The Film Comment Podcast

For more than two decades, Melissa Anderson has been one of New York City’s most important film critics—and one of Film Comment’s favorite writers. From her start as a freelancer in the 2000s, through her editorships at Time Out, The Village Voice, and most recently 4Columns, she has regaled readers with her peerless wit, her attunement to desire, especially queer desire, and her facility for writing about actors. A new book published by The Film Desk—evocatively titled The Hunger: Film Writing, 2012–2024—offers an invaluable compilation of Melissa’s writing. Film Comment editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish invited Melissa on this week’s episode to talk about her formative experiences of film and film criticism, her development as a writer and editor, and the genesis of this new collection. Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter, our free weekly newsletter featuring podcasts, features, reviews, interviews, streaming picks, news, and more.

On October 30 of last year, we lost one of cinema’s most daring auteurs: the British director Peter Watkins. Starting out in television in the 1960s, Watkins developed an utterly unique and militantly political mode of filmmaking. In works like Culloden (1964), The War Game (1966), Punishment Park (1971), and his magnum opus, La Commune (Paris, 1871) (2000), he cast nonprofessional actors in enactments of political events from the past, present, or a dystopian future, which he then shot in the style of live news reporting on TV. The results are thrilling films that startle with their naturalism and urgency, and provoke thorny questions about authoritarianism—not just of the state, but also of the media. To commemorate this great filmmaker’s legacy, Film Comment editor Devika Girish invited critic J. Hoberman, who has not only admired and written about Watkins’s work, but also took a class with the man himself back in the 1970s. They talk about the trajectory of Watkins’s life and work, what makes his films feel so singular even today, and the contemporary directors that carry forward his legacy.

It’s that time of year again: the Academy Awards are just around the corner. In anticipation of the winners being revealed this Sunday, Devika and Clint teamed up with some colleagues from Tinseltown—the writers and editors of the Los Angeles Review of Books—to scrutinize this year’s nominees. The publication’s Editor-at-Large Eric Newman, Senior Humanities Editor Annie Berke, and Contributor Elizabeth Alsop joined for a special collaboration with their podcast, the LARB Radio Hour. The group debated the relative merits and shortcomings of this year’s Best Picture contenders—from Sinners to The Secret Agent to F1—and also discussed trends, surprises, and snubs.

Set in Nigeria in 1993, Akinola Davies Jr.’s elliptical, atmospheric My Father’s Shadow is a portrait of a country on the cusp of a political crisis. We experience these events through the eyes of the film’s young protagonists, two boys who spend a day in Lagos with their father. They’re thrilled at the prospect of some quality time with their often-absent old man—but they also sense that there’s trouble brewing around them, even if they don’t understand all the details.  Film Comment Editor Devika Girish spoke with Davies, who just won a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut for the film, about the extent to which he drew upon family memories while writing the script with his brother, Wale; how the crew recreated the textures, sounds, and feel of 1990s Nigeria; and why it was important to have a children’s perspective at the heart of this story.

Across his contributions to Film Comment and other publications, and his programming as the Curatorial Director of the Criterion Collection, Ashley Clark has established himself as one of the smartest, sharpest taste-makers in the film scene in New York and beyond—particularly through his championing of underseen films by people of color. So we were very excited by the announcement of his new book, The World of Black Film, which comes out this week. The beautifully designed volume is a historical survey of a hundred significant films made by Black filmmakers or centering Black life. It adopts a rigorously critical and curatorial approach, taking care to define what a “Black cinema” can mean, and assembling a series of titles, accompanied by deft appreciations, that capture its breadth, depth, and diversity.  Film Comment Editor Devika Girish invited Ashley on the Podcast to discuss his methods in researching and shortlisting films, titles that he discovered while writing the book, and what it meant for him to have legendary Black filmmaker Sir John Akomfrah write the book’s introduction.

It's late January, and the intrepid Film Comment crew has been on the ground reporting from an extra special edition of the Sundance Film Festival—the last to take place on the snowy slopes of Park City, Utah, the festival's home since 1981, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. For the past week, we’ve gathered the best critics on the scene to talk about each day’s premieres on the Podcast. For our final Podcast from Sundance 2026, critics Bilge Ebiri and Tim Grierson and programmer Madeline Whittle joined Film Comment Editor Devika Girish to close out the fest, discussing Padraic McKinley's The Weight (2:56), Noah Segan's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (24:26), Dawn Porter's When a Witness Recants (28:46), Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans's Who Killed Alex Odeh? (34:34), Josephine Decker's Chasing Summer (47:20), Walter Thompson-Hernández's If I Go Will They Miss Me? (1:05:46), Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei The Friend's House Is Here (1:10:28), Rafael Manuel's Filipiñana (1:14:05), and more. Catch up on all of our Sundance 2026 coverage at filmcomment.com

It's late January, and the intrepid Film Comment crew is on the ground reporting from an extra special edition of the Sundance Film Festival—the last to take place on the snowy slopes of Park City, Utah, the festival's home since 1981, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. For the next week, we’ll be gathering the best critics on the scene to talk about each day’s premieres on the Podcast. For our fourth Podcast from the fest, critics Robert Daniels, Will Tavlin, and Natalia Winkelman joined Film Comment Editor Devika Girish to discuss William Greaves and David Greaves’s Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2:15), Michał Marczak’s Closure (22:30), Adam Meeks's Union County (31:03), and Kogonada's zi (41:35). Catch up on all of our Sundance 2026 coverage at filmcomment.com

It's late January, and the intrepid Film Comment crew is on the ground reporting from an extra special edition of the Sundance Film Festival—the last to take place on the snowy slopes of Park City, Utah, the festival's home since 1981, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. For the next week, we’ll be gathering the best critics on the scene to talk about each day’s premieres on the Podcast. For our third Podcast from the fest, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish invited critics and FC Podcast veterans Tim Grierson, Robert Daniels, and Monica Castillo to discuss some of this year’s buzziest premieres to date, including Cathy Yan’s art world–satire The Gallerist (3:00), Gregg Araki’s erotic romp I Want Your Sex (20:15), and Olivia Wilde’s couples' night dramedy The Invite (31:45, 42:40). Catch up on all of our Sundance 2026 coverage at filmcomment.com

It's late January, and the intrepid Film Comment crew is on the ground reporting from an extra special edition of the Sundance Film Festival—the last to take place on the snowy slopes of Park City, Utah, the festival's home since 1981, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. For the next week, we’ll be gathering the best critics on the scene to talk about each day’s premieres on the Podcast. For our second Podcast from the fest, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish sat down with programmer Madeline Whittle (Film at Lincoln Center) and critic Will Tavlin (n+1) to discuss Adam and Zack Khalil's Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (1:54), John Wilson’s The History of Concrete (14:05), and Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman's Nuisance Bear (28:11). Catch up on all of our Sundance 2026 coverage at filmcomment.com

It's late January, and the intrepid Film Comment crew is on the ground reporting from an extra special edition of the Sundance Film Festival—the last to take place on the snowy slopes of Park City, Utah, the festival's home since 1981, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. For the next week, we’ll be gathering the best critics on the scene to talk about each day’s premieres on the Podcast. To kick things off, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish invited programmer Madeline Whittle (Film at Lincoln Center) as well as critics Robert Daniels (RogerEbert.com) and Will Tavlin (n+1) to share their responses to the films premiering during the first few days of the fest. The group discusses the tongue-in-cheek Charli XCX mockumentary The Moment (3:30), Casper Kelly's dark comedy Buddy (20:15), and Beth de Araujo’s sophomore feature Josephine (29:50). Stay tuned for more of our Sundance 2026 coverage.

Every January, as we ring in the new year, we take a moment to take a look at some of the major new releases of the holiday season. This year, Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute invited critics Beatrice Loayza and Mark Asch to focus on a select handful of titles that have recently graced the marquees of multiplexes, and which continue to stir up discourse. The group kicks things off with a deep dive into James Cameron’s latest 3D space opera, Avatar: Fire and Ash (4:00), before turning their attention to another epic, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme (33:34)—which both Beatrice and Mark have written great essays on in recent weeks. They also touch on James L. Brooks’s Ella McCay (51:15), which Mark reviewed for Film Comment just last week.

On December 11, 2025, as part our annual winter list extravaganza, Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute were joined by esteemed critics Amy Taubin and Bilge Ebiri for a real-time countdown of the films topping our year-end critics’ poll. The evening featured a lively discussion (and some hearty debate) about the films as they were unveiled—and now it’s available in Podcast form, for your home-listening pleasure. Consider it a holiday gift from us to you, our loyal listeners. Read the full list, plus best undistributed films, individual ballots, and more, here: https://www.filmcomment.com/best-films-of-2025/

This week’s Podcast features an in-depth interview with Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose latest feature, The Secret Agent, is in select theaters now. The film was a highlight of both this year’s Cannes, where Mendonça won the Best Director prize, and this fall’s New York Film Festival. The Secret Agent is set, like many of the director’s films, in his Northeastern Brazilian hometown of Recife, in 1977—“a time of mischief,” as a title card tells us early on. Wagner Moura (Cannes Best Actor winner) plays Marcelo, a man on the run from powerful forces connected to the ruling military dictatorship, seeking refuge and possible safe passage out of the country with a ragtag group of dissidents and political exiles. The Secret Agent is an endlessly inventive, lively, and frightening excavation of the specifics of past and place. And like the filmmaker’s recent work, including the scathing genre hybrid Bacurau (2019, co-directed by Juliano Dornelles) and the autobiographical documentary Pictures of Ghosts (2023), it’s in thrall to the history and possibilities of cinema. Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute spoke to Mendonça about the film, his tendencies to set his stories in familiar locales, his fascination with recording technology and voices out of the past, and how he managed to blend fantasy and humor into this chilling political thriller.

This week, Film Comment Editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute sit down with writer-director Noah Baumbach, whose new feature, Jay Kelly, is in select theaters now. The movie stars George Clooney as an aging Hollywood star reckoning with the choices he’s made on his way to the top. The action unfolds on a trip Jay takes to a tribute to his career in Tuscany, trailed by an entourage of handlers (played by Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and others), and haunted by his missteps as a friend, lover, and parent. Jay Kelly blends Fellini-esque memory theater, a screwball-inspired train journey, and a self-reflexive contemplation on the world of filmmaking to arrive at something universal; as Noah says in our conversation, the theme at the heart of the film is one that has animated many of his works: coming to terms with an irretrievable past. We also talked about his remarkable casting choices, how he and his crew built sets to facilitate the dreamlike flashback sequences without the use of CGI, and much more.

Last week, Devika returned from the Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 27 to November 5 in the Japanese capital. As one of the major festivals in Asia, the event is a great showcase for new and restored films from the region, as well as Japanese specialities like animation. While there, Devika recorded three Podcasts exploring the lineup with a stellar rotation of guests. On our third and final Podcast from the festival, programmer, translator, and producer Aiko Masubuchi shares her thoughts on three Japanese titles. The first, Yama: Attack to Attack, a documentary from 1985, was screened outside of the festival; the latter two, Lost Land and In Their Traces, were highlights of its Nippon Cinema Now section.

Last week, Devika returned from the Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 27 to November 5 in the Japanese capital. As one of the major festivals in Asia, the event is a great showcase for new and restored films from the region, as well as Japanese specialities like animation. While there, Devika recorded three Podcasts exploring the lineup with a stellar rotation of guests. On the second episode from the festival, critics Kambole Campbell and Sasha Han discuss selections from their areas of expertise—respectively, animation and Southeast Asian cinema. Some highlights include Momotaro, Sacred Sailors, a piece of WWII propaganda and the first-ever animated feature made in Japan; Mamoru Oshii’s cult classic Angel’s Egg; and Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s culinary thriller Morte Cucina.

Last week, Devika returned from the Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from October 27 to November 5 in the Japanese capital. As one of the major festivals in Asia, the event is a great showcase for new and restored films from the region, as well as Japanese specialities like animation. While there, Devika recorded three Podcasts exploring the lineup with a stellar rotation of guests. First up, critics Vadim Rizov and Kong Rithdee join to talk about some of the big competition titles, including Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, which ended up winning the Grand Prix, and Rithy Panh’s documentary We Are the Fruits of the Forest; as well as the the long-overdue official Japanese premiere of Paul Schrader’s Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, 40 years after its making.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another has been the talk of the town since its wide release last month—from critics to filmmakers to audiences, the reception has been nothing short of euphoric. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, the film opens in an unspecified present, detailing the activities of a militant group led by a Black revolutionary (played by Teyana Taylor). Years after her disappearance, her partner (Leonardo DiCaprio) and their daughter (newcomer Chase Infiniti) are hunted down by an old enemy, Sean Penn’s Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. The chase takes them across California, with an assortment of other characters becoming embroiled along the way.  The movie is an unabashedly fun, feel-good action flick—one that also calls back to films as disparate as The Searchers, Commando, and Running on Empty. But is it among the greatest of the decade, as some have claimed? Film Comment Editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish invited critics and programmers Miriam Bale and Adam Piron on the Podcast to discuss the film’s successes and failures, how it fits into PTA’s larger body of work, and its engagement with American history and the present. If there’s one thing the four agreed on, it’s that One Battle After Another is indeed a “very rich text.”

As the 63rd New York Film Festival drew to a close last weekend, it was once again time for Film Comment’s Festival Report, our annual live overview of the NYFF that was. FC Editor Clinton Krute was joined by critics Molly Haskell, J. Hoberman, and Beatrice Loayza for a spirited wrap-up analysis of the highlights and lowlights from the NYFF63 lineup. In front of a lively audience, the panel discussed and debated Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25, Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, Lav Diaz’s Magellan, Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Alexandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf, and many other selections.

One of the highlights of this year’s New York Film Festival is the latest feature by the nonfiction master Gianfranco Rosi, known for documentaries like Sacro GRA (2013), Fire at Sea (2016), and Notturno (2020), which paint both lyrical and urgent portraits of places that function as thresholds—between land and water, life and death, heaven and hell. His new cinematic essay, Below the Clouds, brings that approach to the Italian city of Naples. Shot in ethereal black and white, the film explores Naples as an environment both cosmic and prosaic—a city whose skies are suffused with volcanic ash and whose earth is shaken by tremors; and where a glorious and ancient past scaffolds a gritty, melting-pot present.  Below the Clouds premiered in August at the Venice Film Festival, where Film Comment's Devika Girish sat down with the filmmaker for a conversation. The two discussed how Pietro Marcello (director of the NYFF selection Duse) inspired Rosi to make a film in Naples, as well as Rosi’s uniquely embedded and immersive technique, and the state of nonfiction cinema today.