Edinburgh Film Podcast

The University of Edinburgh
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Dr Pasquale Iannone (Lecturer in Film Studies) is joined by staff and students from across the University of Edinburgh as well as guests from the world of film and TV to discuss all aspects of screen media.

  1. FEB 10 · VIDEO

    EFP 74: Professor Jennifer Coates on Nagisa Oshima

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone goes back to Japan in 1969 to discuss a lesser-known film from the iconoclastic New Wave filmmaker Nagisa Oshima. Oshima is best-known for subversive, controversial works such as the erotic drama In The Realm of the Senses (1976) and the David Bowie-starring war film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983) The episode focuses on Boy (1969) an earlier picture from Oshima which is based on a remarkable true story. The film follows a con artist couple who travel across Japan with their two young sons. Their main money making scheme involves provoking minor car accidents and feigning injury to claim compensation from befuddled drivers. The eldest boy, 10-year-old Toshio, is trained up by his parents to take part in the scams. Boy was recently released on Blu-Ray by Radiance as part of a box set of Oshima films titled Radical Japan. Joining Pasquale to discuss Boy is Professor Jennifer Coates. Jennifer is Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield. Her many publications include books such as Film Viewing in Postwar Japan, 1945-1968: An Ethnographic Study (2022) and Making Icons: Repetition and the Female Image in Japanese Cinema, 1945-1964 (2016). Jennifer and Pasquale explore the landscape of postwar Japanese cinema and Oshima’s beginnings as a critic. They then turn to Boy, first placing the film in the context of Oshima’s broader career and then discussing key scenes, commenting on elements such as use of location, voiceover as well as the director’s masterful use of widescreen.

    35 min

  2. JAN 26 · VIDEO

    EFP 73: Leith Kino

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone reports from Leith Kino, a micro cinema initiative set up by a veritable supergroup of film professionals and enthusiasts. The initiative - which is hosted by bar, restaurant and event space Leith Depot on Edinburgh’s Leith Walk - aims to provide a space for engagement with avant-garde, experimental, arthouse and trash film.Since September 2025, the Leith Kino team have hosted an eclectic series of events, with members taking it in turn to programme screenings. Pasquale went along to their screening of Kim's Video (2024), a documentary centring on a legendary New York video store run by an enigmatic Korean businessman who one day decides to donate his entire collection, not to a University or a museum, but to a small Sicilian town more than 4000 miles away. This is just the start of a stranger-than-fiction story which is crying out for the Hollywood treatment. Before the sold-out screening of Kim's Video, Pasquale sat down with members of the Leith Kino collective. You’ll hear from Tom Johnson, Liam Schell, Morvern Cunningham, Camilla Baier, Soraya Mamiche, Josh Booker, Gosia Bugaj and Fraser Elliott. After the discussion, you'll also hear an extract from the evening's introduction to Kim's Video, provided by Emma Jamieson of Cinetopia, followed by the trailer for the film.If you'd like to keep up-to-date with Leith Kino's events, please see their Instagram or Substack accounts. Their February events include screenings of The Bride Wore Black (François Truffaut, 1968) and Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932).

    25 min

  3. JAN 12 · VIDEO

    EFP 72: Michael Brooke on Zoltán Huszárik

    The first episode of 2026 is dedicated to extraordinary films of Hungarian filmmaker Zoltán Huszárik (1931 - 1981). Huszarik’s shorts and two feature films are dazzling in their formal experimentation and their attention to detail and texture. His work has gone on to influence contemporary filmmakers such as Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy, Flux Gourmet). Huszárik’s small but remarkable filmography has been beautifully restored and released in a box set by Second Run. The set includes the director’s most famous feature, Szindbád, a 1971 adaptation of stories by Hungarian author Gyula Krúdy which centre on the adventures of the titular character, a middle aged dandy and bon viveur played by Zoltán Latinovits. Joining host Dr Pasquale Iannone to talk about Szindbád as well as some of the other films in the Second Run set is Michael Brooke. Michael is a film historian and a prolific author and critic who specialises in central and Eastern European cinema. In the discussion, Michael and Pasquale place Huszárik in the context of other notable Hungarian filmmakers such as Miklós Jancsó and Béla Tarr. They then discuss Szindbád in detail, exploring key scenes from the film such as the memorable restaurant sequence. Michael also provides some fascinating insight into his work on audio commentaries, including his tracks for Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda’s War Trilogy (also for Second Run).

    50 min

  4. 12/16/2025 · VIDEO

    EFP 71: Professor Sir Christopher Frayling on The Hollywood History of Art

    On this 20th and final episode of 2025, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling. Christopher is an internationally renowned educationalist, historian and broadcaster who spent more than 35 years at London’s Royal College of Art as Professor of Cultural History and then as Rector. Across more than five decades, Christopher has published widely on film, literature and the arts with volumes exploring everything from the Middle Ages to the Gothic. He is as a pioneer in the academic study of the Spaghetti Western, with publications such as his 1981 book on the subject and his definitive biography of director Sergio Leone (2000). Christopher tells Pasquale about his latest book The Hollywood History of Art (2025), a mammoth, lavishly illustrated volume from Reel Art Press which explores the ways in which Hollywood cinema has approached the lives (and works) of artists. Christopher explains how the idea for the book came about and how he developed the structure. Discussion then turns to specific films such as Rembrandt (1936), Lust for Life (1956), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Love is the Devil (1998) and Frida (2002).

    51 min

  5. 12/03/2025 · VIDEO

    EFP 70: Professor Sue Harris on Bertrand Blier

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by Professor Sue Harris. Sue is Professor Emerita of Film Studies at Queen Mary University of London and an internationally-renowned specialist in French cinema. She has also published noted volumes on the Hollywood film musical, film stardom and production design. Sue is a trustee and collaborator of the long-running, UK-wide French Film Festival. During this year’s Festival, Sue sat down with Pasquale to discuss the controversial Oscar-winning French filmmaker Bertrand Blier who sadly passed away in January at the age of 85 and who was the subject of a special tribute. Sue is a foundational Blier scholar, one of the first writers anywhere to take the director’s work seriously. Her first solo authored monograph was a ground-breaking study of his films which was based on her PhD thesis. Blier is perhaps best known for his scandalous 1974 satire Les Valseuses, the story of two young drifters (Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere) who offend and terrorise those they encounter on their wanderings across France. Sue tells Pasquale about the background to Les Valseuses, its reception and its unprecedented box office success in France. They then turn their attention to Blier’s breakthrough film, the offbeat crime picture Buffet Froid (1979) which reunited the director with Depardieu and also featured Blier’s actor father Bernard.

    38 min

  6. 11/20/2025 · VIDEO

    EFP 69: Camilla Baier on the Golden Age of Mexican Melodrama

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone is joined by film programmer, researcher and writer Camilla Baier. Camilla is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in Film Exhibition and Curation programme and is also co-founder of the feminist film collective Invisible Women. Camilla discusses Invisible Women’s latest project, a touring film season celebrating the Golden Age of Mexican Melodrama which arrives at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse in late November. The rarely-screened four titles in the Stronger Than Love: ¡Too Much Mexican Melodrama! season are described as ‘emotionally explosive women’s pictures’ and showcase the pioneering work of women filmmakers such as Adela Sequeyro, Matilde Landeta, Ninón Sevilla and Miroslava Stern. Camilla tells Pasquale about her fascinating career in film curation which has taken her across the world, from Germany to Mexico. Discussion then turns to the four films that make up the melodrama season: Nobody's Wife (Adela Sequeyro, 1937), Streetwalker (Matilde Landeta, 1951), Victims of Sin (Emilio Fernández, 1951) and Stronger Than Love (Tulio Demicheli, 1955). The Stronger Than Love: ¡Too Much Mexican Melodrama! is currently touring the UK and will be arriving at Edinburgh's Filmhouse from 22nd November.

    41 min

  7. 11/03/2025 · VIDEO

    EFP 68: Writer-director Paul Andrew Williams on Dragonfly

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone talks to award-winning British filmmaker Paul Andrew Williams about his new film Dragonfly. Built around two powerful performances by Oscar-nominated actors Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough, the film is set in Yorkshire and tells of elderly widow Elsie (Blethyn) who lives alone in her semi-detached bungalow with occasional help from carers. Living next door to Elsie is Colleen (Riseborough), a young woman who lives with her dog. When Colleen sees that Elsie’s needs aren’t being met by the overworked carers, she introduces herself to her neighbour and offers to help out. Colleen’s motives start to come under scrutiny, especially on the part of Elsie’s absent son (Jason Watkins). Pasquale spoke to Paul a few weeks after Dragonfly’s UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August. They discuss the background to the film, the casting of Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough, Paul’s decision to shoot on 16mm film, his collaboration with composer Raffertie and much more. Dragonfly is released in cinemas on 7th November.

    26 min

  8. 10/22/2025 · VIDEO

    EFP 67: Director Maryam Haddadi on her documentaries Accused Number 41 and Between Us

    On this episode of the podcast, host Dr Pasquale Iannone talks to recent University of Edinburgh filmmaking graduate Maryam Haddadi about her documentary self-portraits Accused Number 41 (2024) and Between Us (2025). Maryam studied the MA in Film Directing at Edinburgh College Art and her graduate film Accused Number 41 focuses on an incident that happened in her native Iran when she was arrested by Guidance Control (better known as the morality police) and falsely accused of dressing provocatively. The film was recently shortlisted for the 2025 Student Oscars - the only film from a Scottish University to make the finals. Commissioned by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap scheme, Between Us is a tender portrait of motherhood focusing on Maryam and her four year old son Masih. The film recently screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, with more screenings to come in Glasgow and Inverness. Maryam tells Pasquale about her first experiences of filmmaking in Iran and then reveals how her approach to documentary filmmaking was shaped by her time at ECA. Discussion then turns to Accused Number 41 and Between Us. More information on Maryam's work is available via her Instagram profile (@maryamhaddadi.films)

    25 min
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About

Dr Pasquale Iannone (Lecturer in Film Studies) is joined by staff and students from across the University of Edinburgh as well as guests from the world of film and TV to discuss all aspects of screen media.

Information

  • Creator
    The University of Edinburgh
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © University of Edinburgh - Prod
  • Show Website
    Edinburgh Film Podcast

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