Barbican Cinema

For our final ScreenTalk of Season 2, we're talking with the gregarious Richard E Grant and his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, for which he received his first (very deserved) Academy Award nomination. Speaking with host Edith Bowman, Grant discusses his role as Jack Hock: an alcoholic charmer with some withering one-liners, who helps sometimes friend Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) forge letters from famous authors. Grant discusses the inspiration for the role, working with McCarthy and director Marielle Heller and of course, there's mention of his most famous role as Withnail. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we're speaking not to a director, or an actor, but an author: Naomi Alderman, who discusses the film adaptation of her first novel, Disobedience. Set in the Orthodox Jewish world, the film focuses on Ronit (Rachel Weisz), who revisits her community after the death of her Rabbi father, and develops an intense connection with Esti (Rachel McAdams), who is married to Rabbi, Dovid (Alessandro Nivola). Naomi Alderman discusses the themes of the film, and her novel – community, faith, desire – and the interesting differences that a novel and a film can bring to a story, not least their endings. Directed by Sebastián Lelio (Gloria, A Fantastic Woman), this is a terrific film that puts women at its centre. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, dancer and choreographer, Dame Siobhan Davies, Radiohead drummer and musician Philip Selway, and director Alla Kovgan chat about Kovgan's amazing 3D documentary, Cunningham.The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto speaks to journalist Laurence Topham about her 2019 film Shooting the Mafia.The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, writer, director and artist Mati Diop speaks to poet Be Manzini about her debut feature film, Atlantics.The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We switch it up for this week's episode and revisit a panel discussion on female superheroes, which celebrated the release of Captain Marvel in March 2019.The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dancer turned actor and director Levin Akin discusses the stories and meaning behind the critically-acclaimed Georgian drama, And Then We Danced. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, a must-listen to anyone interested in documentary filmmaking as director Roberto Minervini discusses his striking 2018 feature, What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire?The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Director Armando Iannucci and producer Kevin Loader are in conversation with Catherine Bray to discuss their superb adaptation of every wise person's favourite Dickens – David Copperfield. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, writer-director Josephine Decker and cinematographer, Ashley Connor, discuss the triumphant experimental cinema of 2018's Madeline's Madeline. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of our ScreenTalks Archive, we revisit a powerful conversation exploring 'For Sama's' intimate and epic journey into the war in Syria with directors Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Barbican ScreenTalks Archive is back for a second series. We're delving into our vast archive to dig out the liveliest conversations from across the decades. First up, documentary filmmaker Heather Lenz discusses 'Kusama-Infinity' with Zing Tseng. The Barbican ScreenTalks Archive podcast is presented by Ellen E Jones and produced by Jane Long for Loftus Media. Listen to more episodes on: barbican.org.uk/screentalksarchive Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you find your podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the final episode from our ScreenTalks Archive, Sir Richard Attenborough talks to Quentin Falk about the film adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel, 'Brighton Rock'. He reveals what motivated him to move behind the lens, directing hits like 'Oh What A Lovely War' and 'Gandhi'. And he shares failsafe advice given by David Lean on the set of his very first feature, 'In Which We Serve'. When Attenborough died in 2014, at the age of 90, he’d amassed an extraordinary range of cinematic experiences, both in Britain and Hollywood. And it’s the benefit of all this filmic wisdom that you’re about to hear… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a stint as a co-pilot in the US Air Force, Robert Altman moved to California, deciding to enter the world of filmmaking on a whim. Starting as a director-for-hire on film and television in the nineteen fifties, Altman didn’t become a household name until 1970 with the release of Korean War satire MASH. The film’s success led to a string of nearly forty mould-breaking movies, in every conceivable genre, often featuring sprawling ensemble casts. In this conversation from 2002, Robert Altman talks to film and TV producer David Thompson about his British period drama Gosford Park. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New Queer Cinema champion, feminist film critic, educator and agitator, B. Ruby Rich introduces Sara Gomez’s 1974 film, De Cierta Manera, a study of the interplay of race, class and gender. The film also provides a jumping off point for Rich to discuss her developing thoughts on Queer representation in cinema, to explore how online viewing platforms are changing film, and to reflect on the continuing influence of her book, Chick Flicks See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hackney-born Asif Kapadia started out as the director of critically-lauded art films such as The Warrior and Far North. However, his career really went into overdrive in 2010, when he turned his hand to documentary film-making with Senna. Focusing on the life and death of Brazilian Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna, Kapadia’s remarkable biopic managed to break entirely new ground. Not only was it a documentary that proved extremely lucrative at the box office - it was also a sports film that even the most sport-averse could enjoy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kasi Lemmons began her career playing supporting roles such as Jodie Foster’s roommate in 'Silence Of The Lambs' and Nicolas Cage’s victim in 'Vampire’s Kiss'. Frustrated by the limited opportunities available for black actresses in Hollywood, she started to write, using time between auditions to pen short stories and scenes for friends to perform in acting classes.In the latest from our ScreenTalks Archive, Lemmons discusses her debut film - Eve’s Bayou, widely viewed as a classic of contemporary black cinema, and cited as an influence on films like 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' and Beyonce’s visual album 'Lemonade'. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the most well-known directors to come out of South Korea, Park Chan Wook made his name internationally with a string of bleak, brutal films released in the early noughties, Sympathy for My Vengeance, Old Boy and Lady Vengeance - dubbed The Vengeance Trilogy by critics. But in this ScreenTalk from 2008, Park Chan-wook talks to film journalist Damon Wise about a very different feature – the romantic comedy, I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1975, Horace Ove became the first black British filmmaker to direct a feature film with Pressure. In this conversation from 2005, Horace Ove talks to his friend, experimental filmmaker, John Akomfrah, about this seminal film, exploring how the issues explored in Pressure are still relevant to the Black British experience today and his refusal to be pigeon-holed as a ‘black filmmaker’. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We hear from one of the freshest and most distinctive voices in British cinema today – Carol Morley. After receiving her first BAFTA nomination in 2002 for the autobiographical film, 'The Alcohol Years', she went on to earn further acclaim for the moving docudrama, 'Dreams of a Life' in 2011. In this ScreenTalk, the witty and engaging Morley talks to film curator and critic, Briony Hanson, about her 2014 feature, 'The Falling'. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We turn our attention from directors to composers as we look back at Clint Mansell's fascinating ScreenTalk for Darren Aronofsky's Pi, the film that launched their long-standing relationship in film. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aptly surrounded by our own Brutalist towers, Ben Wheatley talks to The Times chief film critic Kate Muir about his adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s High Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston and Sienna Miller. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Filmmaker and artist Joanna Hogg has written and directed a trio of intimate and unsettling family dramas - Unrelated, Archipelago and Exhibition. In this ScreenTalk, Joanna Hogg talks to critic Catherine Bray about her film, Exhibition. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Perhaps best known for being Monty Python’s animator and director of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), widely seen as one of the greatest comedies of all time, Terry Gilliam has since taken us on a series of journeys into stunningly realised alternate worlds such as Twelve Monkeys and Brazil. And The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus was no exception. In this ScreenTalk, Terry Gilliam talks to the late film critic, Anwar Brett. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The most high profile black female director working today, Amma Asante made her directorial debut in 2004 with, A Way of Life, winning her 17 international awards including a BAFTA for ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Filmmaker’. More recently, she won the hearts of critics and audiences with her interracial love story, A United Kingdom. In this ScreenTalk, Asante talks to film critic Catherine Bray about her second feature, costume drama, Belle. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Described as ‘the UK’s foremost political filmmaker’, Ken Loach has been using film to explore themes of class, conflict and social change for over 50 years. Here, Ken Loach talks to Time Out’s Film editor, Dave Calhoun about the film that earned him his first Palme D’Or win at Cannes Film Festival. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.