The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Director Rachel Morrison discusses her new film, Love of Your Life, with fellow Director Malcolm Washington in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses working with her Cinematographer to find different looks that reflect eras of her character’s life, working with Actor Margaret Qualley on finding the right emotional weight to bring to the film, and experimenting with montages and flashbacks to further refine the film’s narrative.

The film tells the story of Maya, a Boston nurse who fell in love and quickly married at a young age. When the relationship falls apart, she flees her life in the US, meeting another man who revives her capacity for intimacy, but challenging who she and what she wants.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/loveofyourlife_qna_1026

Director Bassam Tariq discusses his new film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, with fellow Director Walter Thompson-Hernandez in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses drawing on his own experiences as a father in crisis, shooting the film and its large fight sequences within a 30 day schedule, and how a previous project he was tied to with Actor Mahershala Ali led to the materialization of this project.

The film tells the story of Latif, a devoutly religious hitman, who embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children after his wife dies. As he confronts forces closing in on him, he finds his beliefs threatening to unravel.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/yourmother_qna_1026

Director Cristian Mungiu discusses his new film, Fjord, with fellow Director Ira Sachs in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses drawing inspiration for the plot from real-world events, casting Actors Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, and deliberately not seeking to take a side in the narrative.

Screened as part of the DGA’s Global Cinema Series, the film tells the story of the Gheorghiu family, who have recently relocated to Norway from Romania. Still adjusting to their new home, their life soon unravels when their young daughter shows up to school one day covered in bruises.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/gcs_fjord_1026

Director Lance Oppenheim discusses his new film, Primetime, with fellow Director Molly Gordon in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses how he slowly enticed Actor Robert Pattinson to get involved and play the lead role, how he studied past episodes of To Catch a Predator to capture the surreal horror in the show’s set for his own production design, and how he gained insight into Hansen’s person through numerous tv appearances and his Cameo recordings.

Inspired by true events, the film dramatizes the production of “Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator” and follows its host, journalist Chris Hansen, as his quest for continued ratings success and making television history straddles the line between righteous and ethical.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/primetime_qna_1026

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu discusses his new film, Digger, with fellow Director Denis Villeneuve in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses using theater as a meta layer to reflect the truth of reality in another light, utilizing miniatures and old theater tricks in his production design, and working with Actor Tom Cruise to capture the bravado he was aiming for in the title character.

The film tells the story of Digger Rockwell, a rich oil tycoon and the most powerful man in the world. After his company’s drilling in Greenland dislodges a giant ice shelf, he embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the catastrophic tsunami he caused hits Europe.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/digger_qna_0926

Director Don Scardino discusses his new film, A Break in the Rain, with fellow Director Laura Belsey in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses working with Actor Elizabeth Davis when writing the songs of the film, casting Actor Michael O’Keefe in the leading role, and recording the score of the movie himself with a guitar.

The film tells the story of Jake, a widower who returns home when his son passes from cancer. Intending to help support his daughter-in-law, he takes a job driving for a limo service and meets a country singer who ultimately changes his life during a musical road trip.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/abreakintherain_qna_0926

Director Chris Rock discusses his new film, Misty Green, with fellow Director Spike Lee in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses how lead Actor Rosalind Eleazar was selected for the part, finding which scenes worked and what didn’t through his rehearsal process, and approaching the edit of the film like he would a standup special.

The film tells the story of Misty, a talented actress years after her Hollywood breakthrough. Finding her career stalled, she fights for a second chance at returning to the spotlight.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/mistygreen_qna_0926

Director Alex Stapleton discusses her new film, The Brittney Griner Story, with fellow Director Laura Belsey in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses her process of shooting master interviews first to find a foundation for her story, interviewing former President Joe Biden, and how she obtained footage of Russian prisons.

Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film follows WNBA star Brittney Griner, who, while playing abroad in Russia, was seized and placed into detention. Fighting for freedom, she is finally released and makes it her mission to help other wrongfully detained Americans seek justice.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/nov2026/docseries_brittneygrinerstory-0926

Director Michael Russell Gunn discusses his new film, The Brink of War, with fellow Director Rawson Marshall Thurber in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, he discusses using transcripts from the real event as reference for the film, utilizing the authentic locations and furniture that were used by the figures depicted in the film, and casting Actor Jeff Daniels as the lead from their past working on The Newsroom together.

The film follows U.S. President Ronald Reagan as he races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that could dismantle nuclear arsenals. With pressure mounting on all sides, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace or to the brink of destruction.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/Events/2026/Oct2026/BrinkOfWar_QnA_0926

Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss discuss their new film, Teenage Wasteland, with fellow Director Alice Gu in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, they discuss poring through 500 hours of archival footage to find the film’s heart, recreating the school’s classroom from the 1990s to make a “portal of recollection”, and taking consideration into finding era-appropriate music for the film.

Screened as part of the DGA’s Documentary Series, the film follows a group of 1990s teenagers who made a student documentary about a mysterious brown muck surfacing at the local dump in their town. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and the transformative experience that uncovered a vast conspiracy poisoning their community.

See photos and a summary of this event below:

https://www.dga.org/events/2026/oct2026/docseries_teenagewasteland-0926