The Hoy Boys

In our age of polarized press and marketing-driven newsbytes, some people would call it naive to think that journalism professionals once roamed the Earth with a single-minded focus on presenting the unvarnished truth, even if it didn't sit well with them personally. After all, everyone has a bias they could say.

The Hoy Boys hearkens back to an era when news broadcasts were sparse and journalists worked behind firewalls—legal protections, editorial separation from news departments and analogue cameras that captured history, unedited, on film. It may not have been a Golden Age, but that may be the point. Photojournalists Tom and Frank Hoy, the subjects of this excellent biographical film, did not Photoshop our view of their time.

Filmmaker Dave Simonds seems equally interested in capturing his subjects, and this project is richer for it. You can watch the trailer here: The Hoy Boys Trailer

Wives of the Skies

Set in 1965, a time of glamorous jet travel and less-than-ideal attitudes towards women at work, this short from California by seasoned actress and writer Honey Lauren pokes and prods in the right areas. A leering male photographer finds willing subjects in two bubbly young flight attendants, but just when you think someone should expropriate his camera and send him packing, the women demonstrate that he who plays a game can also be the one who is getting played.

Lauren hails from the gorgeous Los Angeles seaside community of Pacific Palisades, and it shows in her work's impressive aesthetic sensibility, from sharp-eyed cinematic choices down to minute details of the era.  This is eye candy, indeed, but it's also a reminder that he who self-indulges in sweets may end up with a toothache.

Or a lifelong row of false teeth. You can watch the trailer here (parental discretion advised): Wives of the Skies Trailer