Akinola Davies Jr. premiered his debut feature film My Father’s Shadow last year at Cannes, making it the first Nigerian film to be a part of the festival’s Official Selection. Since then, the moving father-son drama has gone on to earn rave reviews and even the possibility of a BAFTA win for Davies. But the overwhelming success is rooted in a personal story from 1993-era Nigeria, one penned by his own brother. Talking to Borrowing Tape, Davies breaks down his tender and intimate debut, capturing the city of Lagos on 16mm film, and representing Nigerian cinema on a global stage. 

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

In Chaperone, director Zoe Eisenmberg makes it quite easy for her audience to sympathize with her protagonist, Misha. Misha is a struggling 29-year-old who can’t seem to figure out where she fits. She lacks ambition in her professional and personal life and faces constant judgment and double standards from the people closest to her. However, just as we begin to put ourselves in her shoes, she makes a drastic choice. She meets a charismatic teenage boy and, rather than disclose her real age, allows him to believe she is his age, sparking a romance. At times funny, tragic, and uncomfortable, director Zoe Eisenberg’s debut film asks big questions of her characters and audiences. Eisenberg, the innovative writer-director behind this Hawaii-set drama, sat down with Borrowing Tape to discuss complex characters, May-December romances, and tragedy.

Streaming on Prime Video. Available on VOD and digital.

Interviewer: Sofia Sheehan

Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis’s family drama, All That’s Left of You, traces three generations of a Palestinian family over a 75-year period. With the film garnering buzz as Jordan’s Oscars submission for Best International Feature, Dabis breaks down her exploration of intergenerational trauma, balancing acting with directing, and the importance of global distribution for Palestinian cinema.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

Feature article / transcript

Trailer

In Camera is a 2024 British drama film that was written and directed by Naqqash Khalid in his directorial debut. The film follows the daily affairs of struggling actor Aden (Nabhaan Rizwan) as he moves from one eccentric audition to the other. Khalid breaks down his new release, how he got inspired by "the angry young men" of British cinema, and the racial and moral ambiguity of his "alien" protagonist Aden.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

Feature interview with transcript

After delivering the Shudder hit MadS last Halloween, French filmmaker David Moreau is back with another haunting nightmare called Other. In this interview, the writer and director breaks down his penchant for atmospheric horror, why he doesn’t bother much about “referencing” other films, and how he went for a “faceless” approach this time, filming only the face of heroine Olga Kurylenko.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

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Review

In this interview, director-editor-cinematographer Pierre Tsigaridis and his co-writer, co-producer Maxime Rancon break down the challenges of filming low-budget supernatural horror film Traumatika, their nods to classics like The Exorcist and The Omen, and the amusing audience reactions since Traumatika premiered at the 2024 FrightFest.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

Feature / Transcript

Review

Bury Me When I'm Dead is a 2025 supernatural thriller/horror written and directed by American filmmaker Seabold Krebs. The following interview explores the inspirations behind the film's central concept and the personal and creative choices that shaped its story. The conversation also touches on the film's visual and sonic design, Krebs' cinematic influences, and concludes with a glimpse into what he's working on next.

Interviewer: Connor Winterton

Transcript

Review

The documentary film follows several women from Artsakh who share their stories, plans, and dreams of a better life as they rebuild themselves in the aftermath of war. A year later, their trajectory is forever changed when war is declared once more, forcing them to adapt to a new, harrowing reality as Azerbaijan commits genocide on the indigenous people.

Interviewer: Rachael Sampson

Review

Interview Feature / Transcript

The Cut is not your ordinary boxing drama as Orlando Bloom plays a washed-out puncher who endures eating disorders and flashbacks from the era of the Irish Troubles, as he gives his all to make the required weight category cut. In this interview, director Sean Ellis breaks down his genre-bending film, Bloom's intense transformation, and his own history with combat sports.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

Review

Interview Feature / Transcript

British ventriloquist Nina Conti trades her hand puppets for the director’s chair in her filmmaking debut Sunlight. In the following interview, Nina Conti and Shenoah Allen discuss improvising the film’s funnier moments, filming inside costumes in American deserts, using music by Radiohead and the Pixies, and trusting your filmmaking intuitions.

Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

Feature /Transcript

Review