Interviews with Directors and Artists
“Go on strike ‘til you get it right!”
Detroit rapper GmacCash supports striking autoworkers
By Kathleen Martin, 21 September 2019
The former autoworker spoke to the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter about life in the auto plants and why he supports the striking workers.
An interview with Hind Meddeb, director of Paris Stalingrad: “It’s not a film about refugees, it’s a film about human beings”
By David Walsh, 11 September 2019
The documentary focuses on the plight of asylum seekers on the streets of the French capital
An interview with historian Brenda Wineapple, author of books on Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson
“Writing is a solitary and private act … I’m going to say what I think is true”
By David Walsh, 13 August 2019
Brenda Wineapple has written a number of intriguing books, including White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson; Hawthorne: A Life; and The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation.
More on the removal of actress Lillian Gish’s name at Bowling Green State University
A conversation with actor Malcolm McDowell: “Once you erode freedoms like this, and artistic thought, where are we as a civilized society?”
By David Walsh, 1 August 2019
The WSWS spoke to veteran actor Malcolm McDowell about the decision by Bowling Green State University to remove actress Lillian Gish’s name from its film theater because of her role in D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915).
“The university and its teachers have a responsibility toward history”
An interview with veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier about actress Lillian Gish and director D. W. Griffith
Bowling Green State University recently removed the famed actress’s name from its film theater
By David Walsh, 20 July 2019
French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (Round Midnight, Coup de Torchon, Life and Nothing But, It All Starts Today, In the Electric Mist) is one of the most admirable figures in cinema over the past 45 years.
A conversation with Mike Kaplan, the producer of The Whales of August (1987), Lillian Gish’s final film
The famed actress “was filled with curiosity, creativity and imagination”
By David Walsh, 6 July 2019
Kaplan helped organize the petition urging Bowling Green State University to restore the names of famed actresses Dorothy and Lillian Gish to its film theater.
A conversation with Todd Tarbox, editor of Marching Song
By David Walsh, 2 July 2019
David Walsh spoke recently with Todd Tarbox, who has edited and overseen the publication of Marching Song, a play co-written by Orson Welles in 1932 about the abolitionist John Brown.
San Francisco School Board votes to destroy left-wing murals they claim are “racist” and “white supremacist”
By Toby Reese, 28 June 2019
On Tuesday evening, the San Francisco Unified School Board voted unanimously to destroy or cover over the historic 1936 “Life of George Washington Murals” at a district high school. The vote is a reactionary decision that marks a new stage in the censorship drive that began last December.
“Capitalism is a terrible scheme that robs people of their labor”
As negotiations hit impasse, Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians continue strike and free concerts
By Michael Walters and George Marlowe, 20 April 2019
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra management reiterated its demand that musicians give up their traditional pensions and also canceled concerts through the end of April.
An interview with Mike Leigh, director of Peterloo: “You don’t run out of steam if what you do…is to literally hold the mirror up to nature”
By David Walsh, 5 April 2019
The WSWS spoke to British filmmaker Mike Leigh during the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018.
Icebox: The US government locks up children
By David Walsh, 11 December 2018
Icebox focuses on a 12-year-old Honduran boy, Oscar (Anthony Gonzalez), forced by gang activity to flee his home country and head for the US, where an uncle lives.
Toronto International Film Festival 2018
An interview with director Daniel Sawka and actors from Icebox: “As inequality grows, there’s always scapegoating of immigrants”
By David Walsh, 4 October 2018
The WSWS spoke to the director of Icebox and several actors about the question of immigration and the Trump administration policies.
Toronto International Film Festival 2018
An interview with Mike Leigh, director of Peterloo: “You don’t run out of steam if what you do … is to literally hold the mirror up to nature”
By David Walsh, 28 September 2018
The WSWS spoke to British filmmaker Mike Leigh in Toronto.
An interview with Mexican documentarian Juan Francisco Urrusti, director of In Exile: A Family Film
“The world should not be closing itself in—my father’s struggle was against all walls.”
By Kevin Mitchell, 2 July 2018
The WSWS spoke recently with the director of In Exile: A Family Film, a film about the Spanish Civil War and its consequences.
The legacy of the Gershwins and Porgy and Bess
An interview with Marc George Gershwin and Michael Strunsky, nephews of George and Ira Gershwin
By Barry Grey, 23 April 2018
“What stands out is the genius of the music.”
An interview with filmmaker Niclas Gillis and Tanisha Lambright of Hold Me Down
By Norisa Diaz, 24 March 2018
Gillis and supporting lead actress Lambright spoke to the WSWS about the vast inequality in the most economically developed nation in the world.
A conversation with Raoul Peck, director of The Young Karl Marx
By Fred Mazelis, 1 March 2018
Filmmaker Raoul Peck discusses his portrait of the young Marx and Engels.
A conversation with Emma Franz, director of Bill Frisell: A Portrait
By Richard Phillips, 23 February 2018
Filmmaker and musician Emma Franz speaks about her latest documentary and the political and artistic conceptions that informed her approach.
Failed by the State co-writer and presenter Ish: “I wasn’t trying to push agendas, I was just trying to tell the truth about Grenfell.”
By Robert Stevens, 16 February 2018
The World Socialist Web Site interviewed Ish about the making of Failed by the State, a documentary on the Grenfell fire, and the attack launched against it by the Daily Beast and right-wing newspapers in Britain.
Failed by the State co-director Daniel Renwick: “Every day I meet people who have been politicised and have a deeper consciousness”
By Robert Stevens, 15 February 2018
The World Socialist Web Site interviewed Daniel Renwick about the making of Failed by the State, a documentary on the Grenfell fire, and the attack launched against it by the Daily Beast and right-wing newspapers in Britain.
A conversation with film historian Max Alvarez: How the #MeToo campaign echoes the McCarthyite witch hunt of the 1940s and 1950s
“The climate is chillingly similar in terms of the massive capitulation and conformity”
By David Walsh, 8 February 2018
It is “Scoundrel Time” again in Hollywood, complete with denunciations, anonymous informants, humiliating “confessions,” trial by media and the banning of prominent performers.
Director of A World Not Ours, A Man Returned and A Drowning Man
An interview with Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel: “A film is like a historical document, it should be solid enough to endure”
By David Walsh, 4 January 2018
Fleifel’s A World Not Ours (2012), Xenos (2014), A Man Returned (2016) and A Drowning Man (2017) are some of the important films currently being made.
Toronto International Film Festival 2017
An interview with Stephan Komandarev, director of Directions: “The first step is to have a clear picture of what’s happening. I don’t see any other way.”
By David Walsh and Joanne Laurier, 26 September 2017
We spoke with Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev, the writer-director of Directions, in Toronto.
American horror film director George Romero (1940–2017)
Including a conversation with film historian Tony Williams
By David Walsh, 21 July 2017
The American director of numerous horror and other films, including Night of the Living Dead, died July 16 in Toronto.
The “forces in power” are sensitive “to art and ideas”
A conversation with award-winning cinematographer Tom Hurwitz
By David Walsh, 29 June 2017
Hurwitz is one of the most honored documentary cinematographers in the US. His many credits include work on Harlan County, USA (1976), Wild Man Blues (1997), Dancemaker (1998), The Turandot Project (2000) and The Queen of Versailles (2012).
230 Interview with son of blacklisted writer and filmmaker
28 June 2017
“All these people worked all night, every night, crazily, obsessively”
An Interview with Sara Fishko, director of The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith
By David Walsh, 27 June 2017
Sara Fishko is an executive producer and host at WNYC, a public radio station in New York. Her film sheds fascinating light on artistic life in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Is there a bigger lightning rod for racism, bigotry, fear-mongering and hate than immigration?”
An interview with Rodrigo Reyes, director of Lupe Bajo el Sol (Lupe Under the Sun)
By Kevin Martinez, 10 April 2017
The WSWS conducted an email interview with Rodrigro Reyes, director of Lupe Bajo el Sol (Lupe Under the Sun).
An interview with Jose Ramon Pedroza, director of Los Jinetes Del Tiempo (Time Riders)
By Kevin Martinez and Toby Reese, 3 April 2017
The WSWS conducted an interview with Mexican film director Jose Ramon Pedroza.
Four hundred years since William Shakespeare’s death–Part 2
And a conversation with James Shapiro of Columbia University
By David Walsh, 20 December 2016
It is four centuries since the death of dramatist William Shakespeare. Arts editor David Walsh spoke to James Shapiro, the author of numerous remarkable books on the playwright and his times. The second of two articles.
New study of American novelist
A conversation with Tony Williams, author of James Jones: The Limits of Eternity—Part 2
By David Walsh, 2 December 2016
Tony J. Williams has written a new study of the American novelist, James Jones (1921–77), best known for From Here to Eternity, Some Came Running, The Thin Red Line and the posthumously published Whistle.
New study of American novelist
A conversation with Tony Williams, author of James Jones: The Limits of Eternity—Part 1
By David Walsh, 1 December 2016
Tony J. Williams has written a new study of the American novelist, James Jones (1921–77), best known for From Here to Eternity, Some Came Running, The Thin Red Line and the posthumously published Whistle.
Toronto International Film Festival 2016
Ma’ Rosa from the Philippines: Small-time drug dealers set upon by the police
By Dylan Lubao, 5 October 2016
The 14th film from Filipino director Brillante Mendoza was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and earlier premiered at Cannes.
“Ordinary people truly imbibed the principles of the American Revolution”
An interview with Victoria Bynum, historian and author of The Free State of Jones—Part 2
By David Walsh and Joanne Laurier, 13 July 2016
This is the second part of a conversation with Victoria Bynum, whose research helped inspire the film Free State of Jones, about an insurrection by Southern Unionists against the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Anohni speaks on war, inequality and Obama
By George Marlowe, 6 June 2016
The World Socialist Web Site spoke to Anohni about her new album.
An interview with Babak Jalali, director of Radio Dreams
By David Walsh, 17 May 2016
The WSWS spoke to Babak Jalali during the recent San Francisco International Film Festival.
A conversation with Stephen Parker, author of Bertolt Brecht: A Literary Life
By David Walsh, 19 April 2016
WSWS writers Sybille Fuchs, Stefan Steinberg and David Walsh recently spoke to the author of a valuable new biography of the famed German playwright and poet.
Michigan lead expert exposes misinformation and delays in Flint crisis
By Tim Rivers, 4 February 2016
Ed Wenz, a lead expert who provides training to abatement contractors, spoke with the WSWS about the efforts to cover up and delay efforts to address the Flint water crisis.
An interview with performer, educator and archivist of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein
By Barry Grey, 23 December 2015
“I feel that this body of work is timeless, because it has a level of craft, inspiration and quality that transcends the era in which it was created.”
An interview with Ted Dawe, author of Into the River
By Tom Peters, 9 December 2015
Dawe’s novel has been attacked in the media and by fundamentalist Christians because of its realistic depiction of New Zealand society, from the point of view of a working-class Maori teenager.
Interview with Indian filmmaker Rahul Roy, director of The Factory
By Lee Parsons, 7 December 2015
Roy’s film chronicles the struggle of autoworkers at the assembly plant operated by Maruti Suzuki India, in Manesar, northern India.
Interview with Denny Tedesco, director of The Wrecking Crew
“Everybody loves this music around the world”
By Joanne Laurier, 5 December 2015
The WSWS recently spoke with Denny Tedesco, son of legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco and director of The Wrecking Crew, a documentary about the 1960s’ musical scene in Los Angeles.
“Cinema must have a social conscience”
Veteran filmmaker Paul Cox discusses his latest feature
By Richard Phillips, 16 November 2015
Australian writer and director speaks about Force of Destiny, his artistic approach, concerns about militarism and the commercial pressures on filmmakers.
“Artists have the capacity to expose the reality of war”
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage speaks with the World Socialist Web Site
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 13 October 2015
Vithanage discusses With You, Without You and the political difficulties facing contemporary Sri Lankan filmmakers.
FICUNAM 2015
I Remember You: A comment on the history of his film by director Ali Khamraev
28 March 2015
Filmmaker Ali Khamraev explains the difficulties surrounding the making of his remarkable film I Remember You in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
FICUNAM 2015
An interview with Alejo Moguillansky, co-director of The Gold Bug
By David Walsh, 20 March 2015
David Walsh spoke to Alejo Moguillansky, the co-director of The Gold Bug, in Mexico City during the FICUNAM film festival.
64th Berlin International Film Festival—Part 6
Art and commerce: Austrian documentary The Great Museum
By Bernd Reinhardt, 7 March 2014
Austrian director Johannes Holzhausen’s film is a fond, and at the same time scathing documentary about the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) in Vienna.
Juno and the Paycock at the Irish Repertory Theatre: An interview with J. Smith-Cameron and Ciarán O’Reilly
By David Walsh, 21 December 2013
The actors who play the title roles in the current production of Juno and the Paycock in New York, J. Smith-Cameron and Ciarán O’Reilly, spoke with David Walsh recently about the play and other issues.
“The struggle to tell the truth through stories”: An interview with British film and television producer Tony Garnett—Part 2
By our reporters, 24 October 2013
Reporters from the WSWS sat down with Tony Garnett and asked him a number of questions about his life and career, and in particular the political and artistic conceptions that have informed his work.
“The struggle to tell the truth through stories”: An interview with British film and television producer Tony Garnett—Part 1
By our reporters, 23 October 2013
Reporters from the WSWS sat down with Tony Garnett and asked him a number of questions about his life and career, and in particular the political and artistic conceptions that have informed his work.
2013 Toronto International Film Festival
Interview with Hany Abu-Assad, director of Omar
By David Walsh, 27 September 2013
David Walsh spoke to Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, director of Omar, at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
San Francisco Film Festival 2013
An interview with Jem Cohen, director of Museum Hours: “Art is something people do like breathing.”
By David Walsh, 24 May 2013
David Walsh spoke to Jem Cohen, director of Museum Hours, during the recent San Francisco film festival.
A comment and an interview with filmmaker Minda Martin
Free Land: American dreams and realities
By Joanne Laurier, 15 November 2012
Minda Martin’s 2010 film Free Land, at the same time a documentary-essay and personal memoir, poetically and evocatively connects a variety of social and personal events.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012
A comment from Robert Connolly, director of Underground: The Julian Assange Story
By Joanne Laurier, 6 November 2012
Robert Connolly, director of Underground: The Julian Assange Story, responds to questions from Joanne Laurier of the WSWS.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012
Interview with Damien Ounouri, director of Fidaï, and Mohamed El Hadi Benadouda
By David Walsh, 18 October 2012
The WSWS spoke to Damien Ounouri, director of Fidaï, and Mohamed El Hadi Benadouda, a veteran of the Algerian revolution and subject of Ounouri’s film.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012—Part 6
Interviews with five filmmakers about life and art in India, Ivory Coast, Guatemala, Angola and Haiti
By David Walsh, 9 October 2012
A good many honest and intriguing films screened at the recent Toronto film festival. The WSWS interviewed a number of directors about their films and the conditions in their respective countries.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012—Part 5
Detroit’s belated “renaissance”—on film
By Joanne Laurier, 5 October 2012
A number of films about Detroit have suddenly emerged … including now a fiction work about the complicated interactions between the city’s Arab and African American populations.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012
Interviews with John Gianvito, Minda Martin and Travis Wilkerson—co-directors of Far From Afghanistan
By David Walsh, 2 October 2012
The WSWS spoke to three of the five directors of Far From Afghanistan.
Toronto International Film Festival 2012
An interview with Mahdi Fleifel and Patrick Campbell, director and co-producer of A World Not Ours
By David Walsh, 26 September 2012
The WSWS spoke to Mahdi Fleifel, writer and director of A World Not Ours and Patrick Campbell, co-producer (along with Fleifel) of the film, during the recent Toronto film festival.
“I want to have people influenced by John Heartfield”: An interview with the German artist’s grandson
By Paul Bond, 11 September 2012
The WSWS recently interviewed John J. Heartfield, grandson of the left-wing German artist and master of the political photo montage, John Heartfield.
Filmmaker Oliver Hermanus discusses Beauty
By Richard Phillips, 4 August 2012
Beauty is about a married middle-aged Afrikaans businessman whose life has become a lie.
Interview with Jack Shepherd, British actor and playwright
By Vicky Short and Antoine Lerougetel, 11 July 2012
Award-winning actor and playwright Jack Shepherd was born in Yorkshire in October 1940. As well as acting, writing, producing and directing, he also plays the saxophone and jazz piano.
An interview with Helen Edmundson, author of Mary Shelley
By Barbara Slaughter, 13 June 2012
The WSWS recently spoke to playwright Helen Edmundson, whose play on the life of Mary Shelley is currently running in London.
Stormbelt exhibition in Toronto—a dark journey through America’s Sun Belt
An interview with photographer Robert Leslie
By Lee Parsons, 29 May 2012
Raised in Canada, now living and working in Europe, Robert Leslie is an artist of genuinely humane sensibilities, as his recent photographic work illustrates.
An interview with writer Nick Flynn: “The job of an artist is to look at the realities of existence”
Being Flynn with Robert De Niro based on Flynn's memoir
By Joanne Laurier, 2 April 2012
Joanne Laurier of the WSWS recently spoke to writer Nick Flynn, whose memoir formed the basis for the recent film, Being Flynn. The film was unusual in its sensitive treatment of both social and psychological issues.
62nd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 3
Interview with Rainer Rother, director of a Soviet-German film retrospective: “These films are a pledge that things can be different”
By Bernd Reinhardt and Stefan Steinberg, 6 March 2012
This year’s Berlin Film Festival featured a fascinating retrospective of films resulting from the collaboration between German and Soviet film producers and directors in the 1920s and 1930s. The WSWS spoke to its organiser.
An interview with Chad Freidrichs, director of The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
By Fred Mazelis, 17 February 2012
The director of The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, a documentary about public housing in the US, speaks to the WSWS.
In defense of Shakespeare—a conversation with veteran Australian actor and director John Bell
By David Walsh, 13 December 2011
A conversation with distinguished Australian actor and director John Bell, who founded the Bell Shakespeare theatre company in 1990.
“Emotional truth and social truth are what I’m interested in”
An interview with Bryan Wizemann, director of Think of Me
By David Walsh, 12 October 2011
David Walsh spoke to Bryan Wizemann, the director of Think of Me, during last month’s Toronto international film festival.
Interview with Detroit Symphony violinist: “We went on strike because we didn’t want the orchestra to be destroyed”
By Shannon Jones, 10 October 2011
On the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the strike by Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians, the WSWS interviewed DSO violinist Marian Tanau.
Sydney Film Festival: Filmmaker Ivan Sen speaks to WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 26 July 2011
Writer/director Ivan Sen spoke with the World Socialist Web Site about Toomelah, his latest feature, during the Sydney film festival.
An interview with Christopher Newton, director of the Shaw Festival’s Heartbreak House
By Joanne Laurier, 23 July 2011
The director of the current production of George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, speaks to Joanne Laurier of the WSWS.
“They look at the arts as a luxury item”
An interview with Greg Near, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra musician
By Shannon Jones, 10 May 2011
WSWS reporter Shannon Jones and arts editor David Walsh recently interviewed Michigan Opera Theatre musician Greg Near.
Musicians’ strike entering sixth month
A conversation with Detroit Symphony Orchestra violist Jim VanValkenburg
By Shannon Jones, 9 March 2011
Jim VanValkenburg, assistant principal violist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, recently invited WSWS reporters into his home to discuss the lengthy strike by DSO musicians.
The Guerilla Orchestra and the struggle to defend the arts from funding cuts
An interview with Heather Bird
By Jackie Warren, 25 January 2011
Heather Bird, a Manchester, England-based classical double bassist, created the “Guerilla Orchestra” in response to the savage cuts being made in music performance and education.
An interview with photographer Andrew Moore, author of Detroit Disassembled
By Tim Tower, 5 January 2011
Tim Tower of the WSWS recently spoke to photographer Andrew Moore, whose Detroit Disassembled link to review reveals the devastation of the city as “a multi-faceted metaphor of America.”
Toronto International Film Festival 2010
A conversation with Ken Loach
By David Walsh, 21 October 2010
David Walsh and Joanne Laurier spoke to director Ken Loach—accompanied by screenwriter Paul Laverty—about his latest film, Route Irish, and his career as a whole at the recent Toronto film festival.
Toronto International Film Festival 2010—Part 5
What does it mean to take reality seriously?
By David Walsh, 14 October 2010
Films from Iran, China and Romania, including a conversation with Iranian filmmaker Rafi Pitts, director of The Hunter.
“I wonder about this inequality and how it’s impacting on my country”
Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik speaks to WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 5 October 2010
Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik spoke with the World Socialist Web Site following screenings of her feature at this year’s Melbourne Film Festival
Brillante Mendoza discusses Lola
By Richard Phillips, 10 July 2010
Philippines director talks about his latest film with the WSWS
An interview with Dawn Mikkelson, co-director of The Red Tail
6 July 2010
The WSWS recently spoke to Dawn Mikkelson, co-director of The Red Tail, who was in the Detroit area for a showing of the film.
An interview with Melissa Koch, co-director of The Red Tail
6 July 2010
Joanne Laurier recently spoke to Melissa Koch, co-director of The Red Tail, about the making of the documentary.
San Francisco International Film Festival 2010
An interview with Woo Ming-jin, director of Woman on Fire Looks for Water, and a comment
By David Walsh, 3 June 2010
An interview with the young Malaysian film director, Woo Ming-jin, and a comment on his new film, Woman on Fire Looks for Water.
Jan van der Marck, former chief curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts, dies
Interviewed by WSWS on “Art, museums and society” in 2000
By David Walsh, 30 April 2010
Jan van der Marck, the former chief curator of the Detroit Institute of Arts and a remarkable figure in the world of art, died April 26 after a long battle with cancer.
An interview with Philippe Lioret, director of Welcome
By Richard Phillips, 17 April 2010
French filmmaker Philippe Lioret speaks about his latest movie, which explores the human impact of increasingly repressive French immigration laws on undocumented refugees and French citizens.
“What’s necessary is a vibrant film culture not just a formula”
Lucky Country scriptwriter Andy Cox speaks with the WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 10 March 2010
The WSWS recently spoke with Lucky Country scriptwriter Andy Cox, who explained some of the film’s themes, and commented on the increasing demands for Australian filmmakers to be animated by commercial considerations.
Film critic Robin Wood dies at 78
By David Walsh, 21 December 2009
British-born film critic Robin Wood died December 18 at the age of 78 in Toronto, where he had lived since the late 1970s. We repost the interview we did with him in 2000.
A conversation with Austin Chu, co-director of The Recess Ends
A film about the impact of the economic crisis in the US
By Marge Holland, 9 December 2009
Earlier this year Austin and Brian Chu traveled to every state in the US in an effort to capture the reality of the recession, which was being so under-reported by the American media. The WSWS spoke to Austin Chu recently in San Francisco.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
An interview with Asli Özge, director of Men on the Bridge
By David Walsh, 10 October 2009
Asli Özge is the director of Men on the Bridge, a Turkish film screened at the recent Toronto film festival. We spoke during the festival.
“The Balibo deaths represented part of the broader tragedy that befell East Timor”
Director Robert Connolly speaks with WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 17 August 2009
Robert Connolly discusses Balibo, his latest feature about the military execution of five television reporters in East Timor in 1975.
San Francisco International Film Festival 2009
An interview with He Jianjun, director of River People
By David Walsh, 25 June 2009
He Jianjun’s River People from China is a serious and honest work about young fishermen on the Yellow River. The film depicts a harsh, almost entirely joyless existence. The WSWS conducted an e-mail interview with He.
An interview with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?
Orson Welles, the blacklist and Hollywood filmmaking—Part 2
By David Walsh and Joanne Laurier, 17 June 2009
This is the second part of an interview with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career (2006). The first part was posted June 16.
An interview with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?
Orson Welles, the blacklist and Hollywood filmmaking—Part 1
By David Walsh and Joanne Laurier, 16 June 2009
While in the Bay Area for the recent San Francisco Film Festival, David Walsh and Joanne Laurier had a lengthy conversation with Joseph McBride, author of What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career (2006), an unusual and valuable book.
Samson and Delilah: a searing portrait of life for Central Australian Aboriginal youth
By Richard Phillips, 14 May 2009
Samson and Delilah touches on many social issues—poverty, homelessness and substance abuse in Aboriginal communities—questions that Australian feature filmmakers have, up until now, largely chosen to ignore.
“Cinema is a lie that tells the truth about life”
Warwick Thornton discusses Samson and Delilah with the WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 14 May 2009
Samson and Delilah writer, director and cinematographer Warwick Thornton spoke with the World Socialist Web Site this month when his film screened at the Message Sticks film festival in Sydney.
“To show the beauty of this reality”
Film director Sergey Dvortsevoy speaks with WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 6 May 2009
Sergey Dvortsevoy, director and co-writer of Tulpan, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site during his recent visit to Australia.
An interview with former East German director Rainer Simon
“We wanted to make realistic films about the GDR”
By Bernd Reinhardt, 29 April 2009
At the Berlinale 2009 the WSWS had the opportunity to speak with Rainer Simon about his work as a film director in the GDR.
An interview with Jennifer Venditti, director of Billy the Kid
By Joanne Laurier, 31 March 2009
The WSWS spoke recently with Jennifer Venditti, director of Billy the Kid.
Australian writer protests new censorship measures
Frank Moorhouse speaks with WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 9 February 2009
“The Australia Council’s job is not to develop protocols but to argue for freedom of expression as a basic right and to raise concern about anything that impedes that right.”
“Filmmakers have real responsibilities to their audiences”
Bertrand Tavernier speaks with the WSWS
By Richard Phillips, 22 January 2009
Veteran filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier is one of a handful of humane and intelligent filmmakers of the post-WWII generation still working in contemporary cinema. He spoke with Richard Phillips during a visit to Australia late last year as part of the “On the Set with French Cinema” lecture program
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