Closed Set w/ Themistoklis Alexis Themistoklis Alexis

Our director for this month is the mercurial Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984), who left an indelible mark on American television and cinema over a 30-year career.
Despite his many clashes with Hollywood studio brass (and often his own crew) and his early passing at the age of 59, Peckinpah distinguished himself with a singular vision of the Old West and his graphic depictions of violence in films like The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. We'll revisit these films and what the man known as "Bloody Sam" sought to demonstrate with his often polarizing on-screen violence.
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This month, we return to celebrate and examine the work of a personal favourite of mine: Greek-Cypriot director Yannis Economides (b. 1967). 
Heralded as one of several filmmakers responsible for a recent resurgence in Greek cinema and an auteur of modern realism, Economides has spent a 20-year career as a feature director exploring the darker sides of human nature and their many manifestations among the lower and middle class of modern Greece, helming bold, unsettling, and often darkly humorous films like Matchbox, Soul Kicking, Stratos, and Ballad for a Pierced Heart.
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This episode takes a stab at covering the life and early work of Hal Ashby (1929-1988), a director who was synonymous with the New Hollywood era of the 70s and helmed a string of beloved films that often doubled as social commentaries, including The Landlord, Harold & Maude, The Last Detail, and Shampoo. We'll revisit these films, Ashby's apprenticeship under filmmaker Norman Jewison, his contradictions, and the parallels between his male protagonists and his own life.
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The show is (finally) back to celebrate the life, work, and legacy of Renaissance man Melvin Van Peebles (1932-2021), a well-travelled director, songwriter, actor, playwright, and novelist who played an integral role in breaking the color barrier for Black filmmakers in Hollywood during the late 60s-early 70s and helmed the groundbreaking and provocative independent hit Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, among many other triumphs.
Join us as we attempt to do his many lives and oeuvre justice by covering his start as a feature filmmaker in France, his role in spawning the blaxploitation film era of the early 70s, and how he paved the way for both independent and Black directors, all without being beholden to the studio system.
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After a hectic month away, the show is back for a look at the life of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) and his portraits of existential dread in the modern world.
Antonioni helped pave the way for Italy's post-war neorealist movement with a series of short documentaries, then set a new standard for European art films in the 60s with L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, and Red Desert. We'll revisit these beloved works and their depictions of alienation, loss of communication between lovers, and superficiality and materialism supplanting traditional values in Antonioni's industrialized Italy. Listen, like, subscribe, and remember to leave the show a rating/review on your podcast platform of choice.
NOTE: As we've done previously with foreign filmmakers, the clips from films and interviews are in Antonioni's mother tongue and in some cases, French, which he spoke fluently. Kisses many.

The marvelous Elaine May (b. 1932) has worn many different hats over a lifelong career that began in the Yiddish theatre during childhood, and before she receives an overdue Honorary Academy Award at this month's Oscars, we're celebrating her with a look at the four films she directed in the 70s and 80s.
An accomplished improvisational comedian, actress, filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright, May first took the director's chair in the early 70s and helmed classics like A New Leaf (which she also wrote and starred in), The Heartbreak Kid, and a personal favourite, Mikey & Nicky - all as the only female Hollywood director of her era. Her career was plagued by frequent studio regime changes and clashes with production heads, but her directorial efforts still stand the test of time as nuanced, ironic, and often hilarious portraits of human behaviour.
Join us as we cover the uniquely talented May's films and the studio troubles - some self-inflicted - that deprived them of the reception they deserved. Listen, subscribe, and comment on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, and Tune In, and don't forget to follow us on Instagram @closedsetpodcast. Kisses many.