Directors UK Podcast

Back in February, we were joined by director Emerald Fennell, who discussed her debut film - Promising Young Woman - with romcom legend Richard Curtis. Since then, Promising Young Woman has been an awards season sensation, recently gaining nominations for Best Director and Best Film at the Oscars. In this episode, you can listen to Emerald telling Richard about her experiences as a first time film...

The Directors UK Podcast is back! This episode is a treat for horror fans, as director Remi Weekes joins us to talk about his multiple BAFTA-nominated film, His House. Remi spoke to Anna Bogutskaya about researching his film, crafting his scares, and casting the perfect leading duo. We hope you enjoy the show!

It's Directors UK Podcast time! In this episode we’re treated to a fascinating discussion between two outstanding filmmakers, Shaka King and Barry Jenkins, as they discuss Shaka’s latest film, Judas and the Black Messiah. Together they discuss staying true to the story of Fred Hampton, directing the film’s many amazing performances, working long-distance on its brilliant score, and so much more. J...

Welcome to the Directors UK Podcast! In this episode, we’re treated to a fascinating conversation between two filmmaking greats, as Paul Greengrass chats with Mike Leigh about his latest film, News of the World. In a wide-ranging discussion, Paul and Mike talk about the allure of the Western genre, what it takes to forge a directing career, and the state of the industry for emerging filmmakers. Ju...

The Directors UK Podcast is back! This episode comes from our last event of 2020, where we were thrilled to host the Golden Globe-nominated director Regina King in conversation about her debut film, One Night in Miami. Together with Beeban Kidron, Regina discussed nailing the film’s visual tone, bringing her insights as an actor into directing, and finding the perfect cast. Once Upon a Time in Mia...

This episode of the Directors UK Podcast has a political side, as we revisit our December event with Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, the makers of All In: The Fight for Democracy. This episode was recorded in the period between Joe Biden's election win and the Democratic Party Senate victories in Georgia — in which the film's central figure, Stacey Abrams, was so pivotal. Listen to All In's directors...

Back in December, we were lucky enough to have The Trial of the Chicago 7 director, writer and 2021 Golden Globe nominee Aaron Sorkin join us in conversation with Amma Asante. Now you can listen to it all on the Directors UK Podcast! As well as answering questions from members, Aaron discussed his approach to directing such a large and brilliant cast, the things he has and hasn’t learnt from his m...

It's here - the latest episode of the Directors UK Podcast! This one is a real treat, as we’re joined by the director of Nomadland, Chloé Zhao and her collaborator and Director of Photography Joshua James Richards. They join Asif Kapadia for a fascinating discussion about creating the film that’s been generating critical raves and tearing up awards season. From blending fact and fiction, shooting...

Back in 2020, we joined Spike Lee and Sam Mendes for a fantastic online Da 5 Bloods Q&A. Spike and Sam treated us to a fascinating discussion of the different cinematic elements employed in Da 5 Bloods, from aspect ratios to soundtrack, performance to script. This was a whirlwind tour of a fantastic new film — available to watch on Netflix now.

Welcome to the Directors UK Podcast! This week’s recording comes from our live online member event, Rebecca: Ben Wheatley in conversation with Jane Crowther. The acclaimed, genre-hopping director Ben Wheatley spoke to Total Film editor Jane Crowther about his latest film outing – a sumptuous adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, which is out now on Netflix. Together, Ben and Jane discussed th...

Welcome to the Directors UK Podcast! We’re so excited to share this latest episode, which focuses on of this year’s most exciting horror films. At our latest Directors UK event, director Rose Glass discussed her stunning debut Saint Maud with the one-and-only Edgar Wright. Together they went behind the scenes of the film – exploring sound design, favourite shots, the casting process, and the thril...

Welcome to the Directors UK Podcast! In this episode, director Antonio Campos is in conversation with Anna Bogutskaya and they’re talking about his latest film The Devil All the Time, which is available to watch on Netflix. Antonio and Anna discuss dialect-coaching, adapting novels, portraying the passage of time and the acting genius of Robert Pattinson. We hope you enjoy the podcast! Music: Loya...

The Directors UK Podcast is back! This episode comes from our I'm Thinking of Ending Things Q&A, with director Charlie Kaufman in conversation with the amazing Sally Potter. Together they discussed the interconnected disciplines of acting, writing and directing, and concepts of success, failure, time and humour. You don't want to miss it! Music: Loyalty Freak

The Directors UK Podcast is back, and this time we hear from the incredible Todd Haynes! Todd spoke to fellow director Charles Sturridge about his latest film, Dark Waters. They discussed the delicacies of casting for roles based on real people, how much information you need to supply your audience with so they have a handle on the facts, and what its like to make such a politically-charged film....

It's time for the Directors UK Podcast! This episode comes from our member screening of The Lighthouse, where we were treated to a fantastic with director Robert Eggers - moderated by Robbie Collin. Robert told our audience all about nailing the film’s aesthetic, creating its peculiar dialogue, and working with trained seagulls... Music: Loyaly Freak

With wins at the Golden Globes and the DGA Awards, Sam Mendes' 1917 is a roaring success. We were thrilled to be able to host a special event for members with Sam, and who better to discuss the film's stunning technical achievement than Oscar-winning master Alfonso Cuarón. Sam spoke to Alfonso about the amount of preparation that was required for such long takes, the continued relevance of the Fir...

Quentin Tarantino in conversation with Danny Boyle — what more can you say? This episode, recorded at our November event at the Prince Charles Cinema, is a feast for film lovers. In front of a packed-out audience, Quentin spoke to Danny about casting, improvisation, his writing process and so much more. We hope you enjoy the podcast. (P.S. This might not come as a surprise, but there’s a bit of st...

Happy New Year! Goodness me, what a podcast we've got to kick things off with. That's right, it's Greta Gerwig talking to Mike Leigh about her wonderful new film, Little Women. You read that correctly...Greta Gerwig. And Mike Leigh. Talking about Little Women. Together they discuss striking the right visual tone for Little Women, rehearsing with the cast, learning lessons from Lady Bird, working w...

Welcome to the Directors UK Podcast! This episode comes from our September screening of For Sama, followed by our Q&A with Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts. In a wide-ranging discussion, Waad and Edward spoke to Tom Roberts about structuring the documentary, finding hope amongst the devastation, and their hopes for the film going forward. We hope you enjoy the episode. If you like what you hear ple...

Our latest podcast comes from our member Q&A with Lulu Wang, director of The Farewell. Lulu spoke to Mariayah Kaderbhai about the film’s beginnings on This American Life, shooting on widescreen and working with Awkwafina. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a review.

It's podcast time! This week's episode comes from our interview with Ben Roberts, Deputy Chief Executive of the BFI. Ben spoke to us about the BFI Film Fund and how it works, how it's aiming to meet its targets for diversity and inclusion, and how directors can go about applying for funding. There are some issues with background noise at some points in the recording. Sorry about that! Music: Loyal...

The Directors UK Podcast is back again — and this time we're coming at you from our Good Omens Q&A with the one and only Douglas Mackinnon. Douglas spoke to his fellow director(and pal)Metin Hüseyin about how he first got involved in the project, using the music of David Bowie to explain the tone of Good Omens to the cast, working with Amazon and much more! Warning: contains a little strong langua...

It’s Podcast time! We’re back with another episode from a special Directors UK member event. This time the pod is coming from our You Were Never Really Here screening and Q&A, where we heard from director Lynne Ramsay and producer Jim Wilson — moderated by Danny Leigh. Check it out and subscribe or leave us a review if you like what you hear! Music: Loyalty Freak

Welcome back to the Directors UK Podcast! This episode comes from our First Man screening and Q&A with the amazing Damien Chazelle. The Q&A was moderated by director (and former Directors UK Chair) Charles Sturridge, and covered Damien’s approach to research, shooting outer space, and capturing the character of Neil Armstrong. Contains some strong language. Please leave us a review and subscribe i...

This week’s Podcast has that award season feeling, as Paweł Pawlikowski — nominated this week for the Best Director Oscar — speaks to director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man on Wire)about his Academy Award-nominated film, Cold War. This audio comes from our Winter 2018 member event, and discusses Paweł’s use of aspect ratio, lighting, black and white, music and so much more. If you lik...