Blog | Single Takes

The noted playwright and Light From Light actor looks back at a memorable showing of Wim Wender’s classic at the Paris Theatre in New York City.

Having just completed her new film, the director reflects on the decades-long impact Godard has had on her creative process, recalling first-time viewings of Vivre Sa Vie, Notre Musique, and others.

The director of A Bread Factory describes watching what would become his favorite film, Wu Nien-jen’s A Borrowed Life, at the Musuem of the Moving Image in Queens, and the conversation it inspired with fellow filmgoers on the subway ride home.

The director of All the Cities of the North recalls watching Gus Van Sant’s beguiling drama as a young boy, on a borrowed VHS tape, while his country was descending into war.

The award-winning director of Life and Nothing More remembers watching Max Ophul's haunting masterwork in Andrew Sarris' film class.

The co-director of Araby recounts the magic atmosphere that surrounded the screening of Jem Cohen's short films at the Belo Horizonte Short Film Festival in Brazil.

The co-director of Araby recalls a particularly transformative moment for him and his non-professional cast while watching Idriss Ouédraogo's Yaaba at a theater in Belo Horizonte.

The writer-director of the upcoming Ava recalls watching a banned copy of the Mike Nichols drama as a young girl during the Iran-Iraq war.

The director of Neighboring Sounds and Aquarius on discovering a John Carpenter classic at the Art-Palacio cinema, an old movie palace in Recife.

The author of "A Short History of Film" shares his love of a lesser-seen Bresson masterpiece he first watched at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York.

The director of Fear Itself on how the Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway starrer he saw one rainy afternoon at the Ritzy Theatre in Brixton changed his relationship to cinema.

The Academy Award winning director on the thrill of watching Kaili Blues for the first time at the Venice Film Festival.