The Garden Cinema Film Talk

Daoism on film, connection with the land and Chinese indie cinema - Return To Dust with Dr Kiki Tianqi Yu

We held a Q&A with Dr Kiki Tianqi Yu following one of our screenings of Return To Dust. The film film follows Ma and timid Cao who have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. Uniting with Earth’s cycles, they create a haven for themselves in which they can thrive. Dr Kiki Tianqi Yu talks about the film's depiction of the connection between humans and land and its the philosophical connotations, the director's previous work, the issues around censorship and independent cinema in China.  Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

Migration & budget filmmaking: Film talk with Nana Mensah

We are joined by writer/director/actress Nana Mensah. Mensah's first feature film, the award-winning Queen Of Glory, will be screening at the Garden Cinema on 26 November.  The film follows the trials and tribulations of Sarah Obeng, the brilliant child of Ghanaian immigrants, who is quitting her Ivy League PhD program to follow her married lover to Ohio. When her mother dies suddenly, she bequeaths her daughter a Christian bookstore in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx where Sarah was raised.  We were also joined by Lily Parrott, co-director of the Migration Film Festival. We chatted about Nana's forays into filmmaking, her start as an actress, and its selection as part of the festival.    Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

Tabloid and state collusion, press freedom and awful cardigans: The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum

This week, we welcomed a group of screenwriting and film students from City Lit to watch The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, directed by Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schlondorff and based on the book by Heinrich Boll. Blum a young woman living in West Germany in the 70s finds her life falling into ruins after she falls prey to a vicious smear campaign by the police and a ruthless journalist, testing the limits of her sanity. The film is an open critique of media manipulation and demonisation, and the misuse of state power - a critique which finds many echoes in the instances of collusion between the state, the police and the tabloids today. Our students share their thoughts about the film and its legacy.  We discuss the ways in which the debate over the role of ex-Nazis in authority in the 70s was shut down, how American and British films of the time dealt with similar subject matter and THAT awful cardigan.    Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

The pessimism of Film Noir, the optimism of Mike Leigh and the essence of comedy with Darren Richman

"Over 12 half-hour episodes, we're seeing a man have a nervous breakdown". This week, we talk to journalist Darren Richman about some of his favourite genres and filmmakers. We discuss the pessimism of Film Noir and the optimism of Mike Leigh, the nature of comedy from Faulty Towers to the Coen Brothers and debate whether or not there is such a thing as "dark comedy" and the depiction of love and compassion in Hollywood films.  You can follow Darren on Twitter @darrenrichman. Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk.   

A Life On Set - 60 years advising the industry’s biggest directors, from Huston to Zeffirelli

This week, we speak to Angela Allen who has worked on the film sets of many celebrated films, including The Third Man, The African Queen and The Dirty Dozen, for nearly six decades, overseeing continuity, supervising scripts and advising directors.    Angela shares with us anecdotes and personal stories from her time on and off the set. This podcast episode is slightly longer than usual, so we've included a discussion breakdown:  2.04  How to know if a film will be good.  2.45  Angela on the editing process and working with Carol Reed (The Third Man) 7.30  The current fashion for "overcoverage" and working with John Huston 10.25  Zeffirelli vs Huston and filming Elizabeth Taylor 13.58  The auteur theory from France 15.47  Different directors, same scripts 18.25  "We'd have sixteen pages on the fact that Jennifer Jones' toilet paper had to be pink", meeting David O'Selznick 21.10  Working with Korda and Spiegel, "the most intelligent producer but a bit of a crook, too" 26.40  Working with Orson Wells and stories from The Third Man 35.36  Arthur Miller & Marilyn Monroe (The Misfits) 39.55  "Paula Strasberg made her as impossible as she was" 43.23  "Do you feel sorry for [Marilyn]? No I don't" 44.32  Angela on writing a book Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

Revisiting the power of the big screen with MUBI

We discuss the pleasure and power of the cinema experience and which films are better on the silver screen with MUBI's podcast host, journalist Rico Cagliano.  We talk to Rico about the MUBI podcast seasons, cinemas he's researched and visited and share anecdotes about films that should be watched on a big screen, such as Lawrence Of Arabia and Wings Of Desire.  Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

The Garden Cinema Weekly Update 12/08/2022

Our weekly update with news about upcoming events and listings as well as interviews with Jose Arroyo, George Crosthwait and Hotsy Totsy

Almodovar and the versatility of Penelope Cruz with José Arroyo

We talk about the films of Almodovar, his depiction of the Spanish civil war, Spanish cinema and Penelope Cruz with Film Professor José Arroyo, who has written extensively about the Spanish director and has interviewed him a number of times. We invited him to mark our upcoming Penelope Cruz season, to talk more generally about the actress, Almodovar and Spanish cinema. We discuss glamour, camp and appeal of Almodovar's filmography and Jose's own interest in the filmmaker, his working relationship with Penelope Cruz, her versatility and comparisons with Sofia Loren, depicting the Spanish Civil War and the post-Franco Spanish film industry. We also touch on other films from our season, such as Jamon Jamon and discuss the merits of a season of contemporary Spanish "new wave" directors. 

Julian Assange’s father’s quest for justice in Ithaka

We chat about the journalist's father and fiance's campaign to secure his release from Belmarsh prison and its depiction in feature documentary Ithaka with director Ben Lawrence.  Speaking to us from his home in Australia, the filmmaker tells us more about his latest film, which follows the pair as they campaign to secure Assange's release. The film was made over 2 years and covers his extradition hearing, which helped garner media attention and widespread support for the journalist.  Ben explains how the project came about and we discuss its reception and what it means for journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.  Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk. 

Marlene Dietrich and the lasting power of stars with Dr Lucy Bolton

We chat about Marlene Dietrich, her close working relationship with Josef Von Sternberg, the changes in her persona that came with her shift to Hollywood, comparisons with Mae West and Greta Garbo, and the enduring power of stars with Dr Lucy Bolton. Lucy is a Reader in Film Studies at Queen Mary University and her fields of research include film stardom and celebrity. She recently co-edited a collection entitled Lasting Stars: Images that Fade and Personas that Endure. We invited her on the podcast to take a deeper look at Marlene Dietrich’s career, persona and lasting influence, to mark a season dedicated to the actress. Find us on the usual platforms. Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter @thegardencinema or by contacting us at podcast@thegardencinema.co.uk.