film essay
Fear of the Female Planet, or Why I Love The Love Witch
Allison Anders counts the ways in which she's head over heels about Anna Biller's sumptuous supernatural melodrama.
Doors Opening: Making Reality with David Bowie
On the first anniversary of Bowie's death, Steve Lippman opens up his 2003 diaries to recall an indelible creative collaboration with the singer.
Why My Favorite Movies are the Ones Everyone Else Walks Out Of
Matthew Wilder explains why his favorite cinematic genre — difficult movies — are both so gratifying and so hugely misunderstood.
How to Empower Yourself and Make Your Movie Your Way
Blair Witch Project director Daniel Myrick, currently crowdfunding his next movie, on harnessing technology to win your creative freedom.
Moving the Cultural Dial When Your “Issue” Has Been Hijacked
Eric Juhola, director of Growing Up Coy, on the need to focus on the human story behind the headlines in social issue documentaries.
Zach Staggers (the So So Glos) Talks This Previously Unheard Clip of David Bowie Imitating Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Neil Young and More
This piece of history, courtesy of producer Mark Saunders, was trapped on an old iPod — until now. Bowie spoofs Tom Waits, Lou Reed and other icons.
How The Neon Demon’s “Failure” Reveals a Major Problem in Indie Film
Alex Ross Perry on Nicolas Winding Refn's masterpiece, and what it bombing at the box office says about the state of independent film.
How I Wrote Arrival (and What I Learned Doing It)
Screenwriter Eric Heisserer shares notes and extracts from early drafts as he breaks down how he adapted Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life."
How I Wrote Lion, or Breaking the Rules By Finding the Poetry in Screenwriting
Screenwriter Luke Davies on how his past as a novelist and poet informed the way he approached telling the heartwarming true story of Saroo Brierley.
What Andrzej Żuławski Taught Me About Filmmaking
Nicolas Boukhrief, director of Made in France, shares the advice given to him by the late auteur when he worked with him in the '80s.
The Thing I Love About Documentary Filmmaking (That Took Me 25 Years to Discover)
Lou Pepe, the co-director of Lost in La Mancha, on staring, compassion fatigue and his new documentary, The Bad Kids.
Why Now We Must Make Work That Truly Matters
The election and his new film, Burn Country, prompt Ian Olds to grapple with how important art is now, and what is its place in the world.












