Cassie Title

The Lady with the Bike Movie: Haifaa Al Mansour

September 13, 2013

Wadjda has won 14 awards internationally, and 12 of them went to director Haifaa Al Mansour. Wadjda is Al Mansour’s first feature film, it’s the first movie to be filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia, and Al Mansour is the first female Saudi Arabian filmmaker.

Freda Kelly: Here, There and Everywhere with the Beatles

September 6, 2013

The Beatles’ secretary was a job that Freda Kelly had, beginning when she was 16 and a half years old, for 11 years. (Even though history says The Beatles were only together for 10 years, she still worked for them for 11.)

Hadas Yaron, from Void to Verge

May 22, 2013

Hadas Yaron, who won Best Actress for her role in Fill the Void at the Awards of the Israeli Film Academy and the Venice Film Festival in 2012, is still adjusting to her newfound fame.

Youngblood Hawke is Up and Running

April 30, 2013

With the recent onslaught of electro-pop bands, it’s only natural that newcomers would want to distinguish themselves. If you’re Youngblood Hawke, you do that, mostly, by filming a music video for your single “We Come Running” underwater—complete with instruments, scuba gear, and 14-foot tiger sharks.

The Gravity of Juan Solanas

March 14, 2013

In Juan Solanas’ latest project, Upside Down, viewers are plunged into a universe where two planets, the aptly named Up and Down, developed on top of each other. It’s an in-your-face metaphor: Up is an affluent planet, with only wealthy people, while Down is a desolate wasteland, filled with the poor.

Amber Rubarth: From the Ward to the Woods

November 14, 2012

Six albums and two EPs ago, Amber Rubarth was just a 17-year-old who decided to skip college in favor of making art with chainsaws. 13 years later, she’s a bona fide indie goddess and NPR darling—writing and recording her own records, collaborating with the likes of Jason Mraz, composing for films, and completing her most recent and first live album, Sessions from the 17th Ward, available now.