The Cinematologists Podcast

The Films of Alice Diop

Neil and Dario dedicate an episode to discussing the work of the brilliant French filmmaker Alice Diop, using the release of her debut fiction feature Saint Omer as a jumping off point into her incredible body of work.
Their conversation takes in some of her documentary work, On Call (2016), Towards Tenderness (2016) and We (2021), all of which, along with Saint Omer, are available to stream on MUBI in the UK currently.
The conversation covers a variety of topics but all respond to Diop's themes, preoccupations and formal dexterity, with Neil and Dario struggling to find the language for a filmmaker whose work is so concerned with the possibilities, limitations and power of both cinematic and spoken language.
You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
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Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing
 

Long Way Back(w/Brett and Simon Harvey)

Brett (writer/director/editor) and Simon (producer) Harvey, are stalwarts of contemporary Cornish cinema and 2022 saw the release of their third feature film Long Way Back, which has just hit streaming platforms. 
Supported by Falmouth University's Sound/Image Cinema Lab, which has also supported the work of Mark Jenkin and for which Neil is the research and strategy lead, Long Way Back marks a departure in style and ambition for the filmmaking brothers and their company o-region.
Neil talks to them about their process and influences, the role of music in both those aspects, the Cornish film community and the challenges of the UK indie film landscape. From there, Neil and Dario discuss regional UK filmmaking, the role of film festivals, independent ambition and london-centricism as both a concept and reality. 
Elsewhere, Neil recommends new Chilean cinema release The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future, directed by Francisca Alegria and featuring a favourite actor of the hosts, Pablo Larrain regular Alfredo Castro, which prompts a chat about eco-sophical cinema.
You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing

T.L.C (Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led/Trans-Loved Cinema) w/ So Mayer and Lillian Crawford

This is a very special episode where we were invited, by friend of the podcast So Mayer to discuss a new film screening series and project. In 2022 and 2023, a series of trans-focused film events took place across the UK as part of Inclusive Cinema’s T.L.C (aka Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led/Trans-Loved Cinema) project. 
Integrated into indie cinema and festival programmes, films were screened with Q&As and panels on diverse topics related to trans visibility in cinema, thanks to support from the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) awarding National Lottery funding. These events were recorded live and have been made into a podcast series.
Alongside these podcasts, there is a guide to Good Practice Examples for Tricky Questions also on the project's website, linked to above. These questions and answers were created alongside, and refer to, the three T.L.C. podcasts and discussions around screenings.
For this special episode of the podcast, Dario (he/him) spoke to So (they/them), along with Film Critic and podcaster Lillian Crawford (she/her), who introduced the first film of the series - screened at the Lexi Cinema - the extraordinary Japanese film Funeral Parade of Roses, in July 2022. 
You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing

Berlinale Dispatches Trailer

Just a quick trailer for our Berlinale Dispatches minisodes which you can listen to Dario's daily missives from the festival, over at our Patreon feed: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists.
 

Husband (w/Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum)

In this episode, Neil talks with husband and wife filmmaking team Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum about their new work Husband, a follow-up to 2016's meta-documentary-autofiction-comedy The New Man. Josh and Devorah are co-directors and appear in the film as versions of themselves navigating marriage, parenthood, work and a New York tour for Devorah's latest book.
The conversation covers their unique approach to marriage and moviemaking, comedy, collaboration and feelings. It's a fascinating discussion about a polarising piece of cinema.
Polarising, because as the discussion around the interview highlights, Neil and Dario had very different responses to the film and in an in-depth chat, grapple with those responses and what it says about them as viewers and people.
Husband is In UK cinemas now and on Curzon Home Cinema from 10 February"
https://homecinema.curzon.com/film/husband/
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You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing

Akira Kurosawa at the BFI (w/ Asif Kapadia and Ian Hayden Smith)

For this episode, Neil and Dario dive back into the work of master Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa having last talked about his cinema in the earliest days of the podcast when they screened Yojimbo for an audience in Falmouth.
The occasion for this revisit is a new, extensive retrospective of his work hosted at the BFI Southbank (and some regional partner cinemas) and on their BFI Player platform. The season is curated by filmmaker Asif Kapadia and writer Ian Hayden Smith, who Dario talked to as the two-month long season got underway.
Their discussion covers the curation approach, the influence of Kurosawa on them and the wider film community more broadly, and why he remains a key figure of focus in global film history.
Elsewhere, Neil and Dario look at some of Kurosawa's post-War films set in contemporary Japan, with a deeper focus on I Live In Fear (1955) and High and Low (1963). 
With thanks to Sarah Bemand at the BFI for the invitation to cover this season, setting up the interview with Asif and Ian and providing access to the BFI Player to view titles.
For more on the ongoing season visit the BFI website here. 
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You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing

Enys Men (w/ Dir. Mark Jenkin)

For our first episode of 2023, Dario speaks to a great friend of the podcast Mark Jenkin about his new Cornish "folk horror", Enys Men. Starring Mary Woodvine as a volunteer isolated on a Cornish island seemingly with the task of observing and recording the local wildlife. This sets the stage for a disquieting, time-bending, psycho-ecological fable, forged through Jenkin's singular audio-visual sensibility. 
In a wide-ranging conversation, Mark goes deep into the artistic process underpinning the film, thinks through questions the work throws up about loneliness, isolation, time and memory. The notion of genre is another topic of discussion, with the renaissance in cinematic folk horror. But Dario forward his thesis that Enys Men is a "last woman on Earth" sci-fi.      
It's also great have Neil returning to the show after his hiatus. He reviews another potential entry to the international folk horror canon Yanuari (January). From Bulgarian director Andrey Paounov and co-written by former Cinematologists guest Alex Barrett.
Shownotes
ENYS MEN is in cinemas now. 
The Cinematic DNA of ENYS MEN season [curated by director Mark Jenkin] runs at BFI Southbank until 31 January with selected films and Jenkin’s shorts collection available on BFI Player now.
ENYS MEN will be released on Blu-ray/DVD and BFI Player on 1 May. The ENYS MEN Original Score by Mark Jenkin is out now digitally via Invada Records and released on vinyl on 24 February.
Documentary mention by Mark and Neil on Folk Horror is Woodlands Dark, Days Bewitched
You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing

2022 Review (w/critic Clarisse Loughrey)

We come to the end of another cinematic year, and for our look back over 2022 Dario is joined by The Independent's film critic  Clarisse Loughrey. As usual, the episode is contextualised with a meander through some of the big themes and news stories of the year in film. This is followed  by a countdown of both Dario and Clarisse's top five films of the year. 
Both Dario and Neil want to thank our audience for their continued support throughout the year, we hope you have enjoyed the season and continue to be a listener into 2023. Dario will be publishing the January newsletter at the end of the week which will double up as something of a New Year reflection. 
All the best to you all for 2023 - Dario and Neil.
Shownotes
Clarisse Loughrey on Twitter. 
Clarisse's full films of the year list, published in The Independent.
You can listen to The Cinematologists for free, wherever you listen to podcasts: click here to follow.
We also produce an extensive monthly newsletter and bonus/extended content that is available on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cinematologists. You can become a member for only £2.
We really appreciate any reviews you might write (please send us what you have written and we'll mention it) and sharing on Social Media is the lifeblood of the podcast so please do that if you enjoy the show.
_____
Music Credits:
‘Theme from The Cinematologists’
Written and produced by Gwenno Saunders. Mixed by Rhys Edwards. Drums, bass & guitar by Rhys Edwards. All synths by Gwenno Saunders. Published by Downtown Music Publishing