Orson Welles stands as a visionary filmmaker, a notorious showman, and an enigmatic storyteller who blurred the lines between fact and fiction. In this episode, Tom and Elliot dive deep into the life and legend of one of America's most celebrated yet elusive filmmakers, exploring the enduring allure of his work. As we celebrate the re-releases of The Third Man and F for Fake here at LAB111, we unravel the layers of myth Welles wove around himself—always performing, always crafting his...

After his 1980s collaboration with legendary filmmaker Michael Powell on a documentary chronicling Powell’s career, director David Hinton knew the story was only half told. Now, Hinton returns with the complete portrait of The Archers, Britain’s visionary filmmaking duo, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. In this episode, Hinton sits down with host Elliot to reveal why only Martin Scorsese could narrate the intertwined lives of these cinematic icons, the enduring magic of Powell &...

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the acclaimed stop-motion epic Coraline, Laura Gommans had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Henry Selick about his illustrious career and lifelong love for cinema. From scary tales at Aunt Lib's house to being terrified by the cyclops in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Henry reveals the origins of his eerie yet tender storytelling style. His obsession with stop-motion animation has not only pushed the boundaries of filmmaking but also reimagined what...

From screwball comedies to the golden age of 90s and early 00s romcoms, our love for romance remains strong. In this episode, entertainment journalist Laura Gommans joins us to discuss our favorite romantic comedies and what makes them so special. What appears to be a straightforward genre leads us to question whether the familiar clichés define a romcom or if there's more to it. As our values of love and romance have evolved, it seems the essence of romcoms has stagnated. Could the decline...

Lukas Moodysson shares with Hugo his experiences of making F*****g Åmål, how a story close to his heart has taken on a life of its own and evolved into a queer classic. Reflecting on his journey as a filmmaker, the Swedish director discusses his career and the recurring themes at the core of his films: rebellion, loneliness, sincerity, and humor. Get your tickets for F*****g Åmål @ LAB111.

For a country known for wholeheartedly consuming cinema from abroad, the Netherlands has never been great at celebrating their own Dutch filmmakers and their films. With the re-release of George Sluizer's Spoorloos, one of the greatest Dutch films ever made, we explore what holds us back from recognizing the great directors of our small nation. Could the prevalence of lousy vacation romcoms in our cinemas indicate a sense of cultural insecurity? And how are the next wave of Dutch filmmakers...

Collectively known as The Ross Brothers, Bill and Turner Ross are utterly unique in their approach to filmmaking. In a conversation with our host Elliot Bloom, these American directors discuss how film can serve as a vehicle for social experiments, aiming to uncover deeper truths about ourselves and society. Their latest film, "Gasoline Rainbow," offers a bold exploration by giving five Gen-Z teenagers the freedom to be entirely themselves on a classic American road trip. But what did The...

A film’s success often rests on the shoulders of its most bankable stars. But have stars once born to seduce the silver screen become influencers more than actors? Joined by actor Mike Gomez, we try get to the bottom of what exactly makes us fall in love with an actor. Among the giants whose shoulders many actors stand on today is none other than Marlon Brando, cinema’s OG pretty bad boy. The latest episode of Celebrating Cinema talks acting, movie stars and the hearts they steal. Book...

Sean Price Williams, a stalwart in American indie cinematography, has boldly embarked on his directorial debut with The Sweet East. This exhilarating journey, starring the captivating Talia Ryder, serves as a critical love letter to the fractured landscape of America's East Coast. In a candid discussion for our Celebrating Cinema podcast , both Sean and Talia share, with our host Sophie, their collaborative experience on this wild road trip. Find out how Sean's eclectic cinematic influences...

Liberated from the arthouse cliches of cinema, Bertrand Bonello is a rare kind of director. Our host Hugo Emmerzael spoke with Bertrand about his daring approach to filmmaking, and why his films focus on translating our collective social anxieties. Find out how influences from Lynch to Jarmusch all unconsciously seep into this French director’s work, as well as what it's like working with Lea Seydoux and her unique acting approach for his latest film The Beast. Book tickets for The...

Baloji is a prolific francophone rapper, known for his visually striking and poetic style. So his turn to filmmaking only seemed like a natural evolution of his talents. Speaking with the Belgian-Congolese director, Elliot discusses Baloji's feature debut Augure, unpacking this incantatory drama about identity and grief. Inspired by the weight of his own name, which took on the loaded meaning of “evil sorcerer” in colonial times, Baloji explains the clashes of culture, mixing Western &...

Do AI portrayals in film predict a future of robotic overlords or simply offer a chance to innovate cinema? Artificial Intelligence in cinema goes way back. Spanning from Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis and robot Maria, to the iconic Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey, our tech obsession runs deep in film. But why is it all so dystopian? What now seems to be a serious technological shift, we discuss how A.I. could impact cinema and what film depictions of sentient machines might tell us of what's...

Amidst the abundance of parodies, memes, and impersonations, there exists an undeniable uniqueness to the American actor Nicolas Cage. It’s easy to dismiss him as an over-the-top actor, yet beneath the surface lies a talent that positions him among the greatest actors of our time. With an unconventional, almost avant-garde approach to acting that defies the conventions of naturalism prevalent in most mainstream cinema, Cage's body of work invites a deeper exploration. On this episode of...

If you don’t know already, Molly Manning Walker’s feature debut How To Have Sex (2023) has taken the world by storm. This coming-of-age drama follows Tara (a mesmerizing performance by Mia Mckenna-Bruce) and her two best friends on a rites-of-passage holiday in Malia that slowly derails. Speaking with host Elliot, Molly shares how our stereotypical view of Gen-Z is limiting discussions on consent and why cinema can help reframe these conversations, especially when we watch films...

After a steamy winter featuring Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, the internet was sent into a frenzy over - a fairly mediocre - erotic murder drama, that had copious amounts of sex. Naturally, Laura Gommans, friend of the podcast, was left questioning what happened to all the sex scenes in cinema today. The 90s marked an era of iconic scenes of intimacy in films like Wild Things, Cruel Intentions, Eyes Wide Shut, Indecent Proposal, Risky Business, Basic Instinct, it was a horny time. In contrast,...

"Obviously Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl." (Cecilia, Virgin Suicides) Affectionately known as cinema's favorite 'Nepo Baby', Sofia Coppola has come a long way from her initial appearance in her father's iconic trilogy, The Godfather. Now standing as a unique auteur truly shaping the narrative of the 'girl era.' With pitch-perfect precision, Coppola translates the fabric of girlhood, revealing the heartaches and struggles of her characters as they journey into adulthood. These...

“I would like to make a film to tell children "it's good to be alive".”― Hayao Miyazaki It's hard to find someone who doesn't love Hayao Miyazaki's films. Regardless of age, there is something profound to be gained from watching any of this Japanese animator's masterpieces. In this celebration of Miyazaki and the wonders he has created, we delve deep into the nostalgic yet fictional universe of Studio Ghibli. For many of us, our earliest film memories are of the Totoro, Kiki the Witch,...

“Hope is political. If you have hope then you have confidence you can change things” After 60 years of filmmaking, British filmmaker and icon Ken Loach offers what may well be his most urgent message yet, calling for solidarity and the power that hope can instil in his latest film The Old Oak (2023). Speaking with our host Elliot, Ken reveals how he never runs out of stories to tell when it comes to championing the everyday people. He says, these are the very stories and people that can...

Movies have always been a way to understand the world around us, and so, confronted with the brutal horrors of both Hamas’s attacks on October 7th and Israel’s disproportionate slaughtering of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, we question if cinema can try to make sense of such atrocities. For this episode of Celebrating Cinema, we focus on Gillo Pontecorvo’s seminal classic The Battle of Algiers, a brutally candid exposé of the French colonial mindset, which recounts a similar...

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here. Bram Ruiter is a filmmaker of a different kind. He has a unique ability to extract the poetry of the mundane, experimenting as much as he can within the realms of the moving-image. Not tied to traditional narrative structures, Bram’s obsessed with the inner-mechanics of filmmaking, taking film elements apart and seeing how they...

For this edition of Future Frames, you can hear from our rising filmmakers who we’ll be screening at Volk’s Hotel Sunday Shorts on 10th Dec. You can buy tickets here. Rafik Opti is a filmmaker fascinated by playing with reality & the beauty they can find with their camera out on the streets. Candidly chatting with friend & host Kiriko, Rafik shares how the influences of joyous films like Step Up and She’s The Man as well as music videos like Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation gave them...

Passages (2023) by Ira Sachs sets the tone for the cold change in seasons  - a people’s favourite that has got us all up in our feels. In conversation with Sophie, writer-director Ira Sachs candidly shares how his personal experiences of living in Paris & the mesmerising Franz Rogowski helped shape such a poignant film. From obsessively watching 3 films a day to falling in love with the works of Japanese icon Yasujirō Ozu - Ira reveals the ecstasy & risk in filmmaking.  If you...

"What's the first rule of Fight Club?" -- "We do not talk about Mank." Refusing to be called an auteur, David Fincher has certainly crafted his own style to become the master of the psychological thriller. But what exactly makes a Fincher classic? From his deftly choreographed camera movements, to his relentless number of takes and a fixation of grim colour schemes - we dive deep into world of the American director. Much like his protagonists, Fincher is an obsessive perfectionist driven by...

Widely regarded as one of the most influential directors of our time, Martin Scorsese has made some of the most exciting cinema classics of the past 50 years. Moving through Scorsese's filmography, we reflect on how his own existential inquiries on faith, redemption, obsession and cinema itself lie at the heart of his kinetic films. Why does he return time and time again to the same narrative of the self-absorbed, Jesus-complex man come from? A true lover film film, championing cinema’s...