Annual film festival held every autumn in New York City
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Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller discuss Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost with NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim at the 63rd New York Film Festival. In this funny, moving documentary from director Ben Stiller—the most personal film of his career—he tells the story of his parents: the comedy duo of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who were a beloved mainstay of 1960s and '70s American culture. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
Harry Lighton and Alexander Skarsgård discuss Pillion with NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim at the 63rd New York Film Festival. In his unorthodox queer romance, Harry Lighton crafts a film about a sadomasochistic relationship that is both transgressive and disarming, starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård in fearless performances as a mild young man and his leather-clad dom lover. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
One of the highlights of this year's New York Film Festival is the latest feature by the nonfiction master Gianfranco Rosi, known for documentaries like Sacro GRA (2013), Fire at Sea (2016), and Notturno (2020), which paint both lyrical and urgent portraits of places that function as thresholds—between land and water, life and death, heaven and hell. His new cinematic essay, Below the Clouds, brings that approach to the Italian city of Naples. Shot in ethereal black and white, the film explores Naples as an environment both cosmic and prosaic—a city whose skies are suffused with volcanic ash and whose earth is shaken by tremors; and where a glorious and ancient past scaffolds a gritty, melting-pot present. Below the Clouds premiered in August at the Venice Film Festival, where Film Comment's Devika Girish sat down with the filmmaker for a conversation. The two discussed how Pietro Marcello (director of the NYFF selection Duse) inspired Rosi to make a film in Naples, as well as Rosi's uniquely embedded and immersive technique, and the state of nonfiction cinema today.
Welcome to the daily 63rd New York Film Festival podcast. Today we're featuring two conversations with Richard Linklater and the teams of his two NYFF selections. First, NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim moderates a conversation with Linklater and Blue Moon's screenwriter Robert Kaplow, as well asd its stars Ethan Hawke, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott, followed by a conversation with Linklater and Nouvelle Vague's Zoey Deutch, Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin, and Michèle Pétin, moderated by NYFF programmer Florence Almozini. Blue Moon is a portrait of one crucial night in the melancholy life of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (played by Ethan Hawke, in a tour de force performance). The film is a surprising yet entirely fitting addition to the Richard Linklater canon. And the spirit of cinematic revolution is alive and well in Linklater's affectionate and wildly entertaining passion project, Nouvelle Vague, which transports the viewer back to a creative landmark: the 1959 making of Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard. Nouvelle Vague opens at Film at Lincoln Center on October 31st, with the first week of screenings presented on 35mm. Tickets are on sale now. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex. Get tickets at filmlinc.org.
Ep. 353: Sergei Loznitsa on his latest film Two Prosecutors Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. At the 2025 New York Film Festival I spoke with Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, whose fiction and documentary work comprise an ongoing examination of history, war, memory, and resistance. His latest film, Two Prosecutors, is set in 1937 and based on a novella by Soviet scientist and political prisoner Georgy Demidov. In the almost parable-like story, a young prosecutor, Kolev, sets out to investigate the status of a prisoner in a gulag who has managed to get a note to the outside world, but Kolev's reasoned attempts run into the full force of the Stalinist regime. Just before the New York Film Festival premiere of Two Prosecutors, I spoke with Loznitsa about the contemporary resonance of the story, his choices in shooting and locations, the incredible resilience required to survive under these circumstances, two films that he recommends around this subject matter, and what conclusions about paths forward can be drawn from this history. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass
Mary Bronstein, Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, and Christian Slater discuss If I'd Had Legs I'd Kick You with Film Comment editor and NYFF Talks programmer Devika Girish at the 63rd New York Film Festival. The nightmarish stresses of motherhood and work are pushed to their absurdist extremes in Mary Bronstein's stellar piece of cinematic anxiety, starring a bravura Rose Byrne (Berlinale Silver Bear winner) as a woman on the verge of something far beyond a nervous breakdown. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
For Episode 460, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Megan Lachinski, and I are here to talk about how the 2025 New York Film Festival (NYFF63) is going so far including, the Centerpiece North American Premiere of "Father Mother Sister Brother," the announcement of a "Secret Screening" tomorrow night, and more. We also talk about the AFI FEST lineup and other recent announcements in the world of awards season. For this week's poll, for the release of "Roofman" this weekend, we're asking, "Which Is Your Favorite Canning Tatum Performance?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, where we asked "Which Is Your Favorite Daniel Day-Lewis Performance?" for the release of "Anemone." We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Pillion," "The Thing With Feathers," "Psycho Killer," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. Enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to the daily 63rd New York Film Festival podcast. On today's edition, Joachim Trier, Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, and Eskil Vogt join NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim to discuss Sentimental Value. In Joachim Trier's Cannes Grand Prix–winning follow-up to The Worst Person in the World, Renate Reinsve burrows to the steely core of an acclaimed stage actress reconnecting with her estranged movie director father (played by Stellan Skarsgård). The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex. Get tickets at filmlinc.org Enjoy this conversation with Joachim Trier and the cast of Sentimental Value.
Noah Baumbach, George Clooney, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, and Riley Keogh join Film Comment Editor and NYFF Talks programmer Devika Girish to discuss Jay Kelly. Noah Baumbach's stellar character study gives George Clooney his best film role in years, as—fittingly—the last great movie star, who may be harboring more regrets than he cares to admit. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
Jim Jarmusch, Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps, Tom Waits, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat join NYFF selection committee member Florence Almozini to discuss this year's Centerpiece selection, Father Mother Sister Brother. Winner of the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion, Jim Jarmusch's perceptive study in familial dynamics is carefully constructed in the form of a triptych, with three chapters concerning the relationships between adult children reconnecting or coming to terms with aging or lost parents. Father Mother Sister Brother opens at Film at Lincoln Center on December 24, with tickets on sale soon. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
The return of pumpkin spice lattes on every corner might be the biggest sign that fall has returned, but for Sophia and Nick, the crisp air and earlier sunsets can only mean one thing: the New York Film Festival is back! They are excited to recap their first week of the festival on this week's spoiler-free episode, discussing multiple premieres like Amazon MGM's After the Hunt and Netflix's A House of Dynamite and Jay Kelly. They also discuss Oscar potential for the many films they opine, including Park Chan-wook's upcoming release and TIFF International People's Choice Award winner, No Other Choice. Stay tuned for some fun festival sightings and another recap on the rest of the fest next week! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok @oscarwildpodFollow Sophia @sophia_cimFollow Nick @sauerkraut27Music: “The Greatest Adventure” by Jonathan AdamichMore content including updated predictions and merch @ oscarwild.squarespace.com
Kathryn Bigelow, Tracy Letts, Jared Harris, Noah Oppenheim, Paul N.J. Ottosson, Kirk Baxter, and Volker Bertelmann join NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim to discuss A House of Dynamite, which had its North American premiere at the 63rd New York Film Festival. The detection of an unidentified incoming missile sets in motion an escalating series of actions and reactions across all levels of the U.S. government in Kathryn Bigelow's kinetic thriller, featuring a terrific ensemble cast led by Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, and Gabriel Basso. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
The first 2025 festival dispatch of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen. This covers the first week of press screenings of the 2025 New York Film Festival, and features guest Alex Lei.
Originally live-streamed Monday, September 29, 2025 On this On-Screen Live special, Andrew, Chris & Eric are reporting back from their time spent at the 63rd New York Film Festival! They're sharing their thoughts on some of the films coming down the pike for the end of the year/early next, including new ones from: Kelly Reichardt (The Mastermind, starring Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim, John Magaro, Bill Camp, Gabby Hoffman & Amanda Plummer), Kent Jones (Late Fame, starring Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee), Noah Baumbach (Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Patrick Wilson, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent and Alba Rohrwacher), Luca Guadagnino (After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg & Chloë Sevigny) & more! On-Screen Live will return Monday, October 6th with our thoughts on One Battle After Another and more! Be sure to pick up our digital show on Terminator: Dark Fate, available now in our Patreon shop! Don't sleep on snagging your tickets to our 15th Anniversary show this December where we're talking all things Arnold in Total Recall! It's gonna be a gas and we wanna see you there! Click through for tickets now! Throughout 2025, we'll be donating 100% of our earnings from our merch shop to the Center for Reproductive Rights. So head over and check out all these masterful designs and see what tickles your fancy! Shirts? Phone cases? Canvas prints? We got all that and more! Check it out and kick in for a good cause! Original cover art by Felipe Sobreiro.
Scott Cooper and Jeremy Allen White join NYFF programmer Rachel Rosen to discuss Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, the Spotlight Gala selection of the 63rd New York Film Festival. Jeremy Allen White inhabits a legend in Scott Cooper's exceptionally moving biographical drama, chronicling the early-'80s crossroads in Bruce Springsteen's career when he crafted the intensely personal acoustic songs that would become his mythic album Nebraska. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
"Anemone" is a psychological drama film directed by Ronan Day-Lewis in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his father, three-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who also stars in the lead role. It features the latter's return to acting for the first time since "Phantom Thread" in 2017, alongside Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival and received positive reviews for the performances, dark atmosphere, striking cinematography, and haunting music by Bobby Krlic. Day-Lewis (the son, not the father) was kind enough to spend time speaking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on October 3rd by Focus Features, and then expand a week later on October 10th. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, and Emilie Lesclaux join NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim to discuss The Secret Agent at the 63rd New York Film Festival. Bacurau director Kleber Mendonça Filho returns with a thrillingly unpredictable, shape-shifting epic set in his hometown of Recife during the late 1970s, starring a magnetic Wagner Moura as a man on the run from his past. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex. The Secret Agent will open at Film at Lincoln Center on November 26.
Adam ventured out to the New York Film Festival to see Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, join in for some thoughts!
The New York Film Festival kicked off this weekend with a number of world premieres. Vulture film critic Fran Hoepfner talks about the festival so far, and previews some upcoming screenings, including Bradley Cooper's latest directorial work, a chaotic tale of parental exhaustion starring Rose Byrne and two documentaries about the situation in Gaza.
We were delighted to welcome Kelly Reichardt, Bill Camp, Hope Davis, Gaby Hoffman, and John Magaro to the 63rd New York Film Festival to discuss The Mastermind in a conversation with NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim. Reichardt's restrained and often funny anti-thriller is set against a Nixon-era backdrop of alienation and disillusionment, following a taciturn family man (Josh O'Connor) who makes the rash, largely inscrutable decision to orchestrate a heist at the local art museum. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex. The Mastermind opens at Film at Lincoln Center on October 17. Get tickets: https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2025/films/the-mastermind/
For Episode 459, Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Megan Lachinski, Lauren LaMagna, Tom O'Brien, and I are here to talk about the start of the 2025 New York Film Festival (NYFF63), including the Opening Night North American Premiere of "After The Hunt," the world premiere of "Anemone," and more. For this week's poll, for the return to the big screen for three-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis, we're asking, "Which Is Your Favorite Daniel Day-Lewis Performance?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, where we asked "Which Films From NYFF63 Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "The Bride!," "A House Of Dynamite," "Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu," "Greenland 2: Migration," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. Enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 63rd New York Film Festival welcomed Ronan Day-Lewis, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Sean Bean for a press conference for the world premiere of Anemone, joined by NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim. Daniel Day-Lewis roars back to the screen for his first role in eight years in this emotionally charged family drama—directed by Ronan Day-Lewis and co-written by father and son—about lives undone by seemingly irreconcilable legacies of political and personal violence on a path toward familial redemption. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
Welcome to the daily 63rd New York Film Festival podcast. On today's edition, Luca Guadagnino, Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Nora Garrett join NYFF programmer Rachel Rosen at a press conference to discuss this year's Opening Night selection After the Hunt. In his razor-sharp new drama, Luca Guadagnino gives Julia Roberts one of the most complex and gratifying starring roles of her career as a philosophy professor whose life is thrown into chaos after her protégée (Ayo Edebiri) accuses her longtime colleague and friend (Andrew Garfield) of sexual assault. The 63rd New York Film Festival and Opening Night are presented in partnership with Rolex. Get tickets at filmlinc.org/nyff Enjoy this conversation with Luca Guadagnino and the cast of After the Hunt.
IndieWire's 'Screen Talk' podcast hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio look ahead at the box office odds for Paul Thomas Anderson's superb 'One Battle After Another,' preview what to see at the New York Film Festival, and weigh in on the ongoing Jimmy Kimmel brouhaha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For episode 258, I'm joined once again by my co-host Myles Hughes, with producer Steve Prusakowski working behind the scenes. This time around, I'm telling Myles about Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (my rave review is here). We'll get into it more once he sees it for the next episode, but I'm fairly effusive in my praise. Many of our questions are about the film as well, so we discuss it in that regard too, while Anderson's Inherent Vice has been revisited (in part) by Myles, so there's plenty of PTA talk. Throw in some chatter about Apollo 13 as well as a preview of the New York Film Festival and we have a full episode.As always my friends and faithful listeners/readers, I do hope you all enjoy the latest episode of the Awards Radar Podcast, our 258th one to date (here's to many more). Of course, feel free to revisit the previous installments by clicking the Podcast tab (here) on the top of the page. Plus, listen to us on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Spotify, and other platforms. More to come each and every single week, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for listening!
If you live in New York and care about movies, the beginning of the New York Film Festival—this year, specifically, on Friday, September 26—is perhaps the most exciting moment of any year. Though he served on the committee for a number of years, since 2020, Dennis Lim has shepherded the festival, his dispensation as a journalist and critic carrying naturally to his inclinations as a programmer. On the eve of the New York Film Festival's kick-off, I spoke to Dennis about his role as a programmer, how seemingly disparate films make nice pairings, what it feels like watching eight-to-ten-hours of films a day, and the role of a festival in a consensus-heavy moment.
On episode 308 of the AwardsWatch podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello look at the competitive International Feature Film contenders and provide a preview of some of the major titles coming to the 63rd New York Film Festival. With more than 70 countries having submitted films for the International Feature Film Oscar so far, now was a good time to look at the frontrunners like Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident and The Secret Agent, the NEON dominance of them and how many can really make the final five. We also look outside of those Cannes winners for titles that could pique the voters' interest as uniquely named films have done in the past. Next up is the preview of the 63rd New York Film Festival, which begins this Friday with the opening film, Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt. After taking a critical drubbing at its Venice bow, we examine if it can rebound here in the states. Two world premieres will be a part of the festival including Anemone, the feature debut from Ronan Day-Lewis starring his three-time Oscar-winning father Daniel Day-Lewis, back on screen for the first time since 2017's Phantom Thread. At the time of recording both Sophia and I had just seen the film but were under embargo (until September 28). The Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother from Jim Jarmusch is the Centerpiece film and then Bradley Cooper's third directorial effort, the stand-up comedian story Is This Thing On? will close the festival. Could this be Cooper's attempt to rein it in and silence some of the critics of Maestro? This podcast runs 1h07m. We will be back next week with xxxxx Till then, let's get into it. Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
For Episode 458, Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Alyssa Christian, Tom O'Brien, and I are here to preview the 2025 New York Film Festival (NYFF63). To tie into that, for this week's poll, we're asking, "Which Films From NYFF63 Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, where we asked "Which Films Are You Most Excited To See From The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Anaconda," "The Housemaid," "Now You See Me: Now You Don't," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. Enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We are very excited to welcome Prof. Lisa Dombrowski to our podcast! She is a Professor of Film Studies and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University. She's the author of the books: The Films of Samuel Fuller: If You Die, I'll Kill You! (2008), the editor of Kazan Revisited (2011), and co-editor of ReFocus: The Later Works and Legacy of Robert Altman (2022). (Ben worked on that last one!) We took Lisa's fantastic film classes and she's a big reason this podcast exists, and why we talk about movies the way we do. (You can read more about the podcast's origin story on Patreon!) Together, we preview a newly restored film showing at the upcoming New York Film Festival and M+ Restored programmes, T'ang Shushuen's The Arch, which Lisa teaches in her classes. Lisa shares with us the film's unconventional transnational production context, and we have an in-depth discussion about the film's groundbreaking use of film form to portray female subjectivity. Eli highlights the film's use of deep staging, Wilson compares the film with Ann Hui's A Simple Life (2011), and Ben explains what he means by an “oyako-don” pantheon.Links:Read more about and get tickets for the M+ Restored programmeScreening in NYC for NYFF at Film at Lincoln CenterObey your ancestors at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:01:36 Introducing Prof. Lisa Dombrowski00:06:48 M+ Restored00:09:39 Context on director Tang Shu-shuen and The Arch00:11:16 Lisa's relationship with The Arch00:17:16 General reactions00:23:30 Adaptation and subjectivity00:26:06 Subtitles00:28:06 Female gaze and melodramatic situation00:30:28 The opening setup00:33:28 Cinematography context00:40:28 Love triangle and deep staging00:43:34 Plum scene00:52:37 Source material00:55:28 Cultural context and societal norms01:00:04 River scene and Mid-Autumn Festival01:03:39 A Simple Life (2011) sidebar, subjective realism01:07:25 Confucianism and social conditioning01:10:29 Loom scene01:13:04 Editing for meaning01:16:32 The arch, the ending, the takeaway01:24:57 Fractured images and liminal spaces01:30:15 Lisa Lu and casting01:31:32 The film's reception01:33:56 Tang's approach01:39:03 Cultural identity, transnational cinema, aesthetic expectations01:43:32 Tang's career post The Arch01:46:05 Outro
This week we're excited to present a special preview of the 63rd New York Film Festival, beginning next Friday, September 26 and running through October 13. Tickets to this year's festival are still available but going fast! NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim is joined by Jordan Raup, Associate Director of Marketing at Film at Lincoln Center, to break down the films and events you can't miss throughout this year's 17-day festival, including Anemone, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Dry Leaf, Gavagai, Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes, Sholay, Sirât, What Does That Nature Say to You, and more. Opening with Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt, this year's festival will feature screenings across New York City's five boroughs, talks with your favorite filmmakers, stimulating panel discussions, trivia nights, and much more. Don't forget to subscribe here for more daily filmmaker conversations throughout the festival. Learn more at filmlinc.org/nyff
Our On-Screen Live coverage of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival has Andrew, Eric & Chris breaking down new films from Gus Van Sant (Dead Man's Wire), Paul Greengrass (The Lost Bus), Alex Winter (Adulthood), James Vanderbilt (Nuremberg), Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice), Ben Wheatley (Normal), Benny Safdie (The Smashing Machine) & more! We're talking about some of the films that just might be gracing people's year-end lists in a few months, but we're also talking about performances that could be bound for Hollywood's Biggest Night, includes turns from Russell Crowe (Nuremberg) and Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)—no, really! On-Screen Live will return Monday, September 29th with our coverage of this year's New York Film Festival! Be sure to pick up our digital show on Terminator: Dark Fate, available now in our Patreon shop! Don't sleep on snagging your tickets to our 15th Anniversary show this December where we're talking all things Arnold in Total Recall! It's gonna be a gas and we wanna see you there! Click through for tickets now! Throughout 2025, we'll be donating 100% of our earnings from our merch shop to the Center for Reproductive Rights. So head over and check out all these masterful designs and see what tickles your fancy! Shirts? Phone cases? Canvas prints? We got all that and more! Check it out and kick in for a good cause! Original cover art by Felipe Sobreiro.
Living in a post-Venice/Telluride/Toronto world means it's time get serious about our Oscar predictions and that's just what we're doing this week. On episode 307 of the AwardsWatch podcast, AW Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to look at what shined at the fests, what lost its luster and the introduction of a new bombshell in the villa. In our conversation, we begin with the top winners at Venice and with Alexander Payne's contentious jury, including how Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother could factor in and if Benny Safdie's Silver Lion Best Director win for The Smashing Machine was what that film needed. Next we move to Telluride, where Hamnet was the most-liked film (while we still await the results of Michael's Telluride Blog polls of critics and non-critics) and how the Cannes winners held their ground. Moving to Toronto and Hamnet's People's Choice Award win keeps it at as a top tier contender and we talk about some films, like 1st runner-up Frankenstein, fared better at TIFF than it did at Venice and Telluride. Then we dive into Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, which began screening last week. While Ryan and Sophia had the film at the top of their predictions list last month, I was the idiot who rashly dropped it out of my top 10. That mistake is corrected here and we talk about the narratives at play for PTA, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Ryan Coogler for Sinners and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more. This podcast runs 1h37m. We will be back next week with a preview of the 2025 New York Film Festival. Till then, let's get into it. Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
This week we're excited to present an archival conversation from the 51st New York Film Festival in 2013 with Only Lovers Left Alive director Jim Jarmusch and lead actress Tilda Swinton. Jim Jarmusch returns to the New York Film Festival this October with the North American Premiere of our NYFF63 Centerpiece selection Father Mother Sister Brother. NYFF63 single tickets will go on sale this Thursday, September 18! Learn more at filmlinc.org/nyff This conversation was moderated by Amy Taubin Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston make a dashing and very literal first couple—centuries-old lovers Eve and Adam—in Jim Jarmusch's wry, tender take on the vampire genre. When we first meet the pair, he's making rock music in Detroit while she's hanging out with an equally ageless Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt) in Tangiers. (Long-distance spells aren't such a big deal when you've been together throughout hundreds of years.) Between sips of untainted hospital-donated blood, they struggle with depression and an ever-changing world, reflect on their favorite humans (Buster Keaton, Albert Einstein, Jack White) and watch time go by, each finding stability in the other.
On episode 306 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to break down the films, awards buzz, and wild moments they had at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Packing the conversation is talk about No Other Choice, The Testament of Ann Lee, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Rental Family, The Lost Bus, Wake Up Dead Man, Hedda, The Smashing Machine and more. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more. This podcast runs 1h25m. We will be back in next week for post-TIFF Oscar predictions and a preview of the 2025 New York Film Festival. Till then, let's get into it. Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
Eli Reed was born in the US in 1946 and studied pictorial illustration at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, graduating in 1969. In 1982, he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. At Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, he studied political science, urban affairs, and the prospects for peace in Central America.Eli began photographing as a freelancer in 1970. His work from El Salvador, Guatemala and other Central American countries attracted the attention of Magnum, he was the first African American photographer, and indeed the first person of colour, to join the agency, becoming a full member in 1988.In the same year, Eli photographed the effects of poverty on America's children for a film documentary called Poorest in the Land of Plenty, narrated by Maya Angelou. He went on to work as a stills photographer for major motion pictures. His video documentary Getting Out was shown at the New York Film Festival in 1993 and honored by the 1996 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame International Film and Video Competition in the documentary category.Eli's special reports include a long-term study which became his first, highly acclaimed book, Beirut, City of Regrets; the ousting of Baby Doc Duvalier in Haiti (1986); US military action in Panama (1989); the Walled City in Hong Kong; and, perhaps most notably, his documentation of African American experience over more than 20 years. Spanning the 1970s through the end of the 1990s, his book Black in America includes images from the Crown Heights riots and the Million Man March. In 2015, he published his first career retrospective, A Long Walk Home.Eli has lectured and taught at the International Center of Photography, Columbia University, New York University, University of Texas and Harvard University and is a member of Kamoinge, the collective of black photographers founded in 1963 and the longest continuously running non-profit group in the history of photography. On episode 264, Eli discusses, among other things:His ongoing mentoring of former studentsHow working in a hospital was good prep for the kind of work he doesGrowing up in the Delaney Homes housing project in Perth Amboy, NJHow a visiting art critic gave him early encouragement at schoolLosing his mum at 12 years oldThe importance of certain teachers and mentors, especially Donal GreenhouseHow his project Black In America came aboutWorking for the San Francisco ExaminerJoining Eugene Smith's workshop after a long waitHow Philip Jones Griffiths invited him to join MagnumWhether he is still an optimist?Photographing TrumpKamoingeA teaser about the book he is writingBeing the first person of colour to join Magnum PhotosReferenced:Jaqueline KennedyRoy De CaravaW Gene SmithBruce DavidsonEugene RichardsSusan MeiselasSon of SamGordon ParksGilles Peress Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £5 per month.Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.Follow me on Instagram here.Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
We are joined by special guest Alex Heeney, the founder and editor in chief of Seventh Row, to dive into Luca Guadagnino's 2017 coming-of-age masterpiece, Call Me By Your Name. They talk about their deep personal connections to the film, with Alex recounting her experience at the world premiere at Sundance and Wilson sharing his obsessive journey preparing for the New York Film Festival premiere of the film. Eli discusses the film's sensual direction, and Ben explains why he thinks this is Guadagnino's most mature work. Links:Find more of Alex on Seventh Row. They are hosting a summit celebrating queer and trans stories called Living Out Loud. Check it out here.Mina Le: why does hollywood love an age gap romance?Ben's CMBYN meme videoWomen around the fountain videoCall us by your name at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:14 Introducing Alex Heeney00:04:14 Our histories with CMBYN00:23:40 Masculinity00:27:18 Narrative structure00:32:04 The statue scene00:38:09 The peach scene00:43:48 Mr. Perlman's speech00:50:47 The age gap and power dynamics00:56:48 The emotional reality of the ending01:03:00 Cinematography and direction01:08:44 The role of the parents and the book's context01:17:34 Specific Scenes01:28:44 The use of music01:33:06 Walter Fasano's editing01:38:40 The film's legacy01:42:00 Outro
MUSICTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged after two years of dating. https://www.instagram.com/p/DN02niAXMM-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D When it comes to the most popular KISS song, arguably many people would say "Rock and Roll All Nite." But, according to Spotify users it's their attempt at a disco song, "I Was Made for Lovin' You," off their seventh album, 1979's Dynasty. Kelly Osbourne doesn't appreciate how WWE star Becky Lynch pulled Ozzy Osbourne into a storyline on Monday night's 'Raw.' https://loudwire.com/kelly-osbourne-becky-lynch-wwe-ozzy-birmingham/ Jelly Roll and Post Malone have been added to the performers at the MTV Video Music Awards, September 7th on CBS. Rock fans are paying big money for the August 1995 issue of 'Playgirl', which features Type O Negative bareing it all in the magazine. https://loudwire.com/peter-steele-playgirl-value-ebay/ TVKris Jenner confirms she recently underwent a facelift in a Vogue Arabia interview published Tuesday, calling it “her version of aging gracefully.” https://pagesix.com/2025/08/26/style/kris-jenner-opens-up-about-viral-facelift-for-vogue-arabia/ Steve Carell and John Krasinski stopped by the set of "The Office" spin-off, "The Paper", to wish everyone good luck on their first day of filming. Steve and John happened to be filming a commercial next door for the Italian coffee brand Lavazza. The Paper (out Sept. 4 on Peacock) https://ew.com/steve-carell-john-krasinksi-crashed-the-office-spinoff-the-paper-set-11786473 Gilmore Girls documentary coming. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/gilmore-girls-documentary-kelly-bishop-jared-padalecki-1236350956/ MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:Cool Runnings 2 … Disney is bringing back one of its most beloved '90s movies – Cool Runnings – but with a fresh twist: the sequel will feature an all-female bobsled team. https://thedirect.com/article/disney-sequel-movie-female Daniel Day-Lewis has emerged from his retirement and we first-look photo of his new film, Anemone. (Uh-neh-muh-nee) The project from Focus Features is set to have its world premiere at the The New York Film Festival —which kicks off Sept. 26 and runs through Oct. 13 — and marks the return of the three-time Oscar winner after an eight-year “retirement.” The film marks the feature directorial debut of Lewis' son, Ronan Day-Lewis, and was co-written by both men https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/daniel-day-lewis-anemone-first-look-1236342208/ AND FINALLYWhat's the weirdest thing you've ever signed?At a convention in Michigan last weekend, a fan asked Henry Winkler to sign . . . his CASKET. And he DID. He even wrote "Rest in Peace." https://www.tmz.com/2025/08/26/henry-winkler-autographs-coffin-michigan-hot-wheels-event/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark AND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!Follow us @RizzShow @MoonValjeanHere @KingScottRules @LernVsRadio @IamRafeWilliams - Check out King Scott's Linktr.ee/kingscottrules + band @FreeThe2SG and Check out Moon's bands GREEK FIRE @GreekFire GOLDFINGER @GoldfingerMusic THE TEENAGE DIRTBAGS @TheTeenageDbags and Lern's band @LaneNarrows http://www.1057thepoint.com/RizzSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Filmwax friend Julia Loktev returns to the podcast for her third visit. Last Fall the first part of her epic documentary premiered at the New York Film Festival. This Friday, August 15th "My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow" will have its theatrical premiere at Film Forum in New York City. Moscow, winter 2021: At TV Rain, the only remaining independent channel, young journalists have been branded foreign agents— targeted for surveillance or worse, and required to tag their reporting with a disclaimer that they are serving foreign powers. Regardless: Ksyusha furiously produces and edits stories to distract herself from her fellow-journalist fiancé's imprisonment; Anya hosts everyday heroes of resistance on her interview show, while shielding both her sanity and her young daughter from the regime's relentless fuckery; Sonya produces the “Hi, You're a Foreign Agent” podcast at her kitchen table while beholding her empty living room (why buy a sofa when who knows what will happen to her?); Alesya fends off anxiety that her office has been bugged, while hiding her relationship with her girlfriend from her traditional mother. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is just weeks away, as these Gen-Z heroines confront propagandist absurdity and personal endangerment, fighting for the soul of a country they love to the bitter end.
For Episode 454, I am joined by Lauren LaMagna, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer & Giovanni Lago for this week's episode to discuss the New York Film Festival (NYFF) Main Slate announcement and the latest Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) additions. We reveal the winner of last week's poll for TIFF50, where we asked, "Which World Premiere From The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" And for this week's poll, for NYFF63, we're asking, "Which Film From The 2025 New York Film Festival Main Slate Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Jay Kelly," "Ella McCay," "Rental Family," "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," reveal the 2009 NBP Film Award Nominations, answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Voting for the 2009 NBP Film Community Award Winners is still ongoing and will run until August 16th. Please share to cast your vote if you haven't already. Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. We will see you all again next week! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For Episode 453, no members of Next Best Picture were available today to join me for this week's episode so I looked in my contacts and called the one very special person who I felt would be most suitable to guest and discuss the announcement of the Closing Night film for the New York Film Festival (NYFF), Bradley Cooper's "Is This Thing On?," and what we believe will be announced for the Main Slate and Spotlight sections later this week. We reveal the winners of last week's poll, for the upcoming Venice Film Festival, where we asked, "Which Film From The 2025 Venice Film Festival (Venezia 82) Are You Most Looking Forward To?" And for last week's poll, for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), we ask, "Which World Premiere From The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Avatar: Fire And Ash," "Eternity," "Zootopia 2," "Blue Moon," "Twinless," "The Threesome," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Voting for the 2009 NBP Film Community Awards is underway and will run until August 16th. Please share to cast your vote if you haven't already. Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. We will see you all again next week! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sean and Amanda are joined by The Ringer's Craig Horlbeck to discuss all things 21st-century comedy. Before diving in though, they cover a handful of movie news headlines, including Celine Song being attached to a remake of ‘My Best Friend's Wedding'; rumors that Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison, and Jeremy Allen White are the top choices for ‘The Social Network Part II'; and Bradley Cooper's film ‘Is This Thing On?' being announced to close the New York Film Festival (1:44). Then, they cover Netflix's ‘Happy Gilmore 2,' starring Adam Sandler, which they all had wildly different reviews of, varying from apocalyptically bad to incredibly fascinating (14:59). Finally, they talk about ‘The Naked Gun,' starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, and use it as a springboard to have a conversation on why there are so few theatrical comedies being made and whether we'll get more going forward (38:06). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Craig Horlbeck Producer: Jack Sanders THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY THE STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ORDER NOW | STARBUCKS.COM/MENU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For Episode 452, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, and I recap and break down this massive week of film festival announcements including the full lineup for the 2025 Venice Film Festival, a majority of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) lineup, the Opening and Centerpiece announcements for the New York Film Festival, and what this all means for the Telluride Film Festival. For this week's poll, for Venezia 82 (mainly because we at least have the full lineup for this one), we ask, "Which Film From The 2025 Venice Film Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To?" And for last week's poll, for the first time this season, we asked, "Which Film Do You Feel Will Be The Next Best Picture Oscar Winner?" and we reveal your top 10 early results for this almighty important question. We also share our reactions to the trailers for Park Chan-wook's much-anticipated "No Other Choice," Aziz Ansari's "Good Fortune," Clint Bentley's "Train Dreams," Oliver Hermanus' "The History Of Sound," Rob Reiner's "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," the A24 English dubbed re-release of "Ne Zha 2," reveal the 2009 NBP Film Community Award Nominations, answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! We will post the 2009 NBP Film Community Award nominations on the site for you to vote on tomorrow. Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. You're all the very best fans we could ever ask for, and we look forward to seeing you all again next week! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Apocalypse In The Tropics" is a 2024 documentary film directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Petra Costa, serving as a spiritual sequel to her 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary, "The Edge of Democracy." Her latest film examines the influence of evangelical Christianity on far-right politics in Brazil. The film premiered out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival to positive reviews and later screened at the 2024 Telluride and New York Film Festivals. Costa, along with producer Alessandra Orofino were both kind enough to speak with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we're excited to present an archival conversation from the 52nd New York Film Festival in 2014 with Inherent Vice director Paul Thomas Anderson and his very large and talented cast. For one week only from July 4-10, join Film at Lincoln Center in revisiting this great American film on 70mm film, ahead of the director's highly anticipated new feature One Battle After Honor. Get tickets at filmlinc.org/vice This conversation was moderated by Kent Jones, former Director of the New York Film Festival. Paul Thomas Anderson's wild and entrancing Thomas Pynchon adaptation is a cinematic time machine, placing the viewer deep within the world of the paranoid, hazy L.A. dope culture of the early '70s. It's not just the look (which is ineffably right, from the mutton chops and the peasant dresses to the battered screen doors and the neon glow), it's the feel, the rhythm of hanging out, of talking yourself into a state of shivering ecstasy or fear or something in between. Joaquin Phoenix goes all in as Doc Sportello, the private investigator searching for his ex-girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterston), menaced at every turn by the telegenic police detective “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin). Among the other members of Anderson's mind-boggling cast are Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Owen Wilson, and Jena Malone.
Welcome to the Visual Intonation Podcast, where storytelling meets the art of visual expression. In this episode, we sit down with the talented filmmaker Fisayo Olajide, also known as Fiz, whose award-winning documentaries capture the profound impact of human stories. From her roots in London to her Nigerian heritage, Fiz's perspective as a Black female filmmaker has shaped her career and led her to amplify voices often overlooked. Her work continues to break boundaries, whether through branded films for global companies like Google and Burberry, or through the powerful lens of her documentary work, which has earned her accolades at prestigious film festivals like SXSW and the New York Film Festival.Fiz's latest project is an ambitious and heartfelt endeavor—Underground Railroad Ride, a feature-length documentary that follows five young Black and brown cyclists on a powerful journey, attempting to ride a route inspired by the Underground Railroad. This raw, intimate film explores not just the history of the Underground Railroad, but the strength, solidarity, and resilience of a new generation of storytellers. It's a project deeply personal to Fiz, reflecting her drive to connect people through stories that transcend cultural boundaries.Throughout her career, Fiz has become known for her passionate and empathetic approach to filmmaking. Her work blends documentary filmmaking with immersive storytelling, creating experiences that resonate deeply with audiences. With a unique blend of curiosity and compassion, she delves into topics that connect individuals to the heart of the human experience, showing that storytelling isn't just about capturing moments—it's about elevating voices and fostering connection in a fragmented world.In this episode, Fiz opens up about her journey, her challenges, and the lessons she's learned along the way. She discusses her work mentoring the next generation of filmmakers, sharing how important it is to invest in oneself and to embrace vulnerability in the creative process. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about passion, resilience, and the power of storytelling in creating lasting change. Fisayo Olajide's Website: https://www.fizolajide.com/ Fisayo Olajide's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fizzleandgems/Support the showVisual Intonation Website: https://www.visualintonations.com/Visual Intonation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualintonation/Vante Gregory's Website: vantegregory.comVante Gregory's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directedbyvante/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): patreon.com/visualintonations Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@visualintonation Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@directedbyvante
This week we're excited to present a conversation from the 62nd New York Film Festival with Afternoons of Solitude director Albert Serra. An NYFF62 Spotlight selection, Afternoons of Solitude opens at Film at Lincoln Center on June 28. Get tickets at filmlinc.org/solitude This conversation was moderated by FLC Vice President, Programming, Florence Almozini. Albert Serra trains a patient and poetic lens on the dazzling pomp and devastating brutality of bullfighting in his new documentary portrait of the charismatic Peruvian-born star torero Andrés Roca Rey. Intensely in-the-moment, Afternoons of Solitude expertly balances the visceral thrill of the battle inside the ring, pitting animal instinct against human technique, with a filmmaking style that allows the viewer to appreciate the emotional and physical toll the violence takes on both man and beast. Unflinching yet reflective, Serra's film is a monumental depiction of the persistence of the primitive in the present day, while acknowledging the extraordinary skill of the man who puts his life and spiritual endurance at risk as he faces down rampaging nature.
Ep. 330: David Schwartz on A Theater Near You series at MoMA + Nitrate Picture Show 2025 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The repertory cinemas of New York were a formative influence on me and so I was excited to see a new film series at the Museum of Modern Art that surveys their programming, called A Theater Near You. David Schwartz, the former chief curator at the Museum of the Moving Image, guest-programmed the series, and he joins the podcast to talk about how the specific films in the program capture the particular flavors of New York cinemas past, such as the Bleecker Street Cinema, the Public, and the pioneering Cinema 16, brainchild of New York Film Festival co-founder Amos Vogel. Then on the second half of our chat, Schwartz talks about the latest Nitrate Picture Show at the George Eastman Museum, the festival that shows exclusively nitrate prints, including La Ronde, The Destroyers of Our Gardens, and more. “A Theater Near You” runs through July 11 at the Museum of Modern Art. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass
Show Notes: Tanya Selvaratnam shares her journey from high school to present day. She moved to New York after graduating and worked at Columbia Law School's Center for Chinese Legal Studies. She also assisted Anna Deavere Smith on her show “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” about the LA riots. Tanya went back to Harvard for graduate school, studying Chinese language and the history of law. An Adventure in Theatre After her father passed away, she returned to New York, where she was working on the Beijing Women's Conference. Wandering the streets one day, she came across The Performing Garage with a poster on the wall for a show by the Wooster Group. On a whim, she slipped a note on the door offering to help in any capacity and was taken on as an intern. Before long, she was asked to come to rehearsals, and, despite having no intentions of becoming a performer, this led to her performing with the Wooster Group. She toured all over the world with them and with other companies like the Builders Association. On Becoming a Film Producer Currently, Tanya writes books and makes movies. She also advises various organizations, foundations, and corporations. She recently started advising the Open Future Lab in Vienna, Austria. She has also worked as a producer, which began when she worked at the Ms. Foundation for Women, on what was then called "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" as well as the Gloria awards. She also worked with Jed Weintrob, whom she had met at Harvard when she was in his production of “Dracula.” In the late 90s, Jed asked her to produce a movie he was writing at the time. It went on to premiere at Sundance and then the Berlinale in 2002. This led to more work as a producer, and Tanya is still currently producing. The Connection between Event Organizer and Film Producer Tanya shares her experiences in organizing events since high school. While at Phillips Academy Andover, she was the head of the South Asian Students Association and served on the divestment committee during apartheid days. She organized events like readings of poetry, essays, and performances to raise awareness about activism and advocacy. After college, she also organized events for the youth tent at the Women's Conference in China, where she performed a piece called "Wet Sari Syndrome," which was a take on Bollywood movies. Tanya learned the craft of producing films directly from her friend and trusted colleague, Jed. She was willing to work hard, focusing on tasks such as finding locations, cleaning up the set, and figuring out what needed to happen to make the film come together. Tanya was able to tap into her resources and connections to make shoots possible and be attentive to Jed's vision. Dealing with Difficult Times The conversation turns to her experience with bullying and harassment, which she has faced in various situations. She deals with this by focusing on her tasks and work. Tanya goes to Portland to write and escape from these situations, as it provides a safe space to escape the pressures of life. She also talks about her two books, The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock, which grew out of her own struggles with fertility and Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence. When dealing with fertility issues, Tanya was shocked at the amount of misinformation surrounding fertility awareness. She talks about the problems with sex education in America and how the book changed when she was diagnosed with two types of cancer. In her second book, she shares her experiences of being entrapped in an abusive relationship with former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. She explains why she was motivated to write the book and why she went into hiding after her story first became public. Working with Cultural Institutions Tanya has also worked on cultural events around the world, such as at the Rubell Museum in Miami, the Women's Conference in China, with Anna Deavere Smith and the Wooster Group. She has collaborated with major institutions and museums, such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barbican in London, and Victoria Theatre in Singapore. She toured to 62 cities all over the world in a space of 12 years. She's also worked with the Sundance Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. She talks about The Federation, an organization that aims to show how art unites people and keeps cultural borders open. She recently worked with Carrie Mae Weems at the Torino book fair in Italy. Co-directing and Producing a Documentary Short Tanya co-directed and produced a 13-minute documentary short called Love to the Max, which was acquired by the New Yorker magazine and recently nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary Short. The film was inspired by the mother of Max Briggle, who was targeted for loving and supporting her trans kid. Tanya was inspired to make the film after Max Briggle's mother reached out to a women's listserv for help because she'd been approached by child protection services. Tanya has also been working with Catherine Gund for 17 years, producing a film called Paint Me a Road Out of Here, which is about the interconnected journeys of artists Faith Ringgold and Mary Baxter. She is also working on a new book called Love Me and Leave Me, which is about adventures through intimate pleasure and intimacy in many forms. Influential Harvard Professors and Courses Tanya initially thought she would study science at Harvard but found the large classes to be lacking in intimacy. She became interested in Chinese history and legal history, taking classes with visiting scholars and professors like Chang Weijen, William Alford, Professor Kuhn, and Professor Bol; Caroline Reeves, a graduate student, helped her decide what to explore for her thesis. Timestamps: 05:38: Transition to Producing and Social Justice Work 13:22: Challenges and Learning in the Film Industry 20:28: Personal Struggles and Advocacy 34:07: Work with Museums and Cultural Institutions 37:11: Future Projects and Reflections 41:10: Harvard Experiences and Influences Links: Website: Tanyaturnsup.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyaauthor/ Featured Non-profit: The featured non-profit of this episode of The 92 Report is recommended by Olu Ajilore, class of ‘92, who reports: “The featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 report is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, or AFSP. AFSP is a volunteer organization that supports those affected by suicide through research, education and advocacy. I've worked with our local chapter of AFSP raising funds with their annual out of the darkness walks, and I'm proud to serve on the Scientific Council for AFSP. You can learn more about their work@afsp.org.” To learn more about their work, visit: afsp.org
Explaining how and why our world works the way it does touches on so many fields of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and, of course, technology. However, according to researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas, computation should also be part of the understanding of life on all levels – and going back further than one might think. In What Is Life? Evolution as Computation, Agüera y Arcas uses computation as a means of examining the complexities of our own universe. Inspired by the work of quantum mechanics pioneer Erwin Schrödinger, he revisits the question that has showcased the divide between biology and physics: what is life? How can life and all its attendant complexities come to exist in a random universe, governed by simple laws, whose disorder only increases over time? What Is Life? aims to provide surprising answers, reframing core concepts of self-reproduction, complex growth, and symbiotic relationships as inherently computational. Agüera y Arcas draws on decades of theory and existing literature from figures like Alan Turing and John von Neumann, as well as recent endeavors in the field of artificial life. From evolution and symbiogenesis to thermodynamics and climate models, What Is Life? explores computation as a tool beyond raw calculation to understand intricate phenomena. This volume serves as a first installment of an ongoing body of work, with his larger book What Is Intelligence? further developing this perspective on intelligence from simple organisms to brains and from societies to AI. What Is Life? is richly illustrated and studded with examples, recontextualizing computational concepts and applications for a general audience curious about diving deeper into the machinations of our living world. Blaise Agüera y Arcas is a researcher and author focused on artificial intelligence, sociality, evolution, and software development. He is a VP and Fellow at Google, where he is the CTO of Technology & Society and founder of Paradigms of Intelligence (Pi). He is a frequent speaker at TED and has been featured in the Economist and Noēma, and has previously published the books Who Are We Now? and Ubi Sunt. Charles Tonderai Mudede is a Zimbabwean-born cultural critic, urbanist, filmmaker, college lecturer, and writer. He is the Senior Staff writer of the Stranger, a lecturer at Cornish College of the Arts, and has collaborated with the director Robinson Devor on three films, two of which Police Beat and Zoo, premiered at Sundance, and one of which, Zoo, screened at Cannes, and the most recent of which, Suburban Fury, premiered at New York Film Festival. (Police Beat is now part of MOMA's permanent collection.) Mudede, whose essays regularly appear in e-Flux and Tank Magazine, is also the director of Thin Skin (2023).
Festival Fever comes to an end this week with a look at the last major film festival of the year, the New York Film Festival. In 2022, Noah Baumbach follow-up up his biggest Oscar success, Marriage Story, by tackling Don DeLillo's unadaptable novel White Noise. The satire stars Adam Driver as the leading professor in … Continue reading "343 – White Noise (Festival Fever!)"