his grandpa kidnapped the president of Ecuador – journalist Marcelo Ayala

his grandpa kidnapped the president of Ecuador – journalist Marcelo Ayala

Ecuador, 1987. Socialist General Frank Vargas Pazos and his army kidnap the President of Ecuador in an attempted coup d'état – El Taurazo. 37 years later, his grandson Marcelo Ayala and I sit down at UnionDocs (a documentary center in NYC), to talk about this incident and Marcelo's project to uncover more about a grandfather he hardly knew growing up. Marcelo's journalistic work: https://paralelo.info/ [https://paralelo.info/] Thanks to UnionDocs [https://uniondocs.org/]for having us!

Navajo queer filmmaker Carrie House [repost]

We're bringing it back to 2017 when wee little fintan, fresh out of college, went to the navajo nation to live with multi-dualistic spirit, sheep herder, semitruck driver, GIS wizz, filmmaker and writer Carrie House! i worked extra hard to bring this one back from the archives so please enjoy xx

5 weeks in the woods with queer youth – Jorge Wunch

i met Jorge Wunch in the high desert of western New Mexico. we worked together at Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions, a summer outdoor youth program that i attended as a kid. we dive deep into the joys and challenges of traveling for 5 weeks with 4 teens through 3 states, shutting our eyes every night under the pale moonlight. the coyotes are never too far away. learn more about Cottonwood Gulch at cottonwoodgulch.org [http://cottonwoodgulch.org]

tree expert Ella Gensheimer in Mexico

i'm so excited to share with y'all a conversation with my friend Ella at the end of a whirlwind 3 week journey together through Mexico. From Art Week in Mexico City to the mountains of Colima and the beaches of the Pacific, hear all about the magical towns we visited, salsa-drenched meals we shared and surprising hyper local beverages we consumed. Oh the memories :)

artist + filmmaker Huilo in Mexico

Huilo Marvavilla is an artist and storyteller who i met in 2019 when i was looking to visit Costa Rica. Huilo built and ran an incredible art residency program for many years until the residency was burnt to the ground by the neighbors. Huilo is now developing a film that unravels this story and weaves together many other layers of the challenges facing Costa Ricans today. In this episode we chat about the complex process of making a documentary, what it takes to be an artist fully devoted to your craft and life in the small city of Tepic, Mexico. Find out more about the film at: https://jaguarbridgeproductions.com/