KUCI: Get the Funk Out

DANCES WITH FILMS CELEBRATES 20 YEARS WITH A BOLD LINEUP OF TRULY INDEPENDENT FILMS -- The co-founders, Michael Trent & Leslee Scallon joined host Jan...

Dances with Films Festival 201 is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary. This "fiercely independent" film festival runs from June 1st-11th at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The co-founders, Michael Trent & Leslee Scallon are thrilled to still be supporting independent filmmakers, along with video directors and kid filmmakers. Michael and Leslee join host Janeane Bernstein at 9:45am pst June 5th!
The unstoppable festival, for two decades a champion of independent filmmakers, takes over the TCL Chinese Theaters June 1-11 with 74 world premieres, 36 west coast premieres, and opening and closing night films from DWF alumni. The event also includes a Dances with Kidz event, too!
Sat. (June 10) is Dances with Kidz, films for kids, by kids!
LOS ANGELES, CA (May 10, 2017) – The fiercely independent film festival Dances With Films (DWF) announced today its 2017 lineup of narrative and documentary features and short films for its 20th annual edition. Opening the festival on June 1 are two alumni projects: filmmaker David Heinz’s modern musical, AMERICAN FOLK in its Los Angeles debut and the world premiere of Tamar Halpern’s intellectual thriller, MISSING IN EUROPE. Another DWF alumni project, AUSTIN FOUND, by director Will Raée, closes the festival with its world premiere on June 11. Tickets and passes will be available for sale on Friday, May 12 at http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/ or thru the festival's own site: https://danceswithfilms.com.
The festival, proving itself to be unstoppable after 20 consecutive years, is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of innovative independent cinema in the U.S., presenting amazing, undiscovered talent to an industry audience in Hollywood. DWF will run June 1-11, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA at the TCL Chinese Theaters, located at: Hollywood & Highland, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028.
“We consider ourselves a true festival of discovery,” said festival co-founders Michael Trent and Leslee Scallon. “Our aim is to showcase films that have unique voices from the indie scene, stories that bring a touch of magic to the screen. We have discovered a great many of them over these last two decades, so we are excited to present this year's slate of knock-out talent.”
The final lineup features more than 160 titles, chosen from a record 2,100 submissions from all over the globe. The juried narrative competition section includes 16 features, 13 of which are world premieres, and nearly three-dozen shorts. DWF also has a category for groundbreaking short and feature documentaries, provocative genre fare in the Midnight section, and the most exciting music videos and dance-themed films from the indie scene in the Downbeats section. The Fusion section brings together a multitude of additional features and shorts.
Notable Dances With Films alumni who first gained notice at the festival include: Gina Rodriguez, Bryan Cranston, Will Scheffer, Mark V. Olsen, Jesse Eisenberg, Mike Flanagan, and John Hawkes, among others.
About Dances With Films
In 1998 DWF began as a film festival dedicated to finding tomorrow’s talent today and continues to carry on this mission today. With many World and West Coast Premieres, DWF provides a coveted first stop on the festival circuit. With a vast number of submissions, the selection process is based solely on merit and discoverability. DWF continues its dedication to and is a devoted champion of fresh and creative voices, mandating that all competitive films have no known actors, writers, directors, or producers. For the past 20 years, DWF has proudly provided access and opportunity to thousands of films and filmmakers from across the globe that diligently work year after year to see their dreams realized. With more than 12,000+ festival attendees and 2.5 million impressions per month on www.danceswithfilms.com, DWF is loyal and dedicated to the indie filmmaker and is considered their champion in Hollywood.
DWF’s Advisory Board includes: Steve Tisch, Cindy Cowan, Jonathan Dana, Steve Elzer, Kevin Kasha, Eriq La Salle, Michael Lehmann, Mike Macari, Valerie McCaffrey, Mark V. Olsen, Joel Ordesky, Mark Ordesky, Melissa Orlen, Will Scheffer, Hilton Smith, David Spiegelman, and Steve Wegner.

Vanderbilt professor and feminist philosopher Kelly Oliver joins host Janeane Bernstein at 9:45 am PST!

Vanderbilt professor and feminist philosopher Kelly Oliver is about to release the explosive series conclusion to her Jessica James mystery trilogy (which began with WOLF and COYOTE), in which our kickass heroine continues to tackle ripped-from-the-headlines issues like women's reproductive rights and autonomy: FOX (Kaos Press, May 1, 2017). In the series finale, Jessica and her friends are teaming up to combat the most insidious theft of all: the black market sales of Ivy League women's eggs.
Her nonfiction work includes over 100 articles and over twenty books, including: Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence from The Hunger Games to Campus Rape. and she has been interviewed widely on television and in print media as an authority on modern feminism. She considers her genre when writing in fiction "millennial feminist noir." http:// kellyoliverbooks.com/
In an interview, Kelly can talk about topics such as:
Artificial reproductive technology
Her use of fiction to write in another platform about the serious subjects she cares about (as opposed to just publishing all nonfiction)
Feminism in crime fiction
The allure of mystery novels
And so many pop culture subjects we can't even count them!
Killer Genes Are No Accident.
When Jessica James wakes up half naked behind a dumpster in downtown Chicago, she thinks the hot intern feeding her Fiery Mule Slammers slipped her a Mickey. But after a pattern of similar incidents around Northwestern Research Hospital, Jessica realizes she wasn't raped, she was robbed. Robbed of something as valuable as life itself. Hunting for the predator drugging and dumping Ivy League co-eds, Jessica discovers secrets about her own identity that force her to rethink her past. The solution to the mystery lies in the cowgirl philosopher's boot-cut genes.
The "dumpster girls" are all top of their class, attractive, college girls, who are drugged and dropped behind dumpsters, with tiny mysterious incisions on their bodies. The police are baffled. When a girl turns up dead, armed with her quick wit, cowgirl grit, and philosophy, it's up to Jessica to solve the mystery to save herself and her friends before they become the next victims.
"Stoner" Jack Grove, a third year medical student studying abnormal psychiatry at Northwestern University, and one of Jessica's bestfriends, secretly has a crush on her. While Jack is trying to understand the criminal mind, his classmate and rival, Max White, is trying to eliminate it through genetic engineering. Competing for Jessica's attention, Jack and Max become the primary suspects in the series of "dumpster girls."
Olga Davis, the trophy wife of business mogul and aspiring Senator Ronald Davies, is under pressure to get pregnant, she resorts to IVF ata fertility clinic run by Max White. When five embryos attach and are viable, Olga faces the toughest decision of her life. Trying to keep her "unnatural"pregnancy a secret, and obsessed with finding out the identity of the biological parents, Olga must steal from her husband, and pay off a blackmailer threatening to expose her.
In Kelly Oliver's stunning page-turner, Jessica, Jack, and Olga are fighting not just for their own lives, but also for the very future of human life.
Kelly Oliver is the author of THE JESSICA JAMES COWGIRL PHILOSOPHER MYSTERY novels, including WOLF, COYOTE, and the forthcoming FOX (2017). She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in philosophy. She has held teaching positions at various Universities, including George Washington University, University of Texas at Austin, and Stony Brook University. Currently, she is W. Alton Jones Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, various radio programs, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Her nonfiction work includes over 100 articles and over twenty books, including: Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence from The Hunger Games to Campus Rape.
Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who'd come from private schools and posh families "back East," Kelly's working class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent's surprise, she's managed to feed and cloth herself as a professional philosopher.
Kelly's Jessica James, Cowgirl Philosopher Mystery Series moves between the Chicago area and Western Montana. Check out the original holding page for this site!
When she’s not writing Jessica James mystery novels, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.
Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Hurricane, Yukiyu, and Mayhem.

Cindy and Beth Kolbe join host Janeane Bernstein Monday at 9:30am PST to talk about Cindy’s upcoming memoir, Struggling with Serendipity

Cindy Kolbe’s upcoming memoir, Struggling with Serendipity, shares a surprising story. When her daughter Beth was fourteen, Cindy fell asleep at the wheel on the way home from her son’s college concert. As the car flipped three times across an Ohio field, Beth’s spinal cord ripped along with Cindy’s identity as a mom. When told of her paralysis from the chest down, Beth paused only a moment before simply responding, “Let’s talk about what I can do.”
Cindy narrates their intertwined stories: a shy but determined teenager fighting the harsh physical challenges of quadriplegia and a heartsick mom battling guilt, pain, and depression. In the pool for physical therapy, Beth gradually learns how to float. Not a swimmer before the accident, she finds freedom in the water at a time when every movement on land is grueling. She decides to master the forward freestyle stroke with hands that don’t work, weak arms, and useless legs. She also sets her sights on independence, against all odds.
High school swim meets and Paralympic competitions across the country precede the invitation to join the varsity Harvard Women's Swimming and Diving team as the first with a visible disability. Her daughter’s freshman year of college, Cindy lives off campus near Harvard for transition support, far away from their small Ohio hometown.
Extraordinary events domino as Beth’s confidence blooms, from Ohio to Seattle, Harvard, Stanford Law, Capitol Hill, China, and around the world. A whirlwind narrative leads up to the end of an era that transforms them both in unexpected ways.
In the past twelve months, Cindy has published 38 articles in a variety of media (listed on her Press and News web page), gained 10K Twitter followers, and created a new website with a weekly blog. A lifelong disability advocate—even before Beth’s injury— Cindy ran a nonprofit, managed group homes, and taught literacy to adults with disabilities. Beth works long days as a health policy lawyer at her office in Washington, DC, on K Street. She lives independently with no assistant, a rare feat for those with quadriplegia. Beth and Cindy actively mentor and volunteer, grateful for opportunities to give back to the amazing disability community.

Katharine ”Kat” Kramer founder of ”Kat Kramer’s Films That Change The World” and daughter of the Legendary Producer/Director Stanley Kramer, joins hos...

Katharine “Kat” Kramer
Katharine "Kat" Kramer founded "Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World" to showcase motion pictures that raise awareness of important social issues. In doing so, she is following in the footsteps of her late father, the Legendary producer/director Stanley Kramer, who was known for taking artistic and financial chances by making movies about controversial subjects.
Recently, Miss Kramer presented her 8th installment, a special open caption screening of Paul Weitz's "Grandma" starring Lily Tomlin where she moderated the ASL interpreted panel. Before that she presented the 7th installment screening of docudrama "BHOPAL:A Prayer For Rain" Hosted by Martin Sheen and Mischa Barton, and Kat established the prestigious "Hunt For Humanity" Award in honor of Activist Marsha Hunt. Other films in her cinema series include the 5th Anniversary installment presentation of FALLOUT and "Elephants And Man: A Litany Of Tragedy" about the suffering of elephants in captivity, both hosted by Lily Tomlin. Ms. Kramer premiered the powerful new documentary" Teach Your Children Well" about LGBT bullying in schools, narrated by Ms. Tomlin. Previous selections include, "The Decent One" , the controversial documentary about Heinrich Himmler, the Academy Award winning documentary feature "The Cove," which exposed the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, and Barbra Streisand's "Yentl" ,which focused attention on women's equality, and was used as a springboard for a discussion about the widespread sexual abuse in the Congo.
As an actress, Kat Kramer has appeared on stage and screen. She has starred in two popular one-woman-shows, "The Colors Of Myself" and "Kriss Krossing" and won awards for her roles as Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" and Anne Frank in "The Diary Of Anne Frank" and starred as Lisa in "David And Lisa," Estella in "Great Expectations, Joan Of Arc in "The Lark" and appeared in the ensemble "The Vagina Monologues."
She has appeared in such films as "Going Shopping," "Hollywood Dreams," "What Just Happened?", "Little Fockers" and she currently Co-Stars in Seasons 3 and 4 of the popular webseries "CHILD OF THE 70's." Kat has performed special musical Tributes twice for the Legendary Lily Tomlin. Ms. Kramer served on the dias and opened the program at the Pacific Pioneers Broadcaster's Awards, and received a standing ovation with a special salute to her idol with the original parody "Dear Lily Tomlin." Ms. Kramer recently sang a heartfelt rendition of "Bless The Beasts And Children" from her father's landmark film "Bless The Beasts And Children" when Tomlin was honored with the Hope Award from the PETCO Foundation. Ms. Kramer headlined for both PAWS/LA and "All For Love" Animal Rescue.
Kramer made her Avalon Hollywood debut with LE PETIT CIRQUE for CIRCUS PAWS in front of a star-studded audience that included Lily Tomlin, Susan Sarandon, Lainie Kazan and Stewart Copeland. She performed a stand-up routine at Hard Rock Hollywood to benefit "Comedy For Caleb" and she has been a presenter for the LA Comedy Awards twice. She was a celebrity judge for the LA Music Awards. Kramer was most recently named Entertainer Of The Year by the LA Comedy Awards.
Kat previously received the "Compassion Award" from the Braveheart Women, and Sold-Out two "Meet The Biz" workshops titled "An Evening With Katharine Kramer." She is set to launch "An Evening With A Trailblazer" and is in production on a short film and reality show. Ms. Kramer has headlined at Awards shows and Galas for such luminaries as Shirley MacLaine, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Kat has recorded an album of Mick Jagger solo covers titled "Gemstone," and is set to launch her new one-woman-show called "My Duet With Mick."
A former Miss Golden Globe, Kat proudly serves on the Advisory Board of the prestigious LA Press Club. Ms. Kramer, who is the Godchild/Namesake of screen icon Katharine Hepburn, is the West Coast representative of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. She resides in Los Angeles.

Just in time for College Graduation Season: What do you want to do with the rest of your life? Whether you’re 22 or 50, this is the question most of u...

You may remember hearing about Designing Your Life, which became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller in the fall. Co-author Dave Evans is the designer of the Apple mouse and co-founder of Electronic Arts, and the developer of Stanford’s most popular class. Designing Your Life provides readers with a step-by-step process for figuring out “what they want, who they want to grow into, and how to create a life they love.”

Journalist Deepak Singh joins host Janeane Bernstein May 22 at 9:45am pst to talk about his book How May I Help You?: An Immigrants Journey from MBA t...

How May I Help You?: An Immigrants Journey from MBA to Minimum Wage (UC Press, March) is journalist Deepak Singh's chronicle of moving from India to small-town America, highly educated and yet unable to secure anything but a low-paying job in an electronics store. This is the story of downward mobility experienced by so many immigrants, told with candor, humility, and humanity and through the unique lens of an initially credulous outsider who is “fresh off the plane.” It is also a story of assimilation, as Singh learns to navigate the nuances of language and cultural norms, address his own identity issues, and appreciate the struggle of his retail coworkers as they encounter myriad challenges to their pursuit of the American Dream.
http://www.theforecaster.net/brunswick-author-i-like-to-keep-my-politics-out-of-my-chicken-curry/
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-03-14/indian-immigrants-us-journey-mba-minimum-wage

CINDY ALEXANDER AWARD-WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER Joins RoadNation for U.S. Tour – “Play it Forward” Campaign to Raise Money for Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Ho...

CINDY ALEXANDER
AWARD-WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER
Joins RoadNation for U.S. Tour – “Play it Forward” Campaign to
Raise Money for Kay Yow Cancer Fund
LOS ANGELES (April x, 2017) – Award-winning singer-songwriter, CINDY ALEXANDER, has partnered with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund (#Play4Kay) and RoadNation to “Play it Forward” this summer as she tours across the U.S. for her latest album, Deep Waters. In a unique and self-less manner, altogether outside the industry’s oft-alleged ego-centric persona, the proceeds from CINDY’s tour will go to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which has already allocated over $5.2 million to cancer research.
CINDY will kick off her “Play it Forward” tour on May 18th at La Mexicana in Gaithersburg, MD, ending this summer with a performance at the charity’s Gala Event on September 3rd in Raleigh, NC. As a Breast Cancer survivor, this is a charity very close to CINDY’s heart. “I was given a gift: Music. And I want to Play it Forward - play to connect, to inspire, to heal, and to cure. This summer I will be 3 years cancer-free. Through my work as an advocate for breast cancer awareness, I came across the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which has already donated more than 5.38 million dollars to research, and towards trials that are desperately needed for those living with metastatic disease. And they do this with only 7 employees, many of which I met last month in Raleigh. The proceeds of my tour this year go directly to their cause, which is my cause and my passion: ending cancer.”
Cindy chose to use the new RoadNation platform to let her fans chart the course of her “Adventure with a Cause.” RoadNation allows artists to empower fans to decide where an artist will play by bidding on a city. Fans also have the opportunity to be a “Roadie” or “VIP,” with access to behind-the-scenes features along with many other perks. By purchasing Road Nation’s VIP/Roadie experiences, exclusive tour merch, and access to the platform’s exclusive music and videos, fans are helping to fund the costs of her travel.
As a survivor of Breast Cancer, CINDY, an avid supporter of early detection as an Ambassador to BreastCancer.org, has solidified her fearless storytelling style, tackling the most intimate subjects in song. And Deep Waters is just a step on that powerful journey. As a performer, CINDY has won several prestigious awards including David Foster's/NBC Star Tomorrow, L.A. Music Awards Songwriter of the Year/ Independent Pop Album of the Year, All Access Magazine's Best Female Pop Vocalist, Just Plain Folks Song of the Year/Female Artist of the Year, L.A. Music Critic's Best Female CD ('12 & '14), Comeback Artist (after winning her fight against breast cancer ’14) and most recently Pop/Rock Artist of the Year (’16).
CINDY ALEXANDER released Deep Waters, her 8th studio album, through Blue Élan Records last July. Deep Waters explores love in all of its forms— the passionate, sexual, the sacred and the maternal, even love that’s remorseful and misguided. The title track, about abandoning oneself completely to another, was the first song she wrote with acclaimed artist, writer and producer Colin Devlin, solo artist and half of the leading Irish duo, The Devlins. Blue Élan producers immediately recognized the duo’s creative chemistry and asked for a full album. CINDY ultimately wrote or co-wrote eight of the album’s 10 tracks (Deep Waters’ lone cover is a remake of Jann Arden’s “Good Mother”). Guitar World calls Deep Waters “an insightful collection that exposes Alexander as a fearlessly skilled songwriter, singer and artist in every sense of the word.”
In her career, CINDY has shared the stage with John Hiatt, Bacon Brothers, America, Suzanne Vega, Joan Osborn, Rick Springfield, Beth Hart, Everclear, The Bangles, Edwin McCain, Marc Cohn, Howard Jones, Gin Blossoms, Collective Soul, Lisa Loeb, etc. She has performed on compilation cd's alongside Sarah McLachlan (Chilled Sirens- Water Music Records), Aimee Mann (Eclectic Cafe - Water Music Records) and Norah Jones (Sunday Brunch - Treadstone Records). CINDY also appeared on the soundtrack of Sugar & Spice (Trauma Records) and her music has been featured in films (Here on Earth, Smokers, Sugar & Spice, Dorm Daze II, People I've Slept With, My Trip Back to the Dark Side etc.) and TV (Party of 5, Chasing Farrah, So You Think You Can Dance, VH1/MTV).
Watch the new video, Deep Waters
For more information on Cindy Alexander Road Nation Campaign
For more information on Play4Kay, visit: https://kayyow.com/
CINDY ALEXANDER “Play it Forward” tour kicks off :
Wednesday 5/17 - Private VIP and Roadie Pot Luck & Meet & Greet
Thursday 5/18 - La Mexicana, Gaithersburg, MD - Dinner and Benefit Show for Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Doors at 6pm, Showtime 7:30 For tickets and info. email fitzgeraldrona@gmail.com
Watch “Deep Waters” Here
To Follow Cindy Alexander
Facebook: cindyalexander.music
Twitter: @pnutsings - #Play4Kay
Instagram: @pnutsings
MAD Ink PR
www.madinkpr.com
Melissa Dragich-Cordero Kris A. Ferraro

On May 22 at 9:00am pst, Janeane chats with Writer/Director Christina Eliopoulos and lead actor Joe Cortese, about TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT

TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT
24 minutes
Written and Directed by Christina Eliopoulos
tonightandeverynight.com
https://www.facebook.com/TonightMovie/
Yianni is the celebrated star and host of TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT, the talk show that plays in his own beautiful but fractured mind. On one fateful day, Yianni who suffers from dementia, wanders out of his house and comes to the aid of a lonely and lost little boy.
TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT
— longer synopsis
Yianni (Joe Cortese) is an older gentleman whose memory, grasp of rationality and health is failing. He has dementia. He drifts in and out of a drab, sometimes humdrum world. Yet in the realm inside his mind, Yianni is the host of a gloriously colorful, fun and whimsical Talk Show featuring his witty sidekick Announcer (Stephen Badalamenti) and other “special guest stars” from his life and old workplace — his little diner — including Lanetta (Tara Murtha) and Charlie the Egg Man (Mark Gindick). Yianni is powerful, persuasive, handsome and truly admired. He is the consummate host and thus the center of attention and affection.
On this particular day, unbeknownst to his beloved wife, Plousia (Janis Dardaris), Yianni has slipped out of the house, in search of a special someone. Yianni is roaming the streets when his reverie is interrupted by a lost and lonely little boy, who Yianni calls “Boss” (Azhy Robertson). Boss, who is a little bit of an odd duck, has wandered o from his school’s aftercare program and discovers Yianni meandering about downtown. Boss recognizes Yianni as the kindly man who lives down the street from him and believes that Yianni can help him find his way home — aer, of course, they make some time to play.
Yianni and Boss head out on their odyssey, a short-ways-down-the-road trip. From moment to moment, they switch roles. e adult is the child and the child tries to convince himself that he can act like an adult. There are times when Yianni’s sense of reality evaporates, and he returns momentarily to the Talk Show in his mind. Boss simply accepts that his new friend is not himself for a few minutes. In the waning hours of the day,
Boss grows anxious. He and Yianni are nowhere near home, and Boss fears that his Mother (Katherine Sigis-mund) will be worried about him. Somehow Yianni reaches into his fractured memory and he remembers that special place where everyone knows him — a place where he and Boss can go for help. Once reunited with family and friends, Yianni’s memory is stirred, and he recalls a heartbreaking event in his past. Boss, whose real name is Jackson, comes to
understand why Yianni has been calling him Boss, and responds with love and affection, offering Yianni the gift of friendship.
TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT to World Premiere at
Dances With Films Festival
Acclaimed actor Joe Cortese
delivers a tour de force performance as Yianni,
the host of a talk show that plays in his own beautiful but fractured mind
Los Angeles, May 10th...Inspired by a daughter’s love and true-to-life events, TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT, a narrative short film about the power of love over dementia, will have its world premiere at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles at the Chinese 6 Theater on Saturday, June 3rd at 5PM.
In the film, veteran actor Joe Cortese portrays Yianni, who hosts a talk show that plays in own mind. On one fateful day, Yianni, a humble diner owner who suffers from dementia, wanders out of his house, and befriends a lonely and lost little boy. The narrative short film, written and directed by Christina Eliopoulos, was inspired by her father’s life.
“I loved that the subject matter was so personal,” says Cortese, who has played his share of tough guys, romantic heroes and “bad cops and good cops” over his 40-year career. “The director entrusted me to play her father. A man she loved very much who was stricken with this disease. I felt I knew this man. He seemed like my own father, a hard-working son of immigrants, who put his family first and made his own success. And then once I read the script, I was all in. This issue is so prevalent and so central to our society. I felt an obligation to bring this character to life. And for me, it is the most inspiring and challenging role I have ever done.”
Cortese leads a stellar ensemble cast that includes talented newcomer, 7-year-old Azhy Robertson, co-stars Stephen Badalamenti and Tara Murtha both of New Jersey, the celebrated actress Janis Dardaris in the role of Plousia, Yianni’s beloved wife, and award-winning performers Mark Gindick and Katherine Sigismund in supporting roles. The film was shot on the Jersey Shore, in the boardwalk community of Asbury Park, NJ, Eliopoulos’ hometown.
In the film, the television screen becomes a metaphor for a “window into the mind,” says director Eliopoulos. “The past and present, the real and the imagined, the rational mind and the troubled mind, stardom and fandom are co-mingled,” she adds. “We all tell ourselves stories and create little myths to soothe our troubled conscience. The Yianni character looks for solace in a bright and happy world inside his mind. In his imagined world, he is virile and powerful. He is a star.”
In preparing for the role, Cortese found himself reflecting on how television often becomes “a best friend, the only friend sometimes” for the elderly and homebound. “I grew up watching Johnny Carson. And the TV, the talk show, became Yianni’s way of relating to the world and to his life. And it’s so sad, to think of Yianni in a dark room, with just the clicker and the TV. He doesn’t recognize his family, so that’s all he’s got left.
The story evolves beyond that sadness and offers up a life-affirming message. Yianni finds someone, this little lost boy, and they learn what they have in common and they relate to each other. He is finally able to offer help, to offer safety, to express love. And that’s the miracle of the story and the miracle of life, the power of love.”
The film, lyrical in its storytelling, visual metaphors, cinematography and pacing, was lensed by cinematographer Russell Swanson, with New Jersey producer Elizabeth Kinder, serving as Executive Producer. Christina Eliopoulos is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker whose previous work includes the documentary features “Greetings from Asbury Park” and “Demon on Wheels.”
For Cortese, the film became a “special homecoming“ of sorts. “My first lead in a movie was in 1976 and filmed here in New Jersey That film was the cult classic “The Death Collector (Family Enforcer). Here I am 40 years later, in another leading role. My body might have been in Los Angeles, but Jersey is my home and my first love.”
TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT will be shown on Saturday, June 3, 5PM, at the Chinese 6 Theater. The theater is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA, 90028. Tickets can be purchased online at https://danceswithfilms.com.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
My father’s life was the inspiration for this film. And my beloved hometown — the little city by the sea that he emigrated to as a young man — became our setting. But our story is universal. One in four families have a loved one who suffers from dementia or age-related memory disorders.
I am profoundly interested how in times of sorrow or distress, each of us retreats to the consolation of
memory. But what happens when that safe and comforting place — the reservoir of all our learning, our frame of reference, the evidence of the evolution and maturation of our identity and personality — is no longer available to us? Or if we discover that memory is unreliable.
As his condition worsened, my father retreated more and more into the confines of his mind, and especially the television. He would applaud each TV star and then somehow make himself part of the program.
He was always the host andstar of the show, just like he was the host and star of his business — his
little diner. In a way, like many senior citizens, the television became his vital connection to the world. In this film, like in my previous work, I cannot hide my love for lonely people; those who feel like they are on the fringes, or the child who knows that he’s a bit of an odd duck, or those people who feel they are forgotten. Memory, whether it is a safe haven or a cruel joke, is a vibrant and rich “story-scape.” I believe my film offers a window into how society relates to elders and older loved ones, especially those with cognitive impairment.
For many of our elders, despite their illness, a rich, emotional intelligence and a deep reserve of love remains intact. They desire to feel useful, productive and respected. They seek connection and friendship. This film celebrates our loved ones in all their beautiful complexity — their identity, dignity and past experiences, as well as any newly discovered reflections, eccentricities or expressions of themselves. Even if memory sometimes fails them, they recognize the value, goodness, and grace of everyone in their lives. They remember love. And all of us can take inspiration from that. — Christina Eliopoulos, Director
JOE CORTESE — Yianni
Joe is an accomplished veteran. His early stage work led to his first leading film role in the highly acclaimed cult classic, The Death Collector with Joe Pesci which eventually lead him to Hollywood where over the last 30 years he has established himself as an actor/writer and has
starred in roles such Windows with Talia Shire, Monsignor with Christopher Reeve, American History X with Edward Norton, and Against the Ropes with Meg Ryan and Kerry Washington. Joe has also done eclectic and amazing work on numerous TV shows and movies.
Joe has received accolades for his numerous top-rated television projects including The C.A.T. Squad, a trilogy of two-hour movies for NBC and producer/director William Friedkin. The highly rated mini-series Something’s Out There for NBC, Exclusive with Suzanne Somers
(ABC), Assault and Matrimony (NBC), Just Life with Victoria Principal (ABC), Letting’ Go with John Ritter (ABC), Born to Run (FOX), Sidney Sheldon’s mini-series If Tomorrow Comes (CBS) and Jackie Collins’ Lady Boss (NBC).
In 2017, he had starring roles in several independent films include Doobious Sources and The Bronx
Bull. He did Abel Ferrara’s Go Go Tales with Willem De Foe and Bob Hoskins, which had its World
Premiere at The Cannes Film Festival’ and later that year it had its American Premiere at the New
York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Joe won the Best Actor award for at The New York Hip Hop film festival for his starring role in the comedy, Shut Up and Shoot, and also starred in You Got Nothin, for director Phillip Angelotti. Other outstanding performances include starring roles in Malevolence portraying a character based on James Earl Ray. Lucky Town with James Caan and Kirsten Dunst, The Shipment with Matthew Modine and Elizabeth Berkley, and Ruby with Danny Aiello. He also received kudos for his role as Johnny Roselli in HBO’s critically acclaimed movie, The Rat Pack. Joe also starred in the PBS Vision series special He Wants Her Back, written and directed by Stanton Kaye. His other recent TV appearances were with Danny Devito in Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Joe is a lifetime member of the Actor’s Studio.

KUCI host Janeane Bernstein speaks with Legendary rock climber, Tommy Caldwell, who was first to free climb the Dawn Wall of Yosemite’s El Capitan sha...

@tommycaldwell1
Legendary rock climber who was first to free climb the Dawn Wall of Yosemite’s El Capitan shares his inspiring story
Wednesday, May 17th: 8am-1pm ET
On January 14, 2015, legendary rock climber Tommy Caldwell, along with his partner Kevin Jorgeson, summited what is widely regarded as the hardest climb in history -- Yosemite’s nearly vertical 3,000-foot Dawn Wall. The New York Times describes the infamous 3,000-foot slab of granite as “smooth as alabaster, as steep as a bedroom wall, more than half a mile tall.” After an arduous nineteen-day ascent, Caldwell and Jorgeson were the first to summit it without the assistance of ropes, other than to catch their falls. Caldwell’s odds-defying feat was the culmination of an entire lifetime of pushing himself to his limits as an athlete. In his new memoir THE PUSH, he shares his remarkable story.
Join Caldwell discusses:
Growing up with a fanatical mountain-guide father who was determined to instill toughness in his son
His affinity for adventure that led him to the vertigo-inducing and little understood world of big wall free climbing
Challenges along the way, including being held hostage in his early twenties by militants in a harrowing ordeal in Kyrgyzstan; losing an index finger in an accident; and his breakup with his wife and main climbing partner
His decision to climb the Dawn Wall, an epic assault that took more than seven years (during which, he redefined the sport, found love again, and became a father)
Becoming an overnight celebrity as major media outlets worldwide tracked his story.
THE PUSH is an arresting account of navigating challenges, testing limits, and following your passion—and a powerful reminder of the extraordinary potential we all hold within us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tommy Caldwell grew up in Colorado. He has made dozens of notable ascents, and many consider him the best all-around rock climber in the world. In 2014 he was chosen as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year, and in 2015 the American Alpine Club awarded him Lifetime Honorary Membership, its highest honor. Caldwell, a frequent contributor to Alpinist, Climbing, and Rock and Ice magazines, lives in the town where he first learned to climb, Estes Park, Colorado, with his wife and their son and daughter.

Nick Middleton, author of Atlas of Countries that Don’t Exist, joined Janeane Bernstein Monday at 9:45am pst May 15!

Nick Middleton, author of ATLAS OF COUNTRIES THAT DON'T EXIST calls in 5/15@9:45AM PT to chat with host Janeane Bernstein.
What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of 50 states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested lands like Crimea and Tibet to lesser-known territories such as Africa's last colony and a European republic that enjoyed independence for a single day, Middleton presents fascinating stories of shifting borders, visionary leaders, and "forgotten" peoples. Beautifully illustrated with 50 regional maps, each country is literally die-cut out of the page, offering a distinctive tactile experience while exploring these remarkable places.