Episode 35 - Laura van Halsema - “Chelas City”
Photo Credit: Caroline Westdijk
[Image Description: Laura, a white woman with short blond hair, is pictured from the torso up. She wears a dark-colored button-down shirt and hoop earrings. She has a slight smile on her face.]
In this episode, we continue our celebration of the 2021 edition of IDFA as I chat with the Senior Programmer of the festival, Laura van Halsema. We talk about how she got into docs, her nearly 20 years with IDFA, and take a deep dive into the unConscious Bias Focus program at the festival this year. The song for this episode is from the film Chelas Nha Kha which is part of the unConscious Bias strand and is entitled “Chelas City,” music by Bataclan 1950 and lyrics by Baguera, Islu, and Gohu. The film is a collaboration between Bagabaga Studios and Batalan 1950 is about the people and kids growing up in Chelas which is a neighborhood in Lisbon. During our conversation, we spoke about the anthropologist Clifford Geertz’s concept of the “webs of influence.” Laura thought of this film and about the filmmakers who live in that area as they learn to define for themselves their own realities. The first love of Bataclan 1950 is making music which is prominently featured in the film. Here is our conversation which was recorded in November 2021.
Episode 25 - Matt Lauterbach, Grishma Shah, & Reveca Torres - “My Future”
Photo Credit: Ryan Gleeson
[Image Description: Matt is pictured from the chest up. He wears a plaid, white, tan, and black shirt over a black t-shirt and glasses. His hair, mustache, and beard, closely cropped. He stands against a brick and cement wall.]
In this episode, I speak with Matt Lauterbach, Grishma Shah, and Reveca Torres of All Senses Go. During our conversation, we chat about how their work with organizations and content creators ensures that media that is created is accessible for all, the accessibility changes the team would like to become the norm as we move into a post-Covid world, and how people with disabilities and their co-conspirators can work together effectively to make lasting, sustainable change that benefits us all. Because organizations like All Senses Go and others disrupt the notion that those who are labeled not mainstream need to seek outside validation, this episode’s song is Billie Eilish’s self-acceptance and self-love anthem, “My Future.”