Fall 2025
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The Art of Arrival: Yashaddai Owens on Jimmy
Once in a while, never often, a film comes along that defies the protocols of the moment and delivers an unexpectedly wondrous impact. Thus it was that Jimmy sent this writer skittering down the internet hole in search of young Yashaddai Owens, writer-director-cinematographer-editor of this portrait of the young James Baldwin, about whom everything had seemingly already been filmed, revived, archived or written. Owens brings considerable powers of lyrical invention to the table in his debut feature, imagining and projecting himself into the past, 16mm Bolex in hand to capture the unfailingly imaginative contours of the young Baldwin (Benny O. […]
by B. Ruby Rich on Sep 17, 2025 -
The Gotham Pages: AI and the Usefulness Question
Amid the perpetual torrent of news about rising investment in artificial intelligence tools within the entertainment industry, one recent item garnered particular attention online. Included in Lila Shapiro’s sweeping look at the current state of AI usage in Hollywood for Vulture were snippets about Asteria, a new studio co-founded by entrepreneur/producer Bryn Mooser and actor/director/producer Natasha Lyonne. Lyonne, who is also a three-time Gotham Award nominee, has even announced that she plans to use AI in the production of her debut feature. The news that the popular actor had thrown her weight behind the controversial technology caused consternation on social […]
by Dan Schindel on Sep 17, 2025 -
Inciting Incident: AI and Screenwriting at DePaul University
Sometime last year, Matt Quinn took an excerpt from a script he’d written and put it into an AI image generator to create a character. The associate professor of screenwriting, who also serves as associate dean for student affairs and director of L.A. programs at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, feels that it is his job to stay current with new technologies. He had previously experimented with various tools and had mixed feelings about generative AI and its connection to the filmmaking process. However, this experience was different. “It took a second, but it almost took my breath away,” […]
by Holly Willis on Sep 17, 2025 -
A Man in a Room: Joe Bini’s Burden of Other People’s Dreams
When the premise or form of a documentary film is difficult to explain, one is often hit with phrases like “Trust me” or “You just have to see it.” This has been an eventful year for such works, from Julian Castronovo’s byzantine Debut to the final stretch of Caveh Zahedi’s long-running The Show About the Show. Often falling between the cracks of the documentary world, these are not simple projects to describe, but in London they have a welcoming home at the Creative Nonfiction Film Weekend. The festival describes itself as a home for unconventional nonfiction—everything that the genre can […]
by Rafael Fonseca on Sep 17, 2025 -
Motherload: Mary Bronstein on “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
With If I Had Legs I’d Kick You opening today from A24, we’re unlocking from behind our paywall Natalia Keogan’s interview with Bronstein, which is the cover story of our Fall, 2025 edition. — Editor “Something very bad is happening,” young mother Caroline (Danielle Macdonald) whimpers amid oncoming tears during a routine therapy appointment. In the throes of a severe bout of postpartum depression exacerbated by a lack of support from her husband, Caroline’s hour-long sessions at Montauk’s “Center for Psychological Arts” are a brief respite from a world that, in her mind, is more violent and evil than anyone […]
by Natalia Keogan on Sep 17, 2025 -
Tour or Perish: A Self-Distribution Case Study
In the 1957 musical The Music Man, con man Henry Hill makes a living convincing small-town folks to buy expensive band instruments, ostensibly to keep their kids out of trouble. Really, he’s just fleecing them before skipping town, but then the con man falls in love with the town’s librarian. When she uncovers his scheme, she challenges him to not run away and to invest in the community. He does, and by the end everyone is transformed by love and music. The high-school production of The Music Man I was in instilled lessons about salesmanship and the importance, to quote […]
by Kyle Henry on Sep 17, 2025
