Meet the Dynamic Duo Shaping the Future of Film
Join us on July 1st for an evening with award-winning filmmakers Ted & Courtney Balaker. Plus upcoming events and news from our community.
July 1st: Community Meetup with Ted & Courtney Balaker
On July 1st, join FAIR in the Arts for our virtual community meetup with award-winning filmmakers Ted and Courtney Balaker.
After producing for Universal Pictures, Dimension, ABC News, Reason TV, PBS and others, Courtney and Ted Balaker founded Korchula Productions in 2011 with the motto — making important ideas entertaining.
Their films have won dozens of awards and have been released in theaters and on many popular platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+. Their projects have been lauded and amplified by many diverse voices including Elon Musk, Seth MacFarlane, Larry Elder, John Stossel, Congressmen Thomas Massie, Jamie Raskin, and Dana Rohrabacher as well as publications such as The San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, National Review, and The Hollywood Reporter.
The Balakers’ films include Little Pink House starring two-time Oscar nominee Catherine Keener; Can We Take a Joke?, which features comedians such as Gilbert Gottfried, Adam Carolla, and Penn Jillette; and The Coddling of the American Mind, a documentary based on The New York Times bestselling book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. The Balakers have recently finished writing the screenplay for a new feature called Troubled, which is based on the bestselling memoir by Rob Henderson.
We look forward to a stimulating and topical community discussion on July 1st. If you have any questions, please reach out to Brent Morden at arts@fairforall.org.
Congratulating FAIR Artist Grant Winner Tom Rowan
We’re thrilled to congratulate 2025 FAIR Artist Grant winner Tom Rowan, whose grant-funded play Dismantling Prospero has been accepted into the annual Dreamup Festival at Theatre for the New City in New York City. The play will be directed by Kevin Ray, 2023-24 FAIR Artist Grant winner and a longtime FAIR Arts member.
Dismantling Prospero will be performed at the Dreamup Festival during its run from August 24th to September 14th, 2025. More details to come. With gratitude to our Artist Grant supporters, join us in congratulating Tom and Kevin!
Upcoming Community Events
Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th in NYC: The Tin Angel Opera
The Tin Angel Opera, based on a libretto by Paul Pines from his widely acclaimed novel of the same name, with music by award-winning composer and FAIR Arts Member Daniel Asia, is set in the edgy world of the NYC Bowery jazz club, where a unique cast of characters play out a dramatic story as a call for redemption. The inspiration behind the story is The Tin Palace, New York City’s real-life jazz mecca of the 70s, founded by Paul Pines in 1973. The Tin Angel Opera is being produced by Teatro Grattacielo and is set for its world premiere in New York City's The La MaMa Theater on June 28th and 29th. More info and tickets here.
Around the Web
This month, we’re reading:
Audiences Prove that Experts Are Dead Wrong – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/24/25)
In Top Gun Maverick They Picked the Girl. For Midnight Hammer, They Picked the Best. – Sasha Stone for Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning (6/23/25)
Does the Pulitzer Prize Hate Substack? – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/22/25)
What the Sowell Play Will be About. – Clifton Duncan for Becoming Thomas Sowell (6/15/25)
Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.