Lukas Moodysson shares with Hugo his experiences of making Fucking Åmål, how a story close to his heart has taken on a life of its own and evolved into a queer classic. Reflecting on his journey as a filmmaker, the Swedish director discusses his career and the recurring themes at the core of his films: rebellion, loneliness, sincerity, and humor. G…

For a country known for wholeheartedly consuming cinema from abroad, the Netherlands has never been great at celebrating their own Dutch filmmakers and their films. With the re-release of George Sluizer's Spoorloos, one of the greatest Dutch films ever made, we explore what holds us back from recognizing the great directors of our small nation. Cou…

Collectively known as The Ross Brothers, Bill and Turner Ross are utterly unique in their approach to filmmaking. In a conversation with our host Elliot Bloom, these American directors discuss how film can serve as a vehicle for social experiments, aiming to uncover deeper truths about ourselves and society. Their latest film, "Gasoline Rainbow," o…

A film’s success often rests on the shoulders of its most bankable stars. But have stars once born to seduce the silver screen become influencers more than actors? Joined by actor Mike Gomez, we try get to the bottom of what exactly makes us fall in love with an actor. Among the giants whose shoulders many actors stand on today is none other than M…

Sean Price Williams, a stalwart in American indie cinematography, has boldly embarked on his directorial debut with The Sweet East. This exhilarating journey, starring the captivating Talia Ryder, serves as a critical love letter to the fractured landscape of America's East Coast. In a candid discussion for our Celebrating Cinema podcast , both Sea…

Liberated from the arthouse cliches of cinema, Bertrand Bonello is a rare kind of director. Our host Hugo Emmerzael spoke with Bertrand about his daring approach to filmmaking, and why his films focus on translating our collective social anxieties. Find out how influences from Lynch to Jarmusch all unconsciously seep into this French director’s wor…

Baloji is a prolific francophone rapper, known for his visually striking and poetic style. So his turn to filmmaking only seemed like a natural evolution of his talents. Speaking with the Belgian-Congolese director, Elliot discusses Baloji's feature debut Augure, unpacking this incantatory drama about identity and grief. Inspired by the weight of h…

Do AI portrayals in film predict a future of robotic overlords or simply offer a chance to innovate cinema? Artificial Intelligence in cinema goes way back. Spanning from Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis and robot Maria, to the iconic Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey, our tech obsession runs deep in film. But why is it all so dystopian? What now seems to b…

Amidst the abundance of parodies, memes, and impersonations, there exists an undeniable uniqueness to the American actor Nicolas Cage. It’s easy to dismiss him as an over-the-top actor, yet beneath the surface lies a talent that positions him among the greatest actors of our time. With an unconventional, almost avant-garde approach to acting that d…

If you don’t know already, Molly Manning Walker’s feature debut How To Have Sex (2023) has taken the world by storm. This coming-of-age drama follows Tara (a mesmerizing performance by Mia Mckenna-Bruce) and her two best friends on a rites-of-passage holiday in Malia that slowly derails. Speaking with host Elliot, Molly shares how our stereotypical…

After a steamy winter featuring Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, the internet was sent into a frenzy over - a fairly mediocre - erotic murder drama, that had copious amounts of sex. Naturally, Laura Gommans, friend of the podcast, was left questioning what happened to all the sex scenes in cinema today. The 90s marked an era of iconic scenes of intimacy…

"Obviously Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl." (Cecilia, Virgin Suicides) Affectionately known as cinema's favorite 'Nepo Baby', Sofia Coppola has come a long way from her initial appearance in her father's iconic trilogy, The Godfather. Now standing as a unique auteur truly shaping the narrative of the 'girl era.' With pitch-perfect pre…

“I would like to make a film to tell children "it's good to be alive".” ― Hayao Miyazaki It's hard to find someone who doesn't love Hayao Miyazaki's films. Regardless of age, there is something profound to be gained from watching any of this Japanese animator's masterpieces. In this celebration of Miyazaki and the wonders he has created, we delve d…

“Hope is political. If you have hope then you have confidence you can change things” After 60 years of filmmaking, British filmmaker and icon Ken Loach offers what may well be his most urgent message yet, calling for solidarity and the power that hope can instil in his latest film The Old Oak (2023). Speaking with our host Elliot, Ken reveals how h…

Movies have always been a way to understand the world around us, and so, confronted with the brutal horrors of both Hamas’s attacks on October 7th and Israel’s disproportionate slaughtering of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, we question if cinema can try to make sense of such atrocities. For this episode of Celebrating Cinema, we focus…

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here. Bram Ruiter is a filmmaker of a different kind. He has a unique ability to extract the poetry of the mundane, experimenting as much as he can within the realms of the moving-image. No…

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here. Rafik Opti is a filmmaker fascinated by playing with reality & the beauty they can find with their camera out on the streets. Candidly chatting with friend & host Kiriko, Rafik shares…

Passages (2023) by Ira Sachs sets the tone for the cold change in seasons - a people’s favourite that has got us all up in our feels. In conversation with Sophie, writer-director Ira Sachs candidly shares how his personal experiences of living in Paris & the mesmerising Franz Rogowski helped shape such a poignant film. From obsessively watching 3 f…

"What's the first rule of Fight Club?" -- "We do not talk about Mank." Refusing to be called an auteur, David Fincher has certainly crafted his own style to become the master of the psychological thriller. But what exactly makes a Fincher classic? From his deftly choreographed camera movements, to his relentless number of takes and a fixation of gr…

Widely regarded as one of the most influential directors of our time, Martin Scorsese has made some of the most exciting cinema classics of the past 50 years. Moving through Scorsese's filmography, we reflect on how his own existential inquiries on faith, redemption, obsession and cinema itself lie at the heart of his kinetic films. Why does he ret…

A rare cultural moment in cinema, the release and aftermath of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie certainly had us all talking. Sharing our experiences of watching the candy-colored ‘battle of the sexes’, we question why Barbie was set different standards compared to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and where big studio movies can go from here. Did we place too …

Set against the rise of Russia's authoritarian regime, filmmaker Marusya Syroechkovskaya paints an homage to both a silenced generation and her lover and best friend Kimi. How to Save a Dead Friend (2022), is a whirlwind of emotions capturing a unique intimacy of an anxious youth, a relationship tellingly universal that brings hope still in death. …

With the latest installment of the Mission Impossible franchise in cinemas now, we pose the question if Tom Cruise, the enigmatic star of classics like Top Gun (1986), Magnolia (1999), Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and so many others, is singlehandedly trying to save a dying breed of visceral (action) cinema. Is Cruise the last of the genuine movie stars? …

With an oeuvre-spanning exhibition in Eye Filmmuseum, and multiple classics like Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Aguirre, Wrath Of God (1972) returning to the big screens of LAB111, we sit down to discuss the ‘ecstatic truths’ and brilliant fictions of German film auteur par excellence: Werner Herzog. Show Notes & Films Mentioned…

With the multidisciplinary film program Witch Way Now: Recasting A Feminist Icon heading into its second month of film screenings, talks, workshops, and performances at LAB111 and Paradiso, we invite Witch Way Now co-curator Helena Castro to discuss in-depth the depiction of the witch and witchcraft in cinema. Is the witch a feminist icon? How has …

For the final Future Frames episode, filmmaker Kiriko Mechanicus talks with fellow filmmaker and good friend Razan Hassan, an upcoming documentarist who has recently won the Best Documentary Film award at the Shortcutz Film Festival for her film 'In Between Glass and Walls'. In their tender conversation, Hassan speaks about her teenage love for dir…

Sitting down with filmmaker, screenwriter, chef, and all-around powerhouse Amira Duynhouwer for a Future Frames interview, film critic Hugo Emmerzael dives into Duynhouwer’s wildly prolific career, her initial love for cinema and the tough lessons she had to learn to make it as a successful film professional. Ranging from Spielberg to Akira Kurosaw…

Inspired by the experiences of a close friend, Davy Chou decided to make a film about her non-stereotypical adoption story, the likes of which we hardly ever get to see on screen. Speaking to host Sophie, Chou reflects on directing a film in a country and language that he wasn't familiar with, and the difficult process he went through as a male wri…

Recognizing herself in Stefanie Kolk’s journey towards a career in film that started out in a different place entirely, filmmaker and podcast host Sophie Smeets invited the biophysicists-turned-filmmaker for her Future Frames interview. In this conversation, we gain an insight into the different elements that play a role in Kolk’s filmmaking. How h…

For the second interview in our Future Frames series, Head Of Program Tom Ooms and his good friend, Amsterdam-based writer/director Kim Kokosky Deforchaux explore how Kim's childhood obsession with Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park propelled him to pursue a career in genre-filmmaking. In this hour-long, frank conversation, we get a glimpse of this f…

After watching Ashley Röttjers’ short film Celestial Spaces: A Liberation on Meditation Practices at an IDFA Meets event, Elliot was struck by the elegance and depth of Ashley’s work. Eager to learn more about this Rotterdam-based photographer turned filmmaker, Elliot invited Ashley as a future framemaker to watch for our Future Frames interviews. …

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Alejandro Jodorowsky's mystical magnum opus The Holy Mountain, three classics by the controversial Chilean surrealist return to cinemas in the Netherlands nationwide. With Sophie replacing producer Elliot, who will be traveling the world for a while, our hosts Tom, Kiriko, and Hugo discuss the impact of 60s and 7…

Following our first live and very animated podcast recording, our hosts, along with our audience, discussed the relevance of cult classic Twilight; a film that showcases a darkly stylish depiction of female desire wrapped inside an inherently silly teen vampire romance. Like it or not this romance saga had us hooked from the beginning and was undou…

In anticipation of our first live podcast event where we will be revisiting the iconic Twilight (2008), we had the absolute pleasure to speak with director Catherine Hardwicke. Architect of this cultural phenomenon, Catherine recounts how she landed the role and the casting process that launched the careers of its stars, Kristen Stewart & Robert Pa…

Very few director's have their own adjective: Lynchian. But then again, there are very few directors like David Lynch. Walking the tightrope between the mainstream and the avant-garde, Lynch brought to the screen a singularly dark and disturbing view of reality. A nightmare world punctuated by defining moments of extreme violence, bizarre comedy, a…

Take a trip down the dark alleys of Film Noir, filled with unscrupulous men, state corruption and crimes waiting to be solve. Listen to our hosts' favourite urban thrillers, as they try to figure out what Film Noir even is. A genre? A style? Or a mode of production that dominated Hollywood post World-War II. Inspired by our current program Tales Fr…

As part of our new partnership with Mubi, we had the exclusive chance to speak with Artist-turned-filmmaker Amalia Ulman about her feature debut El Planeta. This dark comedy, set in Amalia's childhood town Gijon, is a fresh twist on the precarious economic conditions the working-class can find themselves in. In this candid interview Amalia shares w…

Widely regarded as the bald bad boy of contemporary French cinema, Gaspar Noé has been disrupting movies and polarising opinions for the past twenty years with his visceral blend of provocative films. Joining filmmaker Kiriko, Gaspar discusses his latest film Vortex (2021), as well as his experiences working with legendary Italian 'giallo' maestro …

Have you ever wondered what made French director Jean-Luc Godard so great? Or did you never quite understand what exactly the 'French Nouvelle Vague' was? Well in true Godard-fashion, this is a real jump-cut style episode that untangles the life of a film genius. From his greatness to some ugly truths, this is a true ode to both a director and peri…

Director Martijn de Jong joins producer Elliot to discuss his feature debut Narcosis. Selected as this year's Dutch Oscar entry, this tender portrayal of familial love & mourning gives our audience a window to Martijn's approach to filmmaking. With a desire to move people and connect with his audience, together they explore his journey as a directo…

As longtime admirers of Mia Hansen-Løve's body of work here on the podcast, producer Elliot hosts a very candid and revealing conversation with the French director. In her latest film Un Beau Matin, Mia describes it as her most auto-biographical film to date. Mia shares how she is able to explore such existential questions from such an intimate por…

Directors Sarah Blok & Lisa Konno join to discuss their short trilogy of non-traditional immigrant story of fathers. With an exhibition at this year's Dutch Design Week and the release of their book, which you can buy here, we explore how this hybrid form of fashion-stylised documentaries can offer a more intimate portrayal of their subjects. Candi…

Joined by the programmers of Imagine Film Festival, the largest celebration for fantastic film in the Netherlands, showcasing the best in fantasy, horror and science fiction. Lauren & Stan along with Tom & Hugo reminisce their first turn down spooky lane. Along this nostalgic path of agreeable scarring, they question what really is a horror in toda…

If a loved-one decided they had enough of life and wanted it to come to an end, how would you respond? Director, Floor van der Meulen joins Elliot to explore her fictional feature debut Pink Moon that asks this very question of its audience. In this candid discussion, Floor and Elliot unpack the roots of desire for a self-determined death, is it a …

Are we witnessing the end of American mainstream cinema? Diving deep into this topic, Hugo invites filmmaker, film critic and video essay connoisseur Scout Tafoya. In collaboration with Tucker Johnson, Scout explores this very question with a compelling 10-part video-essay series through the lens of Ridley & Tony Scott as the forefathers of the Ame…

Find out how a particular holiday experience led director Christian Tafdrup to write his latest film Speak No Evil (2022). Out now here in The Netherlands, this suspenseful dark comedy about a holiday encounter between a Dutch & Danish family comes with a chilling twist. Speaking with Elliot, Christian shares how his playful approach to horror genr…

Here to discuss the mesmerising nature of volcanoes captured through the lens of Katia & Maurice Krafft, director Sara Dosa joins us for a candid talk about her latest documentary Fire of Love (2022). From a treasure trove of 200 hours worth of archival footage, Sara shares why she crafted a love story not only between two French volcanologists but…

Here to discuss her latest film Splendid Isolation (2022) and the poetry of cinema, Urszula Antoniak candidly shares why this is a film to be experienced. A 73-minute allegory that invites us all to reflect on our collective confrontation with death in recent years. Find out why Urszula sees this as an uplifting story of our own mortality.…

With Joanna Hogg's sequel to her highly autobiographical film The Souvenir (2019), we take a look at one of its stars - Tilda Swinton. There has always been a certain indefinable quality to her iconic acting, refusing to ever be type-casted to a particular role. Tilda has continued to evolve with her incredible range of performances, becoming the m…

Listen to Uberto Pasolini's journey to becoming a filmmaker. After leaving the banking industry early on to pursue a career in film, it was only a matter of time before Uberto would transition from producer to director. With his latest film Nowhere Special (2020), a tender portrait of an intimate father and son relationship, we hear how Uberto deve…