TIFF Long Take

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff welcome the VP of Creative Affairs at ‘See Saw Films’, Negin Salmasi. Founded in 2008, the relatively small ‘See Saw’ have punched far above their weight in the increasingly competitive indie film landscape, producing critically and commercially successful films like 'The King’s Speech', and 'Lion', as well as the acclaimed television series 'Top Of The Lake'. Their latest film, 'Widows', directed by Steve McQueen, is playing in theaters now.

Salmasi talks about why making independent films is harder than ever, how she develops projects in the current landscape, and how she’s helped foster long term working relationships with filmmakers like Steve McQueen and Garth Davis

She also discusses why 'See Saw' wanted to get involved in television, why they still believe in the mid-budget film, and how they’ve adapted in the age of Netflix.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff chats with actor and screenwriter Zoe Kazan. It’s been a busy few months for Kazan. In October, the feature film 'Wildlife' — which she co-wrote with her partner, Paul Dano, and which had its Canadian premiere at TIFF in September — opened to great critical acclaim. Most recently, she starred in “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” one of six vignettes that make up the Coen Brothers’ anthology film 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs', now playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Kazan talks about the films that made her want to pursue a career in show business, how her work as an actor has influenced her screenplays, and the best piece of advice she ever received about writing.

She also talks about her all-time favourite film scripts, how her role in 'Meek’s Cutoff '(2010) prepared her for 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs', and what she learned working with the Coen Brothers.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with director Joseph Kahn. Long considered one of the most prolific and commercially successful music video directors, Kahn has recently made his return to feature films with ‘Bodied’, the story of ambitious graduate student who becomes immersed in the world of battle-rap. Written by Canadian battle-rapper Alex Larsen, and produced by Eminem, ‘Bodied’ won the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness at TIFF 2017, and is currently playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Kahn talks about why he thinks ‘Bodied’ has struck a chord with “repressed” audiences, how Eminem got involved with the film, and the difference between art and entertainment.

He also discusses the art of battle-rap, how he honed his craft working on commercials and music videos, and why good art needs to offend.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with television writer, director, and producer Sam Esmail. Best known as the creator of the hit television series ‘Mr. Robot, Esmail recently directed all ten episodes of the new series ‘Homecoming’; an adaptation of the extremely popular podcast created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg. The series which premiered last weekend on Amazon Video, stars Julia Roberts, Stephan James, and Bobby Cannavale.

Esmail talks about why he was initially reluctant to adapt ‘Homecoming’, the classic thrillers that inspired his vision for the show, and why he thought the series would work better broken into half hour episodes.

He also talks about the TV shows that are currently inspiring him, whether the amount of TV currently being produced is sustainable, and what he thinks has elevated television to a higher art form in recent years.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with ‘Faculty of Horror’ podcast co-host Alexandra West, to discuss the ever increasing legitimacy of the horror films. Thanks in part to the overwhelming critical praise of films like Jennifer Kent’s 'The Babadook', Robert Egger’s 'The Witch', David Robert Mitchell’s 'It Follows', and Jordan Peele’s 'Get Out', the perception of horror has changed over the last decade, from a beloved, but relatively niche genre, to one that cinephiles feel they should be paying attention to.

West talks about the films and filmmakers that taught her to love horror, the factors that have lead to the genre becoming more prestigious, and how film critics are covering horror now, as opposed to 10 years ago.

She also discusses horror’s unique ability to critique social issues, Jason Blum’s recent comments about the lack of women working in horror, and which gateway films she would recommend to someone who is still on the fence about the genre.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with director and screenwriter, Dee Rees. Beginning with her excellent semi-autobiographical debut 'Pariah' (2011), Rees has earned the reputation as one of her generation’s most exciting filmmakers. Her most recent feature film, 'Mudbound' (2017), earned 4 Academy Award nominations, including a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Rees; making her the first black woman to be nominated for any Academy Award in a writing category.

Rees talks about the series of events that led her to NYU film school, working with mentors like Spike Lee and Lee Daniels, and long road to her first feature film, 'Pariah'.

She also discusses why Netflix was the only studio to take a chance on 'Mudbound', how she approaches adaptation as an auteur, and what genre she would like to work in next.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with renowned documentarian and director, David Gelb. Starting with his critically acclaimed debut film, 'Jiro Dream’s of Sushi', Gelb’s aesthetically beautiful and emotionally rich profiles of great chefs have had a  significant impact on the genre of food documentary. He has since gone on to create the highly influential Netflix docu-series ‘Chef’s Table’, which recently debuted its fifth season.

Gelb talks about how he fell into documentary filmmaking, the chain of events that lead to the making of 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi', and how he went about pitching ‘Chef’s Table’ to Netflix.

He also talks about how he’s managed to create a consistent aesthetic across his work, how he picks and chooses which stories he wants to tell, and why the most recent season of ‘Chef’s Table’ is its most political yet.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with Romanian super producer, Ada Solomon. Over the last 10 years, Ada has played a large role in the Eastern European film industry, producing some of the region’s most exciting films including: Maren Ade’s 'Toni Erdmann', Cãlin Peter Netzer’s 'Child’s Pose', and most recently Radu Jude’s 'I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians', which played at this year’s TIFF. When not producing, Solomon serves as the President of the Board for the ‘European Women’s Audiovisual Network’ (EWA), an organization founded to create greater gender equality for women audiovisual professionals throughout Europe.

Solomon talks about the early days of Romanian New Wave cinema, the challenges of distributing Romanian films internationally, and why, despite festival success, Romanian films have struggled to find a significant audience in their home country.

She also highlights the most exciting filmmakers currently working in Romania, her experience executive producing 'Toni Erdmann', and her role in promoting gender parity in European film.

This week on of TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with South African film producer, and founder of the production company ‘Big World Cinema’, Steven Markovitz. Over his thirty years in the film business, Markovitz has produced over 40 films in on the continent of Africa, and has seen his fair share of challenges trying to get these projects financed, and distributed around the world. One of his most recent productions, the Wanuri Kahiu directed 'Rafiki', was embroiled in controversy after it was was banned in its home country of Kenya. The ban sparked international outrage among supporters of LGBTQ rights, and has since been lifted.

Markovitz talks about the events that inspired the founding of his film company, how his films strive to challenge the “dominant African narrative”, and how he’s managed to identify talent across the continent.

He also talks the most exciting young filmmakers working in Africa, the difficulties he’s experienced trying to market African films to an international audience, and the saga behind making and distributing 'Rafiki'.

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with Kit Steinkellner, creator of the acclaimed new television series Sorry For Your Loss. Since writing the pilot script on spec, Steinkellner has overseen every step of the series’ production, culminating with its recent premier on the new streaming platform Facebook Watch. The series which stars Elizabeth Olsen and Kelly Marie Tran is available now.

Steinkellner talks about the experience that inspired ‘Sorry For Your Loss’, television’s role in furthering social conversations, and why she didn’t shy away from writing the show on spec.

She also talks about the excitement, and anxiety, she feels about being the flagship series on a new streaming platform, what makes Facebook Watch unique, and why we don’t see more half hour dramas.