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.

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. […]

still from documentary Anselm. With artist and art fra,ed by sunset.

Anselm, A Film by Wim Wenders-Review

December 13, 2023 Bob Hershon 2

From the opening shot of the film neither the 3D camera’s eye nor its subject artist, Anselm Keifer, ever stops moving. The camera floats through his works and the landscapes he creates, following the 79 year old artist as he bicycles or paddles through his cavernous art factory to landscapes of his past as a youth. […]

Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

November 23, 2023 Bob Hershon 0

Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, now streaming on HBO/Max; documents the celebrated poet and activist. Though it never wavers from her harsh and hard won personal and racial truths, it is one of the most uplifting artist profiles I’ve seen. Winner of The Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize, it may indeed be a roadmap to survive and thrive at any age. […]

Io Capitano Premieres At AFI Film Festival

November 2, 2023 Bob Hershon 0

Io Capitano The vision most people have of Senegalese Refugees is of boatloads of them arriving in Europe or dying at sea. In my interview with Director Matteo Garrone, he said he made Io Capitano […]

DJ Jazzy Jeff presents NAMM Innovator Award to Grand Mixer DXT

NAMM 2023 Humanity Over Technology

April 24, 2023 Bob Hershon 0

It was humanity not technology that took center stage at The 2023 NAMM Awards. Whether it was Public Enemy’s bassist Brian Hardgroove putting into perspective the band’s social impact as he presented the first ever Impact Music & Culture Award to CHUCK D or Brandi Carlile talking about witnessing and becoming a part of Joni Mitchell’s return to the big stage after her stroke. […]