Interview With "Kokuho" Filmmaker Lee Sang-il & Star Ryo Yoshizawa
"Kokuho" is a Japanese drama film directed by Lee Sang-il, written by Satoko Okudera, and based on a novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida, starring Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, Min Tanaka, and Ken Watanabe. It tells the story of a young boy who devotes himself to the traditional theatre of kabuki under the tutelage of a famous actor, aspiring for the same level of greatness someday. The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim. It would go on to find commercial success in Japan, even increasing kabuki ticket sales. It has been selected as the Japanese entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar at the 98th Academy Awards. Filmmaker Lee Sang-il and star Ryo Yoshizawa were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is set for a limited one-week qualifying release on November 21st in New York from GKIDS. Thank you, and enjoy!
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A Behind The Scenes Look At "Train Dreams"
"Train Dreams" had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto and AFI Film Festivals. It received positive reviews for its adaptation of the 2011 novella of the same name, Clint Bentley's direction, Joel Edgerton's leading performance, its cinematography, and its score by Bryce Dessner. Members of the cast and crew were kind enough to spend some time speaking with Next Best Picture over the past few weeks, and you can watch or listen to those conversations below. First, we have Daniel Howat's interview with Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones. Then, we have my interview with Director/Co-writer Clint Bentley, followed by Howat's interview with actors Kerry Condon and William H. Macy. Then we have Will Mavity's interview with the film's cinematographer, Adolpho Veloso. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix and is up for your consideration for this year's Academy Awards in all eligible categories. Thank you, and enjoy!
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"Train Dreams"
THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture
For this week's third podcast review, Dan Bayer, Megan Lachinski, and Will Mavity join me to review and discuss the latest film from Clint Bentley, "Train Dreams," starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. Based on the 2011 novella of the same name by Denis Johnson, and co-written with fellow Academy Award-nominee Greg Kwedar, the duo are back following "Sing Sing" last year with another beloved independent film that has had passionate supporters ever since it premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival to universal acclaim. Please tune in as we discuss the themes, Joel Edgerton's leading performance, the cinematography, Bentley's direction, its awards season prospects, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!
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Interview With "Cutting Through Rocks" Filmmakers Mohammadreza Eyni & Sara Khaki
"Cutting Through Rocks" is a documentary film directed by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki in their feature debut. It follows the story of the first Iranian woman elected as a councilwoman in a rural, poor village. The film had its world premiere in the World Documentary Competition section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews and won the Grand Jury Prize – World Documentary Competition. Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in New York at Film Forum on November 21st. Thank you, and enjoy!
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Interview With "Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk" Filmmaker Sepideh Farsi
"Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk" is a documentary film directed by Sepideh Farsi, depicting life in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli military campaign, captured through Farsi's video calls with a young Palestinian photojournalist living there named Fatima Hassouna. The documentary had its world premiere at the ACID parallel section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. A day after the filmmakers found out the film had been selected for the festival, Hassouna was killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside nine members of her family on April 16th. The film is dedicated to her memory and has garnered positive reviews, including Gotham and Cinema Eye Honors nominations for Best Documentary Feature. Farsi was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in limited release from Kino Lorber. Thank you, and enjoy!
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A podcast by NextBestPicture.com that reviews the latest film and television releases and discusses various topics within the world of the awards season race.
Canada - english