FilmCastPodScene

We go deep on The Hourglass Sanatorium on the occasion of the film's 50th anniversary. The film is one of 10 titles in the Cinematic Century series that showcases 100 years of film to celebrate 10 years of FilmScene!

On this episode we take a look at Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat, the film that kicks off FilmScene 101: Movie Musicals led by FilmCastPodScene co-host Nathan Platte.

On this episode we take a look at the titles that bookend the month-long Billy in the Sky with Diamond series at FilmScene all August long: Some Like it Hot and Avanti!

On this episode we hand over hosting duties to University of Iowa graduate students Zach Vanes and Celeste Howington for an interview with filmmakers Michelle Parkerson and Chris Prince to discuss Fierceness Served! The ENIKAlley Coffeehouse, which will be featured in the Literary Shorts Program of the Out of the Archive: Black Women Behind the Lens series at FilmScene.

On this episode we welcome Christopher Harris, filmmaker and F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor of Cinematic Arts at the University of Iowa to discuss Frequências: Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Cinema & the Black Diaspora (3/30-4/1).

On this episode Chicago based musician, producer, composer, photographer, and educator, Alvin Cobb Jr. joins us to talk about his new score for Oscar Micheaux's 1919 film Within Our Gates. Cobb will be performing the score with his trio at FilmScene on January 19. We also briefly touch on a few other events happening in the coming weeks.

This episode we welcome special guest Mary Owen, daughter of Donna Reed, to talk about an all time holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life. We also have a brief preview of our entire Holiday Classics series at FilmScene.

On this episode, it's all about Cary Grant! FilmScene Programming Assistant, Jane Keranen, joins us to talk about FilmScene's Screwball Summer Series and to take a deeper look at George Cukor's HOLIDAY (1938), the third film that Grant starred in with Katherine Hepburn.

This episode we have a special mini-cast of FilmCastPodScene as part of The Parking Spaces, a series of site-specific listening experiences to invite rest, activation, and imagination around downtown Iowa City where we discuss FilmScene in the Park.

On April 14, Justin Sherburn comes to FilmScene with his guitarist Gunner Ross to perform a brand new live score to the Soviet era masterpiece Man with a Movie Camera. We talked to Justin about his process and history with composition. We also got to talk about the wonderful Peter Bogdanovich screwball comedy What's Up Doc? which is playing as part of the Peter Bogdanovich: In Memoriam series that runs from April 1-7 at FilmScene.

In anticipation of the new film Parallel Mothers opening on Jan. 28 at FilmScene, we dive deep on Volver with poet, author, playwright, and University of Iowa Professor Ana Merino to talk all things Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz for our Pedro & Penélope series. We also have some February highlights from FilmScene's calendar.

We have author Todd Melby on to talk about his book: A Lot Can Happen in the Middle of Nowhere: The Untold Story of the Making of Fargo in anticipation of his appearance at our annual Fargo rooftop screening. We go deep on a lesser known holiday classic with Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan and wrap up with some quick hits coming to FilmScene in the coming weeks.

On this episode we have an extended interview with directors Beth Levison and Jerry Risius for their documentary STORM LAKE that follows the Storm Lake Times and its fearless leader, the Pulitzer Prize winning editor Art Cullen and his team in small town Iowa. We also go deep on Visconti's WHITE NIGHTS, a 1957 adaptation of the Dostoevsky novella of the same name starring Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell. And finally we get into some other happenings at FilmScene for the fall season.

FilmCastPodScene celebrates its first anniversary and welcomes new FilmScene programmer Ben Delgado! Rebecca and Ben share highlights from their new jobs, divulge their most precious desert island films, and survey special upcoming events at FilmScene.

On the eve of FilmScene's long awaited reopening, Nathan and Rebecca welcome the FilmScene leadership team — Andrew Sherburne (co-Founder and Executive Director); Emily Salmonson (Operations Director) and Ross Meyer (Facilities Director) — to reflect on the last 400+ days, consider what they're most looking forward to upon reopening (spoiler alert: it's the audience) and what it means to have gotten through it all together.

In Episode 15, Nathan and Rebecca welcome special guests to explore the great outdoors and talk about the programming, partners and planning behind FilmScene in the Park, and we take a look at this year's Academy Award nominees, the unique format of the planned ceremony, and how the star-studded evening impacts the industry as a whole.

In Episode 14, Nathan and Rebecca preview FilmScene's fourth year of Science on Screen, and welcome director Jessie Barr to learn about how she brought new perspective to the coming of age genre and tackled themes of grief, sex and creativity in her feature debut "Sophie Jones".

In Episode 13, Nathan and Rebecca turn up some of their favorite film scores, considering how music highlights, expands, complicates and deepens what we see on screen. From the haunting strings composed by Mica Levi for "Under The Skin" to the energy and life of A. R. Rahman's score for "Slumdog Millionaire", how does what we hear impact how we feel?

In episode twelve, Nathan and Rebecca sit down with "Lapsis" director Noah Hutton to talk about the "parallel present" of his new film "Lapsis", the literary inspirations for his indie sci-fi story, and the challenges of making a film in the woods, with kids, and with robots.

In episode eleven of FilmScene's popular podcast, Rebecca and Nathan welcome Sundance Film Festival filmmakers Peter Nicks ("Homeroom") and Karen Cinorre ("Mayday") to talk about premiering their films at the start of 2021, what's next after the Festival, and their most memorable moviegoing experiences.

In FilmCastPodScene's last episode of 2020, Rebecca and Nathan muse on music and memory in Wong Kar Wai's films, newly restored by Janus Films and currently featured in FilmScene's virtual screening room. Then they welcome a very special guest to share their favorite ho-ho-holiday films!

In episode nine, Rebecca and Nathan welcome Miriam Murray, MD, to consider Tania Cypriano’s intimate documentary BORN TO BE from a local care perspective. They also raise a glass to Mads Mikkelsen's performance in ANOTHER ROUND, the booze-soaked drama that explores if we're all at our best when we're a little bit drunk. Spoiler alert: not really.

In episode eight, Rebecca and Nathan discover the life-altering power of donuts in Alice Gu's THE DONUT KING. They also welcome FilmScene überpatrons Jason Egge, Jamie Ellis, and Tom Carsner to discuss recent films they've enjoyed and recall cherished filmgoing memories from growing up.

In episode seven, Rebecca and Nathan talk about how William Greaves' NATIONTIME (covering the 1972 National Black Political Convention) and the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman are essential watching this election season. They also dive into the sound worlds of Gary Rydstrom, whose career in sound design is featured in MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND. And Hannah Bonner joins the conversation to share insights on New Hollywood, the topic of her virtual FilmScene 101 series.

In episode six, Rebecca and Nathan welcome back Late Shift at the Grindhouse host Ross Meyer to finish sharing his favorite fright flicks. They also savor food and slower living in Wayne Wang's COMING HOME AGAIN, then journey to Italy for Pietro Marcello's lavish, Mediterranean take on Jack London's novel, MARTIN EDEN.

In the fifth episode of FilmCastPodScene, FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and University of Iowa Professor Nathan Platte are joined by director Haroula Rose to discuss her new film "Once Upon a River," an adaptation of the book by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Plus, Ross Meyer, host of Late Shift at the Grindhouse and FilmScene's head projectionist, shares some of his favorite horror films.

In the fourth episode of FilmCastPodScene, FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and University of Iowa Professor Nathan Platte are joined by friends Calvin and Matthew, hosts of KRUI's Bijou Banter, a podcast by the University of Iowa's Bijou Film Board. Our team talks about Claire Denis's study of masculinity, BEAU TRAVAIL, and discusses the challenges facing the cinema industry.

In the third episode of FilmCastPodScene, FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and University of Iowa Professor Nathan Platte are joined by architect Chucho Loria to discuss his love of STALKER, and how the films of Andrei Tarkovsky have a special relationship with space and architecture. Plus, remember dinner parties? Well, you've never seen one quite like Luis Buñuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL.

In the second episode of FilmCastPodScene, FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and University of Iowa Professor Nathan Platte are joined by director Anne Flatté to discuss the film RIVER CITY DRUMBEAT, codirected with Marlon Johnson. Plus, FilmScene cofounder Andrew Sherburne joins in to chat outdoor cinema on FilmStreet and catch up on international cinema from the couch.

In the inaugural episode of FilmCastPodScene, FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and University of Iowa Professor Nathan Platte dive into two new films (Dawn Porter's documentary JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE and Ina Weisse's drama THE AUDITION), share what they're watching during social distancing, and offer complementary viewing to build your at-home movie playlist.

They told us not to start a podcast during the pandemic, but we could only resist for so long. Join FilmScene Programming Director Rebecca Fons and cohost Nathan Platte, professor of film and music as they explore the movies from our home base in Iowa CIty.