For 6 years I have been reviewing movies live every Friday morning. Even when I travelled abroad for film festivals and documentary work, I still video chatted live with the news anchors about the films. This year, due to Covid, I recorded myself at home and the anchors would later record introductions. I missed the live interactions with the news crew which has grown to be a second family. However, there were some positives to this new system. It allowed me more time to research and dive deeper into topics for the audience each week. Since I was no longer able to produce my documentaries or travel for press events, I could watch more films and really do deep dives into what was available, and what audiences were responding most to in the new reality.
Click on the “At the Box Office” image or here for links to my work for ABC 22 WVNY & FOX 44 WFFF.
Click on the “Rotten Tomatoes” image or here for links to my reviews.
Before the pandemic, I had decided to teach a Topics Of Cinema class about the Globalization of TV. I thought it might be a struggle to get some of the students to understand how the dominance of Hollywood, Nollywood and Bollywood is challenged around the world. The pandemic brought more viewers searching for new material and that, combined with Netflix’s decision to add high quality dubbs, often directed by the original directors, meant the rise of international tv shows to even the Netflix US top 10. Suddenly the cultural, economic, social and political issues we were discussing in class were showing up on their screens in students’ free time as well. It was wonderful to see how empowered students became when they realized what forces were at work behind the scenes and how they could use their voices, words and art to influence change.