The Sundance film festival is happening, and this year it’s available for everyone to watch remotely. I’ve been sorting through the highs and lows with a regular podcast, joined by some delightful colleagues.
Entirely coincidentally, I’ve finally switched on the handy Substack feature that allows cultured readers like yourself to express your enjoyment in monetary terms.
If you’re already a subscriber, just toggle your subscription by clicking on the Subscribe button, and choosing one of the options that come up. It’s like a tip jar (the newsletter is still free).
So if you like what I’ve been doing with the podcast and want to support such endeavors, I hope you’ll explore this fascinating new development.
A couple of Sundance podcasts are already live, linked below. Hooray!
LATEST PODCAST NOTES
Sundance Festival Preview with Amy Taubin (The Last Thing I Saw, Episode 21)
Amy’s been going to Sundance for over 30 years and here she gives a preview of what’s different about this year’s festival. She picks films to keep an eye out for: the mind-altering animated feature Cryptozoo and the COVID doc In the Same Breath, plus a couple of others. She’ll be writing about Sundance for Artforum where she is contributing editor.
Also available on iTunes and Spotify.
Sundance Festival Journal #1 with Eric Hynes (The Last Thing I Saw, Episode 22)
Eric shares some documentary highlights from the festival so far—an incredible concert doc, Summer of Soul, and the Zimbabwean election chronicle President—plus some words about The Most Beautiful Boy in the World. Eric is curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image. (I offer early thoughts on John and the Hole.)
Also available on iTunes and Spotify.
NEW WRITING
The big highlights were two reported features I wrote for The New York Times and the Criterion Collection’s editorial site.
On the occasion of the new documentary MLK/FBI, I wrote about the filmmaker Sam Pollard whose work as director, editor, and producer amounts to a chronicle of America (including masterpieces like When the Levees Broke). I also talked to Spike Lee and Henry Louis Gates Jr. for the piece.
On the (ongoing) occasion of temporary theater closures, I wrote about “microcinemas” across the country and their invaluable place in film culture.
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
Shorts by Vittorio de Seta (Criterion Channel)
THE END
Here I might end with a song.
AUTHOR BIO
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw newsletter and podcast (one of Sight & Sound’s Top Ten Film Podcasts). This is my way of staying in touch and sharing what I’ve been up to. By way of introduction, I’m a writer and an editor. I’ve worked as the editor-in-chief of Film Comment, where I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted its podcast and talks and screenings, learned from brilliant writers, and wrote a lot myself. Besides Film Comment, for over 15 years I’ve written features, interviews, and reviews for assorted publications including The New York Times, Artforum, Sight & Sound, and dearly departed publications such as The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.
I miss going out to the movies, especially repertory cinemas, and milling about and chatting, and so the natural response is to inflict a podcast on friends and strangers alike.
As always, feel free to contact me re: writing, editing, moderating, podcasting, etc.
nicolas.rapold@gmail.com