SOUNDS OF FILM with Tom Needham

In memory of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently passed away, we are sharing this exclusive Sounds of Film interview. A towering figure in modern American public life, Jackson rose to national prominence as a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and went on to become one of the most recognizable voices for civil rights, economic justice, and political inclusion in the United States. Through his leadership of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition an...

In this episode of a Classic Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with filmmaker Dawn Sinclair Shapiro about her documentary The State of Eugenics. Their conversation explores how the film exposes a troubling and often overlooked chapter of American history — the forced sterilization of more than 7,600 people in North Carolina who were labeled as having “undesirable” genetic traits. Shapiro discusses the years of research behind...

Filmmaker Cate Shortland, known to many audiences for directing Marvel’s Black Widow, first drew international attention with her debut feature Somersault. In this episode of The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham welcomes Shortland to discuss the newly restored 4K release of the film, a visually haunting and emotionally intimate coming-of-age story set in the snowy landscapes of Australia. The film stars Abbie Cornish in a breakthro...

On the next Classic SOUNDS OF FILM, Tom Needham speaks with Bill Ayers, a former community organizer and education professor whose early notoriety came as a co-founder of the Weather Underground, the radical antiwar group that emerged from the late-1960s student movement and was later labeled a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI. His past has remained a subject of debate, but it marks just one chapter in a long public caree...

Released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, PLANET OF THE HUMANS takes a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices, including the belief that solar panels and windmills would save us, and by giving in to the corporate interests of Wall Street. Planet of the Humans, which will be available for free on You...

In this episode of Sounds of Film, Tom Needham sits down with Sook-Yin Lee, the director and co-writer of PAYING FOR IT, to discuss her daring live-action adaptation of Chester Brown’s acclaimed graphic novel. The film tells the story of an introverted cartoonist who, when his long-term girlfriend wants to redefine their relationship, begins seeing sex workers and discovers a new kind of intimacy. Combining humor, emotional depth, ...

In this episode of Sounds of Film, Tom Needham speaks with Emmy-nominated filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough about his bold, provocative, and darkly funny new documentary Deepfaking Sam Altman. When Lough is unable to secure an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, he takes a radical turn—building an AI version of Altman using publicly available data and cutting-edge technology. The result is “SamBot,” an artificial co-director that become...

This week on a Classic SOUNDS OF FILM, Tom Needham welcomes legendary singer-songwriter, actor, and recovery advocate Paul Williams for an in-depth conversation about his extraordinary career and his work with Jim Henson’s Muppets. Williams, whose iconic songs include “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Evergreen,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” and “The Rainbow Connection,” shares stories from his decades in music, ...

On this episode of Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Michael Pack, director and producer of The Last 600 Meters, a compelling look at two of the deadliest battles of the Iraq War told through the firsthand testimony of the Marines and soldiers who fought them.

The conversation explores Pack’s approach to documentary storytelling, the challenges of capturing the realities of modern comb...

In this episode of The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with filmmaker Johnny Ma, writer and director of The Mother and the Bear. The film tells the story of a Korean mother who travels to Winnipeg after her daughter’s accident and unexpectedly finds herself on a path of personal transformation.

Johnny Ma explains how the project began years earlier during a stay at a small hostel in Seoul. A conversation with the woman runni...

In this episode of The Sounds of Film, Tom Needham speaks with acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker and visual artist Scandar Copti, the writer and director of the powerful new film Happy Holidays. The multi-layered drama follows four interconnected characters—Rami, Hanan, Miri, and Fifi—as they navigate the pressures of patriarchal values, cultural expectations, and the social systems that shape their realities.

Known for his Oscar-nom...

The Sounds of Film welcomes director Jota Mun, whose feature documentary Between Goodbyes offers an intimate and emotionally layered view of international adoption and family reunion.

The film follows Mieke Murkes, a queer Korean adoptee raised in the Netherlands, as she travels to Seoul to reconnect with her original mother, Okgyun Kang. Their time together reveals decades of unspoken regret, cultural distance, humor, and deep...

The Sounds of Film welcomes acclaimed director Maria Friedman, whose filmed production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along was recently featured at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Friedman joins Tom Needham to discuss the remarkable evolution of the musical—from its troubled 1981 Broadway debut to the acclaimed revival she directed and filmed.

In the film, adapted from Friedman’s Broadway stagi...

The Sounds of Film presents a special podcast episode hosted by Tom Needham and featuring Emmy-winning producer and talent manager Rory Rosegarten, an Executive Producer of Everybody Loves Raymond and Ray Romano’s manager.

Rosegarten has represented many performers including Robert Klein and Tom Green, produced the Broadway musical Late Night Comic at age 25, co-executive produced the TNT drama Men of a Certain Age, and won two...

The Sounds of Film welcomes writer-director Michael J. Weithorn for a conversation about THE BEST YOU CAN, a new relationship dramedy that world-premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and will be available off the record on VOD platforms beginning November 25.

Reuniting Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon on screen for the first time in twenty years, the film offers a smart, sharp, and emotionally resonant look at connection, ch...

Filmmaker Joel Gilbert joins Tom Needham on The Sounds of Film to talk about his new documentary, Roseanne Barr: Is America. In the film, the still hilarious and outspoken Roseanne recounts her unusual upbringing and rise to television stardom. A master storyteller, she shares her take on cancel culture, politics, and the challenges facing free expression in America.

Gilbert discusses Roseanne’s resilience, her lasting cultural ...

This week on The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with Guggenheim Fellow Alan Govenar about his new documentary Quiet Voices in a Noisy World: The Struggle for Change in Jasper, Texas.

Opening in New York theaters on November 14, 2025, through First Run Features, the film explores community, race, and healing in the wake of one of America’s most painful tragedies.

Govenar discusses the making of the film, his upcoming NYC...

The next episode of the Sounds of Film features an interview with award-winning filmmaker Cody Sheehy, director of The Last Dive, which will be featured at the Port Jefferson Documentary Film Series on Thursday, November 6 at 7 PM.

Sheehy’s stunning new documentary follows Terry Kennedy, a legendary diver and American veteran whose extraordinary friendship with a giant manta ray named Willy Wow transformed him from a man with a ...