Screenplaying

In this episode, the Screenwriting MFA in Western's Graduate Program in Creative Writing and The Crested Butte Film Festival take great joy in sharing Griffin in Summer, a remarkable film that screened at the CBFF in 2024 and deserves a much wider audience. So, "Underseen Indies" may well be the first in a series!  Enjoy the back and forth as we (almost entirely) praise this marvel of scriptwriting, acting and direction, featuring an amazingly talented cast of young people (and a couple of pretty darn capable grown-ups, too).  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay, and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski. Thank you for supporting our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation! 

Movies show us therapeutic processes and give us a therapeutic process, too. In this episode, Tim Sheahan, licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and frequent guest of our podcast with The Crested Butte Film Festival, talks with James Napoli from the Screenwriting MFA at The Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western about the many ways in which therapy finds its way into cinematic storytelling. From early Hollywood to the Marvel Universe, Screenplaying takes a deep dive into the many permutations of how movies both show and offer therapy to audiences. (Since we cover the full arc of these therapeautic process films, note there are SPOILERS AHEAD...)  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay, and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski. Thank you for supporting our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!

What is it like to film in a war zone? Documentary filmmakers Jordan Campbell (Ukraine Under Fire) and Ashley Matkowsky (Why We Went) offer riveting and heartfelt commentary on their role as filmmakers capturing images, triumphs and tragedies from the war in Ukraine. Moderated by documentarian T.C. Johnstone (Rising from the Ashes) at the 15th annual Crested Butte Film Festival, this unflinching panel discussion opens into a world few of us have experienced, and offers a dialogue with the audience, whose questions fuel more than half of the hour-long event.  James Napoli, Director of Screenwriting at the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wesern Colorado University introduces this special episode, and provides narration to supply listeners with the audience questions, which were "off mic" during the panel.  Thank you to our audio engineer Mike Janowski for his work on making this material podcast-ready.  And thank you as always for listening to "Screenplaying."  

This episode, Screenwriting Director James Napoli from The Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University interviews Lilly Lion, whose award-winning short film "You & Me & Chaz & Rodney" premiered at the 15th Annual Crested Butte Film Festival. The film's story? -- "After making a plan to hook up with boys for the first time, two curious teens must instead confront their own shifting friendship and the underlying pressures to take the next step." Indeed, the pressure on teens is intense, and Writer/Director Lion brings that idea, the film it sparked, and the ways it informed directorial decisions into compelling focus during this informative and thoughtful podcast.  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay, and our audio wizard is Mr. Mike Janowski. Thank you for supporting our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!

A fascinating duality among the folks at the MFA in Screenwriting at Western Colorado University's Graudate Program in Creative Writing and the Crested Butte Film Festival as they discuss (debate?) the classic 1971 offbeat romance "Harold and Maude." What does the passage of time do to our experience of art? Is there a universal message in a story that can cut across generations? These are just some of the provocative topics on display in this edition of Screenplaying. Please enjoy our many disagreements!  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay, and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski. Thank you for supporting our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!

What's it like to direct a short film and take it on the festival circuit? This episode of Screenplaying features Screenwriting Director James Napoli from Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing in conversation with Writer/Director Ellen Ancui, whose terrific film SAVERIO was screened at The Crested Butte Film Festival and uses a seriocomic approach to look at the issue of elder abandonment. Ellen shares insights into the directing process, how her film came together, how her background in theater played into the realization of her first film project, and lots more. Find out more about Ellen and the film at saveriothefilm.com. Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski.  Thanks for listening to our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!

Live in the moment with Western Colorado University's MFA in Screenwriting and The Crested Butte FIlm Festival, as this episode of our podcast takes an incredibly deep dive into Perfect Days, Wim Wenders' remarkable story of a Japanese restroom janitor whose inner life transcends his occupation in surprising ways. Contemplatively paced, yet packed with all the emotional explosions of an action movie, this is a masterpiece by a master filmmaker.  In a film that enjoys its literary references (Faulkner, Highsmith), there was one our team was still trying to nail down at show time...it turns out to be the novelist Aya Koda, among whose notable works is Tree, a title very appropriate to the protagonist of Perfect Days.  Thanks to Fandora and the TIFF for their insightful clips.  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski. Thank you for listening to our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!    

This episode features Screenwriting Director James Napoli from Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing in conversation with Noah Amir Arjomand, whose short "Pretend I'm Not Here" had its Colorado premiere at The Crested Butte Film Festival.  In a far-reaching interview, Noah talks his remarkable film (which you can view in its entirety here!), and quite a bit more, as the conversation expands into documentary, ethnography and world cultures. Find out more about Noah at his website, watch his powerful Emmy-winning documentary "Eat Your Catfish", and learn how you can support independent cinema and Noah's next project "Trapwork."   Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski.  Thanks for listening to our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!   

"When movies are the most interesting is when something is not only seeming to happen for the first time, but, indeed is."  The Crested Butte Film Festival and the Screenwriting MFA at Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing are proud to present this conversation with legendary filmmaker Ed Zwick, recipient of the 15th Annual Crested Butte Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.  In conversation with the festival's co-founder Michael Brody, Ed Zwick discusses life, storytelling, the creative process and so much more.  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay, and our audio wizard is Mike Janowski. Thank you for listening to our podcast about the art of movies, and the lost art of conversation!  

In this episode, the folks from Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program and the Crested Butte Film Festival regroup after this year's festival to talk about some of our favorite movies and reflect on the CBFF 15th Anniversary Year! Films mentioned in this podcast: Lost Wolves of Yellowstone Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Little Trouble Girls What Marielle Knows Crede USA Prime Minister Who is Michael Jang Ultraviolet Fortune Plongeurs  Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay. Our audio wizard is Mike Janowski.  If you would like to be informed about an upcoming film club selection, send "Add Me" to [email protected]  Thanks for listening!   

In this episode, the folks from Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program and The Crested Butte Film Festival explore Sarah Polley's fascinating documentary about life, family secrets and the mutability of memory. We get lost in a mind-bending discussion about what's real and what's not! Plus, our hosts share their own favorite movies about family dysfunction, adding even more films to your must-see list.  If you would like to receive emails informing you of our upcoming movie selections, send an email to: [email protected] We are grateful to the wonderful DP/30 YouTube channel for a bit of interview audio with Sarah Polley, and to Metropole Films and The National Film Board of Canada for the "Stories We Tell" trailer. Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay. Our audio wizard is Mike Janowski.  Thanks for listening to our podcast about the art of movies and the lost art of conversation!

In our premiere episode, folks from Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program and The Crested Butte Film Festival take a deep dive into the French New Wave and its origins as we have a fascinating conversation about Francois Truffaut's landmark, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film, The 400 Blows.  We are grateful to the amazing Nerdwriter Video Channel for its cogent explanation of the historical forces that produced the New Wave. Our theme music is by Levgen Poltavasky at Pixabay. Our audio wizard is Mike Janowski.  If you would like to receive emails informing you of our upcoming movie selections, send an email to: [email protected]