The Film Comment Podcast

Food is versatile on film. Consider the ways it’s used in Tampopo, Daisies, Babette’s Feast, and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover. This week’s episode of The Film Comment Podcast contends with how its significance varies with each story—both in the film and for the viewer. Each FC contributor—Michael Koresky, Editorial Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center; Aliza Ma, Head Programmer at Metrograph; and Mayukh Sen, Staff Writer at Vice’s Munchies—talks about one film that reminds them of cooking while growing up, and another that simply makes them hungry. A meal could evoke the power dynamics of desire, the familial elements of grief, or even a Marxist critique of capitalism… all while looking deee-licious.

It’s Sundance, day seven! FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Amy Taubin, FC contributing editor and Sundance veteran, to discuss the evolution of the festival over the years and, of course, what they’ve seen. Taubin touches on the problematic nature of Jennifer Fox’s The Tale, argues for the intelligence of Craig Michael Macneill’s Lizzie, and praises Crystal Moselle’s skater-girl-driven Skate Kitchen. Other films covered include Robert Greene’s hybrid reenactment drama Bisbee ’17, Reed Morano’s postapocalyptic I Think We’re Alone Now, Claire McCarthy’s Shakespeare-expansion Ophelia, Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s RBG (about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Nathaniel Kahn’s art world doc The Price of Everything. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

Steve James returns to Sundance this week to present the first half of his ten-part miniseries America to Me, set to premiere in full this fall. James tells the story of Oak Park and River Forest High School, a well-funded, diverse public school in suburban Chicago, through the experiences of several of its students. By immersing viewers in the lives of his subjects, who encompass a range of personality types and grade levels, James vies for a comprehensive portrait of the school’s ecosystem, with particular attention given to its disparities across racial and academic backgrounds. In this episode of The Film Comment Podcast, James sits down with Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at the Museum of the Moving Image, to talk about the production process and his own experiences living in the community in which it’s set.

We’re still going strong as we continue into our second week! FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image are joined by special guest April Wolfe for a rousing discussion of Sam Green’s A Thousand Thoughts, documentarian-turned-narrative-filmmaker Jennifer Fox’s candid The Tale, Desiree Akhavan’s adaptation of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, and Panos Cosmatos’s Mandy. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

In this Film Comment Podcast transmission from Park City, Sundance regular Sebastián Silva discusses his latest film, Tyrel, which had its world premiere on Saturday. Shot in anamorphic handheld by the DP of Post Tenebras Lux and The Florida Project, Alexis Zabe, the film follows Tyler (Jason Mitchell) as he accompanies his friend Johnny (Charlie Abbott) to a weekend birthday retreat in upstate New York. There, Tyler finds himself the only black person among a pack of heavily drinking white bros, with Caleb Landry Jones and Michael Cera among them. Silva chats with FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold about leaving the story open enough to allow for ambiguity, liberal white guilt, and certain nuances that might jump out at American audiences. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

As the first weekend of Sundance comes to an end, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, discuss the white privilege and bacchanalia of Sebastián Silva’s disorienting Tyrel, Ethan Hawke’s biopic of heavy-drinking country singer/songwriter Blaze Foley, Gustav Möller’s gimmicky debut thriller The Guilty, and the joyousness and charm of Sandi Tan’s first-person Singapore-set documentary Shirkers. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

It’s day four and we’re still going strong! In this episode, Nicolas Rapold, FC Editor-in-Chief and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, discuss the social media hell of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Craig William Macneill’s ascetic biopic of Lizzie Borden, the vampirism of Sundance, and the economic unhappiness of Paul Dano’s Wildlife. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

It’s Sundance, day three! On this (snowier) edition of our daily Sundance 2017 podcast, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, discuss three more films—Gus Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, RaMell Ross’s Hale County This Morning, This Evening, and Stephen Laing’s Crime + Punishment—with a word or two for Reinaldo Marcus Green’s New York triptych Monsters and Men. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

It’s Sundance, day two! On this edition of our daily Sundance 2017 podcast, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, discuss three new films—Tamara Jenkins’s Private Life, Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Our New President, and Elan and Jonathan Bogarin’s 306 Hollywood—as well as the weather and the experience of moviegoing at this unique festival. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

Before the madness begins, Film Comment kicks things off with a glimpse of what to expect from the hectic experience that is the Sundance Film Festival—how it sets the tone for the coming year and what it means to cinema lovers. Join Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold and Eric Hynes, FC contributor and Curator of Film at Museum of the Moving Image, every day during the festival at noon. They will discuss what they’ve seen, what they hope to see, and everything in between. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels