(dramatic instrumental music) - [Alechia] These are the stories that move us, the stories that guide us, and the stories that reflect our community.

Filmed in our neighborhoods and local haunts by those who call the city home.

These filmmakers are creating stories that show the life of our city in only a way we could imagine.

These are the stories that we tell.

This is "Atlanta on Film."

Welcome back to "Atlanta on Film."

I'm your host, Alechia Reese.

And tonight we're going to take a look at some pretty touching films.

Now our next film takes an unorthodox look at companionship.

When a young woman meets a stranger in a seedy motel room, they will lie in the weight of her loneliness and hopes of finding closure.

Directed by Brantley Watts, this is "Spoon."

(vintage tape rolling) (beeping) (knocking on door) (knocking on door) (Rachel deeply sighs) (door opens) - Hey.

- Charlie.

- Yeah, I'm here a little bit early.

I hope that's all right.

- Yeah, I wasn't expecting that, but it's okay.

- You must be Rachel, right?

- Yeah.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you too.

Come in.

- Thank you.

(door closes) So... - I don't know what to do next.

- Well, typically I ask for you to pay up front before we go any further.

I know it might seem crude, but it's just policy, so please don't be offended.

- It's okay.

Um... We said 200, right?

- Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Well, you can go ahead and make yourself comfortable and lie down and just remember to breathe and relax.

There's nothing to be nervous about.

After you.

Rachel.

- Yeah?

- There's really no need to be nervous.

You can just relax.

Go ahead and lay down.

Is this okay?

- Yeah.

- Why don't we try something?

- Okay.

- Can you lay on your side?

Can I ask you a question, Rachel?

- Yeah.

- What would he do?

- He would play with my hair.

Not like that, like from the temples.

(Rachel breathes deeply) (Rachel whimpering) (Rachel sobbing) (Rachel deeply exhales) Thank you.

- You are welcome.

- Are you okay?

(Rachel whispers) - Yeah.

- Rachel?

- Yeah?

- I'm really sorry.

- Thank you.

(door opens, closes) (ring clinking) (fan whirring) (fan whirring continues) - I am here with Lindsey Moser, the lead actor in the film "Spoon."

And this particular conversation, because this was my favorite film, and I will tell you why.

I truly do believe that so much of the anxiety, the depression, the increased levels of violence that are occurring now is because of our deep rooted sense of loneliness.

And so when you receive the call, like, okay, you were going to be the lead in this, what was your first response in how you would interpret what the feelings would be in the film?

- I think that pain and grieving and these really deep emotions that we experience in life are very hard to share.

You know, we have a lot of stuff to deal with in life.

And so I was really excited to be able to delve into those emotions.

There are definitely things that I use from my own personal life that help me get to the emotional places that I need to be.

And it's also expressing that pain in a real way.

Yeah, I mean, I'm a weirdo and I get really excited about crying and being highly emotional, basically.

- That doesn't make you a weirdo.

I think it's a release, right?

- Yeah.

- Because we are taught to be strong.

You're okay, you can make it through.

So crying traditionally isn't something that, you know, a lot of us are teed up or excited to do.

- [Lindsey] Right.

- [Alechia] But what you did though is, is you made it to where it was okay.

(Rachel whimpering) What would you say is the most important aspect of all of the themes in the film?

Especially because there wasn't as much dialogue.

- Right.

- So what would you say was most important that you wanted to get across as you were filming?

- Yeah, I think the most important thing that all of us Brantley and Christian, myself and Babacar, all of us wanted this feeling of vulnerability and empathy.

And just to be able to have a space where we do take that time.

The fact that my character, Rachel, has this moment in time just to sit with her pain with a stranger and without fear of judgment.

And to be able to release those feelings and the angst and let your body relax and do what your body has been wanting to do, right?

- Yeah.

- Because our mind controls everything and our mind helps us to keep going, but our body has needs.

- Yes.

- So it's... it's a real like treasure.

- Yes.

- To be able to do that.

- I was doing an event a while back and one of the women at the event said that she hadn't dated in a really long time.

And what she realized at the event that I was hosting is she said that no one had held her hand in almost two years.

Those intense, immense feelings of loneliness, of grief, of touch because as humans, we need to touch.

- Right.

- Like it's a thing.

- Right.

- And so what you did and what your supporting character did is he asked you what is it that you need.

- Can I ask you a question, Rachel?

- Yeah.

- What would he do?

- He would play with my hair.

- So what would you say, or can you tell us what the vision was when it came to ensuring that you got certain shots 'cause the room was kind of kept still dark, and so making sure that there was an entire communication in terms of location, because there isn't a whole lot of dialogue.

Again, like I said in the film.

So what was that like in terms of making sure you guys captured certain shots?

- Yeah, so this film was done on 16 millimeter film.

So Christian and Brantley, Christian was our DP and Brantley our director.

And Christian was like, I have six takes of 11 minute film.

So I have six rolls of 11 minute film.

And so Brantley kind of crafted this idea about one location, two people, something that's very intimate and simple, but very powerful.

So they came up with this and the setup was this sort of, you know, dingy hotel.

- It was a little dingy.

- Yeah.

(Lindsey laughing) It was definitely dingy, but it was also sort of like your grandpa's basement dingy.

- Yeah.

- You know?

- [Alechia] You'll still lay down.

- [Lindsey] Yeah, you're still laying down.

Like it's very warm.

The colors.

- [Alechia] Yeah.

- [Lindsey] All the burgundies and the browns and embers and all that.

It's just very warm.

It all felt like on the day.

And I think in the film it felt like a cocoon.

- [Alechia] Yes.

- [Lindsey] Just like a safe place.

- Before we leave, if you had to describe and give just a brief synopsis of what "Spoon" is to someone who has not yet seen it, what would it be?

- "Spoon" is about intimacy and vulnerability in the freedom of judgment.

And it's about being able to give your pain a second to speak.

(Alechia sighs) - That's powerful.

- We hope so.

- You did that.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much for sharing that pain with me and taking the time with us today.

This has truly been such an intimate and loving conversation, so I thank you for that.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

Yes.

Oh, we love this.

- I know.

- To catch more of this, visit AtlantaOnFilm at WABE.org.

(vintage tape rolling) We each are affected in different ways when your community is treated differently.

For Daniel Robin, growing up and having his local news channel come into his home and watch his Jewish family's traditions felt less like a celebration and more like an examination.

This is "Petting Zoo."

(beeping) (ambient music) - In recent years, there has been a great effort to learn more about the religions of other people other than our own.

And it's a wonderful opportunity that we have to today to share the New Year's celebration with Rabbi and Mrs. Stanley Robin and their family.

(people singing) - [Announcer] These are the young ladies, six to 12 years of age.

We've got our judge today, Mr. David Park getting down there with a red flag in his hand.

This is a timed event for these young ladies.

Watch close.

This does get exciting.

Our next cowgirl, Kim Maxwell.

Kim Maxwell, Bakersfield, California cowgirl.

- [Voiceover] We saw the TV program with your family because the rodeo came on right after that.

Back then there wasn't much on TV in Bakersfield.

I remember I was really excited to be on TV and must have turned it on too early.

But I saw you and yelled out something like, "there's the boy who lives down the street, he's on TV" My daddy came over, watched for a minute and got angry saying things like, "why'd they let those people on TV?"

(horse neighing) I don't think he really hated Jewish people, but back then there weren't very many of you in town.

I think you were the only one at school.

I remember he turned the TV off and I started crying because I wanted to see myself in the rodeo.

(people singing) - And now we'll do the Shehecheyanu which says we give thanks that we're alive, that we're here this day to celebrate together.

(people singing) - [Voiceover] I remember my mom and dad were watching your family on TV and were saying something about how Jews thought they were better than everybody else.

I told them you're in my class.

My mom said something that I didn't understand at the time about a petting zoo we went to in Hart Park.

Pointing to the TV she said, "they seem nice like those goats we patted at the zoo, but you can't trust them."

(people singing) - Now we'd like to have the blessing over the children, which we do in our holidays.

(family praying) (goat bleating) Anna, would you briefly tell about the apples and the honey before we dip them?

- Well again, honey, for a sweet year and sometimes people dip challah in the honey and it's just a custom at the new year time for another sweet.

- And would you pass one to your mother.

Daniel?

Okay, dip it in the honey.

And we wish you all a very sweet New Year.

A sweet life.

There you are, I'll dip a little in.

- It's kind of sticky.

(phone ringing) (water splattering) - [Voiceover] Before the TV program, I remember you would come over and swim at our pool, but afterwards my parents told me not to invite you over anymore.

It didn't bother me because I blamed you for not being able to watch myself in the rodeo.

Now I understand why my parents didn't want you coming to our house, but times have changed and I'm not like my parents.

- Anna, you prepared this beautiful meal for us to show today and to share with our viewers.

But everything is very special for this occasion.

- Yes, the different things have different significance and I'd like to explain it to you.

- I wish you would.

- All right.

We might start our meal off with chopped liver, which the children helped me make.

Debbie and Daniel each took a turn grinding it 'cause I have a hand grinder and a meat grinder and it's chicken liver and onion and hard boiled eggs.

And it's just, again, there's no religious significance, but it's accustomed to serve this maybe as the first course.

And then we- - Excuse me, may I just ask, what we are seeing and sharing here today, is this the same kind of meal that all over this universe people are sharing?

- Well, very similar.

There might be slight variations on the same theme, but basically the same kind of thing.

- We're going to talk more with our guests, Rabbi and Mrs. Stanley Robin and Debbie and Daniel Robin in just a moment but we're going to take a break for right now.

(drums music) - [Voiceover] I remember watching the TV show with my mom and she said, some people at school might treat you badly if they saw the show.

I didn't understand.

And she told me sometimes there's prejudice against Jewish people, kind of like black people, but different.

Not long after the TV show, our teacher, Mrs. McFadden yelled at you in front of our class and sent you to the principal's office because you refused to sing the Christmas song about Jesus.

Then I begin to understand what my mom said, but was still a little confused because you looked like the other kids.

I felt sorry for you.

You were the only Jewish boy in class and I was the only black girl.

(children chattering) - New Year's cards are sent out at this time and the children are very much involved in making those New Year's cards.

As we will see, as we watch Debbie and Daniel Robin assisted by their mother as they make their own New Year's cards.

- Okay, would you like to tell them how we do it Debbie?

- Okay, see this is pink.

You roll it on the lock and then you roll it until you get it all on.

Then we print the blocks on the card and make it like this.

And then you write to such and such person (children chattering) (car door closes) - [Voiceover] Not long after the TV show, I remember you came to school with a candle holder your people used on the holiday during Christmas.

I think you talked about it during show and tell.

You were really proud of being a Jew.

That bothered me and a few other boys who had seen you on the TV show.

(children whispering) (Rabbi blows horn) - Those are the three different sounds that we've had and we still have and we'll continue to have for centuries.

And it says, "wake up.

If you've done something wrong, correct it.

If you can mature, find a way to mature more."

So the Jew prepares a month beforehand.

He begins to think about it during the 10 days between the New Years and the Day of Atonement, he actually does something very specific.

You can see it's a little different.

To say the least than the American New Years.

- [Voiceover] We chased you home calling you dirty Jew boy and smashed your candle holder.

You cried, so we kept punching you until you fought back.

We didn't know any better.

We were just kids.

(school bell ringing) - And it was a tremendous experience.

And I know that those who are watching today will find it so.

But it's so great that we are now... have now come to the place where we wanna know about other people and accepting the beliefs of other people.

(drums music) (instrumental music) - Hello, we are back again with Daniel Robin of the "Petting Zoo."

How are you?

- Good.

- Excellent.

Now, when I was watching this particular film, what I wanted to get from you, which was for me the most important piece is what inspired you to tell this story this way?

- There are several layers.

I guess the first layer, it came out of curiosity.

There's this tape in my closet that I've had for years, my mother had, and I'm not sure what's on it, I think it might be the television program from when I was very young, a local TV station in Bakersfield, California came into our house and did an expose, I guess, for lack of a better word about our family celebrating Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year.

So I watched the tape and you know, the first viewing, I was like, wow, look at my parents, how young they were.

Look at me.

And then I watched it a few more times and I started to see a narrative, a narrative on one level about the formation of my Jewish American identity because right, there's a lot of things that inform all of us who we are, lived experiences, learning through our parents, our culture.

So on that level, that was there.

But it also, hope, I guess, prompted me to think of memories of somewhat challenging times.

- [Alechia] Yeah.

- [Voiceover] You were really proud of being a Jew.

That bothered me and a few other boys who had seen you on the TV show.

(children whispering) We chased you home calling you dirty Jew boy and smashed your candle holder.

You cried, so we kept punching you until you fall back.

- And so in the naming of the short "Petting Zoo" and then watching the interviewer and how she acted and communicated and spoke to your family, it was very clear that there was no real interest there.

And so at one point you kind of have to decide where do we draw the line to where me learning about this person's lived experience isn't as harmful to them as my being educated.

And so how can we as just humans and all of us being on the same planet at the same time, in the same dimension, how can we better get to know those who are not like us without causing as much harm?

- That's a good question.

I think it's complex, and I can't speak for all communities or all individuals.

I think we have all of our own very unique and diverse lived experiences.

I think in this case maybe she could have made herself a little bit more vulnerable and talked about her lack of awareness.

And I think maybe that might, again, I can't speak for other situations where people are representing other communities, but maybe if somebody who's doing the interviewing or presenting these other people, yeah, maybe if they were a little more vulnerable and talked about their own perspective and relationship to this community or these people.

- Anna, you prepared this beautiful meal for us to show today and to share with our viewers but everything is very special for this occasion.

- Yes, the different things have different significance and I'd like to explain it to you.

- I wish you would.

- When you are looking at what you've created and how you've pieced it together, what would you say were some of the more challenging aspects when it came to the technical aspects of putting all of the pieces of that story together and telling it in a way that communicated what it is that you wanted?

What was most challenging for you?

- I think always the most challenging thing for me is structure.

Is thinking about how everything said in the text or these interviews, how images are moving forward in succession, how they're building ideas.

- [Alechia] Yes.

- Cohesively and on an emotional level and sustaining that tension.

For me, those are the most difficult challenges in creating a film.

But yeah, its structure is really the most challenging thing.

- I'm picking up what you're putting down.

I'm picking up what you're putting down, but no, I really like how you were willing to share this piece because it is such a personal piece and sharing too how it made you feel.

Because again, that being vulnerable allows others to share their stories in ways in which it could have done better so that we can move and push all of our cultures forward.

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful story with us and allowing me to discuss it with you.

I'm truly appreciative.

- Thank you.

- You're most welcome.

(popcorn sizzling) (people chattering) Our interactions with the opposite sex as we're growing and learning are married to moments of uncertainty.

And Angie, a 14-year-old Latina girl, is left to process not only her friendship, but also her first intimate experience performed without her consent.

Let's explore the complexities of "Angie."

(vintage tape rolling) (beeping) (guitar music) ♪ You say that I'm the only one ♪ ♪ That you'd do anything for me ♪ ♪ Sometimes I need to see it ♪ ♪ Catch my breath and knock me on off my feet ♪ ♪ But when the wind is strong ♪ ♪ You left me and you're gone ♪ ♪ I need someone to be there for it all ♪ - Are you ready?

Aw, so cute.

- Please don't.

- The lighting in your bathroom sucks.

- Do you think he's gonna like me?

- I'm sending him a picture.

Can you try to not look like such a dork?

There.

(camera shutter clicks) - This is dumb.

- Try to look cute.

- So he's a skater?

- Yeah, he's a total hotty and he's Jonathan's friend so we can go on double dates.

Ooh, that last one.

- Let me see it.

- All right, let's go.

Jonathan said he's on his way and he's got his brother's car.

- Okay, cool.

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.

I missed him so much.

- Let me see.

You want me to send it to you?

- Yeah.

(mother speaks in Spanish) - Gracias mommy.

(mother speaks in Spanish) (Veronica speaks in Spanish) - Thanks again for the ride.

(mother speaks in Spanish) - Have fun.

Be careful.

- Should we just wait for them inside?

The movie's about to start.

- You can go in if you like really want to.

I'll wait for them.

- Okay.

One for the 4:30 please.

- Enjoy.

- Thank you.

- [Speaker 1] Thank you for your time.

- [Speaker 2] Thank you.

- [Speaker 1] Best of luck.

Girls will validate your parking in the lot.

- [Speaker 2] Do they?

Oh, for the green lot?

(people laughing) Okay.

- [Speaker 1] Totally different building.

- [Speaker 2] No big deal.

- [Speaker 1] Well not for me, I'm not gonna drop $25 in parking.

Well, I'm an adult male.

I read signs before I go someplace.

- [Speaker 2] Okay, well thank you.

- [Speaker 1] No, it's good.

Best of luck growing up.

- [Walter] Love surprises.

Oh, I'm Walter by the way.

- [Amy] Amy, nice to meet you.

- [Walter] Nice to meet you.

- [Amy] Yeah, how do you guys know each other?

- [Voice On TV] We went to high school together.

- [Amy] Fun.

Reunited and it feels o good.

- Angie, what the hell?

Jonathan said he could take us to the party.

- I wanna watch the movie.

- [Amy] Wow, that's really short.

- [Voice On TV] Yeah, he's on his way to the Grand Canyon.

- [Amy] Wow, that's so cool.

- Well, I get off in like an hour, so if you want, I can give you my key and you can go hang out at my place or there's- - [Amy] You can just go.

Yeah, just go.

I mean everybody's gone in the office anyway and I can handle whatever comes here.

- [Voice on TV] Yeah, no, no, I don't want do that to you.

- Zach.

- Angie.

- So what did we miss?

- About half an hour.

- [Voice On TV] Well, cool Amy.

Thanks.

- Sorry about that.

- [Voice On TV] Yeah, yeah, let me just gather my stuff real quick.

- Hey, this movie blows.

Let's go to the other one.

- Yeah, this is kind of lame.

- I'll stay with you if you wanna watch it.

- No, that's fine, we can go.

- The last one there can suck a dick.

(Veronica chuckles) (eerie music) - Fuck you!

- We'll leave you two cuties alone.

(tense music) - [Voice On TV] No!

Don't, don't.

- [Voice on TV] Yes.

You would've killed me.

You wanted to kill me.

Why?

Because of your face?

- [Voice On TV] I had this scar taken away, but it was a mistake.

The mark of your craft.

- You're really pretty.

- Oh wow, thanks.

- Have you ever kissed anyone before?

Really?

That wasn't supposed be a diss.

You're just really pretty.

- [Voice On TV] You murdered him!

You murdered him.

You murdered him!

Murdered him.

(woman sobbing) (soft music) Dear Alan, I have made sufficient progress that I can write this to you now.

First I must tell you, there really was a Harold Dennis.

He did come to the house that day and rented the room, but he called that night to say his mother had died and wouldn't be around after all.

It was then that I conceived the idea of impersonating you.

I knew you were disturbed at the prospect of having a stranger in the house.

Hi, I thought I heard you come in.

- It's okay.

- [Voice On TV] How did the new class go?

- [Voice On TV] Well, music appreciation isn't the most challenging course in the curriculum, but it's a start.

(tense music) (Zach heavily breathing) (Zach moaning) - Damn, you're good Angie.

(menacing music) (soft instrumental music) Come on.

(ambient music) - Hey girl.

OMG, you have to tell me everything.

- You left me.

(Announcer on TV speaks in Spanish) (mother speaks in Spanish) (water pattering) (water pattering) (Angie breathes heavily) - I am here with Ines Michela and she's actually joining me on Zoom from LA.

Not only am I super excited to join her to talk about the film she directed called "Angie" but we are going to get all the way in so that we can discuss many of the ways that the main character and supporting characters show you how easy it is to not only lose yourself, but forget your voice.

So Ines, how are you?

- I am so great.

Thank you so much for having me this morning.

- Absolutely.

Your film was so interesting to me because it highlighted and made me think of my own 13-year-old daughter and the types of decisions and friendships that she's developing and will have to make as she continues to grow.

But I wanna know from you, what was your role in the film and what was your primary goal when you decided that this was a production that you were going to bring to life?

- Yeah, so I was the writer and director, and "Angie" is a film that I honestly started working on much longer before I even started writing it.

I think I had the idea, I had a concept, I had sort of an image of lines that I wanted to bring to life and it was this image of this girl, basically the ending standing in front of her sink, standing in front of the mirror.

Her reflection sort of bogged out and sort of grappling with something that she'd been through.

Oftentimes, the struggles of young women in media I feel are not quite matching of the realities of what we go through.

And based on personal experiences that I'd been through and that other friends had been through, I really wanted to tell the story of a young girl struggling with or going through her first intimate encounter and seeing what, the fallout of that looks like in a way that felt realistic and that honored what that experience is actually like without glossing over all the details I guess.

So what I really wanted to do with this was reach out to the 13-year-old girl, you know, reach out to the 13-year-old me and say like, it's okay, we understand this is how it is.

You're not alone.

This is what it feels like.

- Yeah, it was definitely a story where you were actually portraying just how early we do lose our voice and how misaligned friendships can put us in predicaments in situations that we're honestly not really ready for.

So what did you use to be able to tell a story that is so sensitive with such integrity and also sensitivity because of the subject matter?

Like, what did you do?

How'd you do that one?

- We are in Angie's head, right?

So every single decision from the script to the edit was made based on that.

What does it feel like to be in that place psychologically, emotionally, I wanted to focus on what it felt like to be in those shoes, to go through that more so than focusing on what the actual event was.

- Damn, you're good Angie.

- I really wanted to find out from you when you were deciding on, and I know you said this was forming over a number of years, but when you were deciding on, hey, this is what my point or my purpose or my goals are going to be, was that one of them to show young people, hey, this is how quickly it can escalate and this is what consent does and does not look like, was that one of the concepts?

- Absolutely, absolutely.

And not just on the level of, you know, romantic relationships, but also friendships.

From the get go, Angie is sort of taken on this ride in a way, she's taken on this, through this story by her friends who invites her to go out with her friends.

And you can tell she doesn't really want to go, but she feels like she has to.

And I also wanted to do this to say, it's okay, it's not your fault.

You maybe don't understand how consent works fully.

And sure, maybe she went with her friends to this thing and a lot of people could watch it and say, well, she shouldn't have gone.

She didn't want to, but that's not the point.

The point is that sometimes we do go and it's still not your fault and it's a scary thing to deal with and it's a very real thing that we deal with.

And I guess that is exactly what I wanted to sort of bring in states to other 13-year-old girls who maybe, hopefully had the chance to watch this.

- The female friendship, can you talk about that, how those two characters, how they played against each other and what your vision was for how they would support each other's roles in the film?

- I think female friendships are incredibly complicated and that is one thing that I wanted to explore.

I think oftentimes with movies like this, the focus is more so on the romantic relationship.

To me it was important to show that Angie was someone who was not ready, period.

And her friend had gone through more experiences, was more open to these sort of things and was more ready for it.

So I wanted to sort of show like the differences, especially in those ages.

I think people develop at such different speeds.

I think that's part of what makes it so sad, you know, is that there were the best of intentions, but a lack of maturity overall to help see it through.

And at the end of the day when Veronica does sort of abandon her, it's absolutely heartbreaking because I think Veronica herself probably didn't understand what was gonna happen and didn't foresee it, nor wish that for Angie.

So there's this level of guilt as well.

And I would imagine that if the film continued to play out, what we would see is, you know, what would happen with their friendship.

Would they have a falling out entirely?

Would they at some point reconcile?

- I'm so grateful for this conversation with you.

This was absolutely phenomenal.

For more of films like this, make sure you visit AtlantaOnFilm at WABE.org.

(vintage tape rolling) Now that was truly an emotional piece.

It challenged consent and the use of our voice.

Thank you for joining us in the Atlanta Film Festival to celebrate the independent films in our city.

I hope you joined us for the entire season and I cannot wait to find out what your favorite film was.

I'm your host Alechia Reese and stay tuned for more "Atlanta on Film."

(instrumental music) (instrumental music) (gentle music) - Should we just wait for them inside?

The movie's about to start.

- [Alechia] "Atlanta on Film" is back with an all new season of captivating films and in-depth conversations with the filmmakers behind them.

With 23 independent films curated by two of Atlanta's most prestigious film festivals.

This season of "Atlanta on Film" is sure to ignite your passion for cinema like never before.

Experience a range of stories from thrilling dramas to insightful documentaries.

- She's very surprised that I became a clown.

- [Alechia] Each film offering a unique window into the artistry and vision of independent filmmaking.

Catch all new episodes starting Saturday, April 6th at 10:00 PM on WABE TV and stream anytime on WABE.org/AtlantaOnFilm.