Podcaststelle

The Oscars are almost here! Listen to Jérôme and Chris discuss who will win, who should win and who wasn't even nominated. The Academy certainly had some other choices...

In this episode Jérôme and Chris face a self imposed task: to assemble a ranked list of the 25 best movies of the 21st century (starting from 2001). The Idea is taken from the Podcast "The Big Picture", who called this exercise 25 for '25. These are the rules:1. only 1 movie per director2. only fiction feature films3. these are only our opinions, make your own list ;)

A great film year comes to an end, which only means one thing: let the list-building commence. In this episode Jérôme and Chris share their top 5 movies of the year. In addition they've asked some other Filmstelle members for their respective lists, which they gradually unveil across the episode. If you need to know what to catch up on from the last year, this is the episode for you.

In this second part on film festivals, Jérôme and Chris revisit their time at the Locarno Film Festival and discuss a wide range of different films: Including the two major Cannes winners (Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident ), gems from postwar british cinema (Passport to Pimlico, Pool of London) , swiss premieres (Le Chantier, affection affection) and many more. They also dive deep into the use of generative AI in Radu Jude's controversial new take on "Vlad, the Impaler" aka Dracula and they share some strategies to get a good seat on the piazza.Timestamps:00:11:01 "Dry Leaf"00:16:18 "Celtic Utopia"00:22:32 "Le Chantier"00:29:10 "Silence"00:33:16 "affection, affection"00:38:18 Cinema Selection00:41:56 The "Dracula" Discussion00:51:57 British Postwar Cinema Retrospective01:01:48 Alexander Payne01:03:04 Language Fails01:05:16 Piazza Grande01:12:18 Un Simple Accident & Meeting Jafar Panahi01:17:58 Which other Film Festivals do we want to visit?

The Podcaststelle is back! – at least for a little while. This is the first out of two episodes on the topic of FILM FESTIVALS. More specifically the ones in Locarno and Bologna, which Jérôme and Chris both attended this year. Hear them talk about their favs from the festival and what makes film festivals an absolute must for every movie fan.0:01:54 What is it about Film Festivals?0:11:54 What is "Il Cinema Ritrovato"?0:14:15 The Festival Sections0:19:27 Piazza Maggiore0:26:55 The Time Machine0:35:37 The Cinephile's Heaven 0:48:52 The Space Machine0:58:15 Recap

Today, we settle all Family Business.Il gran finale! It’s the goat. It’s The Godfather.What more can be said about a film that’s been analyzed, celebrated, and quoted for over fifty years? Well — there’s only one way to find out.For this last episode, we’ve gathered all the Italian representation we could find. For the first time, we’re joined by not one, but two guests: Amos and Dario! It’s an offer you simply can’t refuse.(And if you stick around till the end, you might just catch a little teaser for our next program...)Timestamps:00:02:04 First Watch Experience00:06:33 Production History & Anecdotes00:16:20 Discussion00:37:54 Teaser Next Program

60 years of Palestinian history in under two hours.In the Time That Remains, Elia Suleiman captures the absurdity of the Palestinian experience through the lens of a family over two generations. His carefully composed images and deadpan humor evoke Buster Keaton, Jacques Tati, or even Wes Anderson—but Suleiman’s voice is entirely his own and he wields his humor as a distinct form of resistance.In this Episode, we’re joined by longtime Filmstelle member Federico. We wouldn’t, and couldn’t, talk about this remarkable film without him.Timestamps:00:00:59 "The Place that is Ours"00:07:38 "The Time That Remains"00:40:30 Recommendations00:48:10 Teaser "The Godfather"

Time for some Swiss pride on the podcaststelle!With Visages d’enfants, Jacques Feyder created one of the greatest Swiss films of all time. Released in 1925, we're celebrating its 100-year anniversary (!). Featuring one of the most powerful child performances ever captured on film and camerawork and editing that still feel fresh and innovative to this day, there's no doubt it stands the test of time.We’re joined by our most frequent guest – at this point he has really earned the third chair – its Mischa! As always he contributes with his unmatched expertise, from Griffith to Soviet montage theory, to help us unpack this silent masterpiece.Timestamps:00:03:21 Production History00:12:12 Discussion "Visages d'enfants"00:32:10 Recommendations00:38:30 Teaser "The Time That Remains"

40,000 hand-drawn images. 12 years in the making.With Invelle, Simone Massi has created a truly singular animated debut — a quiet, powerful journey through Italy’s history, seen through the eyes of children across three generations. We’re once again joined by a new guest from the Filmstelle family: Nitschge is here to talk with us about this remarkable film.Timestamps00:03:44 Short Film "I Like Life a Lot"00:08:17 "Invelle"00:32:10 Recommendations00:38:01 Teaser "Visages d'enfants"

Today we discuss a Japanese Cult classic: Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game is as bizarre as it is captivating. With its offbeat tone, stylized direction, and sharp social critique, this unique portrait of a middle-class family leaves plenty of room for discussion. Timestamps:00:00:57 "A Date with Your Family"00:06:06 "The Family Game"00:27:55 Recommendations00:34:40 Teaser "Invelle"

It's one of the most iconic horror films of all time – and we finally get to talk about it! Rosemary’s Baby is a masterpiece of psychological terror and paranoia, capturing the immense weight that comes with starting a family. We also took on the complicated legacy of director Roman Polanski, reflecting on what it means to revisit classics that come with troubling histories. As you can judge from the length of the episode – not an easy task. Timestamps:01:44 Roman Polanski's Legacy17:01 Production History, Conflicts Behind the Scenes25:01 Rosemary's Baby Discussion44:47 Recommendations48:02 Family Game Teaser

It doesn’t happen nearly often enough – but finally, we had another African movie at Filmstelle! Idrissa Ouédraogos Tilaï offers an authentic African perspective on tradition, love and – of course – family. Drawing on the themes of Greek tragedy, the film transcends both cultural and geographical boundaries. Enjoy the Episode!Timestamps02:05 Start Discussion26:15 Recommendations30:15 Teaser Rosemary's Baby

In her feature film debut Deniz Gamze Ergüven tells the story of five sisters coming of age in a world determined to contain them. Their fight for freedom is fierce, heartbreaking, and deeply moving, making Mustang one of the most powerful films in our program.There was plenty to unpack, and thankfully, we weren’t alone—Kim joins us once again to lend her insights to the conversation.Enjoy the Episode!Start Discussion – 01:10Film Recommendations – 33:37Teaser "Tilaï" – 39:04

In this episode we get to celebrate a true gem of Brazilian cinema: Lavoura Arcaica is poetic storytelling at its finest. Director Luiz Fernando Carvalho finds images and sounds that linger long after the credits roll. We might even go so far as to call it the most visually stunning film in our entire program.Its thematic ambiguity makes it a challenging film to discuss, but we gave it our best shot. Thankfully, we're once again joined by Mischa, our first-ever returning guest!Enjoy the Episode!Timestamps:Start Discussion – 00:02:19Film Recommendations – 00:33:35Teaser "Mustang" – 00:41:31

In this episode, we delve into Leo McCarey’s timeless tearjerker, the endlessly wonderful Make Way for Tomorrow. A masterpiece of classical Hollywood, McCarey himself considered it his finest work–and we at Filmstelle couldn’t agree more.Joining us for the discussion is our very own living, breathing film encyclopedia and all-around lovely human being: Mischa! Tune in as we explore what it truly means to “Honor thy father and thy mother.”Enjoy the episode!Timestamps:01:13 – Start Discussion44:23 – Film Recommendations48:18 – Teaser: Lavoura Arcaica

Today we discuss a film that startet an entire movement: Thomas Vinterberg's masterpiece "Festen". As the first "Dogma" film, it introduced the world to an entirely new way of making movies. And of course, with a new Film comes a new guest: our progi-head Kim joins us in today's episode to discuss the Danish classic. Enjoy the Episode!Timestamps:05:12 – Start Discussion46:45 – Film Recommendations56:57 – Teaser: Make Way for Tomorrow

In this episode, we discuss one of Satoshi Kon's many masterpieces: Tokyo Godfathers. How does it fit into his filmography, and most importantly, what does it say about family? Joining us for the conversation is our first-ever guest from the Filmstelle family: Michael! Enjoy the episode!

This Semester at the Filmstelle its all about the concept of Family. Tune in as Jérôme and Chris discuss the new program: FAMILY BUSINESS. What is our process for selecting the films, which films did we select and what does Family even mean? These questions and more will be answered in this first ever episode of the Podcaststelle.