Ebba Wester and Macon Holt talk about movies (new and old) in a super nerdy, fun, critical theory-inflected and engaging way. Sometimes other people talk too.
Luca Guadagnino returns to the cinema following the roaring success of Challengers with an adaptation of William Burroughs' auto-fictional experimental novel of love in the age of intensely felt internalised homophobia, Queer. Beyond the film continuing the trend for gorgeously dirty white linen suits on film, Queer is a masterful, impressionistic exploration of living in bodies and with desires that are tangled up with socially shaped self-loathing and the loneliness that follows from fear. There is so much to unfold!If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Director Bong Joon Ho returns to Anglophone cinema with the satirical sci-fi Black comedy Mickey 17. Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey, a down-on-his-luck earthling who tries to escape his trouble by signing up for a space voyage as an "expendable", i.e., a person who can die over and over again because they have his data on file. So, what does this tonally peculiar film have to say about the world we live in today?If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
This time, we are joined by festival veteran and writer for the Radical Art Review, Alex Elder, to talk about some of the films on offer from CPH DOX 2025, including Flophouse America, Portrait of a Confused Father, Fantastic Family, Another World, About a Hero, Rave, and Zodiac Killer Project. Most of the films we talk about are available on the festival's platform Paradox, while Another World will be available on the rest of the internet. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Director Brady Corbet has made an epic about architecture, artistry, money and power called The Brutalist, and we have some "thoughts" about it along with Ayn Rand, pretentiousness and the white elephant/termite theory of filmmaking. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
10 years after changing the world of documentary cinema with "The Act of Killing" and "The Look of Silence", director Joshua Oppenheimer returns to our screens with a post-apocalyptic musical. "The End" is a film about the lies we tell ourselves, the destruction these cause, and the love and hope that such lies deny us. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
So it's time to talk about “Babygirl” from director Halina Reijn, a tale of a married tech CEO who's never had an orgasm with her husband, engaging in an illicit sub/Dom affair with her magically empathetic intern. It's a film that raises questions about identity, control, fantasy, desire, love and power which are very much of the moment. But what is it really about?If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
He's coming! And by "he" we mean Robert Eggers' reimagining of the sublime Dracula copyright dodge, "Nosferatu". Eggers' telling centres on Ellen, the character who in previous versions has been the object of the Vampyr, Orlok's, appetite. But Eggers' version poses the question that she might be the subject who summoned him to satisfy her own. But can this smoothed version of Eggers' auteurship in pursuit of a popcorn hit adequately grapple with such a troubling idea?
On this episode of Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon talk about Sean Baker's new film "Anora", the story of Ani, a sex worker from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, who winds up a pragmatic/maybe romantic marriage with the fail-son of a Russian oligarch. In the boy's family's attempts to clean this up, Ani has to make sure she gets what she is owed from people who'd rather pretend she doesn't exist. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
It is a Sean Baker Chrismas at Projector Pod, as we share two episodes on the filmmaker's work. The first is the mini-live podcast from our event at Kommunal Kunst og Teknik (KKT) on the Director's the queer Christmas movie the world always needed, "Tangerine". Our full episode on Baker's latest film, "Anora", will be out after Christmas!If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
It's The Substance that everyone is talking about. The miracle tonic that will make you a new you, so long as you follow the rules. Ebba and Macon chart tense territory as they discuss the future cult body horror hit from Coralie Fargeat. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
With a slue of films about men called Arthur in the cinema right now, Ebba and Macon have decided to talk about 2 of them in this episode. Todd Phillips attempts not to leave money on the table with his depressing musical "Joker: Folie et Duex" starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. And Alice Rohrwacher directs an enchanting meditation on the flatness of time, life, love and death with "La Chimera".
Legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola, has made a return to our screen with his self-financed, attempt at an audacious masterpiece "Megalopolis". Ebba and Macon dive into this confounding film and search for its redeeming features. And there are treasures to be found among the worrying politics, uncanny design and discombobulating dialogue. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Uninspire by the end of summer spook fests at the cinema, Ebba and Macon dived into the classics. This time they take a look back at the Academy Award-winning, insanely prescient and oddly pretentious, "Network" from 1976. It is the story of how a middle-aged news anchor's mental breakdown becomes a cash cow for his broadcaster as rants against the world as it is. And as bad as it might have seemed then it might be even worse today.
On the final live podcast at Husetsbiograf, Ebba and Macon sizzle in the Iberian sun in Johnathan Glazer's deconstructed London gangster black comedy, "Sexy Beast".If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Yorgos Lanthimos is back with his thoroughly unsettling and painfully absurd triptych anthology film "Kinds of Kindness". So,Ebba and Macon get thoroughly stuck in the question of what sort of kindness he might be talking about. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
This time at Husets Biograf we watched, Richard Linklater's adaptation of "A Scanner Darkly", a drug paranoia-fueled, rotoscoped exploration of how they might just be out to get you. Come join us for the last of our screening series on Monday June 10th at 19:00, when we will be watching Jonathan Glazer's surreal reinvention of the heist film, "Sexy Beast". If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Time for some sexy, summer, queer fun with Ebba and Macon on this episode of Projector Pod featuring two long discussions of Luca Guadagnino sweat soaked tennis desire drama, "Challengers" and Rose Glass' blackly comic romantic caper "Love Lives Bleeding". On Monday, June 10th Projector Pod presents for the last time at Husets Biograf, Jonathan Glaser's surreal heist/gangster film, "Sexy Beast", If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can find our Patreon here.
Macon and Ebba talk about Lynne Ramsay's underseen gem, "Morvern Callar", for the second time, but this time in front a freshly overwhelmed crowd. You can hear what else the Projector Pod team had to say about the film the first time around here. The next Projector Pod Live will take place at Husets Biograf on May 20th when we will be showing Richard Linklater's rotoscoped adaptation of Philip K. Dick's paranoid sci-fi classic, "A Scanner Darkly". If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
This time on Projector Pod Ebba and Macon dive into the libidinal economy of violence and the images that animate it while talking about Alex Garland's latest and perhaps last directorial venture "Civil War". And speaking of the aestheticisation of violence, they also spend a minute talking about the latest instalment in the "Dune" saga. On Thursday, May 9th Projector Pod presents, Lynne Ramsey's criminally underseen incredible film, "Morvern Callar", at Husets Biograf. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
Ebba and Macon have been hard at work at the CPH DOX festival soaking as much of it in as they could. Here, they present their picks of the films they found the most engaging presented here in spoiler-free discussions.Including:*"Balomania" dir. Sissel Morell Dargis"Youth (Spring)" dir. Wang Bing"Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World" dir. Radu Jude*"Kix" dir. Bálint Révész & Dávid Milkulán*"Daughter of Genghis" dir. Kristoffer Juel Poulsen, Christian Als & Knud Brix"Ibelin" dir. Benjamin Ree"Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat" dir. Johan Grimonprezand more...*Available on PARADOX On Thursday, April 4th Projector Pod presents, Lynne Ramsey's criminally underseen incredible film, "Morvern Callar", at Husets Biograf. Get your tickets to the screening and live podcast here. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
Projector pod presents at Huset Biograf returns with Paul Thomas Anderson's reinvention of the genre of the Adam Sandler romantic comedy, "Punch-Drunk Love". This film is a musical without musical numbers. Rife with the symbolism of fantasy it is a fable of how love can redeem us from our self-loathing, or maybe that is just a dream.Come join us next month on April 4th at Huset Biograf when we will be screening and chatting about Lynne Ramsey's criminally underseen, subversive exploration of grief, anger and agency, "Morvern Caller". If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here.
Nicholas Cage becomes Ebba and Macon's uncanny daydream as they discuss Kristoffer Borgli's break out into Hollywood in his latest film, "Dream Scenario". It tells the story of a disappointed college professor who suddenly hears he has been popping up in a lot of people's dreams and then has to struggle with this strange kind of notoriety. Also, your beloved hosts have a brief chat about the tragedy of wanting to connect with those you love when terror gets in the way in Andrew Haigh's "All of Us Strangers". And on March 7th at Huset's Biograf at 19:00 Projector Pod Presents the second in its series of live podcasts and screening with a valentines special, the answer to the question, what if Paul Thomas Anderson made a romantic comedy staring Adam Sandler and it was amazing, "Punch Drunk Love". Get your tickets here.If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon dive into a brand new, very confusing feeling with Todd Haynes' latest exploration of the monstrous feminine in "May December". A film that sees Natalie Portman and Haynes' long-time collaborator Julianne Moore, compete for who can be the most despicable. They also touch on the glorious mess that is Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature, "Saltburn". And on February 8th at Huset's Biograf at 19:00 Projector Pod Presents the second in its series of live podcasts and screening with a valentines special, the answer to the question, what if Paul Thomas Anderson made a romantic comedy staring Adam Sandler and it was amazing, "Punch Drunk Love". Get your tickets here.If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon follow Emma Stone on her adventure with director Yorgos Lanthimos into the steam-punk, sex and science odyssey of Bella Baxter in "Poor Things". And your host take a moment to think about Johnathan Glazer's innovative examination of the banality of evil in his new film, "Zone of Interest".And on February 8th at Huset's Biograf at 19:00 Projector Pod Presents the second in its series of live podcasts and screening with a valentines special, the answer to the question, what if Paul Thomas Anderson made a romantic comedy staring Adam Sandler and it was amazing, "Punch Drunk Love". Get your tickets here. If you think Projector Pod is the kind of thing you'd like to support you can find out Patreon here too.
It's Halloween in January!* The first film of Projector Pod's live series at Husets Biograf in Copenhagen was Rian Johnson's debut feature "Brick" (2005), a genre-bending hardboiled detective noir reimagined as a high school teen drama that is so formally tight it lets some surprising insights shine through. Join us for the next live recording at Husets Biograf in Copenhagen on February 1st when we will be screening our Valentines feature. AKA the answer to what would happen if Paul Thomas Anderson directed a brilliant romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler? And that Answer is "Punch Drunk Love".
In this episode of Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon navigate the glamour and the ick of Sofia Coppola's film about the icon and child bride of Elvis, "Priscilla". And don't forget, in 2024, Projector Pod goes live!Projector Pod presents... a celebration of rough, risky and bold artistic vision with a series of hand-picked Y2K cult classics which if you don't already know and love, you should... Ebba and Macon of the ‘Projector Pod' podcast present a series of personal Greatest Hits from the golden age of DVDs and bring them to you on the big screen... Join them at Husets Biograf for a screening, followed by a ‘live podcast' chat about the film. Audience participation is encouraged. So is beer. Hope to see you there.The first screening will be January 4th and tickets are available hereThe first film will be Rian Johnson's debut feature "Brick" (2005), a hardboiled detective noir reimagined as a high school teen drama, starring Joseph Gordon-Levett.If you think Projector Pod gives you good movie chat, you can support us on Patreon
In 2024, Projector Pod goes live!Projector Pod presents... a celebration of rough, risky and bold artistic vision with a series of hand-picked Y2K cult classics which if you don't already know and love, you should... Ebba and Macon of the ‘Projector Pod' podcast present a series of personal Greatest Hits from the golden age of DVDs and bring them to you on the big screen... Join them at Husets Biograf for a screening, followed by a ‘live podcast' chat about the film. Audience participation is encouraged. So is beer. Hope to see you there.The first screening will be January 4th and tickets are available here The first film will be Rian Johnson's debut feature "Brick" (2005), a hardboiled detective noir reimagined as a high school teen drama, starring Joseph Gordon-Levett.
Ebba and Macon have made it back to the cinema and the award season releases start to fill the silver screen. This time they talk about Martin Scorsese's latest historical epic, "Killers of the Flower Moon". The film tells the true story of the murders that targeted the Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s by white Americans attempting to steal their oil rights. Taking the slow domestic violence as the story's focal point the film is a stunning examination of how colonial violence is perpetuated by way of respectability.
With the beginning of spooky season comes the end of classics season. So, the last movie Ebba and Macon is going to cover before returning to the cinema is a film that does both spooky and classic with angsty grace, gorgeous dissociation and troubled excitement, Richard Kelly's debut feature film, Donnie Darko.
In the absence of good kino in the cinemas, Ebba and Macon explore another classic, Lynne Ramsay's criminally underseen exploration of grief and freedom, "Morvern Callar" starring Samantha Morton. Track this movie down, watch it and then listen to the pod. We need to get the word out about this neglected gem!
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon don Venitian masks and cloaks and try to memorise the password, Fidelio, and descend into the beautiful nightmare of the torment of bourgeois desire that is Stanley Kubrick's final masterpiece, "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999).If you think Projector Pod gives you good movie chat, you can support us on Patreon
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon apply all their critical skills to the latest instalment in Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" film franchise, "Dead Reckoning, Part One". And in so doing, they discover some deep heritage of cinema embodied in Crusie's commitment to living up to his mega-star persona. If you think Projector Pod gives you good movie chat, you can support us on Patreon
The master of horror and darkness, the director, William Friedkin, has passed away at 87. Back in November, before they had good microphones and thought could they constantly deliver two pods a month to build an audience of patrons, Ebba and Macon recorded an episode on Friedkin's thriller masterpiece, Sorcerer, while both having horrendous colds. Given the sniffles, sneezes and extreme vocal fry, the episode was left unpublished. But in light of Friedkin's passing, it made sense to send this slightly embarrassing audio out in the world as a tribute. Enjoy
This time on Projector Pod Ebba and Macon try to figure out what to make of the collision of two cinematic titans, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer". Two apparently polar opposite films in terms of themes and aesthetics, released on the same day, it must be of some significance, no?If you like Projector Pod, you can support us via our Patreon, rating the show or just telling your friends about it. patreon.com/projectorpod
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon discuss Wes Anderson's most recent exploration of pastel colours, symmetry and repressed grief, Asteroid City. And of course, we take the opportunity to explore exactly what might be at stake in the aesthetics of Anderson's entire oeuvre in his campaign against realism.If you like this podcast, or any of the stuff Projector Pod has put out, why not share it with a friend or give it a rating so we can ride the algorithm?
In this episode, Ebba and Macon dive into the twisted imagination of Hollywood-bound, Norwegian director, Kristoffer Borgli, with his film "Sick of Myself", a black comedy about a young woman who deliberately overdoses on dangerous meds to make herself abject enough to get the attention she craves.
Projector Pod returns! This time, Ebba and Macon talk about Ari Asta's decision to put Joaquin Phoenix through psychosexual hell. It is basically a surreal journey into what would happen if all the anxieties caused by your Oedipus complex came true. And well, the film is about as good and bad as that sounds... unless Asta is just fuckin' with us.
Our CPHDOX wrap-up episode is out now. We talk about Emily Norling's Eartheater scored “Megaheartz”, Theo Montoya's “Anhell69”, Axel Danielson and Maximillien Van Aertryck's “And the king said, Oh What a fantastic Machine”, Høy La's live score to “Caterpillar” and the festival prize winner, Alexander Mihalovich & Hanna Badziaka, “Motherland” plus a couple more. All in time for you to catch them while they are still up on PARADOX
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon get incredibly salty talking about Darren Aronofsky's poorly written and awkwardly directed Oscar bait, "The Whale", the story of a slow suicide by way of obesity induced by the trauma of loss. They kick things off though with a little chat about the academy awards' big winner "Everything, Everywhere, All At Once".
This time on this extra-long episode of Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon are joined by philosopher, Niklas Birksted, to talk about Todd Fields's tale of the art-curdling consequences of corrupt success, "Tár". Cate Blanchett stars as the fictional conductor Lydia Tár in a meticulously composed film about the hubris of power and the sacrifices of "genius". Macon mostly watches as Ebba and Niklas duke it out over the film's merits and missed opportunities. And as a bonus, you get to hear an entire generational span of millennials fail to recognise the TikTok interface.
This time on the pod Ebba and Macon talk about Martin McDonagh's existential comedy "The Banshees of Inisherin", the allegory for the Irish civil war that may actually have more interesting things to say about the nature of friendship, what makes life meaningful and the dangers for your fiddle playing career of having sheep sheering sheers too readily at hand.
This time on Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon are joined by part-time academic and part-time disgruntled food service worker, Rebecca Mazur to talk about Mark Mylod's comedy-horror about conspicuous consumption, and the violence of perfection, "The Menu". Starring Ralph Fiennes and Ann Taylor Joy.
This Month Ebba and Macon talk about Alejandro González Iñárritu's surreal, blackly comedic auto-fictional odyssey of life, love, migration, art making, family, pain, ecstasy, history and death, "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" that he somehow convinced Netflix to let him make.
From the emerging discipline of Hitler studies to the air-born toxic event, and from the all-consuming fear of death and the impermanence of joy, Ebba and Macon have plenty to talk about with this spoiler-filled pod on Noah Baumbach's new adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel, "White Noise", which came out on Netflix on December 30th.
In a fever of overwhelmed excitement, the Projector Pod crew, plus relative Cronenberg expert, Kat Milder, went straight from the director's new film, "Crimes of the Future", to the microphones to talk about surgery as the new sex. This episode was recorded at the new creative platform in Copenhagen, Super x Space.
In the premier episode of Projector Pod, Ebba and Macon talk about Ruben Östlund's new satirical film about capitalist excess and the will to power, "Triangle of Sadness". Art by Joakim Drescher