From SXSW 2018, the founders of Backstage Capital, Seed&Spark and Tech Cocktail sit down with Ondi Timoner.

WeTalk — Startup Sparks: Arlan Hamilton, Emily Best and Jen Consalvo

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Hiam Abbass can currently be seen in the new war drama <a href="https://kinolorber.com/film/atonement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atonement</a>, also starring Boyd Holbrook and Kenneth Branagh, which is now in theaters. She recently starred opposite Jeremy Irons in Palestine 36, and appeared as a series regular on HBO’s Succession and recurring on Hulu’s Ramy and The Old Man for FX. Her other television credits include The Promise, The State and The OA. Her extensive feature film credits include Munich (2005), The Lemon Tree (2008), The Visitor (2008), Amreeka (2009), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), amongst many others. She also worked as a creative consultant and acting coach on Alejandro G. Iñárritu Babel and Steven Spielberg’s Munich. She made her directorial feature film debut with The Inheritance in 2012, and has since written and directed an additional three short films: Le Pain, Le Danse Eternelle and Le Donne Della Vucciria.

Hiam Abbass

Film

Three Great Things: Hiam Abbass

Sophia Dunn-Walker is a French-American director and co-founder of Emmy-winning ENKIDU International Productions. Her feature documentary on the autism spectrum is currently in post-production, following a 2026 screening of its short version at the American Pavilion at Cannes. She has collaborated with Pussy Riot on several projects, and her visual approach is rooted in fine art and fashion photography, including early work assisting Annie Leibovitz and legally blind photographer Kurt Weston. Dunn-Walker has cone dystrophy, which affects color perception and visual acuity and has become an integral part of how she approaches image-making. She is also an advocate for disability representation in the arts. (Photo by BK Studios.)

Sophia Dunn-Walker

The Camera is a Womb

Chris Merola is a writer and filmmaker from Long Island, New York. He holds an MFA in Film &amp; Television Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His debut feature, <a href="https://www.antennareleasing.com/films/lemonadeblessing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lemonade Blessing</a>, premiered in the U.S. Narrative Competition at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. The film went on to win the Audience Award for Best Comedy at the 2025 Newport Beach Film Festival, the Cineclubs Jury Prize at the 25th Tarragona International Film Festival, and was selected for Letterboxd Video Store&#8217;s second Unreleased Gems showcase.

Chris Merola

Two Halves of a Chalky White Pill

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: Jaboukie Young-White

Travis Gutiérrez Senger is a Mexican American director, writer and producer based in Los Angeles. His recent project, <a href="https://ascofilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ASCO: Without Permission</a>, a genre-defying film about the Chicano, avant-garde art group ASCO, premiered at SXSW 2025 and is out now on PBS. The film is executive produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. The project has received support from the Ford Foundation, Film Independent, the Dolby Creator Lab and was recently given the Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latinx Film. His prior narrative and documentary projects, Desert Cathedral, White Lines and the Fever, along with a number of shorts, have won top prizes at festivals such as Tribeca, SXSW, and SIFF. He founded ANM Films, a premium film and TV company, focused on bold, progressive stories.

Travis Gutiérrez Senger

Notes on a Dedication

Clark Duke is an actor, writer and director best known for Clark and Michael, The Offce, Sex Drive, Kick-Ass and Hot Tub Time Machine. Originally from Arkansas, Clark attended film school at Loyola Marymount University. His thesis film was the pilot for Clark and Michael. Clark was most recently seen alongside Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth and John Malkovich in his feature directorial debut, Arkansas. Clark also produced and co-wrote the film, an adaptation of John Brandon’s acclaimed novel. Stranglehold, Clark’s sophomore feature as a writer, producer, and director, is out now, a comedy thriller starring Ashley Benson, Jake Lacy, Justin Long, Chandler Duke, and Ron Perlman. His upcoming third feature is an adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel You Don’t Love Me Yet. (Photo by Steven Meiers Dominguez.)

Clark Duke

Three Great Things: Clark Duke

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Talkhouse

Jess Williamson is a singer-songwriter based in Texas. Her latest record, A Mile South of Heaven, is out now on New West. 
(Photo Credit: Jackie Lee Young)

Jess Williamson

Music

Mood Board: Jess Williamson’s A Mile South of Heaven

Synthesist and composer Emily A. Sprague bridges intuitive sonic structures and expressive songwriting, yielding expansive terrains that are immediate and immersive. From early experimentation with guitar and keyboard as a teen, Sprague went on to form indie band Florist in the early 2010s, gaining a devoted audience. After a series of celebrated EPs, Florist went on to record five studio albums, immediately recognizable for their intimate world-building and Sprague’s emotive vocals.
Emily’s latest solo record, Cyano, is out now on RVNG Intl.

Emily A. Sprague

Hannah Pruzinsky (they) is a musician and creative based in Queens, NY. Hannah is also a co-editor and creator of the New York City show paper, GUNK. The latest h. pruz record, Red sky at morning, is out now.

h. pruz

Emily A. Sprague and h. pruz Are Constructing Their Own Worlds

850: Clarissa Wei Sells Excellent Soy Sauce and Demystifies Ancient Postpartum Cooking Practices

Danielle Ponder

1006. – Rickie De Sole

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

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Melody C. Roscher’s debut feature film as a writer and director, <a href="https://www.futureoffilmisfemale.com/bird-in-hand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bird in Hand</a>, premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in the U.S. Competition category and is out now in theaters. The film is preceded by a companion short film she wrote and directed, White Wedding, that premiered at 2021’s Sundance Film Festival, and played in dozens of festivals around the world. Her directing and writing work comes off years of producing film, television and commercial work. Some notable works include Borderline Films Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, and Josh Mond’s works Christine; James White, Simon Killer, and Martha Marcy May Marlene. For these works she was nominated for two Independent Spirit awards including Best First Feature for James White, and Piaget Producer’s Award for Christine. Other cult favorites include Dean Fleischer-Camp’s Catherine, starring Jenny Slate, and Robin Comisar’s Great Choice. Melody hails from both New York City, and Richmond, Virginia where she now resides. She’s a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.