Past Present Feature with Marcus Mizelle

E65 • Curation as Craft, Responsibility, Intuition • ANIA TRZEBIATOWSKA, Sundance Programmer & SANDS Festival Director

Sundance feature programmer Ania Trzebiatowska joins the show to talk about curation as craft, responsibility, and intuition. From her roots in Poland to running Krakow’s Off Camera festival, working in acquisitions at Visit Films, and programming U.S. and world documentary features at Sundance, Ania reflects on how taste is formed and why being pleasantly surprised when viewing submissions still matters most. We discuss the realities filmmakers obsess over, including who you know, timing, marketplace “success,” and why Vimeo analytics do not tell the full story. Ania breaks down what actually happens behind the scenes at Sundance, how programmers balance limited slots with thousands of film submissions, and why being the right fit matters more than trends or agendas. She shares why festivals need balance between urgent, heavy films and work that is entertaining, humane, and emotionally alive. Drawing from examples like André Is an Idiot and Gleason, Ania explains how character-driven storytelling can carry even the most difficult subjects. Advice to filmmakers: do your research, be clear about what you are making, and remember that programmers are rooting for you, even when the answer might still be no. What Movies Are You Watching? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2357245/open_sms] Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature The Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature

E64 • Make The Struggle Worth It • PARSIFAL REPARATO, dir. of 'She' - Best Doc, Adelaide Film Festival following Locarno

Italian documentarian Parsifal Reparato discusses She, his five-year journey inside Vietnam’s electronics manufacturing world, where young migrant women work 12-hour shifts producing devices for the global market. What began as labor-rights research grew into a portrait of fear, capitalism, and survival, earned through slow trust-building with workers afraid to speak openly. We unpack creative influences like Lars Von Trier’s Dogville, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, and the observational approach he absorbed from working with Roberto Minervini. Parsifal explains how the film’s black-box reenactment set became a space where workers could rebel, speak freely, or even destroy it. Instead, they rest together, revealing exhaustion itself as resistance. We talk filmmaking as labor, the emotional toll of activist storytelling, parting with his first editor and later rebuilding the film with Alice Roffinengo, whose perspective shaped its final form. Parsifal reflects on his Locarno premiere, the weight of representing real people on screen, and the responsibility of carrying stories born from hardship. Advice to filmmakers: trust your voice early, accept risk, and if you’re going to struggle, struggle for something that matters. What Movies Are You Watching? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2357245/open_sms] Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature The Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature

E63 • More With Less Through Technique and Resilience • SHIH-CHING TSOU, dir. of ‘Left-Handed Girl‘ - Taiwan’s '25 Oscar Submission, Now on Netflix

Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou traces her path from a strict upbringing in Taipei to directing Left-Handed Girl, Taiwan’s 2025 Oscar submission for Best International Film, and now streaming on Netflix. After years working alongside Sean Baker, the four-time Academy Award winner known for Anora, Tangerine, and The Florida Project, and her creative partner since they co-directed their first feature Take Out, Shih-Ching steps forward with her solo directorial debut. Shih-Ching and Baker wrote the script for Left-Handed Girl in 2010, but financing challenges kept the project on hold for more than a decade. Principal photography finally began in July 2022, a delay she now views as part of the film’s natural evolution. The story draws from her experience growing up left-handed in a culture with rigid expectations for girls, and its emotional specificity has already connected with audiences around the world. Shot on an iPhone 13 with Beastgrip anamorphic lenses, the film captures Taipei’s night markets with stripped-down realism influenced by Dogme 95 and Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis. Shih-Ching worked with a small mobile crew, created the soundscape herself, and shaped the edit with Baker, whose instinct for editing performances she considers unmatched. After premiering at Cannes Critics’ Week, Left-Handed Girl traveled the global festival circuit before Netflix acquired most territories, followed by theatrical releases in Taiwan, New York, and Los Angeles.  Now representing Taiwan internationally, Shih-Ching reflects on stepping into visibility after decades behind the scenes. Her advice to filmmakers: trust your voice, avoid trends, build community, and keep going. Some films take time, and recognition often arrives later. What Movies Are You Watching? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2357245/open_sms] Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature The Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature

Past Present Feature Film Festival (Nov. 19-21) in Hollywood, CA • Tickets @ pastpresentfeature.eventive.org

12 films. 3 nights. 1 Collective. The Past Present Feature Film Festival is a curated, three-day showcase of cinematic storytelling across time, highlighting overlooked gems, current festival hits, and future feature films in the making. Sponsored by The Past Present Feature Podcast and Leica Camera, all screenings take place November 19 – 21 in Hollywood, CA, at the Eastwood Performing Arts Center (1089 N OXFORD AVE, 90029) Tickets @ pastpresentfeature.eventive.org 🎟️ ALL ACCESS PASSES Now Available (use code 10OFF for a 10% early discount): go to BUY PASSES to lock yours in now, before they're gone! 🎟️ From exile to reckoning to the edge of reality: stories that reveal who we are, where we’ve been, and what lies ahead. And beyond the screen, a shared home for those who make and love film. Sponsored by Leica Camera. SCHEDULE Wednesday, Nov 19  SEARCHING FOR HOME • When survival demands movement, the search for belonging begins.  The Solitude Trilogy (15m) dir. Albert Choi Take Out (88m) dirs. Sean Baker & Shih-Ching Tsou Walk Run Cha-Cha (20m) dir. Laura Nix Roads of Fire (119m) dir. Nathaniel Lezra Thursday, Nov 20  ROOTS & RECKONINGS • When the past refuses to stay buried, identity and loyalty collide. The Bad Man (25m) dir. Manny Duran Our Father, The Devil (108m) dir. Ellie Foumbi Ree’s Destiny (16m) dir. Steven J. Mosley Pierce (109m) dir. Nelicia Low Friday, Nov 21  BEYOND THE EDGE • When the familiar world falls away, what remains is instinct, consequence, and chaos. Sunday Sauce (14m) dir. Matt Campanella The Wave (87m) dir. Gille Klabin  Other Side of the Box (15m) dir. Caleb J. Phillips  The Thicket (105m) dir. Elliot Lester The festival culminates with the AUDIENCE AWARD, honoring the most well-received film across all categories - past, present, or future. Chosen by the audience, whose voices define the spirit of the festival. What Movies Are You Watching? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2357245/open_sms] Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature The Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature

E62 • From Lockdown to Locarno • JANICKE ASKEVOLD, dir. of ‘Solomamma‘ at Locarno

Janicke Askevold unpacks her journey from shooting Together Alone with friends during COVID to premiering her new feature Solomamma at the Locarno Film Festival. The Norwegian actor-turned-director traces how a one-page pitch led to full Norwegian Film Institute backing and a 25-day Oslo shoot that balanced long summer daylight, short 8-hour workdays, and a five-year-old co-star. Solomamma follows Edith, a journalist and single mother who secretly seeks out her sperm donor - an encounter that evolves into love, deceit, and a search for self. Co-produced across Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland, with sound design by a collaborator of Ruben Östlund, the film examines modern solo motherhood in the wake of Norway’s 2020 legalization of single-parent conception. Janicke’s cinematic influences span Fritz Lang’s expressionism, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, and Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann. On craft, she champions preparation, the power of casting chemistry tests that “made her cry,” and editing as the stage where “you can make a whole new film.” Her advice to young filmmakers: trust your instincts, start sooner, send the story out—and don’t wait for permission. What Movies Are You Watching? [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2357245/open_sms] Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature The Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature