The Curzon Film Podcast

Last month at Curzon Soho we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of Whit Stillman's Last Days of Disco with a repertory screening of the film on 35mm with Q&A from Whit himself. While Whit was in town, the following day he joined us for a further Q&A, for his 2016 film Love & Friendship plus stars Tom Bennett (Sir James) and Justin Edwards (Charles Vernon). In this special episode of the Curzon Film Podcast, you're now able to hear that Q&A. Listen for insights on adapting Jane Austen, improvisation, writing a novel whilst trying to make a film and lots more. You can also head to the Curzon Blog where you'll find a short blog entry from Curzon Events Programmer Michael Garrad: www.curzonblog.com Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, a former Jehovah's Witness, 'Apostasy' is a remarkable and authentic debut film that provides rare insight into the complex nature of faith, family, duty and love - and we're lucky enough to have Daniel on the podcast to talk through his assured and compelling first feature. As devout Jehovah's Witnesses, sisters Alex and Luisa and their mother, Ivanna, are united in The Truth. But when Luisa starts to question the advice of the Elders, she makes a life-altering transgression that threatens to expel her from the congregation. Discussing 'Apostasy' this week are Kelly Powell, Sam Howlett and Alasdair Bayman. Follow the team on twitter: @alasdairbayman - Alasdair @CunninghamJH - Jake @KS_Powell - Kelly @SamHowlett_1 - Sam Read emailer Hannah Ryan's review of 'Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again' for Much Ado About Cinema here: https://bit.ly/2LTH4Qt Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Here we go again, with a new episode of The Curzon Film Podcast, this week we're chatting about the much anticipated sequel (and prequel) to smash hit musical adaptation 'Mamma Mia!' Ten years after the wildly successful first film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again picks up the story with Sophie pregnant, and not sure how she’s going to cope. But her mother’s story might give her some pointers... Moving between past and present, we follow Sophie as she tries to come to terms with her situation, and also see how Donna did it all those years ago, falling in love and building a home for her family on their sun-soaked island. Discussing the film this week are Alasdair Bayman, Steph Watts and Jake Cunningham. Follow the team on Twitter: @_stephwatts - Steph @alasdairbayman - Alasdair @CunninghamJH - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a 14 year wait, The Incredibles are finally back on our cinema screens in Pixar’s long awaited sequel and we were lucky enough to chat to the film’s producers Nicole Grindle and John Walker. PLUS in the superhero crossover event of the summer, Dave Corkery - one half of British Podcast Award winning show The Cinemile - joins the Curzon team for this incredible episode. Having hung up their capes, Helen is called on to lead a campaign to bring Supers back, while Bob navigates the day-to-day heroics of "normal" life at home with Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack - whose superpowers are about to be discovered. Their mission is derailed, however, when a new villain emerges with a brilliant and dangerous plot that threatens everything. But the Parrs don't shy away from a challenge, especially with Frozone by their side. Discussing the film this week are Sam Howlett, Steph Watts, Kambole Campbell and Dave Corkery Follow the team on Twitter @_stephwatts - Steph @kambolecampbell - Kambole @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @thisiscorkery - Dave  @thecinemile - The Cinemile Podcast @jakehcunningham - Jake Listen to The Cinemile here: http://www.thecinemile.com/ Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The tempestuous romance that inspired one of Gothic literature’s most influential works is brought to life in 'Mary Shelley'. Starring Elle Fanning as the titular author, 'Mary Shelley' is the directorial follow up to 'Wadjda' from Saudi Arabian director Haifaa al-Mansour, and we were lucky enough to sit down with her to talk about her latest work. With a strong ensemble cast including Douglas Booth, Bel Powley and Maisie Williams, this rousing and exquisite biopic balances sumptuous period detail with a timely feminist message. The film is a vivid tribute to Shelley’s passion, courage and craft – and a reminder of her enduring relevance today. Discussing the film are pod regulars Sam Howlett, Kelly Powell and Steven Ryder and after recently screening Al-Mansour's 'Wadjda' with the Despatch Feminist Moving Image collective, Amy Watts also joins the show. In the spirit of championing young, forward thinking and creative minds, we also reached out to the young women at South Hampstead High School and asked them to share their thoughts on the film, for the first edition of Curzon Blog section, the Young Feminist Film Club: http://www.curzonblog.com/all-posts/2018/7/6/young-feminist-film-club-mary-shelley Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @irma_pep - Steven @amyvioletwatts - Amy @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we decided to do something a bit different to mark the halfway point of the year - discuss our favourites films of the first half of 2018 and preview our most anticipated releases for the next 6 months Celebrate the solstice with Sam, Kelly, Jake and Kambole as they chat about recent favourites You Were Never Really Here, 120 BPM, Phantom Thread, Zama and Hereditary as well as some excited previewing of Disobediance, Incredibles 2, Blackkklansman and more. Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @kambolecampbell - Kambole @CunninghamJH - Jake Email your thoughts to podcast@curzon.com Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Critically acclaimed filmmaker Fatih Akin ('The Edge of Heaven') returns with In the Fade, a gripping, edge-of-your-seat contemporary thriller exploring the lengths one woman would go to seek retribution after a brutal terrorist attack. Inspired by shocking real-life events, the film tells the story of Katja (Diane Kruger), whose life is torn apart when her husband and young son are suddenly killed in a bomb attack. Winner of the Best Actress award at Cannes 2017, the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and featuring a career-defining central performance from Kruger, In the Fade is a timely and all-too-urgent drama about a woman pushed to the edge as she desperately searches for the answers she believes to be out there. To discuss the film this week Sam and Steven are joined by Amy Watts from Dispatch Feminist Moving Image Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @irma_pep - Steven @amyvioletwatts - Amy @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we welcome Ari Aster, the director of ‘Hereditary’ on to the podcast, to talk about ‘this generation’s The Exorcist’ - PLUS Rupert Everett joins us to discuss his directorial debut, ‘The Happy Prince’.  ‘Hereditary’ begins when Ellen, the reclusive grandmother of the Graham family, passes away and her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited.  Discussing the film are Sam Howlett, Steven Ryder, Steph Watts and our latest guest this week is Ollie Charles.  Follow the team: @slwmedia - Steph @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @OllieCharles - Ollie @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we welcome one of the directors of one of the biggest films all time on to our tiny little podcast. Colin Trevorrow directed ‘Jurassic World’ in 2015 and joins us having just written its sequel ‘Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom’, this time passing the directors chair to JA Bayona (‘The Orphanage’, ‘The Impossible’, ‘A Monster Calls’). We talk about taking the series in to new genres, just how important JA’s body of work to date was to that and why he decided to blow up Isla Nublar. Set three years after the destruction of Jurassic World, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) return to the remnants of the park to save the remaining dinosaurs from an active volcano and bring them back to the mainland - but is that really the safest thing to do? Discussing the film are Jake Cunningham, Steph Watts and Ryan Hewitt.  Email your thoughts on ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ to podcast@curzon.com and don't forget to subscribe, review and leave a comment! Follow the team: @slwmedia - Steph @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music by incompetech.com   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we welcome our very first returning guest, the great François Ozon, who has returned to screens with his erotic thriller 'L'amant Double' NOTE: Due to unforeseen circumstance the audio quality in this episode of the Curzon Film Podcast is not to our usual standard. We apologise for the alteration. 'L’Amant Double' is a sleek but gleefully irreverent erotic thriller that sees the prolific French auteur ramping up the sexual tension while keeping his tongue firmly in his cheek. Marine Vacth (Jeune et Jolie) plays Chloé, a young woman who falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul (Dardennes favourite Jérémie Renier). When they decide to move in together, everything seems perfect, until a series of discoveries lead her to suspect that he may be living a double life. As she searches for the truth, Chloé’s investigations plunge her into a dark and bewildering world of smoke, mirrors and doppelgangers – where nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. Discussing the film are Steven Ryder, Kelly Powell and Sam Howlett Follow the team: @SamHowlett_1 @irma_pep - Steven @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music supplied by incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Zama Mia, here we go again with another Curzon Film Podcast. This time we're discussing Lucrecia Martel's modern masterpiece 'Zama'. Joining Jake in the studio is Little White Lies' Social Producer Hannah Woodhead, regular contributor Kelly Powell and Curzon's Programming Manager Ben Lyndon. Zama, an officer of the Spanish Crown born in South America, waits for a letter from the King granting him a transfer from the town in which he is stagnating, to a better place. His situation is delicate. He must ensure that nothing overshadows his transfer. The years go by and the letter from the King never arrives. When Zama notices everything is lost, he joins a party of soldiers that go after a dangerous bandit. Follow the team on Twitter: @goodjobliz - Hannah @bennybenga - Ben @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the last weekend of Cannes, Jake and Damo round up their favourite final watches, including Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Shoplifters' and Matteo Garrone's 'Dogman'. For discussion on the Semaine Award winning 'Diamantino', Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Cold War' and 'Leave No Trace' - Debra Granik's acclaimed follow up to 'Winter's Bone', go back and listen to our previous episodes of Our Man In Cannes. For some in-depth conversation on the latest releases, check out our latest, full-length episodes on the Camera D'or winning 'Jeune Femme', as well as 'McKellen: Playing the Part', featuring an interview with the great thespian himself. Follow the team on Twitter: @damospandley - Damo @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music supplied by incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

First-time filmmaker Léonor Serraille and the dazzling Laetitia Dosch burst onto the scene with 'Jeune Femme', a raucous and playful portrait of a woman in her early 30s in Paris, that arrives in cinemas and on demand this week. Following in the footsteps of 'Frances Ha' and 'Fleabag', it’s a sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious and always relatable nod to the chaos and candour of modern life. Neurotic and manic, bold and magnetic, Paula (Dosch) is a muddle of contradictions. Fresh from an unceremonious dumping by her boyfriend of 10 years, she finds herself wandering the streets of Paris - jobless, homeless and single - with no idea of what life holds for her next. At 31 years old, with little to show for it but a kidnapped cat and a sense of adventure, she sets out to reinvent herself - new job, new friends, new life - and finds that these things never do come easily. Discussing the film this week are Stephanie Watts, Kambole Campbell, Kelly Powell and Sam Howlett Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam @kambolecampbell - Kambole @slwmedia - Steph @CunninghamJH - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music from incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jake and Damo get together again to discuss some of the weekend highlights from La Croisette, including: Lukas Dhont's Un Certain Regard and Camera d'or nominated debut 'Girl', 'Leave No Trace' Debra Granik's follow up to 'Winter's Bone' and 'Diamantino' the giant puppy, football, government conspiracy film you never knew you needed until now. Follow the team on Twitter: @damospandley - Damo @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music supplied by incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The world's greatest film festival is in full swing and our man in Cannes, Head of Programming Damo Spandley, is here to guide us through the programme. Over a few micro-podcast episodes, he'll be revealing his most anticipated films and highlights so far as well (including Asghar Farhadi's 'Everybody Knows' and Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Cold War') trying to explain just what a programmer does. Follow the team on Twitter: @damospandley - Damo @jakehcunningham - Jake Produced and edited by Jake Cunningham Music supplied by incompetech.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.