Jan 21, 2026

This weeks Guest - Jacques Paisner

What if a regional film festival could be the most practical break you get all year? We sit down with Jacques Paisner, artistic director and founding member of the Santa Fe International Film Festival, to unpack how smart curation, real funding, and a thriving local scene can move a filmmaker from first short to sustained momentum. From early U.S. premieres to Academy-qualifying shorts, we dig into the mechanics that place great films in the right rooms and create conversations that stick long after the credits roll.

Jacques shares how his team scouts Sundance and Berlin, balances associate programmers, and champions Indigenous films curated by Gary Farmer. We talk about the power of panels and mixers that actually connect people, plus the Santa Fe Film Institute’s grants—up to $10,000 for New Mexico creators—that close the gap between an ambitious script and a finished cut. We also explore the wider ecosystem: the Santa Fe Railyard’s cultural hub, direct flights to LA, 300 days of sun, and the grounded lifestyle that lets artists focus, collaborate, and ship work.

We dive into recent standouts across narrative and documentary, the logic behind selecting lifetime achievement honorees like Edward James Olmos and Bryan Cranston, and what’s next on the calendar: March’s Oscar-nominated foreign film series and October’s festival dates. Jacques is also producing Heat Waves and Numbskull Revolution and co-hosts Film Talk Weekly, offering more ways to learn and plug into the community.

If you’re chasing your first festival slot, building a slate, or looking for a place where film culture feels alive and welcoming, this conversation maps the path and the people who can help you walk it.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow, rate, and share the show with a filmmaker friend—and subscribe so you never miss a new story.

If you want to be considered as a guest, please contact us: michael@silverheartproductions.com

We sit down with Cardum Sage to explore how a pandemic pivot, Ghanaian partnerships, and a wellness practice turned sketches into a runway-bound, gender-fluid fashion brand.

Joy, craft, and community drive the journey from Oakland pop-ups to Dubai and New York Fashion Week.

• reclaiming the artist name and creative flow

• crafting masks that sparked a design path

• opening a home atelier and reading community demand

• partnering with Ghanaian tailors and adopting the Nkyinkyim symbol

• decolonizing sizing with Femme, Diva, Queen, Goddess

• designing boleros and cargos for gender fluidity

• sourcing Ankara and mud cloth with cultural intention

• manifesting a New York Fashion Week invitation

• launching Sacred Threads and Afro lux streetwear

• wellness roots and Sacred Naps for nervous system reset

• VIP in-atelier presentation and how to connect on Instagram

Don’t miss out on the next episode subscribe now on all streaming platforms in your area join us as we celebrate the extraordinary moments that shape our lives and I’m looking forward to hearing your story and your success.

Link to Cardum's fashion line:

https://da-af.com/media

If you want to be considered as a guest, please contact us: michael@silverheartproductions.com

Two TV veterans reconnect over a shared credit on Unsolved Mysteries and open a door into Prince’s studio life most fans never get to see. We sit down with editor and author Duane Tudahl to map how a PA-turned-editor found his way to Sunset Sound’s work orders, transformed them into day-by-day chronicles of the Purple Rain and Parade eras, and eventually became the Prince Estate’s lead researcher and archivist. If you’ve ever wondered how a myth becomes a method, this is your tour of the vault—equal parts tape formats, climate control, liner notes, and goosebumps.

Duane walks us through the discipline behind discovery: cataloging two-inch reels and cassettes, cross-referencing engineers and rooms, and shaping box sets that actually deepen the listening experience. We talk Welcome 2 America’s unlikely release, the extended takes that turn 30 seconds into revelation, and why editing Prince means not cutting on the beat because he’s already doing something on it. The stories hit the stage too—$25 Forum tickets, five encores, and a blackout opening that blooms into Stevie Wonder rising for a 20-minute “Superstition.” It’s a reminder that live music can still feel like a secret you get to keep.

We also get practical. Duane shares how to earn trust without chasing gossip, why picking your “mountain” early matters for careers, and how learning the tools others ignore creates resilience. He reveals the next book’s arc—from Lovesexy to Batman—and a passion project worth backing: a documentary on Crack the Sky, the Baltimore band that never stopped showing up. Come for the Prince deep cuts and stay for the blueprint on creative longevity, stewardship, and community. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with a fellow music nerd, and leave a review telling us your favorite Prince era.

If you want to be considered as a guest, please contact us: michael@silverheartproductions.com