The Cinematologists Podcast

London Film Festival 2021: Part 2

The second episode in our coverage of the London Film Festival is a bumper one with Dario and Neil discussing a ton of new movies from all over the world. They are joined by regular visitor to the pod Savina Petkova, who Dario talked to at the festival itself as it wound down, who added discussions about new films by Joanna Hogg, Terence Davies and Julia Ducournau to the mix. Neil waxes lyrical about the Japanese masterpiece Drive My Car by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Hit The Road, the debut feature by Panah Panahi. Dario meanwhile loves Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God unapologetically and reserves special, high praise for Joel Coen’s first solo outing, The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Other films discussed are:
Flee (dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
Compartment No. 6 (dir. Juho Kuosmanen)
Benedetta (dir. Paul Verhoeven)
Boiling Point (dir. Philip Barantini)
You can follow Savina on Twitter here where she posts links to all the wonderful pieces she writes across the year.
(Apologies for the constant banging under my audio. 6 years in and still making silly mistakes like that. NF)
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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.
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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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.

London Film Festival 2021: Part 1

The first episode in our coverage of the London Film Festival. Dario and Neil discuss the blended format of the festival and the context by which one comes to watch specific films at certain moments because of festival serendipity. Under the spotlight for this mid-festival check-in are:
The Storms of Jeremy Thomas (Mark Cousins, 2021)
Memory Box (Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, 2021)
Luzzu (Alex Camilleri, 2021)
Azor (Andreas Fontana, 2021)
Leave No Traces (Jan P. Matuszyński, 2021)
Citizen Ashe. (Rex Miller & Sam Pollard)
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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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.
 

Independent Magazines

In this slightly longer than normal episode, Neil indulges his love of magazines by having conversations with editors of print magazines with a varying focus on film about setting up print enterprises in the digital age. He talks to Maria J Pérez Cuervo about her folk horror magazine Hellebore, Gabriel Solomons about illustrated film magazine Beneficial Shock and Cathy Lomax & Lucy Bolton about a special British film edition of art and culture periodical Garageland. All the conversations revolve around a love of magazines and we are grateful to all the contributors for their time.
Around these conversations Neil and Dario discuss collecting, objects and mortality, the physical v the digital and what they want from cultural experiences and how magazines can play into that. They also talk about Dario’s visit to the ICA to see Annette and a Leos Carax Q&A and Neil recommends the new BFI Blu-ray of Powell & Pressburger’s 1942 propaganda classic One of our Aircraft is Missing.
To buy Hellebore click here.
To buy Beneficial Shock (who have a new issue imminent) click here.
To buy Garageland click here.
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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.
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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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.

Rose Plays Julie (w/Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor)

For the season 14 premiere Neil and Dario discuss one of 2021’s best releases, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s dark and magnetic psychodrama Rose Plays Julie starring Ann Skelly, Orla Brady and Aidan Gillen.
Neil talks to the filmmakers about their unique, exploratory process, growing as filmmakers, working with actors and timing. Elsewhere Neil and Dario catch up about some recent watches and what they’ve been up to over the summer, before heading off to the bonus episode for Patreon subscribers to discuss Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michael K. Williams.
It’s good to be back.
Thank you to Nicki at Premier PR and Claire At Eclipse Pictures for their help in setting up the conversation and for advance access to the film.
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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.
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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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.

Season 13 Finale

To close out an epic season this final episode just finds Neil and Dario talking to each other, and responding to listener questions. This special episode, and the Patreon bonus episode, runs the gamut from the future of cinema, the death of horror cinema (or not?), lockdown viewing strategies, platonic male relationships, Strictly Ballroom, the BBC film Together, facial hair, celebrity lookalikes, Pedro Costa, ASMR and papyrus.
Thanks to Chloe, Dan, Brian, Andrew, Lee, Jason, Si, Guy, Mark, MarBelle and Chris for their input on this episode.
Thanks for another great season. See (& Hear) you all in the autumn.
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Show Notes:
Link to Mark Hancock’s piece on Supernova, mentioned in the show.
The song featured in the show is Baloo My Boy by Jim Williams, from Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England.
The interview clip with Christian Petzold can be found on YouTube here.
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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.
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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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.

Nicolas Rapold

In the latest episode, Neil talks at length to critic, editor and podcaster Nicolas Rapold about his podcast The Last Thing I Saw, as well as podcasting in general, the benefits of direct-to-subscriber content via Substack and, a favourite topic of Neil and Dario's, film culture in 2021 in general.
Elsewhere, Neil and Dario ponder ideas around conversation and podcasting, inclusivity and good faith and share war stories of near-middle-age ailments based around tennis and a visit to the barber.
The Last Thing I Saw is available wherever you get your pods, but the best way to learn more about it, and Nicolas's work, is to subscribe to his Substack here.
Thanks to Nicolas for taking time out to talk to Neil for the podcast.
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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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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Show Notes:
Link to the Gunda piece for Reverse Shot, Nicolas mentions in 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.
 

Kala Azar (w/ dir. Janis Rafa)

In this episode, Dario talks to visual artist Janis Rafa about her sensuous, enigmatic first feature, Kala Azar. Set in a nameless Southern European wasteland, a stoic young couple exist in a semi-feral periphery, they survive by collecting and cremating deceased pets for owners who need the fantasy of ritualized passing. But they also cannot help but clean up the number of dead animals which they regularly encounter lifeless by the roadside. A film that challenges the material and ideological distinction between humans and animals and forces a confrontation with uncomfortable realities of a dystopian existence that defines increasing numbers of transient souls.
Janis discusses with Dario the semi-autobiographical themes of the film, along with focusing on lives lived at the margins of modernity, trying to create an original cinematic form based on ellipses, and the transposing of an experimental arts practice into the framework of 'narrative' film.
Neil and Dario also discuss a wonderful fan letter they received from a valued Patreon subscriber and Neil reviews two Blu-ray releases: Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991, BFI) and Tsui Hark's Time and Tide (2000, Eureka/Masters of Cinema)
Shownotes
Watch Kala Azar on @Mubi
Janis Rafa's Website
Savina Petkova's Review
Wendy Ide's Review
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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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.
 
 

Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes (w/dir. Caroline Catz)

For this episode we are honoured to be joined by the wonderful filmmaker Caroline Catz to discuss her brilliant debut feature film Delia Derbyshire: the Myths and Legendary Tapes, which Catz wrote, directed and stars in, as Derbyshire. It’s a unique music doc/drama hybrid that is well worth the time and is currently on the BBC iPlayer in the UK.
The conversation covers Caroline’s process for the film, her relationship to Derbyshire’s music and that of the Radiophonic Workshop, as well as venturing into women as artists in relation to Derbyshire, one of the film’s collaborators Cosey Fanni Tutti and Catz herself.
We are grateful that Caroline took time out to talk to us and we really like this conversation. Please excuse Neil’s cold but as the intro makes clear, this was not our usual day at the Cinematologists office.
 
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 $2.50.
We also really appreciate any reviews you might write about the show (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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Show Notes:
In the bonus episode, we discuss the music of the following artists [spiritual heirs of Derbyshire and the Radiophonic Workshop] - Kelly Lee Owens, Jane Weaver and Broadcast, who are all amazing and who you should all check out. And of course, the composer of our own theme tune, the mighty Gwenno.
 
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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.