Explore every episode of the podcast INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE: Oscar Inside & Indie Cinema Discussions

How do you capture the emotional intensity of being seventeen without making a conventional coming-of-age movie? With MOUSE, Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson—the filmmakers behind the acclaimed GHOSTLIGHT—return to the complicated territory of friendship, identity, and growing up. Set in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2002, and drawing on O'Sullivan's own adolescence, the film features a remarkable ensemble led by Katherine Mallen Kupferer and Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo, alongside Tara Mallen, Chloe Coleman, Iman Vellani, and David Hyde Pierce. The filmmaking is equally fascinating. O'Sullivan and Thompson bring an intimate, collaborative approach to their work, finding humor and heartbreak in the most unexpected places. For MOUSE, they drew visual inspiration from films as unlikely as THE THIN RED LINE and PHANTOM THREAD, bringing a distinctive cinematic richness to this deeply personal story. Now nominated for Best Feature at the 2026 Gotham Film Awards, MOUSE is another remarkable chapter in their creative partnership. We welcomed Kelly and Alex to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss MOUSE, the experiences that shaped it, and the art of telling stories that feel wonderfully, sometimes painfully, true to life. Watch our full conversation on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE: EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to MOUSE 01:46 Meet Kelly O'Sullivan & Alex Thompson — From GHOSTLIGHT to MOUSE 05:24 Why Theater Reveals Who We Are 07:30 Sophie Okonedo and the Complicated Stage Mother 10:28 MOUSE — Official Trailer 12:24 The Film's R Rating and Finding Humor 13:15 Casting Katherine Mallen Kupferer 13:50 Why MOUSE Almost Never Got Made 14:52 How GHOSTLIGHT Changed Everything 17:21 Directing Actors and Staying True to the Script 21:37 Tara Mallen and the Complexity of Motherhood 25:36 Why MOUSE Is Set in 2002 27:47 John Hughes and the Teenage Experience 30:59 The Influence of PHANTOM THREAD and THE THIN RED LINE 32:30 Theatrical Release and Final Thoughts MOUSE opens in theaters November 6, with a wider release beginning November 13. Distributed by Independent Film Company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche and newly nominated Gotham Award performer Tom Courtenay star in QUEEN AT SEA, a deeply moving and morally complex new film from writer-director Lance Hammer, returning to feature filmmaking 18 years after his acclaimed Sundance-winning debut, BALLAST. What happens when the person you've spent your life with begins to disappear right in front of you? And when protecting someone you love means making decisions for them, how do you know what is right? Binoche plays Amanda, a woman who returns to London to be near her mother, Leslie (Anna Calder-Marshall), who is living with advanced dementia. There, she finds herself in a painful conflict with her stepfather, Martin (Courtenay), over questions of love, consent, and responsibility. Courtenay has just received a 2026 Gotham Film Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance for his role in the film. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Raphael Sbarge and Greg Laemmle welcome Lance Hammer for a thoughtful conversation about the personal experiences that inspired the story, the extraordinary cast, and the intensive rehearsal and improvisation process that helped bring the film to life. Hammer also shares the remarkable story of how Tom Courtenay helped cast Anna Calder-Marshall, why real police and medical professionals became part of the production, and what he discovered about collaboration and creative freedom after nearly two decades away from feature filmmaking. QUEEN AT SEA is a film that refuses easy answers, inviting audiences to consider the complicated choices families make when love, dignity, and personal freedom come into conflict. Opening October 30 at the Angelika Film Center in New York, with a nationwide theatrical release to follow. Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Giancarlo Esposito—and a New York that's disappearing before our eyes. In THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK, writer-director Noah Segan brings us a funny, suspenseful, and unexpectedly moving story about an aging thief whose particular skills—and the city he once knew—are becoming obsolete. In this conversation with INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge, Segan shares the remarkable story of how John Turturro came aboard the film, including the moment his longtime friend and producer Rian Johnson insisted he get on a plane to New York to meet the actor. Segan also discusses the classic crime films that inspired him, returning to the New York neighborhoods of his childhood, working with an extraordinary ensemble, and the wonderfully unexpected dance sequence that began with a video Turturro sent from his home office. Along the way, he takes us inside his filmmaking process—from using vintage lenses to creating a collaborative environment where, as he puts it, the best idea in the room wins. Featuring Tatiana Maslany, Will Price, Victoria Moroles, and Jamie Lee Curtis, THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK is both a love letter to an earlier New York and a celebration of the wonderfully imperfect people who inhabit it. Produced by Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman's T-Street and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. In New York and Los Angeles theaters October 23, nationwide October 30. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE — The people, films, and ideas keeping independent cinema alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy preparing for his bar mitzvah decides he might actually be Catholic? Actor Joshua Malina (The West Wing, Scandal) joins Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss ETHAN BLOOM, a warm, funny, and unexpectedly moving coming-of-age film about religion, grief, first love, and the complicated relationship between fathers and sons. Malina plays Gary, a widowed father trying to understand his son, Ethan, whose search for spiritual comfort leads him from his Jewish upbringing toward the Catholic Church. Directed by Herschel Faber, the film approaches some of life's biggest questions with humor, compassion, and a welcome sense of curiosity. A conversation about acting, family, faith, and the beautiful messiness of growing up. Find the film and screenings: https://www.menemshafilms.com/ethan-bloom INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge, celebrating the filmmakers and films at the heart of independent cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to spend your working life entering strangers’ homes, photographing their private spaces — and then moving on? Writer-director Paula González-Nasser joins Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss THE SCOUT, her acclaimed feature debut starring Mimi Davila as a New York location scout whose unusual job offers fleeting glimpses into the lives of strangers. Drawing from González-Nasser’s own years scouting productions including Russian Doll, Search Party, High Maintenance and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the film becomes something much larger: a funny, quietly moving exploration of creative work, loneliness, urban life, and the people whose labor makes movies possible. Paula talks about finding a movie inside an invisible job, the influence of filmmakers like Chantal Akerman and Michelangelo Antonioni, learning to trust the film’s slower rhythm, shaping Sofia with Mimi Davila, and the very real anxiety of stepping behind the camera for the first time. A New York Times Critic’s Pick, THE SCOUT is now in theaters from Greenwich Entertainment. 00:00 — THE SCOUT01:10 — Finding a Film in an Invisible Job03:40 — Location Scouting After COVID04:51 — The Films That Shaped THE SCOUT07:27 — Film Clip: Inside a Stranger’s Home09:20 — Trusting the Film’s Slow Burn11:42 — Why Sofia Stays at the Edge of the Frame12:36 — Editing: When to Enter and Leave a Scene14:27 — Becoming a Director — and Imposter Syndrome17:31 — The Voicemails: A Greek Chorus20:00 — The Real Cost of New York Locations20:24 — THE SCOUT Trailer22:31 — Why the Story Is Just a Day in the Life24:05 — Creating Sofia with Mimi Davila25:58 — Antonioni, French New Wave & Visual References27:12 — How Audiences Are Responding28:59 — Finding Humor in New York Loneliness30:54 — Closing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE LAST FIRST: WINTER K2 | Amir Bar-Lev There are mountains people climb because they can. And then there is K2. The second-highest mountain on Earth, and one of its deadliest, had never been climbed in winter. For decades, mountaineers called it the last great first. In 2021, teams from around the world converged on its slopes to claim it. Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story, My Kid Could Paint That, Happy Valley) joins Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss The Last First: Winter K2, his account of that season and what it revealed: the commercialization of extreme mountaineering, the pressure of cameras and social media, national pride, the economics of expedition climbing, and the long question of who gets credit for the risks taken at altitude. At the film's center are Icelandic climber John Snorri Sigurjónsson, Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara and his son Sajid, and the Nepali climbers determined to make history on their own terms. Their paths expose fault lines of class, nationality and opportunity running through the traditional hierarchy of Himalayan climbing. Bar-Lev also talks about building a documentary from competing accounts, archival footage and survivors who don't agree on what happened, and why he chose to preserve that uncertainty rather than resolve it. What does it mean to be first? Who gets remembered? And when ambition, money, national identity and filmmaking itself enter a place where one decision can mean life or death, who pays the price for glory? The Last First: Winter K2 premieres October 2 on Apple TV. Film clips, trailer material and production imagery courtesy of Apple Original Films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge. Subscribe to Inside the Arthouse on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sundance-winning director Josef Kubota Wladyka joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!, his joyous, deeply personal new film starring Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi. Kikuchi plays Haru, a woman whose life in Tokyo has revolved around ballroom dancing with her husband, Luis. When tragedy suddenly upends that world, Haru retreats from life — until family, friendship, desire and dance begin pulling her back toward it. Wladyka talks about the deeply personal inspiration he found in his Japanese mother, and how that connection helped shape a story about grief, resilience, aging, identity and the complicated ways people begin again. He also discusses collaborating with Kikuchi, building a character who is allowed to be messy and contradictory, and using dance as an emotional language when words are no longer enough. The conversation explores the film's balance of humor, tenderness and magical realism; the challenge of moving between sorrow and joy without sentimentalizing either; and the importance of allowing older characters to retain desire, unpredictability and agency. Wladyka also reflects on the film's journey to Sundance, where his direction was honored, and on the larger idea at the heart of HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!: that grief and joy are not opposites, and that sometimes the act of moving forward begins quite literally by moving your body. A warm, funny and surprisingly moving conversation about loss, love, desire — and why we should never stop dancing. 00:00 — Introduction: HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!01:32 — Meet Director Josef Kubota Wladyka03:45 — Finding Joy in a Story About Grief06:25 — The Personal Story Behind the Film09:15 — Rinko Kikuchi and Creating Haru12:10 — When Life Gets Messy15:25 — Dance as an Emotional Language18:35 — Grief, Desire and Starting Over21:45 — Humor, Fantasy and Magical Realism24:45 — Japan, Family and Cultural Identity27:30 — Sundance and Trusting the Film30:05 — Why We Should Never Stop Dancing INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is dedicated to the people, films and ideas keeping independent cinema alive. If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, watch the full episode on YouTube, and join us each week for new conversations with the filmmakers behind the movies worth seeing on the big screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE WEIGHT director Padraic McKinley joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, and the making of his gripping Depression-era wilderness thriller. Set in Oregon in 1933, THE WEIGHT stars Hawke as Samuel Murphy, a father separated from his daughter and sentenced to a brutal work camp. When Warden Clancy, played by Crowe, offers him early release in exchange for transporting stolen gold across treacherous wilderness, Murphy accepts—but suspicion, betrayal, and desperation soon begin to fracture the group. McKinley traces the unusual path that led to his feature directorial debut. After years as an editor and television director, he formed a creative partnership with Hawke while making THE GOOD LORD BIRD. That relationship helped transform THE WEIGHT into a deeply personal story about a father determined to return to his daughter. He also takes us inside the film’s creative DNA, from SORCERER, DELIVERANCE, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, and SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION to the patient, character-driven American filmmaking of the 1970s. McKinley explains how editing shaped his approach to directing and how vintage lenses, restrained coverage, long takes, and an episodic structure created the film’s distinctive rhythm. The director also recounts the punishing production in the Bavarian forest—including freezing water, unforgiving terrain, heavy packs, ticks, temperamental period automobiles, and an injury sustained by Hawke. Finally, he shares what it was like directing Hawke and Crowe together—and why, when two actors of that caliber sit across from one another, sometimes the director’s most important job is simply to make sure the camera is running. THE WEIGHT also stars Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine. The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, and opens in U.S. theaters September 18 from Vertical. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge. Please follow INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE and share the episode with someone who loves independent cinema. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen. 00:00 Directing Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe 00:22 Introducing THE WEIGHT 01:51 Director Padraic McKinley joins the show 02:12 From editing to directing 04:43 Meeting Ethan Hawke 08:02 The origins of THE WEIGHT 10:19 Rebuilding the screenplay 12:35 THE WEIGHT trailer 14:51 The classic films that inspired THE WEIGHT 18:42 Returning to patient, character-driven storytelling 21:27 Creating the look of a 1970s thriller 22:55 Filmmaking in an age of shrinking attention spans 27:10 The emotional meaning of the teddy bear 28:25 Surviving the Bavarian forest 31:19 Shooting in unforgiving terrain 33:15 Working with Ethan Hawke 34:48 Directing Russell Crowe 37:24 Two great actors face one another 40:14 Why THE WEIGHT belongs in theaters 41:26 Closing If you value the work we do and would like to help us continue supporting independent cinema, visit:https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com The people, films, and ideas keeping independent cinema alive. #TheWeight #EthanHawke #RussellCrowe #PadraicMcKinley #IndependentFilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss THE CYCLE OF LOVE, the extraordinary true story of PK Mahanandia and his nearly 6,000-mile bicycle journey from India to Sweden for love. In 1977, PK, a young street artist from Delhi born into a poor Dalit family, set out on a secondhand bicycle with a handful of paintbrushes and almost no money. His destination was Sweden, where he hoped to reunite with Lotta, the woman he loved and believed fate had promised him. Von Einsiedel discusses discovering PK and Lotta’s story through their children and the six-year journey required to bring it to the screen. He explains how limited archival footage led the filmmakers to combine personal archives, dramatic reconstruction, vérité documentary, and unscripted encounters with people along PK’s original route. The conversation also explores the caste discrimination that shaped PK’s childhood, his struggle to believe himself worthy of love, and the strangers whose kindness transformed his understanding of himself. THE CYCLE OF LOVE is an inventive, deeply moving, and unabashedly hopeful reminder that love can cross borders, challenge the divisions society creates, and change the stories we believe about ourselves. Watch INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube and subscribe for more conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 If you value the work we do and would like to help us continue supporting independent cinema: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE celebrates two years of filmmaker conversations with Jim Jarmusch, Mark Cousins, Embeth Davidtz, Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni, and Alexandre O. Philippe. What began with the hope that someone might watch has grown into more than 100 episodes, nearly half a million subscribers, and over four million views. To mark our second anniversary, we’re returning to five of the conversations you watched—and shared—the most. Director and film historian Mark Cousins explores the mind and movies of Alfred Hitchcock through MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK. Actor and filmmaker Embeth Davidtz discusses her deeply personal directorial debut, DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT, adapted from Alexandra Fuller’s memoir about a childhood shaped by family, memory, and the final years of colonial Rhodesia. Jim Jarmusch reflects on his creative life, his distinctive approach to filmmaking, and FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER. Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni take us inside CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS, their extraordinary documentary about Sara Shahverdi, the first elected councilwoman in her rural Iranian village—and her fight to create a different future for its girls. Director Alexandre O. Philippe discusses CHAINED REACTIONS, his documentary exploring the lasting cultural and artistic impact of Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. These films could hardly be more different, but each reflects what brought us here in the first place: a belief that movies matter—and that thoughtful conversations with the people who make them can deepen the way we see their work. Thank you to every filmmaker who has joined us, and to everyone who has watched, listened, subscribed, commented, and shared over these first two years. We truly could not have done it without you. Chapters 00:00 Two years of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE 01:19 Mark Cousins on MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK 07:48 Embeth Davidtz on DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT 13:14 Jim Jarmusch on FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER 19:01 Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni on CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS 24:41 Alexandre O. Philippe on CHAINED REACTIONS Watch INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube and subscribe for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 If you value the work we do and would like to help us continue supporting independent cinema, please consider making a small contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR director Andrius Blaževičius joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss Lithuania’s official Oscar submission and his Sundance-winning drama about marriage, Ukraine, propaganda and moral compromise. Marija tells her husband Vytas that she wants a divorce on February 23, 2022. The next morning, Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Blaževičius uses the fracture of one family to reflect a larger crisis: a Europe divided by fear, political polarization and the temptation to choose personal comfort over collective responsibility. In this extended conversation, he discusses the atmosphere in Lithuania during the first months of the invasion, political divisions within families, changing gender roles and the challenge of finding bittersweet humor in people attempting to behave honorably—and failing their own ideals. He also takes Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge inside the film’s remarkably natural performances and explains why the couple’s young daughter becomes its quiet witness, seeing far more than her parents understand. HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR won the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and is Lithuania’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. 00:00 A Marriage and a Continent in Crisis00:08 Introducing HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR01:00 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE01:30 The Conversation Begins02:04 Building a Story Around Divorce and War04:03 Lithuania’s Fear: “We’re Next”05:37 When Political Division Enters the Family07:31 Comfort vs. Collective Responsibility09:40 HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR Official Trailer11:40 Making the Political Personal14:29 Weak Men, Strong Women and Changing Roles17:41 Performances That Feel Like a Documentary21:31 Finding Humor in Difficult Times24:41 Characters Who Fail Their Own Ideals28:50 Dovilė: The Child Who Sees Everything31:32 Why the Film’s World Looks So Gray34:42 Choosing Comfort Over Truth37:12 Sundance, the Oscars and the Film’s U.S. Release38:40 Closing The film is now playing in U.S. theaters. Tickets, theaters and more information:https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/how-to-divorce-during-the-war Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. LIke our show? consider making a small contribution to support the work we do: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no straight line through the life of Franz Kafka. FRANZ director and three-time Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for an extended conversation about Kafka and her bold, unconventional new film, a TIFF 2025 Official Selection. Rather than trying to solve the mystery of Kafka, Holland enters it—moving through dreams, letters, loves, fears and contradictions to find the fragile, funny and fiercely determined man obscured by a century of mythology. Past and present collide as Prague remembers Kafka, reinvents him and transforms a once-suppressed writer into a modern cultural brand. At the center is Idan Weiss, whose quietly affecting performance lets us glimpse the living man behind the literary icon. Holland reflects on discovering The Trial as a teenager and coming to regard Kafka as an "admired brother"—someone she wanted, in her words, to bring out of the shadows and into color and light. She also takes us inside the making of FRANZ: its restless, fragmented structure; the creative freedom that allowed her to approach the film like "quantum physics"; finding Idan Weiss; and the challenge of bringing Kafka's terrifying "In the Penal Colony" to the screen. Along the way, Holland speaks candidly about Hollywood, the disappearance of ambitious middle-scale cinema and the artistic fearlessness she has found at this stage of her career. What emerges is both a portrait of Kafka and a conversation about the elusive act of filmmaking itself—how we search for someone across time, how stories resist explanation and how mystery can sometimes bring us closer to the truth. Join Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge for an intimate conversation with Agnieszka Holland about FRANZ. FRANZ opens in U.S. theaters Friday, August 21, 2026. Tickets, theaters and more information: https://cohenmedia.net/product/franz CHAPTERS 00:00 Agnieszka Holland on Kafka's Contradictions 00:24 Introducing FRANZ 01:51 The Conversation Begins 02:34 Kafka as Holland's "Admired Brother" 05:48 Searching for the Man Behind the Myth 08:56 Making a Film Like "Quantum Physics" 12:16 Creative Freedom and Filmmaking Without Fear 15:40 Hollywood and the Disappearing "Cinema of the Middle" 19:37 Why Kafka Is Frighteningly Relevant Again 19:47 Prague: From Banned Writer to Cultural Brand 21:22 Finding Idan Weiss 25:34 The Terror of "In the Penal Colony" 28:39 FRANZ Official Trailer 30:49 A Life Told Through Fragments and Puzzles 33:06 Creating an Epic Period Film in 40 Days 33:55 Building the Visual World of FRANZ 36:09 Did Making the Film Solve the Mystery of Kafka? 37:19 Remembering Andrzej Wajda 39:29 Where to See FRANZ 40:14 Closing Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw Find INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen. Like the show? Consider making a small contribution to support the work we do: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why would a woman pretend to be pregnant for nine months — and how do you tell her story without reducing her to either a victim or a villain? Two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss A CHILD OF MY OWN, her provocative new Netflix documentary about Alejandra, a woman whose desperate desire to become a mother leads her to construct an elaborate lie — and ultimately cross an irreversible line. Alberdi takes us inside the film's striking creative process, including its blend of documentary testimony, casting sessions, stylized dramatic reconstruction, and conflicting accounts of what actually happened. She discusses the enormous social pressure placed on women to become mothers, the difficulty of separating truth from self-created narrative, and her determination to understand Alejandra without excusing her actions. The conversation also explores the ethical responsibility of documentary filmmakers, the relationship between performance and reality, and why Alberdi wants audiences to question their own judgments as the story unfolds. CHAPTERS 00:00 A Story That Defies Belief 01:18 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE 02:05 Maite Alberdi Joins the Conversation 06:15 Entering Alejandra's Elaborate Lie 08:09 The Pressure to Become a Mother 11:15 Understanding Without Excusing 13:30 Where Documentary Meets Fiction 17:20 Contradictory Stories and Elusive Truth 20:06 Listening to Everyone Who Lived It 22:02 Casting, Performance and Reconstruction 24:27 The Filmmaker's Ethical Responsibility 27:04 Challenging the Audience's Judgment 29:49 Finding Humanity Inside a Dark Story 31:16 Final Thoughts Join us for a thoughtful and revealing conversation with one of contemporary documentary cinema's most distinctive filmmakers. Follow: @laemmle, @OfficialRaphaelSbarge, @Netflix #AChildOfMyOwn #MaiteAlberdi #InsideTheArthouse Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when recognition arrives decades after you’ve stopped waiting for it? Director Kent Jones joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss LATE FAME, starring Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee, and Edmund Donovan. Dafoe plays Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet who abandoned his literary ambitions for a steady job at the post office. When an enthusiastic young admirer appears at his door, Ed is welcomed into a circle of twenty-something artists who proclaim him a rediscovered genius. Suddenly celebrated again—and drawn to Gloria, a magnetic but precariously situated actress and singer played by Greta Lee—Ed begins to wonder whether this unexpected second act might be real. Directed by Jones from a screenplay by Oscar-nominated MAY DECEMBER writer Samy Burch, LATE FAME is funny, tender, and quietly piercing: a film about artistic ambition, flattery, belonging, lost time, and the elusive question of what makes a life in art authentic. Jones discusses adapting Arthur Schnitzler’s novella for contemporary New York, Willem Dafoe’s deeply lived-in performance, Greta Lee’s transformation into the flamboyant and vulnerable Gloria, and the film’s unforgettable use of the Brecht-Weill song “Surabaya Johnny.” He also reflects on capturing present-day New York while allowing the ghosts of its artistic past to remain visible beneath the surface—a city of poets, performers, dreamers, and would-be geniuses searching for a place to belong. Kent Jones is the director of DIANE and HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT, as well as A LETTER TO ELIA, which he co-directed with Martin Scorsese. A celebrated film critic and former director of the New York Film Festival, Jones brings a lifetime of thinking about cinema to this deeply humane portrait of artists and their illusions. Episode timestamps: 00:00 What Happens When Fame Comes Too Late?01:40 Introducing LATE FAME and Kent Jones02:30 How Samy Burch’s Screenplay Reached Kent Jones04:50 New York’s Past Living Inside the Present09:00 Fame, Flattery and the Need to Belong12:10 LATE FAME Trailer14:30 Willem Dafoe as Forgotten Poet Ed Saxberger17:00 Greta Lee’s Transformation into Gloria18:50 Authenticity, Ambition and Living a Life in Art22:20 Why Poetry Matters in LATE FAME25:40 Capturing the Ghosts of Downtown New York28:00 From Film Critic to Filmmaker31:00 Kent Jones on Directing Actors34:20 Art, Illusion and the Search for Recognition38:20 What Kent Jones Hopes Audiences Take Away40:20 Closing LATE FAME is distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Watch the complete filmed conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten states, 10,825 miles, and 123 theaters. Director Rustin Thompson joins Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS and the people keeping America’s small-town cinemas alive. Independent movie theaters, small-town cinemas, and the fight to preserve theatrical moviegoing are at the heart of THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS, a new documentary from filmmaker Rustin Thompson. Ten states. 10,825 miles. 123 theaters. Thompson traveled across the American West searching for what remained of a once-essential center of small-town life: the local movie theater. He encountered abandoned cinemas, theaters struggling to survive, and devoted owners working against extraordinary odds to keep their screens—and their communities—alive. What began as an elegy for a disappearing American institution became something more hopeful: a story of resilience, connection, and the people who still believe that gathering together to watch a movie matters. The documentary draws inspiration from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic THE LAST PICTURE SHOW—singular—while THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS—plural—turns its attention to the real movie houses confronting streaming, consolidation, changing audience habits, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Join Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge for a conversation with director Rustin Thompson about his 10,825-mile journey, the future of independent movie theaters, and the people determined to keep the lights on. CHAPTERS 00:00 What Happens When the Last Theater Goes Dark?01:30 THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS02:00 Meet Director Rustin Thompson05:30 Journeying Through America’s Cinema Deserts09:25 The People Keeping Theaters Alive12:55 From an Elegy to a Story of Hope16:25 Finding 123 Small-Town Movie Theaters19:55 Why These Theaters Matter to Their Communities26:20 The Struggle to Keep the Lights On29:20 Abandoned Theaters and Vanishing History33:20 Streaming and the Future of Moviegoing35:00 Ten States, 10,825 Miles, 123 Theaters36:35 Why the Big-Screen Experience Still Matters39:05 Closing Thoughts Follow @laemmle and @OfficialRaphaelSbarge. Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more conversations with the filmmakers, artists, and exhibitors keeping independent cinema alive. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luis Valdez, LA BAMBA, ZOOT SUIT, Chicano cinema, and El Teatro Campesino take center stage in AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ, director David Alvarado's documentary about a groundbreaking American artist. From performing on flatbed trucks for farmworkers with El Teatro Campesino to bringing ZOOT SUIT to Broadway and directing LA BAMBA, Luis Valdez transformed American theater and cinema — creating space for Chicano stories, history, humor, and identity. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge speak with David Alvarado about making AMERICAN PACHUCO, tracing Valdez's extraordinary career, and examining the cultural movement that grew alongside his work. It is more than the story of one pioneering artist. It is the story of who gets to be seen, who gets to belong, and whose experiences become part of the American canon. Find screenings and learn more about AMERICAN PACHUCO: https://www.americanpachuco.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 From Farmworkers to American Cinema 01:09 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE Introduction 02:13 Meet Director David Alvarado 05:18 Discovering the Story of Luis Valdez 09:02 El Teatro Campesino and the Farmworker Movement 13:07 Bringing ZOOT SUIT to Broadway 17:12 The Story Behind LA BAMBA 21:04 Chicano Identity and American Culture 25:02 Preserving Luis Valdez's History 28:17 The Legacy of a Cultural Pioneer 30:17 Closing Thoughts Follow the film and filmmakers on Instagram: AMERICAN PACHUCO: @luisvaldezdoc Insignia Films: @insigniafilms El Teatro Campesino: @elteatrocampesino Hosts: @laemmle and @OfficialRaphaelSbarge Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and documentary cinema. Like, comment, and share — and find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. #AmericanPachuco #LuisValdez #ChicanoCinema Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrate Bastille Day with highlights from four filmmaker conversations featuring Rebecca Zlotowski, François Ozon, Louise Courvoisier, and Laura Piani—and the films A Private Life, The Stranger, Holy Cow, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. To mark Bastille Day, we’re revisiting four conversations from the INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE archive—highlights from interviews with the filmmakers behind some of the most compelling contemporary French films. Director Rebecca Zlotowski discusses family, memory, identity, and the mysteries hidden within our closest relationships in A Private Life, starring Jodie Foster. Director François Ozon reflects on reimagining Albert Camus’ L’Étranger for a new generation in The Stranger. Director Louise Courvoisier explores the warmth, humor, and lived-in authenticity of rural France in Holy Cow. Director Laura Piani discusses love, literature, creative ambition, and writing a heroine whose aspirations matter as much as her romances in Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. Four films. Four distinctive voices. One enduring tradition: French cinema’s appetite for stories that are bold, intimate, provocative, and deeply human. Celebrate Bastille Day with this special selection from the INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE library of filmmaker conversations. Follow INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and please leave us a rating and review. It helps other film lovers discover the show. CHAPTERS 00:00 Celebrating Contemporary French Cinema01:24 A Private Life — Director Rebecca Zlotowski on Memory, Mystery & Identity10:14 The Stranger — Director François Ozon Reimagines Albert Camus19:10 Holy Cow — Director Louise Courvoisier on Rural France, Family & Authenticity24:28 Jane Austen Wrecked My Life — Director Laura Piani on Love, Literature & Self-Discovery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Wain joins us to talk about his new comedy, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass — a Sundance 2026 Official Selection starring Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, and John Slattery, from Sony Pictures Classics. The premise is deliberately, gloriously absurd: a Midwestern bride-to-be discovers her fiancé has used his "celebrity pass" to cheat — and sets off for Los Angeles to even the score with her own pass, Jon Hamm. What follows is a full-tilt Hollywood comedy that never apologizes for being exactly what it is. We talk with Wain about writing the film with longtime collaborator Ken Marino, assembling a cast that spans three generations of comedy, shooting an original comedy entirely on location in Los Angeles, and why comedy for comedy's sake has become an increasingly rare thing to see on screen. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is directed by David Wain, written by Ken Marino & David Wain, and releases in theaters July 10, 2026, from Sony Pictures Classics. 0:00 Intro: David Wain on Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass 0:52 Clip: The Hollywood Journey Begins 1:45 Meet David Wain 2:25 Why Make a Pure Comedy Now? 5:10 The Celebrity Pass Premise 8:42 Clip: The Joke Gets Complicated 9:28 Casting Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm & John Slattery 12:40 From The State to Wet Hot American Summer 16:05 Why This Comedy Refuses to Apologize 20:15 Shooting an Original Comedy in Los Angeles 23:30 Building Ensemble Chaos 26:40 Clip Breakdown: Absurdity and Emotion 27:50 Why Comedy Belongs in Theaters 31:05 Audience Reactions and Festival Buzz 34:30 What David Wain Hopes Viewers Feel 36:50 Closing Thoughts INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is an in-depth conversation series with filmmakers across independent and arthouse cinema. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Documentary filmmaking, indie films, and arthouse movies take center stage in this special Fourth of July episode of Inside the Arthouse — a film podcast dedicated to independent film, indie cinema, and the voices that define American storytelling. While much of the industry turns to reboots, sequels, franchises, and superheroes, we're turning to a different kind of American story — films driven by voice, risk, authenticity, and the courage to see the world differently. In this special edition, we revisit a curated selection from our library of more than 100 filmmaker interviews — five films that remind us why independent film remains essential to American film culture. These are the films that don't just entertain us. They ask us to look closer, feel more deeply, and think beyond the familiar. From arthouse movies rooted in character and place to indie films powered by pure creative vision, this is the American cinema that matters. As America marks its 250th birthday, we celebrate the documentary and independent storytellers who prove that American cinema is at its best when it dares to be independent. Join us for this special Fourth of July edition of Inside the Arthouse: American Independents. 0:00 Introduction: American Independence in Cinema 1:17 Eephus — Carson Lund on Baseball, Mortality & Cannes 7:37 Sponsor: Carsey-Wolf Center 8:51 Northern Lights — Rob Nilsson on Prairie Populism & Independent Film 15:57 La Cocina — Alonso Ruizpalacios on New York & Immigrant Stories 19:49 If You See Something — Oday Rasheed on Asylum, Belonging & America 27:04 The American Southwest — Ben Masters on the Colorado River & Conservation Inside the Arthouse is a digital series 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. Find Inside the Arthouse on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carla Simón’s new film ROMERÍA follows Marina, a young woman who travels to Galicia in search of the truth about the parents she never really knew. What begins as a practical errand becomes something harder to name — an excavation of memory, silence, and the stories families carry across generations. In this conversation, Simón reflects on the autobiographical roots of the film, the challenge of transforming private history into cinema, working with young performers, and the delicate balance between grief, imagination, and discovery. Following the international success of SUMMER 1993 and ALCARRÀS, ROMERÍA may be her most personal film yet. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. New episodes every week — follow wherever you listen. Episode Guide: 0:00 Introduction: The Inspiration Behind ROMERÍA2:17 Exploring Personal Grief and Memory5:51 Historical Memory and the Heroin Crisis in Spain7:09 Connecting with Biological Roots8:34 Clip: Investigating the Past11:34 The Mystery of Memory and Family Secrets14:01 Using Personal Letters as Narrative Tools15:51 The Casting Process: Mixing Non-Actors and Professionals18:01 The Benefit of Three-Month Rehearsals26:01 Trailer Analysis and Cinematic Approach30:05 Defining the Title: ROMERÍA as Pilgrimage and Celebration33:04 Cinema as Personal Therapy34:03 Audience Reception and Future Projects Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the directors of Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song comes a new portrait of a man who was somehow at the center of everything — and never quite in the frame. Peter Asher was one half of Peter & Gordon, swept into the British Invasion on songs written by Paul McCartney. He signed and produced James Taylor at Apple Records. He spent the next three decades guiding Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and many more — quietly shaping some of the most beloved records in American music. PETER ASHER: EVERYWHERE MAN is the film that finally puts him in frame. Blending documentary, live musical memoir, and a remarkable archive of songs and stories, it's a portrait of what it actually takes to help great artists find their truest voice — and a reminder that the people who shape culture aren't always the ones standing center stage. We sat down with Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine to talk about how this film got made, what it takes to earn the trust of legends, and why Peter Asher's story has never been told quite like this before. From Hallelujah to Everywhere Man — Dan Geller & Dayna Goldfine on Peter Asher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who was she? In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we sit down with groundbreaking Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour for a conversation about UNIDENTIFIED, a gripping mystery thriller set in modern Saudi Arabia. The film follows Noelle Al Saffan, a recently divorced woman rebuilding her life through a clerical job at a police station. When the body of an unidentified teenage girl is discovered in the desert, Noelle is drawn into a mystery no one seems eager to solve — and a question that becomes impossible to ignore: who was she? What begins as a murder investigation becomes a deeper story about identity, silence, gender, and power — and the hidden lives of women navigating a society in transformation. Known for Wadjda and The Perfect Candidate, Al Mansour describes UNIDENTIFIED as the completion of her "Saudi trilogy," continuing her focus on women who step outside the roles expected of them and challenge the systems around them. UNIDENTIFIED is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and premiered at TIFF 2025. Follow Inside the Arthouse wherever you get your podcasts for conversations with the filmmakers shaping world cinema. Inside the Arthouse is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, exploring film distribution, the creative process, and the evolving landscape of cinema. Also available on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE | THE CURRENTS — Director Milagros Mumenthaler What happens when a woman survives an inexplicable impulse — and tells no one? In this episode, Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge sit down with Argentinian-Swiss filmmaker Milagros Mumenthaler to discuss her haunting new psychological drama THE CURRENTS, distributed by Kino Lorber and an Official Selection of TIFF 2025. THE CURRENTS follows Lina, a Buenos Aires fashion designer who, while accepting an award in Switzerland, is suddenly overtaken by an urge to jump from a bridge into an icy river. She survives. She says nothing. But she is never the same. In conversation, Mumenthaler unpacks the film's obsessions: identity and exile, the body's hidden memory, motherhood, artistic crisis, and the life we perform versus the truths we can no longer suppress. They also explore Buenos Aires as a living presence, the influence of Virginia Woolf, and the challenge of putting interior life on screen. For fans of slow-burn psychological drama, Latin American cinema, and bold auteur filmmaking. Starring Isabel Aimé González Sola & Esteban Bigliardi Distributed by Kino Lorber INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

A haunting Māori Gothic ghost story — director Taratoa Stappard breaks down Mārama and the history, identity, and trauma behind the film. What is Mārama—and why does it feel unlike anything else in cinema right now? In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge sit down with New Zealand filmmaker Taratoa Stappard to explore his haunting new film — a self-described “Māori Gothic ghost story” that blends psychological horror with a powerful historical reckoning. Set in 1859, Mārama follows a young Māori woman who travels to England in search of her past, only to uncover a devastating truth shaped by colonial violence, cultural erasure, and a legacy that refuses to stay buried. At the center is a fearless breakout performance by Ariāna Osborne, grounding a film that builds toward something both unsettling and deeply cathartic. Drawing from his own Māori and English heritage — and a lifetime of living between two worlds — Stappard crafts a story where history isn’t distant. It’s alive, unresolved, and deeply personal. In this conversation, we explore the origins of Mārama, the risks of blending genre with cultural trauma, and what it means to tell stories that challenge both audiences and the industry. In this episode: • What “Māori Gothic” means — and why it matters now • How Stappard’s whakapapa (heritage) shaped the film • The risks of confronting colonial trauma through horror • Ariāna Osborne’s extraordinary breakout performance • Why Mārama is resonating with audiences worldwide Official Selections: TIFF 2025, AFI Fest, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Sitges & moreDistributed by: Watermelon Pictures & Dark Sky Films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary journalist Amy Goodman joins us to discuss media consolidation, independent journalism, and the new documentary Steal This Story, Please! As corporate ownership reshapes the news landscape, the fight for a free and independent press has never been more urgent. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we’re joined by Goodman alongside Oscar-nominated filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal to explore the making of Steal This Story, Please! and the rise of Democracy Now! For over three decades, Goodman has challenged power, elevated underreported stories, and redefined what independent media can be. This conversation looks at the film, the evolving media landscape, and the urgent question: who controls the narrative? A timely discussion about truth, power, and the future of the free press. Keywords: Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, media consolidation, independent journalism, documentary film, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a filmed podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

François Ozon on Adapting Camus' The Stranger | Inside the Arthouse What does it mean to feel nothing — and why does that still resonate decades after Albert Camus first put it on the page? In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we sit down with acclaimed French filmmaker François Ozon to discuss his bold new adaptation of Camus' The Stranger (L'Étranger) — one of the most widely read and persistently provocative novels of the 20th century. Translated into more than 75 languages and continuously in print since 1942, The Stranger has long been considered unadaptable. Ozon proves otherwise. Shot in evocative black and white, his film stays faithful to the novel's signature emotional detachment while expanding its lens on the colonial Algeria Camus largely left unexamined — bringing themes of racial injustice and moral ambiguity into sharp, contemporary focus. We talk with Ozon about what drew him to the material, the challenges of translating Meursault's inner silence to the screen, and what this story still has to say to audiences today. Featuring a precise, deeply controlled performance by Benjamin Voisin as Meursault, and Rebecca Marder bringing warmth and humanity as Marie. Nearly 30 years after his debut feature See the Sea screened in U.S. arthouses, Ozon remains one of international cinema's most versatile and essential voices. The Stranger is among his finest work. François Ozon. Albert Camus. A literary classic, reimagined. Inside the Arthouse — new episodes every week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew Shear — writer, director, and star of Fantasy Life — joins us to talk about the deeply personal story behind his debut feature. In this conversation, Shear reflects on how his own experiences with anxiety and depression shaped the film, and why he wanted to portray mental health in a way that feels lived-in rather than sensationalized. Instead of leaning into extremes, Fantasy Life finds something more honest — where these struggles are simply part of everyday life. We also talk about the challenge of directing himself in the lead role, working alongside a remarkable cast including Amanda Peet and Alessandro Nivola, and what it meant to bring such a personal story to the screen for the first time. Fantasy Life premiered at SXSW, where it won the Audience Award, and has quickly become one of the most talked-about indie films of the year. This is a conversation about vulnerability, craft, and the courage it takes to tell a story that close to home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian Petzold is widely regarded as one of the most important filmmakers in contemporary world cinema. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we explore his latest film, MIROIRS NO. 3. From his early work to his international breakthrough with Barbara (2012), Petzold has built a remarkable body of films including Phoenix, Transit, Undine, and Afire. His collaborations with Nina Hoss and Paula Beer have helped define modern German cinema and global arthouse filmmaking. Now, Petzold reunites with Paula Beer for MIROIRS NO. 3, a luminous and deeply human film inspired by Maurice Ravel’s piano suite. The film continues his exploration of identity, memory, and recovery from trauma, told with an impressionistic and emotionally resonant style. In this conversation, Christian Petzold discusses the making of MIROIRS NO. 3, his creative process, working with Paula Beer, and the themes that have shaped his career. MIROIRS NO. 3 opened March 20 in New York and Los Angeles and is expanding to theaters nationwide. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge and features in-depth conversations with filmmakers, actors, and industry voices shaping independent and international cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A conversation with the Oscar-shortlisted director on history, myth, and the making of PALESTINE 36 What happens when history challenges the story we’ve been told? In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we sit down with acclaimed filmmaker Annemarie Jacir to discuss her new film PALESTINE 36, a powerful historical drama that revisits the years leading up to the creation of the State of Israel and offers a perspective rarely explored in narrative cinema. For decades, the history of Palestine during this period has been shaped as much by cultural myth as by documented fact—popularized through works like Exodus and reinforced through generations of storytelling. But what happens when those narratives are questioned? As John Ford famously wrote in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”PALESTINE 36 pushes in the opposite direction. In our conversation, Annemarie Jacir reflects on the historical context behind the film, the challenge of telling politically and culturally sensitive stories, and the long journey of bringing PALESTINE 36 to the screen. Premiering at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival to a 20-minute standing ovation and shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, PALESTINE 36 has already emerged as one of the most talked-about international films of the year. The film opens in New York City on March 20, expands to Los Angeles on March 27, and continues its North American rollout in the weeks that follow. This interview was recorded in person at the Royal Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SHTTL director Ady Walter and actors Moshe Lobel and Saul Rubinek discuss the film’s powerful portrait of Jewish life in a shtetl just before the Nazi invasion of Eastern Europe. What was life like in a Jewish shtetl just before the world changed forever? In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we explore SHTTL, director Ady Walter’s striking film about life in a Jewish village on the eve of World War II, through conversations with the filmmaker and two of the film’s stars. In this conversation you’ll hear about recreating a lost world on screen, the role of Yiddish language and culture in the film, and how the cast approached portraying a community on the brink of historic upheaval. The word shtetl—Yiddish for the small towns across Eastern Europe where many Ashkenazi Jewish communities lived before the Holocaust—often carries a sense of nostalgia. For those born after the Shoah, it can evoke the dreamlike villages of Marc Chagall’s paintings or the storytelling of Isaac Bashevis Singer. But Walter’s film offers something more complex. SHTTL reveals a vibrant community filled with debates about religion, politics, gender roles, economics, and identity—a living world that feels surprisingly contemporary. The film has resonated strongly with audiences, recently becoming the longest-running film at New York’s New Plaza Cinema, where it has played continuously for more than 20 weeks. For this episode, we recorded three separate conversations with key members of the film’s creative team: *Ady Walter, speaking from Paris, discusses recreating a lost world and bringing Yiddish culture and pre-war Jewish life to the screen. *Saul Rubinek, the acclaimed actor and filmmaker who grew up speaking Yiddish in Montreal, reflects on his personal connection to the language and the story. *Moshe Lobel, the film’s star, shares his own relationship to Yiddish and the cultural traditions portrayed in the film. Together, these conversations offer a deeper look at the history, culture, and filmmaking behind SHTTL About the film SHTTL: Directed by Ady Walter, SHTTL is a historical drama set in a Jewish village in Eastern Europe on the eve of the Nazi invasion in 1941. Filmed largely in Yiddish, the film follows a community navigating questions of tradition, politics, identity, and modern life during the final hours before everything changes. @Laemmle @officialRaphaelSbarge @insideTheArthouse @moshelobellao @menemshafilms #SHTTL #SHTTLFilm #MosheLobel #MoisheLobel #SaulRubinek #AdyWalter #YiddishFilm #YiddishCinema #JewishCinema #JewishHistory #Shtetl #IndependentFilm #ArthouseCinema #InternationalCinema #FilmInterview #InsideTheArthouse Find clips from this interview @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips ​ INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE features conversations with filmmakers, actors, and industry leaders shaping independent and international cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CHARLIEBIRD: Tribeca Best Narrative Feature Winner | Libby Ewing Interview Action. It’s the word we most often associate with movies — big spectacle, big movement, big moments. But some of the most powerful films move in a different way. Not through explosions or chase scenes, but through emotional tension, interior conflict, and the quiet shifts that change a life. CHARLIEBIRD, winner of the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, is one of those films. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we sit down with director Libby Ewing to talk about her feature debut and the journey of bringing this intimate independent drama from script to screen. Written by and starring Samantha Smart, CHARLIEBIRD follows the evolving relationship between a music therapist working in a pediatric hospital ward and one of her teenage patients. As the two navigate grief, uncertainty, and the fragile process of healing, their connection becomes a lifeline for them both. The teenage patient is played by Gabriela Ochoa Perez, whose breakout performance earned the Best Performance award at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. In our conversation, Libby Ewing discusses the origins of the film, collaborating with Samantha Smart, directing emotionally vulnerable performances, and what it means for an intimate independent film to break through at one of the world’s major film festivals. Watch clips from this conversation about CHARLIEBIRD now on  @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips  @laemmle  @OfficialRaphaelSbarge   @InsidetheArthouse   @libbyewing8351 @libbyewing @samanthasmart @gabrielaochoaperez @tribeca @circusroadfilms @frankpublicity #Charliebird #LibbyEwing #TribecaFilmFestival #IndependentFilm #ArthouseCinema #FilmInterview #InsideTheArthouse #TribecaWinner #BestNarrativeFeature #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm #ArthouseCinema #FilmInterview #Filmmaking #FilmFestival CharlieBird film, CharlieBird movie, Libby Ewing director, CharlieBird Tribeca winner, Tribeca Best Narrative Feature, Tribeca Film Festival 2025 winner, Gabriela Ochoa Perez performance, Samantha Smart CharlieBird, independent film interview, indie film director interview, arthouse cinema interview, filmmaking process interview, independent film festival winner, Inside the Arthouse podcast, film director interview #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA at Lincoln CenterWhat does a nation’s cinema look like in a single moment?Each year, RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA gathers a new constellation of films — stories shaped by the tensions, desires, politics, and imaginations moving through France right now. For more than three decades, the series has offered American audiences an early glimpse of that evolving landscape — a place where emerging filmmakers stand beside established voices, and where quiet discoveries can become lasting works.Now in its 31st edition, 22 features arrive at Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, offering not just premieres, but a portrait of French cinema in motion.In this episode, we sit down with Florence Almozini, Vice President of Programming at Film at Lincoln Center, to look beyond the titles themselves. We talk about the rhythms she sees across this year’s selections, the themes surfacing again and again, and the delicate art of shaping a program that reflects both where French cinema is — and where it might be headed.Because festivals are more than showcases. They are acts of curation, of translation, of belief. They are where films begin their journeys across borders.Join us for our conversation with Florence Almozini about RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA begins now — on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. Clips from this conversation can be found @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips @laemmle @officialRaphaelSbarge @insidetheArthouse @filmlinc @lincolncenter Film at Lincoln Center#RendezvousWithFrenchCinema #RendezVousWithFrenchCinema #FilmAtLincolnCenter #FrenchCinema #FrenchFilm #InternationalCinema #ArthouseCinema #WorldCinema #FilmFestival #FrenchCinema2026 #NewFrenchCinema #FilmProgramming #CinemaCulture #InsideTheArthouseRendezvous With French Cinema 2026, Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2026, Florence Almozini interview, Film at Lincoln Center, French cinema 2026, future of French film, state of French cinema, new French films 2026, French film festival New York, Walter Reade Theater, international cinema podcast, arthouse film podcast, film festival programming, film programmer interview, French filmmakers 2026, independent film distribution, US film acquisitions, world cinema interview, Inside the Arthouse podcast#InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmakingINSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN BAFTA Winner for Best Documentary and Academy Award® Nominee for Best Documentary Feature What do you do when your government goes to war — and you believe it’s wrong? In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we explore the extraordinary story behind MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary that offers a rare inside look at life in Putin’s Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. At the center of the film is Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, a school videographer in a small Russian town who quietly opposes the war. When he is required to film classroom lessons promoting state propaganda, he faces an impossible moral choice. Instead of walking away, Pasha secretly collaborates with director David Borenstein, transforming state-mandated footage into a powerful act of cinematic resistance. Part political thriller, part dark satire, and part whistleblower story, the film captures the tension, absurdity, and real danger of dissent under authoritarian rule. We’re joined by co-directors David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin, along with Executive Producer Robin Hessman, for a candid conversation about filmmaking under surveillance, the ethics of resistance, and the risks of telling the truth. This episode is part of our Oscar Spotlight Series, featuring in-depth conversations with this year’s Academy Award–nominated Documentary Feature filmmakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT with director Ryan White Oscar-nominated documentary Come See Me in the Good Light follows celebrated poet Andrea Gibson after a cancer diagnosis reshapes their life — revealing how comedy, love, and poetry become powerful acts of resilience. In this INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE Oscar Spotlight episode, director Ryan White joins us for an in-depth conversation about the making of the film, the trust built with Gibson and poet Megan Falley, and how humor becomes a lifeline in the face of mortality. Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Come See Me in the Good Light has earned widespread acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Watch our full conversation with Ryan White as we explore the emotional heart of this extraordinary documentary. And find clips from this and other conversations on our clip channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UC-UusQo4CZloPzGDncdQHQQ #ComeSeeMeInTheGoodLight #OscarNominated #BestDocumentaryFeature #RyanWhite #AndreaGibson #MeganFalley #DocumentaryFilm #Sundance2025 #FilmInterview #InsideTheArthouse #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm @ryanwhite  @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge   @InsidetheArthouse  InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oscar-nominated director Geeta Gandbhir joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss her powerful new documentary, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR. In this in-depth conversation, Gandbhir explores the real-life story behind the film, the moral complexities at its center, and the responsibility of documentary storytelling in today’s cultural landscape. Inside the Making of THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR- Oscar Nominee Best Doc Feature Constructed almost entirely from police body camera footage, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR examines a tragic neighbor dispute that escalates under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law — revealing deeper issues of race, fear, gun culture, and the American legal system. In this in-depth interview, Gandbhir discusses the ethical responsibility of building a film from body cam footage, the cultural climate that shaped the events, and what she hopes audiences take away from one of this year’s most urgent Oscar-nominated documentaries. Is THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR the most provocative documentary of awards season? Watch our exclusive conversation with Geeta Gandbhir as part of our ongoing series spotlighting this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers. Clips from this episode can be found on our Clips channel: @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips @laemmle @OfficialRaphaelSbarge @Netflix #ThePerfectNeighbor #Netflix @netflix #GeetaGandbhir #OscarNominated #BestDocumentaryFeature #StandYourGround #TrueCrime #Documentary #InsideTheArthouse #NikonKwantu #AlisaPayne #SamBisbee #MessagePictures #ParkPictures #SOBProductions#Documentary #OscarNominated #BestDocumentaryFeature #StandYourGround #TrueCrime #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The phrase “observational documentary” immediately evokes cinéma vérité pioneers like Frederick Wiseman and the Maysles Brothers — filmmakers who defined patient, fly-on-the-wall nonfiction storytelling. With their Academy Award–nominated documentary **CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS**, directors Sarah Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni carry that tradition into urgent contemporary territory. It’s a rare Oscar recognition for a feature-length observational film — and a powerful reminder that this rigorous mode of documentary filmmaking remains as vital as ever. At the center of CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS is Sara Shahverdi, the first Iranian woman elected as a councilmember in her rural village. A motorcycle-riding force of nature, Shahverdi challenges entrenched patriarchy through policy and persistence — advocating for women’s empowerment, resisting child marriage, and encouraging young girls to imagine futures beyond traditional constraints. Charismatic, fearless, and deeply pragmatic, she emerges as both a compelling subject and a symbol of meaningful civic change. Beautifully shot and patiently constructed over several years, CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS is this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary about resilience, community leadership, and the transformative power of one determined individual. As part of our 2026 Academy Awards Oscar Series spotlighting the Best Documentary Feature nominees, INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE sits down with Academy Award nominees Sarah Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni for an in-depth conversation about observational filmmaking, earning trust within a conservative community, political risk, and the enduring legacy of cinéma vérité. Watch now and join the conversation and find clips of this conversation on  @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips   @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge  @SaraKhaki @MohammadrezaEyni @GandomFilms  @SGS4832  @ChickenAndEggFilms @SundanceInstitute @FirelightMedia @IDFA @HotDocs #CuttingThroughRocks #OscarNominee #BestDocumentaryFeature #AcademyAwards #ObservationalDocumentary #CinemaVerite #DocumentaryFilm #IndependentFilm #ArthouseCinema #InsideTheArthouse#InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oscar Nominated Documentary: THE ALABAMA SOLUTION As part of our ongoing series featuring interviews with this year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature, we speak with directors Andrew Jarecki (CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS) and Charlotte Kaufman about their Oscar-nominated film, THE ALABAMA SOLUTION. Premiering to critical acclaim at Sundance and now a 2026 Academy Award nominee, the film investigates America’s prison crisis through unprecedented access inside Alabama’s state prison system. Through direct communication with incarcerated activists risking retaliation, the filmmakers document mass incarceration, extreme overcrowding, alleged Eighth Amendment violations, and the broader impact of “tough on crime” politics. After peaking in the early 1990s, U.S. crime rates have steadily declined. Incarceration rates, however, have not. With roughly 1% of the adult population behind bars, the United States maintains one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. THE ALABAMA SOLUTION confronts this reality head-on, offering a searing portrait of institutional failure while also capturing moments of resilience and resistance within a broken system. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we explore the ethical responsibility of documenting incarceration, the risks taken by those speaking from inside, and what meaningful reform might require. Watch our in-depth conversation with Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman now. Clips from this episode can be found on our Clips channel: @INSIDETHEARTHOUSEclips @laemmle @OfficialRaphaelSbarge  @HBO  #alabamaSolution INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. #TheAlabamaSolution#OscarNominee #BestDocumentaryFeature #AndrewJarecki#CharlotteKaufman #PrisonReform #MassIncarceration#InvestigativeDocumentary#ArthouseCinema #InsideTheArthouse THE ALABAMA SOLUTION is an Oscar-nominated documentary and 2026 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans) and Charlotte Kaufman, the film investigates America’s prison crisis, exposing conditions inside Alabama’s state prison system. This investigative documentary examines mass incarceration, prison overcrowding, the prison-industrial complex, and alleged Eighth Amendment violations in what has been called one of America’s deadliest prison systems. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a YouTube film podcast featuring in-depth filmmaker interviews focused on independent film, arthouse cinema, documentary filmmaking, and the film industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are documentaries about history, and then there are documentaries about the people who were quietly in the room when history happened. STARMAN, the new film from Academy Award–nominated director Robert Stone, belongs firmly in the latter category. It chronicles the life of Gentry Lee—NASA scientist, mission architect, science communicator, and one of those rare figures whose career seems to map directly onto the modern Space Age. If the Space Age began in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik, then Gentry Lee—born in 1942—has lived his entire adult life shaped by humanity’s reach beyond Earth. More than a witness to that history, Lee has been in the room for many of its defining moments. As a senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lee served as Director of Science Analysis and Mission Planning for the Viking mission to Mars and the Galileo probe to Jupiter, missions that transformed our understanding of the solar system. Alongside this work, he collaborated with Carl Sagan on PBS’s landmark series COSMOS, narrated Discovery Channel’s ARE WE ALONE?, and co-authored four novels with legendary science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. A Zelig-like figure at the crossroads of interplanetary science and science fiction, Gentry Lee has been everywhere—and worked with everyone—who helped define how we imagine space. Now the subject of STARMAN, Lee guides us through a lifetime of curiosity, wonder, and exploration. The film is both entertaining and illuminating—and our conversation with him reflects that same spirit. Our conversation with Gentry Lee, subject of STARMAN, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge   @ObscuredReleasing  #StarmanMovie STARMAN documentary, Starman film, Gentry Lee, Gentry Lee NASA, Robert Stone documentary, Robert Stone director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL NASA, space exploration documentary, Viking mission to Mars, Galileo probe to Jupiter, Carl Sagan, COSMOS PBS, Arthur C. Clarke, science and imagination, space age documentary, interplanetary exploration, Are We Alone documentary, Inside the Arthouse, documentary film podcast #STARMAN #GentryLee #RobertStone #NASADocumentary #SpaceExploration #JetPropulsionLaboratory #CarlSagan #ArthurCClarke #DocumentaryFilm #InsideTheArthouse #SpaceAge #AreWeAlone #ArthouseCinema #filmpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Love Doesn’t Disappear, But Quietly Changes Shape — with director Hlynur Pálmason Like Ingmar Bergman pivoting from the existential weight of The Seventh Seal to the gentler, more reflective tone of Wild Strawberries, Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason follows his critically acclaimed 2023 film Godland with THE LOVE THAT REMAINS—a work that feels light and airy even as it engages with emotionally serious terrain. THE LOVE THAT REMAINS centers on Anna and Maggi, parents of three children, as they navigate an amicable separation and divorce. Anna is an artist grappling with stalled momentum, while Maggi works aboard a commercial fishing boat, keenly aware that long stretches at sea place strain on family life. Their unhappiness is unmistakable, yet Pálmason resists easy explanations. Instead, he presents a couple bound by mutual respect and lingering affection—offering a quietly radical counterpoint to traditional divorce dramas. Beyond its intimate emotional focus, the film is also a vivid portrait of the Icelandic landscape. The countryside becomes both setting and emotional texture—beautiful, austere, and deeply expressive—mirroring the film’s tonal restraint and quiet power. Defying easy categorization, THE LOVE THAT REMAINS is a film about love after rupture, about separation without cruelty, and about the endurance of emotional connection. We hope our conversation with Hlynur Pálmason inspires you to seek out the film when it opens at your local arthouse cinema. To learn more about THE LOVE THAT REMAINS, watch INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge   @janusfilmsnyc   @InsidetheArthouse  #TheLoveThatRemains #HlynurPalmason #IcelandicCinema #ArthouseFilm #IndependentFilm #EuropeanCinema #SlowCinema #AuteurCinema #FilmInterview The Love That Remains, Hlynur Pálmason, Hlynur Palmason interview, Icelandic cinema, Icelandic film, arthouse film, independent cinema, European cinema, Scandinavian film, slow cinema, divorce drama, family drama, relationship drama, Godland, Bergman influence, auteur filmmaking, film director interview, Inside the Arthouse Inside The Arthouse is a filmed podcast and video interview series exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, the series features in-depth conversations with visionary directors, writers, producers, and documentary filmmakers shaping contemporary cinema. Episodes and clips cover the full filmmaking process, from writing, directing, and editing to distribution, festival strategy, and film sales. With behind-the-scenes insights, filmmaker interviews, and critical analysis of new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films, Inside The Arthouse is essential viewing for cinephiles, film students, and industry professionals. #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview #FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution #LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge #NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Watch full episodes and subscribe for more interviews with the leading voices of independent and arthouse cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, director Jan-Ole Gerster discusses his new film ISLANDS, Berlin Film Festival premieres, and the creative process behind crafting a slow-burn indie mystery It’s only January, but if ISLANDS is any indication of what lies ahead, 2026 is already shaping up to be a remarkable year for cinema. Written and directed by Jan-Ole Gerster, ISLANDS is a sun-drenched, slow-burn mystery inspired by a character Gerster encountered while vacationing on the island of Fuerteventura. The film carries the seductive pull of a Raymond Chandler or Patricia Highsmith novel, but just when noir convention suggests the story will zig, Gerster confidently lets it zag. At the center of the film’s quiet tension is Sam Riley—unforgettable as Ian Curtis in Control—joined by Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing as a troubled married couple whose arrival sets the narrative in motion. Since premiering at the Berlin Film Festival, ISLANDS has drawn strong critical acclaim, with Variety naming Gerster one of its 10 Directors to Watch for 2026. In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we sit down with Jan-Ole Gerster to discuss the making of ISLANDS, the film’s inspirations, and the creative choices behind its simmering atmosphere. Join us for a thoughtful conversation about storytelling, tone, and the pleasures of letting a film unfold on its own terms. Inside the Arthouse — starting now.  @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge  @janolegerster #JanOleGerster @samrileymusic #SamRiley @stacymartin #StacyMartin @jackfarthing #JackFarthing@greenwichent #GreenwichEntertainment #ISLANDSfilm#ISLANDSmovie Inside The Arthouse is a filmed podcast and video interview series exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, the series features in-depth conversations with visionary directors, writers, producers, and documentary filmmakers shaping contemporary cinema. Episodes and clips cover the full filmmaking process, from writing, directing, and editing to distribution, festival strategy, and film sales. With behind-the-scenes insights, filmmaker interviews, and critical analysis of new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films, Inside The Arthouse is essential viewing for cinephiles, film students, and industry professionals. #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Watch full episodes and subscribe for more interviews with the leading voices of independent and arthouse cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sundance Film Festival is back—and with it, the headlines about splashy acquisitions and record-setting deals. But beyond the price tags and bidding wars, a much bigger story is unfolding. How do these deals actually get made? And what happens to the vast majority of films that don’t get picked up? In this episode of ARTHOUSE, we go beyond the headlines to explore the real journey of an independent film—from production to distribution—with industry veteran Gary Rubin. During the indie boom of the 1990s and early 2000s, Rubin was acquiring films at Artisan Entertainment, including his involvement in the landmark release of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. He later founded First Independent Pictures, distributing films like BIG FAN and HOLY ROLLERS. Today, Rubin works on multiple fronts: helping producers position their films for sale as a sales agent, and—when buyers don’t bite—guiding filmmakers through the realities of self-distribution as a marketing consultant. Making a film is hard. Getting it seen can be even harder. Whether you’re a filmmaker navigating the marketplace or a passionate fan of independent cinema, this “inside baseball” conversation pulls back the curtain on how films find their audience—or don’t. This is INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE with Gary Rubin... Starting now. @laemmle #sundance #sundance2026  @OfficialRaphaelSbarge  #arthouse Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Film Preservation #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Sundance Film Festival approaches its final year in Park City, we take a moment to reflect on the artists who didn’t simply pass through Sundance—but helped define it, shaping an entire era of American independent cinema in the process. Among those enduring icons is Steve Buscemi. Buscemi’s breakthrough came with Bill Sherwood’s Parting Glances, which premiered at Sundance in 1986. The film became a key work of the emerging New Queer Cinema movement and marked one of the earliest moments when Sundance revealed itself as a true launchpad for bold, deeply personal storytelling. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Buscemi emerged as one of the most singular and recognizable faces of independent film, collaborating with filmmakers who would go on to redefine the medium—including Joel and Ethan Coen, Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch, Abel Ferrara, and Tom DiCillo. His unforgettable performance in Alexander Rockwell’s In the Soup earned the film the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1992, cementing Buscemi’s place at the center of the ’90s indie film explosion. More recently, Buscemi was honored by IndieCollect as part of RescueFest 2025, recognizing his lasting impact on independent cinema and his role in preserving film history. For the occasion, IndieCollect founder Sandra Schulberg invited Greg to moderate a conversation with Steve, co-hosted by Michelle Satter, founder and longtime director of the Sundance Institute Labs. We’re proud to bring that conversation to you now. This is Steve Buscemi in conversation—on Inside the Arthouse... starting now. @laemmle @indiecollect #stevebuscemi @sundanceorg #Sundance IndieCollect, RescueFest, RescueFest2025, FilmPreservation, IndieFilmHistory Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Film Preservation #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Private Life with Public Consequences: Rebecca Zlotowski has been on our radar since Other People’s Children hit the U.S. in 2023, so we were more than ready for her next move: A PRIVATE LIFE (Vie Privée)—a sleek, sharp French-language genre cocktail that’s equal parts mystery, romance, and darkly playful comedy. Jodie Foster plays Lilian Steiner, a tightly wound Paris psychiatrist whose perfectly curated life starts to fray after a patient dies under unsettling circumstances. What follows is classic Zlotowski: stylish, intelligent, emotionally alive—and way more moving than you expect a “noir-ish” whodunit to be. Foster gives one of her most nuanced performances in years, performed almost entirely in French, and the film pairs her with César-winner Daniel Auteuil for one of the most irresistible actor-director matchups of the moment. This week on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Zlotowski talks about the enduring power of movies: how filmmaking lets us step into alternate realities, why that hits audiences so hard, and the “cinema secrets” hiding in plain sight. We also get into her craft choices on A PRIVATE LIFE—tone, rhythm, performance, and what French filmmaking traditions she’s playing with (and pushing against). @laemmle @officialRaphaelSbarge @sonyclassics #InsideTheArthouse #APrivateLife #ViePrivee #RebeccaZlotowski #JodieFoster #DanielAuteuil #FrenchCinema #ArthouseCinema #Cinephile #FilmPodcast #VideoPodcast #DirectorInterview #BehindTheScenes #Filmmaking #Directing #Screenwriting #Editing #Cinematography #ModernNoir #FilmNoir #MysteryThriller #PsychologicalThriller #CharacterStudy #ParisCinema #FestivalFilm #WorldCinema #WomenInFilm #AuteurCinema #MovieTalk #filmlovers #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HOMEBOUND (Oscar Shortlisted) | A Passport to Contemporary India — Neeraj Ghaywan Interview. We love foreign films at INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. When they work, they’re more than entertainment—they’re a passport. In this episode, we sit down with Neeraj Ghaywan to discuss his Oscar-shortlisted drama HOMEBOUND, a powerful portrait of contemporary India. That’s exactly what happens in director Neeraj Ghaywan’s powerful new drama HOMEBOUND—an Oscar-shortlisted film set in contemporary India that follows two lifelong friends trying to build a future against overwhelming odds. One is Muslim, the other Dalit, and their bond is tested by caste prejudice, religious discrimination, and the brutal realities of social class. Inspired in part by a New York Times report from 2020, HOMEBOUND doesn’t soften what it shows us. It confronts the everyday humiliations that shape opportunity—and in a devastating final act, captures the life-shattering consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown, especially for migrant workers, who were among the hardest hit by the pandemic’s economic and social fallout. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, HOMEBOUND has emerged as a standout in the Best International Feature Oscar race, and it should not be counted out. Neeraj Ghaywan was in Los Angeles for screenings, and Greg jumped at the chance to sit down with him in person at the Royal Theatre for a one-on-one conversation. We invite you to listen in. Listen now to our conversation with director Neeraj Ghaywan — on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. @Laemmle @officialRaphaelSbarge @homeboundthefilm @dharmamovies @netflix @neeraj.ghaywan @ishaankhatter @vishaljethwa06@janhvikapoor #Homebound #dharmamovies #Homebound #NeerajGhaywan #OscarShortlisted #BestInternationalFeature #IndianCinema #InternationalCinema #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #FilmmakerInterview #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #CinemaCulture HOMEBOUND film, Neeraj Ghaywan interview, Oscar shortlisted film, Best International Feature Oscar race, Indian cinema, contemporary India film, caste discrimination, Dalit representation, Muslim Dalit friendship, migrant workers India, COVID lockdown India, Martin Scorsese executive producer, international cinema, arthouse film, independent film, filmmaker interview podcast, INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Jarmusch on Making FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER (Venice Golden Lion) In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we sit down with one of the defining voices of American independent cinema: Jim Jarmusch. Since his 1984 breakthrough Stranger Than Paradise, Jarmusch has carved out a singular path—quietly rebellious, fiercely auteur-driven, and unmistakably his own. His latest film, FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER—winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival—marks a return to one of his most iconic storytelling forms: a set of separate yet interconnected stories, each with its own tone, rhythm, and emotional temperature. The signature deadpan humor is here, but so is something deeper—an unexpected tenderness that builds toward a quietly devastating final movement. We talk with Jarmusch about why he was drawn back to this triptych structure, how he approaches rhythm and restraint, and how small details accumulate into meaning. We also discuss working with an extraordinary ensemble cast—Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Charlotte Rampling, Mayim Bialik, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat—and what it takes to make films that resist the pull of franchising, speed, and spectacle. If you’re interested in the craft of filmmaking, the future of independent cinema, or the enduring power of auteur storytelling, this conversation is for you. Join us for our conversation with Jim Jarmusch—starting now on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. Jim Jarmusch interview, Father Mother Sister Brother, Venice Golden Lion winner, Venice Film Festival, MUBI film, Tom Waits Jim Jarmusch, Adam Driver Jim Jarmusch, Cate Blanchett Jim Jarmusch, Vicky Krieps, Charlotte Rampling, independent cinema, arthouse film, filmmaker interview, INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE  @laemmle   @OfficialRaphaelSbarge   @mubi  @kate_blanchetteofficial @missmayim @indyamoore @lukasabbat @cate_blanchettofficial #arthousecinema #JimJarmusch #FatherMotherSisterBrother #MUBI #InsideTheArthouse #IndependentCinema #ArthouseCinema #FilmInterview #filmmakerinterview #InsideTheArthouse #FilmPodcast #ArthouseCinema #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm#FilmmakerInterview #FilmDiscussion #FilmAnalysis #MovieReview#FilmIndustry #FilmBusiness #FilmDistribution#LaemmleTheatres #GregLaemmle #RaphaelSbarge#NewFilmReleases #arthousefilm Video podcast exploring independent film, arthouse cinema, and the film industry. In-depth filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes conversations, and film analysis covering new releases, repertory cinema, and classic films. Hosted by Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, Inside the Arthouse focuses on film distribution, the movie business, and the creative process behind independent filmmaking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices