Ep. #17: "Ripley" (Live from the 2025 AD Awards Winner Q&A) with 1st AD Peter Thorell, Key 2nd AD Barbara Pastrovich and Floor 2nd AD Gianluca La Rosa

Today’s episode is part one of our two-part Assistant Director Awards Special because this year, Meet the ADs partnered with the Assistant Director Awards (ADA) to share the winning teams’ insights with a wider audience. We’re not part of the awards organisation itself, but we’re proud to collaborate in celebrating outstanding AD work from around the globe. Julia hosted the 2025 ADA Winners’ Q&A featuring the gold-winning AD teams of Ripley and The Substance. The conversations were far too good to disappear into a Zoom archive, so we’re bringing them to you as two special podcast episodes.This episode (Part 1) focuses on the beautifully crafted black-and-white series RIPLEY, an AD-masterclass in precision, planning, and the challenge of locking off extraordinary film locations across Italy. Julia speaks with: 1st AD Peter Thorell. Key 2nd AD Barbara Pastrovich and Floor 2nd AD Gianluca La RosaAlso mentioned, though not part of the recording, are Italian 1st AD Davide Sacchetti and 2nd Unit 1st AD Lorenzo de Nicola.This Q&A was recorded live on Zoom, with a visual audience present and questions coming in throughout the session — so the conversation style is a little different from our usual episodes. You’ll notice a few audio hiccups here and there.Learn more about the Assistant Director Awards:www.assistant-director-awards.com@assistant_director_awardsWe’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas or guest suggestions for future episodes—send us a DM on Instagram or email [email protected] us & stay updated:Podcast: @meettheads_podcastJulia & Tim: @juliaeiber @tim.schaerPost Production Audio: Fabian Simon @fabian_a_simonMusic: Daniel Herget (⁠www.blacktriaudio.de⁠)Logo Design: Benjamin Probst (⁠www.benjamin-probst.de⁠)ADU (AD Union Germany): www.ad-union.org/en/home