Watch the stars: the photographer and filmmaker discusses his new adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel, the film’s compelling use of first-person point of view, and his interest in capturing what he calls “adjacent images”
How to save a theater: members of the La Clef Revival collective share key insights from their successful campaign to reopen their beloved Parisian cinema
Buy now, pay later: at this year's festival, films by Radu Jude, Courtney Stephens, and Wang Bing explored advertisements, infomercials, and the lives of factory workers in an attempt to pull back the veil of the market
Double vision: how long can we maintain the ruse of championing artistic freedom and civil liberties in cinemas surrounded by hundreds of cops and A.I.-powered cameras and staffed by underpaid workers?
Crossing the rubicon: the Italian filmmaker discusses his new Civil War–era period movie, which both restages a moment in America’s past and documents present-day Americans reflecting on the process of nation-making
Going home: Carol Mansour's documentary is a heist of sorts, depicting the ways in which exiled Palestinians, denied the right of return, keep their heritage alive
Dirty work: Alice Rohrwacher’s La chimera unearths the contradictions at the heart of a brittle society where culture is yet another arena in which the wealthy exploit the poor
Together and apart: the two directors discuss the making of their award-winning documentary, their transition from journalism to cinema, and finding the right balance between images of incontrovertible violence with those of resilience and life
Great expectations: the Romanian filmmaker discusses his madcap latest, an unpredictable, funny, crass, and erudite that speaks to a wide variety of concerns—totalitarianism, neoliberalism, and the corrosive role of media—with extraordinary verve
Truth and consequences: three notable nonfiction titles from this year's Sundance stood out from the lineup: the Richard Linklater–directed first episode of the documentary trilogy God Save Texas; War Game; and Union
Here and elsewhere: the philosopher-turned-filmmaker joins for a conversation about the making of his debut film, which explodes conventions of biography and nonfiction for a uniquely collective portrait of trans life
Spit take: a collection of newly restored shorts from the Sudanese Film Group strain against the didactic dictates of a state-sanctioned national cinema
Throughlines: the German actor, known for his extraordinary physicality, discusses his inspirations and his firecracker performance in Ira Sachs’s new film, Passages
Girl talk: the director of the ultra-pink blockbuster discusses imbuing inanimate objects with feeling, balancing cynicism and care, and, of course, irrepressible thoughts of death
Lush life: the director discusses her debut feature, the particularities of portraying Black motherhood, how she eschewed social-realist tropes, and what her (many nonprofessional) actors taught her about empathy
Sign up for the Film Comment Letter!
Thoughtful, original film criticism delivered straight to your inbox each week. Enter your email address below to subscribe.