Welcome to “The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden," where every week we tap into the Bay Area arts scene and bring you rich conversations with artists. On today’s show, a documentary about a man who laughed his way through colon caner. Then, a film about a mother and son who are stand-up comedians. Finally, author Meena Harris talks about her new children's book and advocating for Black women after her aunt Kamala Harris' 2024 run for the presidency.
Today’s theme is about looking out for the people we care about.
Tony Benna
The film “André is an Idiot” is a documentary and comedy about a San Francisco man named André Ricciardi, who’s dying from colon cancer. After he learned of his diagnosis, André asked his friend and director Tony Benna to document his heartfelt, humorous and wild journey to the end of his life. “André is an Idiot” is a Sundance-award winning film, and Tony's first feature film.
“André is an Idiot” will be screening for a very limited time at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael beginning this week.
Helen Chu
Would you do stand-up comedy with your mom or your kid? "Comedy Family Style" is a documentary about a San Francisco mother and son duo doing just that. Helen Chu and her 10 year-old son Evan Ho are stand-up comedians. The film takes us from the Bay to Beijing, where Helen revisits her past.
"Comedy Family Style" will be screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Mountain View on March 14 and 19. This is part of the Cinequest film festival, and KALW is the festival's official public media sponsor.
Meena Harris
Meena Harris comes from a lineage of Bay Area women deeply involved in public service. Her aunt, Kamala Harris, is the first woman to serve as Vice President of the United States. Meena is continuing that legacy in her own right. She’s the CEO of her company Phenomenal Media, which centers works about women and marginalized communities. She’s also a Tony award-winning producer and a New York Times Bestselling author.
In her fifth children’s book “Maya’s Big Question,” a little Oakland girl goes on a field trip to Washington, D.C. and notices that just about all of the monuments and statues pay tribute to men. She asks her teacher and adult relatives, “Where are the women?” Then she takes action. The character Maya, is named after her mother and policy advocate Maya Harris. Host Jeneé Darden spoke with Meena about her book, raising her girls, and why the crisis of Black women dying during childbirth brought her back to Capitol Hill more than a year after the 2024 election.
