Byron Reese is a futurist and an optimist. His new book We Are Agora: How Humanity Functions as a Single Superorganism That Shapes Our World and Our Future is named after the Ancient Greek marketplace and suggests that we might be part of a bigger entity that shapes our ends.

Does the book have the insights we need to revitalize a sense of optimism even amidst dystopian times though?

Hello again. The podcast has been on hiatus for a bit. I'm bringing it back in video form at least for a limited season. In this episode, I will discuss why I stopped doing the show, what brought me back, and where I hope to head in context of the films Gattaca, Begin Again, and Jerry Maguire.

If you're trying to find your way or just trying to stay the course, perhaps this is for you.

Podcast page: nicksav.show

Videos I've made for captivating couples, bands, and companies: nsavides.com

In this episode I expand on some ideas that came up in my discussion with Brian A. Loschiavo about his documentary about the Bluebird Cafe, a now iconic music in Nashville.

After I did the interview, certain subsequent news stories involving Taylor Swift came out, and they did affect my take on the film. Since Taylor Swift was prominently featured in the Bluebird documentary and discussed in my interview with Brian, I decided to do a supplemental commentary track to expand on my thoughts about her and how she affected my interpretation of the documentary.

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Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

I want to get better at connecting with others, so I'm putting together a couple of videos as an experiment. This is the one I made while attending the Nashville Film Festival, and it does include a photo of me and Brian.

Say hello: [email protected]

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Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

Get access to all of Masterclass's world-class instructors for one great price: MasterClass All-Access Pass

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My Masterclass recommendations for this episode

Ken Burns, the filmmaker behind the Country Music docuseries, shares his insights about capturing nuanced human drama on screen.

Reba McEntire shares her insights on country music and building a music career.

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Related Episode

I liked Bluebird enough to include it in my top five picks from Nashville Film Festival 2019. In this episode, I elaborate on why I picked it and share my other recommendations from the festival.

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Related Things

• Bluebird
  • Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • The first tweet from Bluebird_Movie
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

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If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
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Brian A. Loschiavo, the director-producer-editor of the Bluebird documentary, was first exposed to The Bluebird Cafe through the show Nashville, a series for which he developed supplemental digital content. The now iconic country-music venue that has been instrumental to the careers of so many musicians including Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, and Taylor Swift made enough of an impression on Brian that he set out to create a documentary about the place and the community of singer-songwriters it has nurtured over the years.

Bluebird premiered at SXSW 2019 but had a stronger reception at Nashville Film Festival several months later, where festival organizers ended up giving it four screenings to accommodate audience interest. I saw the film while attending the Nashville Film Festival and got to interview Brian there.

Some of the things we discuss include

• How he was able to get a number of prominent musicians like Taylor Swift to be in his film
• Why The Bluebird Cafe is such a memorable venue
• The challenges of shooting and/or performing in a confined space

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

I want to get better at connecting with others, so I'm putting together a couple of videos as an experiment. This is the one I made while attending the Nashville Film Festival, and it does include a photo of me and Brian.

Say hello: [email protected]

#

Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

Get access to all of Masterclass's world-class instructors for one great price: MasterClass All-Access Pass

My Masterclass recommendations for this episode

Ken Burns, the filmmaker behind the Country Music docuseries, shares his insights about capturing nuanced human drama on screen.

Reba McEntire shares her insights on country music and building a music career.

#

Related Episode

I liked Bluebird enough to include it in my top five picks from Nashville Film Festival 2019. In this episode, I elaborate on why I picked it and share my other recommendations from the festival.

#

Related Things

• Bluebird
  • Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • The first tweet from Bluebird_Movie
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

#

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

Premiering at Nashville Film Festival 2019, The Sheriff of Mars is a music documentary that tells the story of Daniel Antopolsky, a country and folk musician who was friends with Townes Van Zandt and who, the film suggests, helped to inspire Townes' now iconic outlaw country song "Pancho and Lefty." Wanting to escape the dark influence of the 1970s outlaw country music scene, Daniel retreated to France where he was discovered by Jason Ressler, the director of Sheriff of Mars.

Jason was so captivated by Daniel's music that he became his manager, helping him release his first album at the age of 65. More albums followed as did press from the BBC, Rolling Stone, and other renowned publications. Under Jason's guidance, Daniel began getting booked to perform at prominent music events, including SXSW and the Black Deer Festival in the UK.

Not content to merely be Daniel's manager, Jason also put together a music documentary to raise awareness of Daniel and his music. The Sheriff of Mars is what resulted, an affirming, on-screen demonstration of how it's never too late to start a music career or to revitalize once-abandoned dreams.

If the vision is there, you need collaboration to make it happen, but if you compromise the vision—if you have a good vision—it's not going to turn out well." - Jason Ressler

Jason is the first manager-director I've met, so I invited him on the show to get his take on finding success in film and music. Some of the things we discuss include

• How he got a BBC profile for Daniel
• How to persevere when beset by failure
• Collaborating with music producers and engineers to create an album that’s right for an artist
• The interview he did with James Brown before he died and the impression that left

If you listen all the way to the end, you'll get to hear Daniel's song "Fish Bait Blues," which is also featured in the film.

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Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

I want to get better at connecting with others, so I'm putting together a couple of videos as an experiment. In the one below, I explore the New Orleans Art Museum, its surrounding sculpture garden, and a few places nearby.  I also address some of the underlying issues that get in the way of connection, at least for me, and I try to do so with playfulness and honesty.

Connection Experiment: New Orleans

Say hello: [email protected]

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Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

Get access to all of Masterclass's world-class instructors for one great price: MasterClass All-Access Pass

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Learn from and get inspired by Hans Zimmer, the composer on Gladiator, Interstellar, The Lion King, and more.

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Related Episode

In the interview, Jason mentioned being impressed by what Hannah Leder and her co-director were able to put together with a limited budget. On this episode, I interview Hannah about how she and her co-director pulled off a compelling film with just a two-person crew.

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Related Things

• Sheriff of Mars
  • Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
• Daniel's music on Spotify
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival
• My take on Frank Capra, for old time's sake

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

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Shows Mentioned

• Black Panther
• Gardians of the Galaxy
• Grey Gardens
• The Lion King 
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• The Planters 
• Salesman
• Searching for Sugar Man
• The Sheriff of Mars
• Sid Bernstein Presents...
• Wonder Woman 

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Musicians Mentioned

• The Beatles 
• Bob Dylan
• Daniel Antopolsky
• Drake 
• Emmylou Harris
• James Brown 
• Jessye Norman
• Justin Townes Earle
• Mississippi John Hurt
• Ray Charles 
• Steve Earle
• Taylor Swift 
• Townes Van Zandt
• Willie Nelson

Book Mentioned

• A Confederacy of Dunces 

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
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Thank you for visiting!

Byron Reese is an acclaimed author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He's spoken at TEDx Austin and SXSW and has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired, and The Washington Post. Byron is also the publisher of GigaOm and hosts the Voices in AI podcast. 

Byron's latest book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read this year, so I brought him on the show to discuss it.

I think pessimism is the thing that will get us all killed." - Byron Reese

Some of the things we discuss include

• How artificial intelligence affects our lives
• The difference between narrow AI and general AI
• Whether being human is something more than a machine
• Challenges and philosophical questions raised by advancements in AI
• Why optimism matters and can make all the difference
• How AI might redefine creative work

 

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

#

Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

Get access to all of Masterclass's world-class instructors for one affordable price: MasterClass All-Access Pass

 

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Learn how to be a better writer and storyteller from Malcolm Gladwell.

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Related Episodes

For more on how technology influences creativity, check out this interview with Brian Solis, who also spoke at SXSW.

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For more on the power of optimism, check out this interview with Golden Globe-winning producer Lindsay Doran.

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Related Things

• The Fourth Age
• Byron Reese
  • Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Voice in AI podcast

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

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Books Mentioned

• The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
• Harry Potter
• "I, Pencil" (essay)
• The Lord of the Rings

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Shows Mentioned

• The Animatrix
• Game of Thrones
• The Jetsons
• Star Trek
• The Twilight Zone

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

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• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

What's Eating Ralphie May won Best of the Fest at Nashville Film Festival and Documentary of the Year at Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival. The film was initially intended to be a weight-loss documentary that followed beloved comedian Ralphie May and his family, but it turned into a raw and intimate portrait of a family dealing with addiction during the last years of Ralphie’s troubled life. 

At Nashville Film Festival I had the chance to interview comedian and wife of Ralphie, Lahna Turner, and director Cat Rhinehart.

Some of the things we discuss include

• What to do when shooting a documentary that takes an unexpected turn
• How to earn trust to explore the raw and intimate aspects of someone's story
• What to do when loved ones are wrestling with addiction
• If and when it is appropriate to stop filming
• How comedy can help get past anguish

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

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Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

MasterClass All-Access Pass

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Learn how to improve your stand-up routine and be funnier from Steve Martin.

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Related Episodes

For more on shooting documentaries, check out this episode with Peabody-winning documentary filmmaker Craig Renaud. He's done projects for likes of HBO, NBC, Discovery, PBS, The New York Times, and VICE News. On this episode he discusses how to survive dangerous conflict zones, ways to explore hot-button issues in an in-depth way, and more.

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Steve Kaplan has taught comedy workshops around the world and companies like Dreamworks, Disney, HBO, Paramount, and Touchstone hire him as a comedy consultant. He shares some of his comedy insights on this episode.

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Related Things

• Nashville Film Festival
• What's Eating Ralphie May
  • Facebook, IMDb
• Lahna Turner
  • Twitter, YouTube
• Cat Rhinehart
  • Facebook, Instagram
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

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Films Mentioned

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• The First 48 Hours
• Marriage Story
• One Hour Photo
• What's Eating Ralphie May

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If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

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• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

My podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival continues in this short-films episode where I interview the directors for two different short films that got my attention at the festival. One has more of a documentary feel while the other one is a more stylized film with elaborate production design, so I paired the two interviews to explore how shorts can come together and the creative possibilities they can offer.

The first interview is with Amanda Young, one of the directors behind Every Two Minutes, a compilation of stories relating to human trafficking. The short was done through StoryGive, which partners filmmakers in Nashville with non-profits that tackle various social issues. For Every Two Minutes, StoryGive connected local filmmakers with End Slavery Tennessee, a non-profit dedicated to caring for survivors of human trafficking and tactically addressing the issue.

The second interview is with Chilean director Vicente Manzano. His experimental short Bubble uses bubble framing in a novel, story-driven way. Virtually everything in the film was custom-designed for the film, which involved careful planning to pull off.

Some of the things we discuss include

• Using film to address a social issue in an impactful way
• How to collaborate with accomplished filmmakers and crew members on limited budget
• How to make a short film that is driven by stylized production design

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions 

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people.

I shot this New Orleans wedding video for Cece & Andy last year. Even one year later, I'm still getting positive feedback about the video from the couple's friends and family.

More of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

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Masterclass

Online training from some of the world's best filmmakers, musicians, and creative leaders.

MasterClass All-Access Pass

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Related Episode

Emmy-winning filmmaker and co-founder of Stillmotion, Patrick Moreau, talks about the challenges of putting together a high-quality, issues-driven documentary in this episode.

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Related Things

• Nashville Film Festival
• Amanda Young
  • Instagram

• StoryGive
• End Slavery Tennessee 
• Vicente Manzano
  • Instagram
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Overcast

• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

Hannah Leder has a variety of acting credits including Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, and Judd Apatow’s Love series. She also has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show.

On this podcast episode I interview Hannah about her work on The Planters, a quirky, character-driven comedy that won Best of the Fest, Best Cinematography, and Best Song at Nashville Film Festival. Along with Alexandra Kotcheff, Hannah co-wrote, co-directed, co-starred, and co-shot the film. The Planters ended up taking 127 days to shoot, and Hannah and Alexandra were the only crew members on set.

Some of the things we discuss include

• How to shoot a high-quality film with a two-person crew
• The camera and lighting setups they used for the film
• How the stop-motion sequences in the film came together

At the end of the episode you can hear a preview of “You and Me Together,” the film's award-winning song from Phil Danyew.

Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people.

Up to Date is a short comedy about a blind date gone wrong. It's the first live-action short I directed a few years ago, and it was written by Stephen Hoover. His script Damage Control was a finalist in the Nashville Film Festival's screenwriting competition, and he helped to make possible my festival podcast coverage.

More of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

Related Episode

If you'd like to learn more about how comedy works, then check out this interview I did with Steve Kaplan. He teaches comedy workshops around the world. Companies like Dreamworks, Disney, HBO, Paramount, and Touchstone regularly hire him as a consultant and script doctor. 

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Related Things

• Nashville Film Festival
• The Planters
  • Facebook, IMDb, Instagram
• More of my podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Overcast

• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

This is Part III of my podcast recap of Nashville Film Festival 2019. In it, I share my top five films from Nashville Film Festival and why I picked them. It's a more personal take, so I also share some related things that came up when trying to put together the list.

Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people.

Mystery Loves Company music video

We got to explore all kinds of places in Houston while making this music video I directed for the chamber-rock band Mystery Loves Company. Not long after the video was released, the band got an opportunity to perform at a few venues in France.

More of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

Related Episodes

A number of the films that screened at Nashville Film Festival this year also screened at SXSW 2019. Episodes from my SXSW 2019 podcast coverage are here.

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Johnny Cash influenced how actor John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard) thinks about faith, which came up in this podcast interview.#

Related Things

• Nashville Film Festival
• Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• Collegiate film T-shirts from Chad McClarnon
• SNL's 1950s music sketch featuring Will Ferrell
• Tunefind, useful for finding music featured on films, TV shows, and games
• Bureau of Justice Statistics 2018 report on police encounters with the public
• The court battle in Dallas for the gender identity of a seven year
• Dr. Anne Georgulas's Google reviews
• Unplanned, the documentary about Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood employee of the year who became a pro-life activist, is now streaming online

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

Films Discussed

• III
• Alice
• America, America
• Appalachian Holler
• Bluebird
• Berry Hill: From Creative Workshop and Beyond
• Chuck Berry 
• Cool Daddio: The Second Youth of R. Stevie Moore
• Country Music (the docuseries from Ken Burns)
• Eternal Winter
• Five Women in the End
• The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash
• A Hidden Life
• Jojo Rabbit
• The Kill Team
• Lost Bayou
• Manuel
• Marriage Story
• Mickey and the Bear
• The Planters
• Reckoning
• Red Dog
• The Sheriff of Mars
• The Short History of a Long Road
• Stuffed
• The Thin Red Line
• Tuscaloosa
• Unplanned
• The Way you Look Tonight
• What's Eating Ralphie May
• VR films
  • Accused #2: Walter Sisulu
  • Ambrosia
  • Agreda’s Dungeon
  • Only at the Air, Only at Each Other

Bands & Musicians Discussed

• Bob Dylan
• Bruce Springsteen
• Chuck Berry
• Corey Hart
• Dave Bartholomew
• Garth Brooks
• Hank Williams
• Haroula Rose
• Jimmy Buffett
• Johnny Cash
• John Carter Cash
• June Carter Cash
• Kanye West
• Lauren Daigle
• The Lumineers
• The National
• Taylor Swift
• Vince Gill

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Overcast

• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and do podcast coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival. While there, I interviewed a number of filmmakers and filled an entire notebook with observations about the various films and events I attended.

My Nashville Film Festival podcast coverage began with this interview I did with some of the filmmakers behind Lost Bayou. More filmmaker interviews are coming soon.

Here, I'll recap some of the notable films and experiences I had at the festival and share some of the things I learned while attending. The filmmakers, musicians, and creative people who I aim to serve with this podcast are those who seek truth and care about exploring big ideas, and so I will strive for both, as I've done with other festivals I've covered.

The first pass at my podcast commentary of Nashville Film Festival came in close to three hours, so I've broken it up into three parts.

Part I includes

• General observations and strengths of the festival
• Music insights from a few panels and films
• Reactions to Marriage Story, the new Noah Baumbach film; Speed of Life, a narrative film in which the death of David Bowie causes a disruption to the space-time continuum that threatens the romance of a young couple; and Chuck Berry, the documentary about the founding father of rock n roll that premiered at the festival.

This is Part II, the meat of the coverage, where I go through a number of feature films I saw at the festival and discuss what worked for me and what didn't. Some of the related topics that come up include doing the right thing in spite of social pressure, police brutality on screen, gender identity issues, and more.

In Part III, I will share my top five films from Nashville Film Festival and why I picked them. Part II and III will get added to this page in a couple of days. Subscribe to the podcast to get the new episodes as they become available.

Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. #

Mystery Loves Company music video

We got to explore all kinds of places in Houston while making this music video I directed for the chamber-rock band Mystery Loves Company. Not long after the video was released, the band got an opportunity to perform at a few venues in France.

More of my videos are here.

Say hello: [email protected]

Related Episodes

A number of the films that screened at Nashville Film Festival this year also screened at SXSW 2019. Episodes from my SXSW 2019 podcast coverage are here.

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Related Things

• Nashville Film Festival
• Bureau of Justice Statistics 2018 report on police encounters with the public
• The court battle in Dallas for the gender identity of a seven year
• Dr. Anne Georgulas's Google reviews

• Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show

Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.

Films Discussed

• III
• Appalachian Holler
• Cool Daddio: The Second Youth of R. Stevie Moore
• Eternal Winter
• Five Women in the End
• A Hidden Life
• The Kill Team
• Manuel
• Mickey and the Bear
• The Planters
• Reckoning
• The Sheriff of Mars
• The Short History of a Long Road
• Stuffed
• The Thin Red Line
• Tuscaloosa
• The Way you Look Tonight

If You Liked the Show

• Donate $1 to help keep the show going.
• Sign up for The nsavides Newsletter.
• Subscribe or leave an honest review:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Overcast

• Say hello on Twitter:  @nsavidesPRO

Thank you for visiting!