Ahead of the film's 21st anniversary, actor, director and video essayist Kentucker Audley looks at one of the major movie achievements of the 1990s.

Video Essay: Powder, Outside Appearance

type

providerNameSlug

responsive

core/embed

core/html

core/paragraph

Nazanin Boniadi is an acclaimed British-Iranian actress and deeply committed human and women’s rights activist. Her new film, the adoption drama A Mosquito in the Ear, also starring Jake Lacy and Ruhi Pal, is in theaters now. Boniadi recently appeared in the Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. On the big screen, she appeared in Lionsgate’s Fox News drama Bombshell, opposite Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and John Lithgow, and starred in the drama Hotel Mumbai, opposite Dev Patel. In addition to her passion for the arts, Boniadi is a dedicated human and women’s rights advocate with a focus on Iran. In 2020, she was appointed as an Amnesty International UK Ambassador. That same year, Boniadi released a short documentary film that she produced for ATTN: called Stateless, which chronicles her trip to refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk to expose the plight of Iranian refugees and other asylums seekers who have been forced to leave their homes in an effort to find freedom, safety and to create a better life for their children.

Nazanin Boniadi

Film

Three Great Things: Nazanin Boniadi

A former accountant and attorney, Van Billet transitioned from the business world at age 52 to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a screenwriter. Since then, several of his screenplays have earned critical acclaim, including Saving Paradise, which was produced in 2020. His screenplay <a href="https://www.jaysilvermanproductions.com/yale" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yale</a> was produced in 2025 and on June 18, 2026 will have its world premiere as the opening-night film at Dances With Films. His next screenplay, Circumstantial Evidence, is about to be sold. Van’s screenplays are character-driven, exploring human frailty, ambition, and moral conflict. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Van now splits his time between Philadelphia and Naples, Florida.

Van Billet

The Charm, the Audacity and the Emptiness Underneath

Nick Dawson talks with filmmakers, musicians and comedians whose work he loves, avoiding the mundane, predictable questions they&#8217;ve heard numerous times and instead asking substantive, thoughtful questions that get to the heart of who they are.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That

Podcast

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Kirsten Johnson

Zyortza is a Spanish writer-director based between Los Angeles and Spain whose work explores identity, cultural duality, and the resilience of immigrant women. With a background in acting and degrees in Film Production and African-American Diaspora Studies and an MFA in Film Directing, she has a storytelling style that blends emotional rawness with sociopolitical depth. Her latest short film, <a href="https://www.idesmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I Don’t Even Skate</a>, follows Nahiki, an undocumented girl chasing a dream on wheels while battling exploitation and survival in the shadows. The film, now on the festival circuit, captures the stakes of choosing between safety and self-determination. Zyortza creates in both Spanish and English and is currently developing her debut feature, to be shot across Spain and Los Angeles. More at <a href="http://www.zyortza.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zyortza.com</a>.

Zyortza

You Can Teach Someone Camera Angles. You Can’t Teach Obsession.

Katie Camosy’s documentary <a href="https://gaslitdoc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gaslit</a>, featuring Jane Fonda and focused on the fight against oil/gas extraction boom, is now playing in New York City and opens in L.A. on June 19. She started her career documenting the early 2000s London indie music scene, which led to producing a web series about musicians for Apple. She has crossed the United States multiple times making documentary shorts about people from all walks of life. Recently, Katie has been working with Greenpeace, through which she produced Fire Drill Fridays, a Greenpeace web series about climate change with Jane Fonda, where she was able to experiment with live formats, expert panels, and climate documentary deep dives.

Katie Camosy

“Katie Documentary” and the 20-Year Itch

Maria Bakalova is now starring in the new sci-fi drama O Horizon, opposite David Strathairn, Adam Pally, Maggie Grace and Paulina Porizkova. She is a Bulgarian actress who, straight out of drama school, was cast by Sacha Baron Cohen to play Borat’s daughter of in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020), for which she won a Critics&#8217; Choice Movie Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, an Actor Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Born and raised in Burgas, Bakalova began her career in Bulgarian cinema while attending the National Academy for Theater and Film Arts, mostly portrayed dramatic roles in films such as Transgression, The Father, Last Call and Women Do Cry.

Maria Bakalova

Three Great Things: Maria Bakalova

Creative

Footer Legal

Main

NavBar

Sections

Topics

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Talkhouse

Evan Shornstein, aka Photay, is a composer, drummer, DJ, producer, and musical polymath based in LA.

Evan Shornstein

Booker Stardrum is a composer, drummer/percussionist, and producer based in Kingston, NY.

Booker Stardrum

Music

Mood Board: Booker Stardrum and Evan Shornstein’s OOPS!

794: She Wolf Bakes Thousands of Sourdough Loaves Each Week. Kim Vallejo Keeps It All on Track.

aja monet

959. – Chris & Jason

Your favorite musicians, filmmakers, and other creative minds one-on-one. No moderator, no script, no typical questions. The Talkhouse Podcast offers unique insights into creative work from all genres and generations. <a href="https://pod.link/Talkhouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe now</a>, and explore more illuminating shows on the <a href="https://talkhouse.com/category/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Talkhouse Podcast Network.</a>

Talkhouse Podcast

Revisited: Maya Hawke Talks with Blondshell on the Talkhouse Podcast

Kentucker Audley is a filmmaker, film programmer, actor and (former) Movies hat salesman. His debut album, <a href="https://kentuckeraudley.bandcamp.com/album/old-amateur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Old Amateur</a>, is now out. His latest film, Strawberry Mansion (co-directed with Albert Birney), premiered at Sundance 2021. His previous directorial effort, Sylvio (also co-directed with Albert Birney), debuted at SXSW and was named one of the Best 10 Movies of the Year by The New Yorker. As an actor, he&#8217;s starred in indie films such as Christmas, Again and Sun Don&#8217;t Shine. He also founded <a href="http://nobudge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NoBudge</a> and <a href="https://www.moviesbrand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Movies Brand</a>.

Kentucker Audley

post

Writer, director and producer Kerry Mondragon’s latest film, the pscyhedelic jungle thriller <a href="https://dekanalog.com/film/wetiko-detail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wetiko</a>, is out now on digital. Best known for his films, Tyger Tyger (2020) and Meet Me at a Funeral (2015), Mondragon was born and raised in the ancient haunts of the Sonoran barrios and borderlands of the Mexican desert, a landscape populated by wild poets, peyote roadmen, and saintly Mexican grandmothers. He wrote poetry at an early age and corresponded with Allen Ginsberg at age 10, until Ginsberg&#8217;s death. After his biological father left, he was raised by his mother and step-father (turned-father,) they relocated to Marin County, California where he was blasted by the culture shock of a very different world. He discovered the dark shadow side of the wealthy county – a youth scene of bullying, trauma, drugs, alcohol – and was disgusted by the spiritual pretense of their culture. Bullied out of middle school and unable to adjust to high school, he lived the life of the youth underworld of one of the nation’s wealthiest towns. Throughout, he honed his artistic skills, he dropped out of college, worked at an ad agency and used that money to jump onto a crowd-funded Spike Lee feature film where he assisted the legendary director in prep and principal photography. This served as his film school. Upon returning to California and after significant life experiences, he resolved to make something pure, honest, and true – something stripped of all Hollywood illusions that was recognizable to those still lost in the pain of addiction – something to give hope to the hopeless. (Photo by Federico La Tona © Uninflected Pictures.)
&nbsp;