The Treatment

Josh Safdie’s films often show the claustrophobic chaos of family life. His kinetic film Marty Supreme received nine Oscar nominations including Best Director and Best Picture. For his treat, he talks about a 1979 Oscar-winning film he used to navigate the chaos he was experiencing as a child.

In 2021, Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win the Best Director Oscar for her film Nomadland. Now, her latest film Hamnet is up for eight Oscar nominations including her second nod for Best Director. The film, an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they navigate the death of their child. Zhao spoke with Elvis at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where she was the recipient of the 2026 Trailblazer Award. Zhao talks about getting her start at Sundance, collaborating with Farrell on the screenplay, and how she uses her body in the writing process.



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Guillermo del Toro’s films often show the beauty even in their, at times, gothic horror. His latest is the Oscar nominated adaptation of Frankenstein, which is up for nine awards next month, including Best Picture. For del Toro’s treat, he celebrates the late director Ken Russell. Russell’s work often stoked controversy and was even censored, but as del Toro notes, it was also filled with dazzling beauty and craft.

The films of Yorgos Lanthimos cannot be neatly summed up and often take the viewer in surprising and unexpected directions. He’s the mind behind The Lobster, Poor Things, The Favourite and his latest, Bugonia. The film, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, is up for four Oscars including Best Actress and Best Picture. Lanthimos tells Elvis why he enjoys working with non-professional actors, how Emma Stone prepared for the layered role, and why he likes a film that doesn't give all the answers.

Director Joseph Kosinski’s films don’t exactly scream quiet solitude. He’s helmed the action packed Tron, Top Gun: Maverick and most recently, the Oscar nominated F1, starring Brad Pitt. However, his films’ protagonists often have to do battle with themselves in the end. For his treat, Kosinski goes back to a painting he discovered as a young man in New York that captured the loneliness of being a director.