Stream Close Up

In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian speaks with Ukrainian filmmaker Roman Liubyi about his latest film, Time Machine Maidan.Roman is part of the filmmaking collective Babylon’13, which came together during the first days of the Maidan Revolution in 2013. What began as an urgent effort to film, subtitle, and share short videos from inside the protest movement has grown into a larger cinematic archive of modern Ukrainian history.Time Machine Maidan draws on that archive in a strikingly original way. The film imagines a young soldier from today’s battlefield traveling back ten years to the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity. Using archival footage, voiceover, and experimental visual transitions, Roman and his collaborators turn documentary material into something closer to a time travel story, a memory piece, and a work of political cinema all at once.The conversation explores how the film was shaped by the tenth anniversary of Maidan, the desire to create something Roman could one day show his daughter, and the challenge of making a film about history while that history is still violently unfolding. Roman discusses the role of Babylon’13, the artistic tension behind the film’s structure, the use of new visual technology on decade-old footage, and why he sees Maidan and the current war as part of the same struggle.They also talk about the personal side of revolution: love stories born during moments of upheaval, the strange sense of community that existed on Maidan, and the responsibility Ukrainian filmmakers feel as they continue to create while living through war.A powerful conversation about memory, resistance, collective authorship, and the role cinema can play when the present is still fighting with the past.Trailer: Time Machine Maidan

In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian speaks with Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi about her documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.The film follows Farsi’s remote collaboration with Fatma Hassona, a young Palestinian photographer and poet living in Gaza. Unable to enter Gaza herself, Sepideh began speaking with Fatma through video calls. Those conversations became the heart of the film, creating an intimate record of daily life, fear, resilience, friendship and artistic witness.Sepideh discusses what first drove her toward the project, her own experience of war, exile and political violence, and why she felt it was essential to move beyond outside commentary and hear directly from someone living inside Gaza.The conversation also explores the film’s unusual form. Instead of hiding the glitches, frozen images and broken internet connections, Sepideh chose to keep them. Those interruptions become part of the story, allowing the viewer to feel the fragility of the connection and the distance between the filmmaker and her subject.They also discuss Fatma’s photography, her writing, her remarkable spirit, and the heartbreaking reality that the film now stands as both a collaboration and a memorial.- Forensic Architecture investigation on the targeted attack on Fatma's houseTrailer: Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk 

In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian speaks with Swedish actor, writer, and director Malin Barr about her short film Sauna Sickness. The conversation explores Malin's journey from dance and acting into writing and directing, her decision to stay behind the camera for this project, and how her experience as a performer shapes the way she works with actors. They also discuss the film’s tense mix of drama, humor, and psychological unease, its strong cast, and the experience of bringing a Swedish short film to festivals including Gothenburg and Sundance.Sauna Sickness Trailer

Dawood Hilmandi, director of PaikarIn this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian speaks with Dutch-Afghan filmmaker Dawood Hilmandi about his award-winning feature documentary debut Paikar.The film is a deeply personal journey through family, exile, memory, and the inheritance of war. Dawood reflects on his relationship with his father, the emotional strength of his mother, and the silence that can exist inside families shaped by displacement and political violence.The conversation explores Dawood’s path as a storyteller, the role of poetry in his work, the impact of Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban, and why making Paikar changed his relationship to carrying a camera.A thoughtful conversation about documentary filmmaking, family history, and the difficult work of understanding where we come from.Paikar Trailer

Des Lombardo & Badr Mastrouq are the co-creators of the comedy film "Skit" which is a mockumentary set in 2007 that follows three students as they attempt to create an early internet viral video.Produced by media cartographer Evan Shapiro, "Skit" is a both a love letter to early internet creators as well as a proof of concept for making film in the creator environment. It is a creator led feature debut, produced fast and cheap, and launched with a real distribution story people in the industry actually want to study.The film is funny and the story behind the production is educational.Skit Trailer

In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian sits down with comedians and creators Sissela Benn and Jonatan Unge to talk about Popular Problems, their sharply observed new comedy series for SVT. Based on their own former relationship and breakup, the show turns co-parenting, therapy, social services, and modern Swedish anxieties into painfully honest and often hilarious television. Benn and Unge discuss how the project grew out of an earlier Swedish Radio audio series, why they chose to mine their shared history for comedy, and how humor became a way to process a difficult separation. The conversation touches on collaboration after a breakup, drawing comedy from real life experiences, and the fine line between discomfort and truth that gives Popular Problems its bite. Recorded on site ahead of a Stockholm Film Festival screening, the episode also captures the unpredictable realities of making podcasts outside the studio.Popular Problems is set to debut on SVT in January. It's funny.

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani on "Reflection in a Dead Diamond"On this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian sits down at the Stockholm Film Festival with filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani to talk about their psychedelic spy film "Reflection in a Dead Diamond" The couple discuss twenty five years of working and living together, creating a twisted love letter to James Bond and sixties Italian cinema set on the sun soaked Mediterranean coast.They break down the film’s surreal visual language, meticulous location scouting on the Cote d Azur, and their highly crafted sound design that draws on classic Italian genre films to create a hypnotic big screen experience. Bond fans and anyone into stylish surreal thrillers will want to seek this one out."Reflection in a Dead Diamond" features Fabio Testi, a cornerstone of Italian cinema. We'll hear about how he both inspired the film and ended up in the starring role.Reflection In A Dead Diamond: TrailerReflections In A Dead Diamond will be available to stream on Shudder from December 5th.

Five years ago Julia Decournau won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her film “Titane”.  We caught up with her on her recent visit to the Stockholm International Film Festival where she presented her latest work “Alpha”. It’s a multi-layered story of love and fear where a mother must navigate the possible exposure of her daughter to a virus that once killed her brother.  As Julia will tell us, a synopsis can’t describe this or most other films. Julia shares insight into some of her filmmaking choices, including the use of Nick Cave’s song “The Mercy Seat” to set the tone for  pivotal scene.Alpha: Trailer