This episode of #BTLRadioShow takes us from the social consciousness of A TINY RIPPLED OF HOPE in Chicago to the wild and wacky world of WILLY’S WONDERLAND.
First up is our exclusive conversation with director KEVIN LEWIS going in-depth on the wild and wonderful world of WILLY’S WONDERLAND starring Nic Cage! Who doesn’t love a Nic Cage film – especially when he’s being Nic Cage at the top of his game. And that’s exactly what we get from him in WILLY’S WONDERLAND. Listen as Kevin talks about his attraction to G.O. Parson’s script, working with Cage in developing the character of “The Janitor”, Molly Coffee’s detailed production design, cinematography and developing extreme dutched angles and explosive use of color and light in collaboration with his cinematographer David Newbert, scoring by Emoi, and so much more.
Then we shift gears as director/producer JASON POLEVOI joins us live talking about his documentary A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE which had its world premiere at the virtual 2021 Slamdance Film Festival. Focusing on the story of Chicago native, Jahmal Cole and his My Block, My Hood, My City organization which brings hope and opportunity to teenagers across Chicago’s segregated South and West Sides, the film follows a formative year for Jahmal as he makes the hard decisions and sacrifices for the community over himself. Listen as Jason talks about the genesis of the documentary, the multi-year course of shooting, shifting through-line of the film’s focus, narrowing the scope of story to one year and making the decision as to which year would be the focus, the lengthy and challenging editing process, and more.
