Articles by Bob Hershon

About Bob Hershon

Multimedia lab specialist at a College. Photographer and journalist mainly for Jazz Magazines in the 90's. Wrote about soundtracks and did press releases for Verve Gitanes after that. Worked at the Menlo Park VA (1969-1970 same one Ken Kesey was at earlier. He's older. It was a cuckoo's nest. My first day they kept me in locked ward to show me who was boss. They fed vets mellaril (thioridazine) which turned them into Walking Dead with tremors (pseudoparkinsonism, extrapyramidal symptoms), There is a warning now that says must only be used if nothing else works. God then reached out his hand and moved me to Palo Alto VA (under the best scientist I've ever met, Leo Hollister)1971-1974. Part of the group were two other geniuses Hamp Gillespie and Jared Tinklenberg, M.D. I was just a research assistant on my way to screwing up a doctorate. Burt Center Residential Treatment Center for Autistic and traumatized children and young adults 71-74 under Mary Burt who pioneered treament of Autism. Family Service Agency of SF before recovering my sanity at Canada College Music School. John Kreiger and Phillip Ienni guided me to the light and polytonality and pandiatonicism. To stay sane I played guitar for 40 years. The picture was taken years ago. I have gone gray and old.

Porcelain War -The Triumph of Art Over War

December 4, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Porcelain War, winner of The Sundance Grand Jury Prize, is not about the art of war but a triumph of art over war, a testament to the power of creativity and community in the face of unimaginable adversity. Co-directed by Slava Leontyev, an artist-turned-soldier, and Brian Bellomo, the film captures the lives of ordinary Ukrainians—artists, teachers, farmers, and IT professionals—who have taken up arms not only to defend their homeland but also to preserve their artistic and cultural legacy in the face of Russia’s relentless invasion bent on its “erasure”. […]

Ernest Cole:Lost and Found-Restoring An Artist’s Legacy

November 25, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

In 1967, a year after photographer, activist, and essayist Ernest Cole fled South Africa, he published House of Bondage, a groundbreaking photo book that many consider one of the most significant of the 20th century. In Ernest Cole Lost and Found director Raoul Peck provides Cole the honor he so richly deserved by bringing to life by pairing Cole’s photos with his writings. This Cannes Award Winning Documentary features soulful readings from deeply personal diaries that Peck chooses pull you in and guide you through his life. This approach moves it from a biopic to a drama. “I don’t do biography, I tell stories […]

The kids in The Movie Blink sitting on a van framed by a sunset

Blink – A Visually Stunning Documentary That Fills Your Senses and Your Heart

October 23, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

In the movie Blink, a Canadian couple finds three out of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative condition that will eventually rob them of their sight. They are told by the therapist to fill their children’s visual memory with as many images as possible from photographs and books. Edith,their mother said. “I’m not going to show her an elephant in a book; I’m going to take her to see a real elephant,” Édith explains. “And I’m going to fill her visual memory with the best, most beautiful images I can.” So they give their children the license to create a bucket list of all the places or things they wish to do and the couple sets out to create a once in a lifetime journey which will span the globe from Mongolia to Ecuador. […]

James Carville waiving hello wearing LSU sweatshirt. Movie Winning Is Everything Stupid

CARVILLE: WINNING IS EVERYTHING, STUPID

October 12, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Carville’s Winning Is Everything, Stupid serves not only as a remedy for those navigating today’s turbulent political landscape but also as a guide to steer us away from the chaos perpetuated by the media and political alarmists. This thoroughly entertaining and enlivening film, which profiles James Carville, the mastermind behind Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign (The War Room), also weaves a Romeo and Juliet-style love story. It follows two renowned political strategists—Carville, a Democrat, and Mary Matalin, a Republican who worked for both Bush Sr. and Jr.—as they bridge the political divide to fall in love and, despite their differences, remain passionately dedicated to each other. […]

Interview With Mother Of All Lies Award Winning Director Asmae El Moudir

September 9, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Mother of All Lies features some of the most arresting performances of the year and director Asmae El Moudir who received the 2023 Winner Un Certain Regard – Best Director is almost single handedly responsible. Asmae’s creation is a raw, intimate, and revolutionary form of documentary/feature that earned her best documentary at Cannes. The film delves into the haunting mysteries and deep-seated trauma that have silenced her family and neighbors for generations. In 2013 Asmae starts asking why there are no pictures, save that of King Hassan The II and why can’t the family talk in a house where “the walls have ears”. Asmae embarks on a deeply personal journey, not only to uncover hidden truths but also to create a safe space for her family to finally confront and heal their long buried pain. […]

Hollywoodgate – Shoulder to Shoulder with the Taliban: Uncovering a $7 Billion Arsenal

August 17, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Hollywoodgate, the viewer is given a truly chilling close up view as the Taliban enter and inventory a $7 billion cache of abandoned U.S. military equipment at the largest base in Kabul. In the award winning documentary, director Ibrahim Nash’at’s camera places the viewer shoulder-to-shoulder with Mawlawi Mansour, the new head of Afghanistan’s air force and Mukhtar a lieutenant who dreams of fighting a war to avenge the American invasion. […]

MOUNTAIN QUEEN: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

July 26, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Mountain Queen is unique in combining spectacular footage of the danger, damage and majesty of an Everest climb with the heartbreaking and eventually heartwarming story of an indefatigable single mother’s spirit. This Everest summit, Lhakpa Sherpa’s record 10th, is the one Lhakpa hopes will raise the spirits of her family, healing the wounds from an abusive, traumatic past.
Opening in Theaters 7/26/2024 and streaming on Netflix 07/31/2024 […]

AI At NAB – Old School Meets New School

April 25, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

Artificial Intelligence which has come of age in the film and broadcast industry was given center stage at NAB 2024. For some creators, it is like a Sword of Damocles, hanging over the future of their livelihood. To others it is the end of the rainbow, an ally to take over mind numbing tasks. AI has for some time been used in Visual FX and blossoming new editing tools. It has now found its way to the nitty-gritty of filmmaking to help cinematographers and other artists revolutionize their workflow. […]

The Monk And The Gun – Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji

March 10, 2024 Bob Hershon 1

For Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji innocence, a central quality of The Monk and the Gun as well as the Bhutanese culture, was challenged as The Kingdom of Bhutan opened up overnight to television, internet and democracy in 2007. The film examines one way a culture can deal with modernity while preserving it’s integrity. […]

Perfect Days -Finding Joy In The Most Unlikely Places

February 24, 2024 Bob Hershon 0

WIM WENDERS OSCAR NOMINATED PERFECT DAYS, AN ILLUMINATING EXAMINATION OF THE HUMAN SOUL, A BLESSED RELIEF FROM ALL THE DARKNESS IN THE THEATER AND IN THE WORLD TODAY. THE FILM’S STAR KOJI YAKUSHO (SHALL WE DANCE, BABEL) RECEIVED THE BEST ACTOR AWARD AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE FILM’S SOLITARY FIGURE, WHOSE PERFECT DAYS EVENTUALLY MUST SURVIVE PERSONAL CHALLENGES FROM THE PAST AND PRESENT. […]