Episode 51: Abel Ferrara interview

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The director Abel Ferrara takes movies into the outer limits of experience and emotion, often challenging us with characters in the grips of moral and spiritual corruption. His movies include King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, and the semiautobiographical Tommaso, which had its world premiere in Cannes. His latest film is Siberia, which premiered in Berlin and stars Ferrara’s frequent partner in crime, Willem Dafoe. In Siberia, Dafoe plays a man living at the end of world in a snowy wasteland who is reckoning with his past, his family, and his relationships. It’s a dreamlike movie of memories and visions, with scenes including a bear attack and an enigmatic moment with a talking fish which Ferrara discusses in our interview. As ever, Ferrara gets to the heart of the matter. Siberia was released in theaters and is also available on streaming. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass