'behind the lens' | filmmaking interviews @ borrowing tape by Jez Stoker

In this interview, Palestinian writer and director Annemarie Jacir talks to Borrowing Tape about the challenges of recreating 1930s-era Palestine, tackling Israeli censorship around her film, and working with a stacked Palestinian and British cast.

Creature features aren’t new to Hollywood, even though we’re yet to get a definitive film on the mysterious snow giant called “Yeti”. Writers and directors Gene Gallerano and William Pisciotta are trying to fill that gap with their aptly titled period adventure horror The Yeti. 

With the Artemis II crew’s historic return to Earth this week making headlines, there is no better time to look at The Astronaut: a space traveler gets existential in Jess Varley's sci-fi drama. In this interview, the writer and director talks about consulting real-life astronauts, her love for Spielbergian space films, and scouting for an "Ex Machina" house.

On the surface, Late Shift comes across as an anxiety-inducing medical drama as we follow a nurse on a graveyard shift at an understaffed hospital. But as Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe breaks down her research, interactions with healthcare workers, and concerns for an understaffed medical future, Late Shift becomes much more than just a riveting human drama. In this conversation, the director reveals how she set out to undo cliched nurse tropes in medical dramas, how they filmed it all in an abandoned Zurich hospital, and how Late Shift doubles as a “cry to arms” for better care for those who care for us.

Akinola Davies Jr. premiered his debut feature film My Father’s Shadow last year at Cannes, making it the first Nigerian film to be a part of the festival’s Official Selection. Since then, the moving father-son drama has gone on to earn rave reviews and even the possibility of a BAFTA win for Davies. But the overwhelming success is rooted in a personal story from 1993-era Nigeria, one penned by his own brother. Talking to Borrowing Tape, Davies breaks down his tender and intimate debut, capturing the city of Lagos on 16mm film, and representing Nigerian cinema on a global stage. 

In Chaperone, director Zoe Eisenmberg makes it quite easy for her audience to sympathize with her protagonist, Misha. Misha is a struggling 29-year-old who can’t seem to figure out where she fits. She lacks ambition in her professional and personal life and faces constant judgment and double standards from the people closest to her. However, just as we begin to put ourselves in her shoes, she makes a drastic choice. She meets a charismatic teenage boy and, rather than disclose her real age, allows him to believe she is his age, sparking a romance. At times funny, tragic, and uncomfortable, director Zoe Eisenberg’s debut film asks big questions of her characters and audiences. Eisenberg, the innovative writer-director behind this Hawaii-set drama, sat down with Borrowing Tape to discuss complex characters, May-December romances, and tragedy.

Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis’s family drama, All That’s Left of You, traces three generations of a Palestinian family over a 75-year period. With the film garnering buzz as Jordan’s Oscars submission for Best International Feature, Dabis breaks down her exploration of intergenerational trauma, balancing acting with directing, and the importance of global distribution for Palestinian cinema.

In Camera is a 2024 British drama film that was written and directed by Naqqash Khalid in his directorial debut. The film follows the daily affairs of struggling actor Aden (Nabhaan Rizwan) as he moves from one eccentric audition to the other. Khalid breaks down his new release, how he got inspired by "the angry young men" of British cinema, and the racial and moral ambiguity of his "alien" protagonist Aden.

After delivering the Shudder hit MadS last Halloween, French filmmaker David Moreau is back with another haunting nightmare called Other. In this interview, the writer and director breaks down his penchant for atmospheric horror, why he doesn’t bother much about “referencing” other films, and how he went for a “faceless” approach this time, filming only the face of heroine Olga Kurylenko.

In this interview, director-editor-cinematographer Pierre Tsigaridis and his co-writer, co-producer Maxime Rancon break down the challenges of filming low-budget supernatural horror film Traumatika, their nods to classics like The Exorcist and The Omen, and the amusing audience reactions since Traumatika premiered at the 2024 FrightFest.

Bury Me When I'm Dead is a 2025 supernatural thriller/horror written and directed by American filmmaker Seabold Krebs. The following interview explores the inspirations behind the film's central concept and the personal and creative choices that shaped its story. The conversation also touches on the film's visual and sonic design, Krebs' cinematic influences, and concludes with a glimpse into what he's working on next.

The documentary film follows several women from Artsakh who share their stories, plans, and dreams of a better life as they rebuild themselves in the aftermath of war. A year later, their trajectory is forever changed when war is declared once more, forcing them to adapt to a new, harrowing reality as Azerbaijan commits genocide on the indigenous people.

The Cut is not your ordinary boxing drama as Orlando Bloom plays a washed-out puncher who endures eating disorders and flashbacks from the era of the Irish Troubles, as he gives his all to make the required weight category cut. In this interview, director Sean Ellis breaks down his genre-bending film, Bloom's intense transformation, and his own history with combat sports.

British ventriloquist Nina Conti trades her hand puppets for the director’s chair in her filmmaking debut Sunlight. In the following interview, Nina Conti and Shenoah Allen discuss improvising the film’s funnier moments, filming inside costumes in American deserts, using music by Radiohead and the Pixies, and trusting your filmmaking intuitions.

Vera Drew has gotten a mountain of praise and several awards, including one for Breakthrough Director at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. The People’s Joker is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story and a superhero parody movie that brings life and personality to an overdone genre. Drew sat down with Borrowing Tape to discuss her inspirations and advice for aspiring filmmakers.

Psycho Therapy is a 2025 dark comedy feature film that stars Steve Buscemi as a retired serial killer who becomes an unlikely mentor to a struggling novelist. In this interview, writer-director Tolga Karaçelik delves into the absurdity of his new film (and his mind), adjusting to a llama's shooting schedule (yes, the animal llama), and creating his own imaginary worlds. 

Eli Craig, the director behind cult horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, returns with the new slasher Clown in a Cornfield. In a pre-release chat, the director and co-writer breaks down his latest film, reveals how his teen son helped shape his Gen-Z characters, and explains why he might never make a horror comedy like Tucker and Dale again.

OLD GUY is the latest action comedy by the experienced director of the genre, Simon West ('Con Air', 'The Mechanic'), about an aging contract killer starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu, and Cooper Hoffman. Borrowing Tape had the opportunity to speak with West about making the movie, such as filming on location in Belfast, working with Christoph Waltz, and the method used to cast the lead action stars in his movies.

Borrowing Tape had the opportunity to interview producer Colmán Mac Cionnaith and writer Michael Whelan on the drama short film nominated for “Best Live Action Short Film” at the 2025 Oscars.

The following interview is with Nebojsa Slijepcevic, the director and writer of the 2024 drama short film, nominated for “Best Live Action Short Film” at the 2025 Oscars.

The Iranian animated short film In the Shadow of the Cypress was one of the films nominated for Best Animated Short at the 2025 Oscars. In this interview with Borrowing Tape, the husband-and-wife director duo Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohai break down the short's commentary on real-life PTSD among war veterans in Iran, the significance of the titular cypress tree and the daily struggles of making it big as an Iranian animator and director.

Italian filmmaker Marco Perego joins his creative collaborator and wife Zoe Saldaña for Dovecote, a slow-burning prison drama that made it to the Oscars nominations for Best Live-Action Short. Perego breaks down how he filmed a short film in an actual Venetian prison, using female inmates as extras, and the incredible sense of community he discovered among them.

The following interview is with Adam J. Graves the director and writer of the 2024 drama short film, nominated for “Best Live Action Short Film” at the 2025 Oscars.

The following interview is with Mary Dauterman, the director and writer of the 2023 body horror comedy movie BOOGER. 

The following interview is with Ariane Louis-Seize, the director and co-writer of the 2023 French-language Canadian vampire comedy horror film HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON.

The following interview is with Ari Kruger, the director and co-writer of the 2024 crime comedy feature film THE SHAKEDOWN.

The following interview is with Marcus Dunstan, the director of the 2024 horror mystery thriller film #AMFAD: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD.

The following interview is with Tomás Gómez Bustillo, the director of the 2023 Argentine-US supernatural comedy film CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT. 

The following interview is with Stefon Bristol, the director of the 2024 sci-fi thriller movie BREATHE. The film follows a mother and daughter who are barely surviving in an oxygen-less world when intruders arrive claiming to know their missing father.

The following interview is with William Eubank, the director and co-writer of the 2024 action-thriller movie LAND OF BAD, The film follows an US Army special forces unit that’s ambushed during a mission — their only remaining hope lies with a remote Air Force drone operator assisting them through a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.

The following interview is with Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of the 2001 French-language romantic-comedy classic Amélie. Showing in select theaters this Valentine's Day.

The following interview is with Michael Kennedy, screenwriter of a Christmas horror movie with a classic twist, IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE (2023).

The Australian entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards, SHAYDA follows an immigrant woman living in a woman's shelter with her six-year-old daughter after filing for divorce from her abusive husband. 

The following interview is with THE PASSENGER director Carter Smith who discussed the thriller feature film, in a recent interview with Tyler Geis.

In a recent interview, Director Yuval Adler spoke to Borrowing Tape about working on his latest film SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, a neo-noir mystery film starring Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman.

Borrowing Tape caught up with AMANDA Writer/Director Carolina Cavalli on the Italian comedy-drama film in a recent interview with Sof ia Sheehan.

PERSIAN LESSONS Director Vadim Perelman spoke about his experience directing the German-Russian-Belarusian war drama film in a recent interview with Tyler Geis of Borrowing Tape.

LOVE GETS A ROOM director Rodrigo Cortés opened up about his experience making the musical drama film in a recent interview with Sofia Sheehan of Borrowing Tape. 

THE WRATH OF BECKY is the sequel to BECKY, which follows the titular character two years after she escaped a violent attack on her family. Now in the care of an older woman, a violent group breaks into their home to attack them and take their beloved dog, so Becky must return to her old ways.

GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY follows a woman and her son's pregnant girlfriend on a surreal journey to try to track down the perpetrators of her identity being stolen. 

Joyland was the official Pakistani entry for Best International Feature at this year's Academy Awards and has won awards like the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The film was banned in the director’s home country for many months because it was about a married man falling for someone who is transgender.

PAINT follows Carl Nargle, Vermont's #1 public television painter — played by Owen Wilson. Borrowing Tape interviewer Tyler Geis recently had the opportunity to talk to the director of PAINT Brit McAdams on the filmmaking process. Now available to watch in theaters.

In the 2022 comedy-drama film, WILDFLOWER a young girl navigates the challenges of having two neurodivergent parents and an extended family who can't quite seem to agree on how best to help her. Borrowing Tape interviewer Tyler Geis recently had the opportunity to interview the director of WILDFLOWER Matt Smukler on the filmmaking process. Now available to rent or buy on VOD.

The 2004 Frech horror film Calvaire returns to US theaters and will be released on VOD. Borrowing Tape interviewer Tyler Geis recently had the opportunity to interview Fabrice du Welz, the director and co-writer of Calvaire.

A drama film centered over a night of intimate and vulnerable conversations where a shocking truth is revealed.

A documentary film that follows the life and work of Spain Rodriguez, a comic book artist.

Three interwoven stories reveal the traumatic effects of war on the psyches of veterans from different generations.

A family harbors witches on the run from the state.

An immigrant story of a Korean-American family struggling to run a dry cleaning business in Flushing, Queens. Follow the Choi family as they confront their individual struggles, cultural clashes, and generational divide all while trying to keep their failing family business afloat.

A hardworking and exhausted nurse named Ludi, battles coworkers, clients, and one impatient bus driver to learn her self-worth as she chases the American Dream in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood.

After robbing a pharmacy, a woman and her mute friend kidnap a drug addict, then go on the road to give away the stolen "life saving" medication, but find themselves trapped in Slab City, California — a law-less and psychedelic city.

Follows a group of friends in 1987, as the iconic British band The Smiths disband and fans in a small Colorado town process the loss.

The Affair is the 2019 historical drama based on the Simon Mower novel, The Glass Room.

Son is the 2021 horror-thriller movie that follows a mother fighting to protect her son from a cult conspiracy, physical illness, and evil itself.

A recovering junkie soon learns that the rehab center is not about helping people, but a cover for a multi-billion-dollar fraud operation that enlists addicts to recruit other addicts. 

Sator follows a young man who realizes an insidious being has been watching and influencing his family in an attempt to claim them.