The Awards Watch Podcast

On episode 366 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello break down their highlights from the 2026 New York Film Festival, thoughts on Aaron Sorkin's latest, The Social Reckoning, and discuss their thoughts on the rising and falling contenders for the four major acting categories for this year's Oscars as they hit the final stage of the film festival season. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 1h57m. We will be back two weeks with recap the AFI Film Festival and the 2026 regional film festivals. Till then, let's get into it. Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 176 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, Mahjong (1996). Welcome back to Director Watch! On this Awards Watch podcast, the boys attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema's greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you've got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. In his second modern satire of the mid 1990s, Edward Yang looked inward again at the youth of his homeland, mirroring the violent, aimless nature of young men much like his masterpiece A Brighter Summer Day. Instead of being located in a small city, he sets Mahjong in the heart of a downtown Taipei, where every interaction comes with a dollar and personal price to it that can't be quantified, resulting in a riveting drama about a group of young men, and the women they know, trying to make enough money to escape the world they live in and the fate destined for them if they continue down their dangerous paths. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, how Yang is an observer more than a commenter about his world and the characters that live in it, the power dynamics at play involving the young men in the film and those who are old than them, the outside, western cultured forces at play in the film, as well as the guys pitching some cool business ideas, and a few fun stories from their time at Telluride. You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 2h. The guys will be back later next week to conclude their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his final film, Yi Yi. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let's get into it. Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 365 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate TV Editor Karen Peterson to review the latest film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Digger. You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 1h26m. We will be back next week with a recap of the 64th New York Film Festival and a review of the latest film from Aaron Sorkin, The Social Reckoning. Till then, let's get into it. Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 175 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Confucian Confusion (1994). Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema's greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you've got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. After making one of his grand masterpieces, Yang stripped everything back down and created a contemporary commentary about the generational mobility of the future 20-30 year olds of his country. In exploring the intersecting lives of his characters, Yang humorously dives into how the decision they make now will affect their future, and set them up for either lives of happiness or eternal regret, and in doing this, Yang creates a testament to the time and a look to the future of his country. Ryan and Jay discuss their thoughts on the film, how funny the film is to them, the strongest characters in the film being the female characters and the worst characters being the male ones, and how his familiar structure as a storyteller shines in a modern comedy like this. You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 1h20m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, Mahjong (1996). You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let's get into it. Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 174 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by Awards Watch contributor Trace Sauveur and film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Brighter Summer Day (1991). Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema's greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you've got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. In what felt like a massive build up to his point in his career, Edward Yang come out with a methodical, heartbreaking coming of age story that becomes the longest film ever covered on the podcast. This Taiwanese epic is about a group of young boys that have no sense of direction, lawless and forming violent connections that result in a real life tragedy, a perfect cocktail for the director to cover as his country was shifting from its traditions to something more modern, and sadly more sinister. Ryan, Jay, Trace, and Jesse break down their thoughts on the film, the fall of the films protagonist, the rise of violence and anger from the boys as the film goes on, the punishment their decisions had on their family society, and the show learns a valuable lesson; Jay does not like to be surprised, listen to the episode to hear about this. You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. This podcast runs 1h50m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, A Confucian Confusion. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let's get into it. Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).