Sydney Film Festival wrap: The Invite, Minotaur, Fjord and more

Sydney Film Festival wrap: The Invite, Minotaur, Fjord and more

We're doing something a little different this week — it's just Natalie Hambly and Haidee Ireland, and we're trading our usual couch for a seat at the 2026 Sydney Film Festival. Haidee spent a week watching back-to-back films fresh from Cannes and beyond, and Nat wants to hear all about it. From Sandra Hüller's Silver Bear-winning performance in the stark and haunting Rose, to the Palme d'Or-winning Fjord starring Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier) and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), to the SFF top prize and Grand Prix winner Minotaur — a domestic thriller wrapped in sharp political allegory by director Andrey Zvyagintsev. We also get into the wildly fun queer slasher Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma from director Jane Schoenbrunn, starring Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) and Gillian Anderson (Sex Education), and the deliciously chaotic dinner party comedy The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton and Seth Rogan. Five films, one enormous week, and a lot to dig into. Listen in, then tell us what you caught at the festival. Follow Eyes on Screen on Instagram: @eyesonscreenpod [https://www.instagram.com/eyesonscreenpod] or email us at hello@eyesonscreen.com.au [hello@eyesonscreen.com.au] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Watching 'Sinners': Punched in the face by plot

This week, Fiona Williams, Sana Qadar and Natalie Hambly dive into Ryan Coogler's Oscar-nominated movie Sinners – a film that blends Southern Gothic horror, blues music and vampire mythology into a story about race, history, legacy and cultural memory. We unpack Michael B. Jordan's remarkable dual performance as Smoke and Stack, discuss why the film's explosive musical sequences hit so hard, and explore the ways Sinners uses genre to examine economic exploitation, community, resistance and survival in 1930s Mississippi. Along the way, we debate flash-forwards, celebrate Delroy Lindo's standout performance, and ask why original stories have become such a rarity in modern Hollywood. Plus: movie-theatre regrets, choc tops, twins in popular culture, and why some films simply demand to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Watch with us and then come and join us for the conversation. Follow Eyes on Screen on Instagram: @eyesonscreenpod [https://www.instagram.com/eyesonscreenpod] or email us at hello@eyesonscreen.com.au [hello@eyesonscreen.com.au] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

One Battle After Another recap

The Testaments may be on hiatus, but we are not. We're Fiona Williams, Sana Qadar, Haidee Ireland, and Natalie Hambly, and we're widening the lens — because the real magic of watching something doesn't end when the credits roll. This week we're discussing Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-winning Best Picture, One Battle After Another: a nearly three-hour epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn and The Testaments own Chase Infiniti in her breakout film role, about ex-revolutionaries, inherited fights, and a teenage girl who keeps saving herself while the adults fumble around her. We unpack the parallels you didn't know you needed (hint: May Day is everywhere once you start looking), debate whether Perfidia Beverly Hills is an adrenaline junkie or a true believer, and fall completely in love with Benicio del Toro's Sergio. Watch along with us, then join the conversation. Follow Eyes on Screen on Instagram: @eyesonscreenpod [https://www.instagram.com/eyesonscreenpod] or email us at hello@eyesonscreen.com.au [hello@eyesonscreen.com.au] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Testaments Season 1 recap

The Testaments has wrapped, and we're not ready to let go. Now that we know what we know, we're going back to piece it all together — because the real magic of watching something doesn't end when the credits roll. We're Fiona Williams, Sana Qadar, Haidee Ireland, and Natalie Hambly (formerly of Eyes on Gilead: A Handmaid's Tale Companion), and this week we're doing a full season one recap of The Testaments: the threads we missed, the symbols that kept surfacing (horses, mirrors, pinky fingers), and the questions we're still turning over. We answer your listener questions — from why Aunt Lydia keeps shrinking in the frame, to whether Commander Weston is actually a good guy (narrator: he is not), to what on earth that kiss meant. Oh, and we speculate wildly about what season two might hold for the characters we've come to know, love, and loathe. Pinky promise to not let the bastards grind you down. Do you understand me? Watch along with us, then join the conversation. Follow Eyes on Screen on Instagram: @eyesonscreenpod [https://www.instagram.com/eyesonscreenpod] or email us at hello@eyesonscreen.com.au [hello@eyesonscreen.com.au] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Testaments Season 1 Episode 10 Recap

We have just watched Episode 10 ("Secateurs") of The Testaments, the finale episode of this first season spinoff to The Handmaid's Tale. It was directed by Mike Barker and written by Bruce Miller, Maya Goldsmith and Gianna Sobol: ‘While Becka faces the consequences of her actions, Agnes and Daisy must decide how far they’re willing to go to protect her'. We’re Fiona Williams, Sana Qadar, Haidee Ireland, and Natalie Hambly (formerly of Eyes on Gilead: A Handmaid’s Tale Companion), and we’re here to unpack every detail of The Testaments finale: from the subtle power shifts taking place between generations, to the devastating and yet hopeful gifts on offer to Handmaid’s fans. Oh, and of course we speculate about what this means for the characters we’ve come to know, love and loathe. Watch along with us, then join the conversation. Follow Eyes on Screen on Instagram: @eyesonscreenpod [https://www.instagram.co/eyesonscreenpod] or email us at hello@eyesonscreen.com.au.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.