Laura Poitras on All the Beauty and the Bloodshed + Talkin' with Adam Nayman and Beatrice Loayza
An interview, a discussion, good movies!
Dear The Last Thing I Sawfolk,
As December whizzes by, I bring you an interview with Laura Poitras, director of one of the year’s best films, bar none: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about the life and work of Nan Goldin.
I also recorded a delightful discussion with Adam Nayman and Beatrice Loayza, who previously duetted (dueted? Merriam-Webster is no help) on the podcast about a year ago. And look out for another extra-special episode soon!
Plus the usual goodies! And if you’re in the holiday spirit, take advantage of the December special subscription offer. Thank you to all my supporters, who throw another yule log on the fire!
Your faithful host,
Nic
P.S. Above photo by Nan Goldin: Trixie on the Cot, New York City. 1979
THE PODCAST
Laura Poitras on All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Episode 150)
Laura Poitras most recently directed All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and Best Nonfiction Film honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and other groups. It’s in theaters now. Her other films include The Oath and Citizenfour, an Academy Award winner.
As mentioned on the podcast, here’s my Village Voice interview with Laura Poitras about The Oath, from 2010.
Adam Nayman and Beatrice Loayza on The Eternal Daughter, Genre, Lists and Listing (Episode 151)
Adam Nayman is a critic based in Toronto. He writes on film for the Ringer and Cinema Scope, and has written books on Showgirls, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher.
Beatrice Loayza is a critic with regular bylines in The New York Times who has written for Artforum, The Baffler, Cinema Scope, Reverse Shot, and other publications.
These episodes are also available at other podcast places such as Spotify.
For more information on the podcast’s opening and closing music by The Minarets (gratefully used with permission), follow the band on Instagram:
@theminaretsmusic
RECENT WRITING
For Screen Slate, I had a long conversation with filmmaker Peter Greenaway about his movies, past (The Draughtsman’s Contract, Prospero’s Books, etc.) and future, but just as often, he spoke of death and painting. It was, to use a technical term, a hoot.
For W Magazine, I had chatted with Tilda Swinton about The Eternal Daughter, mothers and daughters, working with childhood friend Joanna Hogg, and recent reading, plus her project with Joshua Oppenheimer.
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
Delectable selections for home viewing.
Decision to Leave (MUBI) – one the year’s 10 best films – and here’s my Park Chan-wook podcast interview
Films From Iran For Iran (Another Gaze)
The Awful Truth (Criterion)
MLK/FBI (Hulu) – Martin Luther King Jr. and his persecution by the FBI - directed by Sam Pollard, whom I interviewed about the film on January 6, 2021
Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet at Work on Franz Kafka's Amerika (e-flux)
The Velvet Underground (Criterion) Now on Blu-ray. Here’s my podcast with Todd Haynes about the film
Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (OVID) – a Hungarian sleeper from deep in the pandemic
Chicago with Studs Terkel (YouTube)
THE END
Here I may end with a song.
“Que Sera, Sera” by Sly and the Family Stone
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw! I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold.
Besides hosting a podcast, I’m a writer and an editor. My features, interviews, festival dispatches, and reviews are published in The New York Times, Sight & Sound, Artforum, Filmmaker, and W Magazine (and have appeared in dearly departed publications such as The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine).
I worked as editor-in-chief of Film Comment, where I was for 15 years. There I assigned and edited both web and print editorial, hosted The Film Comment Podcast and Talks and screenings, curated Film Comment Selects, learned from brilliant writers, and wrote a lot, including interviews with Spike Lee, Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Pedro Costa, and Frederick Wiseman. Film Comment was subsequently awarded the Film Heritage Award by the National Society of Film Critics (an honor historically awarded to the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions).
Feel free to get in touch re: writing, editing, moderating, programming, podcasting, etc.
nicolas.rapold@gmail.com