In the final episode from SXSW, host Ondi Timoner leads a conversation on the taboo subject of mental health with advocates and filmmakers.

WeTalk — Brave Art: Mental Health and the Justice System

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Wyatt Maw is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in Livingston, Montana, where the Yellowstone River bends east. His debut feature, <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#label/!Pitches/FMfcgzQjgqKNzTPltKZQmpStTtwzwGrS:~:text=ASHLAND%20World%20Premiere%20at%20DOC%20NYC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ashland</a>, has its world premiere at DOC NYC on November 14 at IFC Center. His work looks at the modern-day American West with an intimate focus, seeking to uncover the hidden magic that often lies unnoticed. A directing graduate of the prestigious American Film Institute Conservatory, his thesis film played in festivals across the globe and was a semi-finalist for the Student Academy Awards. He counts Abbas Kiarostami, Ermanno Olmi and Les Blank among his major influences.

Wyatt Maw

Film

Searching for Ashland

John Bradley is currently starring in the holiday movie <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/merry-christmas-aubrey-flint/umc.cmc.2seks7w3ghe56nsl02a0gmkrn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint</a>, also starring Celia Imrie and Richard E. Grant. He is best known for his fan favorite role as Samwell Tarly in the HBO award-winning series, Game of Thrones and recently reteamed with Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss for the Netflix sci-fi epic series, Three-Body Problem, starring opposite Eiza Gonzalez and Liam Cunningham. John also starred in Roland Emmerich’s film, Moonfall, opposite Halle Barry and Patrick Wilson, and the romantic comedy Marry Me, alongside Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. (Photo by Rebecca Spencer.)

John Bradley

Three Great Things: John Bradley

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: Adam Conover

Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak are the directors and producers of the documentary<a href="https://birdsofwar.film/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Birds of War</a>, about how they fell in love as war reporters while navigating revolution and exile, which won the Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The film is now playing at IFC Center in New York City and opens in Los Angeles on November 19 at Laemmle Santa Monica and Glendale. Boulos is a highly experienced Lebanese journalist and documentary producer based between Lebanon and London who has produced several documentaries for international outlets, including Al Jazeera and The New York Times, as well as her second feature documentary, Until the Buzzing Stops. A Syrian cinematographer, activist and documentary filmmaker, Habak documented six years of the Syrian revolution. Now based between London and Syria, he blends journalism and human rights storytelling in his work, exploring identity, exile and return. Currently, he is working on two short documentaries and his second feature, Until the Buzzing Stops.

Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak

“You are More Than a Story”

One of Hollywood’s most versatile and accomplished character actors, Josh Pais can now be seen in the new dark comedy <a href="https://www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv/film/checkout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Checkout</a>, which is now on VOD. His other recent credits include The Friend, opposite Naomi Watts, and Netflix’s A Man In Full, opposite Jeff Daniels. His extensive television work includes Hulu’s critically acclaimed The Dropout, Showtime’s Ray Donovan, HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher and High Maintenance, and TV Land’s Younger. On the film side, Pais has appeared in a wide range of notable productions, including Joker, Funny Pages, produced by the Safdie brothers, and Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings. Drawing on decades of experience both on screen and on stage, Pais founded Committed Impulse, an innovative performance methodology emphasizing spontaneity, physical awareness, and authentic creative expression. He is also the author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790583/lose-your-mind-by-josh-pais/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility</a>, published by Penguin Random House/Hay House, which is now out in paperback.

Josh Pais

Three Great Things: Josh Pais

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Juliette Binoche

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Talkhouse

Chastity Belt’s energy is like a circuit, circling around the silly and the sincere. Tongue-in-cheek shit-shooting and existential rumination feed into each other infinitely.
Theirs is a long-term relationship, and that loop sustains them. That’s a creative thesis in and of itself, but isn’t that also just the mark of a true-blue friendship?
The band talks a lot about intention these days — how to be more present with each other. The four piece — Julia Shapiro (vocals, guitar, drums), Lydia Lund (vocals, guitar), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals, guitar) and Annie Truscott (bass) — is nine years deep in this, after all. It seems now, more than ever, that circuit is a movement of intentionality, one that creates a space inside which they can be themselves, among themselves. It’s a space where the euphoria of making music with your best friends is protected from the outside world’s churning expectations. It’s a kind of safe zone for the band to occupy as their best selves: a group of friends who love each other.
Their fourth record, Chastity Belt, comes out of that safe space. With the luxury of spending several weeks in the studio with Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, Chastity Belt was able to experiment. The result is their most sonically developed and nuanced record yet; one that’s not only a product of, but a series of reflections on what it means to take what you need and to understand yourself better.

Chastity Belt

Music

Mood Board: Chastity Belt’s All My Friends

867: Inside the 2026 Eater Awards with Nadia Chaudhury: 44 Cities, 55 Winners, Zero Regrets

Sheryl Crow

1021. – Rhett Miller

I WANT TO LIVE A PEACEFUL LIFE II

Producer/director&nbsp;Ondi Timoner has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Her 2004 doc, <a href="http://www.interloperfilms.com/portfolio/dig/">Dig!</a>, explores the star-crossed rivalry of the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, while her 2009 top prize-winner, <a href="http://www.interloperfilms.com/portfolio/we-live-in-public/">We Live in Public</a>, examines privacy in the virtual age through Internet visionary Josh Harris&#8217; social experiments. Her company <a href="http://atotaldisruption.com">A Total Disruption</a>&nbsp;releases weekly short docs about thought leaders and doers who are transforming our lives through technology.

Ondi Timoner

post

Alexander Payne grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied History and Spanish Literature at Stanford before earning an MFA in Film Directing at UCLA. His nine feature films include Election, Sideways, The Descendants, About Schmidt, Nebraska, and The Holdovers. His movies have been nominated for a total of 24 Oscars, including four times for Best Picture and three for Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, and two of his movies have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Five of his movies were filmed at least partially in Nebraska, where he continues to live, dividing his time among Omaha, Los Angeles and Athens. His newest movie, Et Sted Derude (Somewhere Out There), shot in Denmark and in Danish language, will be released in fall of 2027.

Alexander Payne

Three Great Things: Alexander Payne