The E-Team On Investigating War Crimes: You Cannot Do This Job Without a Sense of HumorBy Bernard Boo Filmmakers Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman, and subjects Anya and Ole talk E-Team, the latest Netflix Original documentary about the lives of four members of the special division of...
‘Force Majeure’ Director Ruben Östlund Wants Viewers Horrified AND LaughingBy C.J. Prince We interview Force Majeure director, Ruben Östlund on his tragic comedy sensibilities.
Dylan Baker: If Anyone Can Find Comfort in This Film, I’ll Be HappyBy Bernard Boo In his debut feature, Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 2, Secretariat) pays homage to the miraculous story of Travis Freeman, a former high school football player from Corbin, Kentucky. Something of a...
Judy Irving On Nature Filmmaking: It Forces Me to Focus On Who We Share the Planet WithBy Bernard Boo Bay Area filmmaker Judy Irving has had a fascination with Pelicans for about as long as she can remember. “I really loved what they looked like, that dinosaur look,”...
Justin Simien: I Don’t Need to be Told Racism is Bad–I’m More Interested in Talking About IdentityBy Bernard Boo First-time filmmaker Justin Simien’s satirical comedy Dear White People follows four black students at a fictitious Ivy League school as they struggle with identity and self-worth. Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams)...
St. Vincent Director Theodore Melfi on Calling Bill Murray’s 1-800 NumberBy Zachary Shevich Turns out if you want to work with Bill Murray, you have to get past his 800 number first. Our interview with St. Vincent director Theodore Melfi.
Damien Chazelle: We’re Too Narrative-Focused When It Comes to MoviesBy Bernard Boo As we emerge on the other side of the long film festival season and move into awards season, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash has been drumming up (sorry) so much good publicity that...
Maika Monroe On Being a Badass, ‘The Guest’By Bernard Boo In Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s The Guest, their genre-blending follow-up to 2013’s You’re Next, Dan Stevens plays an ex-soldier who ingratiates himself into the family of one of his fallen...
Nadav Schirman, Mosab Hassan Yousef, Gonen Ben Yitzhak, and the Amazing Story of ‘The Green Prince’By Bernard Boo A Palestinian and son of a Hamas leader, Mosab Hassan Yousef was raised deeply entrenched in the Middle Eastern conflict. In his early twenties, he was captured and interrogated...
Hossein Amini: I Struggle So Much With Dialogue…I Find Silent Storytelling More InterestingBy Bernard Boo Best known for writing Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive, Hossein Amini makes his directorial debut with the ’60s noir-ish throwback, The Two Faces of January, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith....
Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar On ‘Swim Little Fish Swim’ and the Price of Artistic IntegrityBy Bernard Boo First-time filmmakers Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar’s Swim Little Fish Swim is a sweet, idiosyncratic indie set in New York City that follows Lilas, a young artist from France (Bessis) who...
Stephen Beresford & Jonathan Blake: Gay People Can Take A Punch–We’re ToughBy Bernard Boo Matthew Warchus’ uplifting crowd-pleaser Pride follows the true events of the 1984-85 UK miner’s strike, which saw a group of young gay activists called Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners...
Genevieve Bailey On ‘I Am Eleven’ and the Magic of NaivetéBy Bernard Boo After losing her father and getting injured in a serious car accident, Genevieve Bailey was in a serious rut, and needed to do something to lift her spirits. She...
Arhoolie Records Founder Chris Strachwitz on ‘Hardcore’ Music, the Joy of Record HuntingBy Bernard Boo “If somebody wants to sing, sing god damn it!” Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records and purveyor and evangelist of obscure, down home blues music, isn’t the biggest fan...