Edinburgh Film Podcast

The focus of this 60th episode of Edinburgh Film Podcast is Wanda, the only feature film directed by American actor-filmmaker Barbara Loden. Released in 1970, the film is set in rural Pennsylvania and tells of a working class woman (Loden) who leaves her husband and young children for a life on the road. She eventually drifts into a fraught, uneasy relationship with petty thief Norman Dennis (Michael Higgins) as he plans a bank robbery. Joining host Dr Pasquale Iannone to talk about Wanda is Dr Elena Gorfinkel, author of a new book on the film which is part of the long-running BFI Film Classics series. Elena is Reader in Film Studies at King's College London. Specialising in underground and independent cinema, her many publications include the 2017 volume Lewd Looks: American Sexploitation Cinema in the 1960s. Her articles and book chapters include pieces on filmmakers such as Andy Warhol, Doris Wishman, Kira Muratova and Kelly Reichardt. Elena is also the curator of a major season currently running at London's BFI Southbank titled Wanda and Beyond: The World of Barbara Loden. In their detailed, wide-ranging conversation, Elena tells Pasquale about her first encounter with Wanda and how she approached the writing of her new book. Discussion then moves on to the film itself, before turning to the curation process for the BFI Loden season. Wanda (2025) is published by Bloomsbury and is out now. The BFI Southbank season Wanda and Beyond: The World of Barbara Loden runs throughout the month of June. For more details, please see the BFI website.

On this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by award-winning writer, critic and broadcaster Ellen E. Jones. Ellen presents BBC Radio 4's Screenshot with Mark Kermode and has written for The Guardian, The Observer, Little White Lies, Empire and many other outlets. In March this year, Ellen won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Radio Presenter for her work on Screenshot.Ellen joins Pasquale to talk about her book Screen Deep: How Film and TV Can Solve Racism and Save The World which came out in paperback via Faber in February. It's a brilliantly sharp, impassioned and entertaining look at film and TV's role in both constructing racial identities and combating racism. Works discussed include No Way Out (1950), Imitation of Life (1959), Get Out (2017), Black Panther (2018), Bridgerton (2020-), Atlanta (2016 - 2022), I May Destroy You (2020), Small Axe (2020) and Hard Truths (2024).

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by MSc Film Studies student Lauren Thompson to discuss one of the most critically acclaimed and influential films of all time. Andrei Tarkovsky's fourth feature Mirror (1975) weaves together moments in the life of dying poet in a bold, non-linear style. It's a deeply personal cinematic poem about memory, history and family, and 2025 marks its 50th anniversary.Lauren and Pasquale begin by offering their thoughts on Tarkovsky's work more broadly and then they turn to an extended discussion of Mirror, covering elements such as the use of editing and voiceover. The discussion rounds off with a consideration of the film's influence on successive generations of filmmakers, from Christopher Nolan to Claire Denis.

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone explores the little-known early films of one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, German director Douglas Sirk. Sirk is synonymous with one particular genre. His most famous films, such as Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955), Written on the Wind (1956) and Imitation of Life (1959) are glossy, luxurious Technicolor melodramas which would go on to inspire the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Todd Haynes and many others. But there is more to Sirk than melodrama - he made war films, crime movies, historical dramas and comedies in a career spanning over 25 years and several countries. Earlier this year, Eureka Entertainment released a box set titled Sirk in Germany (1934 - 1935), a collection which takes us all the way back to the beginning of Sirk's film career. The set includes beautiful restorations of his first three features as well as several short films, all of which were made in the early years of the Nazi regime. Alongside bonus material from noted film historians Sheldon Hall and Tim Bergfelder, there are three audio commentaries from the University of Edinburgh's very own David Melville Wingrove. David is a Teaching Fellow at the University's Centre for Open Learning where he teaches hugely popular courses on both film and literature, specialising in dark and fantastical themes and styles. He is also a prolific writer, regularly contributing to publications such as Senses of Cinema. David and Pasquale discuss Sirk's first short film Two Greyhounds (1934) and his first feature April! April! (1935), both light comedies centring on mistaken identity which skewer - mostly with affection - the mores of the German middle class. David helps to place the films in historical context and he also tells Pasquale why Sirk, who was very much one of the leading lights of the German theatre in the late 20s and early 30s, decided to make the move into filmmaking.

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by two students on the MSc Film Studies programme, Eve Kurt-Elli and Aaron Bowler, to discuss Adolescence (2025), one of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed TV shows of the year so far.A four-part Netflix Limited Series directed by Philip Barantini, Adolescence is co-written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham and stars Graham, Owen Cooper, Erin Doherty, Christine Tremarco and Ashley Walters. The series tells a ripped-from-the-headlines story of a 13 year old boy accused of killing a female classmate. Each episode is shot in one continuous single take, a technique which, far from being a gimmick, has the powerful effect of tying the viewer to events as they unfold in real time.In our wide-ranging conversation, Pasquale, Eve and Aaron discuss the background to the series and unpack some of its themes. They discuss the power of the single take aesthetic and provide overviews of each of the four episodes.

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone discusses the art of film posters in the company of Tony Nourmand. Tony is a world-renowned expert in film posters and the author of several books on the subject. In the 1990s, he was a consultant for London auction house Christie's and was heavily involved in the explosion of the film poster market both in the UK and internationally. He went on to open the Reel Poster Gallery in London before setting up the publishing company Reel Art Press in 2010.In September 2024, Tony edited the stunning volume titled 1001 Movie Posters: Designs of the Times. At over 600 pages (and over 4kg in weight), it's the most comprehensive, beautifully presented overview of movie posters ever published. The book features essays and commentary by Tony's long-time collaborators Alison Elangasinghe, Graham Marsh and Sir Christopher Frayling.In this fascinating discussion, Tony takes Pasquale from the Iran of his childhood to London's Soho and then across the pond to Connecticut where he tells of a fateful meeting with the legendary art director behind the designs of film classics such as Casablanca, The Searchers, Bonnie and Clyde and The Exorcist.Tony and Pasquale move on to discuss 1001 Movie Posters. Tony shares his thoughts on the book's structure, some of his favourite poster designs and much more.

To tie-in with the 2025 Academy Awards, this episode of the podcast discusses one of the frontrunners for Best Picture, Director, Actor as well as Supporting Actor and Actress. James Mangold's A Complete Unknown chronicles the very early years in the career of the great singer songwriter Bob Dylan and stars Timothée Chalamet in the lead role.Joining host Dr Pasquale Iannone to talk about the film is Ricky Ross. Ricky is a singer-songwriter and frontman of Deacon Blue, the acclaimed, much-loved Scottish band formed in Glasgow almost exactly forty years ago. Alongside writing and performing, Ricky is also a Sony award-winning broadcaster. Since 2008, he has presented Another Country on BBC Radio Scotland which showcases the best in Americana old and new.The conversation was recorded at the beginning of February 2025, with Ricky and the band gearing up for the release of their new album The Great Western Road as well a major UK tour. Ricky and Pasquale discuss the musical biopic in general before turning to Mangold's A Complete Unknown. They explore the film's focus on four key early years in Dylan's career and also touch upon the Oscar-nominated performances of Chalamet as Dylan, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger. Ricky shares his thoughts on the film's evocation of the New York folk scene and tells Pasquale what he thought of its depiction of the songwriting process.

This episode of the podcast celebrates the work of the great Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman, with a special focus on one of her lesser known films, the 1986 musical Golden Eighties.Our guide to all things Akerman is Marion Schmid. Marion is Professor of French Literature and Film at the University of Edinburgh and the author of several books and articles on Akerman, including a 2010 monograph for Manchester University Press.Marion and Pasquale begin by discussing Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Akerman's 1975 masterpiece which famously topped Sight & Sound's Greatest Films of All Time poll in 2022.Discussion then moves on to Golden Eighties, a vibrant, effervescent musical which tells of the romantic intrigues in a Brussels shopping centre and stars Jeanne Dielman herself, Delphine Seyrig.

On this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by John Bleasdale. John is a writer and film critic whose work has appeared in Sight & Sound, The Guardian, Variety, The Economist and many other outlets. He's also a prolific podcaster, with series such as Writers on Film, Cinema Italia and The James Bond Book Club.John talks to Pasquale about his latest book The Magic Hours (2024), a fascinating biography of the acclaimed American filmmaker Terrence Malick which was recently described by New Yorker critic Richard Brody as ‘a rapturously detailed, sensitively observed, critically insightful account.' John and Pasquale talk about what makes for a great filmmaker biography and then discuss Malick's background, his brief but eventful stints in academia and journalism and his beginnings as a screenwriter. Also covered are his first two features as director - 1970s American classics Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978) as well as the much talked about gap of two decades between Days of Heaven and his third feature, The Thin Red Line (1998). Just what was Malick up to during this time? How much truth is there in this image of Malick as the reclusive auteur?The conversation also takes in key aspects of the Malick methodology and film style, including his work with actors, his editing approach and his use of voiceover.The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick is out now via the University Press of Kentucky.

On the 60th anniversary of its release, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Film Studies PhD student Sam Warnock to discuss Japanese writer-director Kobayashi Masaki's extraordinary ghost story anthology Kwaidan.Shot entirely on studio sets in sumptuous widescreen and lavish, saturated colour, Kwaidan adapts ghost stories by author Lafcadio Hearn and is undoubtedly one of the most visually and aurally striking films of the 1960s. Kobayashi's biographer Steven Prince has described it as the director's 'most overtly and extravagantly stylized film'. Sam and Pasquale discuss the work of Kobayashi and Hearn more broadly as well as the remarkable contribution of composer Takemitsu Toru. They then move onto a close analysis of the four episodes themselves, discussing elements such as narrative structure, adaptation strategies, use of colour, set design as well as the film's textured soundscape.

This is the second of two episodes focusing on Film Phenomenologies, a new collection of essays from Edinburgh University Press edited by Dr Kelli Fuery (Chapman University).Host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Professor Lucy Bolton (Queen Mary University of London) and Dr David Sorfa (University of Edinburgh) to discuss their essays, both of which explore recent star biopics from phenomenological perspectives.Lucy discusses her piece 'The Posthumous Phenomenology of the Star Biopic: Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg in Seberg (2019)' while David tells Pasquale about his chapter 'The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe by the Coward Andrew Dominik' which takes a Sartrean approach to the controversial 2022 film Blonde.While this episode is stand-alone, the previous episode features editor Kelli in conversation with Pasquale. She unpacks the concept behind the collection, provides an overview of all 13 chapters and takes a closer look at her own essay, 'The Khôra-Screen: Responsibility as a Precarious Intimacy in Agnès Varda's One Sings, the Other Doesn't (1977).

This is the first of two episodes in which host Dr Pasquale Iannone and guests discuss Film Phenomenologies, a ground-breaking collection of essays from Edinburgh University Press which explores work by filmmakers such as Céline Sciamma, Agnès Varda, Bill Viola, Alex Garland and Barry Jenkins through a phenomenological lens.In this first episode, Pasquale is joined by the collection's editor Dr Kelli Fuery (Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries at Chapman University, California). Kelli discusses her interest in feminist film-phenomenology, provides an overview of all 13 chapters and then takes a closer look at her own piece - on Agnès Varda's feminist musical One Sings, The Other Doesn't (1977).The next episode of Edinburgh Film Podcast (EFP 50) includes conversations with Professor Lucy Bolton and Dr David Sorfa, who discuss their respective chapters.

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone previews the 32nd French Film Festival UK in the company of its co-founder and director Richard Mowe.Pasquale and Richard look back at the festival's beginnings in the early 1990s before exploring the 2024 programme which includes a diverse range of titles from France, Belgium, Switzerland and beyond. New titles mentioned include Toni (Nathan Ambrosioni), Boléro (Anne Fontaine), The Marching Band (Emmanuel Courcol), One Year, One Night (Isaki Lacuesta) and Dog on Trial (Laetitia Dosch). Also discussed are the shorts and classics strands.The French Film Festival runs across the UK in various venues throughout November an December. Full information is available on their website www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk.

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone previews the 2024 Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival in the company of ESFF founder and director Marian A. Aréchaga and programming assistant Gustavo Herrera Taboada.Pasquale, Marian and Gustavo discuss the background to ESFF and explore some highlights from the programme, including opening night film, futuristic thriller Artificial Justice and music documentary Soy Rebelde. There is also discussion of the festival's guests and special events.The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival runs between 2nd and 26th October in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Tranent and Inverness. For more information, please go to www.edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone looks back at some highlights from the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival. Pasquale talks to writer-director Jack King about his film The Ceremony, the film that won EIFF's inaugural Sir Sean Connery Prize for Excellence in Feature Filmmaking. He also speaks to BAFTA-winning writer-director Daisy-May Hudson about her film Lollipop.Pasquale offers some thoughts on two of EIFF's In Conversation events, the first featuring Gaspar Noé, the innovative, boundary-pushing director of Irreversible (2002) and Enter the Void (2009), the other featuring Oscar-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, best known for her long collaboration with director Martin Scorsese on films such as Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and, most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

On this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Dr Sarah Artt (Lecturer in English and Film at Edinburgh Napier University) to discuss her new book Quiet Pictures: Women and Silence in Contemporary British and French Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2024).In the book, Sarah draws on the work of Lynne Ramsay, Joanna Hogg, Lucile Hadžihalilović and Céline Sciamma to explore the different uses of silence which, according to Sarah, leads to new ways of looking, staring, and gazing.  Sarah and Pasquale discuss the use of silence in film more broadly as well as the idea of silence as a ‘feminist aesthetic'.

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone previews the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival in the company of Director Paul Ridd and Producer Emma Boa.Paul and Emma discuss their vision for EIFF and its position in the wider Film Festival landscape as well as the advantages of staging the event in August.Other topics covered include the choices of opening and closing night films, the Midnight Madness and Experimental strands as well as the new prizes named after Sean Connery and Thelma Schoonmaker.The 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from 15th - 21st August 2024 in various venues across the city. For more information, please see their website edfilmfest.org.

Host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by award-winning poet, author and editor Dr Sarah Stewart to discuss the links between poetry and cinema. Pasquale and Sarah discuss poems by Mary Swenson, Sharon Olds, Bill Sherman and Elizabeth Jennings on subjects ranging from James Bond to post-war Polish cinema, Orson Welles to Marilyn Monroe. The episode also includes recommendations of film-themed poetry by Robin Robertson, Michael Ontdaatje and Margaret Tait as well as an exclusive reading and discussion of Sarah's own film-themed poem 'Opening Scenes of a Never-Made 1980s Thriller'. Main films discussed: Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) Nosferatu (Werner Herzog, 1979) Perfect Days (Wim Wenders, 2023)

On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Professor Catherine O'Rawe. Catherine is Professor of Italian Film and Culture at the University of Bristol. Her books include Stars and Masculinities in Contemporary Italian Cinema (2014).Catherine discusses her latest monograph The Non-Professional Actor: Italian Neorealist Cinema and Beyond (2023) where she provides detailed, engaging analysis of the role and function of the non-professional actor both during and after the neorealist era.

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Don Boyd, a Scottish-born filmmaker with more than fifty years experience working in both Hollywood and the UK. As well as directing his own successful features and documentaries, Don produced some of the most bold and boundary-pushing British films of the 70s and 80s - works as diverse as Alan Clarke's borstal drama Scum (1979) and Derek Jarman's flamboyant adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest (1979).In this fascinating, wide ranging conversation, Don talks to Pasquale about producing the 1987 film Aria. For this project, Don invited ten internationally acclaimed directors to make a short film based on an operatic aria. The stellar line-up  included Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Robert Altman and Jean-Luc Godard. As well as providing insight into his working relationship with these giants of world cinema, Don reflects on the enduring legacy of Aria and discusses some of the contemporary directors he would approach were he making a modern opera film.

In this episode, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by acclaimed Scottish-born filmmaker Don Boyd. As well as directing his own acclaimed features and documentaries, Don produced some of the most bold and boundary-pushing British films of the 70s and 80s - works as diverse as Alan Clarke's borstal drama Scum (1979) and Derek Jarman's flamboyant adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest (1979).In this fascinating, wide ranging conversation, Don talks to Pasquale about producing the 1987 film Aria. For this project, Don invited ten internationally acclaimed directors to make a short film based on an operatic aria. The stellar line-up of filmmakers included Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Robert Altman and Jean-Luc Godard. As well as providing fascinating insight into his working relationship with these giants of world cinema, Don reflects on the enduring legacy of Aria and discusses some of the contemporary directors he would approach were he making a modern opera film.

Host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by MSc Film Studies student Russell Shen to discuss two films by the great Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien: 1987 drama Daughter of the Nile and the director's final film, The Assassin (2015).

A special edition of the podcast dedicated to Filmhouse, Edinburgh's much-loved independent cinema. Host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Rod White, Professor Nacim Pak-Shiraz, Raymah Tariq and David Boyd.

In this Halloween special, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by current MSc Film Studies student Sebastian Gilling-Ulph to discuss dark filmic fairytales.Films discussed:Coraline (Henry Selick, 2009) https://edin.ac/47qqP6PEyes Without A Face (Georges Franju, 1959) https://edin.ac/47a3c1R

In this first episode of the new season, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Film Studies colleague Dr Ana Salzberg (Senior Lecturer in Film Studies) to discuss autumn in film.Main films discussed:Something Wicked This Way Comes (Jack Clayton, 1983) IMDb: https://edin.ac/45BaHOlThe Friends of Eddie Coyle (Peter Yates, 1973) IMDb: https://edin.ac/3PW21w5Staff pages:Dr Ana Salzberg https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-ana-salzbergDr Pasquale Iannone https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/piannone

Kat Zabecka speaks to Dr David Sorfa, the programme director of the MSc and PhD in Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh, and his colleagues Dr Pasquale Iannone, Dr Chiara Quaranta and Dr Hoi Lun Law about their personal best of film and television in 2021.Films and TV mentioned (in order of mention):Celine Sciamma – Petite Maman (2021) Leos Carax – Annette (2021) David Lean – Brief Encounter (1945) Kar-Wai Wong - In the Mood for Love (2000) Paolo Sorrentino – Hand of God (2021) Wes Anderson – The French Dispatch (2021) Marta Kauffman, Howard J. Morris -Grace and Frankie (2015-2022) Paolo Sorrentino - The Young Pope (2016) Charters and Caldicott (1985) Mike Flanagan – Midnight Mass (2021) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-) Leonardo Fasoli, Stefano Bises, Roberto Saviano - Gomorrah (2014-2021) Molly Smith Metzler – Maid (2021) Russell T. Davies – It's a Sin (2021) Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi - Reservation Dogs (2021) Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car (2021) Peter Jackson - The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Pablo Larrain – Spencer (2021) Michael Caton-Jones – Our Ladies (2019) Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog (2021) Park Chan-wook – The Handmaiden (2016) Anthony Minghella - The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)

In early April 2022, Kat Zabecka spoke to University of Edinburgh MSc Film Studies students Niamh Carey-Furness and Yvonne Wang, founders of The Film Dispatch magazine, an exciting student-led initiative.

Kat Zabecka speaks to Mira Nemcikova and Rici Wenger, former MSc Film Studies students at the University of Edinburgh, about romantic comedies. They discuss You've Got Mail (Nora Ephron 1998), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (Andy Tennant 1998) and The Proposal (Anne Fletcher 2009). Please note this episode includes spoilers.Sources mentioned:Ruti, M., 2016. Feminist film theory and Pretty Woman. London: Bloomsbury PublishingShreiber, M., 2014. American Postfeminist Cinema: Women, Romance and Contemporary Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University PressVerevis, C., 2006. Film Remakes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University PressThree Wishes for Cinderella (Vorlicek 1973)

Kat Zabecka speaks to 3 current MSc Film Studies students Nick, Devika and Karen. They discuss their different film viewing experiences during the pandemic and debate the impact of film streaming platforms. (References: Variety; Vox)

Kat Zabecka talks to Dr Neil Fox, the writer of Wilderness (2017), now available to stream. They discuss the writing process, inspiration for the characters and the timeliness of the digital release of the film. Neil Fox is the co-host of The Cinematologists podcast, senior lecturer at Falmouth University and a screenwriter. 

Kat Zabecka talks to Dr Pasquale Iannone, Senior Teaching Fellow in Film Studies, about film noir. If you want to know how to recognise one or you are simply looking for watchlist inspiration, this episode, packed with examples, is for you. Some of the films we discuss are:Army of Shadows (L'armée des ombres, Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969)Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan, 1981)Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)Le jour se lève (Marcel Carné, 1939)Le Samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967)Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)Pépé le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937)Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)The Conformist (Il conformista, Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) [There is an interesting video essay on this film by James Mooney here].The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Peter Yates, 1973)The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino,  1953)The Port of Shadows (Le quai des brumes, Marcel Carné, 1938)The Wild Goose Lake (Nanfang chezhan de juhui, Yi'nan Diao)Nicolas Miller's neo-noir photographs of New York are on Instagram.

Kat Zabecka is joined by Dr Dario Llinares who is Principal Lecturer n the School of Media at the University of Brighton and co-host of the Cinematologists Podcast with Dr Neil Fox. We discuss Dario's latest article Cinema for the Ears: Imagining the Audio-Cinematic Through Podcasting published in the October 2020 issue of Film-Philosophy.We have an earlier episode about approaches to podcasting and the Cinematologists podcast with Dr Neil Fox, available on Media Hopper and iTunes.

Kat Zabecka talks to MSc Film Studies student, Elisa Teneggi. Join us for a discussion about Bruno Dumont, Unorthodox, Normal People, Dark, Bad People, The Lunchbox, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The True History of the Kelly Gang, Pain and Glory, The Hitch-hiker and much more.

Kat Zabecka talks to Dr Caire Boyle, lecturer in French and Francophone Studies at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss the life and work of Agnès Varda and consider Varda's approaches to cinema in terms of realism, feminism and documentary-making. Please note this episode was recorded in May of 2019. Agnès Varda FilmographyIf you are a member of the University of Edinburgh, you can stream a selection of Varda's films (requires login):Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)Vagabond / Sans toi ni loi (1985)Jane B. by Agnès V. (1988)The Gleaners and I / Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000)

Kat Zabecka is joined by Richard Mowe, the director of the French Film Festival and Cinefile, a distribution company based in Edinburgh. They discuss the process of distribution from start to finish, the history of Cinefile and witnessing the transition from analogue to digital. [Please note that Covid-19 has affected many of the events discussed here]

Kat Zabecka speaks to current 2019/20 MSc Film Studies students Betty, Elisa and Thaddeus. They discuss the controversy and cinematography of Antichrist (2009) while taking a trip down Lars Von Trier's filmography. [This podcast is not funded, endorsed or supported by MUBI in any way.]

Join us for a discussion of the best films from 2019 with Dr David Sorfa and Dr Pasquale Iannone, hosted by Kat Zabecka.Here is the list of films in the order of mention, all released in 2019 (with a few from 2018):Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell) Climax (Gaspar Noé) The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh) Marriage Story (Noach Baumbach) The Dead Don’t Die (Jim Jarmusch) Booksmart (Olivia Wilde) The House That Jack Built (Lars Von Trier) Styx (Wolfgang Fischer) The Irishman (Martin Scorsese) Mid90s (Jonah Hill) Dolemite is My Name (Craig Brewer) Mary Queen of Scots (Josie Rourke) Jiang hu er nü / Ash is Purest White (Zhangke Jia) Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (Ben Wheatley) Photograph (Ritesh Batra) Knives Out (Rian Johnson) Notti Magiche/Magical Nights (Paolo Virzi) Loro (Paolo Sorrentino) The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg) Joker (Todd Phillips)Varda par Agnès/Varda by Agnes (Agnès Varda) If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Vince Gilligan)Films we have seen this year but were released prior to 2019:Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett 1978)Three Colours Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski 1993)Ukigumo/Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse 1955)The Rebel/Call Me Genius (Robert Day 1961)Chinatown (Roman Polanski 1974)Moon (Duncan Jones 2009)Summer Stock (Charles Walters 1950)L'une chante l'autre pas/One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (Agnès Varda 1977)

Kat Zabecka speaks to Dr Alastair Bruce and Mat Vidmar from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landing. They discuss the role of the Moon in cinema, space exploration and women's history. 

Kat Zabecka talks to Dr Neil Fox, co-founder and host of the Cinematologists Podcast. They talk Fringe Festival, Dr Fox's film background and approaches to podcasting. They also reflect on the Film-Philosophy Conference that took place in Brighton in July and discuss the accessibility of academia. 

Kat Zabecka speaks to Dr Calum Neill, Associate Professor of Psychoanalysis & Cultural Theory at Edinburgh Napier University. They discuss Lacan in Scotland, a research group founded by Dr Neill, their work and seminar series they have been running regularly since December 2018. In the second half of the podcast, the discussion steers towards film, Lacan, Freud and psychoanalysis. 

Kat Zabecka is joined by Jessie Taylor and Patrick Callaghan, current MSc Film Studies students. They chat about dissertations, choosing topics, research process and academic writing. 

Kat Zabecka is joined by our current MSc Film Students Callum Simpson, Laura Tribaudino and Tina Kandiashvili. They discuss Wim Wenders' iconic Paris, Texas (1984) and explore the film's characters and themes of existentialism. They also touch on the students' film and academic background and discuss why we talk about films in the first place.