The Film Comment Podcast

For the last two weeks, our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors has been reporting from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival with a series of thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. Before the festival wrapped on May 24, Film Comment partnered with Cannes Docs, the nonfiction-focused section of the Marché du film, on a panel titled “The Voice of Documentary.” Moderated by FC Editor Devika Girish, the panel convened three practitioners of radical nonfiction—Eduardo Williams (The Human Surge 3), Brett Story (Union), and Zoya Laktionova (Ashes Settling in Layers on the Surface)—to unpack the ethical and practical ways in which documentaries use sound, voice, and audio to speak to us and shape us as listeners. 528861

Join film critics Tim Grierson, Justin Chang, and Alison Willmore as they wrap up Cannes 2025 with insights from the festival's highlights. They delve into Bi Gan's 'Resurrection', analyzing its unique storytelling and emotional resonance. Kelly Reichardt's 'The Mastermind' sparks discussion on art and crime, while Saeed Roustayi's 'Woman and Child' captivates with its poignant exploration of love and justice. The trio also reflects on Wes Anderson's evolving themes and the Dardenne brothers' complex portrayal of motherhood, ensuring a vibrant dialogue brimming with cinematic passion.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our fifth episode from the French Riviera, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish is joined by critics Abby Sun, Beatrice Loayza, and Giovanni Marchini Camia to discuss some late-festival premieres, including Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Carla Simón's Romería, Oliver Hermanus’s The History of Sound and Nadav Lapid’s Yes. Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 is in full swing—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year’s festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our seventh episode from the film world's grandest event, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish is joined by critics Kong Rithdee (back by popular demand!) and Inney Prakash to debate two recent premieres from legendary auteurs: Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident (2:33) and Lav Diaz's Magellan (14:12). Next, the group discusses one of the highlights of this year's Cannes Classics section, T’ang Shu Shuen's 1968 film The Arch (23:14), before turning to Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's A Useful Ghost (29:09), which just won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics' Week. Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition. Note: Around 18:00, we experienced some equipment problems that resulted in slight glitches on the audio track. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year’s festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our sixth episode from the French Riviera, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish is joined by critics and FC stalwarts Miriam Bale, Robert Daniels, and Jessica Kiang to discuss their recent viewing at the fest, including Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha (23:09), Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father's Shadow, and Hlynur Pálmason’s The Love That Remains (49:25). Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our fifth episode from the French Riviera, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish is joined by critic Kong Rithdee and scholar Neta Alexander to discuss some of the most highly anticipated premieres to screen to date, including Christian Petzold's Mirrors No. 3 (2:30), Sebastián Lelio's The Wave (16:50), and Kleber Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent (27:14). Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our fourth episode from the sunny shores of southern France, Film Comment contributor Mark Asch and critics Kong Rithdee, and Isabel Stevens join Editor Devika Girish to discuss some of the festival's buzziest titles, including Kristen Stewart's The Chronology of Water (3:35), Lynne Ramsey’s Die My Love (12:00), Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague (29:22), and Harris Dickinson’s Urchin (40:35). Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our third episode from the sunny shores of southern France, Film Comment contributors Mark Asch and Beatrice Loayza join Editor Devika Girish to unpack two of the most go-for-broke selections to screen so far—Oliver Laxe's Sirât (2:25) and Ari Aster's Eddington (21:20)—before turning to the more modest charms of Hafsia Herzi's The Little Sister (41:20). Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 has arrived—and you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. For our second Podcast from the French Riviera, Isabel Stevens and Thomas Flew from Sight and Sound sit down with Film Comment Editor Devika Girish to discuss Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the purported final installment of the long-running action series. To set things up, Isabel talks about her recent career-spanning interview with Tom Cruise, the cover story of the latest issue of Sight and Sound, before the group leans into the high-octane pyrotechnics of the film. Next, they turn to two other hotly anticipated premieres: Two Prosecutors (19:55), from Ukrainian auteur Sergei Loznitsa, and Left-Handed Girl (32:20), directed by longtime Sean Baker–collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou. Subscribe today to the Film Comment Letter for a steady stream of Cannes coverage, providing everything you need to know about the 2025 edition.

Cannes 2025 has at last arrived—and while news of standing ovations and walkouts, throwaway raves and pans, spit takes and hot takes flood your feed, you can count on our on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors to cut through the noise with thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and Podcasts. This year's festival is packed with exciting premieres, including new films from Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Spike Lee, Bi Gan, Julia Ducournau, Wes Anderson, and many more. To kick off our patented daily Cannes Podcasts, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish gathered FC Podcast veterans Jonathan Romney and Guy Lodge to discuss the first day's offerings. Jonathan begins by describing the Opening Night selection, Amélie Bonnin's Leave One Day (7:00), before the group debates other early festival premieres like Robin Campillo's Enzo (11:20) and Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling (22:17).