The Film Comment Podcast

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Sundance History Jan 25, 2017

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The first Sundance Film Festival, then known as the US/Utah Film Festival, took place in 1978 in an effort to bring independent filmmaking talent to the state. Over the years, word spread, crowds grew, and first-time directors broke out as commercial buyers eventually clued into the potential of this latest wave of American independent film—and now, nearly four decades later, Sundance remains an industry phenomenon. But reading about its history only goes so far, especially for a festival renowned for its original mission of fostering an independent film community. In this special episode of the Film Comment podcast recorded at Sundance in front of an audience at the Kickstarter house, Editor Nicolas Rapold spoke with a panel of Sundance veterans: Ira Deutchman, film producer, distributor, marketer (of sex, lies, and videotape, among others), academic, and co-founder of Emerging Pictures; Eugene Hernandez, Deputy Director at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the co-founder of Indiewire; Lesli Klainberg, Executive Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and a documentary filmmaker whose work has been shown at numerous Sundances; and Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival and author of The Cheerful Subversive's Guide to Independent Filmmaking. The discussion (featuring a couple of surprise guests) covered the evolution of Sundance up through the 1990s and beyond as a force in the industry, its importance to queer media and representation, its significance to mainstream perceptions of independent film, and more.

Sundance Critics' Roundtable Jan 23, 2017

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Alpine air, ski-friendly powder, and independent film converge every January at the Sundance Film Festival. And now, as a slight respite from the hype tweets, the Film Comment podcast is proud to transmit a little bit of Park City to your earbuds with this critics' roundtable, recorded live at Sundance this past weekend. FC Editor Nicolas Rapold, frequent FC contributors Nick Pinkerton and Ashley Clark, and freelance critic Paula Mejia share early festival impressions and highlights from the worlds of fiction, documentary, and virtual reality (housed in the grandiosely titled "VR Palace"). And be sure to check back in as the festival progresses for more dispatches from FC writers.

Identity Jan 17, 2017

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Ideology and aesthetics have somehow come to be positioned opposite one another—in film criticism, should one be privileged over the other? This episode of The Film Comment Podcast discusses how race, ethnicity, and other markers of identity factor into film criticism and cinema generally. FC Digital Editor Violet Lucca unpacks the topic with Amy Taubin, Contributing Editor to FC and Artforum, and Ashley Clark, FC contributor and programmer, in a conversation that spans multiple decades of film history—from Taxi Driver to OJ: Made in America to Notting Hill to I Am Not Your Negro, to the canceled Michael Jackson episode of Urban Myths starring Joseph Fiennes.

Carte Blanche Jan 10, 2017

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Questions of legacy can rile up the creative juices in unexpected ways, especially when filmmakers who win a bit of success are allowed to dive headlong into their obsessions. In cases like these, equipped with higher budgets and greater creative freedom, a filmmaker sets out to make A Statement. At best, it's an opportunity to show off one's talents with unbridled freedom of expression; at worst, it can lapse into gratuitous excess. This episode of the Film Comment podcast takes up passion projects, particularly those in which filmmakers are given the "keys to the kingdom" after a commercial success. It can be an anxiety-inducing move—as the tagline for Zardoz, John Boorman's 1974 sci fi statement and Deliverance follow-up, aptly prophesied, "I have seen the future, and IT...DOESN'T...WORK." As always, Digital Editor Violet Lucca moderates, and is joined by FC mainstays Ashley Clark, film critic and programmer; Michael Koresky, Director of Editorial and Creative Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center; and Nick Pinkerton, member of the New York Film Critics Circle.

Spooky Christmas Dec 26, 2016

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There’s no single way to celebrate the holiday season, but nearly every custom is centered on family and friends gathering together. In the first segment of this episode, Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with Julien Allen, Reverse Shot and Cinema Scope writer, to explore the British tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas and the works of M.R. James. In the second, Lucca is joined by Michael Koresky, Director of Editorial and Creative Strategy, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Ina Archer, media artist and FC contributor, Margaret Barton-Fumo, FC columnist, to discuss horror movies set during this joyous time of year.

LGBTQ Representation Dec 20, 2016

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On the other side of the visibility hurdle, questions about queer representation in film persist. Is visibility enough? How much is an appropriate amount? Do all queer films need to support the cause? Where is the gay hotel in The Lobster? In this episode of The Film Comment Podcast, we discuss the reductive mainstream treatment of queer characters in Hollywood fare, how television affords more exploration of gay characters, the aesthetics of queer sex scenes, and the failure of such films to either address queerness directly or imagine queer characters on the sidelines. To elaborate upon ideas from Mark Harris’ piece in the November/December issue on the paucity of LGBT visibility in Hollywood films, FC Digital Editor Violet Lucca was joined by Harris, K. Austin Collins of The Ringer, Farihah Zaman, filmmaker, critic and Production Manager for Field of Vision, and Michael Koresky, Director of Editorial and Creative Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

The Best Of 2016 Dec 13, 2016

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2016 may be ill-suited to fond recollections, but the annual Film Comment Top 20 list does have plenty of good cheer to go around. This year's poll was conducted a bit differently, with a sharpened focus on Film Comment's contributors in order to better capture the magazine's voice. Even though the results will inevitably be skewed by factors like regional specificity and the availability of advance screenings for late-season films under consideration, polls aren't about securing an airtight appraisal of a year; they're about starting a critical discussion, which can just as much concern what was omitted as what was included. In this episode of The Film Comment Podcast, Digital Editor Violet Lucca takes stock of the results along with Nicolas Rapold, the magazine's Editor, and Michael Koresky, Director of Editorial and Creative Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The conversation also covers films that didn't quite make the cut, what films the polls helped bring to light, and, of course, the best diner scenes in 2016 (no need to unwrap the silverware when you use your napkin).

The Marginalization Of Cinema Dec 06, 2016

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The clickbait consensus may be that cinema is dead, but the fact of the matter is a bit more nuanced. In the November/December issue of Film Comment, New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones suggests that perhaps we are witnessing the marginalization of cinema—although cinema may no longer be the most significant popular art form, it will evolve into something new. In other words, its particular impact may change, but it is certainly not dead. Jones joins Film Comment Digital Editor Violet Lucca and New York Film Critics Circle member Nick Pinkerton to discuss the shifting landscapes of the multiplex and the home theater, as well as what artistic salvation may come from cinema's marginalization.

Tearjerkers and Manchester by the Sea Nov 29, 2016

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There’s more to tearjerkers than the deceptively simple term might suggest, and in this episode of the Film Comment podcast, we consider the nuanced workings of cinematic sorrow. Is a tearjerker expressly and solely designed to elicit collective weeping, or is the effect of the button-pushing more personalized than we might admit? Does it count if a film moves its viewers to a profound silence rather than outright sobs? And what exactly makes us cry? The release of Kenneth Lonergan's new film Manchester by the Sea has brought these questions to the forefront of cinematic circles, and Film Society Editorial Director Michael Koresky's feature in the new Film Comment explores how Lonergan's cinema is structured by the experience of grieving. Our conversation spins off into a broader discussion of the "tearjerker" film, its ways and means, and why one might beware of watching any remotely traumatic film on a plane. Film Comment Digital Editor Violet Lucca is joined by Koresky and FC contributors Shonni Enelow, assistant professor of English at Fordham University, and Mark Harris of Vulture.

Post-Election Nov 23, 2016

Show notes

According to the experts, this wasn’t supposed to turn out this way… but it did. While the election of Donald Trump has prompted a great deal of speculation by pundits and citizens alike, we’ve asked some of our own experts to weigh in. In the first part of this episode, J. Hoberman, critic for The New York Times and a Film Comment contributing editor, and Tobi Haslett, contributor to Artforum, n+1, and The Village Voice, to discuss films that they understand differently after the election, and how politics and aesthetics interrelate. In the second, Farihah Zaman, filmmaker, critic and Production Manager for Field of Vision, and Meenasarani Linde Murugan, assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, discuss issues of representation and what a Trump presidency potentially means for filmmakers and their creative process.

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