We Need to Talk About Oscar

Elliot Tuttle, Kieron Moore and Reed Birney on vulnerability and vision in 'Blue Film'

We are joined by writer-director Elliot Tuttle and actors Reed Birney and Kieron Moore to discuss 'Blue Film,' a chamber drama that faced rejection from multiple festivals before finding distribution with Obscured Releasing. Elliot reflects on what kept him determined to make the film without compromising the story despite knowing most festivals wouldn't program it, while Reed and Kieron share whether they had reservations about the project seeing the light of day when they first read the script. We explore how a project this risky reads differently depending on where you are in your career, with one actor in the first half and another in the second half of their profession. Elliot and cinematographer Ryan Jackson-Healy made a bold visual choice implied by the title itself: relying heavily on one color to define the film's language. He discusses the potential pitfalls they identified in that decision and how they navigated them. Reed and Kieron each highlight what the other brought to help them reach the vulnerable place their roles demanded. The conversation turns to what it means to ask actors to bare themselves physically and emotionally on camera. Elliot examines how he moved from daring to make such requests to actually being able to ask for what the film required, and the trust that had to exist between director and performers for 'Blue Film' to work. (Photos: Courtesy of Obscured Releasing)

Nicole Bazuin on claiming agency through form in 'Modern Whore'

Director Nicole Bazuin's 'Modern Whore' began as a 2018 illustrated memoir collaboration with Andrea Werhun, evolved through multiple shorts including one that premiered at SXSW in 2020, and now arrives as a feature documentary that's traveled from TIFF to theatrical release. Nicole reflects on how over a decade of friendship and creative partnership shaped what the film ultimately became. The hybrid documentary mixes sit-down interviews, scripted reenactments with Andrea playing herself, unscripted conversations with her mother and partner, and animation. Nicole made the bold choice to shoot portions on a volume wall, bringing blockbuster LED technology into an indie documentary context, pushing back against conventional expectations of what a documentary about sex work should look like. Having worn every major creative hat on the film as director, writer, producer, and editor, Nicole built Virgin Twins with Andrea into a company whose first feature has won multiple documentary awards and secured both theatrical and digital distribution. She considers whether this feature represents the culmination of what they'd been building toward, or if it marks the beginning of something new rather than an ending.

We Need to Talk About Emmy #31: Alexandra Brodski shapes psychological grip in 'Half Man'

Alexandra Brodski directs 'Half Man,' Richard Gadd's first fully fictional series following 'Baby Reindeer.' Alexandra reflects on how the project found her and at what point in reading the scripts she knew she wanted to be the one to direct it. For the first time in her television career, she was there from the beginning, building the tone rather than inheriting one from episodes she didn't shoot, marking a shift from her work on 'Somewhere Boy' and 'Rivals.' We explore the unusual creative gravity of having Richard Gadd write every word, executive produce, and star, with a specific wrinkle: the early episodes are largely carried by Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson as teenage Ruben and Niall, while Gadd and Jamie Bell function as the framing device. Alexandra examines how she found her space in material this tightly authored, and whether directing something fictional versus autobiographical changed her approach. She addresses how to direct for a dynamic that must be visceral before it becomes legible, capturing Ruben's psychological grip over Niall in a way the audience feels well before they fully understand. On a technical level, Alexandra unpacks shooting a relationship defined by power and need constantly switching places. She shares her instincts about camera proximity, how close is too close, and how to find the right distance. We examine the recurring use of mirrors throughout the series and what that device opens up in a scene that a direct shot doesn't. With a feature in development, Alexandra considers whether directing something this heavy and claustrophobic affects what she wants to make next. (Photo credit: Omri Dagan)

Madison Young faces her younger selves in 'By the Roots'

Writer-director Madison Young adapts her memoir 'Daddy' into 'By the Roots,' her feature directorial debut. Madison traces the adaptation process and the stages the script went through in transforming such deeply personal material into cinema. We explore the casting process, from how much Madison overthought who would play her to the challenge of putting different stages of her life on screen together. Madison opens up about casting both her kid and teenage selves, navigating the complexity of seeing multiple versions of yourself embodied by other actors, and how those different ages and perspectives fit together as one continuous story. Coming from over two decades in feminist porn as a director, performer, and advocate for ethical representation of sexuality on screen, Madison examines what intimacy coordinator Maya Herbsman brought to the table on a film where the physical is so central to the story. She considers how her background shaped her approach to depicting sexuality and intimacy, and what shifts when bringing those principles into narrative filmmaking about her own life. (Photo: Courtesy of Empress in Lavender Media)

Chandler Levack on distance, exposure, and doubling down in 'Mile End Kicks' and 'Roommates'

Canadian filmmaker Chandler Levack follows up her critically acclaimed debut 'I Like Movies,' with not one but two films releasing on the same day: 'Mile End Kicks,' her most personal work yet, and 'Roommates,' her first time directing someone else's script for Netflix. She reflects on whether there's a recognizable signature that shows up in both regardless of whose story she's telling or what the budget looks like. We explore the distance Chandler found through gender reversal in 'I Like Movies' versus the raw exposure of 'Mile End Kicks,' where Barbie Ferreira wears her actual SPIN Magazine T-shirts from her days as a music critic. She discusses navigating the casting process when the character is essentially herself, and whether there was a moment that felt too exposed. Having written the script a decade ago, she shares how making 'I Like Movies' first transformed what 'Mile End Kicks' ultimately became. Turning to 'Roommates,' Chandler explains what drew her to directing someone else's words for a studio after building a career on intensely personal films. She examines how directing without the full backstory of every line requires developing a different kind of ownership, and whether the leap from microbudget indie to Happy Madison Netflix production altered her approach in practical ways. With three feature films now in her filmography, she considers where her work might head next. (Photo: Courtesy of Jeremy Cox)