BTL Radio Show - 07/01/2026 Bonus! with JOSH DRAGOTTA and DOUG "FINI" FINICAL talking CABALI AND THE TIKI MUG OBSESSION

Surprise!  It’s a bonus edition of BEHIND THE LENS!     So many terrific interviews of late with some very energetic and enthusiastic filmmakers, and all rather lengthy, that I can’t fit them all in on our weekly Monday show.  And because of the fun and enthusiasm of these filmmakers, I want you to hear and enjoy that enthusiasm rather than read a written feature.  So you’re getting some bonus episodes, and this is one of them as I chat with director and editor JOSH DRAGOTTA and Tiki mug collector and film subject DOUG “FINI” FINICAL about the documentary CABALI AND THE TIKI MUG OBSESSION.  CABALI made its Los Angeles premiere at Dances With Films last month.   What a fun, fun film and what passionate and engaging guys.  I, for one, have always admired the artistry of tiki mugs, but until this film, never knew the history of the Tiki culture.  CABALI AND THE TIKI MUG OBSESSION fills that void as it examines the history, artistry, and resurgence of Tiki culture through the collectors, artists, and enthusiasts who helped preserve it during a period when much of the culture was disappearing.  And did you know that the Tiki culture, as it’s called, started right outside of LA in Venice, California?   Focusing on the evolution of Tiki mug collecting from a niche hobby into a worldwide community rooted in design, craftsmanship, nostalgia, and preservation, the film also follows Doug “Fini” Finical, a longtime Tiki collector whose extensive collection of over 1000 Tiki mugs inspired the creation of Cabali, a modern speakeasy-style Tiki bar in Oro Valley, Arizona.   Hand in hand with this exploration of the Tiki culture and its artistry, we follow Fini’s journey as he tries to build his dream - Cabali, a Tiki bar in Arizona.  From location to color to decor to Tiki carvings to a lava wall (which is beyond cool), we hear from the architects and contractors as they meet the many, many challenges of Fini’s dream project.  So determined to build Cabali, Fini even sold his house to get money for the build.    Over 100 interviews were conducted for this documentary, including appearances by actress and comedian Kate Flannery, who is a Tiki devotee, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Todd Rundgren, painter, designer, and illustrator Shag, and a wide range of artists, collectors, musicians, and Tiki historians connected to the culture’s ongoing revival.   With a mix of interviews, archival materials, film, home movies, photos, vérité footage, and stylized cinematography, CABALI AND THE TIKI MUG OBSESSION goes beyond the collectibles themselves and looks at the community that formed around them.   As you’ll hear in this interview, CABALI was a multi-year project with an unknown outcome.  Josh breaks down the challenges and creative process behind editing the film, noting his background as an editor and the very deliberate choice to intertwine two narrative threads: the broader history of Tiki and the specific story of Cabali’s creation.  He discusses how the visuals, including vibrant cinematography by Ryan Mihalyi and expert color work by David Taylor, were designed to immerse viewers in the world of Tiki, paralleling the artistry of the mugs and bar with the film’s own visual style. The use of dynamic camera angles, close-ups, and color was discussed as a way to highlight the craftsmanship involved in both the mugs and the bar’s construction.    As comes as no surprise, we spend a good deal of time touching on the editing process, with Josh revealing that he cut two separate linear films—one about Tiki history and one about Cabali’s construction—before merging them into the final non-linear narrative, noting the difficulty of deciding when to stop filming and interviewing, and acknowledging that some interviews took years to secure. Important to Josh was to include a wide range of voices from the Tiki community while condensing a visually and historically rich story into a tight runtime.   We also delve into the film’s sound design and music, with special mention of Silas Hite’s main title score and Tony Marsico’s contributions, which blend surf rock, Polynesian influences, and jazz notes to evoke the mid-century era when Tiki culture flourished. The music is not only energetic but also propels the narrative.  And something that tickled me to no end is the film’s opening titles with Hite’s title score.     Vibrant, bold, and alive, the film’s opening titles, which were inspired by the legendary Saul Bass and created with the help of Emily Eckstein, Silas Hite, and Ralph Smith, represent a shared aesthetic sensibility and collaborative approach to animation and design, as was the intention to create a visually striking introduction that sets the tone for the film.   Fini joined the conversation to share his perspective on the organic development of the project. He