Tom Needham’s Podcast/Radio Shows on Facebook

Lee Child Talks IF JACK REACHER COULD SING Screening at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Documentary Film Festival on SOUNDS OF FILM The Sounds of Film welcomes best-selling author and literary icon Lee Child, the creator of the Jack Reacher series, for a captivating conversation with host Tom Needham. Often hailed by The New York Times as “the best thriller writer of the moment,” Lee Child joins the show to discuss the intriguing new short film, “If Jack Reacher Could Sing,” which will be featured at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame’s Music Documentary Film Series on Saturday, August 9th at 1:15 PM. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and performance by Naked Blue. “If Jack Reacher Could Sing” is part of a double-feature with “Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between” at the LIMEHOF Music Doc Film Festival. In this

Really excited about the upcoming Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival Friday, August 8th-Sunday, August 10th (10:30 AM - 10:00 PM each day)

24 Feature and Short Music Documentaries from all over the world!

Can’t wait to see performances by the Billy J. Kramer, Guggenheim Grotto’s Mick Lynch, Public Enemy’s Johnny Juice and From Good Homes’ Brady Rymer and more.

Also really looking forward to Q&A’s with Blotto, Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between director Claire Jeffreys, Public Enemy’s S1W’s, and Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies director Robert Schwartzman, among many others.

Film party tickets for Friday and Sunday night also available online.

Check out the full schedule and reserve your seat ahead of time at the LIMEHOF website.

Hope to see you there!

Director Gala Gracia Talks REMNANTS OF YOU & Stony Brook Film Festival This week on The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with director Gala Gracia about her powerful debut feature, The Remnants of You. Set against the backdrop of a rural Aragonese Pyrenees life, the film tells the story of a young jazz musician who returns home following the sudden death of her father. What unfolds is a poignant exploration of grief, self-discovery, and the quiet strength of women rooted in agricultural communities. Drawing from her own life, Gracia crafts a visually stunning and deeply personal meditation on loss, legacy, and resilience in the most unexpected of places. The Remnants of You is the Closing Night Film at the Stony Brook Film Festival, screening at the Staller Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 7:00 PM (ET). The SOUNDS OF FILM with Tom Needham is

Moldova’s Vlad Bolgarin Talks UNDER THE SUN on THE SOUNDS OF FILM

This week on The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with director Vlad Bolgarin about his award-winning short film Place Under the Sun, a poignant story of a father and son trying to survive in Moldova’s largest market during the 2000s.

The film, which blends stark realism with emotional depth, screens at the 30th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival at the Staller Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m.

THE SOUNDS OF FILM with Tom Needham is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube Podcasts.

MONK IN PIECES: Director Billy Shebar Talks Meredith Monk & More This week on The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with director Billy Shebar about his powerful new documentary, Monk in Pieces. The film explores the groundbreaking life and work of composer and performance artist Meredith Monk, a singular force in the world of contemporary music and interdisciplinary art. Premiering at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, Monk in Pieces makes its U.S. theatrical debut on Friday, July 25 at New York’s IFC Center, with a broader national release to follow. Through a dynamic blend of archival footage, live performance, and intimate interviews—including appearances by cultural icons Björk and David Byrne—the documentary paints a vivid portrait of Monk’s artistry and enduring legacy. Known for her unique fusion of movement, voice, and visual storytelling, Monk’s influence has reached across disciplines, even as she has often been underrecognized by mainstream

MIDAS MAN Screenwriter Talks Brian Epstein, Beatles & Jay Leno on SOUNDS OF FILM This week on The Sounds of Film, host Tom Needham speaks with screenwriter Brigit Grant about Midas Man, the highly anticipated biopic of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Known as the “Fifth Beatle,” Epstein was the visionary who discovered The Beatles and helped launch them into global superstardom. The film, directed by Joe Stephenson and featuring a standout performance by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit), also stars Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Eddie Izzard, and Jay Leno. Brigit Grant shares insights into the creative process behind the script and how the film captures Epstein’s ambition, brilliance, and personal struggles. Midas Man will be featured at the 2025 Stony Brook Film Festival, with a special screening at the Staller Center for the Arts on Tuesday, July 22 at 9:30 PM ET. As part of this year’s curated lineup, the

DEATH & TAXES with director Justin Schein on THE SOUNDS OF FILM On this episode of The Sounds of Film, director Justin Schein joins host Tom Needham to discuss his powerful new documentary, DEATH & TAXES: My Father, Our Family and the Cost of the American Dream. The feature-length film, co-directed by Schein and Robert Edwards, will open in U.S. theaters on July 18 at New York’s IFC Center, presented by 8 Above. With deeply personal roots, the film explores the impact of inherited wealth on democracy, inequality, and the very concept of the American Dream. At the heart of the story is the complex relationship between Schein and his father, Harvey Schein—a Depression-era Brooklyn native who rose to prominence as the head of Sony’s American operations but spent his later years consumed with shielding his fortune from estate taxes. Filmed across two decades, DEATH & TAXES offers an intimate

Director Ramon Zürcher Talks THE SPARROW AND THE PIGEON on THE SOUNDS OF FILM Podcast On this episode of The Sounds of Film, Swiss filmmaker Ramon Zürcher joins Tom Needham to discuss his haunting new feature, The Sparrow in the Chimney. As the final installment in his acclaimed “animal trilogy” — following The Strange Little Cat and The Girl and the Spider — this powerful psychodrama delves into the emotional undercurrents of a family reunion that unearths long-buried trauma and tensions. With its blend of surrealism, poetic intimacy, and flashes of dark humor, the film paints a searing portrait of repressed desires and unraveling relationships over the course of a single transformative weekend. Ramon Zürcher, born in 1982, studied visual arts at the Bern Academy of the Arts before earning his film directing degree at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. His debut feature, The Strange Little Cat (2013),

The SOUNDS OF FILM Wishes You a Happy 4th of July!