Free Arfat Sheikh
Friday, Oct. 9 — Happy Friday, everyone. If you didn’t see earlier this week, filmmaker Arfat Sheikh – whom Aaron Strand and I interviewed back in our Crash Zoom days – was detained by ICE in late September as he was arriving at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. He was granted bond on Oct. 6 and released 48 hours later. He is scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 27.
Arfat went to Georgia State University and filmed his movie “Saffron Kingdom,” which tells the story of a Kashmiri family navigating decades of trauma, displacement, and resilience, right here in Georgia. It’s a wonderful film, and when Aaron and I interviewed him, he was so gracious with us in sharing his story and telling us about his movie. His friends and family have started a GoFundMe to help pay for his legal fees, and you can find more information and stay updated on this Instagram page.
🤝 In other news, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have officially completed their $111 billion merger, creating what will henceforth be known as Skydance Corp. And (surprise, surprise) here come the layoffs.
🍿 Killer Mike is set to host the Atlanta theatrical premiere of the documentary “CYCLE” on Oct. 23 at the Plaza Theatre.
💚 As part of Atlanta Climate Week, the documentary “A Resilient Future,” told through the lens of Shades of Green Permaculture Founder and CEO Brandy Hall, is playing at the Tara Theatre on Oct. 11.
📺 For Georgia Voice, check out Jim Farmer’s conversation with Russell T Davies about his new show “Tip Toe” here.
📱 A grassroots campaign called Letterboxd4All is making a community bid to buy the beloved movie social media app, which is up for sale at a reported $300+ million.
💔 Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar-winning Old Hollywood actress known for roles in films like “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest,” passed away this week at the age of 102.
This week’s newsletter includes a new edition of Spotlight, as well as an interview with the creative team behind the new musical “Like Father” and a review of “The Social Reckoning.” Plus, what’s playing at theaters this week and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
New musical ‘Like Father’ combines coming of age and true crime at the Alliance Theatre
🔪 “Like Father,” a new musical written by Jacob Ryan Smith and Caroline Pernick, had its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre on Oct. 8. The musical, which is set in Dahlonega, Georgia, follows Chris (Sophie Pollono), a 17-year-old girl who moves in with her estranged mother (Hannah Elless) and her stepfather (Benjamin H. Moore) after her father is arrested for being a serial killer.
This musical has a special Atlanta connection. Smith hails from Atlanta, as does producer Madison Thompson, best known for her acting roles on shows like “Ozark” and “Euphoria.” Smith and Thompson ran in similar circles growing up, said Smith, but didn’t officially meet until Thompson visited a mutual friend of theirs at Smith’s alma mater, the University of Michigan. They immediately hit it off.
The story behind how “Like Father,” which runs through Nov. 15, came to be is full of serendipitous connections. In addition to Smith and Thompson’s hometown connection and fateful meeting in Michigan, Smith met his writing partner, Pernick, in New York City after they matched on the dating app Tinder. They found they had not a romantic connection, but a creative one – and Smith asked Pernick to come on board almost immediately.
🎙️ Read more about “Like Father” here.
Ready for a Twisted Night Out?
SPONSORED BY DAD’S GARAGE
👻 Atlanta-based comedy theatre Dad’s Garage celebrates original work and offbeat glee, and The Bottle Tree is the newest showcase of the theatre’s signature sensibilities in the hands of a new generation of writer-performers.
While still a comedy down to its ooky, spooky bones, The Bottle Tree is an intimate, interactive, and twisted live theatrical experience with a heavy dose of horror.
→ Come find out why this late-night sketch show is perfect for the Halloween season.
‘The Social Reckoning’ fails on every level
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
📱 “The Social Reckoning” is billed as a sequel to “The Social Network,” the 2010 masterpiece written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, starring Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg – a man who built a massive connection network despite having no idea how to connect with real, actual people.
This time around, Fincher is out, leaving Sorkin to write and direct the film on his own. And “The Social Reckoning,” for all it shares in common with “The Social Network,” doesn’t quite feel like a sequel. Not just because Zuckerberg (now played by Jeremy Strong) barely factors into the film, and not just because it’s a far more straightforward journalism movie than the almost Shakespearean drama of “The Social Network.” It doesn’t feel like a sequel because, like the majority of Sorkin-directed projects, it lacks the verve of the films that come out of his creative partnerships.
This is Sorkin’s fourth feature directorial effort since 2017’s “Molly’s Game.” And while not all of those efforts are bad, they have all failed to sing in the way his films do when another director takes the lead (Danny Boyle, Rob Reiner, Bennett Miller, etc.). But “The Social Reckoning” doesn’t just fail in the fact that it’s ill-directed – that, based on previous examples, we could have predicted. This time, the whole endeavor falls flat, from the screenplay to the casting to the hollow sense of hope.
✊ Read my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
📱 “The Social Reckoning”
👩🍼 “Other Mommy” (pictured)
📸 “The Scout”
🪖 “Atonement”
🇵🇸 “Naza”
🦁 “Animals”
🐦⬛ “Winter of the Crow”
👼 “Angel and the Bad Man”
💌 “Love of Your Life”
Special Events:
🇪🇸 “Pan’s Labyrinth” 20th Anniversary @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
👻 “Kwaidan” in 4K @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
⚰️ “Begotten” in 4K @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
‼️ Soul Cinema Sunday: “They Cloned Tyrone” @ The Plaza (Sunday)
🌅 Cineprov Riff “From Dusk Till Dawn” @ The Tara (Saturday)
🧛 Universal Monsters: “Dracula” @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
🧑💼 “9 to 5” @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Saturday-Monday)
🪓 “The Shining” @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sunday and Wednesday)
Spotlight: Composer Ari Balouzian, ‘Primetime’
🎺 Listening to Ari Balouzian’s score for the film “Primetime” makes me feel like I’m living in a fever dream – and that’s a good thing, because watching “To Catch a Predator” feels like its own sort of nightmarish hallucination.
Lance Oppenheim’s film about Chris Hansen and the rise and fall of “To Catch a Predator” is so much of a visual experience that we might forget how much heavy lifting Balouzian’s score is doing. But the score – just as much as Oppenheim’s direction, or David Bolen’s cinematography – helps create the artifice and unreality that defines the film.
On the first track, “Incantations,” the twinkling tones of its opening moments make you feel like you’re about to watch a magic trick unfold – and you are, in a lot of ways. That gives way to the unsettling, atonal rhythms of “Encounter,” which in turn gives way to “Undressing” and “The Craft,” which almost feel like they were plucked straight out of a ’50s melodrama. Then, you dive straight into “National Epidemic” – a rollicking, synth-driven dance anthem.
It’s enough to give you a little bit of whiplash, but it all serves a purpose. It draws attention to itself in the same way Hansen does – it wants you to notice it, and it wants you to fall under its spell. There’s nothing subtle about Balouzian’s work, and the frenetic nature of those switches in tone makes you hyperaware of the created world that you’re living in. It’s all about going for it, and it’s all about performance – enthralling and a little dangerous.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🎱 “The Color of Money” is one of my favorite Martin Scorsese movies – funny, then, that it’s a money job. I wish all money jobs starred Paul Newman and looked this good! “Blank Check” has an episode about “The Color of Money” out now, and it’s almost as fun as watching Tom Cruise lip-sync to “Werewolves of London.”
📽️ Indie filmmakers are pushing back against industry claims that while there’s high demand for independent films, there simply aren’t enough films out there to buy. Considering how many indie filmmakers I know, I too find that claim … difficult to believe. Check out this report from IndieWire for more.
🤖 I haven’t yet seen “Artificial” (and as Luca Guadagnino’s number one warrior, I don’t know why that’s the case), but I enjoyed Alison Willmore’s assertion that it’s a better sequel to “The Social Network” than “The Social Reckoning” (although, that’s not a very high bar, if I’m being honest). Read Willmore’s full review of “Artificial” here.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
