Ep 683: Lily Hevesh & Jeremy Workman • Yoruba Richen

Filmwax Radio

[6 mins. 9 secs.] Documentary filmmaker Jeremy Workman (“The World Before Your Feet”) returns for his 6th visit to the podcast, this time to discuss his latest film, a hit at SxSW 2021, “Lily Topples the World“. Jeremy’s documentary follows domino artist and YouTube sensation, Lily Hevesh, over the course of the 3 years and becomes as much a coming of age story, then a look at the subculture of domino toppling. The film is currently available for streaming on Discovery+ and is having a 1-week theatrical engagement at NYC’s IFC Center as of today, Friday, August 27th. Spoiler: we’re joined by Lily Hevesh in this segment.

Documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen (“The New Black”) makes her 2nd appearance on the podcast, this time to discuss two recent works: “How It Feels to Be Free” and “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show”. Both documentaries take a look at African American entertainers in an ongoing changing landscape in both politics and entertainment. “How It Feels to Be Free” tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process. The film, part of the American Masters series, is currently available on Amazon Prime Video. “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show” takes place in early 1968, as riots rock American cities and the Vietnam War escalates, legendary entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte takes over `The Tonight Show’ for one week. With a guest list that includes Bobby Kennedy, Aretha Franklin, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sidney Poitier, Belafonte introduces a fractured, changing country to itself for five historic nights. The film is available for free on the Peacock streaming platform.

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