AJ Schnack

@ajschnack.bsky.social

985 Followers 339 Following

Nonfiction Filmmaker (Escalation, Long Gone Summer, Speaking is Difficult, Caucus, Kurt Cobain About a Son, Gigantic, Majority Rules, more). Team Cinema Eye Honors.

LA Voting data released June 8 shows Mayor Karen Bass with 34.32%, Councilwoman Nithya Raman with 28.55% and Spencer Pratt dropping to 25.83%, now 22,000 votes behind Raman.
Easter egg hidden somewhere.
A promotion for the 2024 Pedro Almodóvar film “The Room Next Door” is still up in downtown Los Angeles on January 1, 2026.
Beautiful apartment building in NE Portland, Oregon that is not a war zone.
Smiling photo of former Lt. Gov. of NY Betsy McCaughey wearing a red suit. The photo uses the same background color as the body of the email, making it seem like her upper body is floating in space.
Email header from newly-rebranded HBO Max includes two different presentations of HBO Max (one without a space) and the previous max logo that is being phased out.
Despite some public criticism and internal grumbling, the paper's leadership has continued to back the piece. One person familiar with the editorial process noted that the Times' senior editors were aligned on whether to publish the piece, which was read and greenlit by multiple top editors before its' publication. Others on staff that spoke with Semafor on the condition of anonymity said the reaction to the piece showed why it was important to tackle it. "The fact that this story engendered all the conversation and debate that it has feels like all the evidence you need that this was a legit line of reporting," one senior reporter told Semafor.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman posts: “Allies of President Trump are already gearing up to turn Zohran Mamdani into a national figure to attack and tether to other Democrats ahead of the midterms.”
New York Times headline reads "Democrats Enter Risky Political Terrain as Protests Grip California"
"All the women looked in and go, 'You mean, youre not voting for Kamala?' And I go, 'I just can't do that. And then, one of them leaned in further, and said, 'Are you voting for Trump?' And I said, 'I am? I swear!" The Times also reached out to Grazer, who explained his Trump vote thusly: "As a centrist, it was because I could feel and see Biden's deterioration and the lack of direction in the Democratic Party at that time."
Sun sets over the Arizona desert.
The Full Frame Grand Jury Award is presented to Seeds directed by Brittany Shyne. Seeds is a portrait of Centennial farmers in the geographical south. Using lyrical black-and-white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational Black farmers and the significance of owning land. Jessica Edwards, Leah Smith, and Brett Story participated on the jury for the Full Frame Grand Jury Award. A statement from the Full Frame Grand Jury Award participants reads, "A quietly affectionate portal into the everyday joys and challenges of multiple generations in the American South, this patiently observed film offers an exquisitely photographed celebration of a community historically overlooked in American mythology. We are pleased to award Seeds the 2025 Full Frame Grand Jury Prize for this loving portrait of Black farmers."
We fundamentally believe that film has the power to enlighten global audiences and highlight different perspectives - and we encourage our members to use their art to do so. The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints. We are living in a time of profound change, marked by conflict and uncertainty - across the globe, in the U.S., and within our own industry. Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political, and economic events. In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints. We are, however, united in a shared belief in the importance of storytelling, in the value of empathy, and in the role of film as a catalyst. As an organization, our focus continues to be the celebration of creative voices that make up the global film community - and supporting your freedom to create, to challenge, and to imagine.
Movie marquee for the Nuart theatre in West Los Angeles announcing screenings of Gary Hustwit’s documentary Eno.