Episode 138

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Published on:

9th Jan 2026

GLENDORA - Director Isabelle Armand

In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the village of Glendora may seem quiet and remote. But beneath its stillness lies a vibrant, tightly knit African-American community whose strength, resilience, and creativity thrive despite chronic scarcity. GLENDORA is the result of five years of close collaboration between filmmaker and townspeople—an intimate portrait of life where economic fragility meets profound cultural wealth. GLENDORA is a film made with—and by—the people who live there. It amplifies voices too often unheard, offering a powerful story of culture, resilience, creativity, and collective memory from a town long overlooked—but not easily forgotten.

About the filmmaker - Cinematographer, Writer Isabelle Armand is a New York–based documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work interweaves photography, film, and oral testimonies to explore the complex layers of people whose histories, lives, and potential have long been undervalued. Her acclaimed book Levon and Kennedy: Mississippi Innocence Project (powerHouse Books, 2018), which documents the wrongful convictions of two men, has received wide recognition. Her images are held in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Akron Art Museum, and Portland Museum of Art. Armand’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Art in America, The Economist, The Daily Beast, and others. She recently completed her first feature documentary, Glendora, and is currently editing a photo book by the same title.

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About the Podcast

Cinemafile
Cinemafile showcases the very best in independent, documentary and foreign films through our conversations with the more than 2,000 filmmakers who made them. Through Cinemafile we will do our best to bring the most interesting and accomplished filmmakers from around the world to your attention.

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Michael Kaspar

Mike Kaspar is a life-long film fan who has worked as a projectionist at an art house theatre, college radio station general manager as well as a radio show host and producer for over 18 years.