Modern Whore, which world-premiered at TIFF, is the latest sex-work-destigmatizing project in an unusual multiyear collaboration between director Nicole Bazuin and the hybrid doc’s co-writer and star Andrea Werhun (who also served as a consultant on EP Sean Baker’s Anora). […]

The post A Conversation with Nicole Bazuin and Andrea Werhun (MODERN WHORE) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

In the Blink of an Eye is a science fiction drama that asks what connects us across the vast expanse of time. Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) and written by Colby Day (Spaceman), the […]

The post A Conversation with Andrew Stanton, Daveed Diggs, Colby Day & Jared Ian Goldman (IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Some filmmakers are known for their documentary works. Others for their narrative films. Still others—the better filmmakers (for me), generally—do not fit comfortably into either category. Or any category whatsoever. Poet / artist / filmmaker Lynne Sachs is one of […]

The post A Conversation with  Lynne Sachs (EVERY CONTACT LEAVES A TRACE) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Multi-talented Austrian-born / U.S.-based filmmaker (as well as film-editor and cinematographer) G. Anthony Svatek is arguably best-known for his remarkable festival-screened shorts and his collaborative work on the films of others (such as Lynne Sachs and Jem Cohen). Yet that […]

The post A Conversation with G. Anthony Svatek (HUMBOLDT USA) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Radu Jude was born in Bucharest in 1977. He studied film directing at the Media University in Bucharest and began his career making shorts, television programs, and music videos. His feature debut, The Happiest Girl in the World (2009), won several international […]

The post A Conversation with Radu Jude (KONTINENTAL ’25) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Nadav Lapid was born in Tel Aviv in 1975. Before turning to filmmaking, he published a novel, worked as a literary critic and sports journalist. He joined the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation in 2007, where he wrote the screenplay for […]

The post A Conversation with Nadav Lapid (YES) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Director Fergus Campbell just premiered Sparks, his debut feature film, at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival (where I reviewed it). The movie stars Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) as Cleo, a young woman out of time and out of place. Obsessed […]

The post A Conversation with Fergus Campbell & Elsie Fisher (SPARKS) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

The debut feature from screenwriter Aidan West and director Gloria Mercer, A Safe Distance just premiered at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival (where I reviewed it). In the movie, we follow the increasingly wild adventures of a young […]

The post A Conversation with Gloria Mercer (A SAFE DISTANCE) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

Union County is a drama about the opioid epidemic that does something rare: it focuses on recovery rather than despair. Writer-director Adam Meeks’s feature debut follows Cody Parsons (Will Poulter), a young man in rural Ohio navigating a county-mandated drug […]

The post A Conversation with Adam Meeks, Will Poulter, Emily Meade, Elise Kible, Brad Becker-Parton & Annette Deao (UNION COUNTY) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

The satirical horror anthology Grind just had its world premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival (where I reviewed it). From directors Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust, the movie follows an unlucky cast of characters as […]

The post A Conversation with Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty (GRIND) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.