The BIFA Podcast

For this episode of the BIFA Podcast the multi-talented duo of Craig Roberts and Simon Farnaby got together for a chat about the cinema experiences that formed them, and how those experiences informed their recent collaboration, The Phantom of the Open - the story of an amateur golf fanatic who manages to wangle his way into the biggest golf tournament in Britain.

Since appearing as Oliver Tate in 2010s Submarine, Craig has gone on to appear in a variety of TV and films, including Bad Neighbours, 22 Jump Street and The Fundamentals of Caring, but he’s also moved behind the camera. The Phantom of the Open is his third feature at the helm, after directing dark comedies Just Jim and Eternal Beauty in the last few years.

His latest is written by Simon Farnaby, whose unmistakable comedy performances have seen him appear in Horrible Histories, Ghosts, Yonderland and lots more, and his skills as a writer can be seen in recent british comedy favourites Mindhorn and Paddington 2.

In this conversation Craig and Simon look back at the marvel that is Christopher Reeve’s superman, how Superbad informed Submarine and they have a big, Licorice Pizza inspired love-in on the works of Paul Thomas Anderson

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode actors of the podcast, BIFA Breakthrough Performance award nominee Max Harwood and Lauren Patel, stars of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, got together for a lovely chat about their cinematic influences. 

The story of a boy determined to go to his school prom in drag, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has been a hit on stage and now on screen, and Max and Lauren had a lot to talk about about it! 

Max and Lauren’s friendship and chemistry is infectious and hilarious and their cinematic upbringings are equally entertaining. From getting terrified by the Polar Express, to being awestruck by Jennifer Lawrence, to the hotly contested debate about going to the cinema by yourself.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the BIFA Podcast actors Claire Rushbrook and Ellora Torchia rewind their lives through film and share their most formative cinematic moments. 

Breaking out with a remarkable performance in Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, Claire has journeyed from Spice World to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as TV favourites Doctor Who, Whitechapel, Black Mirror and loads more. Most recently she appeared in Clio Barnard’s feature Ali & Ava, and received a BIFA Best Actress nomination. 

Arriving in cinemas this spring, Ali and Ava is about the connection formed between two lonely individuals, Ava played by Claire and Ali, that’s former podcast guest Adeel Akhtar, as they make an intense and meaningful connection, despite Ali’s marriage to Runa, played by Ellora.

Selected as a star of tomorrow by screen magazine, Ellora was nominated for Breakthrough Performance at the recent BIFA awards, for her work in Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth, and she follows up her superb work in that film, with a memorable supporting turn in Ali and Ava. In this episode of the podcast Claire and Ellora reveal their differing experiences of the cinema growing up - whether they happened in the UK or India - they get into their work with Clio Barnard on Ali and Ava, and the terrifying cinema experience that is… Flash Gordon.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The BIFA Podcast actors Paapa Essiedu and Lennie James explore the stories and cinemas that made them who they are. 

If you’ve been watching, well, lots of great TV over the last decade then chances are you’ve seen Lennie. From beloved police procedural Line of Duty, to undead adventures in The Walking Dead, to Save Me, the disappearance drama that he created, wrote and starred in. But now he’s off the small screen and on stage, currently performing in A Number at the Old Vic, and Paapa who he’s chatting to here, plays his son. 

Having established himself with performances in King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, Paapa star rose considerably in 2020, with his remarkable performances in Gangs of London and Michaela Coel’s groundbreaking series I May Destroy You, in which he played Kwame. And most recently he appeared in the short film Femme, which won the prize for Best British Short at the BIFA awards in December 2021.

In this episode of the podcast, recorded between performances of their play, Paapa and Lennie explore how the hype around a cinema release has changed over the years, from queuing around the block, to your Netflix queue, the difference between a Saturday morning picture and a Saturday night picture and just how important films like Blade and Black Panther have been for Black Londoners.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode director Jonas Poher Rasmussen spoke to actor and producer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau about 2021 BIFA Best International Independent Film winner Flee, which Jonas directed and Nikolaj served as an executive producer on, along with former podcast guest Riz Ahmed. This week Flee made history, becoming the first film to receive Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film, Best Animated Film and Best Documentary.

Flee tells the story of a man named Amin as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation to director, and close friend, Jonas, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to modern Denmark.

Having made a name for himself through documentary radio and live action storytelling, Flee marks an ambitious and fruitful creative leap for Jonas, working in animation for the first time. Nikolaj Coster Waldau (who listeners will remember as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones), serves as an executive producer on the film and in this podcast they get into just what makes Flee so special, as well as their own journeys through film, including why keeping secrets is so important for acting, and why one of Jonas’s best reviews came from two strangers sharing a beer.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the BIFA podcast actors Bukky Bakray and Samuel Adewunmi explore how what they watched, from the sofa and the cinema, transformed them into the talents they are today.

Making their debuts in the last few years, and recently starring together in drama series You Don't Know Me, Samuel won 2019's Most Promising Newcomer BIFA and was nominated for Best Actor for his work in Shola Amoo’s stunning drama The Last Tree. Bukky was nominated for Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer BIFAs in 2020 for her remarkable central performance as the title character in Sarah Gavron’s Rocks (BIFA Best British Independent Film 2020), and has recently moved behind the camera, writing and directing as well.

In this podcast the two explore their most memorable cinema visits, from Black Panther to cult classic The Room, the emotional similarities between Moonlight and Scooby Doo and why the ‘dirtiness’ of British film makes it great.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode actors Romola Garai and Alec Secareanu got together to talk about their journeys through cinema, which lead them to work together on Amulet Romola’s debut feature as writer and director. 

Out in cinemas now, Amulet stars Alec as Tomaz, an ex-soldier, who returns from a foreign conflict and finds himself living in strained circumstances. Haunted by his past, he is offered a place to stay in a decaying, claustrophobic house, inhabited by an enigmatic young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for his new companion, Tomaz can’t ignore his suspicion that something insidious might also be living alongside them.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Photography for Alec by Dan Rowley

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode actors Ray Panthaki (Gangs of London, Away) and Vinnette Robinson (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Star Wars), who could be seen on screen together in the high intensity, one take wonder Boiling Point, spoke to each other about their cinematic upbringings.

For this podcast they spoke about 'jumping into' your fear, and the intensity of doing a wholly improvised film with Stephen Graham (which won a nice handful of prizes at the BIFAs); their shared love of the works of Shane Meadows; and how Ray managed to convince the cinematographer from his favourite film of all time to work on his first short film.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this BIFA Podcast episode, writer and actor Joanna Scanlan (Getting On, Bridget Jones's Baby, Pin Cushion), sat down with fellow actor Nathalie Richard (Code Unknown, Happy End), who she could be seen alongside in Aleem Khan’s After Love.

For this podcast Joanna spoke with her After Love co star Nathalie Richard - whose channel-hopping career has seen her work with the likes of Michael Haneke on Code Unknown and Happy End, as well as with Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightlyey on Never Let Me Go. Together they spoke about their relationships to acting, whether in the theatre or in the cinema, as well as just what makes their recent collaboration so special.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by James Payne

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode writer and director Marley Morrison, spoke to BIFA Best Supporting Actress nominee Jo Hartley (This Is England). Marley’s feature film debut Sweetheart was released in 2021 and received five different nominations at the BIFAs. As well as Jo’s nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the film’s lead actor Nell Barlow won the award for Breakout performance, producer Michelle Antoniaes won the prize for Breakthrough producer and Marley herself was nominated for awards for both debut screenwriter and debut director.

In this heartfelt, insightful and captivating conversation Marley and Jo look back at the cinema trips of their youth and how it moulded who they are today, from 80s comedy classics, to the work of Shane Meadows. They also get into the camaraderie and compassion that made Sweetheart happen, highlighting it as a prime example of the warming collaborative spirit that can come from the filmmaking process.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by James Payne

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.