On this episode of On Story from Austin Film Festival and Public Radio International, we hear from Beasts of No Nation filmmaker Cary Fukunaga on his diverse filmography. We’ll also speak with Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland on his films LA Confidential, 42 and Legend starring Tom Hardy. 

Cary Joji Fukunaga is the writer-director and cinematographer behind the 2015 film Beasts of No Nation. The film is adapted from the debut novel by Uzodima Iweala, and depicts the experiences of a child-soldier in the midst of a horrific war in West Africa.     

Fukunaga won high praise early in his career, first for his short film, Victoria para Chino in 2004 and his first feature Sin Nombre, both of which shed light on the struggles of immigrants coming to the Unites States from Latin America.  

Cary Fukunaga also directed the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender and the entire first season of HBO’s crime-drama True Detective. 

Academy Award winning screenwriter, film producer and director Brian Helgeland is best known for the films L.A. Confidential, Mystic River, A Knight’s Tale, 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic and the 2015 film Legend, starring Tom Hardy as London’s notorious twin gangsters, Reggie and Ronald Kray. 

Austin Film Festival's On Story Podcast is made possible by

Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation

City Of Austin Cultural Arts Division

Texas Commission on the Arts

U.S.Institute of Museum and Library Services

Texas Library and Archives Commission

Applied Materials

Humanities Texas