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So glad, that I had the opportunity to attend Hamptons Doc Fest’s event honoring filmmaker Alan Berliner!

At the festival, Chris Hegedus presented the Pennebaker Career Achievement Award to Alan Berliner at Bay Street Theater.

Afterwards, there was a screening of BENITA, one of my favorite films of the year.

Photo courtesy of Hamptons Doc Fest

Oscar Nominee Scandar Copti Talks HAPPY HOLIDAYS on SOUNDS OF FILM 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-nominated debut Ajami, Copti once again challenges viewers to confront the mechanisms of perception and oppression that define everyday life for Palestinian and Israeli communities. Through his innovative use of non-actors, shifting perspectives, and emotionally intimate storytelling, Copti offers a bold exploration of identity, generational conflict, and the human cost of systems that regulate truth and behavior. The Sounds of Film is the nation’s longest-running film-themed radio show, featuring in-depth interviews with directors, actors, writers, and composers

The Sounds of Film is looking forward to attending the Hamptons Doc Fest running December 4-11. The highlight of the festival is a Gala honoring Alan Berliner on Saturday, December 6th at Bay Street Theater. Berliner will be receiving the Pennebaker Award. There will be a Q&A and a screening of BENITA. Learn more about some of the films screening in the festival like Monk in Pieces, Ask E. Jean, She Runs the World, and Between Goodbyes by listening to Tom Needham’s conversations with the movies’ directors on The SOUNDS OF FILM Podcast. The SOUNDS OF FILM is the nation’s longest running film, music and ideas themed show. For over 35 years, the program has delivered a popular mix of interviews and music to radio and podcast listeners on Long Island and worldwide. Past guests on the show include Billy Joel, Whit Stillman, DA Pennebaker, Carter Burwell, William H. Macy,

Jota Mun Talks BETWEEN GOODBYES, POV & Hamptons Doc Fest on SOUNDS OF FILM Tom Needham’s 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 affection, creating a portrait of two women trying to understand one another after a lifetime apart. Drawing from years of observational footage and archival material, Mun brings the often-sidelined experiences of original mothers to the forefront, reframing how audiences understand adoption and kinship. Before its national broadcast debut on POV on Monday, December 8, 2025 at 10pm on PBS, Between Goodbyes will be featured at the Hamptons Doc Fest,

So thankful this Thanksgiving for Ray Romano & Rory Rosegarten’s support of the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame’s new Everybody Loves Raymond Exhibition!

Check out Everybody Loves Raymond’s Executive Producer, Rory Rosegarten, on The Sounds of Film & LIMEHOF Podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Director Maria Friedman Talks MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Starring Daniel Radcliffe & Jonathan Groff on SOUNDS OF FILM 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 staging, the story of Merrily We Roll Along unfolds in reverse chronological order, tracing the lives of three friends as they move backward through decades of personal and professional change. The narrative follows composer-turned-Hollywood-producer Franklin Shepard, played by Jonathan Groff; his former songwriting partner Charley Kringas, portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe; and their close friend Mary Flynn, played by Lindsay Mendez. The production features these mature actors moving through the

KING OF QUEENS’ Michael J. Weithorn Talks THE BEST YOU CAN Starring Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick on THE SOUNDS OF FILM 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, change, and the unexpected pathways that bring people together. In THE BEST YOU CAN, Sedgwick plays Cynthia Rand, a tightly wound New York City urologist whose life is thrown off balance when her husband—portrayed by Judd Hirsch, a brilliant former Watergate prosecutor—begins showing signs of dementia. Bacon co-stars as Stan, a bright but underachieving security guard trying to reconnect

Roseanne Barr: Is America Director Joel Gilbert Up Next on THE SOUNDS OF FILM 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 influence, and how her story mirrors the broader divisions in American life. The conversation offers a revealing look at one of comedy’s most controversial and influential voices. The Sounds of Film is the nation’s longest-running film and music-themed radio show, airing on WUSB Stony Brook. For over three decades, the program has featured in-depth interviews with filmmakers, musicians, and cultural figures including Billy Joel, Dionne Warwick, Ralph Macchio, and Howard Shore.

Alan Govenar on Art, Activism, and the American Story on THE SOUNDS OF FILM 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 screenings, and the restoration of his classic tattoo documentary Stoney Knows How, now part of the Criterion Collection. He also reflects on his long career chronicling overlooked voices in American culture through photography, film, writing, and archival work. Alan Govenar is a Guggenheim Fellow, an extensively published author, photographer, filmmaker, sound archivist, and playwright whose work has explored American culture through an incredible