Earlier this month, Film Comment hosted the author Malcolm Harris for a special event celebrating the launch of his latest book, What’s Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis—an invigorating analysis of climate change and the collective solutions required to rescue humanity from it. In addition to being a trenchant public intellectual, Harris is also a dedicated cinephile who often uses movies to make sense of politics and history—something we explored on a 2023 Podcast focused on his previous book, Palo Alto: The History of California, Capitalism, and the World.  One film Harris discusses in detail in his latest book is Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s GriGris. It’s a sensuous, suspenseful thriller about a disabled dancer in Chad who takes up petrol smuggling in order to pay for his stepfather’s medical expenses. As Harris describes in his book, it’s also an incredibly intelligent movie about the life-and-death stakes of the petrochemical industry, especially in the Global South. To dig deeper into Harris’s unique attraction to the film, Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute invited him to present a screening of GriGris, followed by a panel discussion with Harris and Ugandan scholar Anselm Kizza-Besigye. The group dug into movie’s alluring classical structure and its explosive conclusion, cinematic portrayals of the climate crisis, and much more.

One of our favorite movies of 2025 so far is Sarah Friedland's debut feature Familiar Touch, which opens in theaters in New York on Friday, June 20. The film follows an octogenarian with dementia, played by Kathleen Chalfant, as she settles into her new life in a nursing home. It’s a delicate, touching, and surprising work that evades clichéd depictions of elderly people—thanks in part to the collaborative process through which it was made. The film was shot in a real care facility in Pasadena, with residents participating in the production process and appearing in the film.  Chalfant, a stalwart of the New York stage, anchors the film with a towering performance. On today’s episode, Film Comment invited Molly Haskell, herself a stalwart of American film criticism, to interview Chalfant, after learning she was particularly impressed by Chalfant’s work in the film. Their fascinating conversation touches upon depictions of aging onscreen, Chalfant's preparation for the role, how the film resists sentimentality, and more.

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

Cannes 2025 is wrapping up this weekend—and our intrepid on-the-Croisette crew of Film Comment contributors has been high-tailing it from screening to screening, cutting through the noise with a series of thoughtful dispatches, interviews, and podcasts. For our ninth episode from the sunny shores of southern France, all-star critics Justin Chang, Tim Grierson, and Allison Willmore join Editor Devika Girish for our final on-the-ground panel conversation from this year’s edition. The four dig into two of the most anticipated films from the festival’s later days, including Bi Gan’s Resurrection (4:30) and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind (26:10), before touching on some heretofore undiscussed competition selections: Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme (45:00), Saeed Roustayi’s Woman and Child (46:25), the Dardenne Brothers’s Young Mothers (50:40), and Mario Martone’s Fuori (1:02:05). 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 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).

Legendary American scholar and critic Tom Gunning has changed the way we think about film history and the future of the medium, profoundly influencing generations of academics, artists, and cinephiles. On Sunday, April 27, Devika Girish and Clinton Krute hosted a live conversation with Gunning and curator David Schwartz at the Museum of the Moving Image, following a screening of Hal Hartley’s Flirt (1995), an experimental narrative of love and loss set in three cities—New York, Berlin, and Tokyo. The event was part of a multiday series of screenings and discussions organized by Schwartz, taking place at venues including MoMI, Anthology Film Archives, and Light Industry. This special weekend marked the publication of a new collection of Gunning’s writing, entitled The Attractions of the Moving Image: Essays on History, Theory, and the Avant-Garde. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, from Gunning’s seminal essay “The Cinema of Attractions” (1986) to his teacher-student relationship with Hartley to some contemporary films that he’s (perhaps surprisingly) enjoyed.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a singularly ambitious horror film set in 1930s Mississippi, is currently setting theaters ablaze (in an array of formats and aspect ratios to boot). The film stars Coogler mainstay Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as a pair of badass twins returning to their rural hometown of Clarksdale to build a blues joint—with performers whose talents are powerful enough to summon some unwanted spirits.  To talk about this fascinating film—which weaves together genres and tones to startling, if at times overwhelming, effect—Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish invited Podcast veteran Robert Daniels (Rogerebert.com) and FC’s very own Michael Blair into their humble juke-joint. After sinking their fangs into Sinners, the group touches on a few other new theatrical releases they’re excited about, including Steven Soderbergh’s stylish spy thriller Black Bag (42:26) and Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet (52:22), a refreshing update on Ang Lee’s 1993 classic.

A new film by David Cronenberg is always a major event for all of us at Film Comment, especially after his 2022 opus Crimes of the Future was voted the Best Film of the Year by our contributors. So with Cronenberg’s latest, The Shrouds, opening in cinemas this weekend, we invited this singular auteur to talk about his strange and thrilling new movie.  Like much of Cronenberg’s work, The Shrouds is obsessed with sex and death, body and technology. But it’s also funnier and more personal than almost anything the Canadian filmmaker has made before. Written in the wake of his wife Carolyn Cronenberg’s death, the film follows a grieving entrepreneur named Karsh (Vincent Cassell), who has invented software that allows people to monitor the decaying bodies of their deceased loved ones. When some of Karsh’s high-tech graves are vandalized, a complicated mystery arises, embroiling a number of eccentric characters—including the lookalike sister of Karsh’s dead wife, played by Diane Kruger, and her ex-husband, a software developer played by Guy Pearce. As questions and conspiracies proliferate in the film, answers become more and more elusive. In the process, The Shrouds emerges as an extremely intelligent and moving film about our desperation for explanations in the face of the unknowable. For today’s episode, Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute chat with Cronenberg about making art to process loss, the eroticism of conspiracy theories, and why The Shrouds is very much a Toronto film.

Spring is finally in the air, and, for New York City cinephiles, that means it’s time for another edition of New Directors/New Films, the annual showcase for standout works by emerging filmmakers co-hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. The festival is always a reliable sign of trends to come and talents to look out for—past editions have featured early films by Spike Lee, Christopher Nolan, and Kelly Reichardt, among others. This year’s iteration opens tonight and runs through April 13. Over the past few years, Film Comment has established our own annual tradition of previewing the best movies in the ND/NF lineup with some of our favorite critics. This time around, FC Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute invited Mark Asch and Natalia Keogan for a rundown of some of the gems in the 2025 edition, including Opening Night selection Familiar Touch (3:45); Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (18:55); Lost Chapters (28:41); Invention (37:06); Drowning Dry (45:45); Holy Electricity (53:52); and more.

Today’s episode marks another entry in our New Releases series, where we dig into the latest titles opening in theaters and offer recommendations on what’s worth seeking out and what’s better left skipped. With so many worthy films to choose from lately, Film Comment’s Devika Girish and Clinton Krute invited critic Tim Grierson (Los Angeles Times, Screendaily, and elsewhere) to help us whittle down the selection. Tim starts things off with a brief report from the South by Southwest festival in Austin, which he’s currently attending. The trio then digs into some of the buzziest titles out right now—including Mark Anthony Green’s Opus (7:38) and Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 (19:00)—before showing some love for a couple smaller, but still unmissable movies: Alain Guiradie’s Misericordia (41:30) and Carson Lund’s Eephus (51:46).

The Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 2, bringing a strange and wonderful year in cinema—and an awards race filled with surprises and scandals—to an end. Will Emilia Perez win prizes despite the controversy surrounding its lead actress? Will Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan beat Adrien Brody as a brutalist architect in the Best Actor category? Will Oscar voters penalize films for using too much AI? We don’t have all the answers to these pressing questions but, as usual, we do have a lot of opinions and (probably inaccurate) predictions. To sound those out, Film Comment editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute joined Los Angeles Review of Books editors Eric Newman and Paul Thompson on their Radio Hour program to hotly debate the relative merits of Anora, Nickel Boys, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, and other films vying for a statuette or two on Sunday.

On January 31, Film at Lincoln Center opened a landmark new retrospective titled Frederick Wiseman: An American Institution. The series showcases new 4K restorations of over thirty of the filmmaker’s works, which together form a monumental survey of modern American life—with a frequent focus on the intersections of individuals and institutions. Wiseman just turned 95 on New Year’s Day, and the FLC series comes on the heels of similar retrospectives in Chicago, Portland, Maine, and Vancouver—with more planned for Paris, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Boston, and beyond. How does one even begin to consider a body of work so sprawling, so rigorous, and so significant? For today’s episode, Film Comment hosted a “Wiseman Potluck,” where each guest was tasked with bringing one film that especially resonates with them to the discussion. Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish were joined by Andrew Katzenstein, the author of a terrific new essay on Wiseman for the New York Review of Books; Genevieve Yue, who interviewed the legendary filmmaker for the Film Comment Letter in 2022; and FC‘s very own Michael Blair. The group covered the films Central Park (1990), At Berkeley (2013), Basic Training (1971), Aspen (1991), Blind (1986), and more, and reflected on Wiseman’s politics of observation and striking eye for beauty. The Mains: Central Park (3:30) At Berkeley (17:30) Law and Order + Basic Training (23:10) Aspen (35:20) Blind (47:31) Some Desserts: The Store (1983) Un Couple (2022) Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros (2023)

When it comes to love and desire, the movies have always had a powerful sway: as a mirror, as a site of fantasy, and as a perfect backdrop for date night. For Valentine’s Day this year, Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish invited author Haley Mlotek and filmmaker Matthew Rankin, two highly trained experts in the parallel worlds of cinema and romance, onto the Podcast for a love-centric edition of You’re Projecting, our advice column for cinephiles.  We call them experts for good reason: Haley’s new book No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce brilliantly captures the highs and lows of falling in and out of love, and she’s just programmed the upcoming series The Divorced Women’s Film Festival at Metrograph. Matthew’s surreal new movie, Universal Language, is all about yearning, connection, and the many forms that love can take. The group weighs in on queries, pleas, and confessions submitted by our readers and listeners, lovelorn and lovestruck alike.