THR Presents
“I Wanted to Understand the Brainwash”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With ‘Rojek’ Director Zaynê Akyol
Zaynê Akyol’s latest documentary feature, Rojek, was born out of her time working on the 2016 documentary Gulîstan, Land of Roses. In that film, the director followed a group of female soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan as she searched for her old babysitter (the titular Gulîstan), who had mysteriously vanished one day in Akyol’s childhood to […]
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“It Was Less About the Action and More About the Reflection”: ‘THR Presents Live’ at EnergaCamerimage With the ’Society of the Snow’ Filmmakers
In director J.A. Bayona and cinematographer Pedro Luque’s new film Society of the Snow, the filmmakers set out to create an ambitious adaptation of a book (of the same name) about the 1972 Uruguayan Andes flight disaster. The nonfiction book, which was written 40 years after the crash, documents the accounts of the 16 survivors […]
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“We’ve Been Struggling to Get This Story Onscreen for 10 Years”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Director of ‘Brothers’
If you pitched the plot of Brothers, the Czech Republic’s official Oscar submission for best international film, as a screenplay, you’d get back studio notes calling it “unbelievable” and “over-the-top.” Two brothers — Josef and Radek Mašín, sons of a legendary anti-Nazi resistance fighter Josef Mašín — take up arms against the communist regime in […]
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“I Feel That I Have a Duty”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Directors of Four Oscars Shorts Contenders
Four of this year’s short contenders for the Oscars tell personal narratives that lead audiences on uniquely distinct journeys. In The Noble Guardian, journalist Anna Coren makes her directorial debut with the story of Afghan American women’s rights activist Mahbouba Seraj, who decided to stay in Afghanistan following the United States’ withdrawal from the country […]
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“We Were Full of Faith”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Director of ‘Thunder’
Carmen Jaquier’s solo directorial debut may be called Thunder, but the film’s quiet power rings the loudest. Competing on behalf of Switzerland for a best international feature film nomination at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, Jaquier’s 1900-set drama chronicles Lilith Grasmug’s Elisabeth, a 17-year-old novitiate who’s forced to delay her impending vows and return to […]
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“I Wanted to Do Something Bigger Than Life”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With Yoshiki of ‘Yoshiki: Under the Sky’
Like many entertainers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese songwriter and musician Yoshiki wanted to find a way to use his artistry to lift people’s spirits, particularly fans who wrote to him about being in a dark place during that time. “The intention was to spread love,” Yoshiki said during a taping of […]
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“If You Want to Create Chaos, You Have to Plan How to Do It”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Filmmakers of ‘Seven Blessings’
In a time of war, the Israeli brain trust behind Seven Blessings is seeking comfort the only way they know how: by sharing their art with the world. As Israel’s submission for a best international feature film nomination at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, the Ayelet Menahemi-directed Seven Blessings focuses on Marie (Reymonde Amsellem), who, […]
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“I Liked Having Permission to Be Annoying”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Cast and Creators of ‘Shrinking’
The first season of Shrinking ends with a literal cliff-hanger. One of Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) patients takes his unconventional therapeutic advice to the extreme and pushes her abusive husband over the edge of a Los Angeles mountain, right as the credits roll. Segel and his co-creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein had the idea for […]
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“Imagine the Excel Spreadsheets”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Sprawling Cast of ‘Ghosts’
There is no shortage of potential shared storylines on Ghosts, as evidenced by a recent THR Presents panel, powered by Vision Media, with much of the cast — where the Zoom screen was more crowded than the opening panel of The Brady Bunch. The complete spectral roster — Sheila Carrasco (Flower), Devan Chandler (Thorfin), Asher […]
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“This Is What Artists Do When We’re at Our Best”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Cast of ‘Accused’
In the Fox crime drama Accused, each episode begins in a courtroom and ends with the surprising turn of events that landed everyday citizens in the defendant’s chair on trial. The American version of the British anthology series of the same name was developed by Howard Gordon and boasts an ensemble of A-list talent in […]
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“Why People Connect So Strongly”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Team
The Handmaid’s Tale traveled outside the confines of Gilead for much of season five, expanding the story of June Osborne, played by Elisabeth Moss, after her escape from the totalitarian society at the center of the Hulu series. The first two episodes, in fact, picked up in Canada in the 24 hours after the show’s […]
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“There’s an Earnestness to It”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With Amy Poehler and ‘The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning’
Amy Poehler and her Paper Kite Productions partner Kate Arend are building a mini docuseries empire. The two created competition series Making It, followed by last year’s Baking It, and now they’ve teamed up with the producers of the original Queer Eye for The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. “We like to try to […]
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