film essay
Some Kids Dream of Being a Superhero – I Dreamt of Being a Loser
Julia Marchese on how being an outsider and her love of Stephen King led to her latest project, a film version of King's story “I Know What You Need.”
Delirious: Notes on the Director’s Cut
Indie legend Tom DiCillo writes for the first time about the backstory to his 2006 film and why he needed to revisit it for a new version.
How We Survived Making Our First Feature Film Without a Crew, and the Greatest Fly Attack of Our Lives
Lifelong best friends Hannah Leder and Alexandra Kotcheff share adventures from making their debut feature The Planters alone in the desert.
A Letter to My Uninspired Self
When you travel all over and play a show a day for a year and make a movie about it, you inevitably learn lessons. But you also have to remember them.
You Can Take a Nap, I Promise
Screenwriter Nakia Stephens reflects on how she’s learning to release the shackles of productivity by leaning into purpose.
Invisible Hands
Tom Gilroy examines the influence of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Tsai Ming-liang on his new short film, #WaynesvilleStrong.
“So, What Did We Learn?”
Writer-director Brian Duffield on making Spontaneous for three years in three countries for multiple owners before a pandemic.
Just For a Minute, Let’s Talk About Yahoo Serious
The writer-directors of Save Yourselves! begin their campaign to get the comedies of Yahoo Serious into the Criterion Collection.
Why a Lawyer Wrote a Movie
Jay Paul Deratany, a working attorney who wrote and produced the new film Foster Boy, on his duty to share the stories of foster youth.
Mental Illness Took An Interest in Me
Director Luke Eve on the backstory to his new film, I Met a Girl, the latest in a series of projects focused on mental health.
Texas and the Lost Girls
The director of All Roads to Pearla recalls and shares images from a human trafficking raid in Houston that he covered as a photojournalist.
Comedy and Cosmic Perspective as an Antidote to Hate
I’ve Got Issues writer-director Steve Collins on how he has looked to film, rather than religion, for a path to inner peace and salvation.











