World Cinema History

​In this installment of World Cinema History, we move from the historical Road to Godard into the contemporary trenches of independent cinema. We are joined by writer-director Miguel Ángel Ferrer, whose film The Shadow of the Sun —Venezuela’s 2023 Oscar entry—is a study of survival and using your dreams as a roadmap to becoming your best self. The Roundtable Discussion: ​Bypassing the Permission S...

In the first installment of our Road to Godard series, co-hosts Eric Trommater, Erin Brown, and Jennifer Trujillo dive into the 1959 production that changed everything. We’re putting Jean-Luc Godard’s revolutionary Breathless (À bout de souffle) side-by-side with Richard Linklater’s 2025 film, Nouvelle Vague. While its place in the history of cinema is undeniable, Eric and Erin find themselves lar...

​"Isn't life disappointing?" "Yes, nothing but disappointment." Thunderstorms descended as Erin Brown, Eric Trommater, Sila Blume, and Jennifer Trujillo gathered to discuss Yasujirō Ozu’s seminal 1953 film, Tokyo Story . As the conclusion to our series on Aging and Mortality in 1950s Cinema, the weather seemed determined to participate; our noise-proofing wasn't quite up to the task of keeping the...

In this special bonus installment, we reflect on a filmmaker who defined the American cinematic landscape for decades. We also circle back to the studio for a final word on our recent guest. ​ The Panel Jennifer Trujillo, Sila Blume, Eric Trommater, and Erin Brown. Remembering Rob Reiner (March 6, 1947 – December 14, 2025) The panel gathers to remember the life and legacy of Rob Reiner. Following...

Producer Christine La Monte joins the show to discuss her Oscar-shortlisted film Viva Verdi! and Ai Weiwei’s Turandot. We talk about the residents of Casa Verdi and the bridge between opera and cinema history. Host: Eric Trommater Panel: Erin Brown, Sila Blume, Jennifer Trujillo Special Guest: My cousin, Jordan Best (Vocals, "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini) https://www.bestsoprano.com/  Links & In...

This week on World Cinema History, we continue our series on Aging and Mortality in 1950s Cinema. Having explored the bureaucratic cages of Kurosawa’s Ikiru and the cold Swedish apathy of Bergman’s Wild Strawberries, we now arrive in the blistering, post-war economic hangover of Vittorio De Sica’s 1952 film, Umberto D. Host Eric Trommater is joined by Erin Brown, Sila Blume, and Italianophile Audr...

​In this episode, we take an existential road trip from Lund to Stockholm to discuss Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film, Wild Strawberries —or Smultronstället —a film about aging, isolation, and confronting a lifetime of emotional coldness. ​Host Eric Trommater is joined by panelists Erin Brown (experiencing Bergman for the first time) and Sila Blume for a deep dive into the film's structure. We examine h...

Erin Brown hosts a discussion with Eric Trommater and Jennifer Trujillo on one of her favorite movies, 2019's "Jojo Rabbit." The film features Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Scarlett Johannson in a tale of a young boy and his imaginary friend Adolph Hitler, played by the movie's Writer-Director Taika Waititi. Check us out on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@worldcinehist?si=z8Yay0W0I-6APEZz ⁠⁠⁠ on...

Luke Higginson, who wrote, directed and edited "Relax I'm from the Future," joins Eric Trommater, Erin Brown, Audra Angelique and Jennifer Trujillo to unpack one of his favorite films by his favorite director Akira Kurosawa's "Ikiru." Check us out on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@worldcinehist?si=z8Yay0W0I-6APEZz ⁠⁠⁠ on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/world-cinema-histo...

Eric Trommater, Erin Brown and Jennifer Trujillo are joined from Bonnie Scotland by Leonard Hockerts from Understanding Movies. We look at Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's romantic comedy "I Know Where I'm Going!" Set in the Hebrides Islands, of Scotland, and starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livsey, the film was made during the last days of World War II. Check us out on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://y...

Eric Trommater, Erin Brown, Nicole de Meneses and Jennifer Trujillo end their month-long look at horror with Tomas Alfredson's (The Snowman and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) 2008 adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's vampire novel "Let the Right One In," set in snowy Sweden. Later remade by Matt Reeves, the original drew a mixed reaction from Eric and Erin while Nicole and Jennifer found it a masterf...

Eric Trommater and Erin Brown are joined by Jennifer Trujillo of The Gilbert Baker Film Festival and "Vampire Director" Nicole de Meneses to discuss one of Nicole's favorite films, "Near Dark" (1987). Coming on the heels of our month long look at women behind the camera, we got a chance to celebrate both Spooky-Season and Katherine Bigalow, the first woman to ever win an Academy Award for best dir...

Consider leaving us a tip at KI-FI.com/worldcinemahistory Eric Trommater and Erin Brown are joined by Nicole de Meneses, who is currently making her own vampire film, and Jennifer Trujillo, who runs the Gilbert Baker Film Festival. At issue is Carl Theodore Dreyer's "Vampyr," a strange choice from the director of "The Passion of Joan of Arc," "Ordet" and "Day of Wrath." Opinions varied on the film...

To support this podcast go to https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory A group called CPR Agency for MK2 had our original video pulled from YouTube for an alleged Copyright violation. They, most likely, mistook the video for the actual film. Just in case we re-edited the episode, taking out approximately one minute and seven seconds of sound clips from the film. Eric Trommater, Erin Brown and Sila Blu...

Help keep us Advertising Free. Donate at https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Special Guest Luke Higginson, the writer and director of "Relax, I'm From the Future" (which starred Rhys Darby), joins Erin Brown and Eric Trommater to discuss Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's 2014 Vampire Mockumentary "What We Do in the Shadows." First, though, Erin Brown tells of her meeting, the day before, with h...

Thank you for listening to this bonus episode of World Cinema History. For more content like this join our DVD Extras Club at Ko-Fi.com/worldcinemahistory. This week's bonus episode centers on Dr. Ernesto Todd Mireles's "War of the Flea: Fight for Xicano Studies," a documentary film detailing the story of Chicano students who fought for a Xicano/Latino Studies program at Michigan State University....

Help keep us advertising free. Go to https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory and toss a buck or two in the tip jar. Eric Trommater and Sila Blume are joined by a special guest as they try and unpack Luis Buñuel's 1930 Surrealist masterpiece ""L'Âge d'or, (The Golden Age)." Dr. Ernesto "Todd" Mireles is an award-winning author, filmmaker, educator, and a lifelong activist and organizer in the Xicano m...

Help Keep Us Free From Ads. ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Erin Brown and Eric Trommater continue their month long look at women behind the camera. This time it's director Lina Wermüller who, despite her name, is an Italian, and her 1975 black comedy "Seven Beauties." One of many films Wertmüller made with leading man Giancarlo Giannini, the film puts its hero, Pasqualino, through the wringer, inclu...

Help us stay Advertising Free with a one time tip or by joining our DVD Extras Club. https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Eric Trommater, Erin Brown and Sila Blume discuss Chantel Ackerman's 1975 film "Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles." Named the Best Film of All Time in 2022 by Sight and Sound Magazine's poll of filmmakers, critics and influencers. The movie is a slow, methodic...

Here's a free look at extra content you can receive by joining the World Cinema History DVD Extras Club. Benefits include: * Bonus Episodes Like This One * Attending Live Recordings of the Show * Our Love and Appreciation * Whatever Else We Think of in The Future * Having your name mispronounced on the podcast (sorry in advance) To join just go to https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory and make a re...

If you enjoy this program consider leaving us a tip at  https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory or, for more content,  join our DVD Extras Club. Director Céline Sciamma's 18th century sapphic love story can be enjoyed simply for the beauty of it's images, the great performances by Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel and Luàna Bajrami, or as an all too human tale of love and loss. It was also seen as a great...

Here's a free look at extra content you can receive by joining the World Cinema History DVD Extras Club. Benefits include: * Bonus Episodes Like This One * Attending Live Recordings of the Show * Our Love and Appreciation * Whatever Else We Think of in The Future * Having your name mispronounced on the podcast (sorry in advance) To join just go to https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory and make a re...

If you want to support us we are at: https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Yassi Sofi and Eric Trommater. "Some men think the Earth is round, others think it flat; it is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King's command make it round? And if it is round, will the King's command flatten it? No, I will not sign." Henry VIII scraps the Catholic Church in order divorce his wife a...

If you want to support us we are at: https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Erin Brown and Eric Trommater continue their look at Queerness in Cinema with Rose Troche's 1998 comedy "Bedrooms and Hallways." The film stars: Kevin McKidd, Hugo Weaving, James Purefoy, Tom Hollander, Christopher Fulford, Julie Graham, Con O'Neill (ticking Erin's OFMD box), Paul Higgins, Jennifer Ehle, Harriet Walter and S...

If you want to support us we are at: https://ko-fi.com/worldcinemahistory Special guest host Nicole de Meneses a writer, director, and founder of Dark Rainbow Films, an independent production company specializing in bold, unapologetic LGBTQ+ stories through a genre lens. She chose Ariane Louis-Seize's "Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consen...