Filmmakers Collaborative

01/14/2026

"...While the Supreme Court itself hasn't yet faced the issue squarely, the seven federal circuits that have done so…all agree that the First Amendment protects the right to record police performing their duties in public.

Likewise, federal circuits have upheld the right to use vulgar language to oppose police without fear of retaliation, and to warn others of nearby police checkpoints or speed traps.
..the administration's "attempt to alter reality by establishing new legal facts on the ground" ultimately serves as a green light for informal repression."

"Violence is anything that threatens them and their safety, so it is doxing them, it's videotaping them where they're at when they're out on operations," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

01/13/2026

Go listen to our most recent episode!

🎙️ In this clip, producer Laura Varela shares how the late Corporal JV Villarreal’s personal footage—filmed during his final deployment—became the heart of American Sons, a powerful new documentary that premiered January 12 on PBS. American Sons Laura Varela

📹 After JV was killed in action, his sister received the footage he recorded for his family. That archive, along with haunting images from war photographer Scott Olson, laid the foundation for a film that honors JV’s memory and the unbreakable bond among his fellow Marines.

💔 His story is more than a chronicle of war—it’s a window into brotherhood, sacrifice, and healing.

🎧 Full episode out now: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/american-sons-a-fallen-marines-story-unites-his-comrades/

01/13/2026

Weiss' ...."reimagining of CBS News has faced heavy scrutiny, and even became a punchline on her own network: At Sunday’s Golden Globes, broadcast by CBS, the host, Nikki Glaser, earned one of her biggest laughs when she declared that CBS News was 'America’s newest place to see BS news.'

David Ellison, the technology heir who controls CBS and installed Ms. Weiss, was in the audience.

That Ms. Weiss’s news division merited a mention at a Hollywood awards show speaks to how the disruptions at CBS have penetrated the culture beyond the media in-crowd — and underscored questions already hanging over her bumpy stewardship of a major news institution."

Her reimagining of “CBS Evening News” is under heavy scrutiny, and even became a punchline on her own network on Sunday at the Golden Globes.

01/13/2026

"...Famous chef and food stylist Elle Simone Scott, beloved by viewers for her role as host of PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen, has died. She was 49.

According to People, Scott passed away on Monday (January 5) after a long battle with ovarian cancer. America’s Test Kitchen confirmed the passing in a statement with the outlet, sharing that the community is “mourning the passing of one of its brightest stars.”

Carla Hall and more pay tribute.

01/12/2026

"As the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) concludes its grantmaking, the organization today announced a $2.9 million grant to American Public Television (APT) to a new initiative designed to help local public television stations complete, distribute, and promote locally produced content for national audiences.

Through the project, APT will create a dedicated fund to provide finishing funds and editorial support for station-produced programs with strong potential for broader distribution.

The initiative will ensure that locally-rooted stories—often constrained by financial and distribution barriers—can reach viewers nationwide through broadcast via APT’s Exchange service, one of the largest sources of programming available to public television stations, as well as through streaming and social media platforms."

Washington, D.C. (January 12, 2026) — As the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) concludes its grantmaking, the organization today announced a $2.9 million grant to American Public Television (APT) to a new initiative designed to help local public television stations complete, distribute, an...

01/12/2026

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW

🎙️ In this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo speaks with producer Laura Varela and director Andrew Gonzales about their powerful new documentary American Sons, premiering January 12 on PBS. Laura Varela American Sons

📹 Told through the video diary of Corporal JV Villarreal, who was killed in action in Afghanistan, the film captures the raw realities of war—and the deep bonds that endure long after the battlefield.

🤝 A decade later, JV’s fellow Marines still gather to remember him and support one another through grief, trauma, and healing.

💔 American Sons is a moving tribute to friendship, sacrifice, and the urgent need for mental health support for veterans.

🎧 Listen now to hear the story behind the film: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/american-sons-a-fallen-marines-story-unites-his-comrades/

01/10/2026

"...On Sunday, Neon will show up at the Golden Globes with 21 film nominations — the most ever for the company and the most from any one studio this year, including the behemoths Netflix and Warner Bros.

The movies, all of which are non-English language, hail from Norway, Iran, Brazil, South Korea and France. They explore themes of family dysfunction, torture, authoritarianism and corporate greed. And they are vying for prizes usually reserved for English language films: best picture, best director, best actor and best screenplay."

Neon scored more film nominations at the Golden Globes than any other studio this year with a slate of six non-English language films.

01/09/2026

"...Cinema as a medium has always been defined by its persistence: the persistent illusion of motion that allows a quick succession of still images to assume the quality of a dream, the persistent hold that it maintains over our imaginations in the face of invasive new technologies, and the persistent faith that it projects onto the power of communal experiences, even at a time when reality itself is being siloed into a series of discrete echo chambers (shoutout to 'Eddington')..."

In which a writer takes several of the world's best filmmakers hostage and lectures them about the relationship between critics and artists.

01/09/2026

"...What’s special about “The Pitt” isn’t that it’s medically accurate, although it is. (I even learned a few things about how to insert an emergency chest tube.) What’s special about the show is that it offers a kaleidoscopic view of how societal problems have come to pervade medicine."

It’s as if the show’s creators absorbed every important conversation in health care today—and somehow transfigured it into good television.

01/08/2026

Last spring, Marisa Fox-Bevilacqua joined us on Making Media Now to discuss how federal funding cuts were impacting documentary filmmakers. This week, she has a remarkable story in Rolling Stone about how music brought light and hope to Israeli hostages in the aftermath of October 7.

From Frank Sinatra to Avenged Sevenfold, Oct. 7 hostages describe how music helped them endure captivity, maintain sanity, and hold on underground.

01/07/2026

"2026 is looking to be a top-tier year at the movie theater.

The latest installments in the Dune, Spider-Man and Avengers franchises will be released, while millennial nostalgia will continue at the multiplex with Devil Wears Prada and Practical Magic sequels.

And new films from Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig will both be gracing Imax screens."

Along with a new ‘Dune’ and ‘Spider-Man’, 2026 will have nostalgia plays like ‘Devil Wears Prada’ and ‘Practical Magic’ sequels as well as films from Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig.

01/07/2026

NPR has created a front-line account of the Jan 6 riot and a public database drawing on thousands of hours of footage and years of reporting: "The evidence vividly shows the planning for 'revolution' and the brutality of violence."

NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.