German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach discusses her latest feature, Western (2017), an exploration of the motifs of the western genre and masculinity through the contemporary trans-cultural situation of German construction workers employed in Bulgaria.
Category: Text
Neil Beloufa Interview (Occidental)
French artist and filmmaker Neil Beloufa discusses his feature film, Occidental (2017), a staging of socio-political anxieties in a out-of-time hotel.
Nathan Silver Interview (Thirst Street)
The American independent filmmaker discusses Thirst Street, a lush melodrama that winks at the post-modern mode of European, erotic psychodramas as it explores its flight attendant protagonist’s obsession with a man she meets in Paris.
Anna Biller Interview (The Love Witch)
The American independent filmmaker discusses The Love Witch, which investigates gender and psychology through the prisms of love and witchcraft, featuring a bricolage of different formalist reference points found across the writing, performance, sets, music and more. We discuss these components of the film, its reception, critical misunderstandings of cinema history, and the realities of making films as a woman.
Kevan Funk Interview (Hello Destroyer)
The Canadian filmmaker discusses his first feature. Hello Destroyer, which explores notions of Canadian identity and institutions, and gender and violence through the lens of hockey. Kevan recently made waves with his frank thoughts on the Canadian film industry in response to an article in the Globe and Mail by TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. We talked at length about his film, its financing hurdles and his thoughts on Canadian distributors, the response to his recent criticisms, and the industry at large.
Matías Piñeiro Interview (Hermia & Helena)
The Argentine filmmaker discusses his latest film, Hermia & Helena (2014), based somewhat on William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It follows an artist travelling from Buenos Aires to New York City for a fellowship for her work translating the Shakespeare play into Spanish. We discuss the formal drive behind the film, experimentation, and his upcoming collaboration with Lois Patiño.
Sergei Loznitsa Interview (Austerlitz)
The Ukrainian director discusses his latest non-fiction film, Austerlitz, which looks how groups of tourists act in the concentration camps in Dachau and Sachsenhausen.
Albert Serra Interview (The Death of Louis XIV)
The Spanish filmmaker’s latest film is a look at the last fifteen days of Louis XIV’s life, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, and had originated as a possible installation before being adapted into a film. We met with Albert to discuss the origin and production of the film, its philosophy, and Léaud’s acting style.
Eduardo Williams Interview (The Human Surge)
The Argentine filmmaker discusses his critically acclaimed debut feature, The Human Surge, which follows young people working, exploring, and connecting (often via the internet) across Argentina, Mozambique and the Philippines.
Adrian Sitaru Interview (The Fixer)
The Romanian filmmaker whose films explore moral dilemmas with strong formal structures, discusses his latest film, The Fixer, which looks at the impact that journalists have on the subjects of a sex scandal story, as well as his own moral dilemma as a filmmaker.
Cristian Mungiu Interview (Graduation)
The Romanian filmmaker behind the Palme d’Or winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days returns with Graduation, which explores the intersection of corruption, family, education, generational ideals when a father attempts to secure the best academic future for his daughter through ethically compromised means that ratchet up tension in an increasingly thrilling narrative.
Ruth Beckermann Interview (The Dreamed Ones)
The Austrian filmmaker, who regularly works in the documentary mode, discusses The Dreamed Ones, a narrative film that metatextually stages the correspondences between authors Paul Celan and Ingeborg Bachmann during their romance.