Bond on Cinema

Former Green Beret Michael Taylor Discusses Creating the Greatest Escape in History with the Extraction of ex-Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn

Michael L. Taylor is the founder of Vitamin 1 and a former U.S. Special Forces Green Beret and international security expert, internationally known for orchestrating what is said to be the greatest escape in history of Carlos Ghosn (Goan), the former CEO of Nissan and Renault, from Japan in December 2019.
Michael has a long career in elite military service, including experience in counterterrorism, covert operations, and high-risk extractions, which honed his skills in tactical planning and unconventional problem-solving.
After leaving the military, Michael transitioned into private security, specializing in risk management and international security consulting. He was hired by Carlos Ghosn’s associates to execute the complex plan that involved smuggling the high-profile executive out of Japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of alleged corporate misconduct. The operation saw Ghosn concealed inside a musical instrument case and flown from Japan to Lebanon, a country without an extradition treaty with Japan.
#greenberets #carlosghosn #greatescape #counterterrorism #securityexperts #nissan #renault #soldier #riskmanagement #tacticalplanning #extrraction #film #lifelesson #japan #japaneseprison #prison #lebanon

BACK OF THE NET: Female Footballer is Torn Between Her Ambitions and Responsibilities to her Grandmother

Ladies and gentlemen, Back of the Net is a pertinent short film exploring the journey of Maya, a passionate young footballer torn between her aspirations to go professional, and her care responsibilities to her grandmother, who was once a skilled footballer of her time, but now dealing with dementia.
I love this short film. The cinematography is perfect, the framing of the characters and scenes flow from frame to frame telling the story in such way we can clearly understanding the emotion and mindset of each character.
I love films that showcase a character who has a desire or dream they want to accomplish and in many cases, no one is there to encourage them as life sometimes gets in the way.
But there is inspiration in this film with the grandmother’s who memory is slowly fading, but is still able to encourage Maya to go after her dreams.
I see this film going a long way in 2025 and every audience will remember this film for a long time.
#shortfilm #shortfilms #football #soccer #femalesports #sports #dementia #alzheimers #footballer #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #cinema #bondoncinema #cinematography #screenwriter #storytelling 

BAFTA Nominated Short MARION: The only female Bull-Jumper in France, prepares for her performance in a packed arena

Ladies and gentlemen, MARION is an impactful short film set against the backdrop of La Course Landaise – the French tradition of bull-jumping.
The story follows Marion played by the real-life bull-jumper and the only female bull-jumper in France, Caroline Noguès-Larbère.
Marion is a mother as she prepares for her grand performance in a live arena, battling against misogyny and prejudice while also juggling motherhood in the pursuit of her passion.
This short film absolutely deserves to be nominated for a BAFTA and it is a very strong contender. The story of Marion is powerfully compelling. The cinematography adds to the emotion and highlights the depth of the tension between Marion and some of the other jumpers. 
Your eyes are focused on her story and when she enters the bull ring you are focused on her every move. This is what film is all about. Bringing the audience into the life of the character and the good thing is we as the audience stay safe in the theater and let the jumpers do their thing.
#BAFTA #shortfilm #shortfilms #bulljumping #france #LaCourseLandaise #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #screenwriter #misogyny #prejudice #cinema #cinemtography 

WAR and JUSTICE: A 25 Year Look at the Inside of the International Criminal Court at The Hague

Ladies and gentlemen, The documentary WAR AND JUSTICE tells the 25-year history of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its mission to end the most serious crimes against humanity. But can war crimes in war be prevented at all? Or is Ben Ferencz, former prosecutor of the Nureberg Trials, right when he says that the greatest war crime is war itself?
The film focuses on the Argentinian Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was appointed the ICC's first Chief Prosecutor in 2003, and Karim Khan, the current Chief Prosecutor.
On February 24, 2022, Russia invades Ukraine, a short time later the ICC issues an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes. Fast forward, on October 7, 2023, Hamas commits a cruel massacre of Israeli civilians. Israel responds with the largest offensive on Gaza ever. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan travels to the Middle East and announces that he will prosecute any kind of war crimes, on both sides.
Directors Marcus Vetter and Michele Gentile follow Luis Moreno Ocampo around the world as he enlists the support of Oscar winner and UN Ambassador Angelina Jolie and joins forces with Ferencz and Khan to fight wars in Congo, Libya, Palestine and Ukraine.
In the course of the film, a complex legal process is given a face and the viewer understands why wars of aggression can hardly be brought to justice when the major world powers - China, Russia, India and the United States - are still unwilling to recognize the ICC as a global court?
Sadly, just as the film is about to debut, Ferencz dies at the age of 103. But Ocampo and Khan fight on in his honor, more determined than ever to put an end to all wars of aggression. Because war begets revenge; justice does not.
#ICC #internationalcriminalcourt #israel #gaza #hamas #palestine #syria #russia #ukraine #putin #zelensky #congo #angelinajolie #justice #china #USA #india #war #conflict #middleast

PROSLAVA - A Croatian Feature Film Explores the Circumstances that Lead to the Expansion of Extremism in 1945

Ladies and gentlemen, PROSLAVA, Croatian for the word celebration, is a film about Mijo who is hiding in the woods as a soldier at the end of the second World War. Through his life, the film explores the circumstances that lead to the expansion of extremism.
By witnessing his father's cruel act driven by poverty and after carrying out the municipal authorities’ undue order to get rid of the family dog, Mijo became easy prey for right-wing ideology which offered him false hope for a better life and a false culprit for all the things he has suffered.
The main character Mijo is both the protagonist and the antagonist and the story is very deep and heavy. No matter what war rages, it is always a dark time for any one and for any country.
The cinematography of PROSLAVA was captured by Aleksandar Pavlovic and it is beautiful. His camera work takes the audience into the heart of the mountains and into the lives of a Croatian family who deal with poverty and the another promise of freedom that never comes.
#croatia #extremism #film #cinema #featurefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmproduction #storytelling #cinematography #WWII #WW2 #Germany 

THE CASCADE, A Man Discovers He has been Crying for Two Months without even Realizing it

Ladies and gentlemen, THE CASCADE, a man discovers he has been crying for two months without even realizing it. His face has an impenetrable serious gesture. Strangely his tears have decided to work in an inverse manner, transforming his interiors into a waterfall. The water has started to pool at his feet. The man will have to find a way to stop a cry that he can't even feel. 
Everything about this film is stunning. The storyline engages the audience, the cinematography along with the acting of Daniel Haddad is a synergistic dance of storytelling with minimal dialogue. The coloring and the music score play a huge role in this film and overall, it is a cinematic work of art that you must see to believe.
Writer/director Pablo Delgado and as a director his first feature film, Las Lagrimas in 2013, toured film festivals around the world, including Locarno, Rotterdam, Morelia and many more.
His documentary, My Hidden Skin in 2022, in collaboration with his mother, Guadalupe Sanchez, premiered at the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival.
After over a decade, Pablo has made a return to fiction filmmaking with The Cascade, a short film that had its international premiere in the competition of Clermont-Ferrand, taking home the Canal+/Cine+ Prix Award.
The short film THE CASCADE, a man discovers he has been crying for two months without even realizing it.
#shortfilm #shortfilms #oscars #academyawards #lacascade #clermontferrand #canalplus #ambulante #film #cinema #filmmaker #filmmaking #filmdirector #cinephile #interview #locarno

ROADIE: My Documentary - A Discussion with Director TJ Hoffman about How the Life of a Roadie was Born

TJ Hoffman and his film documentary Roadie: My Documentary spans his 20-year career of being roadie turned filmmaker that includes insight from many of his friends in the touring industry.
TJ spent most of the 1990s and 2000’s crisscrossing the planet with bands like M.O.D, Agnostic Front, Ignite, and many more. One of his fondest memories during this period was pulling triple duty as tour manager, drum tech, and guitar tech for Skid Row, the opening act for the legendary KISS Farewell Tour, the last outing with the original members of the band.
So after 20 years and with a truckload of video to work with he thought why not a documentary film about roadies?
#roadie #tourmanager #musictour #concerttour #touring #filmmaking #filmmaker #documentary #KISS #MOD #AgnosticFront #rockbands #metalbands #bands #music #SkidRow

WE'RE NOT DONE YET Short Film Discussion - Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival 2025 - Independence vs Control

Ladies and gentlemen, WE’RE NOT DONE YET is one of the very few short films that have been selected as an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film is about Alex who visits his newly single mother for a weekend at her beach house. But when he is confronted with her new independence, Alex is forced to face his own controlling nature.
This film is a lesson in behavior and it causes ourselves to take a look inside. We need to realize that being controlling can be sign of fear, insecurity and a lack of understanding.
I love films shot on real film as it gives an authentic look and realism to the story, the true essence of life and of cinema.
With WE’RE NOT DONE YET, this is another film that I will remember for a long time, because it is character-driven. You feel every emotion of each character. It gets tense and some of us may feel a bit embarrassed for some of them, because it causes to take a good look at ourselves.
I think this short film is going to go a long way in 2025, so I’m keeping my eye out on this one.
Filmmakers Sofia Camargo and Joseph Longo and their short film WE’RE NOT DONE YET, an official selection at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Sofia is a Colombian filmmaker based in San Francisco. Her short film "Al lado del río" (2019) won the NALIP Jury Award, was featured at the Carta-hi-na International Film Festival, and was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Her cinematography has been showcased at Berlinale, Aspen ShortFest, and the New York African Film Festival. In 2023, she received the Vienna Shorts Jury Prize for Best Cinematography. 
Writer and director Joseph Longo has had his short films screened at festivals such as Cannes, TIFF, and Palm Springs. He produced the feature film "A Perfect Day For Caribou" starring Charlie Plummer.
Joseph starred in the anthology dark comedy “What Doesn't Float” (2023). Currently, he's writing his debut feature, "Lost at the Beach of Sunken Ships" based on the world of “We’re Not Done Yet”. 
#parentalcontrol #family #motherson #relationship #controlling #behavior #insecurities #sellesteem #shortfilm #sundancefilmfestival #filmmaker #filmmaking #filmdirector #screenwriter #cinema #cinematopgrahy #16mm #kodak #cinephile 

THE WAITING GAME: The Powerful Untold Story of the ABA-NBA Merger and The Men Who Were Left Out

Ladies and gentlemen, THE WAITING GAME is a powerful film documentary that gives a history of the ABA, the American Basketball Association and how it pioneered what we know as the NBA today.
But a merger of the two organizations left the players of the ABA without a pension while the NBA is known to have one of the best pensions in the country.
THE WAITING GAME also follows the investigation of the legal trail of the ABA-NBA merger, key impact journalism and the advocacy for justice, the film reveals the lines that can stand between raw corporate interest and basic human dignity.
Filmmaker Michael Husain and his powerful documentary THE WAITING GAME that reveals an incredible battle between the NBA and a tiny non-profit working to gain full recognition for the men of the ABA – a colorful, exciting, rival league that arguably invented the modern game of basketball. It’s a fight for benefits the players of the ABA felt were promised, but never delivered.
He is also known for directing the 2024 documentary short “The Sugarman”. He is the founder of Good Vibes Media and winner of multiple National Sports Emmy Awards for his documentary work.
Michael has created over 200 hours of documentary and non-fiction television including the ESPN "30 for 30" short "Slick, Nancy and the Telethon", multiple episodes of A&E’s American Justice and Biography series, as well as disaster, medical and lifestyle programming for Discovery Networks, along with work for The History Channel, VH-1, HGTV, to name a few.
#ABA #NBA #basketball #michaeljordan #juliuserving #spencerhaywood #georgegervin #merger #pension #truestory #litigation 

You Won't Believe the INSPIRING True Story Behind BRAVE THE DARK Film

Ladies and gentlemen, BRAVE THE DARK is a deeply personal film reflecting Nate's journey of overcoming adversity, highlighting the transformative influence of a devoted teacher, Mr. Stan Deen, who became a pivotal figure in his healing process. If you loved the movie THE HOLDOVERS with Paul Giamatti, you will love BRAVE THE DARK.
This film is based on Nate Deen’s own story. It is the type of film we need more of, real stories about real people who face adversity and then one person stands up to help lead them to victory and beyond. There are dark moments in this film, as life isn’t always a bed of roses, but roses also have thorns. But above those thorns is the beauty that captivates and this film will captivate your heart and your soul. I love this film and you will too.
Nathaniel Deen, a passionate filmmaker and advocate for the arts. With over 30 years of diverse experience at Sight & Sound Theaters, Nathaniel has excelled in various roles such as Staff Photographer, Broadcast Producer, and Associate Film Producer.
As a film producer, Nathaniel has made significant contributions to the film industry. He served as the Associate Film Producer and Assistant Director for “I HEARD THE BELLS,” and took on dual roles as Writer (Original Screenplay) and Executive Producer for “BRAVE THE DARK.” This deeply personal film reflects Nathaniel's journey of overcoming adversity, highlighting the transformative influence of a devoted teacher, Mr. Stan Deen, who became a pivotal figure in his healing process.
In addition to his filmmaking endeavors, Nathaniel founded The Stan Deen Foundation, whose mission is to ignite the transformative power of the Arts and Education too uplift and empower underprivileged children & teens. Through this foundation, he aims to inspire the next generation and create opportunities for those in need, embodying the very spirit of compassion and resilience that shaped his own life.
#truestory #inspiration #faith #film #cinema #bondoncinema #filmmaking #screenwriting #mentor #schoolteacher #adoption #mentorship