Paul Schrader is an American filmmaker whose work as a screenwriter and director hold a significant place in the history of American cinema, including Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), and Light Sleeper (1992).

Schrader has no shortage of interesting stories about New Hollywood as one of the original movie brats, as well as a critical background that has informed his work. It follows that he has a varied oeuvre that includes both deliberate consistencies (his lonely man series of films) and outlier films like Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005).

It was our pleasure to bring Paul to Toronto for a sold-out screening in our Live Directors Series at the Royal Cinema. Before the screening, Paul sat down with us at Happy Child in West Queen West to discuss his filmography, including an in-depth look at his new, Kickstarter-funded collaboration with Bret Easton Ellis that stars Lindsay Lohan, The Canyons (2013).

Our interview with Paul Schrader was one of four feature interviews in the thirteenth monthly issue of The Seventh Art as a “video magazine.” It was released in June 2013. Paul was the second filmmaker we brought to Toronto for our Live Directors screening series, which also included Whit Stillman and Andrew Bujalski. Photos from our interview set were taken by Emma McIntyre.