KUCI: Get the Funk Out!

Arlet Guallpa and Marcial Pilataxi talk about HBO’S COVID DIARIES NYC (DEBUTS MARCH 9), a Short Documentary Follows Five Young Filmmakers As They Navi...

COVID DIARIES NYC, debuting TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00-9:40 ET/PT),chronicles the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The deeply personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social upheaval.
The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max. The trailer is available now on YouTube.
With original animation by Rosemary Colón-Martinez, COVID DIARIES NYC is comprised of five brave and at times heart wrenching first-person profiles that provide profound insight into these young people’s experiences as they process the impacts and meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Author, screenwriter and feminist Jenny Lecoat shares her debut novel, THE GIRL FROM THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, based on her family’s experiences in German ...

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
The Occupation of the Channel Islands has been a backdrop to my life ever since I can remember. Born only fifteen years after Jersey’s liberation to parents whose childhoods were spent under Nazi rule, I was always aware that two of my relatives had been sent to concentration camps for sheltering an escaped Russian slave worker. As a result, my great uncle became the only British survivor of Bergen-Belsen, and my great aunt died in the gas chambers of Ravensbrüch.
As the only part of the British Isles to fall to the Nazis in WWII, the island’s Occupation is a dark and complex period that even now divulges new secrets. When Hedy’s story finally came to public attention after seventy years, I knew that it encapsulated the oppression, terror, and defiance that characterized those years, and had the potential to highlight the little-known aspects of a frequently misunderstood history. I hope this fictionalized account of Hedy’s experiences provides some insight into a world that few are left to provide first-hand and brings understanding and inspiration to future generations.

Janeane speaks with MEAGHAN B MURPHY Editor-in-Chief at Woman’s Day and Author of YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE: A Radically Simple Approach to Having Endle...

Ever wish you were one of those upbeat, positive people who embrace every day with a can-do mindset that motivates others and simply makes life more fun? Longtime magazine editor Meaghan B Murphy is one of those high-energy people--and she's here to share her secrets for finding more yay every day. Meaghan is the super successful supermom (recently promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Woman's Day) who does it all with a smile. And it’s not about doing the most or being the best – it’s about changing your perspective and making small changes that have big results.
Janeane speaks with
MEAGHAN B MURPHY
Editor-in-Chief at Woman’s Day and Author of
YOUR FULLY CHARGED LIFE:
A Radically Simple Approach to Having Endless Energy

Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, authors of ONE OF THE GOOD ONES

This winter, Inkyard Press is honored to be publishing Maika and Maritza Moulite’s second novel, ONE OF THE GOOD ONES (On-sale: January 5, 2021), which explores the raw and real terror of losing a sibling after a social justice rally, and what it means to be deemed “worthy” when you’re Black.
When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered. Perfect. Angelic. One of the good ones.
Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?—Happi and her sister Genny embark on a journey to honor Kezi in their own way, using an heirloom copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. But there’s a twist to Kezi’s story that no one could’ve ever expected—one that will change everything all over again.
In ONE OF THE GOOD ONES, Maika and Maritza Moulite have written a powerful story that transcends the pages and takes a hard look at what it means to be “one of the good ones,” when being human should be enough.

Writer/director Anna Kerrigan talks about COWBOYS

Writer/director Anna Kerrigan’s COWBOYS, a soulful connection of two misunderstood outsiders which blazed a trail through the festival circuit (Tribeca - Best Screenplay & Best Actor, Outfest, NewFest, etc), and will release in virtual cinemas and on VOD February 12th from Samuel Goldwyn.
The modern-day intimate western is a deeply touching family story - Steve Zahn stars as a troubled but well-intentioned father who has recently separated from his wife Sally, played by Jillian Bell. Aghast at Sally’s refusal to let their trans son, played by talented newcomer Sasha Knight, live as his authentic self, he runs off with their son into the Montana wilderness, with the local police force, led by Faith (Ann Dowd), in hot pursuit.
Releasing in Virtual Cinemas and on VOD February 12
WHO: Steve Zahn, Jillian Bell, Sasha Knight, and Filmmaker Anna Kerrigan

One of the most anticipated books of the year - MY YEAR ABROAD by Chang-Rae Lee

Chang-rae Lee is the author of Native Speaker, winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for first fiction, as well as On Such a Full Sea, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered, winner of the Dayton Peace Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He teaches writing at Stanford University.

Janeane speaks with producer/director Céline Cousteau (of Cousteau family legacy) about her documentary TRIBES ON THE EDGE

Building on a family legacy of exploration and environmental filmmaking, director Céline Cousteau journeys to the Brazilian Amazon at the request of tribal leaders in order to bear witness to the indigenous communities' fight for survival. Cousteau shares their rarely seen stories of cultural pride and traditional way of life set against the legacy of colonialism, and documents the ever-present threats to their land and health crises triggered by contact with outsiders. Tribes on the Edge follows these indigenous communities fighting to protect their home – a home that is critical to the ecological balance of our planet, and as a result...these communities protect us.

Artist Joanie Leeds joins Janeane to talk about her GRAMMY nominated album, ”ALL the Ladies”

NYC based singer-songwriter Joanie Leeds has won 1st place in the USA Songwriting Competition, an Independent Music Award, a Gold Parents’ Choice Award, NAPPA Gold Award, Family Choice Award and is a John Lennon Songwriting Award Finalist and an International Songwriting Competition Finalist. Joanie has played at Lollapalooza, Clearwater Festival, The Kennedy Center & Lincoln Center, Wolftrap and Levitt Pavilion.
Her music has been featured in The New York Times People Magazine, Parents Magazine, Billboard and The Washington Post. Joanie’s 9th Children’s album, All the Ladies is a female empowerment folk collection produced by Lucy Kalantari and just released in April 2020.

From Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader Malcolm Mitchell comes an exciting new story that shows even reluctant readers that there is a book out...

From Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader Malcolm Mitchell comes an exciting new story that shows even reluctant readers that there is a book out there for everyone!
Meet Henley, an all-around good kid, who hates to read. When he's supposed to be reading, he would rather do anything else. But one day, he gets the scariest homework assignment in the world: find your favorite book to share with the class tomorrow.
What's a kid to do? How can Henley find a story that speaks to everything inside of him?
Malcolm Mitchell, bestselling author of The Magician's Hat, pulls from his own literary triumph to deliver another hilarious and empowering picture book for readers of all abilities. Through his advocacy and his books, Malcolm imparts the important message that every story has the potential to become a favorite.

Janeane speaks with Nikki Duslak and Amber Karlins, Founders of CREATE Conservatory, STEM Education Through Arts Integration

CREATE Conservatory’s mission is to build strong educational foundations in STEM education through arts integration. Up-and-coming private elementary school.
createconservatory.com