We’re all avid readers at Nanotronics. So we interviewed our CEO @Matthew Putman about a few of his favorite books. Here’s his eclectic, inspirational reading list. Dive in!
A population in search of new narratives needs a vivid demonstration of its possible futures.
Somewhere, something….
A month ago, when GM announced closing its American passenger car plants and cutting 15 percent of its salaried workers, some news stories anticipated a looming trade storm. Others reflected the fail-safe mentality honed by President Trump’s campaign or variations on the theme of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. The emotionally charged tone in outlets like the Washington Post is one of lament and resignation: “As for the future, (my dad) doesn’t see it getting better, and he’d cite GM’s announcement as evidence. Me…
Loves of a Blonde will open the 2018 Karlovy Vary international film festival (June 29-July 7). In homage to Milos Forman, the Czech National symphony orchestra will perform music from Fireman’s Ball, Taking Off, Hair, and Amadeus.
“For a people endowed with a tradition of humor, the greater the danger, the deeper the laugh. Humor, even gallows humor, becomes indispensable to keep one’s sanity…” — Milos Forman
In honor of Miloš Forman, who passed away last month, and in anticipation of imminent celebrations and retrospectives, let’s look back at four of his Czech films and his first American film, which…
Geography, family, and violence create strangleholds around the characters in Kantemir Balagov’s debut
Closeness (Tesnota), Kantemir Balagov, 2017, 118 min, Russian with English subtitles
Tesnota (Теснота) roughly translates to “constriction, confinement, or tightness.” Closeness feels claustrophobic in more ways than one. The setting is the city of Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, 1998.
Nalchik is walled-in by the Caucasus Mountains. Two communities live side-by-side, each upholding their own traditions. The larger Kabardian population surrounds a tight-knit Jewish community. In 1998, the Second Chechen War feels close enough to touch.
Inspired by the real kidnapping and ransom of a young Jewish couple, Kantemir Balagov’s film focuses on the groom’s sister, Illana (Darya Zhovner). …
Anna Karina’s 1973 directorial debut, Vivre Ensemble (90 min, color, 16mm) was rereleased in cinemas on February 14, 2018, in Paris (Malavida films). A restored version was released on DVD & Blu-ray by M6 video in 2017.
Newly single in Paris, I went to see Anna Karina’s Vivre Ensemble alone on Valentine’s Day this year. It was opening in an art-house cinema, Le Réflet Médicis, on Rue de Médicis in the fifth arrondissement, and was presented by Anna Karina herself. The theater was packed and a line snaked down the street for a second showing at midnight. …
cameron conover
French to English translator, subtitler, editor, copywriter, writer
