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INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE with Greg Laemmle & Raphael Sbarge

GREG LAEMMLE and RAPHAEL SBARGE

The people, films, and ideas keeping independent cinema alive.

INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a weekly film podcast and video series exploring independent film, international cinema, theatrical exhibition, and the creative process behind the movies that stay with us.

Hosted by Greg Laemmle, president of Laemmle Theatres, and Emmy Award-winning actor and director Raphael Sbarge, the show goes behind the screen with the filmmakers, actors, writers, producers, distributors, programmers, and theater owners shaping cinema today.

From new arthouse releases and Oscar contenders to repertory classics and the changing business of film distribution, each episode offers thoughtful, insider conversations about cinematic craft, film culture, and why seeing movies together still matters.

Whether you’re a dedicated cinephile, an emerging filmmaker, an industry professional, or simply looking for your next unforgettable film, INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE invites you into a worldwide community that believes cinema is more than content—it is one of our most vital art forms.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe and join the conversation.

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Wednesday · 31 min
THE CYCLE OF LOVE: He Cycled 6,000 Miles for Love
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss THE CYCLE OF LOVE, the extraordinary true story of PK Mahanandia and his nearly 6,000-mile bicycle journey from India to Sweden for love. In 1977, PK, a young street artist from Delhi born into a poor Dalit family, set out on a secondhand bicycle with a handful of paintbrushes and almost no money. His destination was Sweden, where he hoped to reunite with Lotta, the woman he loved and believed fate had promised him. Von Einsiedel discusses discovering PK and Lotta’s story through their children and the six-year journey required to bring it to the screen. He explains how limited archival footage led the filmmakers to combine personal archives, dramatic reconstruction, vérité documentary, and unscripted encounters with people along PK’s original route. The conversation also explores the caste discrimination that shaped PK’s childhood, his struggle to believe himself worthy of love, and the strangers whose kindness transformed his understanding of himself. THE CYCLE OF LOVE is an inventive, deeply moving, and unabashedly hopeful reminder that love can cross borders, challenge the divisions society creates, and change the stories we believe about ourselves. Watch INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube and subscribe for more conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 If you value the work we do and would like to help us continue supporting independent cinema: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 2 · 32 min
Two Years of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE: The Conversations You Watched Most
INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE celebrates two years of filmmaker conversations with Jim Jarmusch, Mark Cousins, Embeth Davidtz, Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni, and Alexandre O. Philippe. What began with the hope that someone might watch has grown into more than 100 episodes, nearly half a million subscribers, and over four million views. To mark our second anniversary, we’re returning to five of the conversations you watched—and shared—the most. Director and film historian Mark Cousins explores the mind and movies of Alfred Hitchcock through MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK. Actor and filmmaker Embeth Davidtz discusses her deeply personal directorial debut, DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT, adapted from Alexandra Fuller’s memoir about a childhood shaped by family, memory, and the final years of colonial Rhodesia. Jim Jarmusch reflects on his creative life, his distinctive approach to filmmaking, and FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER. Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni take us inside CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS, their extraordinary documentary about Sara Shahverdi, the first elected councilwoman in her rural Iranian village—and her fight to create a different future for its girls. Director Alexandre O. Philippe discusses CHAINED REACTIONS, his documentary exploring the lasting cultural and artistic impact of Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. These films could hardly be more different, but each reflects what brought us here in the first place: a belief that movies matter—and that thoughtful conversations with the people who make them can deepen the way we see their work. Thank you to every filmmaker who has joined us, and to everyone who has watched, listened, subscribed, commented, and shared over these first two years. We truly could not have done it without you. Chapters 00:00 Two years of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE 01:19 Mark Cousins on MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK 07:48 Embeth Davidtz on DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT 13:14 Jim Jarmusch on FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER 19:01 Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni on CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS 24:41 Alexandre O. Philippe on CHAINED REACTIONS Watch INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube and subscribe for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 If you value the work we do and would like to help us continue supporting independent cinema, please consider making a small contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 26 · 39 min
HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR: Lithuania’s Oscar Entry — Andrius Blaževičius
HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR director Andrius Blaževičius joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss Lithuania’s official Oscar submission and his Sundance-winning drama about marriage, Ukraine, propaganda and moral compromise. Marija tells her husband Vytas that she wants a divorce on February 23, 2022. The next morning, Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Blaževičius uses the fracture of one family to reflect a larger crisis: a Europe divided by fear, political polarization and the temptation to choose personal comfort over collective responsibility. In this extended conversation, he discusses the atmosphere in Lithuania during the first months of the invasion, political divisions within families, changing gender roles and the challenge of finding bittersweet humor in people attempting to behave honorably—and failing their own ideals. He also takes Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge inside the film’s remarkably natural performances and explains why the couple’s young daughter becomes its quiet witness, seeing far more than her parents understand. HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR won the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and is Lithuania’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. 00:00 A Marriage and a Continent in Crisis 00:08 Introducing HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR 01:00 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE 01:30 The Conversation Begins 02:04 Building a Story Around Divorce and War 04:03 Lithuania’s Fear: “We’re Next” 05:37 When Political Division Enters the Family 07:31 Comfort vs. Collective Responsibility 09:40 HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR Official Trailer 11:40 Making the Political Personal 14:29 Weak Men, Strong Women and Changing Roles 17:41 Performances That Feel Like a Documentary 21:31 Finding Humor in Difficult Times 24:41 Characters Who Fail Their Own Ideals 28:50 Dovilė: The Child Who Sees Everything 31:32 Why the Film’s World Looks So Gray 34:42 Choosing Comfort Over Truth 37:12 Sundance, the Oscars and the Film’s U.S. Release 38:40 Closing The film is now playing in U.S. theaters. Tickets, theaters and more information: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/how-to-divorce-during-the-war Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw?sub_confirmation=1 Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. LIke our show? consider making a small contribution to support the work we do: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 19 · 41 min
Why Kafka Couldn’t Be Told in a Straight Line | FRANZ with Agnieszka Holland
There is no straight line through the life of Franz Kafka. FRANZ director and three-time Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for an extended conversation about Kafka and her bold, unconventional new film, a TIFF 2025 Official Selection. Rather than trying to solve the mystery of Kafka, Holland enters it—moving through dreams, letters, loves, fears and contradictions to find the fragile, funny and fiercely determined man obscured by a century of mythology. Past and present collide as Prague remembers Kafka, reinvents him and transforms a once-suppressed writer into a modern cultural brand. At the center is Idan Weiss, whose quietly affecting performance lets us glimpse the living man behind the literary icon. Holland reflects on discovering The Trial as a teenager and coming to regard Kafka as an "admired brother"—someone she wanted, in her words, to bring out of the shadows and into color and light. She also takes us inside the making of FRANZ: its restless, fragmented structure; the creative freedom that allowed her to approach the film like "quantum physics"; finding Idan Weiss; and the challenge of bringing Kafka's terrifying "In the Penal Colony" to the screen. Along the way, Holland speaks candidly about Hollywood, the disappearance of ambitious middle-scale cinema and the artistic fearlessness she has found at this stage of her career. What emerges is both a portrait of Kafka and a conversation about the elusive act of filmmaking itself—how we search for someone across time, how stories resist explanation and how mystery can sometimes bring us closer to the truth. Join Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge for an intimate conversation with Agnieszka Holland about FRANZ. FRANZ opens in U.S. theaters Friday, August 21, 2026. Tickets, theaters and more information: https://cohenmedia.net/product/franz CHAPTERS 00:00 Agnieszka Holland on Kafka's Contradictions 00:24 Introducing FRANZ 01:51 The Conversation Begins 02:34 Kafka as Holland's "Admired Brother" 05:48 Searching for the Man Behind the Myth 08:56 Making a Film Like "Quantum Physics" 12:16 Creative Freedom and Filmmaking Without Fear 15:40 Hollywood and the Disappearing "Cinema of the Middle" 19:37 Why Kafka Is Frighteningly Relevant Again 19:47 Prague: From Banned Writer to Cultural Brand 21:22 Finding Idan Weiss 25:34 The Terror of "In the Penal Colony" 28:39 FRANZ Official Trailer 30:49 A Life Told Through Fragments and Puzzles 33:06 Creating an Epic Period Film in 40 Days 33:55 Building the Visual World of FRANZ 36:09 Did Making the Film Solve the Mystery of Kafka? 37:19 Remembering Andrzej Wajda 39:29 Where to See FRANZ 40:14 Closing Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on YouTube for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international and arthouse cinema: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw Find INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen. Like the show? Consider making a small contribution to support the work we do: https://buymeacoffee.com/insidethearthouse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 12 · 33 min
Maite Alberdi on A CHILD OF MY OWN: A Lie, a Baby, and Nine Months of Deception
Why would a woman pretend to be pregnant for nine months — and how do you tell her story without reducing her to either a victim or a villain? Two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss A CHILD OF MY OWN, her provocative new Netflix documentary about Alejandra, a woman whose desperate desire to become a mother leads her to construct an elaborate lie — and ultimately cross an irreversible line. Alberdi takes us inside the film's striking creative process, including its blend of documentary testimony, casting sessions, stylized dramatic reconstruction, and conflicting accounts of what actually happened. She discusses the enormous social pressure placed on women to become mothers, the difficulty of separating truth from self-created narrative, and her determination to understand Alejandra without excusing her actions. The conversation also explores the ethical responsibility of documentary filmmakers, the relationship between performance and reality, and why Alberdi wants audiences to question their own judgments as the story unfolds. CHAPTERS 00:00 A Story That Defies Belief 01:18 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE 02:05 Maite Alberdi Joins the Conversation 06:15 Entering Alejandra's Elaborate Lie 08:09 The Pressure to Become a Mother 11:15 Understanding Without Excusing 13:30 Where Documentary Meets Fiction 17:20 Contradictory Stories and Elusive Truth 20:06 Listening to Everyone Who Lived It 22:02 Casting, Performance and Reconstruction 24:27 The Filmmaker's Ethical Responsibility 27:04 Challenging the Audience's Judgment 29:49 Finding Humanity Inside a Dark Story 31:16 Final Thoughts Join us for a thoughtful and revealing conversation with one of contemporary documentary cinema's most distinctive filmmakers. Follow: @laemmle, @OfficialRaphaelSbarge, @Netflix #AChildOfMyOwn #MaiteAlberdi #InsideTheArthouse Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and arthouse cinema. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 5 · 42 min
Kent Jones on LATE FAME, Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee & Lost New York
What happens when recognition arrives decades after you’ve stopped waiting for it? Director Kent Jones joins INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE to discuss LATE FAME, starring Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee, and Edmund Donovan. Dafoe plays Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet who abandoned his literary ambitions for a steady job at the post office. When an enthusiastic young admirer appears at his door, Ed is welcomed into a circle of twenty-something artists who proclaim him a rediscovered genius. Suddenly celebrated again—and drawn to Gloria, a magnetic but precariously situated actress and singer played by Greta Lee—Ed begins to wonder whether this unexpected second act might be real. Directed by Jones from a screenplay by Oscar-nominated MAY DECEMBER writer Samy Burch, LATE FAME is funny, tender, and quietly piercing: a film about artistic ambition, flattery, belonging, lost time, and the elusive question of what makes a life in art authentic. Jones discusses adapting Arthur Schnitzler’s novella for contemporary New York, Willem Dafoe’s deeply lived-in performance, Greta Lee’s transformation into the flamboyant and vulnerable Gloria, and the film’s unforgettable use of the Brecht-Weill song “Surabaya Johnny.” He also reflects on capturing present-day New York while allowing the ghosts of its artistic past to remain visible beneath the surface—a city of poets, performers, dreamers, and would-be geniuses searching for a place to belong. Kent Jones is the director of DIANE and HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT, as well as A LETTER TO ELIA, which he co-directed with Martin Scorsese. A celebrated film critic and former director of the New York Film Festival, Jones brings a lifetime of thinking about cinema to this deeply humane portrait of artists and their illusions. Episode timestamps: 00:00 What Happens When Fame Comes Too Late? 01:40 Introducing LATE FAME and Kent Jones 02:30 How Samy Burch’s Screenplay Reached Kent Jones 04:50 New York’s Past Living Inside the Present 09:00 Fame, Flattery and the Need to Belong 12:10 LATE FAME Trailer 14:30 Willem Dafoe as Forgotten Poet Ed Saxberger 17:00 Greta Lee’s Transformation into Gloria 18:50 Authenticity, Ambition and Living a Life in Art 22:20 Why Poetry Matters in LATE FAME 25:40 Capturing the Ghosts of Downtown New York 28:00 From Film Critic to Filmmaker 31:00 Kent Jones on Directing Actors 34:20 Art, Illusion and the Search for Recognition 38:20 What Kent Jones Hopes Audiences Take Away 40:20 Closing LATE FAME is distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Watch the complete filmed conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB-ioi_dD-Lr8PUjdkBWyw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 29 · 41 min
THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS: Rustin Thompson on Saving Small-Town Cinemas
Ten states, 10,825 miles, and 123 theaters. Director Rustin Thompson joins Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS and the people keeping America’s small-town cinemas alive. Independent movie theaters, small-town cinemas, and the fight to preserve theatrical moviegoing are at the heart of THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS, a new documentary from filmmaker Rustin Thompson. Ten states. 10,825 miles. 123 theaters. Thompson traveled across the American West searching for what remained of a once-essential center of small-town life: the local movie theater. He encountered abandoned cinemas, theaters struggling to survive, and devoted owners working against extraordinary odds to keep their screens—and their communities—alive. What began as an elegy for a disappearing American institution became something more hopeful: a story of resilience, connection, and the people who still believe that gathering together to watch a movie matters. The documentary draws inspiration from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic THE LAST PICTURE SHOW—singular—while THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS—plural—turns its attention to the real movie houses confronting streaming, consolidation, changing audience habits, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Join Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge for a conversation with director Rustin Thompson about his 10,825-mile journey, the future of independent movie theaters, and the people determined to keep the lights on. CHAPTERS 00:00 What Happens When the Last Theater Goes Dark? 01:30 THE LAST PICTURE SHOWS 02:00 Meet Director Rustin Thompson 05:30 Journeying Through America’s Cinema Deserts 09:25 The People Keeping Theaters Alive 12:55 From an Elegy to a Story of Hope 16:25 Finding 123 Small-Town Movie Theaters 19:55 Why These Theaters Matter to Their Communities 26:20 The Struggle to Keep the Lights On 29:20 Abandoned Theaters and Vanishing History 33:20 Streaming and the Future of Moviegoing 35:00 Ten States, 10,825 Miles, 123 Theaters 36:35 Why the Big-Screen Experience Still Matters 39:05 Closing Thoughts Follow @laemmle and @OfficialRaphaelSbarge. Subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more conversations with the filmmakers, artists, and exhibitors keeping independent cinema alive. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 22 · 32 min
Luis Valdez, ZOOT SUIT & LA BAMBA: Inside AMERICAN PACHUCO
Luis Valdez, LA BAMBA, ZOOT SUIT, Chicano cinema, and El Teatro Campesino take center stage in AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ, director David Alvarado's documentary about a groundbreaking American artist. From performing on flatbed trucks for farmworkers with El Teatro Campesino to bringing ZOOT SUIT to Broadway and directing LA BAMBA, Luis Valdez transformed American theater and cinema — creating space for Chicano stories, history, humor, and identity. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge speak with David Alvarado about making AMERICAN PACHUCO, tracing Valdez's extraordinary career, and examining the cultural movement that grew alongside his work. It is more than the story of one pioneering artist. It is the story of who gets to be seen, who gets to belong, and whose experiences become part of the American canon. Find screenings and learn more about AMERICAN PACHUCO: https://www.americanpachuco.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 From Farmworkers to American Cinema 01:09 INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE Introduction 02:13 Meet Director David Alvarado 05:18 Discovering the Story of Luis Valdez 09:02 El Teatro Campesino and the Farmworker Movement 13:07 Bringing ZOOT SUIT to Broadway 17:12 The Story Behind LA BAMBA 21:04 Chicano Identity and American Culture 25:02 Preserving Luis Valdez's History 28:17 The Legacy of a Cultural Pioneer 30:17 Closing Thoughts Follow the film and filmmakers on Instagram: AMERICAN PACHUCO: @luisvaldezdoc Insignia Films: @insigniafilms El Teatro Campesino: @elteatrocampesino Hosts: @laemmle and @OfficialRaphaelSbarge Please subscribe to INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for more in-depth conversations with the filmmakers shaping independent, international, and documentary cinema. Like, comment, and share — and find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. #AmericanPachuco #LuisValdez #ChicanoCinema Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 13 · 31 min
Inside the Minds of France’s Most Provocative Contemporary Filmmakers | Bastille Day Special
Celebrate Bastille Day with highlights from four filmmaker conversations featuring Rebecca Zlotowski, François Ozon, Louise Courvoisier, and Laura Piani—and the films A Private Life, The Stranger, Holy Cow, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. To mark Bastille Day, we’re revisiting four conversations from the INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE archive—highlights from interviews with the filmmakers behind some of the most compelling contemporary French films. Director Rebecca Zlotowski discusses family, memory, identity, and the mysteries hidden within our closest relationships in A Private Life, starring Jodie Foster. Director François Ozon reflects on reimagining Albert Camus’ L’Étranger for a new generation in The Stranger. Director Louise Courvoisier explores the warmth, humor, and lived-in authenticity of rural France in Holy Cow. Director Laura Piani discusses love, literature, creative ambition, and writing a heroine whose aspirations matter as much as her romances in Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. Four films. Four distinctive voices. One enduring tradition: French cinema’s appetite for stories that are bold, intimate, provocative, and deeply human. Celebrate Bastille Day with this special selection from the INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE library of filmmaker conversations. Follow INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and please leave us a rating and review. It helps other film lovers discover the show. CHAPTERS 00:00 Celebrating Contemporary French Cinema 01:24 A Private Life — Director Rebecca Zlotowski on Memory, Mystery & Identity 10:14 The Stranger — Director François Ozon Reimagines Albert Camus 19:10 Holy Cow — Director Louise Courvoisier on Rural France, Family & Authenticity 24:28 Jane Austen Wrecked My Life — Director Laura Piani on Love, Literature & Self-Discovery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 8 · 38 min
David Wain on Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
David Wain joins us to talk about his new comedy, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass — a Sundance 2026 Official Selection starring Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, and John Slattery, from Sony Pictures Classics. The premise is deliberately, gloriously absurd: a Midwestern bride-to-be discovers her fiancé has used his "celebrity pass" to cheat — and sets off for Los Angeles to even the score with her own pass, Jon Hamm. What follows is a full-tilt Hollywood comedy that never apologizes for being exactly what it is. We talk with Wain about writing the film with longtime collaborator Ken Marino, assembling a cast that spans three generations of comedy, shooting an original comedy entirely on location in Los Angeles, and why comedy for comedy's sake has become an increasingly rare thing to see on screen. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is directed by David Wain, written by Ken Marino & David Wain, and releases in theaters July 10, 2026, from Sony Pictures Classics. 0:00 Intro: David Wain on Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass 0:52 Clip: The Hollywood Journey Begins 1:45 Meet David Wain 2:25 Why Make a Pure Comedy Now? 5:10 The Celebrity Pass Premise 8:42 Clip: The Joke Gets Complicated 9:28 Casting Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm & John Slattery 12:40 From The State to Wet Hot American Summer 16:05 Why This Comedy Refuses to Apologize 20:15 Shooting an Original Comedy in Los Angeles 23:30 Building Ensemble Chaos 26:40 Clip Breakdown: Absurdity and Emotion 27:50 Why Comedy Belongs in Theaters 31:05 Audience Reactions and Festival Buzz 34:30 What David Wain Hopes Viewers Feel 36:50 Closing Thoughts INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is an in-depth conversation series with filmmakers across independent and arthouse cinema. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 30 · 37 min
5 Films. 1 Independent Spirit. | American Independents!
Documentary filmmaking, indie films, and arthouse movies take center stage in this special Fourth of July episode of Inside the Arthouse — a film podcast dedicated to independent film, indie cinema, and the voices that define American storytelling. While much of the industry turns to reboots, sequels, franchises, and superheroes, we're turning to a different kind of American story — films driven by voice, risk, authenticity, and the courage to see the world differently. In this special edition, we revisit a curated selection from our library of more than 100 filmmaker interviews — five films that remind us why independent film remains essential to American film culture. These are the films that don't just entertain us. They ask us to look closer, feel more deeply, and think beyond the familiar. From arthouse movies rooted in character and place to indie films powered by pure creative vision, this is the American cinema that matters. As America marks its 250th birthday, we celebrate the documentary and independent storytellers who prove that American cinema is at its best when it dares to be independent. Join us for this special Fourth of July edition of Inside the Arthouse: American Independents. 0:00 Introduction: American Independence in Cinema 1:17 Eephus — Carson Lund on Baseball, Mortality & Cannes 7:37 Sponsor: Carsey-Wolf Center 8:51 Northern Lights — Rob Nilsson on Prairie Populism & Independent Film 15:57 La Cocina — Alonso Ruizpalacios on New York & Immigrant Stories 19:49 If You See Something — Oday Rasheed on Asylum, Belonging & America 27:04 The American Southwest — Ben Masters on the Colorado River & Conservation Inside the Arthouse is a digital series featuring in-depth conversations with filmmakers across independent and arthouse cinema. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, the series explores film distribution, the creative process, and the evolving landscape of cinema. Find Inside the Arthouse on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 24 · 40 min
The Secret She Wasn’t Supposed to Find: Carla Simón on ROMERÍA
Carla Simón’s new film ROMERÍA follows Marina, a young woman who travels to Galicia in search of the truth about the parents she never really knew. What begins as a practical errand becomes something harder to name — an excavation of memory, silence, and the stories families carry across generations. In this conversation, Simón reflects on the autobiographical roots of the film, the challenge of transforming private history into cinema, working with young performers, and the delicate balance between grief, imagination, and discovery. Following the international success of SUMMER 1993 and ALCARRÀS, ROMERÍA may be her most personal film yet. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. New episodes every week — follow wherever you listen. Episode Guide: 0:00 Introduction: The Inspiration Behind ROMERÍA 2:17 Exploring Personal Grief and Memory 5:51 Historical Memory and the Heroin Crisis in Spain 7:09 Connecting with Biological Roots 8:34 Clip: Investigating the Past 11:34 The Mystery of Memory and Family Secrets 14:01 Using Personal Letters as Narrative Tools 15:51 The Casting Process: Mixing Non-Actors and Professionals 18:01 The Benefit of Three-Month Rehearsals 26:01 Trailer Analysis and Cinematic Approach 30:05 Defining the Title: ROMERÍA as Pilgrimage and Celebration 33:04 Cinema as Personal Therapy 34:03 Audience Reception and Future Projects Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 17 · 1 hr
Peter Asher: The Man Behind The Beatles, James Taylor & Linda Ronstadt
From the directors of Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song comes a new portrait of a man who was somehow at the center of everything — and never quite in the frame. Peter Asher was one half of Peter & Gordon, swept into the British Invasion on songs written by Paul McCartney. He signed and produced James Taylor at Apple Records. He spent the next three decades guiding Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and many more — quietly shaping some of the most beloved records in American music. PETER ASHER: EVERYWHERE MAN is the film that finally puts him in frame. Blending documentary, live musical memoir, and a remarkable archive of songs and stories, it's a portrait of what it actually takes to help great artists find their truest voice — and a reminder that the people who shape culture aren't always the ones standing center stage. We sat down with Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine to talk about how this film got made, what it takes to earn the trust of legends, and why Peter Asher's story has never been told quite like this before. From Hallelujah to Everywhere Man — Dan Geller & Dayna Goldfine on Peter Asher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 10 · 42 min
Haifaa Al Mansour on UNIDENTIFIED: The Saudi Murder Mystery No One Saw Coming
Who was she? In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we sit down with groundbreaking Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour for a conversation about UNIDENTIFIED, a gripping mystery thriller set in modern Saudi Arabia. The film follows Noelle Al Saffan, a recently divorced woman rebuilding her life through a clerical job at a police station. When the body of an unidentified teenage girl is discovered in the desert, Noelle is drawn into a mystery no one seems eager to solve — and a question that becomes impossible to ignore: who was she? What begins as a murder investigation becomes a deeper story about identity, silence, gender, and power — and the hidden lives of women navigating a society in transformation. Known for Wadjda and The Perfect Candidate, Al Mansour describes UNIDENTIFIED as the completion of her "Saudi trilogy," continuing her focus on women who step outside the roles expected of them and challenge the systems around them. UNIDENTIFIED is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and premiered at TIFF 2025. Follow Inside the Arthouse wherever you get your podcasts for conversations with the filmmakers shaping world cinema. Inside the Arthouse is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, exploring film distribution, the creative process, and the evolving landscape of cinema. Also available on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 3 · 23 min
Making a Psychological Masterpiece | THE CURRENTS Director Milagros Mumenthaler
INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE | THE CURRENTS — Director Milagros Mumenthaler What happens when a woman survives an inexplicable impulse — and tells no one? In this episode, Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge sit down with Argentinian-Swiss filmmaker Milagros Mumenthaler to discuss her haunting new psychological drama THE CURRENTS, distributed by Kino Lorber and an Official Selection of TIFF 2025. THE CURRENTS follows Lina, a Buenos Aires fashion designer who, while accepting an award in Switzerland, is suddenly overtaken by an urge to jump from a bridge into an icy river. She survives. She says nothing. But she is never the same. In conversation, Mumenthaler unpacks the film's obsessions: identity and exile, the body's hidden memory, motherhood, artistic crisis, and the life we perform versus the truths we can no longer suppress. They also explore Buenos Aires as a living presence, the influence of Virginia Woolf, and the challenge of putting interior life on screen. For fans of slow-burn psychological drama, Latin American cinema, and bold auteur filmmaking. Starring Isabel Aimé González Sola & Esteban Bigliardi Distributed by Kino Lorber INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 27 · 47 min
Episode 100: Oscar Winners, Nominees, and the Arthouse Cinema We Love
For our 100th episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we return to the belief that started it all: movies matter most when they are shared. Over the course of 100 episodes, this show has become a gathering place for filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, theater owners, advocates, and film lovers who believe in the power of cinema on the big screen, in community, and in the places where stories still feel alive. In this special milestone episode, we look back at conversations with Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated artists whose work reminds us what independent and international cinema can still do: challenge us, move us, connect us, and stay with us long after the lights come up. Featuring conversations with Walter Salles, director of the Oscar-winning I’M STILL HERE; Mstyslav Chernov, Oscar-winning filmmaker and director of 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA; Kaouther Ben Hania, Oscar-nominated director of THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB; the filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN; and Atom Egoyan, Oscar-nominated director of THE SWEET HEREAFTER. Across these films and conversations, we encounter stories of memory, war, resistance, grief, family, history, and survival — from Brazil and Ukraine to Palestine, Russia, Canada, and beyond. At the center of it all is the arthouse itself: the theater as a gathering place, the screen as a doorway, and cinema as one of the last great communal arts. Thank you for being part of the first 100 episodes of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. Here’s to the films, filmmakers, theaters, and audiences keeping cinema alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 20 · 44 min
A Letter to the Future: Oscar-Nominated Director Sara Dosa on Time and Water
In Time and Water, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa turns Iceland’s disappearing glaciers, a family’s archive, and one man’s fading memory into a cinematic letter to the future. Dosa, the director of Fire of Love, joins Inside the Arthouse to discuss her new documentary from National Geographic Documentary Films. The film follows Icelandic writer and poet Andri Snær Magnason as he gathers photographs, home movies, folk songs, and the melting ice of his homeland into a time capsule for what may soon be lost. In this conversation, Dosa reflects on grief as a cinematic form, shooting on 16mm in a digital age, the ethics of filming dementia without reducing a human life to metaphor, and why Time and Water does not land on simple hope or despair — but on uncertainty, and the responsibility that comes with it. Time and Water premiered at Sundance 2026 and is presented by National Geographic Documentary Films and Sandbox Films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 13 · 52 min
BERNSTEIN'S WALL — CAN ARTISTS AFFORD SILENCE? With Director Douglas Tirola
CAN ARTISTS AFFORD SILENCE? — BERNSTEIN'S WALL With Director Douglas Tirola In this episode of Inside the Arthouse, we explore Bernstein's Wall with director Douglas Tirola, the powerful documentary examining the life, legacy, and contradictions of Leonard Bernstein. Going beyond Bernstein's extraordinary musical career, the film reveals the personal and political tensions that shaped one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century — in his own words. Together we discuss what artists owe the public in times of upheaval, whether art can actually change the world, and why Bernstein's questions feel more urgent than ever. More than a music documentary, Bernstein's Wall is a provocation: what happens when artists refuse to stay silent? Inside the Arthouse is an insider's conversation with the filmmakers behind arthouse cinema across the US. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge. Also available on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 6 · 45 min
Becoming Putin | Director Olivier Assayas on The Wizard of the Kremlin
What does it take to build power—and the people who wield it? In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, filmmaker Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, Carlos) joins hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to discuss his latest film, The Wizard of the Kremlin — starring Paul Dano and Jude Law as Vladimir Putin. We explore: – Political power and influence on screen – Storytelling and the shaping of public perception – The craft behind building complex, real-world characters – Why films about power resonate so deeply right now For cinephiles and filmmakers, this is a deep dive into how cinema reflects — and shapes — the world around us. Featuring: Olivier Assayas, Director Film: The Wizard of the Kremlin INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE is a digital series and podcast featuring in-depth conversations with filmmakers across independent and arthouse cinema. Hosted by Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge in partnership with Laemmle Theatres, the series explores film distribution, the creative process, and the evolving landscape of cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
April 29 · 44 min
He Remade a Film That Doesn’t Exist | Paul Bunnell on A Blind Bargain, Lost Cinema and Crispin Glover
What does it mean to remake a film no one can see? The 1922 silent horror A Blind Bargain, starring Lon Chaney, is one of cinema’s great lost works—destroyed, surviving only in fragments and memory. And yet, over a century later, director Paul Bunnell set out to bring it back. In this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Bunnell discusses the strange challenge of rebuilding a film from absence—reimagining its story in the 1970s, and confronting themes of obsession, sacrifice, and transformation. With Crispin Glover stepping into one of Chaney’s roles, the film becomes something more than a remake—it’s an act of interpretation, speculation, and cinematic resurrection. How do you honor something that’s gone? And how far can you push it into something new? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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