Fear

Filmmaker Mike Figgis on fear: from a violent childhood to the age of AI, why the media sells it, and how love and connection keep it at bay. Figgis Unfiltered S2 E6. Season 2 of Figgis Unfiltered examines the human emotions, one at a time. In Episode 6, director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) takes on fear — starting with a drunken speech to a room full of artists, a 9/11 theory that made him a pariah, and today’s dread of AI and drones. He traces fear through his own life: a colonial childhood among terrified adults in Kenya, the first real, physical fear of a violent Newcastle school, and why a great horror film can disturb us more than reality itself. He gets into fear of dying, flying and failure, the choice he made after Leaving Las Vegas to chase fun over a safe studio career, and a quiet moment on the London Underground that captures everything. Then he takes your questions: on whether we get wiser with age, whether the media is weaponising fear, and whether “perfect love casts out fear” — closing on connection, and the courage it takes to ask for help. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 A story to start — fear on stage 00:20 A drunken speech, and the fear of being judged 02:23 The 9/11 theory that made him a pariah 04:34 AI, drones and the fear of losing all control 05:53 Colonial Kenya, the Mau Mau and inherited fear 08:14 First real fear — a violent Newcastle school 10:02 Why horror films frighten him more than reality 11:12 The power of cinema to scare — The Spiral Staircase 12:36 What fear does to us, and how it shifts with age 14:17 Hollywood, with yourself at the centre of the universe 15:43 Fear of dying, flying & failure — the choice after Leaving Las Vegas 17:05 Choosing fun over the safe studio career 18:46 Courage, and the fear of being powerless 19:37 “Can I hold your hand” — a moment on the Tube 20:46 Listener questions — DPK (Toronto): do we get wiser with age? 26:02 James (Mississauga): is the media weaponising fear? 28:46 Don (Trenton): does perfect love cast out fear? 31:11 Closing — connection, and the courage to ask for help 🎬 Mentioned in this episode Films — Repulsion (Polanski) · Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (Lynch) · The Spiral Staircase · On the Waterfront · Timecode · Hotel · The Loss of Sexual Innocence · and Mike’s own Leaving Las Vegas People — Roman Polanski · David Lynch · Elia Kazan (his autobiography “A Life”) · Francis Ford Coppola · historian A.J.P. Taylor Idea — the line “perfect love casts out fear” 🎙️ Got a question for Mike? Send it as a voice note and it could feature in a future episode — DM us on Instagram: @figgisunfiltered 🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell for new Season 2 episodes across all podcast platforms and here on YouTube. Follow: Instagram → https://instagram.com/figgisunfiltered Note: this episode discusses fear, violence and mental health, including references to war. #MikeFiggis #FiggisUnfiltered #Fear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.