The Last Thing I Saw

Ep. 169: Synecdoche, New York with Michael Joshua Rowin, plus Brakhage, Resnais, Duras Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. I’ve been hosting a screening series recently called New Essentials at the Roxy Cinema in New York. This weekend I’m presenting Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut feature, Synecdoche, New York (2008), the sprawling story of a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) attempting to stage a truly world-sized drama while navigating his wrecked personal life. For the latest episode, I discuss Kaufman’s rich and strange and funny movie with critic Michael Joshua Rowin, who wrote about it for Reverse Shot. We also compare notes on the last things each of us has seen, including films by more adventurers in subjectivity: Stan Brakhage, Alain Resnais, and Marguerite Duras. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 168: True False 2023 with Eric Hynes on Hummingbirds, Art Talent Show, Time Bomb Y2K, more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I report to you from the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri, and its international showcase of nonfiction cinema. On a sunny day I sat down with Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image, about a number of highlights, including Hummingbirds from Silvia Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, Time Bomb Y2K from Brian Becker and Marley McDonald, and more. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 167: Berlin 2023 Six with Jordan Cronk: Hong’s In Water, Forum (incl. James Benning), Mal Viver + Viver Mal, The Echo, Samsara Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. We conclude (?) with the latest and greatest from the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. To catch up, I chat with Jordan Cronk, critic, programmer, and co-founder of Acropolis Cinema in Los Angeles. We discuss Hong Sangsoo’s In Water, Forum highlights including James Benning’s Allensworth, Tatiana Huezo’s The Echo, Joao Canijo’s two-part hotel epic Mal Viver and Viver Mal, and Lois Patiño’s Samsara. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 166: Berlin 2023 Five with Inney Prakash: Notre Corps, An Atypical Orbit incl. Eduardo Williams, Kevin Jerome Everson, Mangosteen Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. We continue with the latest and greatest from the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. For my latest episode, I chat with programmer Inney Prakash, founder/director of the festival Prismatic Ground. We consider discuss Claire Simon’s documentary Notre Corps; the Forum Expanded exhibition An Atypical Orbit which includes the Eduardo Williams work A Very Long GIF; a new short by Kevin Jerome Everson, If You Don’t Watch the Way You Move; and Tulapop Saenjaroen’s Mangosteen. Stay tuned for more from the Berlinale! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 165: Berlin 2023 Four with Jessica Kiang: Petzold's Afire, Reality, The Shadowless Tower, The Survival of Kindness Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. We continue with the latest and greatest from the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. For my latest episode, I chat with critic Jessica Kiang who is writing for Variety and The New York Times. We consider this year’s festival and discuss Christian Petzold’s Afire, Tina Satter’s Reality starring Sydney Sweeney, Zhang Lu’s The Shadowless Tower, and Rolf de Heer’s The Survival of Kindness. Stay tuned for more from the Berlinale! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 164: Berlin 2023 Three with Jonathan Romney: Angela Schanelec’s Music, Limbo, On the Adamant, Superpower Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I bring you the latest and greatest from Berlinale 2023. For my latest episode, I chat with critic Jonathan Romney (Screen, The Observer). We consider what’s special about this year’s festival and discuss Angela Schanelec’s Music, Ivan Sen’s Limbo, Nicolas Philibert’s On the Adamant, and Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s Superpower. Stay tuned for more from the Berlinale! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 163: Berlin 2023 Two with Jordan Cronk: Philippe Garrel’s The Plough, Totem, Here, Disco Boy, Dominik Graf's Melting Ink Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I bring you the latest and greatest from the Berlinale. For my latest episode, I chat with festival stalwart Jordan Cronk, critic and Acropolis Cinema programmer. We discussed films from across the sections of the 2023 edition: Philippe Garrel’s The Plough, Lila Aviles’s Totem, Bas Devos’s Here, Giacomo Abbruzzese’s Disco Boy (starring Franz Rogowski), and Dominik Graf’s Melting Ink. Stay tuned for more from the Berlinale! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 162: Berlin 2023 One with Giovanni Marchini Camia: The Adults, Manodrome, Margaret Tait, Orlando Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I bring you the latest and greatest for the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, aka the Berlinale. For my first episode, I connected with Berlin-based critic, programmer, and Fireflies Press co-publisher Giovanni Marchini Camia. We discussed films from across the sections of the festival: Dustin Guy Defa’s The Adults, John Trengrove’s Manodrome, Luke Fowler’s Being in a Place: A Portrait of Margaret Tait, and Paul Preciado’s debut feature, Orlando, My Political Biography. Stay tuned for more from the Berlinale! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 161: Sundance 2023 Six with Eric Hynes: Drift, Kokomo City, 20 Days in Mariupol, Mami Wata Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival episodes come to their thrilling conclusion (I think) with a final selection of highlights, brought straight to your ears. I talk with Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image, about Kokomo City, Drift, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Stroll, Iron Butterflies, Mami Wata, and last but not least, Talk to Me. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 160: Sundance 2023 Five with Jessica Kiang: All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt + The Disappearance of Shere Hite Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Sundance Film Festival left me with a number of worthy movies that I couldn’t shake from my mind anytime soon. So I’m back with critic Jessica Kiang (Variety) for the second part of our discussion. This time we go into a couple of films that people will definitely continue to talk about: a debut feature with a strong and singular voice, Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, and the revelatory documentary from Nicole Newnham, The Disappearance of Shere Hite. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass