THE SECRET ART OF HUMAN FLIGHT is a cinematic tour de force that will have audience members resonating with emotion for days and days after they’ve seen the film. “My hope,” Director H.P. Mendoza writes in a statement, “is that viewers can lose themselves in this story and meditate on their own lives, their own phobias and roadblocks, and their connections to other people – maybe even to the other people in the theater. And even if after viewing this film you run back into isolation for whatever reason, I hope that – for a moment – I connected with you.”– Review, Article by Gregg W. Morris.
Author: Greggory W Morris
The First Day of Classes 2024 Fall Semester at Hunter College/CUNY: Bada Bing, Bada Boom - Part 1
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) came under fire this month after it declared academic boycotts to be “legitimate tactical responses” and “not in themselves violations of academic freedom,” which was a reversal of its previous and longstanding position on the issue. Many have condemned this decision as a threat to academic freedom and a furtherance of the harmful politicization in higher education.
Some AFA members have written and spoken out in response, including Joshua Katz, who wrote in City Journal that the decision adds “fuel to the fire” of ongoing campus tumult, and Cary Nelson, a past president of the AAUP, who wrote in The Chronicle of Higher Education that it is an abandonment of academic freedom that violates the AAUP’s own stated values.
Linked here is a petition related to the AAUP’s new position that many of our members have shared with us and several have already signed. We are sharing it with you in case you are interested in adding your name
– Gregg W. Morris
MONSTERS AMONG US:
It’s in Pre-Production. It’s Partially Filmed. It’s Seeking Investors. It’s Filmmakers Are on a Mission to Unleash the Monsters That Dwell Within Us All!
ATTENTION FUTURE INVESTORS. “This is not just another horror film; it’s a bold exploration of the shadows within us all. By investing in this project, you are supporting a compelling narrative that challenges audiences to question their perceptions of morality and the boundaries between good and evil. Join us in bringing this chilling tale to life and making a significant impact in the world of psychological thrillers.” – Jennifer Betit Yen
BOOGER (2024): News Advance Is All Systems Go! – Part 1. Film Review Embargoed Until Monday, September 9
Anna’s best friend Izzy unexpectedly dies in a bike accident, and Anna struggles with survivor’s angst. Yet, as she struggles to process the fatal lost of a best friend, Booger, Izzy’s cat, escapes the Brooklyn apartment that she and Anna used to share. Anna turns her already unstable life topsy-turvey looking for the pet when Booger bites her, triggering a terrifying metamorphoses. Eerie and strange, BOOGER toes the line between cringe-comedy and tragedy, so the filmmakers say. – By Gregg W. Morris
2024 Hollyshorts Film Fest
ONE FOR THE ROAD
A few grisly scenes that made me cringe but overall there were no goosebumps. I wasn’t spooked. The hair on my neck didn’t rise to the occasion. Nevertheless, this reviewer thinks what the filmmakers may have in mind for the long term – typical of independent filmmakers who make film shorts – could be a goosebumping-hair-raising SCREAM IF THINGS GO THEIR WAY.
– Article by Gregg W. Morris
The 8th Annual Festival of Cinema NYC Filmmaker Awards
“Our film festival is a rarity in how we have managed to create a special FOC NYC family through the staff, our audiences, and of course, our filmmakers, who make the trip from Europe and the West Coast, and sometime just down the street in Forest Hills to attend the festival and celebrate cinema in person, says Festival of Cinema NYC Founder and Executive Director Jayson. “It’s not lost on us, how special it is that the majority of our attending filmmakers are with us from our first kickoff party all the way through the presentation of the final award.”
– By Gregg W. Morris
American Cinematheque Second Annual PROOF Film Festival, October 18-20
PROOF is a short film festival in Los Angeles dedicated to showcasing the best in proof-of-concepts. Providing a highly competitive and unique festival experience, as well as opening the door for fruitful future filmmaking opportunities, PROOF is a one-stop-shop for the newest emerging talent.
Article by Gregg W. Morris
CREW – Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington – Report on Project 2025
In October 2020, Donald Trump issued an Executive Order establishing a new Schedule F employment category for federal employees. Under this new employment classification, tens of thousands of federal workers would be stripped of most merit-based civil service protections. Without…
2024 HollyShorts Festival
SPACEMAN
“My hope is to blur the lines between the tangible and the ephemeral. By delving into Spaceman’s subconscious we are able to explore the cathartic nature of artistic creation and the ways in which it can offer a sense of purpose, as well as the danger and risk to one’s sense of self,” Director Abramovici is quoted as saying. “Spaceman is a unique film in many ways, including it being highly commercially viable while staying true to its artistic integrity. It’s a movie that audiences all over the world will relate to on so many levels.”
Article by Gregg W. Morris
ACLU Experts Say Trump’s Project 2025 Is a Roadmap to Authoritarian Rule
A Roadmap for a Tyrant: ACLU Experts on Project 2025
The team that developed 2025 consists of over 140 former Trump administration officials, laying out a series of invasive and downright harmful proposals to go after most fundamental rights. Take abortion rights, for example. Project 2025 wouldn’t stop at sweeping abortion bans – already a devastating prospect. Their proposal goes even further, cutting funding to states that don’t report a slew of deeply specific and personal medical details regarding abortion, miscarriage care, pregnancy complications, and reproductive health care in general.That’s a massive invasion of privacy. It is absolutely weird that anyone would want the government having so much information about our personal health. But you know what else it is? Dangerous totalitarianism.
Every proposal in the Project 2025 manifesto has this same, disturbing focus – they want to strip away rights at any cost. That’s why we’re showing up in force to stop Project 2025 now. Our experts have the strategy to win across every civil liberty issue at stake – but we need you with us.
*the WORD considers Trump – because of his extreme racism and hostility to People of Color – an Existential Threat. Too many of his Base are way too comfortable with those MAGA creature features. And too many corporate news media don’t bite the bullet when they write about him being an authoritarian or a tyrant and obviously dodging the racism issues.
Can be reached at gregghc@comcast.net, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com