Nursery University - Mighty Movie Podcast

I have just begun to make myself acquainted with a podcast that was brought to my attention by a reader: the Mighty Movie Podcast. (You will have to excuse me for not writing the name in persistent capitals, as the makers do) Podcaster and film critic Dan Persons interviews film makers about their work.

I usually go through a couple of episodes before beginning to see the form of some general review, but I was lucky enough to pick up as a first listen such an interesting chapter, I couldn't resist pointing you directly to that, before knowing more broadly about the show.

Nursery University is the title of a documentary made by Marc Simon and Matthew Makar about the rat race New York parents get involved in in order to get their toddlers enrolled in nothing but the best day-care centers. While describing how they could get to make the film, Makar and Simon already suggest that also elsewhere in the US this phenomenon is likely to exist and I can vouch it also happens in Israel. So even though they assume their picture describes a New York reality, I think deep down it is universal.

If you imagine the hysteria and sham involved, you come to appreciate all the more the efforts the filmmakers had to go through in order to realize this project. Dan Persons podcast gives a wonderful concise view behind the screens. If the podcast is regularly as good as this one episode, it is a great treasure trove, not necessarily just for film buffs.