Africa Day, Africans Rising, Borderless Africa, Mastercard Edtech event at Ihub, African Diaspora

On 25th May, Africa Day is celebrated in Africa and all over the world. I first celebrated it in May 2019, when I attended “Google’s Africa Day Outreach: Creative Bootcamp” at Nairobi Garage. 

    

I'm in the purple checked sweater.

In 2023, ROFFEKE celebrated Africa Day with Africans Rising under the theme of “Borderless Africa”. The ROFFEKE Borderless Africa YouTube playlist features short films and music videos submitted to ROFFEKE since 2015, that have been created by or feature Africans in the continent or in the diaspora. 

The Kilimanjaro Declaration 2.0 was adopted on 31st August 2022 in Arusha Tanzania. In the declaration, the 2022 All African Movement Assembly (AAMA) declared that:

1. Africa is a rich continent, and her wealth belongs to all her people. We commit to fight for economic justice qualified by socio-political development.

2. Africans have a diverse, rich, and powerful heritage that is important to heal ourselves and repair the damage done by neoliberalism to our humanity and environment. Being Africans and embracing African philosophies such as “Ubuntu” are sources of our pride.

3. African youth and women are a critical foundation for building the success of our continent and must play a central role in building the Africa We Want for Unity, Justice, Peace and Dignity. We are committed to building an intergenerational dialogue and strategic collaboration with our elders to advance a shared vision.

4. Africa’s diaspora, whether displaced through slavery and colonialism or part of modern-day migration occasioned by political, economic and climate change factors, is part of Africa’s history and future. We commit to ensure that their reservoir of knowledge, skills, resources and passion are part of advancing Africa.

Also on Africa Day, I attended (virtually) an event titled “The African Diaspora, Trade, and Investment Symposium”. The event’s YouTube video description: “This #AfricaDay, OECD Development Centre and Minnesota Africans United are gathering investors, policy makers and diasporic groups, to share examples of the many ways African #diasporas engage in private sector development to the benefit of both “mother” and “new” home countries.”

The next day, on 26th May, I attended Mastercard Foundation’s EdTech event that was held at iHub. In the past, iHub has played a role in helping ROFFEKE achieve its mission of promoting rock music in Kenya via film. In September 2015, ROFFEKE held a screening of short films and music videos at iHub. Read some of the attendees' comments HERE. 

ROFFEKE is passionate about education. On January 24th 2023, ROFFEKE commemorated Education Day with a document highlighting the knowledge shared by ROFFEKE alumni from all over the world. On January 24tth 2022, ROFFEKE commemorated Education Day with a report highlighting the hashtag #edumental which ROFFEKE first used at an Education Day event on January 20th, 2020, right before the pandemic. In that report, I wrote: 

“Why is ROFFEKE – a rock film festival – interested in education? There are many reasons but in short, education is part of the objectives of ROFFEKE. Also, education plays a crucial role in the achievement of ROFFEKE’s mission: to promote rock music in Kenya via film by dispelling rock ‘n’ roll myths and misconceptions.”

The main objectives of ROFFEKE are:

1. To showcase local and international rock ‘n’ roll films and music videos for the purposes of education and entertainment.

2. To organize workshops, forums and seminars related to various aspects of rock music and the film industry.

3. To provide a platform for emerging and established, local and international rock bands.

The Mastercard Foundation Edtech event was inspiring. I sat through the first few presentations by talented Edtech startups namely Snapplify, Easy Elimu, Funky Science, Silabu, Elewa, Arifu and Virtual Essence. Clearly, a lot is being done by Kenyan entrepreneurs to tackle the challenges of education in Kenya and Africa.

Later, as I was reflecting on all these events, I could not help but connect the dots. One speaker at The African Diaspora Trade and Investment Symposium, Christopher Brooks, is a venture capitalist of African descent with a passion for Africa. He pointed out that he was on the lookout for projects he could invest in. I strongly believe that the projects I saw during the Mastercard Foundation Edtech event are ripe for this kind of Afro-cenric investment. Christopher said:

“I have a bias when it comes to this kind of conversation. We invest in tech. We invest in tech specifically because it scales quickly, creates enormous value quickly and then when there is some sort of liquidity event or exit, you can redeploy the gains and it just becomes this ever-expanding economic pie. I’m a big believer in tech. Africa is actually producing right now some of the world’s best innovative technologies. (From minute 49:22 to 49:50)

At this African Diaspora Trade and Investment Symposium, I was inspired by all that the diaspora is doing to help Africa. However, as an African in Africa who sees a lot of opportunities in the “motherland” I begun feeling uncomfortable with the narrative of Africans always being recipients of aid, even if it is from fellow Africans. I asked via the Zoom Q and A feature: How can Africans also help Africans in the diaspora?

In the chat, I made a small contribution that challenged the narrative that African youth only want government jobs. While it is true that many Africans look to government jobs due to the stability they offer, many African youth are entrepreneurial, as evidenced by the Mastercard Foundation Edtech event. I pointed out in the chat that many Africans are interested in and are active in the creative economy.

“The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everywhere else” by Hernando de Soto was mentioned by Christopher Brooks. He said: “What I learned as I read that book was that talent is equally distributed among the human population but opportunity is not.” (From minute 40: 49 to 41:08)

I would argue that even this lack of many opportunities in Africa…is actually an opportunity!

Christopher Brooks went on to say: “Our venture capital firm has the goal of creating a world where transformation capital is accessible to all not just to some so that is how we invest. We find really great entrepreneurs of colour with really great ideas and we deploy strategic capital in the right amount at the right time to help those entrepreneurs scale their businesses and eventually exit their businesses creating brand new economic value." (From minute 42:52 to 43:17)

He also said: “I wanna actually go a couple of layers deeper than the current conversation. When Africans were imported to America as slaves, we were told, we black people, were told that we were not fully human. America told black people that they were three-fifths human, and that meta-narrative of less than human has been indoctrinated in people throughout American history." 

(Check out "ROFFEKE University: Lesson 1 - Slave Trade, The Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll" and “Of 'African' Products and 'Mzungu' Music”)

"So one of the things that we must do, we all must, even members of the diaspora, must examine our worldview and ask ourselves, do we really believe that talent is equally distributed across the world, because in many nations, especially developed nations, we’ve been taught that talent is not equally distributed. We’ve taken this darwinistic approach, survival of the fittest, and we’ve basically said that the developed nations are the fittest, the nations that are developing or less developed are not as fit, are not as smart, are not as good, and that is just diabolical and patently untrue. I think the root, the foundation of any solution that has to do with the continent of Africa must be, Africans are brilliant. Africans are capable. Africans are investment-ready. Africans have the best solutions for Africa. If we really believe that, even those of us who are members of the diaspora, we will continue to tap into the genius of the African people that live on the African continent and we will build a better society because it will be deeply informed by those who live and breathe the African air every single day. That’s how we at Brown Venture Group and that’s how I as an individual investor and practitioner look at the world and that’s how I’m approaching the work. The best solutions for Africa come from Africa.” - Christopher Brooks. (From minute 1:06:14 to 1:08:00)

Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Mozilla Festival, Borderless Africa

Artificial Intelligence. As a techno-optimist, I feel like a surfer who is looking at the biggest wave ever. Yes, there is the ever present danger of “wiping out”, of the artificial intelligence wave wiping out humanity – or humanity as we know it. More knowledgeable people than I have spoken, written and made films or documentaries about the negative side of artificial intelligence.

Kenyan rock band “Rash” sung about “Sons of Robots”

Wearable Android (#ROFFEKEOFFICIALSELECTION2015) by Keita Nishida is a fun look at the human-technology relationship.

Me? I am a techno-optimist. Frankie Valli and The Four Season sung in Walk like a man, “The world isn’t coming to an end” and REM pointed out: “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine”)

In May, I watched a webinar by 6 seconds titled “The Inside Path - Trust and Optimism for the Future”. Artificial Intelligence was one of the things that was mentioned as causing people anxiety.  The three sub-topics that were covered in the webinar were: 

• The role of optimism in creating a positive outlook on the future and fostering hope and excitement about what’s to come.

• The importance of trust in building strong relationships and communities that can support us in achieving our goals.

• How combining trust and optimism can create a sense of empowerment and agency in shaping our own future.

6 Seconds is “a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the world’s emotional intelligence.”

I am a big fan and student of Emotional Intelligence. I thought Emotional Intelligence was one area that humans would dominate for a long time. Well, I recently learned about Heypi.com from the YouTube Channel “AI News Daily”. The title of the video says it all: "Hey Pi - The Best "Real" Conversation I've Had with an AI Chat Bot"

I tried it out and used Heypi.com to get a review of some sentences from my short story about The Shenganiguns titled “Office Romance”. Watch it here.

One of the things that is causing concern about the fast-pace of AI development and deployment is that there isn’t adequate regulation. There is concern that AI will excarcerbate already existing problems like bias. Enter Claude, an AI that takes into consideration the Declaration of Human Rights. I learned about it from this YouTube video titled “Claude: The Quantum AI that Surpasses ChatGPT (AI with a Conscience!?)".

On December 10th, 2022, ROFFEKE celebrated Human Rights Day with a YouTube playlist of short films and music videos that highlight the declaration of human rights. You can watch it here. Some of the films in the Human Rights playlist are also in the ROFFEKE Borderless Africa playlist, which is part of the Africans Rising “African Liberation Week” events taking place between May 22nd and May 28th.

During Mozilla Festival (March 20th to 25th) my session, titled “Techno-optimism through ROFFEKE rock ‘n’ roll films” featured the Human Rights YouTube playlist that showcased how tools such as YouTube playlists can help people in the global south participate in closed off or not easily accessible spaces. Mozilla Festival had some AI-themed sessions and even some of the non-AI themed sessions did touch on AI in terms of ethics and mental health.

So what is my current stance on Artificial Intelligence? Well, I am riding the AI wave with both excitement and caution. Surf's up!

Interview: IVA ("Run" producer/singer/performer) and Camilla Natta ("Run" music video director)

1. Camille, this is your directorial debut as a solo director. What would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of working as a solo director versus collaborating with another director (as you did with Erick Zonca on the Golden Bear nominated feature film "Julia")?

This is such an interesting question, because in film making, everything is collaborative.  You never make a movie by yourself, you rely on an entire team to make a film, and that's both what makes this medium so exciting to work with because you are supported in so many ways and it’s also what makes the role of the director so challenging because you have to choose the right people for each piece of that puzzle and then coordinate all those voices so that one single clear vision comes out of this teamwork process.  On “Julia”, Erick Zonca was really the main experienced director and I was getting my training wheels, so I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity I got to work with him and learn so much during the writing process, the shoot and the editing.  I was really supporting his vision and I carried that onto the set of “RUN” by making sure I surrounded myself with the best, most experienced people I could find.  In relying on me, Erick really taught me how to rely on others when I was at the helm of this project with IVA — understanding that there is no single person making the movie, but there is one person who takes on the responsibility for the project and being a director is really being willing to take on that responsibility.

2. IVA, what inspired your song "Run" and how much input did you have in the making of the music video?

Run was inspired by a friend who jogs in the north of Sweden in the winter when it is dark all day long. I remembered my winter days of feeling depressed, trapped indoors in dark, cold Sweden and felt this song was about overcoming what we were all feeling during the pandemic lockdown in the States. We were not allowed to leave our homes save for grocery shopping and caring for loved ones, and didn’t have contact with friends and family living close and further afield. That time was painful for so many. My friend Tracy reminded me that running in the darkness can help us find the spark of inspiration that we need in difficult times. I wanted to share that possibility through this song by showing how the act of running, and its symbolism of committing to something we love and seeing it through, can help us find our fulfillment.

Camille had been coaching me on my acting during the recording of the song, and we decided to turn it into a video. It was a complete collaboration so I could give as much input as I wanted to, yet Camille’s vision was well thought-out and I felt in good hands, letting her take the lead. She had the brilliant idea of making much of it about my eyes, as they are the windows to the soul. I’ve been through a great deal of loss in my life and have found a way to make it through with love and strength, partly thanks to friends and colleagues like Camille. She captures that spirit in the video.

3. Camille, the music video complements the song quite well. There is always a challenge regarding resources (time, money, etc) so if you had more time and money, what would you change about the music video? What would you not change?

Our superpower as humans is adapting to challenge.  The most creative part of being a film maker is figuring out how to meet challenge, so I love that part of the process.  Embracing it is what makes us grow as artists.  I like to remind myself of the pinnacle moment in Indiana Jones where he faces a bad guy wielding a saber and just as all seems lost, Indie pulls out a gun and shoots the guy down.  This quintessential moment filled with humor all came together because Harrison Ford was sick and they lost a couple days of filming so they had to cut the big sword fight number from the script and get creative with the scene, and it’s my favorite moment in the movie.  Limited time and resources force you to get creative.  I wanted to make an "in camera" movie as we were referencing classic 1980s music video making, so I didn’t want to use any special effects.  We shot one day on a sound stage and half a day guerrilla-style in the streets of LA and through my bathroom window to create the visual layers.  And we used mashed potatoes to create the effect of snow falling, with my ADs were furiously sprinkling IVA with mashed potatoes and moving branches above her to create shadows and the impression of wind.  IVA was very patient with us, getting mashed potatoes in your eyes is nobody’s idea of having fun! 

With more time and money I would have maybe wanted to tell a more narrative story, that we would have set in snow-covered landscapes in Iceland for example, but that would have been way beyond our budget!  But with analogue photography coming back to the forefront, I’m excited we got to work on this project with old school spirit.

4. IVA and Camille, how do you find your inner strength in a world and an industry that can be quite challenging for women?

CAMILLE: I’m excited to see things are changing in our industry, I think it’s an inspiring time to be a woman in our industry right now.  While only 22% of Hollywood directors are currently women, we’re still making changes faster than other industries like neurosurgery where less than 10% of neurosurgeons are women.  I have made an effort to surround myself with smart women in my industry (like IVA) who have been so generous in sharing their experience and supporting me.  Because of the importance of mentorship in our industry, we still have some way to go.  When you consider that twice as many main characters are male than female and then you break it down further, you see that in films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprise 57% of protagonists, whereas in films with exclusively male directors and/or writers, females only account for 19% of protagonists, it becomes very apparent that, as women, we still have great need of a greater pool of role models and it’s so important to support each other.  I’m grateful to be part of the female directors who can lead the way for the next generation of filmmakers, I want to be there for them, to encourage them.

The daily practice of showing up is also something IVA and I worked on together.  We’ve had a ritual of warming up our voices together every morning for the past 18 months and it just set us up for success.  It’s kind of like meditation, but we did it together, so it added a dimension of showing up for another person so you double up on your accountability and also your sense of achievement as a team.

IVA:  We had a beautiful, wild ride creating this video together, and we have collaborated many times, which made our working relationship even more powerful on this film, both when things went right and if things went wrong - like losing a much desired makeup artist at the last minute or facing a large budget and finding ways to make it smaller while holding true to the vision. We had inner strength from a mutual trust and respect for each other’s artistry, and from having each other to lean on. Camille and I have a very strong friendship. We lift each other up when our self esteem is damaged by the industry, and help each other navigate through when life and work becomes challenging. We have a pact to be fully honest with each other, and we can hash through differences and fight sometimes and then discuss openly what happened with no hard feelings. As a musician, I focus on sharing my truth in the most effective way I can, which I find is through my music, and Camille helped me emanate a deeper, stronger version of myself in this video. A few years ago I lost my mother suddenly, and was also in a romantic relationship where I was a victim of domestic abuse for many years. I was grieving for a long time and felt somewhat defeated, and Camille helped me feel ready to “Run” with passion again. Camille and I also provided firsts for each other with this video, she as lead director and I in having the creative direction of someone of Camille’s caliber and deep knowledge of me as an artist. I was able to look into the camera with my full being, unafraid of being seen. That has given me a new perspective on my artistry, and about who I am. I know most of all that standing together is our strength, and I am grateful to have a friend and colleague like Camille who gives it to me straight and loves me with all her heart, as I do her. I hope that as two women creating this music video together we will be able to reach many more people and inspire other women to realize their creative visions fully, and as often, as possible.

5. IVA, what advice would you give to musicians who want to make their first music video?

Find a director that you trust who also has the skills and vision necessary to make an effective music video. Also be sure to prepare yourself for the screen as it’s quite a different means of communication than through music. Most of all, enjoy the creative process. Camille and I absolutely did, and it was hard work! I have an even deeper respect now for all those who work in film and feel very lucky to know multi-faceted artists like Camille (who also did an incredible job editing the video.) And she respected our budget and did her best to keep things economical, which set my mind at ease. Also, work with the director to put together a great team who can help you realize the vision. And, if you can, raise a budget that allows you to take care of everyone well, making sure everyone has the equipment, space, and food necessary to do their best work. It makes a big difference for rapport on the set, and for the film itself.

6. Camille, what advice would you give to directors who want to make their first music video?

Have fun, take the time to experiment.  Music videos really allow for a lot of experimentation. 

Also, STORYBOARD.  I cannot underline how important storyboarding is, especially in short format story-telling.  I’m grateful to my first AD, John Claflin, for forcing me to storyboard the entire video, phrase by phrase, and really thinking through the musical changes, rather than just the broad strokes.  This was so helpful when I was editing, so I wouldn’t end up stuck because I was missing one tiny shot.  The moments where IVA is spinning for example are four different shots for each turn and she had to start and land those movements very precisely while singing the song and looking natural.  And the layers where multiple versions of her are floating or flying by her all had to be shot on exact moments of her singing and timed with the music and lyrics, every single one of those is a different shot with multiple takes, it you look closely at her lips, you’ll see none of them is a repeat shot.  All of this had to be precisely calibrated and storyboarded in advance, otherwise it would never have worked.  I also had to make the decision on set to cut several shots from our shoot day as we ran out of time and the precise storyboarding allowed me to make the decision of what cut very quickly in the moment, without compromising the editing. 

The other piece of advice I would give is make sure you have people on your team who really understand music, because you're cutting a film to support the music, to enhance the audience’s experience of a song, so it’s very helpful to have people in your crew who understand what’s going on musically.  RUN is a complex piece of music.  IVA makes it look easy, but there aren’t many pop artists who have the chops to do what she is doing musically in this song.  She’s a full on opera singer by training, so her voice and the musical choices are complex and mature.  So it was important to me to surround myself with a team who could really appreciate the complexities and challenges of the music.

7. Camille, what three things, places, events and/or people stood out for you on your trip to Kenya?

I was very young, I visited Kenya as a toddler.  I know my parents hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro and I am fond of this picture of me with one of my uncles, clearly excited to be coming along for the ride.  I have memories of the rain and dancing, and eating ugali and irio — which is dream food for a toddler as you eat it with your hands ;).  I hope to visit Kenya again soon, maybe I’ll be flooded with early childhood memories.

Watch 'The Making of "RUN"':

International Women’s Day, “Run” (Directed by Camille Natta) and “Earn the Day” (Written and Directed by Jane Shepard)

Happy International Women’s Day! 

According to UN Women, the 2023 theme is: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” It is aligned with the main theme for the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”

I subscribe to the e-newsletter of filmmaker Ela Thier and she recently recommended a short film titled “Earn the Day”. I watched it then I understood why she mentioned in her short commentary that she was halfway through the film and she was both laughing and crying. After watching the film, I wrote in the comment section: “Funny, fun and so inspiring!”

The music video for IVA’s beautiful song “Run” was directed by Camille Natta and is her directorial debut as a solo director. “This is an experimental music video about a woman finding her inner strength to run in the cold in the dead of winter in Northern Sweden.”

I would say that the essence of “Earn the Day” is about the protagonist finding her inner strength to run away from the cold, harsh criticisms of her inner voices. Two powerful images appear both in “Run” and “Earn the Day”: a carefree little girl running freely, joyfully, unencumbered, unashamedly. In “Earn the Day”, the little girl appears when the protagonist is in the flow, when she is being her authentic self, when she has silenced those inner critics, when she has given herself permission to rest. In “Run”, the little girl appears during the chorus of the song, a simple chorus, reminiscent of the chorus in that Sheryl Crow song (“Run, baby, run, baby, run, baby, run, baby, run”) but in IVA’s song, the chorus is made up of one repeated word: “Run, run, run, run, run, run…”

When we women can reconnect with that little girl, or at least, that little girl’s energy, optimism and hope, then we can be transformed and run further than we ever imagined.

At the end of both “Earn the Day” and “Run”, the protagonists are transformed into more powerful versions of themselves.

Interview: Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett - directors of "Time is Eternal"

ROFFEKE: “Time is eternal” is a visually stunning work of art. The story behind the glory is usually inspiring so please share some of the challenges you faced as you were bringing this powerful film to life and also some lessons you learned?  

Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett

DANIEL AND BAYOU: The performance genius of the film, actually, is that Berite Labelle plays five unique characters in "Time is Eternal". 

This challenge put our filmmaking to the highest test to show dialogue scenes where Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt seamlessly talks to women's rights activist and educator, Mary Wollstonecraft as well as elaborate dance scenes with Berite playing all roles. Bayou studied movies like Flashdance to see how to expertly work with body doubles and we perfected it in the film.  It took a great amount of technical skill, knowledge of lighting and correct composition and previsualization to make this flow together perfectly.   This taught us that exceptional filmmaking is about study, study, study, testing and an A list team

The second big challenge was in finding a location so stunning as to represent the world of the film.  It had to embody the worlds of both of these deep and fascinating historical characters.  The universe of the production really came together when we found the location of the Paramour which is a work of art. The owner traveled all over Europe and the world collecting high art paintings, furniture, design and art objects- it was naturally the perfect location for the home of the writer's character and the world of the film.  It was shocking for us as creators that some of the props that were in the script were naturally existing  at the Paramour-it was pure magic. 

For Daniel Lir having worked with fashion icons, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Bella Hadid, Patricia Field who does the clothing for the Netflix hit series, "Emily in Paris", it was a huge challenge to interpret Cleopatra in a novel way.  The film "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor was such a work of art in the 1960's, how could we give her an imaginative modern twist and not be slaves to what came before?  It took the inspiration of Middle Eastern designer Zuhair Murad and a huge amount of visual research to re-imagine Cleopatra and interpret Mary in a highly memorable way.  With the genius of our stylist Wilford Lenov, we decided conceptually to represent both characters in gold. Cleopatra in a bold, shiny luxurious gold and Mary Wollstonecraft in a soft, delicate white gold with a custom gown co-created by designer Michelle Hébert.   We learned from all this again that study, study, study was key and working with the best and most talented artists allows you to reach the highest creative heights. 

Lastly, it was a big challenge as Directors to make every frame look like a painting which was our ultimate goal.  All with the purpose of alleviating the suffering of people from the pandemic through beauty. With the help of Michael Rizzi, our cinematographer, our art department team and the wardrobe styling of Wilford Lenov (Bebe Rexha, Saweetie), the visuals were awe-inspiring. 

 ROFFEKE:  “Text me” was your first film as a duo. If you had the experience and resources you had for “Time is eternal” what would you change about “Text me”? What would you not change?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: This is one of the very best questions we have ever been presented with.  Bayou feels she would have liked to film the characters in their own lives before they meet each other on their blind date so that we can better understand their journey and the pre-conceptions they had of each other before they met. 

We both would have liked to have a location that was a stable one for us to shoot in.  We loved the restaurant visually so much but there was something sketchy about the owner and we didn't really have money for a location fee along the lines of what is normally paid for location fees.  So during the production, the owner became really difficult to work with and put a lot of stress on the production which made creativity strained. The mafia theme of the film became real!!

"Text Me" is a film we still celebrate to this day and a film that has truly captured the texting and social media generation.  We are very grateful for having been the first ones to show texting on screen in a film and the minimalism of the film is perhaps what makes it so brilliant so in the final analysis, we love the film as-is. 

ROFFEKE: Bayou Bennett, in your Donut Princess interview “How to build your brand with your significant partner”, you said you were a teacher in Jordan, Amman. What did teaching teach you? What skills did teaching give you? What lessons did you learn?

BAYOU BENNETT: It taught me that all people have different needs, points of view and cultures and you have to really understand these aspects to do the best job as a teacher.  I arrived as a young WOMAN in a culture often dominated by men, there was inherent prejudice.  I learned to be the best I could be despite obstacles and deliver the best and most caring education I could and viewpoints shifted and changed.  I was accepted and loved and seen for who I am.  That is the magic of education in that you break down barriers and open minds to new ways, new methods of living and a bright new future. 

ROFFEKE: You are a couple, parents and co-workers. In the same Donut Princess interview, Bayou, you said that you navigate this situation by wearing different hats (mother, wife, co-worker) at different times. How else do both of you maintain your work-life balance? How do you take care of your mental health?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: Yes, this is so very important.  We do many things to achieve sanity and balance in this wild, rushing and demanding world.  We eat very healthy, nutritious food, we surround ourselves with a very inspiring, able and positive team and don't associate with negative "it can't be done people", we exercise frequently with Daniel doing martial arts and also follow the wonderful Way to Happiness which helps us to make the right choices in all areas of life. 

https://www.thewaytohappiness. org

ROFFEKE: Your thoughts on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse and the future of filmmaking?

DANIEL AND BAYOU: This is an area we are just entering and are fascinated by it. William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer" changed Daniel's life and he also worked for legendary director Ridley Scott who directed "Alien" and "Blade Runner" after graduating from NYU Film School.  Ridley has been a giant influence on Daniel as a Director and successful business person.  I think in the next couple of years you will see a science fiction project from us but as with every project by the Dream Team Directors it will be thought-provoking, inspiring and open your eyes in new directions.  Thank you so very much for this interview and for featuring our film "Time is Eternal" in your amazing film festival. 

Interview: Jeff Gross - Writer, Director, Producer of "Return to Eden"

Like in the case of Jonathan La Poma (who at that time - 2015 - had won 67 awards and honors for his projects), I felt that, though I could not select "Return to Eden" - a feature film by Jeff Gross, I still wanted to interview him. He was gracious enough to agree to the interview and I am thankful for the insight and words of wisdom he shared.

ROFFEKE: You are the writer, director and producer of "Return to Eden". In your filmfestivals.com interview, you say: "In retrospect, I wouldn't say that wearing that many hats is good for your health." How do you take care of your mental health? 

JEFF GROSS: Not that well, it would seem. The making of a film, as I see it, demands a constant state of pushing the limits, of plunging into the abyss and coming up again, time after time. In my estimation, this process is unavoidable, the commitment that is the difference between something that touches people and something that is mediocre, but it is certainly not a recipe for health. To a certain extent, as an artist, the quantity of self-doubt, and the depth of questioning is what pushes you to come up with something more powerful, more pure, more electric. This is a state of severe imbalance and energy depletion which one must be very vigilant about. I have studied Oriental Medicine, which is one of the themes in "Return to Eden" so I have some understanding of how to regain that balance, but have also been fortunate enough to have very talented acupuncturists to help me when I can't help myself. 

ROFFEKE: In the same filmfestivals.com interview, you say: "I am completely uninterested in film as a product. I am of the school that artists must be the conscience of a society, the prophets with transformation and evolution of consciousness the goal." A ROFFEKE interviewee recently expressed similar sentiments, about the importance of art (and the artist) but he also pointed out the huge cost that goes with that, usually at the expense of the well-being of artists. How can we artists reconcile these two realities, especially in a world that is increasingly becoming fractured and thus (not surprisingly) is increasingly downplaying and even deriding the value of art and artists? 

JEFF GROSS: It's an interesting question. I'm not entirely sure it's possible to reconcile the two. The cost to the artist is unavoidable, being an artist is only rarely, or belatedly, a harmonious existence.  And yes, the artist and art have lost status, have been cheapened. A lowest common denominator culture spreading mediocrity as fast as it can, the cynicism of a Warhol, the stultifying narcissistic mediocrity of a Spielberg, etc... But for consciousness to change we don't need to touch everyone at once. We need to put our visions out there, and hope that we have done our jobs well enough so that we touch what people know deep-down but have never managed to bring to the surface. Clearly we are in a an era of darkness, of madness, but if "Return to Eden" is about anything, it is this is the darkness before the light, the return to a more Edenic consciousness, as prophesied. Does this mean that the status of the artist will be more highly-valued? Not likely. The role of artist and prophet is pretty much thankless, in that sense. Which is why I recommend that you not embark on this path unless you really have to. Unless you absolutely have the calling, the sense of mission. If you're looking at the role of artist as a good lifestyle choice, a path to riches, fame and glee, good luck...

ROFFEKE: You also say in the interview: "…many filmmakers have been neutered by public money, and the mafia that distributes this money, with frequently, terrible taste. It turns artists into high class beggars, waiting for a handout. A lack of dignity, a lack of pride, and a level of indolence and aversion to risk, which makes for unfortunate, predictable results." In your opinion, would technology - such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse etc - make filmmaking more democratic or would it reinforce the already existing faulty systems? What are your general views regarding the above-mentioned technology and the future of filmmaking? 

JEFF GROSS: My words about film making and public money refer to the situation in many countries in Europe. And yet there are people in Europe who pop up from time to time with vision, philosophy and talent. The bureaucratic spirit is the enemy of inspiration, read Nietzsche, read Max Weber, so the further film gets from the charismatic spark, the worse will be the films. As I watched the US fall into chaos during the Trump years, I wondered how it was possible that nobody was making films about that. That no artist was there to stick his neck out and denounce the status quo. And not just the political figurehead, but the entirety of the madness. Which is how I decided I had to make "Return to Eden." As for your question about AI, virtual reality and metaverses, I find the whole thing quite sterile and uninspiring. A cultural direction designed to keep distracted people titillated. Trickery and novelty, instantly forgettable, as opposed to a psychological voyage, an emotional journey deep inside. I have witnessed the impact of film, have seen minds opened, lives transformed, people transported to ecstasy. That's the cinema I'm interested in, unabashedly. I'm not saying it's impossible to have that with AI and the gang, but I've never actually seen it myself.

ROFFEKE: You are a novelist (World of Midgets and The Book of the Earth) and a screenwriter (writing collaborations with Roman Polanski, including "Frantic" and "Bitter Moon"). There are differences between writing novels and writing screenplays but what would you say are the similarities between the two? 

JEFF GROSS: There are indeed differences. A screenplay is 20,000 words, a novel is 50K or 150K words. A screenplay is shorthand, a novel fills in all the colors. A screenplay is two months, three months. A novel is a journey you embark on with not knowledge of how or if you will ever arrive, a mountain so high that you think it is impossible to ever climb. And then, one day, you arrive at the top, and you don't know how. As for the similarities, as far as I'm concerned, the most profound thing we can achieve in art, is rekindling a state of ecstasy in the reader/viewer. This is a matter of rhythm, of pace, a constant awareness of how an avalanche of words or images will transport the heart, reach the deepest part of the soul, elevate the miracle of existence, the astonishing magnificence of human beings, despite darkness, despite madness.

ROFFEKE: Please share some words of advice to up and coming filmmakers, and to creatives in general, especially regarding our role in shining a light - no matter how small - during these dark, turbulent and fractured times? 

JEFF GROSS: When Moses went to Egypt to free the Hebrews, he brought plagues upon the Egyptian to prove that Jehovah was a more powerful god than Pharoah's gods. To prove to Pharaoh as well as the Hebrews. When they were freed, he parted the Red Sea, so that Pharaoh's army was drowned. And then he wandered for 40 years in the desert. The most advanced man of his era unable to find which way was north? Forty years, two generations, time enough for a generation to be born from the loins of slaves, and then create a second generation who had never known slavery. A generation ready for the mission of imposing a new civilization. This is where we are now, ready to exit the desert, ready to create the next civilization. The return to Eden, the opening of the heart, call it what you will. For this, we need wisdom, deep insight, artists and revolutionaries, missionaries and prophets, catalysts. "Return to Eden," is pretty much all about this question, among other things, about how consciousness works, and the vital importance of shining that light "No matter how small" as you say, Mildred. You will face endless resistance and opposition, you will have to pick yourself off the ground any number of times, you will want to give up, try something else. My advice to artists? You will need relentless optimism, perfectionism without concession, energy, endurance, pride, humility and heart. Or at least, that is my method. Up to you to find your own.

Interview: Jesse Dorian - Screenwriter of "Sven"

ROFFEKE: In your writer statement, you say: “If the first two acts of this story feel tedious at times, and make the reader/audience deeply uncomfortable during others – Good.” Yes, there are definitely some cringe moments in the screenplay, which make the ending like a breath of fresh air after the harrowing claustrophobic atmosphere. Did you set out to make the reader uncomfortable or did that aspect just naturally appear as you were writing? Did the darker elements appear during the manic episode you mentioned or did you add them in later?

JESSE DORIAN: Okay, this is a great question. I’m pretty sure that that part of my writer statement is just my way of irritably responding to some of the negative feedback I had received from a few festivals for “SVEN,” regarding its first two acts. And as far as setting out to make the reader uncomfortable — no, actually. I don’t set out to make the reader uncomfortable, intentionally. All I’m setting out to do really, is tell a story, regardless of if the reader/audience becomes uncomfortable or not. 

I find that both readers and viewers will be able to sense if a writer has that sort of an agenda. I find that what makes a lot of “cringe” moments or elements in a story, is when those particular moments are either noticeably disingenuous… or, those particular moments are noticeably relatable to the audience. 

The other part of this question that I find great — also because you’re the first to ever ask it — “Did the darker elements appear during the manic episode… or did you add them in later?” And I think you sorta hit the nail on the head with what that question is suggesting, and the answer is — Yes. 100%. Because I wasn’t necessarily on the right path toward recovery from the manic state I was in at the time, when I started the very first draft of “SVEN” back in 2012. And I believe that — for me, being in that state of mind, is absolutely what pressed this story forward into the uncomfortably dark places that the central character must persevere through.

Being in a manic state at the time, made me draw the conclusion that maybe — it’s okay to take the audience, psychologically, to some new places that no other story or film prior has ever taken them… it’s okay to trigger the audience; challenge them. As long as I’m not disrespecting the intelligence of the audience, or underestimating their intellect, then it’s okay to inadvertently toy with them. 

For quite a while now, my philosophy as a screenwriter is: no matter how smart I may think I am, the audience is always smarter.

ROFFEKE: In your bio, you mention a gothpop music project. Share a little more about that?

JESSE DORIAN: That would be my solo music project Imitate Invertebrate. It’s been a work-in-progress for about 6 years now. What’s thoroughly frustrating, is that I’ve done so much — and worked so hard — on this music project but have publicly released so little. 

Hopefully, that’ll change soon because I plan to return to Imitate Invertebrate in early 2023, to begin completion on all, if not most of the 22+ songs that I’ve started writing and recording over the past several years. Fans of the genre will notice within no time that I’m a huge fan of industrial metal and industrial rock/pop from the 1980s and 1990s. 

Imitate Invertebrate is inspired; its a contemporary throwback project but it’s definitely its own thing. Probably because working on music is therapeutic for me in a way that film is not, Imitate Invertebrate is the only project I have that really makes any sense to me.

ROFFEKE: The “locked in a room” trope is common in thrillers and horrors but you give it a new spin, largely due to the unique characters. What inspired you to come up with these two main characters? How much time did you spend on character development or did the characters appear “fully formed”?

JESSE DORIAN: The “locked in a room” trope is a concept mostly reserved for filmmakers with no money, and few resources. It’s a great trope though, that can really test the strengths and range of a writer/filmmaker’s creativity, without necessarily exposing their limitations. 

I recently did an extensive in-depth interview with Festigious Los Angeles about the origins of “SVEN” as an original concept. The two main characters originated from a no-budget unscripted internet series that I had created back in 2008 (which was also the very first time I applied the “locked in a room” setting).

ROFFEKE: A ROFFEKE interviewee said: “I think it’s important to address the fact that a lot of artists, struggling or not, are not mentally healthy and have problems that they are actively dealing with though their chosen medium…what happens when you sacrifice yourself for something and it works? What about the moment after? What about when it doesn’t work? What are we really doing to ourselves? Why are we doing this to ourselves?” Please comment on part or all of this, answer one or all the questions asked, give your take on the views expressed, etc. 

JESSE DORIAN: Well, I see exactly what they’re tapping into with those questions, and they’re certainly not wrong. So, okay. I’m probably going to go on a rant — and hopefully, somewhere along the tirade, at least several of these questions are reasonably answered. 

As everyone already knows, a lot of artists are not mentally healthy. The outright neglect of my mental health has cost me a lot of my friendships throughout the years, while I was doing my best to remain hyper-focused on the completion of certain projects. 

When I first started writing the first draft of the feature script for “SVEN” in December 2012, I was a huge substance abuser at that time; arguably, at my absolute worst. I don’t think I had ever openly admitted that I sorta believed that I needed to be intoxicated to write, but also — I hadn’t yet been diagnosed ADD/ADHD. 

It wasn’t until around the time I turned 30 and I was finally diagnosed, that I realized that the number one cause of my depression during adulthood was due to my inability to focus; my inability to complete the same ambitious projects that I could so easily begin. 

Focus wasn’t necessarily always a problem for me when I was a teenager but as I became an adult, my attention span began to work against me, and before I knew it — even the things that I loved to do such as write, and work on music — I no longer had the attention span to really carry those projects out to completion. It was really hard for me to get anything done. And since I had always used alcohol as a way to coexist socially, that was really all I felt that I had at the time to give me enough drive to express myself creatively. 

For some reason, I had become convinced that achieving something that mattered, was simply grounded in how motivated someone either was, or was not. It had never occurred to me back then, why I was really purchasing prescription stimulants from acquaintances of mine who had prescriptions, throughout my early twenties. And not until many years after my manic episode, would I come to discover that I, in fact, DID need to be on prescription stimulants — daily; in order to be a fully-functioning part of society.

Once I was prescribed, all urges to abuse alcohol and other habit-forming drugs went away entirely. That was over 6 years ago.

However, I’ve also come to learn that artists or writers or whatever — let’s just say "creative people,” do not necessarily have to sacrifice their mental health, or even their sobriety to be just as good creatively as if they were using substance as a creative force, by abusing it — maybe those creative people who believe they need to be in a place of poor mental wellness just haven’t quite hit rock bottom yet… 

But I’m not going to lie — having the prior life experience that a substance abuser has had, or having the life experience of a person that is not quite “mentally healthy,” is in and of itself, life experience — that surely doesn’t hurt to already have. It certainly helps to have it. Especially, if they are in fact, a creative force. And yeah, in the end… sometimes, it’s perfectly okay to just feel something organically. 

And sorta touching back onto your earlier questions, regarding dark themes and the influence that a manic episode could have on the tone or atmosphere of a finished project… the most recent completed screenplay of mine, is called “Morituriosis.” 

I completed the first draft of “Morituriosis” in 2016 but it was the first screenplay that I had ever written entirely while sober. Personally, I think it’s the darkest thing I’ve ever written. “Morituriosis” takes you straight to Hell; it’s my most genuine attempt at assaulting the senses of the entire audience, inspired by a real life experience I had, while I was at my most vulnerable. With “Morituriosis,” I’m making the audience go somewhere that they really don’t want to go, for nearly the film’s entire runtime. I see “Morituriosis” as my nihilistic show stopper. And it should come as no surprise that — mentally, I was in a reasonably good place when I wrote it. I wrote it at a time right after a pivotal moment in my life; a moment when I made a personal breakthrough. It was at a time when I was finally able to make some kind of peace with myself as a person. 

The reason I bring up my screenplay “Morituriosis,” is because I was able to use the memories of all of my horrible life experiences with substance abuse, all leading up to one major horrible life experience I had, that would become the sole inspiration for the main theme in “Morituriosis” — without actually having to neglect my mental health. And it’s because my mental health was finally in a good place, and I was properly medicated for ADD — I was focused, and therefore able to coherently tell the dark story I was wanting to tell. But I wasn’t intoxicated when I wrote it. Because I didn’t need to be.

ROFFEKE: Screenwriting: What has your screenwriting journey been like? What came first: the screenwriting or the acting/editing/directing? How do your skills as an actor, editor and director influence and enrich your screenwriting? 

JESSE DORIAN: The screenwriting came first. I completed my first screenplay over 20 years ago. I was 15  years-old. Because screenwriting was what I had consistently worked at, even though it wasn’t what I was most passionate about — that has always been acting — screenwriting is gradually what I became the most skilled at. 

Unfortunately, I went most of my life being too afraid to take acting as seriously as I had always wanted to. Plus, I’ve also always been aware of how easy it is to fail as an actor who can’t write. It’s sorta like failing as a singer that can’t write — it’s too easy. 

I actually starred-in a feature film that I also wrote and directed back in 2011 that was never technically released. Currently, there is a two-hour rough cut of the film though. Long story short, that’s when I realized exactly how much I truly loved acting, and much preferred it to screenwriting and directing. Sadly though, I haven’t attempted to professionally act in anything else since.  But that’s all about to change. 

The return to acting is going to become my top priority within 2023-2024.

Synopsis of "Sven"

"A 6-foot tall humanoid-primate from the Amazon rainforest, called a "chilamasman," the last of its species - an an intense, deeply troubled, mentally unstable American adult male are both held captive by a U.S. government-funded program performing a psychological experiment, forcing the two of them to live together inside a single, maximum security containment habitat - and replica - of a modern day condominium apartment."

Check out Jesse Dorian's Linktree HERE

Interview: Joey Kent - Screenwriter of "Simon Says"

ROFFEKE: You are the vice-president/curator of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame Museum and the owner of the Louisiana Hayride Archives. Your screenplay "Simon Says" features lyrics from 25 Paul Simon songs. Why Paul Simon's lyrics and not, say, Elvis' lyrics?

JOEY KENT: My father was the producer of the Louisiana Hayride for many years, the place where Elvis and others got their start, and I chronicled that rich history in a book called “Cradle of the Stars: KWKH & the Louisiana Hayride” just a few years ago, so this script was a welcome departure from all things of that world.  The idea came to me while listening to “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” one day as my mind began to wonder what exactly had been witnessed that day.  Similarly, I started my first novel of historical fiction not long ago entitled “Last Train To Clarkesville” after hearing the Monkees song of the same name and wondering what the “one more night together” Mickey sings about might be like.

ROFFEKE: Paul Simon has written many songs. How did you narrow it down to 25? What was your criteria for picking the songs? 

JOEY KENT: Once I committed to the idea of exploring what “me and Julio” were doing down by the schoolyard, I began to hear other Paul Simon lyrics in my head and started weaving together the story of retired boxer Al Simon.  I then read over many of Paul’s lyrics and sourced the parts I needed to tell the tale.

ROFFEKE: I am no lawyer but one of the common things screenwriters are advised to do is to avoid writing brand names and songs/song lyrics in their screenplays. How does your screenplay avoid any potential legal/production nightmares regarding the song lyrics?

JOEY KENT: I am a writer, so I write first and ask questions later!

ROFFEKE: *laughs*

JOEY KENT: Well, my complete answer is that I write what's in my heart and then work out the details if and when we get to production (or let the lawyers do it!).  I actually reached out to Paul Simon's camp but didn't get through the gauntlet.  Did, however, shoot the film several years ago, at least the interview part, but felt I needed to do B-roll inserts of Rosie, the school, and other elements, and missed the deadline for the Film Prize contest I had my eye on, so I shelved it.  Al Simon was played by the brilliant Shreveport actor Richard Folmer, and my wife (now ex) played Betty Robinson.  Maybe in a few months I'll shoot the B-roll and edit it and release it.  Richard died a few months back, and this would be a fitting tribute.

ROFFEKE: You've been active in the film and TV industry since 1992 but it was in 2010 that you began writing movie scripts. What would you say were your early mistakes and what screenwriting lessons have you learned since then?

JOEY KENT: My earliest mistakes revolved around thinking I understood the format of screenwriting.  I remember realizing on page 130 of my first script effort that I was only about a third of the way through the story and, in those days before short series on streaming networks, I was mortified that I was writing an epic and that forced me to study the genre.  A friend pointed out that my script contained a lot of description and a fair amount of camera directions and he gently explained that a screenplay didn’t have a lot of either.  As an example, he pointed out the infamous scene in “Gone With The Wind” in which Rhett and Scarlet are fleeing Atlanta as the Union Army is burning it to the ground.  This action amounts to more than eight minutes on screen but in the script, it simply says “Atlanta burns.”  That simple two word sentence became the cornerstone for my understanding of the art of screenwriting.  I realized in that moment that screenplays had to be part story and part owner’s manual, with just enough description to engage the reader but not so much that it might step on the toes of potential directors or other production professionals trying to envision their own work in the project.  Where I might be tempted to take a paragraph to describe an ancient couch for a book reader, in the script it became simply “a well-worn couch that has seen better days”.  Gone, too, were words like “we pan up and see the horror in his eyes”.  That is the job of the director and cinematographer.  Replaced instead with “his eyes darted around in terror”.  To that end, I endorse a short book written by a protegé of mine entitled "Atlanta Burns" by Ima Judge.  He took the title from my talk on the subject and offers up many great tips for screenwriting.  It is available from Amazon by searching the title, and I can't recommend it enough.

ROFFEKE: You have been awarded 45 "Best Screenplay" awards. What is your secret???!!!

JOEY KENT: Once I began to master the art of brevity, the main thing I focused on was achieving the best possible start to the screenplay.  They say you have about ten minutes on screen or about ten pages of a feature script (less for a short) to engage the audience’s interest, so I start there.  I focus on hooking the reader in the first 10-15 pages and I don’t proceed from that point until I am completely satisfied.  If you hook the reader, then you will hook the viewing audience, and they will stick around to see how it ends as long as you tell a good story and don’t go on for some ridiculous page count (or unless you are writing with an installment series in mind).  I take my time but if I get in the zone, I have been known to write a feature screenplay in as little as 9 days, but I seem to comfortably average around 3 weeks for the process.  Part of winning so many awards is knowing where to place your project on the festival circuit.  For instance, a faith-based festival isn’t likely to award your bloody horror script, so do your homework.  I began entering scripts into festivals with only one goal in mind:  to show my ideas have merit beyond my own say so.  It is one thing to try and convince potential investors or producers or actors or directors that your work has merit.  It is quite another to offer that many people with no vested interest in my financial future share my opinion.  So, make sure you get your project off to a good start with an opening that hooks your reader.  Most of the time, any professional that agrees to read your script is not going to continue past page 10 without being captivated, and the same is true of your friends and colleagues.  Most will indulge you for ten pages, at least the first time or two!  Hook them, then tell your story without wasting precious words on description and camera moves, and keep your desired page count in mind.  Finally, I like brief titles, if at all possible – again, trying to capture the attention of someone seeing only the poster and trying to decide if they want to see the movie.  I research titles on IMDb to see if one I like has been used before and, if so, then I try to think of one that hasn’t.  If you can avoid confusion from the start and set your script apart with a unique title, all the better.

ROFFEKE: In 2012, you produced a civil rights documentary called "Beyond Galilee". You say in a 2012 KSLA 12 News interview: "We were afraid that this might ignite old feelings and create problems rather than solve problems." Ten years later, what reason would you give people to watch Beyond Galilee?

JOEY KENT: “Beyond Galilee” tells the story of the civil rights struggle in the city of Shreveport, Louisiana.  I was born in that city and recognized there were many rumors and stories about Martin Luther King Jr.’s visits to the city and the resulting empowerment it gave people who heard him speak.  I am an historian of the city and in the late 1990s was brought a tape of King speaking at the Galilee Baptist Church in 1958.  I owned a recording studio at the time and was charged with transferring this historic tape to digital format.  It turned out to be King’s earliest full length recorded speech.  It predates his famous “I Have A Dream” speech by five years, and you can hear the elements of that speech in his Galilee address.  We took that recording and made it the bed for the documentary, listening to King call the congregation to arms, then cutting away to interviews of some of those participants as they recalled how history unfolded, point by point.  Unlike his more famous speech, in the Galilee speech you can hear the audience getting excited, exclaiming “Watch him now!” as King gets fired up.  Being able to share not only that inspiring speech but watch and hear the results is truly inspiring.  Anyone facing prejudice of any kind, especially racial prejudice, will find solace in the struggle portrayed in “Beyond Galilee”.  At the 2012 premier in Shreveport, we instantly saw the beginning of the healing process as people were finally able to separate fact from legend and realize the implications of what the local heroes had gone on to accomplish.  On the festival circuit, “Beyond Galilee” has won 36 awards from 18 countries including 12 Best Documentary awards.  Unlikely wins from places like Russia perhaps offer the best testament to the universality of the subject matter, its relevance, and a clear cut reason why it should be viewed ten years after its creation.  Director T.D. Antoine grew up in Shreveport not far from Galilee during those trying times, and he did a masterful job of putting together the documentary in linear fashion (cutting from interview to interview without benefit of a narrator) which is no easy task.  T.D. and I look forward to sharing other content with the world as 2023 unfolds.

ROFFEKE: You are an archivist and a historian. What are your thoughts on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse and the future of filmmaking?

JOEY KENT: I have embraced areas of technology to help tell documentary stories by using Photoshop tools to bring life to static images.  In that way, they help illustrate the story when supplemental images are few and far between.  I am concerned about advancing technology being used to create “new” roles for deceased stars like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe.  This may be viewed the same way people look at colorizing old black and white photos.  When used as a spice, sprinkled here and there, these tricks can help enhance a project, but if you are casting an artificial image of Marilyn Monroe in a feature, then you are once more overlooking the thousands and thousands of great actors out there looking for work.  As an independent filmmaker, I recognize the value a quality actor can bring to a project, and also the Hollywood tendency to group and label stars, casting them again and again in similar roles rather than take a chance on a former great or a newcomer.  The only rule I have in casting independent films is don’t pair an “A or B list” actor with some “F list” guy who does local theater on the side because people will end up focusing on the vast differences in their acting styles and your movie will have that “cheap” look about it.  Cast people with similar levels of acting abilities, light your sets competently and capture good sound.  Nail those things down and the hard part will be over, at least until you get to editing!  I may very well end up doing some sort of hologram show of Elvis or Johnny Cash at our forthcoming Rockabilly Hall of Fame Museum, taking advantage of those emerging technologies to supplement the original recordings that I own, similar to the way the King speech was supplemented by the stories of his congregation.  In that way, I appreciate the future contributions of technology but, as someone born in the era of celluloid and raised with Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, and a host of other variety shows, I am a purist for film movies shown in a big theater every time.  Thank you so much for the great questions and for making “Simon Says” a selection for competition at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Film Festival Kenya.

"Simon Says" Synopsis: "Lyrics from twenty-five Paul Simon songs are carefully crafted to give life to a former junior Middleweight as he recalls his short lived boxing career in a candid interview with a columnist."

Interview: Riker Lynch - writer, director, actor, producer of "Aliens on Halloween"

ROFFEKE: I really enjoyed watching your interview on Hollywood Approved (Episode 7). You said: “I do a lot of improvisation with my actors and I let people take the words and throw them out and put their own little vibes on it.” One of my favourite fun scenes (and “Aliens on Halloween” is full of fun scenes!) is the one where Titus Makin Jr.’s character meets the aliens. How much of that fun dialogue was from your script and how much was Titus just putting his unique spin on it?

RIKER: This is one of my favorite scenes too. Just trying not to laugh while we were filming made it even funnier. Titus is an incredible actor and he’s always working on something whether it be film, TV, or music. We were lucky enough to have him for a few hours in his busy schedule so I basically told him the lines do not matter. I really only needed him to mention “Halloween" and establish that he’s the owner of the house. I had written the character to be one of those people that just talk a lot and fast and don’t really listen and Titus was absolutely hilarious. I would say 90% was total improv. We did 2 takes and cut together the best of the best. It was all so good Gordy and I had a ton of fun working on that scene in the editing room.

ROFFEKE: You also said: “I put my friends’ music in it…I sent them texts, ‘Hey I’m doing this movie. Can I use your music?” What criteria did you use to pick the songs? Was it the lyrics? The vibe? The genre?

RIKER: I pretty much just went with the friends of mine that had songs that fit the vibe that I was going for. I’m great friends with the band New Beat Fund and their song Halloween Birthdaze was obviously a perfect fit. On a small-budget short film like this, you’re kind of looking for anyone who will give you permission to use their work as a favor so I knew all my friends would help me out in that regard. I’m very fortunate to have very talented friends in the music industry. 

ROFFEKE: You said about Ted Lasso: “…I think is the greatest show to ever touch television because we all need this in our lives, we all need this energy and this positivity…I want to spread as much optimism and positive energy as possible…” Apart from “Aliens on Halloween” - which I think definitely does spread optimism and positive energy -  and your various creative and artistic ventures, how else do you spread optimism and positive energy?”

RIKER: I do my best to just be an uplifting spirit in whatever I’m doing. To radiate enthusiasm and positivity everywhere I go. My music is a big part of that because I believe music can change your mood almost quicker than anything. My latest song “Remedy" is all about being the remedy for someone who’s having a tough time. I hope my music can have a positive impact on people’s spirits. 

ROFFEKE: Your top three memories from your 2016 Safari in Kenya?

RIKER: Oh that’s tough to pick. The whole thing was truly amazing. I was there with my four brothers and my dad. The first game drive early in the morning was just so surreal because I really didn’t know what to expect and seeing all these amazing animals up close in person is so spectacular. We saw a ton of elephants on our first day. 

Another time we saw a momma lion playing with her cub. That was so cool. We were in a jeep-like truck with no doors and we kept getting closer and closer to watch them and at one point the cub kind of wanders closer to us and gave us a little baby roar. He walks on and then the mom gets very close to us and I remember our safari guide says, “just stay calm and don’t look her in the eye.” I could’ve reached out and touched her, she was THAT close. Did I mention there were no doors in our truck? Such powerful animals.

We also got to play some music for these kids in one of the tribes there. I’m not sure if that’s correctly how I should describe them but they were such lovely humans. They were very interested in our guitars. This was back in 2016 so my band R5 was still going strong and we played “All Night” and “Dark Side” for them.

ROFFEKE: I interviewed Gordy De St. Jeor (director of The Thrill), who was also part of “Aliens on Halloween” and happens to be your cousin. He gave a thought-provoking answer to my question about whether the artist’s struggle is worth it. Please comment on, add to (or even dispute) his answer:

RIKER: Gordy is so talented. I’m so fortunate to be able to collaborate with him. He’s someone I deeply care about. Not only family but one of my greatest friends. 

I totally understand his view on the struggle. For me, the “why do I do this” well it’s because I believe it is my purpose on this planet and in this life to bring people joy through film, television, music, through stories. And on the "struggle for the art", I don’t really feel that I have a real “struggle” or sacrifice I guess. Sure I feel struggle if I’m stuck on a scene or a line or I’m not feeling inspired but that’s all part of the process. I love the quote, “Nature never hurries but everything is accomplished.” I really believe in that and I’ve also come to simply enjoy the journey that is life. There is no destination, it’s all about the journey, and part of the journey is going to be struggling. I know that. And it’s ok. Part of the journey is also going to be the most magical thing you’ve ever experienced. At the end of the day no matter how much struggle there is, I love what I do and I feel so grateful I get to do what I do. 

Hollywood Approved - Episode 7

Interview: Gordy De St. Jeor - Director of "The Thrill"

"My name is Gordy De St. Jeor. I'm 19 years old, but I've been working in the film industry since I was 13 as an actor. Eventually, I decided I wanted to create films for myself, and I've been DP'ing and directing films and music videos ever since. I have a strong background in music, having been on tour 5 times shooting video content for bands like "The Driver Era", "Iron Maiden/The Raven Age", and "Jesse McCartney", while also being a musician myself. I have also shot music videos for artists like "Wolfgang Van Halen" and "Kat Von D." I have DP'd a few short films over the years, and directed a few small ones, but this film was a passion project of mine, and I'd like to call it my directorial debut."

ROFFEKE: Your bio is so interesting! You say you have “a strong background in music, having been on tour 5 times shooting video content for bands…while also being a musician myself.” How did your being a musician help you in shooting video content for bands?

GORDY: I would say having a basic understanding and passion for music in general has helped me more than anything. Being able to anticipate when moments are going to happen is crucial to getting the shot sometimes. Also being a lover of music and being able to put that passion into your work is absolutely crucial in my opinion. 

ROFFEKE: What are some lessons you learned from creating this content for bands?

GORDY: I think above all I've learned that you need to not be afraid to get creative. Especially when you are on tour shooting the same show for an extended period of time, you need to be able to find ways to still make it interesting. This is different for every project, but you need to be willing to cross into the uncertain and take creative risks to keep the product interesting and exciting. You also want to always be prepared to capture the moment, even if you won't use most of the footage. 

ROFFEKE: What are some similarities and/or differences between shooting such content for bands versus filming narrative content, like your awesome short film “The Thrill”?

GORDY: The processes of shooting with bands and shooting narrative film couldn't be more different in my opinion. The approaches are almost completely opposite, in one you have no control over what the subject is going to do, therefore you are trying to predict and capture anything that does happen, and then make some sort of story out of it later. The other is meticulously planned, and you know exactly what you are shooting when you are shooting it. The goal is to try and insert the same spontaneous energy into the narrative work, and give the audience a sense of uncertainty throughout the film, which is a very tough task. I would say for this film, knowing what it is like to shoot bands on stage with thousands of fans helped a lot in trying to recreate that energy in a completely fabricated environment. 

ROFFEKE: For musicians wanting to get into filming or musicians wanting to collaborate with filmmakers, what advice would you give them?

GORDY: I think music and film are extremely compatible, and my advice would be to try to have fun and experiment with that compatibility. For me, it's really fun to try and see how different visuals react with different music. Music has the power to change the tone or message of a visual completely, and the same is true in the reverse. I would say trust your collaborators and don't be afraid to step out of the box and see how mixing these mediums can create new ways to express complex feelings and situations. Not to be unoriginal, but enjoy the process because for me, music and film are married and it's always extremely exciting to see what they can do together. 

ROFFEKE: In your director’s statement, you say “I made this film to explore the struggles we go through as artists, and to question, whether or not that struggle is worth it for the thrill.” As a creative, I know for sure that the struggle is worth it. In your view, WHY is the struggle worth it? What makes it worth it?

GORDY: To be completely honest, I'm still not sure if it is worth it. I know that if I'm not expressing myself in a creative way I might go crazy, but I'm not fully convinced that sacrificing yourself as it seems Daniel does in The Thrill is really worth the benefits that come with it. I think it's important to address the fact that a lot of artists, struggling or not, are not mentally healthy and have problems that they are actively dealing with through their chosen medium. And while that process can be and is often therapeutic, I'm not convinced that it can solve all of your problems when you dig yourself that deep. What happens when you sacrifice yourself for something and it works? What about the moment after? What about when it doesn't work? What are we really doing to ourselves? Why are we doing this to ourselves? I don't mean to be dark, I do really think art is one of the most important parts of us and we wouldn't be human without it. The act of expressing yourself is one the best gifts we can share with the world, and it has the power to bring people together and understand who we are on an indescribable level. But I think it's important to look deeper and ask ourselves WHY we do what we do and always question our values, especially when you are betting everything on them. 

WATCH "THE THRILL" TEASER