Ep. 409: Chris LeMaire on Bleak Week + John Wilson on Beak Week 2026

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 2026 edition of Bleak Week marks the fifth year of the acclaimed series at the American Cinematheque, which now also takes place in other theaters across the nation and the globe. Happily I was able to talk to Chris Lemaire, director of programming at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles and co-founder of Bleak Week, about a few fantastic selections in the ongoing series, including tribute programs for guests Isabelle Huppert and Warwick Thornton, rarities like Letters from a Dead Man and Eureka, and restorations such as Buster and Billie.

On the second half of the episode, I was lucky to catch filmmaker John Wilson, co-founder of the Low Cinema in Ridgewood, in the midst of the theater’s delightful Beak Week program. Wilson talks about a personal favorite from the bird-centric lineup, a special recent surprise guest, a program of pigeon shorts, and some infrequently screened titles in the lineup.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass