The Film Comment Podcast

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True/False 2019 Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

Over the years, the True/False festival (based in the college town of Columbia, Missouri) has grown into one of the most outstanding annual showcases for documentary film. This year, Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold returned to moderate “Toasted,” the True/False festival’s very late-night wrap-up event, in front of a lively audience. Rapold was joined by a crew of filmmakers and programmers, including Brett Story, director of The Hottest August; Maíra Bühler, director of Let It Burn; Miko Revereza, director of No Data Plan; and Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, filmmaker and founder and director of the Third Horizon collective and the Third Horizon Film Festival.

Art and Fascism Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

This week, the Film Comment Podcast digs into Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will and the ways in which the reputations of the notorious film and its maker have shifted over the years. In a feature article on the legendary Nazi-propaganda project in the latest issue of Film Comment, contributing editor J. Hoberman writes that, “Triumph of the Will is an organic product of cinema history, a synthesis of Metropolis’s monumental mass ornament, Potemkin’s pow, and Hollywood extravagance.” Once denounced as the fascist propaganda it in fact is, the film came to be celebrated as a masterpiece of formal daring in the 1960s and 1970s, a rehabilitation that culminated with Riefenstahl receiving a controversial tribute at the 1974 Telluride Film Festival. Film Comment Editor in Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Hoberman and filmmaker and professor Zoe Beloff for a discussion of the film’s relevance to the current historical moment (Steve Bannon and Roger Ailes are purportedly big fans) and the larger question of artistry in the service of evil. Read J. Hoberman's article: https://www.filmcomment.com/article/triumph-of-the-will/

Spike Lee on BlacKkKlansman Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

On February 13, Film Comment presented a special evening with the Spike Lee, Best Director nominee for BlacKkKlansman. The night included an extended conversation between Lee and Emmy Award–winning writer and television host Lawrence O’Donnell (The West Wing, MSNBC), followed by a screening of BlacKkKlansman, presented by Film Comment. Lee discusses the genesis of BlacKkKlansman, how he chooses collaborators, and what it would mean to him to win an Oscar for the film. Nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Director, BlacKkKlansman tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department, who bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. In his feature on the film in the July-August 2018 issue of Film Comment, Teo Bugbee writes that, "BlacKkKlansman is no straight biopic. Instead, it follows the beats of a traditional cop movie, where a man of the law is torn between allegiances in his efforts to solve a case. In this regard, the film represents the latest chapter in the underrated career of Spike Lee, genre filmmaker."

The Rep Report #5 Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

Love is, of course, in the air, and with most new release schedules in hibernation, February can be a great time for repertory cinema for both lovers and loners. Guests Nellie Killian (FC contributing editor and independent programmer) and Jon Dieringer (founder of Screen Slate) join Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold to run down the best rep screenings on offer around New York City. First up are two series at Anthology Film Archives: the annual “Valentine’s Day Massacre”—featuring mainstays Albert Brooks’s Modern Romance and Maurice Pialat’s We Won’t Grow Old Together—and “In-Person Reenactment,” featuring Martha Coolidge’s Not a Pretty Picture. The three also discuss new documentaries about outsider musicians, the recently wrapped-up Film Comment Selects series, the Marlon Riggs series at BAM, and Claire Simon’s The Competition, among others.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019–The Final Chapter Feb 06, 2019

Show notes

The Film Comment Podcast returns with our final episode on the wild, windswept ride that was Sundance 2019. Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold sat down with Film Society of Lincoln Center Deputy Director (and Film Comment Co-publisher) Eugene Hernandez to dissect and analyze their standout films from the festival, with a special focus on documentaries Leaving Neverland and Halston. The two also discuss the evolution of Sundance over the years, from Eugene's first visit in 1992 ("The Year of the Twentysomething") to the festival's more recent efforts to expand their programming beyond the world of American independent cinema. Catch up on all The Film Comment Podcast reports from Sundance 2019.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Six Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

Maintaining a marathon pace, the Film Comment Podcast returns with more insightful commentary and conversation from the Sundance Film Festival. FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined once again by guests and FC contributors Devika Girish and Eric Hynes (also curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image) for a discussion of some under-the-radar films that might not have received as much attention at the Festival. These gems include the Macedonian documentary Honeyland, Danish drama Queen of Hearts, experimental short film America, teen drama Selah and the Spades, and finally, a cynical comedy that stood out in all the wrong ways: Brittany Runs a Marathon.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Five Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

The Film Comment Podcast returns with another update from Park City. FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined this time by New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis and FC contributor Amy Taubin for a rundown of standout films from the festival, both fiction and documentary. These include Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir, Nisha Ganatra's Late Night, Rachel Lears's documentary Knock Down the House, Chinonye Chukwu's Clemency, Julius Onah's Luce, Joe Talbot's The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang's One Child Nation.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Four Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

The Film Comment Podcast returns with our fourth update from the snow-and-glamour-packed streets of Park City, Utah. For today's episode, FC Editor-in-Chief is joined by guests and FC contributors Devika Girish, Eric Hynes (also curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image), and Ashley Clark (also senior programmer of cinema at BAM). Today's conversation focuses on a range of films, including The Farewell, Luce, Midnight Family, The Last Tree, Clemency, Paradise Hills, Ms. Purple, and The Sound of Silence. Check back throughout the week for regular updates from the Sundance Film Festival.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Three Jan 28, 2019

Show notes

On the third Film Comment Podcast from the Sundance Film Festival, FC Editor in Chief Nicolas Rapold is once again joined by FC contributors Devika Girish and Eric Hynes(also curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image) to chat about a few highly-touted features that left them wanting. These include Joe Talbot's The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Scott Z. Burns' The Report, Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale, and Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's The Lodge. Check back throughout the week for regular updates from the Sundance Film Festival.

The Film Comment Podcast: Sundance 2019 Two Jan 26, 2019

Show notes

We're back with our second update from Park City. Today's podcast features Film Comment Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold in conversation with FC contributors Devika Girish and Eric Hynes (also curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image). The focus today is on a Rashid Johnson's Richard Wright adaptation Native Son, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's documentary American Factory, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra's The Infiltrators, and Ben Berman's absurdist doc Untitled Amazing Johnathan Movie. Check back for more updates from Sundance 2019 throughout the next week.

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