Becoming Putin | Director Olivier Assayas on The Wizard of the Kremlin

Episode 100: Oscar Winners, Nominees, and the Arthouse Cinema We Love

For our 100th episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we return to the belief that started it all: movies matter most when they are shared. Over the course of 100 episodes, this show has become a gathering place for filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, theater owners, advocates, and film lovers who believe in the power of cinema on the big screen, in community, and in the places where stories still feel alive. In this special milestone episode, we look back at conversations with Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated artists whose work reminds us what independent and international cinema can still do: challenge us, move us, connect us, and stay with us long after the lights come up. Featuring conversations with Walter Salles, director of the Oscar-winning I’M STILL HERE; Mstyslav Chernov, Oscar-winning filmmaker and director of 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA; Kaouther Ben Hania, Oscar-nominated director of THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB; the filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN; and Atom Egoyan, Oscar-nominated director of THE SWEET HEREAFTER. Across these films and conversations, we encounter stories of memory, war, resistance, grief, family, history, and survival — from Brazil and Ukraine to Palestine, Russia, Canada, and beyond. At the center of it all is the arthouse itself: the theater as a gathering place, the screen as a doorway, and cinema as one of the last great communal arts. Thank you for being part of the first 100 episodes of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. Here’s to the films, filmmakers, theaters, and audiences keeping cinema alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

A Letter to the Future: Oscar-Nominated Director Sara Dosa on Time and Water

In Time and Water, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa turns Iceland’s disappearing glaciers, a family’s archive, and one man’s fading memory into a cinematic letter to the future. Dosa, the director of Fire of Love, joins Inside the Arthouse to discuss her new documentary from National Geographic Documentary Films. The film follows Icelandic writer and poet Andri Snær Magnason as he gathers photographs, home movies, folk songs, and the melting ice of his homeland into a time capsule for what may soon be lost. In this conversation, Dosa reflects on grief as a cinematic form, shooting on 16mm in a digital age, the ethics of filming dementia without reducing a human life to metaphor, and why Time and Water does not land on simple hope or despair — but on uncertainty, and the responsibility that comes with it. Time and Water premiered at Sundance 2026 and is presented by National Geographic Documentary Films and Sandbox Films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

BERNSTEIN'S WALL — CAN ARTISTS AFFORD SILENCE? With Director Douglas Tirola

CAN ARTISTS AFFORD SILENCE? — BERNSTEIN'S WALL With Director Douglas Tirola In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we explore Bernstein's Wall with director Douglas Tirola, the powerful documentary examining the life, legacy, and contradictions of Leonard Bernstein. Going beyond Bernstein's extraordinary musical career, the film reveals the personal and political tensions that shaped one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century — in his own words. Together we discuss what artists owe the public in times of upheaval, whether art can actually change the world, and why Bernstein's questions feel more urgent than ever. More than a music documentary, Bernstein's Wall is a provocation: what happens when artists refuse to stay silent? Inside the Arthouse is an insider's conversation with the filmmakers behind arthouse cinema across the US. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge. Also available on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Becoming Putin | Director Olivier Assayas on The Wizard of the Kremlin

What does it take to build power—and the people who wield it? In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, filmmaker Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, Carlos) joins hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss his latest film, The Wizard of the Kremlin — starring Paul Dano and Jude Law as Vladimir Putin. We explore: – Political power and influence on screen – Storytelling and the shaping of public perception – The craft behind building complex, real-world characters – Why films about power resonate so deeply right now For cinephiles and filmmakers, this is a deep dive into how cinema reflects — and shapes — the world around us. Featuring: Olivier Assayas, Director Film: The Wizard of the Kremlin INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a digital series and podcast featuring in-depth conversations with filmmakers across independent and arthouse cinema. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, the series explores film distribution, the creative process, and the evolving landscape of cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

He Remade a Film That Doesn’t Exist | Paul Bunnell on A Blind Bargain, Lost Cinema and Crispin Glover

What does it mean to remake a film no one can see? The 1922 silent horror A Blind Bargain, starring Lon Chaney, is one of cinema’s great lost works—destroyed, surviving only in fragments and memory. And yet, over a century later, director Paul Bunnell set out to bring it back. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Bunnell discusses the strange challenge of rebuilding a film from absence—reimagining its story in the 1970s, and confronting themes of obsession, sacrifice, and transformation. With Crispin Glover stepping into one of Chaney’s roles, the film becomes something more than a remake—it’s an act of interpretation, speculation, and cinematic resurrection. How do you honor something that’s gone? And how far can you push it into something new? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]