Steve Dollar

Tallahassee

Journalist/filmcrit (LA Times, Flamingo, Filmmaker Mag). Artistic director (Tallahassee Film Festival). Florida man (lower case). Free jazz RTs.

Articles

Young filmmakers celebrate a radical yet joyful approach to life with 'Hummingbirds'

4 days ago | latimes.com | Steve Dollar

Silvia Del Carmen Castaños was a student in a Laredo, Texas, high school when the budding cineaste submitted a short piece to a community film festival. “I wasn’t allowed to go because I had bad grades at school,” says Castaños, who uses they/them pronouns. However, New York-based documentarian Jillian Schlesinger did attend and saw the film. “It got third place, but it got first place in Jillian’s heart,” Castaños adds.
Young filmmakers celebrate a radical yet joyful approach to life with 'Hummingbirds'

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Steve Dollar

Silvia Del Carmen Castaños was a student in a Laredo, Texas, high school when the budding cineaste submitted a short piece to a community film festival. “I wasn’t allowed to go because I had bad grades at school,” says Castaños, who uses they/them pronouns. However, New York-based documentarian Jillian Schlesinger did attend and saw the film. “It got third place, but it got first place in Jillian’s heart,” Castaños adds.
How Questlove uncovered those culture-shifting moments in his 'SNL' music doc

5 days ago | latimes.com | Steve Dollar

Like the DJ he is, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is highly adept at keeping a lot of things spinning. Before the pandemic, he juggled “14 to 16 jobs,” most notably as the drummer and focal performer for the Roots, the house band for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” But since then, Thompson says he’s stopped using “work, and overworking, as an excuse not to do the life work.” He discovered he likes naps and going to the movies with his girlfriend. And trimming his résumé.
How Questlove uncovered those culture-shifting moments in his 'SNL' music doc

5 days ago | flipboard.com | Steve Dollar

9 hours agoFrom allegations of infidelity to swinging scandals, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives offers a look into a version of Mormon life far removed from traditional public perception. Set in suburban Utah, the TV series follows a group of Mormon women – most of whom rose to fame on TikTok and became …
Iconic Comedians and Directorial Debuts: May in Florida Film

2 weeks ago | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

by Steve Dollar | May 22, 2025 Iconic Comedians and Directorial Debuts: May in Florida Film Growing up in Sarasota, the young Paul Reubens became obsessed with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which wintered there, and later joined the Asolo Theater, renowned as the largest repertory theater in the Southeast. Years later, Reubens would discover film fame under another guise: bow-tied manic manchild Pee-Wee Herman.
10 Florida Films You May Not Know About

1 month ago | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

by Steve Dollar | April 22, 2025 10 Florida Films You May Not Know About Many of the most famous Florida films are almost a billboard for palm-shaded idylls, even when drug dealers get involved—see such indelible, sun-drunk action flicks as “Scarface” and “Miami Vice”—or aliens come to visit the retirement home, as in “Cocoon.” Likewise, a sense of place permeates such disparate productions as “The Truman Show,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon” that it’s impossible...
Flora-Bama Mullet Toss: A Tradition Across State Lines

1 month ago | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

by Steve Dollar | April 16, 2025 Flora-Bama Mullet Toss: A Tradition Across State Lines St. Louis has the Gateway Arch. Seattle has its Space Needle. Los Angeles has the Hollywood sign. Yet, can any of these symbolic civic wonders really compare to the salt-crusted, mullet-tossed, beer-sodden glory that is the Flora-Bama Lounge?
Noah Verrier Turns Fast Food Into Fine Art

2 months ago | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

by Steve Dollar | April 2, 2025 Noah Verrier Turns Fast Food Into Fine Art To paraphrase an old saying, one man’s junk food is another one’s treasure. At least if that man is Noah Verrier, whose oil paintings of highly processed snacks, cheeseburgers hot from the drive-thru window, luminous gummy bears and other dubious dietary choices have made him a viral sensation and a highly collectible artist.
A Guide to Florida's Film Festival Season

2 months ago | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

by Steve Dollar | March 18, 2025 A Guide to Florida’s Film Festival Season April is film festival month across Florida. The timing makes sense as the year’s first major festivals—Sundance, South By Southwest and Germany’s Berlinale—have recently premiered the buzziest and most-promising new movies, anointing the films’ subsequent run on the festival circuit.
How Jacksonville's Madison Hughes Found Her Voice

Mar 5, 2025 | flamingomag.com | Steve Dollar

How Jacksonville’s Madison Hughes Found Her Voice Jacksonville native Madison Hughes had her first brush with fame in 2022 when she wowed the nation (and superstar judges Camila Cabello, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani) on “The Voice,” stirring big emotions with her version of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” The singer only had one more appearance on the popular vocal competition, but the brief turn in the spotlight helped kickstart her artistic ambitions.