In advance of 1K’s third season, we wanted to bring you some of our favorite memories from the last year and a half that we’ve been doing the show. Scott calls professional chef and cookbook author Jenny Brulé at her new restaurant, hoping they’ll end on better terms this time. We reminisce on our first explicit rating, get an update on an 11-year-old actress who’s already more successful than the rest of us, and producer Jordan Snyder gets the chance to grill Scott during the speed round. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Enjoy this look back, and get ready for even more new episodes of 1K coming to a podcast player near you.
1K with Sonya Pfeiffer: Representing the wrongfully convicted
Our guest on this episode is Sonya Pfeiffer, a former award-winning TV journalist and documentary filmmaker turned criminal defense attorney. Pfeiffer’s former life in television and film, and her current one as a barrister, were transformed by one extremely publicized case, the trial of Michael Peterson, which was the basis of the Netflix series, “The Staircase.” Her focus and expertise is on wrongful conviction cases—in this episode, we explore two such cases.
The first was a landmark for her: the case of Floyd Brown. Floyd was arrested for the murder of a well known woman in his community in Wadesboro, NC. The police received a vague tip pointing to Floyd, and they procured a confession from him under suspicious circumstances. However, with an IQ of 50, he was never deemed competent to stand trial. Instead, he was held in a mental institution for 14 years before earning his release.
The second case focuses on Tim Bridges, whose life in many ways mirrors Tim Robbins’ character in The Shawshank Redemption. Bridges was wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape and burglary of an elderly Charlotte, NC woman. He was exonerated in 2015. During his twenty-five years in prison, Bridges was assaulted and raped. During that time, his grandparents, aunt, uncle and parents died. He had no close family when he was released.
Pfeiffer notes, no amount of money can make up for a stolen life, but there is a definite sense of purpose in working to right a horrendous wrong.
Listen now
Subscribe on
1K with Geoff Macnaughton: Programming the Toronto International Film Festival
Last year, the 100 Words Film Festival made its debut in Toronto, Ontario after four years in Charlotte, NC. To those not in tune with the film world, that may seem like a strange transition, but Toronto is one of the biggest cities in the world for film—both the production and appreciation of it. Consequently, the Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF, for short) is one of the largest film festivals in the world, pulling in nearly half a million attendees annually.
Our guest for this episode is one of the people who helps make it happen: Senior Manager of Festival Programming, Geoff Macnaughton. He’s been working at TIFF for 10 years and has first-hand, insider knowledge of what makes the festival so special. With hundreds of films from nearly every country you could imagine, their goal of representing a diverse audience and discovering new talent is well realized.
Geoff shares about the time he once almost prevented a well-known director from entering a screening (potentially derailing a future Best Picture-winning film!). He’s also got great insight on the medium of short films and how they could help fresh filmmakers earn recognition. Simply put, if you’re a film fan, you should hear what he has to say.