More troubling is that Nani is pregnant with their new baby boy, Darnez. It becomes Daryl's new-found purpose to forge a better future for the both of them.

Nani is also a Camden native, whose mother died with a needle in her arm. Now she struggles with the responsibilities of motherhood in the face of her own addiction.

Darnez was born healthy but needs particular care growing up in an environment rife with safety and well-being concerns.

Their friend, Iman, was once a drug dealing kingpin in Camden in the 1990s. He was also a father and a mechanical engineer until he caught a dealer's habit selling dope. He embodies the spirit of many disaffected residents of Camden, taking the viewer on a tour of post-industrial American decay.


His own quest to sobriety will eventually force the hand of Nani to make a change, as they forge parallel paths to recovery.


HIGHER LOVE was directed by first time filmmaker Hasan Oswald, executive produced by Stephen Nemeth (Rhino Records) and produced by Oswald, Alexander Spiess, & Derek Rubin. Oswald used a Robert Rodriguez inspired zero-budget strategy to make the film, selling his blood-plasma, racking up no interest credit card bills, and learning all things films on youtube tutorials in lieu of film school.

Gravitas Ventures will release HIGHER LOVE on VOD and Digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now and all major cable/satellite platforms on Tuesday, November 3. The film has a running time of 78 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.

Slamdance Film Festival (Grand Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature)


Brooklyn Film Festival (Winner Spirit Award & Winner Best New Director)


Krakow International Film Festival (European Premiere)


Doku Fest


Melbourne Documentary Film Festival


Rhode Island International Film Festival (Winner Best Documentary & Best Editing)


Harlem Film Festival


Stony Brook Film Festival


Cinema of NYC Film Festival


San Antonio Film Festival


American Fringe Festival

To view the trailer, go to: https://vimeo.com/451302357


For more information, go to: https://www.higherlovefilm.com/


https://www.facebook.com/higherlovefilm/?ref=bookmarks


https://www.instagram.com/higherlovefilm/


https://twitter.com/higherlovefilm

TODAY - 11-16-20 at 9:30am pst! Filmmakers and documentary subjects Jim Hanft and Samantha Yonack join Janeane on KUCI 88.9fm to talk about their newly released film, After So Many Days

Watch Trailer HERE

In conversation with Samantha Yonack and Jim Hanft 

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Synopsis:
After a decade of making music together, Jim and Sam, a recently married singer/songwriter duo from Los Angeles, were not the conventionally successful band they’d hoped they’d be. Feeling stuck and anxious about their future, the duo make a spontaneous decision to put their music and marriage to the ultimate test by making a pact to play one show every day for a year. With suitcases and a guitar, the troubadours ventured out for a 365-day tour down unexplored roads and onto unexpected stages, bringing their music to new audiences throughout 14 different countries.

After So Many Days is a raw and intimate front row seat to the highs and lows of what it’s like for two people to pursue a dream, together. Featuring an incredible selection of Jim and Sam’s mesmerizing songs, the film is a love letter to life on the road and the power of music to unite – both the couple and the people they meet along the way.

The film will be accompanied by the full length album, Songs from After So Many Days, released by Nettwerk Records on 10/9.

After So Many Days will screen at the Nashville Film Festival in October and has been an official selection at more than 30 film festivals worldwide.

Releasing digitally on iTunes, Amazon and more on October 20th.

LISTEN now! Janeane speaks with Margaret M. Spirito and Lisa Ann Walter from "Jersey" a short film. “Jersey” competes at 16th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival

  

Director/Lead Actress Lisa Ann Walter & Writer/Producer Margaret M. Spirito

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Jersey” Short Film to Compete at 16th Annual
LA Femme International Film Festival 

Short to serve as proof of concept for potential series 

LOS ANGELES – October 7h , 2020 -- The comedic short “Jersey”, written by Margaret M. Spirito and directed by and starring Lisa Ann Walter will screen at the 16th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival on Saturday, October 17th, 6PM on the CYA.Live platform. A Q&A with Spirito, Walter and co-star, Valerie Tosi, will follow.

The film centers around best friends Maria (Valerie Tosi) and Lorelei (Mayan Lopez) who escaped the drama of their New Jersey families by moving to sunny Los Angeles. The drama finds them, however, when Maria's crass mother, Tess (Walter), and spoiled older brother, Nick (Vinny Fasline), celebrate Easter with Maria and Lorelei on the west coast. Maria finds it hard to bite her tongue at Tess's ignorance, while Lorelei attempts to play buffer between mother and daughter. After a dinner full of baby boomer judgement and millennial clapbacks, things take an exciting turn when Tess accidentally mistakes the girls' chocolate edibles for Easter dessert, turning what Maria was hoping to be a chill California holiday into a Jersey shit storm. Once the storm settles, Maria and Tess find themselves able to confront the obvious tension that exists between them, proving the age old theory almost all women can relate to: there’s family you love, family you hate…..and then there’s your mother.

Writer/producer Spirito is a singer, actress, writer and producer originally from New Jersey. Her big, belty voice brought her all over the world, performing in shows such as the National Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and international productions pf “Shout”, “And the World Goes Round” and “Smokey Joe’s Café”. In Los Angeles, she spent years performing with the critically acclaimed FOR THE RECORD series in several of their productions, in addition to producing/writing/performing her own shows, “The Sounds of Dirty Jersey” and “Amy Winehouse, One Year Later”. In addition to her work on stage, Margaret is an accomplished writer, her love being half-hour television comedy.

Actress/director Walter is an accomplished stand up comedian and actress, most recognized for her work in the “The Parent Trap”, “Bruce Almighty”, and “Shall We Dance.” She also created the network shows “Life’s Work and Dance Your Ass Off”. In addition to her work as an actress and Executive Producer, Walter is a successful author and a favorite among radio listeners for her hit radio show “The Fabulous Lisa Ann Walter Show” that was on air from 2011-2014.

The LA Femme International Film Festival is now in its 16th year as one of Los Angeles’ premiere film festivals dedicated to celebrating and promoting female artists both in front of and behind the camera. In addition to bestowing awards in multiple categories, from short subjects to documentaries to commercials, LA Femme is proud to present this year’s Lupe Ontiveros Image Award to a performer who embodies the spirit, audacity and dedication to art that its namesake represented. This year’s Ontiveros honoree will be actress/producer Shari Belafonte.

WATCH "Jersey" Saturday October 17, 2020! 

To purchase tickets to see all the purchase options below.

ALL FILMS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS will be hosted on cya.live

( ALL EVENT TIMES ARE IN PDT)

(*Note: you will need to sign up for a free account at time of purchase with name and email)
Purchase Tickets from our virtual platform directly.
LINK TO CYA.LIVE LAFEMME

Link to FILM PARTIES W/Q&A TICKET PURCHASE
https://www.cya.live/channel/lafemme/upcoming
Link to ALL streaming movies starting Oct 15 at midnight until Oct 18 at 11:59 PM – PDT. Watch at your leisure over 150+ films to screen. https://www.cya.live/channel/lafemme/movies

 

MARGARET M. SPIRITO
singer.actor.writer.producer

website

Instagram: @margaretmspirito 
Twitter: @margaretspirito

@lisaannwalter
@jerseyshortfilm


Margaret M. Spirito
www.margaretmspirito.com

Indie Thriller NIGHT RAIN Premieres at 16th LA Femme International Film Festival - Janeane speaks with Jeanne Marie Spicuzza

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“Night Rain,” the indie thriller from Jeanne Marie Spicuzza, Seasons & a Muse and the award-winning producers of “The Scarapist,” will make its festival debut at the 16th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival on Thursday, October 15th.

WATCH the trailer

The story surrounds a group of independent filmmakers unwittingly hired by their stalker to make a low budget period movie about Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia, who begin to see their lives dangerously intertwine with the events leading up to Short’s tragic murder. Spicuzza, who penned the screenplay, co-directs with her editor, Synthian Sharp (“How I Became an Elephant”). “Night Rain” marks the second feature from Spicuzza.

“Following ‘The Scarapist,’” says Spicuzza, “I wanted to make a movie about indie filmmaking and the 1940s. I knew that there would be challenges on a low budget. I earned a certificate in film noir studies from TCM and Ball State University during the course of my research and writing for ‘Night Rain.’ I was helped by historians like… Harnisch… and Glen Creason [of the Los Angeles Central Library].”

Shot on location at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Pacific Dining Car, Crystal Pier and other historic sites in and around Los Angeles and San Diego by director of photography Jay Lopez, with additional photography by Henry Power, “Night Rain,” stars Spicuzza, Adam Lesar, Clarissa Thibeaux, Thessa M’loe and Mattia Chicco. Other cast and crew include legendary drummer Guy Hoffman, of BoDeans and Violent Femmes fame, John Neff, celebrated sound editor for David Lynch, actors Scott Javore and J.L. Forbis, industry maven Heidi Honeycutt, Cinefemme founder Michelle Kantor, LA Femme Film Festival’s Leslie LaPage, designer Michael A. Barnum and creator Jessamyn Prince.

“The title comes from my granddaughter, Amaya, whose name in Japanese means ‘Night Rain,’” says Spicuzza. “I was inspired by the words of Muriel Short, Elizabeth’s sister, who said that their mother ‘does believe that someday the truth will come out and [Elizabeth] will be exonerated.’

“Since we may never know… the identity of the killer,” says Spicuzza, “my goal was to offer a very authentic, dignified treatment… a bond of mothers and daughters. It’s a dark redemption.”

Amaya Spicuzza makes her acting debut in “Night Rain.” Executive producers include David and Stephanie Spicuzza.

Night Rain make its festival debut at the 16th Annual LA Femme International Film Festival on Thursday, October 15th at 6 PM PDT on the CYA platform. Following the film, there will be a virtual Q&A with special guest Larry Harnisch, L.A. Times writer-editor, author and expert on the Black Dahlia murder case.