Authors — Eric Kohn
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Personal Effects: Boots Riley and His Collaborators on Crafting I Love Boosters
Boots Riley has directed two movies and one TV show over the past decade, but he’s been telling stories through music for more than 30 years. “I usually think about my songs the same way I think about movies,” said Riley, whose Oakland-based hip hop group The Coup started 35 years ago. “Music was a way for me to cheaply make movies.” Now, music fuels his movies in other ways, though he’s still on the lookout for inventive ways to stretch his budget. Riley officially transitioned into filmmaking around 2015, when his time at the Sundance Labs laid the groundwork […]
by Eric Kohn on May 19, 2026 -
Cannes Film Festival Head Thierry Frémaux on the Past and Future of Movies
Thierry Frémaux wears a lot of hats. The 65-year-old Frenchman oversees the programming and operations of the Cannes Film Festival, which will announce its 79th edition next month. At the same time, he runs the Lumière Institute and its accompanying Lumière Festival in Lyon, both of which are dedicated to screening and studying film history. It’s hard to conceive of another top film leader playing such a vital role in both the past and present state of the medium. As an extension of his jobs, Frémaux occasionally holds one other title: filmmaker. The newly-released Lumière, Le Cinema! is an essayistic […]
by Eric Kohn on Mar 24, 2026 -
How The Secret Agent Became Brazil’s Reluctant Political Rorschach Test
Thursday, March 5 marks the voting deadline for Oscar voters. For The Secret Agent, it’s the end of a long road. The Brazilian Oscar contender is a contender in four major categories, including Best Picture, a stunning outcome for the unique period drama set in the days of Brazil’s military dictatorship. Meanwhile, another voting deadline looms around the corner in the movie’s home country. In October, Brazilians will vote in the first round of presidential elections for the first time since their previous president, the far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro, lost to the Workers’ Party candidate Luis Inácio Lula da Silva […]
by Eric Kohn on Mar 4, 2026 -
25 New Face Brent Bonacorso’s West of the Moon Premieres Online
Filmmaker selected director Brent Bonacorso for our 2011 25 New Faces list on the basis of his absolutely stunning short, West of the Moon. After playing the festival circuit, it recently premiered on Vimeo, where it became a Staff Pick and quickly scored over 65,000 views — “WAY more views than in the festivals,” Bonacorso notes with amusement in an email. The film is above, and below is Eric Kohn’s write-up on the director from the Summer, 2011 print issue. — SM When asked to cite their influences, many filmmakers reference icons. Brent Bonacorso avoids that tendency. True to his […]
by Eric Kohn on Jun 9, 2013 -
Brent Bonacorso
When asked to cite their influences, many filmmakers reference icons. Brent Bonacorso avoids that tendency. True to his spectacularly distinctive style, Bonacorso suggests his sensibility is innate. “I’ve always been interested in telling visual stories,” says the Los Angeles-based filmmaker, whose surreal short film West of the Moon supports that claim. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve been creating narratives, whether they were drawings, photographs or films. Honestly, I think it’s just something I was born with.” Bonacorso has been directing commercials and other short projects for nearly a decade, but West of the Moon is unquestionably his […]
by Eric Kohn on Jul 17, 2011 -
A VISIT TO RERUN, BROOKLYN’S LATEST MOVIE VENUE
The history of moviegoing in New York City is quintessential to the survival of the medium. Manhattan alone provided a healthy nexus of theatrical activity at the beginning of the 20th century, and in that regard, little has changed. The city continues to host dozens of theaters, including more arthouse venues than almost anywhere else in the world. From the usual specialty releases regularly showcased at the Sunshine and the Angelika to the storied repertory programming at prestigious fixtures like Film Forum and Lincoln Center, New Yorkers have innumerable eclectic opportunities to expand their cinematic horizons. But movies without distribution […]
by Eric Kohn on Jul 26, 2010 -
Banksy Revealed? Parsing a Sundance Mystery
Sundance documentaries have developed a strong track record. Hits out of recent festivals include Man on Wire, The Cove and We Live in Public, each of which captures an element of society and finds the human connection within. This year, however, the human connection in some of the more talked about nonfiction entries is highly suspect. At the center it all: Banksy. Exit Through the Gift Shop, the alleged directorial debut of the anonymous street British street artist, wound up with a surprise slot in the Spectrum section of the festival. Banksy’s enigmatic career and life beyond the film world […]
by Eric Kohn on Jan 27, 2010
