Five by Five: A Movie Podcast

The Cinnamon Cinephile sat down with producer, director, screenwriter and editor, Tia Cherie Polite-Jones, owner of Black Rose Dagger Films as she and her cast and crew prepare for the 48 Hour Film Project - the Baltimore version. Tia and her team have just 48 hours to write, shoot, edit and submit their four to seven minute short film. But here's the kicker...they won't know anything and they can't start writing until everyone gets their prompt, genre, and a single line of dialogue. Then they have 48 hours to make the film.

The 48 Hour Film Project started in 2001 and has turned into a global phenomenon. Selected final films will be screened August 9th at 7:00 pm at the Charles Theater in Baltimore. Come on and cheer on Team Black Rose Dagger Films

This week Subrina, the Cinnamon Cinephile, sits down with the ultra-cool Michael Haynes-Pitts to discuss the films that inspired his trilogy The Surge Series, about the adventures of Afia Osuwu as she navigates the world of a cyberpunk Africa.

Subrina, The Cinnamon Cinephile, sits down with a favorite Five By Five guest expert, Angelyn Frazer-Giles, this time to discuss her work as a certified End of Life Doula during this stressful time. We start with The Bucket List (2007) with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and wind our way through how to really make your final wishes actual happen, then to Steel Magnolias (1989) for the medical directives you need, organ donation with Seven Pounds (2008) with Will Smith and Rosario Dawson, the battle for rights of a same-sex couple as depicted in Freeheld (2015) with Julianne Moore and Elliot Page, and more. So, what movie got it right? It's Angelyn's #1 on this list. This is an informative and eye-opening topic. 

For Women's History Month Subrina Wood, 'The Cinnamon Cinephile' sits down with the legendary Judy Richardson, civil rights activist, political organizer, teacher, scholar, author and one of the producers of the Emmy winning PBS series "Eyes On the Prize". This 14 episode groundbreaking series was create by Henry Hampton and his Blackside Productions in Boston, MA and broadcast from 1987 - 1990. The production was the start for many up and coming filmmakers and writers including Llewellyn Smith (The Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory, 2016),  Orlando Bagwell (Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed, 2016) and Oscar and Emmy winner Sam Pollard (Sammy David, Jr. I've Gotta Be Me, 2017;  4 Little Girls, 1997; and Mr. Soul, 2018). Eyes on the Prize's singular style of featuring only the actual participants rather than historians and other pundit bringing many of the the women of the movement to our attention for possibly to first time.

Judy Richardson was on the staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the South, from 1963 to 1966: in SNCC’s national office in Atlanta; in Mississippi during “Freedom Summer”; in Southwest Georgia; and in Lowndes County, Alabama. In 1965she left SNCC’s Lowndes County project to become the office manager for the successful, first campaign of Julian Bond (then SNCC’s Press Director, later Chair of the NAACP) for the Georgia House of Representatives. She also organized a residential “freedom school” that brought together young people from civil rights struggles in both the North and South to talk about common concerns and strategies.

In 1978 she began her first stint with Blackside, Inc., and entered the world of film. She worked on all 14 hours of Backside’s seminal PBS series, Eyes on the Prize (winner of an Academy Award nomination, six Emmys, the top broadcast journalism awards, and many other honors). She was Series Associate Producer for the second series, content advisor and researcher for the first series, and Education Director for the full series.

Judy Richardson Five Episodes:

The Cinnamon Cinephile and filmmaker Rahima Rice discuss the negative trope of the Magical Negro in films and how this trope spills over into the lives of Black professionals in corporate America.

As we enter into month seven of life during a pandemic, some of us may feel the need to reach out for help dealing with issues exacerbated by prolonged isolation or close living conditions including; anxiety, stress, or abuse. This episode gives some pointers on working with therapists, either in-person or online, and lists some films that might if nothing else, help get needed conservations started. Plus, we will tip you off to ten great movies, too!

Donna F. Ferber, LPC, LADC is a psychotherapist in private practice for 30 years. She is a licensed professional counselor, a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor, and an educator. Donna works with individuals and in groups. Her office is in Farmington, Connecticut.

Season 2, Episode 2

The Cinnamon Cinephile (Subrina Wood) sits down with Ron Jones, DJ, and CEO of The StarPower Collective, a Harlem Radio internet show.

Eddie Murphy's Dolemite is My Name (2019) inspired this podcast episode in which Ron and Subrina each list their five favorites Black Action Films of the '70s and discuss why they do not apply the term 'Blaxploitation' to these ten films. The lively session includes Ron Jones' deep knowledge and love of the music that pumps through these movies.  Film fans should add any one of these ten films of this the underappreciated genre to their "What to Watch List".

Season 2, Episode 1

The Cinnamon Cinephile joins Lynne Ustach, a lawyer in Avon, CT who is a food and wine aficionado and traveler. Lynne has taken cooking lessons not only in the U.S. but also in Tuscany and Romania and has chased Michelin star restaurants all over Europe. She’s a Cinephile favorite because is a woman who believes there no such thing as “too much”.  In full disclosure, Subrina and Lynne are dear friends since college and have shared many a great meal together.  

Episode 6

Why We Love (Yes, LOVE) Hallmark Christmas Movies

Join Subrina Wood, the Cinnamon Cinephile, and literary agent Andrea Cascardi, as they discuss why they love Hallmark Christmas movies. With an average of 68 million viewers for its annual Countdown to Christmas Marathon this American holiday tradition must be doing something right.

Andrea Cascardi is a literary agent and an unabashed lover of Hallmark movies and rom com novels, especially those set in cozy British seaside towns at Christmastime.

Subrina Wood, the Cinnamon Cinephile; Cynthia Roseberry, a criminal justice attorney in Atlanta; and the mysterious Q, a policy professional in DC, discuss the heated debates surrounding the new Harriet Tubman movie - Harriet. Should Deborah Martin Chase have cast British actress Cynthia Erivio as Harriet? Does the film pander to white audiences? Do the fictional characters add or detract from this incredible true story? Does #BoycottHarriet make any sense?

Previews of Just Mercy, Atlantics, Waves, Harriet and Clemency. 

Join Subrina Wood, CinnCine the Cinnamon Cinephile, and Danielle Jones, a dedicated middle school teacher in the District of Columbia, as they discuss their favorite movies about the over-analyzed, sometimes maligned, but in the end, honored profession of teaching.

Danielle Jones is a native New Yorker and a veteran of the United States Air Force. She has been teaching in the greater DC Metro area for almost 17 years, with most of her time in DC charter schools. Currently, Ms. Jones teaches 8th grade at E.L. Haynes Middle School. When she's not teaching, Ms. Jones enjoys spending time with her daughter, friends, and reading.

We’ll discuss:

The calling of teaching, some heard it early, and some discover it after the fact. The difficulties of establishing relationships when you have just minutes a day with your students. What makes a great teacher and who were the teachers who inspired us as children.

The Cinnamon Cinephile