Marcus speaks with Bálint Szimler about his feature film ‘Lesson Learned’, which just premiered at the Locarno Fim Festival. The discussion also touches on the films that most inspired him - 'Play' by Ruben Östlund and 'Family Nest' by Béla Tarr. Bálint dives in to the inspiration behind his film, and the challenges of the Hungarian educational sys…

Today I speak with my friend and exceptional filmmaker Ellie Foumbi, about her Independent Spirt Award-nominated 'Our Father The Devil,' which is now on the Criterion Channel following a premiere at last year’s Venice International Film Festival. We also discuss the influence of Andrea Arnold’s film 'Red Road' (2006) on her work. We reminisce about…

Today I speak with Mumbai-based director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat about his kick-ass action film ‘Kill’, which premiered at TIFF last year and is now globally distributed by Lionsgate. We discuss Nikhil’s journey into the film industry, from watching Indian action films on television as a child, and his love for James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’. He shares his ex…

In this episode, I speak with Zhengfan Yang about his film 'Stranger’, which just won the Grand Prix prize in the Proxima Competition at Karlovy Vary. We also discuss his past cinema inspiration, ‘A One and a Two’, the 2000 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang. Zhengfan talks about the challenges of shooting his film in 7 total shots, each in a …

This episode features Paolo Tizón and his documentary “Night Has Come”, which just won the Special Jury Award and the FIPRESCI (Critic) Award at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. His main inspiration for the film: ‘Beau Travail’ (1999) by Claire Denis. We discuss cinematic techniques used in documentaries, the importance of not kno…

Ivana Gloria, the director of ‘Chlorophyll’, which World Premiered at the Rome International Film Festival, followed by a warm reception at Karlovy Vary, shares her journey and challenges as a filmmaker, having been heavily inspired by the 2018 Swedish film ‘Border’ from director Ali Abbasi. The conversation also revolves around Ivana’s film ‘Chlor…

In this episode, filmmaker Nelicia Low discusses her film 'Pierce', which she just won the Best Director award for at Karlovy Vary. She talks about her past cinema inspirations which include Ang Lee’s ‘Lust, Caution’, and her experiences studying at Columbia University. The conversation highlights the value of editing and music in her film, her dir…

On today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bruno Anković about his new film ‘Celebration’, which premiered at this years Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Crystal Globe competition. We dive into the themes and storytelling techniques used in ‘Celebration’, which explores the cyclical nature of history and the challenges o…

Bulgarian filmmaker Pavel Vesnakov discusses his journey in the film industry and his film 'Windless'. He talks about the importance of World Premiering at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - a significant milestone for him. He shares his early influences, including the films 'Taste of Cherry' by Abbas Kiarostami and '3 Iron' by Kim Ki-d…

On this week's episode, Marcus speaks with Russian filmmaker Anja Kreis, who shares her perspectives on Russia, the global allure of Hollywood, and the process of making her latest film 'The Alienated', which is World premiering at Karlovy Vary on July 2nd. With its themes of mortality, dreams, and sisterhood, 'The Alienated' draws inspiration from…

Filmmaker George Sikharulidze joins Marcus from Tbilisi, Georgia to discuss his feature film debut 'Panopticon', which is World Premiering at the prestigious 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on June 30th at The Grand Hall, and competing for the festival's top prize: the Crystal Globe. A variety of topics include the influence of Franco…

In this week’s episode, we have Swedish-born, Brooklyn-based Jean-Cosme Delaloye, who shares his early days as a reporter and his transition into documentary filmmaking, having been inspired by the 2016 film ‘Tempestad’ and most recently, Oscar-winning short doc ‘The Last Repair Shop’. He talks about how his experiences covering sad stories led him…

Marcus interviews Carlos Vargas from Berlin, who is premiering his film “Hidden Era” at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9th at the Village East. They discuss Carlos’s previous experience at Tribeca, his expectations for this year's festival, and the importance of the New York film scene. They also talk about his film, Hidden Era, and its similari…

Marcus speaks with Beirut-born Mira Shaib about her film "Arze", a Lebanese production that explores universal themes of family, abandonment, and societal issues. Mira discusses the World Premiere of the film at the Beijing International Film Festival, the upcoming North American premiere at Tribeca on June 11th (Village East) followed by Cairo Int…

Marcus speaks with Mexico City filmmaker Santiago Maza, who shares his insights on documentary filmmaking and his inspired appreciation for the doc "Collective". Santiago's latest film "State of Silence", Executive Produced by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, World Premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10th and is followed by Sheffield D…

Marcus Mizelle interviews Los Angeles-based filmmaker Roxy Shih about her journey in the film industry, what past films most inspired her ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", "The Shining"), and her latest film "Beacon" ahead of its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. They discuss the challenges of being a filmmaker in the current Hollywood land…

Welcome to Past Present Feature, a filmmaker appreciation podcast showcasing new festival releases and the past films that inspired them. As a filmmaker myself, I started this podcast to build community while talking shop, and to show love to past cinema that sparked a new wave of filmmakers to create the films of the future. Let's roll it! Marcus …

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, stars and creators of the hit television series 'Broad City'. The show, which launched as a web series in 2009, will end it astonishing run this year after five critically adored seasons on Comedy Central. Glazer and Jacobson talk about the early days of 'Broad Ci…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Nathanaël Karmitz, Managing Director of the mk2 audio visual group, about France's unwavering appetite for the theatrical experience. With many arthouse and independent theatres struggling worldwide to attract patrons, France's culture of movie going seems stronger than ever. Last year – despite…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with documentarian Bing Liu. Liu’s debut feature film, Minding the Gap, tells the story of three young men (including Liu) in Rockford Illinois, who use skateboarding as a way to cope with their traumatic home lives. The film, which topped several best of 2018 lists, will be playing as part of TIFF Next Wa…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff sits down with Jonathan Frantz, a filmmaker, producer, and member of Isuma, an Inuit-led media-arts collective founded by Zacharias Kunuk. Frantz recently produced 'Edge of the Knife', a drama set in the 19th century and directed by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown. The film is particularly notable as the first…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with Shawn Finnie, Associate Director of Member Relations at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to talk about how the Academy has worked to address concerns over the lack of diversity in its membership, nominees, and award winners. In 2012, the Academy was 77% male and 94% white. In 2018 thos…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff chat with some of the smartest people in the business to find out what film and television projects we should be looking forward to in the coming year. First, Vanity Fair’s K. Austin Collins calls in to talk about some of this year’s Hollywood films, including James Gray’s 'Ad Astra', Steven Soderbergh's '…

This week on TIFF Long Take, in the second of two parts, Rob and Geoff look back on stories and themes that shaped the year in film and television by revisiting some of their favourite conversations from 2018. Excerpts include: - FiveThirtyEight’s Walt Hickey, Ella Koeze, and Rachel Dottle on whether it’s time for a new Bechdel test - #OscarsSoWhit…

This week on TIFF Long Take, in the first of two parts, Rob and Geoff look back on stories and themes that shaped the year in film and television by revisiting some of their favourite conversations from 2018.Excerpts include: - Filmmaker and producer Mark Duplass on preserving artistry in the “tent-pole era” - Filmmaker Debra Granik on the challeng…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff look into how blockchain technology and crypto currency could revolutionize the way that we finance and consume films. To guide them, the two welcome Luke Bradley, Director of Communications at the Blockchain Research Institute, as well as Christopher Woodrow, Chairman and CEO of MovieCoin. Bradley discuss…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob chats with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson about Netflix’s recent foray into the world of theatrical releases. Last month the company announced that three of its upcoming films would open exclusively in select theaters in the US and abroad for one to three weeks before they debuted online. The films include director Alfon…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff welcome the VP of Creative Affairs at ‘See Saw Films’, Negin Salmasi. Founded in 2008, the relatively small ‘See Saw’ have punched far above their weight in the increasingly competitive indie film landscape, producing critically and commercially successful films like 'The King’s Speech', and 'Lion', as wel…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff chats with actor and screenwriter Zoe Kazan. It’s been a busy few months for Kazan. In October, the feature film 'Wildlife' — which she co-wrote with her partner, Paul Dano, and which had its Canadian premiere at TIFF in September — opened to great critical acclaim. Most recently, she starred in “The Gal Who Got R…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with director Joseph Kahn. Long considered one of the most prolific and commercially successful music video directors, Kahn has recently made his return to feature films with ‘Bodied’, the story of ambitious graduate student who becomes immersed in the world of battle-rap. Written by Canadian battle-rapper…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with television writer, director, and producer Sam Esmail. Best known as the creator of the hit television series ‘Mr. Robot, Esmail recently directed all ten episodes of the new series ‘Homecoming’; an adaptation of the extremely popular podcast created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg. The se…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with ‘Faculty of Horror’ podcast co-host Alexandra West, to discuss the ever increasing legitimacy of the horror films. Thanks in part to the overwhelming critical praise of films like Jennifer Kent’s 'The Babadook', Robert Egger’s 'The Witch', David Robert Mitchell’s 'It Follows', and Jordan Peel…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with director and screenwriter, Dee Rees. Beginning with her excellent semi-autobiographical debut 'Pariah' (2011), Rees has earned the reputation as one of her generation’s most exciting filmmakers. Her most recent feature film, 'Mudbound' (2017), earned 4 Academy Award nominations, including a Best Adapt…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with renowned documentarian and director, David Gelb. Starting with his critically acclaimed debut film, 'Jiro Dream’s of Sushi', Gelb’s aesthetically beautiful and emotionally rich profiles of great chefs have had a significant impact on the genre of food documentary. He has since gone on to crea…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with Romanian super producer, Ada Solomon. Over the last 10 years, Ada has played a large role in the Eastern European film industry, producing some of the region’s most exciting films including: Maren Ade’s 'Toni Erdmann', Cãlin Peter Netzer’s 'Child’s Pose', and most recently Radu Jude’s 'I Do N…

This week on of TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with South African film producer, and founder of the production company ‘Big World Cinema’, Steven Markovitz. Over his thirty years in the film business, Markovitz has produced over 40 films in on the continent of Africa, and has seen his fair share of challenges trying to get these projects fi…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with Kit Steinkellner, creator of the acclaimed new television series Sorry For Your Loss. Since writing the pilot script on spec, Steinkellner has overseen every step of the series’ production, culminating with its recent premier on the new streaming platform Facebook Watch. The series which star…

With another Toronto International Film Festival in the books, Rob and Geoff sit down with the founder of 'The Black List', Franklin Leonard, to talk about the films, performances, trends, and stories that had the industry talking at this year's TIFF. Franklin talks about the most buzzed about films of the slate, how the various studios and distrib…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with one of the film’s most exciting young actors, Steven Yeun. Steven is probably best known for his role as Glenn Rhee on 'The Walking Dead', but since leaving the show has leaned more towards independent and international cinema with roles in Bong Joon-ho’s 'Okja', Boots Riley’s 'Sorry To Bothe…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Daniel Sawka, director of the timely social drama Icebox. The film, which premieres at TIFF 2018, tells the story of a 12 year old Honduran boy, interned at a US immigration detention centre, and has gained added resonance in the wake the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration polic…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff welcome TIFF’s Director and CEO, Pier’s Handling. This will be Handling’s final festival in charge of TIFF, having assumed his current position in 1994. He originally joined the festival in 1982. Handling looks back on the films that made him a cinephile, his first exposure to the Toronto International Fil…

In 2018 alone, three documentaries: Won’t You Be My Neighbor, RBG, and Three Identical Strangers have exceeded $10 million at the domestic box office, a remarkable trend considering only 25 other documentaries has reached this milestone in the past 35 years. To find out what is leading to this sudden increase in the genre’s popularity, Rob and Geof…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff sits down with independent filmmaker Desiree Akhavan. Following her acclaimed 2014 debut, Appropriate Behavior, Akhavan’s latest is an adaptation of Emily. M Danforth’s novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post. The film, which stars Chloë Grace Moretz and Sasha Lane, won the Grand Jury Prize for US Drama at this yea…

Last week, Disney and Fox shareholders approved a deal that would see Disney acquire 21st Century Fox for a whopping $71.3 billion. The deal - which includes properties like Fox Searchlight, X-Men, Avatar, The Simpsons, and many more - gives Disney an unprecedented market share in the film and television industry. To find out how this acquisition w…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Nadira Azermai, founder of the script analysis company, ScriptBook. Founded in 2015, ScriptBook claims they will be able to save film studios a fortune using artificial intelligence to more accurately identify which scripts will lead to financially successful films. Azermai discusses how ScriptB…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff are joined by TIFF’s Director of Programming, Kerri Craddock, to discuss some of the most exciting and anticipated titles on this year’s Toronto International Film Festival slate. Craddock gives her thoughts on some of the Gala and Special Presentation titles that TIFF just announced, including Elizabeth C…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with filmmaker Boots Riley. Although he is perhaps better known as an activist and the front man for the popular political hip-hop group The Coup, Riley has recently focused his talents on filmmaking, writing, and directing the critically adored 'Sorry to Bother You', starring Lakeith Stanfield, T…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with award winning independent film director and writer, Debra Granik. Granik, whose films include Down to the Bone and Winter’s Bone, is recognized as one of film’s great talent spotters, casting actors Jennifer Lawrence and Vera Farmiga in their star-making roles. Her latest film, Leave No Trace…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with one of the industry’s most versatile and compelling actors, Ben Foster. Whether he’s playing a Texas bank robber in 'Hell or High Water', Lance Armstrong in 'The Program', or William S. Burroughs in 'Kill Your Darlings', Foster’s legendary range has earned him a wide variety of eclectic roles…

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff sits down with Vanessa Matsui, the creator and star of the web series 'Ghost BFF'. A dark comedy about depression, 'Ghost BFF' is yet another example of creators using the web series medium as an alternative to network or cable television. The show, which was recently greenlit for a second season, is distributed b…