Shows
The Cinematologists PodcastThe Cinematologists Present: Students on ScreenThis special episode of The Cinematologists is a contribution to the Students on Screen project convened by Dr Kay Calver and Dr Bethan Michael-Fox, to coincide with a special issue of Open Screens they have edited, which explores screen representations of students across a plethora of Global screen media forms.
On behalf of The Cinematologists, Neil contributed a paper - drawing from his decade-old doctoral work - on representations of film students in anglophone cinema, and put together this episode, which is both a dissemination of and critical artefact of, the special issue.
For this e...2025-07-311h 51The Cinematologists PodcastRyan Gilbey (It Used to be Witches)With the podcast half-way through its tenth year it is a privilege to welcome back a former contributor to the show - read his piece on Clueless for The New Statesman that coincided with his previous appearance on the show - and long-time champion of The Cinematologists, Ryan Gilbey.
Ryan's return is to promote and discuss his new book, the astoundingly good, It Used to be Witches: Under the Spell of Queer Cinema, published this month (June 2025) by Faber.
Around the release date, I (Neil) sat down in Cinema 1 at the Barbican in London to disc...2025-06-271h 47The Cinematologists PodcastSmall Things Like These (w/director Tim Mielants)We kick off season 21 and the tenth year of The Cinematologists with a special conversation with Belgian filmmaker Tim Mielants about his work on recent release, Small Things Like These, written by Enda Walsh (Hunger) and starring and produced by Cillian Murphy.
In the conversation, Neil and Tim discuss film form and style, particularly the use of close-up, space and the Gothic, masculinity, grief and how being an outsider can provide a unique take on the material and experiences of people from a place that is not one's own.
Elsewhere, Neil and Dario dig down in...2025-01-311h 08The Cinematologists PodcastBFI London Film Festival 2024 - Episode 1In the first of our 2024 LFF double header on the main feed, Neil and Dario are joined by one of the two correspondents joining us for this year's coverage, Ben Goff.
The focus of the episode are deep dives into key films for Neil, Dario and Ben from their early and pre-festival viewing, on the digital platform and at press and industry screenings on the ground in London, at BFI Southbank and Picturehouse Central. Each of the cinematologists take two films each to pore over, with Dario discussing Mati Diop's Dahomey and Athina Rachel Tsangari's Harvest, Ben delv...2024-10-141h 23The Cinematologists PodcastLife, Work and Cinema - Season 20 is hereWe are back for the 20th season of The Cinematologists Podcast and our 10th year. Neither of us when we started out could have envisaged that we would have done what we have with the Podcast, spoken to so many fascinating film people and cultivated such a loyal audience.
Indeed, this season represents something of a renewal, as is discussed in the first episode of the season. After taking a break from the last season Dario is back, bringing with him quite a few personal and professional changes that form the basis of a discussion about life, w...2024-09-1953 minThe Cinematologists PodcastThe Beast (w/writer-director Bertrand Bonello)To coincide with the release of his latest film The Beast (starring Léa Seydoux and George Mackay), writer/director Bertrand Bonello came on the podcast to talk about AI and technology, acting, connection, memory, music and perplexing cinema.
It was an honour for Neil to talk filmmaking and cinema - taking in Eyes Wide Shut, David Lynch and Sunrise - for the podcast, as Neil and Dario are big admirers of Bonello’s work and it’s a privilege to have one of the world’s most interesting contemporary filmmakers on the show.
Highlights from th...2024-05-2950 minThe Cinematologists PodcastProfessor Alison Peirse (Doing Women's Global Horror Film History)The new episode of the podcast sees Alison Peirse, now Professor of Film Studies at University of Leeds, return to the show to update us on her work in videographic scholarship and Global Women's Horror Film studies. The episode follows the recent release of a stunning special issue of the vital MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture Journal, edited by Alison, featuring a trove of video essays looking at the role of women in Global Horror filmmaking, which serves as an output of a larger-funded project.
The conversation covers some of the essays in detail, but more depth i...2024-03-181h 07The Cinematologists PodcastPouring Water on Troubled Oil (w/director Nariman Massoumi)For the latest episode of the podcast Neil talks to filmmaker and academic Dr Nariman Massoumi about his wonderful short documentary Pouring Water on Troubled Oil (2023).
MUBI: In 1951, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company set out to produce a publicity film promoting its activities in Iran. They hired the poet Dylan Thomas. This poetic film follows Thomas’s journey capturing his encounter with the country and its people as a political upheaval for oil nationalization unfolds.
The film is not available to view yet, having been criminally overlooked by UK film festivals, but it will be at some...2024-02-2957 minThe Cinematologists PodcastYour Fat Friend (w/ director Jeanie Finlay)In the first episode of season 19 Neil takes the reins solo, with Dario on sabbatical, for a conversation with one of the UK’s leading filmmakers Jeanie Finlay, ahead of her popular and powerful new documentary Your Fat Friend, released in UK cinemas on Feb 9, 2024.
Jeanie returns to the podcast having recorded a live conversation about her career to date and previous release, Seahorse (2019), at the film festival Neil co-directed in Luton, Filmstock. This conversation is wide-ranging. It covers her craft and cinematic process, her evolution and growth as a filmmaker, her commitment to creating more visibility fo...2024-02-0857 minThe Cinematologists PodcastOur Cinematic 2023In this final episode of 2023 (and season 18), we (Neil and Dario) ruminate on a year spent thinking cinematically and engaging with cinema in the unique way that has become the hallmark of The Cinematologists; thoughtful, personal, searching for meaning and meaningful experiences across the movie spectrum.
We both share brief discussions of two films that stuck with us from different points of the year, Neil talking about Mark Jenkin’s short A Dog Called Discord and Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s The Future Tense, while Dario ponders Patricio Guzman’s My Imaginary Country and Samsara, directed by Loi...2023-12-281h 37The Cinematologists PodcastOn New Release ApathyIn this episode of the Cinematologists podcast, we reflect on the pervasive apathy often accompanying the endless influx of new releases and how to combat nagging sense of FOMO which, at times, feels like it can never be satiated. When both of us saw Napoleon and agreed there wasn't much we wanted to talk about, and neither did a raft of art-house films on the various streaming platforms particularly get our juices flowing, we decided to unpack this troubling lassitude. Does the need to be "up with everything" rise and fall with the choppy waves of life? Or does...2023-12-1859 minThe Cinematologists PodcastBONUS: Toby Amies in the Court of the Crimson KingIn this special bonus, to tide you over before we are back with full, regular episodes in the run-up to year's end, Neil talks to filmmaker Toby Amies about his stunning music film In The Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50.
The conversation coincides with the film's release on streaming platforms following a critically lauded festival and cinema run. Thanks to Toby for taking the time to talk to us.
Elsewhere Neil recommends John Akomfrah's incredible new film (installation) Arcadia, at The Box in Plymouth, and the arrival of the wonderful music film Apoc...2023-12-0458 minThe Cinematologists PodcastBONUS: Prof. Neil Fox on Film Practice and PedagogyOur own Prof. Neil Fox in his day job is director of Falmouth University's Sound/Cinema Lab, which is behind films such as Mark Jenkin's Enys Men (2022) and Chris Morris' A Year in a Field (2022) as well as Wilderness (2017), which Neil wrote and produced. Wilderness was also made with a student crew and was proof of concept for making a feature drama within the structure of a university course. With Dario delivering a module to second-year students called Professional Life Practice, designed to help students research and understand the creative industries and learn from working experiences, Neil very generously a...2023-11-131h 07The Cinematologists PodcastFilm Podcasting w/ Rico Gagliano from The Mubi PodcastA special for cinephiles and podphiles this week as we welcome the superb critic and broadcaster Rico Gagliano. Rico's official title is the Head of Audio at Mubi but it's his creative direction and voice that is the driving force of The Mubi Podcast. Indeed, the notion of creative auteurism is just one of the many topics covered in the in-depth conversation with Dario.
We discuss a little of his background – his cinephile origin story – becoming a critic and moving into radio - his role at MUBI – the process and inspirations behind The Mubi Podcast – How the company...2023-11-041h 29The Cinematologists PodcastRock Hudson: All that Heaven Allowed (w/ Dir. Stephen Kijak)No matter the status of cinema, films focused on Hollywood icons seem to always retain a healthy level of interest. A key question is: do they bring anything new to the understanding of a storied figure. Stephen Kijak the director of Rock Hudson: All that Heaven Allowed, released on UK streaming this week, embarks on a sweeping ambitious, and intimate portrayal of a star whose symbolism transcended, albeit unintentionally, the silver screen. From B-Movie matinees through to the ultimate romantic leading man in the melodramas of Douglas Sirk. From Old School conservative rancher in Giant, opposite the raw James...2023-10-231h 16The Cinematologists PodcastApocalypse Clown (w/Producer James Dean)In the first of a special (our first ever) double header, Neil and Dario discuss new Irish comedy road movie Apocalypse Clown. As it debuts on Netflix following a short cinema run, Neil talks to 'friend of the pod', producer James Dean about his collaboration with the team behind the project, comedy music troupe Dead Cat Bounce, the project's gestation and journey to the screen and the place of comedy in film culture and cinephilia.
This is picked up by Dario and Neil who wrestle with the general (if only perceived) seriousness (earnestness?) of cinephile culture and how...2023-10-231h 12The Cinematologists PodcastLondon Film Festival 2023In this episode, Neil and Dario go deep on a couple of favourite titles each from this year's excellent London Film Festival. Neil eulogises Pat Collins' That They May Face The Rising Sun and Shujun Wei's Only The River Flows, while Dario waxes lyrical on Hirokazu Koreeda's Monster and Tran Anh Hung's The Taste of Things.
Elsewhere they briefly discuss some of their honourable mentions including Catherine Breillat's Last Summer and Moin Hussain's Sky Peals. Neil also mentions a not so honourable title. They compare the experiences of seeing films in the cinema, at press and public screenings...2023-10-161h 11The Cinematologists PodcastA Year in a Field (w/director Christopher Morris and producer Denzil Monk)We’re back for season 18 and we’re kicking off with an in-depth look at new feature documentary A Year in a Field, a quiet film by Christopher Morris that is currently on tour around UK cinemas, distributed by Anti-Worlds. Produced by Bosena (Enys Men) in partnership with Stone Club and Falmouth University’s Sound/Image Cinema Lab, the film tells the story of Chris’s relationship with a 4,000 year old menhir (standing stone) in West Penwith, Kernow, and the slow burn political awakening around the climate crisis that spending time with the stone brought out of the filmmaker.
A...2023-09-251h 40The Cinematologists PodcastOn Cinematic PleasureFor our final episode of season 17, before we go on our summer hiatus, we lean into cinematic pleasure. Provoked by both of us admitting some recent struggles with the relentlessness of film culture, the seeming tyranny of "so much stuff" and the some of the less edifying aspects of film discourse, we think through the hierarchies that are often attached to certain types of pleasure. Dario quotes from an academic article by Rutsky and Wyatt - Serious Pleasures: Cinematic Pleasure and the notion of Fun - which makes pleasure distinct from notions such as joy, fun, distraction and escapism...2023-07-051h 02The Cinematologists PodcastLaura Mulvey (Falmouth Film Weekend: 1978 Revisited)
In May 2023, Laura Mulvey and Rod Stoneman returned to Falmouth 45 years following a weekend of Independent Film and Sexual Politics to reconvene a dialogue about politics, experimental film, cinematic form and radicalism. The event, Falmouth Film Weekend [1978 Revisited], was hosted by Falmouth University’s Sound/Image Cinema Lab, and was delivered by Neil, in consort with staff and student colleagues. The weekend was a mix of screenings, seminars and talks, the latter by Laura and Rod.
Filmmakers whose work was screened included Kenneth Anger, Yvonne Rainer, Stephen Dwoskin, Barbara Hammer and Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen. The pr...2023-06-221h 27The Cinematologists PodcastPlan 75In association with Dead Good Film Club and Death Futures [DORS#6])
In this episode, Neil accepts an invitation from Newcastle's Dead Good Film Club and the Death Online Research Network (DORN) to host a Q&A on the Japanese film Plan 75 (2022). The panel brought together religious and humanist celebrants, death educators and palliative care specialists as part of the 6th Death Online Research Symposium held at Northumbria University, tilted 'Death Futures'.
The screening was hosted at the wonderful Tyneside Cinema in early June 2023. Elsewhere in the episode Neil and Dario get into the themes of th...2023-06-151h 24The Cinematologists PodcastBoys and Men in Close and GodlandIn this episode Neil and Dario discuss two fairly recent films that were both prize winners at Cannes 2022: Lukas Dhont's Close and Hlynur Pálmason's Godland. In terms of setting and story the films seem very different, however there is connecting tissue in the ways that the social fabric in each film defines the experience of the male characters, their sense of self, relation to others and the world. It's this context that provides a jumping off point for a wide ranging conversation that examines how films can deal with men in cinema without defaulting to "just another film" t...2023-05-1753 minThe Cinematologists PodcastThe Films of Alice DiopNeil and Dario dedicate an episode to discussing the work of the brilliant French filmmaker Alice Diop, using the release of her debut fiction feature Saint Omer as a jumping off point into her incredible body of work.
Their conversation takes in some of her documentary work, On Call (2016), Towards Tenderness (2016) and We (2021), all of which, along with Saint Omer, are available to stream on MUBI in the UK currently.
The conversation covers a variety of topics but all respond to Diop's themes, preoccupations and formal dexterity, with Neil and Dario struggling to find the languag...2023-04-141h 16The Cinematologists PodcastLong Way Back(w/Brett and Simon Harvey)Brett (writer/director/editor) and Simon (producer) Harvey, are stalwarts of contemporary Cornish cinema and 2022 saw the release of their third feature film Long Way Back, which has just hit streaming platforms.
Supported by Falmouth University's Sound/Image Cinema Lab, which has also supported the work of Mark Jenkin and for which Neil is the research and strategy lead, Long Way Back marks a departure in style and ambition for the filmmaking brothers and their company o-region.
Neil talks to them about their process and influences, the role of music in both those aspects, the Corn...2023-03-241h 42The Cinematologists PodcastT.L.C (Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led/Trans-Loved Cinema) w/ So Mayer and Lillian CrawfordThis is a very special episode where we were invited, by friend of the podcast So Mayer to discuss a new film screening series and project. In 2022 and 2023, a series of trans-focused film events took place across the UK as part of Inclusive Cinema’s T.L.C (aka Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led/Trans-Loved Cinema) project.
Integrated into indie cinema and festival programmes, films were screened with Q&As and panels on diverse topics related to trans visibility in cinema, thanks to support from the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) awarding National Lottery funding. These eve...2023-03-031h 28The Cinematologists PodcastHusband (w/Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum)In this episode, Neil talks with husband and wife filmmaking team Josh Appignanesi and Devorah Baum about their new work Husband, a follow-up to 2016's meta-documentary-autofiction-comedy The New Man. Josh and Devorah are co-directors and appear in the film as versions of themselves navigating marriage, parenthood, work and a New York tour for Devorah's latest book.
The conversation covers their unique approach to marriage and moviemaking, comedy, collaboration and feelings. It's a fascinating discussion about a polarising piece of cinema.
Polarising, because as the discussion around the interview highlights, Neil and Dario had very different r...2023-02-091h 34The Cinematologists PodcastAkira Kurosawa at the BFI (w/ Asif Kapadia and Ian Hayden Smith)For this episode, Neil and Dario dive back into the work of master Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa having last talked about his cinema in the earliest days of the podcast when they screened Yojimbo for an audience in Falmouth.
The occasion for this revisit is a new, extensive retrospective of his work hosted at the BFI Southbank (and some regional partner cinemas) and on their BFI Player platform. The season is curated by filmmaker Asif Kapadia and writer Ian Hayden Smith, who Dario talked to as the two-month long season got underway.
Their discussion covers t...2023-02-011h 39The Cinematologists PodcastEnys Men (w/ Dir. Mark Jenkin)
For our first episode of 2023, Dario speaks to a great friend of the podcast Mark Jenkin about his new Cornish "folk horror", Enys Men. Starring Mary Woodvine as a volunteer isolated on a Cornish island seemingly with the task of observing and recording the local wildlife. This sets the stage for a disquieting, time-bending, psycho-ecological fable, forged through Jenkin's singular audio-visual sensibility.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Mark goes deep into the artistic process underpinning the film, thinks through questions the work throws up about loneliness, isolation, time and memory. The notion of genre is another t...2023-01-171h 31The Cinematologists Podcast2022 Review (w/critic Clarisse Loughrey)
We come to the end of another cinematic year, and for our look back over 2022 Dario is joined by The Independent's film critic Clarisse Loughrey. As usual, the episode is contextualised with a meander through some of the big themes and news stories of the year in film. This is followed by a countdown of both Dario and Clarisse's top five films of the year.
Both Dario and Neil want to thank our audience for their continued support throughout the year, we hope you have enjoyed the season and continue to be a listener into 2023. Dar...2022-12-271h 32The Cinematologists PodcastFilm Curation (Beyond Interpretation w/Chris Cassingham)
In this episode, Dario talks MA student in Film Curation Chris Cassingham about his graduation film series: Beyond Interpretation. Screening at the ICA in London in January, the series that explores the connections between paranoia, conspiracy, anxiety, and the precarious realities of artistic creation at the margins of the American film industry. At a time when it is increasingly difficult to make and distribute films that defy simple categorisation, resist commercial expectations of narrative and form, and whose concerns are often out of step with capitalist ideals of profit, it is important to seize every available opportunity...2022-12-1548 minThe Cinematologists PodcastSight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time 2022 (Part 2)
In part 2 of our Sight and Sound special, Dario talks to the managing editor of Sight and Sound Magazine Isabel Stevens about the collation and publication of this list. With over 1600 hundred critics contributing their top tens (up from 800 in 2012), the move towards greater diversity is clear. Dario drills down into that with Isabel, along with unpacking some of the other key trends that have emerged. Isabel also takes us through her selections.
Also on the show, we welcome back Savina Petkova for her take on being invited to contribute, the issues with lists in g...2022-12-0253 minThe Cinematologists PodcastSight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time 2022 (Part 1)
So, after much hype, critique and discussion, the Sight and Sound Greatest films of all-time poll has been published and we have an extensive 2-part episode of The Cinematologists to cover it. Neil and Dario were both invited to contribute a top ten list to the poll, which was an unexpected honour in itself. Not only that, Sight and Sound kindly gave us access to the results early so we could record and release the episode to coincide with the publication of the list. Furthermore, Dario got to speak to Isabel Stevens, Managing Editor of Sight and...2022-12-011h 08The Cinematologists PodcastIrma Vep (w/ Dr Catherine Wheatley)
Olivier Assayas has always been a filmmaker and critic who is interested in the essential question: what is cinema? His reflections are often espoused though the characters in his films, with the repeated deployment of the "film within a film" device, and now, in the recreation of his 1996 low budget cult classic Irma Vep, into a 8-episode HBO miniseries. This week Dario was joined by Reader in Film Studies Dr Catherine Wheatley to discuss the original film. But with Catherine writing a positive, joyful, review of the TV "sequel" in Sight and Sound, aspects of comparison were always...2022-11-2453 minThe Cinematologists PodcastCensor (w/ Sarah Cleaver)
In the week leading up to Halloween, The Cinematologists Podcast returns live to The Garden Cinema for a screening and recording of Prano Baily-Bond’s debut feature Censor. A pointed and knowing homage to the 80s era of the video nasties, the story draws on the theme of moral panic, with the excellent Niamh Elgar as an officious BBFC censor whose work starts to encroach a little too much into her own trauma. With perturbing visceral panache, the ritualistic nature of cinematic spectatorship and psychological effects of film living in the liminal space between reality and myth, un...2022-10-3059 minThe Cinematologists PodcastLondon Film Festival - Part 2
The centre piece of our second episode is guest host Savina Petkova's interview with Ruben Östlund about his latest film Triangle of Sadness. This follow-up to the The Square, which also won the top prize at Cannes, is another acerbic satirical intervention into the hypocrisies of liberal capitalism. "Triangle" is perhaps more laugh out loud funny than his previous work, but draws on similar socio-political observations that are all too familiar but presenting them through a thought experiment which reverses hierarchies of power around wealth, value, class and social roles.
Also, Dario talks to the LF...2022-10-171h 22The Cinematologists PodcastLondon Film Festival - Part 1
Above: Christine Molloy in The Future Tense (2022)
This is the first of two episodes we will bring you from the London Film Festival. Dario is joined for both by Savina Petkova as co-host. Savina is published in Film Comment and MUBINotebook and many other places. She is on the editorial board of @photogenie_be, Is a programmer for the upcoming Cambridge Film Festival and and is soon to complete her PhD at Kings College London.
As is our style on The Cinematologists, our festival coverage in not a comprehensive overview of the festival o...2022-10-141h 35The Cinematologists PodcastLicence to Queer (w/ David Lowbridge-Ellis)
In our second episode of the new season we tackle a behemoth of film culture: James Bond. Bond is not a subject we've covered before, or even talked about that much on the podcast. Except perhaps in the context of thinking about franchise cinema.
This is something of an omission, as the James Bond world is a historically seminal part of film culture, which can be explored in many different ways. The industrial significance of the films was amplified when No Time To Die, Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond, was pushed back several times...2022-10-011h 00The Cinematologists PodcastJonah who will be 25 in the Year 2000 (w/ Caroline Catz and James Dean)
Eight prophets of the everyday struggle for love, justice, political autonomy, dignity, and in the end survival, in Alain Tanner's incredibly powerful, moving, emotionally and intellectually complex film: Jonah who will be 25 in the Year 2000. In our return episode for season sixteen of the podcast, we are delighted to be joined by the director, producer and actor Caroline Catz who selected this film as one of her all time favourites and joined us in Manchester's Home cinema for this very rare screening. Alain Tanner had passed away only three days before the screening which gave a bittersweet...2022-09-161h 14The Cinematologists PodcastCape Fear (live @TheGardenCinema)It's our season finale and we were delighted to get back into a cinema for a live screening and podcast recording, our first one since Covid. The venue was the spectacular Garden cinema in Covent Garden, a beautiful art-deco retro venue where we hope to be holding regular screenings in the autumn.
As part of their celebrating Film Noir season, we screened and discussed the 1962 psychological noir Cape Fear directed J. Lee Thompson. The film features what is considered one of the most powerfully chilling performances in cinema history: Robert Mitchum as Max Cady. Also starring Gregory...2022-07-081h 37The Cinematologists PodcastTop Gun: Maverick; Hustle; Lingui, The Sacred Bonds (and more)In episode 144, Neil and Dario discuss a few recent films viewed with a critical eye with regards to how they fit into film culture and more broadly how they reflect (or don't) current political attitudes.
Dario wrote in detail about the star persona of Tom Cruise in the most recent Patreon newsletter, and both Neil and Dario reflect on the experiential pleasures and reductive nostalgia of Tom Gun: Maverick along with the obvious ideological criticism around its propagandistic militarism.
Sports movies are a recurring focus of the podcast and the recent Netflix production Hustle starring A...2022-06-161h 03The Cinematologists PodcastCannes 2022In this episode, Neil records an audio diary from the 2022 International Festival de Cannes. He reflects on being part of the team presenting Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men to the world, the weirdness of Cannes, and some of the films he saw while there. Titles discussed are Patricio Guzmán’s My Imaginary Country, Mia Hansen' Løve’s One Fine Morning, the 1972 anthology film about the Munich Olympics Visions of Eight and De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel (who directed the experimental fishing documentary Leviathan). Guests include critic and podcaster John Bleasdale, academic a...2022-05-271h 34The Cinematologists PodcastHannah Strong on Sofia Coppola
The latest episode is another first for the podcast as this episode marks the first time we have gone back to talk about a filmmaker we’ve already dedicated an episode to. The reason for this landmark is Hannah Strong’s new book on Sofia Coppola for Abrams Books, Sofia Coppola: Forever Young. The book is the first in the Abrams series to see a female filmmaker given such lavish treatment.
Neil talks to Hannah about her approach to writing the book, Hannah’s personal and cinephilic connection to Coppola’s work and the trajectory her care...2022-05-121h 28The Cinematologists PodcastNightmare Alley, The Northman and moreWith Neil visiting London for the first time in a while, we took the opportunity to record an impromptu conversation with both of us in the same room. Thankfully the vibe and repartee still seem to have remained intact. We didn't have a specific theme in mind for the show so we ended up talking about recent viewings and let the conversation take us where it will. The two major films we discussed were Robert Eggers' The Northman and Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley - we had mixed feeling about both. More on the art-house side was Zero Fucks...2022-04-201h 12The Cinematologists PodcastBoiling Point (w/dir. Philip Barantini)
In this episode, Dario talks to director Philip Barantini about his tense, absorbing and thoroughly authentic slice of restaurant life: Boiling Point. Stephen Graham is superb as Andy, a chef on the edge breakdown with pressures coming from all angles and trying to keep his diverse team of staff working for him on a busy Christmas service. Adding to the anxiety, the restaurant is unexpectedly visited by a celebrity chef and Andy's former mentor Alastair (Jason Fleming), who brings with him notorious food critic Sara (Lourdes Faberes).
Dario and Philip bond over their shared experiences o...2022-04-131h 18The Cinematologists PodcastTyler Taormina (Ham on Rye, Happer’s Comet)
In this episode, Neil sits with emergent American filmmaker Tyler Taormina about his new, deeply strange and affecting feature Happer’s Comet, which premiered at Berlinale earlier this year. The conversation covers Tyler’s family, his approach to filmmaking, the nagging themes he can’t shake and the filmmakers his work is in dialogue with.
Additionally, Dario and Neil spend time really thinking about the theme of alienation in Tyler’s film and work, and what it says so beautifully about this moment in our time.
Thanks to Tyler for his time and Adam Ker...2022-03-311h 31The Cinematologists PodcastCherish Oteka & The Black Cop
Documentary film and TV maker Cherish Oteka is an insightful observer and visual translator of individual experiences related to race, sex, class, religion, and the often contentious relationship of these identities to Britishness. The Black Cop, is their latest documentary short. Nominated for a BAFTA the film is a portrait of the charismatic Gamal "G" Turawa and his experiences in the Met police as a black, gay officer.
The story of "G" covers his fostering by a white family in the suburbs to a move to London with a father unknown to him, and the...2022-03-111h 15The Cinematologists PodcastBill Douglas Cinema MuseumIn this latest episode, Neil takes listeners inside the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum at the University of Exeter with the help of lead curator Phil Wickham.
Phil guides Neil around the museum's different exhibits that stretch from pre-cinema to the present day, they take an amble round the archive stacks and Neil reflects on the spaces of museums, archives and libraries as place of tactile proximity to history, art and knowledge.
Elsewhere Neil and Dario discuss the role of libraries and museums in contemporary education and society.
Thanks to Phil for the invitation...2022-03-021h 33The Cinematologists PodcastMichel Chion, in Conversation (Part 2)This is part two of our interview with the seminal film scholar, critic, and composer Michel Chion. From the late 70s onwards Chion has been one of the leading voices at the intersection of film scholarship and cinephilic criticism. His work spans a huge roster of filmmakers and subjects, but it's his work on film sound with which he is arguably most identified. Books such as The Voice in Cinema (1982), Audio/Vision (1993), Music in Cinema (1995) & Film, A Sound Art in many ways defined the sub-field of film sound criticism. Chion also wrote for Cahiers du Cinéma in the 1980s...2022-02-041h 06The Cinematologists PodcastMichel Chion, in conversation (Part 1)We are back with Season 15 of The Cinematologists podcast. To begin our new run we are starting with a real high point: a double episode featuring the seminal film scholar, critic, and composer Michel Chion.
From the late 70s onwards Chion has been one of the leading voices at the intersection of film scholarship and cinephilic criticism. His work spans a huge roster of filmmakers and subjects, but it's his work on film sound with which he is arguably most identified. Books such as The Voice in Cinema (1982), Audio/Vision (1993), Music in Cinema (1995) & Film, A Sound Art...2022-02-031h 07The Cinematologists Podcast2021 reviewA United Nations translator, negotiating through the Serbian occupation of Srebrenica; the avant-garde queerness of one the world's most influential bands; a working-class writer's climb towards artistic and social recognition; the gallows humour of asylum seekers in the UK immigration system; a young orphan search for a story of the self; a neurosurgeon fighting to understand her own consciousness; radical technology as the bait of a heist gone wrong; the deep trauma of stoic gambler, and a reckoning between tragedy and love on the road and in the theatre.
These are just some of the themes Dario a...2021-12-281h 22The Cinematologists PodcastJodorowsky‘s Dune (w/ director Frank Pavich)
In our penultimate episode of 2021, Dario speaks to Frank Pavich the director of Jodorowsky's Dune and NYHC. With all the publicity and discussion around Denis Villeneuve's blockbuster interpretation of Frank Herbert's influential Sci-Fi novel, it was fantastic to go back to the first, incredibly imaginative but ultimately failed attempt to bring the book to the screen from one of cinema's singular visionaries: Alejandro Jodorowsky. Frank talks about his first contact with Jodorowsky, his uncompromising attitude to the production scope and casting, and his assembling of a team of designers and artists including Kurt Geiger, whose drawings Pavich...2021-12-161h 25The Cinematologists PodcastRaising Films and Recent Films (w/So Mayer)
In the latest episode, Dario talks to poet and activist So Mayer about their work on the recent Raising Films survey ‘How We Work Now’ about the impact of Covid-19 on those working in the screen industries whose lives also involve caring responsibilities of various shades. So and Dario discuss how vital this work is on its own terms but also as part of a broader landscape of rethinking how the film industry operates and who gets to participate.
Elsewhere there’s a deep dive into Celine Sciamma’s new film Petite Maman. There was due to b...2021-12-011h 23The Cinematologists PodcastDr Alison Peirse - Women Make Horror
A Tale of Two Sisters, 2003, Editor Lee Hyeon-mi
In this episode, Neil talks to one of Horror Cinema’s leading scholars and all-round creative force of nature, Dr. Alison Peirse. Alison teaches film at Leeds (and is an old colleague of Dario’s!) where she is an associate professor. She writes a brilliant newsletter called The Losers Club and is finding success on the film festival circuit with her debut video essay Three Ways to Dine Well.
Alongside monographs on 1930s and Korean horror, Alison is the editor of the recent publication Women Make...2021-11-061h 20The Cinematologists PodcastLondon Film Festival 2021: Part 2
The second episode in our coverage of the London Film Festival is a bumper one with Dario and Neil discussing a ton of new movies from all over the world. They are joined by regular visitor to the pod Savina Petkova, who Dario talked to at the festival itself as it wound down, who added discussions about new films by Joanna Hogg, Terence Davies and Julia Ducournau to the mix. Neil waxes lyrical about the Japanese masterpiece Drive My Car by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Hit The Road, the debut feature by Panah Panahi. Dario meanwhile loves P...2021-10-201h 29The Cinematologists PodcastIndependent MagazinesIn this slightly longer than normal episode, Neil indulges his love of magazines by having conversations with editors of print magazines with a varying focus on film about setting up print enterprises in the digital age. He talks to Maria J Pérez Cuervo about her folk horror magazine Hellebore, Gabriel Solomons about illustrated film magazine Beneficial Shock and Cathy Lomax & Lucy Bolton about a special British film edition of art and culture periodical Garageland. All the conversations revolve around a love of magazines and we are grateful to all the contributors for their time.
Around these c...2021-10-021h 43The Cinematologists PodcastRose Plays Julie (w/Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor)
For the season 14 premiere Neil and Dario discuss one of 2021’s best releases, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s dark and magnetic psychodrama Rose Plays Julie starring Ann Skelly, Orla Brady and Aidan Gillen.
Neil talks to the filmmakers about their unique, exploratory process, growing as filmmakers, working with actors and timing. Elsewhere Neil and Dario catch up about some recent watches and what they’ve been up to over the summer, before heading off to the bonus episode for Patreon subscribers to discuss Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michael K. Williams.
It’s good to be ba...2021-09-161h 27The Cinematologists PodcastSeason 13 FinaleTo close out an epic season this final episode just finds Neil and Dario talking to each other, and responding to listener questions. This special episode, and the Patreon bonus episode, runs the gamut from the future of cinema, the death of horror cinema (or not?), lockdown viewing strategies, platonic male relationships, Strictly Ballroom, the BBC film Together, facial hair, celebrity lookalikes, Pedro Costa, ASMR and papyrus.
Thanks to Chloe, Dan, Brian, Andrew, Lee, Jason, Si, Guy, Mark, MarBelle and Chris for their input on this episode.
Thanks for another great season. See (& Hear) you...2021-07-091h 15The Cinematologists PodcastNicolas RapoldIn the latest episode, Neil talks at length to critic, editor and podcaster Nicolas Rapold about his podcast The Last Thing I Saw, as well as podcasting in general, the benefits of direct-to-subscriber content via Substack and, a favourite topic of Neil and Dario's, film culture in 2021 in general.
Elsewhere, Neil and Dario ponder ideas around conversation and podcasting, inclusivity and good faith and share war stories of near-middle-age ailments based around tennis and a visit to the barber.
The Last Thing I Saw is available wherever you get your pods, but the best way to...2021-06-251h 27The Cinematologists PodcastDelia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes (w/dir. Caroline Catz)For this episode we are honoured to be joined by the wonderful filmmaker Caroline Catz to discuss her brilliant debut feature film Delia Derbyshire: the Myths and Legendary Tapes, which Catz wrote, directed and stars in, as Derbyshire. It’s a unique music doc/drama hybrid that is well worth the time and is currently on the BBC iPlayer in the UK.
The conversation covers Caroline’s process for the film, her relationship to Derbyshire’s music and that of the Radiophonic Workshop, as well as venturing into women as artists in relation to Derbyshire, one of the fi...2021-06-081h 44The Cinematologists PodcastRadio On (w/ Mark Jenkin)
We are really excited to focus an episode around the BFI Blu-ray release of Chris Petit's existential British road movie Radio On as it's a film that we had talked about for a long time. Alongside this, it gave us the perfect excuse to bring on one of our original supporters and true friend of the show, Mark Jenkin. Mark kindly took the time out from editing his new feature Enys Men, to explore why Radio On is one of his most influential films. Indeed, there is no one better to talk about the handmade sensibility of...2021-05-151h 11The Cinematologists PodcastEp122 - Projections Podcast (w/Mary Wild and Sarah Cleaver)For this exciting episode Neil and Dario are joined by two of their favourite film podcasters, Mary and Sarah from the Projections podcast, a thematic, season-oriented show that looks at a huge swathe of cinema through the lens of psychoanalysis.
In this episode, the four of them discuss psychoanalysis as a mode for cinema study, some of the problems with cancel culture, how Sarah and Mary went about starting Projections and their reflections on how the podcast has grown, sex in cinema, Eyes Wide Shut and Annie Hall.
It’s a great conversation with two sm...2021-05-101h 07The Cinematologists PodcastEp121 - Wilderness (w/Justin Doherty and Neil Fox [obvs])
Today's episode focuses on the Jazz inspired bittersweet romance Wilderness, penned by our very own Neil Fox and directed by Justin Doherty. Both Neil and Justin subject themselves to an hour of intense Cinematologists questioning from Dario covering the development of the script, the unique production context, the casting and production design. We also get into the cinematic representation of relationships, particularly at their outset, and how the developmental phase of love can be a rollercoaster of contradictory feelings not always expressed in the most rational ways. The conversation also covers the release of the film to...2021-04-261h 24The Cinematologists PodcastEp120 Western (w/ Dr Hannah Paveck)
Valeska Grisebach's Western (2017) transposes many of the iconographies and thematics of the western genre to the setting of a contemporary border town between Bulgaria and Greece, where a group of German construction workers build a hydro-electric plant. Their presence stirs up contemporary and historically layered tensions which are exacerbated by the communication barriers between the groups. This leads to a familiar, male driven tribalism, which one of the Germans, the stoic Meinhard (played by first time actor Meinhard Neumann), looks to navigate.
In this episode, we are joined by Dr Hannah Paveck whose article in...2021-04-091h 11The Cinematologists PodcastAndrew Dominik (Crossover Ep w/Silver Screen Video Podcast)
For this episode The Cinematologists are delighted to announce their first ever Podcast Crossover Event/Episode. As big fans of the wonderful Silver Screen Video podcast, hosted by Jacob and Jonathan, Neil and Dario were delighted when they agreed to do a collaborative episode, even more delighted when it was agreed that three films by the brilliant Australian director Andrew Dominik would be the focus ,and, yet more delighted by the result - a far-ranging and hugely fun conversation between Neil, Dario, Jacob and Jonathan on Chopper (2000) starring Eric Bana in a career-defining turn and Dominik’s tw...2021-03-261h 54The Cinematologists PodcastConversations About Cinema (w/ Mark Cosgrove and Francesco Tava)
In this episode Neil talks to Mark Cosgrove, cinema curator at The Watershed in Bristol and Dr Francesco Tava, senior lecturer in philosophy at University of West England (UWE), about their current season of colonial cinema and discussions, Thought in Action, presented in partnership with MUBI.
Their conversation covers the positives of online events in the pandemic including accessing filmmakers and panel members from all over the world as well as welcoming diverse audiences, the hybrid future of cinema events and the value of meeting communally to discuss movies, and the importance of the colonial...2021-03-191h 21The Cinematologists PodcastRomanian Cinema (w/Film Critic Andrei Gorzo)
In this episode we talk to top Bucharest film critic and academic Andrei Gorzo about the aesthetics, history and political context of Romanian cinema. Andrei outlines how the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu in 1989 effected a liberalisation of society, culture and the arts. But it not would be for another 10 years until the Romanian New Wave and directors like Cristi Puiu, Cornelie Porumboiu and Cristian Mungiu would spark a distinctive cinema emerge that would attained international acclaim. Andrei's research and writing is anchored by an encyclopaedic knowledge of international cinema and the connections between the emergence of t...2021-03-121h 23The Cinematologists PodcastSex and the Cinema (w/Film Critic Beatrice Loayza)
In this episode, we take on the thorny issue of sex and cinema but thankfully we had the extremely insightful film critic Beatrice Loayza to help is navigate the many strands of this subject. Beatrice has bylines in Sight & Sound, LA review of Book, Reverse Shot and Mubi notebook, but it was her recent piece in the Guardian - Some sex scenes are gratuitous, but a good one can electrify a film - that was the trigger for this conversation. Dario and Beatrice discuss the polarised debate around how sex scenes should be deployed, i.e. in...2021-02-261h 18The Cinematologists PodcastSimon Stephenson (Set My Heart To Five)
In the latest episode, Neil and Dario are drawn back to one of their favourite topics to talk about, Sci-Fi, albeit in a slightly different context. Neil talks to author and screenwriter Simon Stephenson about his acclaimed debut novel Set My Heart To Five, which tells the story of Jared - a bot who develops feelings. Simon is also adapting his book into a screenplay, with Edgar Wright attached to direct.
Around this conversation, Neil and Dario talk about a host of topics including the legacy of classic Sci-Fi cinema and in particular representations of...2021-02-121h 20The Cinematologists PodcastConcert Films (Stop Making Sense and American Utopia)
To kick off season 13 of the podcast, Neil and Dario get into the wonder of Talking Heads' and Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense (1984) and concert films in general. They touch on the performativity of music documentaries and what makes Sense such a seminal work. They also talk about its spiritual successor, David Byrne and Spike Lee's American Utopia from 2020.
Elsewhere there is a chat about Richard Fleischer's lean and nasty Mob pulp movie The Don Is Dead (1973), recently released by Masters of Cinema, our first ever release partnership with MUBI for Dea Kulumbegasvhvili's Beginning (2020) and the pair...2021-01-301h 11The Cinematologists PodcastSo Long 2020
In this final episode of Season 12 Neil and Dario chat, casually, about some of their favourite films of the past year. They chose five each to give a special focus to and elsewhere in the episode there are some honourable mentions and also shout out to the pair's favourite film podcasts of the last 12 months.
It's been a helluva year. No need to go over it again. But, The Cinematologists hope you are doing ok and thank you for your continued support of this podcast. Without the listeners and the community around the show that...2021-01-041h 33The Cinematologists PodcastThe Cinema of Walter Murch (w/ Dir. Jon Lefkovitz)
Walter Murch is one of the seminal figures in American cinema in terms of defining film craft. His editing and sound design work, in many ways, provides the audio-visual architecture to the most influential films of New Hollywood and his collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola on The Conversation, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now would influence a generation of filmmakers to follow. Jon Lefkovitz's feature length audio-visual essay, draws upon a wealth public interviews, discussions and lectures by Murch which demonstrate how his technical craftsmanship is borne out of a deep philosophical understanding of cinema as an art f...2020-12-191h 22The Cinematologists PodcastBritish Social Realism Now! (w/Sarah Gavron & Henry Blake)
To coincide with the cinema release of the new drama County Lines, directed by one of today's guests Henry Blake, Neil and Dario discuss the form and legacies of that oft contested term 'social realism', asking if it has a place in today's British Cinema landscape and if recent releases such as Fyzal Boulifa's Lynn + Lucy and Mark Jenkin's Bait are evidence of a 'new wave'.
As well as Henry's interview with Neil, Dario talks with Sarah Gavron, director of one of the most acclaimed of the recent British 'social' dramas, Rocks, recently released in cinema...2020-12-022h 08The Cinematologists Podcast(Repost) Ep 6 Goodbye Dragon Inn
To coincide with the Blu Ray (Arrow Films) release of Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang's wonderful elegy to the cinema Goodbye Dragon Inn, we are reposting one of our earliest episodes. Associated with what has come to be known a slow cinema, Tsai's subtly observed visual storytelling utilising long shots, intricate framing and editing but with minimalist dialogue, demands an a deep level of attention in the viewer. The empty, dilapidated movie palace at the centre of the story a metaphor for wider rejection of the auditorium experience. Recorded live at Falmouth University, the episode now feels like a...2020-11-231h 22The Cinematologists PodcastAng Lee (w/Ellen Cheshire & Francesco Signorello)
On this episode, Dario and Neil delve into the career of Ang Lee. For this discussion, they are joined by writer Ellen Cheshire, a former guest on the show (Ep69, Jane Campion's The Piano), whose new book on Ang Lee prompted this episode.
Find out more about Ellen's books (and more importantly buy them!) here.
In addition, Neil talks to one of his students, third year undergraduate Francesco Signorello, about the 2003 film Hulk, and its impact both negatively and positively on the now ubiquitous superhero movie landscape.
To kick things off, Neil...2020-11-161h 43The Cinematologists PodcastWalkabout (w/Luc Roeg and Andrew Peirce)
The occasion of Second Sight Film's wonderful 4K release of Nicolas Roeg's debut feature as sole director allowed for a chance to spend some time focusing on a favourite filmmaker of the podcast.
Thanks to AIM Publicity we were offered the chance to talk to one of the film's actors, leading British film producer and son of the director, Luc Roeg. Neil spoke to him earlier in the year and that conversation forms the basis of this episode, alongside a chat Neil had with Melbourne based film critic Andrew Peirce on the legacy of the f...2020-10-121h 39The Cinematologists PodcastStudying Film in 2020 (w/Freya Billington & Dr Catherine Wheatley)
For the second episode of Season 12, the Cinematologists take a customary left turn from the last episode and get into the weeds about what it's like to be embarking on a new academic year in cinema, for teachers and students, undergraduates and those doing PhDs.
Neil and Dario are joined by Freya Billington from UWE and Dr Catherine Wheatley from King's College London to talk about practice and theory and their intersections, the realities of life in a blended/online teaching world for users at both ends and the need for hope, reflection and kindness...2020-09-251h 21The Cinematologists PodcastPeter Bogdanovich and The Great Buster
Season 12 of the Cinematologists is here. And we start with a bang. Episode 106 features an interview with legendary filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich discussing with Dario and Neil his beautifully crafted celebration of one of silent cinema's brightest stars: Buster Keaton. The Great Buster (released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 21st) reminds of the genius of Keaton's comedic imagination, covering his early years in vaudeville, his entry into cinema with the string of early two-reeler "gag-fests", the classic feature period in the twenties, and onto his later career where his autonomy was curtailed by the increasingly formulaic nature...2020-09-181h 19The Cinematologists PodcastTokyo Story
The first of our collaborations with the BFI Japan season focuses on what is generally regarded as a masterpiece of cinema: Yasujirö Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953). In many ways, a simple story of grandparents visiting their children in the city, but one that gradually builds on the resentments and disappointments of intergenerational alienation. Dario and Neil discuss the film in terms of its status in 'the canon', its reverence as Ozu's finest work in a prolific career, and as arguably the purest distillation of the auteur's thematic and formal concerns. A masterclass in directorial precision and visual composition t...2020-07-161h 11The Cinematologists PodcastFilm Editing with Katie Bryer
Katie Bryer is a freelance film editor whose brilliant work on Bruce Lee and the Outlaw, Maiden, and Virunga demonstrates the diverse possibilities of documentary storytelling. In this episode, Katie discusses the development of her craft, working through student shorts, children's television, and for the BBC on Holby City. The gaining of confidence and building of skills and experience in a role, clearly underpins the idea that doing the work, having a complete commitment to one's passion, is the key to 'getting good'. Katie discusses with Dario some of the key elements of editing as fundamental to...2020-07-041h 29The Cinematologists PodcastSometimes Always Never
Sometimes Always Never is the debut feature film from Liverpool filmmaker, musician and designer Carl Hunter. It marks the latest stage in a collaboration with screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce and stars Bill Nighy, Sam Riley, Alice Lowe, Jenny Agutter and Tim McInerny.
The film was released digitally in March, following a successful festival run over the past couple of years, and tells the story of Nighy searching for his long missing son, with Riley as the brother left behind. It’s a moving story, beautifully told and as lockdown got underway, Neil talked with Carl about th...2020-06-101h 47The Cinematologists PodcastThe Uncertain Kingdom
The Uncertain Kingdom is “an anthology of twenty short films for our uncertain times”. The brainchild of producers Isabel Feeer, Georgia Goggin and John Jencks, the anthology is released digitally on June 1st with the hope that the films will “inspire, support and encourage new conversations about our interesting times’. 10 filmmakers were invited to make work for the project, with the other 10 shorts selected from an open submission call that saw over 1000 entries and work curated under narrative, documentary and experimental banners. The aim of the project was to create a snapshot of Britain in 2020, coming from an aware...2020-06-011h 54The Cinematologists PodcastWomen Make Film (Mark Cousins)For the first episode of a new century (of Cinematologists episodes) we are proud to present a conversation with esteemed filmmaker and cineaste Mark Cousins to celebrate the release of his mammoth, 14hr, poetic documentary project, and cinephile treasure trove, Women Make Film.
Recorded during lockdown in 2020, the conversation features Neil and Dario talking to Mark about his process and approach as well as the discoveries and rediscoveries contained within this love letter to cinema and foregrounding of forgotten, undervalued and sidelined directorial voices.
The film is released on Blu-ray by the BFI on Monday 18...2020-05-171h 36The Cinematologists Podcast5 Years & 100 EpisodesIn this special episode, marking 100 episodes and five years of The Cinematologists podcast, Neil and Dario take a breath. With the help of friends and supporters of the podcast they discuss the history and evolution of the show, their formative experiences of cinemas, meaningful film viewing experiences, critics and academics that helped shaped their understanding of talking about cinema on the page and elsewhere, and what they think and hope the future of cinema(s) and the podcast might look like.
This episode, like the previous 99 and the show in general, would not be possible without the...2020-04-272h 17The Cinematologists PodcastBerlinale 2020 Part 2Part Two of our Berlinale 2020 special is here. You’d think that after 5 years doing this podcast I’d get a little thing like the audio right, but alas, a couple of my solo recordings here are of a very poor quality - lots of peaking and distortion, which I have tried hard to reduce. Apologies.
The content is still pretty good though methinks. Lots of chat with Dario about films including the award-winning The Woman Who Ran [Hong Sangsoo] and Never Rarely Sometimes Always [Eliza Hittman], Siberia [Abel Ferrara], Entre Perro Y Lobo - plus an inte...2020-03-021h 47The Cinematologists PodcastBerlinale 2020 Part 1It's Berlinale time. Our annual sojourn to our favorite European Film Festival is one of the highlights of the year and the programme looks intriguing with a host of big names in art-house cinema showing their latest work. This is the first of a two-part episode in which we bring our thoughts to bear on the big competition entries and fiction and documentary films from other sections of Berlin's extensive programme. We also interview various critics also in the city no only on their festival picks but on any emergent themes of this year's event. Wild mushroom picking, toxic...2020-03-011h 26The Cinematologists PodcastAdam Mars-JonesAdam Mars-Jones is an award-winning novelist and critic. His most recent novel, Box Hill, won the 2019 Fitzcarraldo novel prize. An apt award for someone who is also one of Britain’s most erudite and singular voices in film criticism. In late 2019 a collection of his film criticism, Second Sight, was published. It collects a significant portion of his reviews from his days as The Independent’s film critic (the paper’s first) as well as work for outlets including the Spectator.
In this, the first episode of season 11 proper, Neil sits down in Adam’s kitchen for a chat t...2020-02-211h 48The Cinematologists PodcastFilmstock Extra - Kieran EvansRecorded at Luton’s Filmstock Film Festival (co-directed by Neil) in November 2019, this series features long-form conversations with filmmakers recorded specially for the podcast.
Thanks to The School of Film & Television at Falmouth University for sponsoring this strand of Filmstock to enable these conversations to take place.
The series features conversations with directors Jeanie Finlay and Kieran Evans and screenwriter M.R. Carey.
Finally, it’s Neil’s conversation with director Kieran Evans. Clips screened at the talk came from Kieran’s works Be Pure. Be Vigilant. Behave., The Outer Edges, Kelly + Victor and his...2020-02-071h 02The Cinematologists PodcastFilmstock Extra - M.R. Carey
Recorded at Luton’s Filmstock Film Festival (co-directed by Neil) in November 2019, this series features long-form conversations with filmmakers recorded specially for the podcast.
Thanks to The School of Film & Television at Falmouth University for sponsoring this strand of Filmstock to enable these conversations to take place.
The series features conversations with directors Jeanie Finlay and Kieran Evans and screenwriter M.R. Carey.
Next up, it’s Neil’s conversation with comics, novel and screenwriter M.R. Carey. The conversation covers his work in on legendary comics such as Lucifer, his YA nov...2020-01-301h 00The Cinematologists PodcastFilmstock Extra - Jeanie Finlay
Recorded at Luton’s Filmstock Film Festival (co-directed by Neil) in November 2019, this series features long-form conversations with filmmakers recorded specially for the podcast.
Thanks to The School of Film & Television at Falmouth University for sponsoring this strand of Filmstock to enable these conversations to take place.
The series features conversations with directors Jeanie Finlay and Kieran Evans and screenwriter M.R. Carey.
First up, it’s Neil’s career-spanning conversation with documentary filmmaker Jeanie Finlay. Clips screened at the talk came from Jeanie’s films Goth Cruise, Orion: The Man Who Woul...2020-01-221h 00The Cinematologists Podcast2019 review
In the final episode of season 10, we look back over 2019 with film highlights we wanted to discuss again. This is not a ranking or a best of, merely a celebration of the year in film and our personal choices of the work we think should be seen and discussed. Here's a list of all the films on our agenda:
Ad Astra; Amazing Grace; Apollo 13; Atlantics; Bait; Burning; Capernaum; Dolemite is My Name; Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Happy as Lazzaro; Her Smell; High Flying Bird; High Life; If Beale Street Could Talk; The Irishman...2020-01-012h 28The Cinematologists PodcastBFI Musicals Pt. 2 / Funny Girl
The second of instalment of our BFI Musicals two-parter sees Neil and Dario take a deep dive into the glorious world of Barbra Streisand. Neil was invited to Plymouth Arts Centre to take part in the Reclaim The Frame screening of Funny Girl (a film neither Neil nor Dario had seen), hosted by Mia Bays and the brilliant Birds Eye View organisation.
This episode sees Neil and Dario discuss the stardom and career of Streisand, alongside an interview between Neil and Mia, Mia’s introduction to the screening and the post-screening panel featuring Neil, director an...2019-12-271h 24The Cinematologists PodcastEp94a BFI Musicals
The first of our episodes in partnership with the BFI’s Blockbuster season on Musicals finds us discussing our relationship to the genre and its descendants as well as responding to a series of interviews conducted by Neil over the last couple of months. Guests on this special episode are the critic/historian Pamela Hutchinson who gives a brilliant overview of the musical form and suggests some gems to look out for, writer Tom MacRae who talks about the process of adapting his own West End smash Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for the screen, and Justine Wadd...2019-12-232h 05The Cinematologists PodcastFilmstock12
Today's episode features a raft of interviews recorded a Filmstock12, the Luton film festival organised by Neil with his long-time collaborator Justin Doherty, which returned this year after a 10-year hiatus. Fiercely proud of his Luton roots, Neil talks to Dario about the origins of the festival, the programming ethos, why it came back this year, and what it represents as a cultural marker for Luton.
While Neil and Justin were organising and presenting the festival Dario acted as roving interviewer at large, speaking to 5 of the filmmakers who were screening films:
1. Dan S...2019-12-141h 55The Cinematologists PodcastThe Lobster (w/ Solem Quartet Live Score)
In another first for the Cinematologists, we are hugely excited to present The Lobster with a live score from the classical group the Solem Quartet and in association with Picturehouses cinemas. Live cinema events featuring musical accompaniments are becoming more prevalent as part of the auditorium experience; they echo cinema's past but also a look to the future as audiences seek out material experiences that go beyond or add onto traditional screenings, and perhaps look for a break from the digital. This event took place at the beautiful Gate Cinema in Notting Hill, to a packed house, wi...2019-12-0457 minThe Cinematologists PodcastAt Filmstock with Mark Jenkin
In our first episode from Filmstock 12 - the Luton based film festival organised by Neil in collaboration with Justin Doherty - we are delighted to welcome back on the podcast director Mark Jenkin. In this live Q&A Mark talks to Dario about his incredible year and the success of Bait, which has been met with universal critical acclaim and considerable box office success. That a black and white hand-processed experimental film about Cornish fisherman has become the stories of the year in film, is a testament to a filmmaker who has never compromised on his politics a...2019-11-291h 35The Cinematologists PodcastSpeed
For episode 90 Dario and Neil go old school for the film and the format. In this classically structured episode the focus of attention is on the 1994 action classic Speed, screened for the Film at Falmouth 2019 Freshers audience at The Poly in Falmouth.
The discussion ranges across contemporary and classic action movies and stars including Harrison Ford, Arnie, The Stath, Cruise, Aliens, Dredd and much more, as well as the film as in service of pure spectacle, the uniqueness of Keanu and the special chemistry he shares in this film with co-star Sandra Bullock.
...2019-11-151h 53The Cinematologists PodcastMaking Waves (w/ dir. Midge Costin)
When we heard that a documentary about the art of film sound was being released we simply had to check it out. Fortuitously, the film was playing at this year's London Film Festival and we were lucky enough to be able to interview the film's director Midge Costin. Midge has an unbelievable C.V. herself as a sound editor working on many of the big action movies of the 80s and 90s including The Rock, Armageddon, Days of Thunder and Crimson Tide. As a graduate of the University of Southern California, she shares the history of American...2019-11-011h 30The Cinematologists PodcastLondon Film Festival 2019
While the London Film Festival is fresh in the mind, The Cinematologists bring you this round-up of some of the best films in this year's event. In order to help with this task, we have enlisted two smart and articulate young film critics to give their in-depth, considered opinions. Dario talks to Savina Petkova (MubiNotebook, Electric Ghost Magazine, Girls on Tops Tees) and James Maitre (Director's Notes, Albums in the Attic) about their festival highlights.
Before that Dario also talks to London Film Festival senior programmers Kate Taylor and Michael Blyth about the or...2019-10-161h 36The Cinematologists PodcastFilm-Philosophy Conference 2019 (part 1)
Season 10 of the Cinematologists podcast kicks off with a double bill of episodes from the Film-Philosophy Conference held at the University of Brighton in July. Hosted by our very own Dario Llinares the event which boasted an internationally renowned line-up of keynotes and delegates.
Both episodes are made up of interviews we managed to grab as the conference progressed and, we hope gives you a sense of the eclectic mix of themes, methodologies and films that were discussed. Neil and Dario are joined on interviewing duties by Kat Zabecka, who studies at the University of E...2019-09-192h 04The Cinematologists PodcastCanons & Cinephilia (w/ So Mayer & Girish Shambu)
The latest episode sees The Cinematologists going deep on some of the central conversations in contemporary film culture, joined by the peerless So Mayer & Girish Shambu.
Coinciding with So's 'A Queer Toolkit for Blowing Up The Canon' talk at HOME in Manchester, and Girish visiting the UK for the Queer & Feminist Cinephilia Workshop at the University of Birmingham, Neil talked to them both about canons, cinephilia and the responsibility of cinephiles in the current moment.
Following that conversation, Neil and Dario share their thoughts on the state of current online discourse and share t...2019-05-302h 02