New Nonfiction from True/False + Thrills and Chills!
Plus picks, more writing, and some Oscar-related chats from the past year
Dear Last Thing I Sawfolk,
So, I will be watching the Oscars, as I have for the last 200 years. And following tradition, my own Oscar picks have been revealed only to our cats, who are in a meeting. But I thought I should at least catch up with a link-happy issue of ye olde substacke.
I went to the True/False film festival, for one thing, plus there were a few Berlin podcasts I hadn’t posted. And then I kept writing bibs and bobs. Just maddening, really.
While I was at it, I pulled together a few Academy Award–related pieces I wrote over the past year. That is, people whose work ended up receiving Oscar nominations.
So it’s a hefty edition! Thanks to all for listening, reading, and not (to my knowledge) plotting my downfall. And remember: everyone’s a winner!
I remain your humble correspondent,
Nic
THE PODCAST
True/False 2023 with Eric Hynes on Natalia, Hummingbirds, Art Talent Show, Time Bomb Y2K, and more
Berlin #4 with Jessica Kiang: Christian Petzold's Afire, Reality, The Shadowless Tower, The Survival of Kindness
Berlin #5 with Inney Prakash: Claire Simon’s Notre Corps, Forum Expanded Exhibition, Kevin Jerome Everson
Berlin #6 with Jordan Cronk: Hong Sangsoo’s In Water, Forum Section, Mal Viver / Viver Mal, The Echo, Samsara
The Distinguished Guests: Jordan Cronk is a critic and programmer/founder of Acropolis Cinema in Los Angeles. Eric Hynes is curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image, which will screen some of the titles we discussed, in this year’s First Look showcase. Jessica Kiang wrote about the Berlinale for Variety and The New York Times and programs for the Belfast Film Festival. Inney Prakash is founder and director of Prismatic Ground, a festival centered on experimental documentary and avant-garde film.
The Last Thing I Saw is 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 WORK
True/False Film Fest for Screen Slate
Review of Inside, starring Willem Dafoe as an art thief trapped in a super-highrise apartment
The Berlin International Film Festival for Artforum
And I was grateful to be invited on (the) Wiseman Podcast to talk about a Frederick Wiseman film: Near Death.
MORE WRITING (OSCAR EDITION)
Talking About Snubbing, with Michael Koresky, Eric Hynes, and Edo Choi
Hong Chau interview (Best Supporting Actress)
Ruben Östlund interview about Triangle of Sadness (Best Director + Best Screenplay)
A House Made of Splinters review (Best Documentary Feature)
Laura Poitras interview about All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Best Documentary Feature)
The Making of “Naatu Naatu” (Best Original Song)
Jerzy Skolimowski interview about EO (Best International Feature)
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
Delectable selections for home viewing.
The Headless Woman (Criterion) Maria Onetto, R.I.P.
The Company of Wolves (Shudder)
Speed Racer (HBO MAX) Colors
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (MUBI)
The Wobblies (OVID)
What Is It Called? W’s Best Performances Stars Delight in Rainbow Spinner (W Magazine)
THE END
Here I may end with a song.
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw! I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold.
Besides hosting the podcast, I’m a writer and an editor. My features, interviews, festival reports, and reviews are published in The New York Times, Screen Slate, Sight & Sound, Artforum, Filmmaker, and W Magazine. (Plus dearly departed publications such as The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.) For notes on past programming, drop me a line.
On the editorial side, I worked as editor-in-chief of Film Comment magazine, where I was for 15 years in all. There I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted The Film Comment Podcast and Talks, curated and hosted Film Comment Selects screenings, learned from brilliant writers, and wrote a lot, including interviews with Spike Lee, Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Pedro Costa, and Frederick Wiseman. Film Comment received the Film Heritage Award by the National Society of Film Critics (an honor historically given 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