Celebrating Cinema

Hailed as the Citizen Kane of bad movies, The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003) has transcended its origins as an enigmatic vanity project to become a bona fide cult phenomenon. But how did it achieve such status, and what, beneath its layers of unintentional surrealism, is it really about? Hosts Laura Gommans and Tom Ooms unravel the film’s bizarre legacy, offering an essential guide to its chaotic produ...

When Parasite won Best Picture, it put Korean cinema in the global spotlight, but it was the result of decades of bold filmmaking. With Mickey 17 now out, it’s the perfect time to dive into the bloody brilliance of the Korean New Wave. Hosts Laura Gommans and Kiriko Mechanicus explore Korea’s obsession with vengeance, shaped by its turbulent history and uncensored filmmaking. They also examine why...

In our latest review round-up, Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 has Laura and Hugo at odds, Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths steals their hearts, and Brazilian awards darling I’m Still Here sparks a heated debate between our two hosts—is it Oscar bait or a worthy contender? Tune in and have your say on this month’s biggest releases! Book tickets to Mickey 17 @ LAB111 Book tickets to Hard Truths @ LAB111 Book tick...

In this review roundup, hosts Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael dive into three films that have caught their attention. Oz Perkins’ latest offbeat horror, The Monkey , leaves them both questioning if the American director knows how to land an ending. Hugo shares insights from his Cannes conversation with Jia Zhang-ke about his latest work, Caught by the Tides . But while Hugo sees something transce...

With a new wave of nostalgia-driven musical biopics— A Complete Unknown , Better Man , Maria —flooding theaters, hosts Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael ask: what does it take to make a great musical biopic these days? A genre weighed down by formulaic storytelling and its own well-worn bingo card of narrative beats, the musical biopic too often settles for a greatest-hits retelling rather than emb...

In our first edition of the Review Roundup, a new biweekly cinematic dispatch, Laura Gommans and Elliot Bloom get into the latest films everyone's talking about. From the swirling controversies surrounding Brady Corbet’s Academy-nominated The Brutalist to the unexpected Marvel-like crossover in Pablo Larraín’s Maria , Laura and Elliot share their reactions. Also in focus: the enduring allure o...

Legendary filmmaker Ernest Dickerson joins host Elliot Bloom for a compelling journey through his remarkable career. From his early love of sci-fi and fascination with the practical elements of filmmaking to meeting long-time collaborator Spike Lee on his first day of film school, Dickerson reflects on the defining moments that have influenced his work. With an encyclopaedic knowledge of cinema, h...

Fresh off winning the Dutch Film Critics’ Choice Award at the Netherlands Film Festival, LAB111 resident filmmaker Jeroen Houben joins host Kiriko Mechanicus to discuss his bittersweet, offbeat drama Torch Song. The film tells the story of an eccentric former pop singer who reconnects with her estranged half-brother in the Netherlands, only to unravel his life when she discovers a muse in his girl...

A fearless voice against systemic injustice, Raoul Peck has crafted a body of work that interrogates the legacies of colonialism, racism, and power with unflinching clarity. In this episode, Peck joins our producer Elliot to discuss his latest film, Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, an intimate exploration of South Africa’s first apartheid-era photographer. Reflecting on Cole’s haunting images, Peck dr...

This year, vampires emerge from the shadows once more with Robert Eggers’ haunting reimagining of Nosferatu. But why does the vampire continue to linger in our cultural imagination? In this episode, hosts Laura Gommans and Tom Ooms embark on a cinematic journey through the dark, blood-soaked history of vampires and night stalkers. From terrifying symbols of society’s deepest fears to complex, oddl...

In a village under constant threat of displacement, where homes and schools are torn down and the land is slowly seized, how does one resist? For Basel, the camera is a weapon in the fight to preserve his community of Masafer Yatta. No Other Land is an unflinching documentary of settler violence, created by two Palestinians and two Israeli filmmakers. What they capture is undeniable. On this episo...

To mark the release of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis , a 40-year passion project with a staggering $120 million price tag, we turn our attention to cinema’s most audacious, eccentric, and underappreciated visions — the “ugly ducklings” that, against all odds, have found their place in the cultural canon. This episode explores the daring, often misunderstood passion projects of filmmakers who,...

When 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey (modern-day Republic of Benin) would finally be returned from France, filmmaker Mati Diop was granted rare access to document this historic moment. Dahomey , Mati's deeply moving and thought-provoking documentary, is the result of that access—a cinematic meditation that not only chronicles the repatriation of these artefacts but also imagines the...

Trigger warning: Please be advised that this episode includes discussions about sexual violence. In this powerful episode, host Elliot sits down with Shiori Ito to discuss her film debut,  Black Box Diaries . The documentary is a firsthand account of Shiori’s harrowing experience of sexual violence by media mogul Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a man with ties to Japan’s political elite, including former Prim...

In  Kneecap , Rich Peppiatt delivers a raw and politically charged origin story about JJ, a Belfast teacher, and two self-proclaimed "low-life scum," Naoise and Liam, who form the first Irish-speaking hip-hop group. The film is a powerful act of cultural resistance, celebrating the revitalization of the Irish language through music. Peppiatt discusses with our host Elliot the film’s roots in Belfa...

Join us for a cinematic road trip through the films of visionary director Wim Wenders, whose work has redefined cinematic storytelling. In conjunction with the  LAB111 program   Drifters and Dreamers: The Films of Wim Wenders   and the stunning 4K restoration of  Paris, Texas (1984) , Tom Ooms and Elliot Bloom explore the recurring themes of transience, memory, and the search for meaning that defi...

Following a packed-out CC Film Club screening of  Knight Of Cups , host Hugo chats with Tom van der Linden, the creator of the popular YouTube channel  Like Stories Of Old , to explore this often-overlooked masterpiece by Terrence Malick.  Like Stories Of Old combines media analysis with personal reflection in emotive video essays, offering viewers a fresh perspective on cinema. With millions of v...

Visionary director Tarsem Singh joins Kiriko to reflect on The Fall (2006), once dubbed by the filmmaker himself as “the most expensive passion project” until Megalopolis . A film nearly derailed by Harvey Weinstein, The Fall has since been reclaimed by a dedicated fanbase, championed by figures like Roger Ebert. Now with a stunning 4K restoration, this cult classic is ripe for rediscovery—an ode...

Crafted on a shoestring budget, Kevin Boitelle's feature debut, Trip-Tych , serves as both a film about the art of filmmaking and a reflection on the creative struggle inherent in the process. In conversation with host Kiriko, Kevin reminisces about his formative film experiences and his early collaborations with friends, emphasizing his desire to preserve the joy of collective creativity. This au...

There is nothing as hypnotizing than the larger-than-life women that we see on the screen—captivating, outrageous, and irresistibly seductive. Join us as we celebrate some of cinema’s most iconic female archetypes, from the bold ladies who are both excessive and exciting to the enigmatic witches who cast their spell through exaggerated feminine mannerisms. To coincide with the "Girls of Plenty" pr...

Fresh off her feature debut opening the Netherlands Film Festival, one of LAB111's resident filmmakers Laura Hermanides joins Hugo to discuss Witte Flits—a project that began as a documentary but evolved into a striking fictional narrative. The film tackles the complex, timely debate surrounding euthanasia, particularly in cases of unbearable psychological sufferings. Inspired by a real-life s...

Orson Welles stands as a visionary filmmaker, a notorious showman, and an enigmatic storyteller who blurred the lines between fact and fiction. In this episode, Tom and Elliot dive deep into the life and legend of one of America's most celebrated yet elusive filmmakers, exploring the enduring allure of his work. As we celebrate the re-releases of The Third Man and F for Fake here at LAB111, we unr...

After his 1980s collaboration with legendary filmmaker Michael Powell on a documentary chronicling Powell’s career, director David Hinton knew the story was only half told. Now, Hinton returns with the complete portrait of The Archers, Britain’s visionary filmmaking duo, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. In this episode, Hinton sits down with host Elliot to reveal why only Martin Scorsese cou...

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the acclaimed stop-motion epic Coraline , Laura Gommans had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Henry Selick about his illustrious career and lifelong love for cinema. From scary tales at Aunt Lib's house to being terrified by the cyclops in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , Henry reveals the origins of his eerie yet tender storytelling style. His obsession wit...

From screwball comedies to the golden age of 90s and early 00s romcoms, our love for romance remains strong. In this episode, entertainment journalist Laura Gommans joins us to discuss our favorite romantic comedies and what makes them so special. What appears to be a straightforward genre leads us to question whether the familiar clichés define a romcom or if there's more to it. As our values of...