Deep Cut: A Film Podcast

The second of seven director interviews Wilson conducted at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival is with the thoughtful, patient Ildikó Enyedi, director of the equally thoughtful and patient Silent Friend. Wilson connects with the Hungarian director over her pensive approach to the natural world, the special place that HKIFF holds in her experience as a filmmaker, and her admiration of star Tony Leung… whose interview with Wilson is also at the end of this episode!
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
03:03 - Enyedi interview
04:16 - Working with Tony Leung
06:15 - Enyedi's relationship with trees
07:32 - Academia and science
09:36 - Intercutting timelines
12:25 - Dreams, psychedelics, ecology
15:02 - Production process
17:08 - Casting a tree
19:41 - Other Enyedi films
21:34 - Further explorations
23:13 - Enyedi's Deep Cut
25:48 - Tony Leung Interview
28:13 - Outro

The first of 7 director interviews Wilson conducted at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival. Mary Stephen is a legend in world cinema, having worked as an editor for Éric Rohmer and Ann Hui, and being a celebrated film director in her own right. Wilson chats with Mary about her latest film, the personal documentary PALIMPSEST: THE STORY OF A NAME — its twisty narrative structure, its relationship to memory and family, and her deep ties to the city of Hong Kong. They also dig into her remarkable career as an editor, from switching between film and digital, to her creative collaborations with Rohmer, Ann Hui, and Jessey Tsang, and what she carries from that work into her own filmmaking.
Links:
Trace your roots in our  FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com 
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:08 Mary presenting her film to Hong Kong audiences
05:03 Palimpsest's twisty narrative
07:04 How being an editor influenced her filmmaking 
08:25 Narration and narrative in the film
10:27 Unused archive footage 
12:27 Mary's relationship with her family
15:11 Mary’s relationship with Hong Kong
17:33 Editing: Switching from film to digital
19:20 Working with Eric Rohmer
30:13 Collaborations with Ann Hui and Jessey Tsang
35:41 Working with collaborators as a director herself
38:43 Closing

Let’s, uh, frickin LOOK BACK at Marina De Van’s 2009 psychological thriller / body horror flick, Don’t Look Back. Sophie Marceau turns into Monica Bellucci; meanwhile, Eli tries to piece together the puzzle of De Van’s obscure career, Wilson notices the special effects, and Ben makes comparisons to soap operas.
Links:
Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods by Mariana Alessandri
Interviews with & articles on Marina de Van:
Rotterdam, 2019

Screenslate, 2022

Dread Central, 2022

The French Review, 2010

The Guardian, 2004

Pinnland Empire, 2012

Look at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com 
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:39 Introducing Don't Look Back
05:21 General reactions
15:17 Context
17:55 Comparing with In My Skin
21:59 What the heck is happening in this movie
28:06 Performances
31:34 De Van career arc
33:52 De Van's filmmaking
38:51 Wrapping up De Van... for now?
42:20 Outro

Not for the faint of heart, Marina de Van’s film In My Skin challenges our stomachs, hearts and minds. While Wilson squirms, Ben gets to the heart of why Eli loves sicko mode movies. Can one of the most underrated New French Extremism films secretly be deeply empathetic?
Links:
The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning by Maggie Nelson
“The Goon Squad” by Daniel Kolitz (Harpers Magazine, 2025)
Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods by Mariana Alessandri
Interviews with & articles on Marina de Van:
Rotterdam, 2019

Screenslate, 2022

Dread Central, 2022

The French Review, 2010

The Guardian, 2004

Pinnland Empire, 2012

Get in our skin (ew?) at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com 
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Intro
00:03:23 Introducing In My Skin
00:06:13 General reactions
00:11:29 Body fascination
00:14:37 Is it horror?
00:18:34 Eli goes sicko mode
00:26:04 Director background
00:32:12 Addiction / self-discovery
00:40:38 Characters
00:46:08 Female horror
00:49:45 Splitscreens and artmaking
00:55:12 The ending
01:00:28 g00ning
01:04:44 Dinner scene
01:12:16 Additional crew on In My Skin
01:16:31 Closing ideas

哈囉 from Hong Kong! Wilson recaps a busy edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, including meeting and interviewing the one and only Tony Leung Chiu Wai for SILENT FRIEND. Wilson also chats about the seven(!) soon to come director interviews he conducted for the podcast, and some interesting classic films shown at this year’s edition of HKIFF. The trio also discuss some exciting new releases including new films from Hong Sang-soo, Carla Simon, and Anthony Chen. 
Links:
Tony Leung Interview
The Blade Video Essay
Radu Jude on Hong reel
Take the MTR to our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com 
Timestamps:
00:00:00: Intro
00:07:34 Meeting Tony Leung
00:14:23 Silent Friend (2025) dir. Ildiko Enyedi
00:16:27 Sleep No More (2026) dir. Edwin
00:20:04 Ah Girl (2026) dir. Ang Geck Geck
00:23:33 Memory (2025) dir. Vladlena Sandu
00:30:48 Palimpsest: The Story of a Name (2025) dir. Mary Stephen
00:36:37 Mare’s Nest (2025) dir. Ben Rivers
00:39:40 Vive L’amour (1994) dir. Tsai Ming Liang
00:43:48 Panelstory or Birth of a Community (1981) dir. Věra Chytilová 
00:45:54 Ah Ying (1983) dir. Allen Fong 
00:49:13 The Horse Thief (1986)dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang 
00:51:03 Unknown Pleasures (2002) dir. Jia Zhangke
00:53:30 Days and Nights in the Forest (1970) dir. Satyajit Ray 
00:54:55 Final Victory (1987) dir. Patrick Tam 
00:59:20 We Are All Strangers (2026) dir. Anthony Chen
01:06:37 We’re Nothing at All (2026) dir. Herman Yau
01:10:40 My Father’s Shadow (2025) dir. Akinola Davies Jr.
01:11:45 The Day She Returns (2026) dir. Hong Sang Soo
01:18:20 Magellan (2025) dir. Lav Diaz
01:22:15 Romeria (2025) dir. Carla Simon
01:24:40 The Voice of Hind Rijab (2025) dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
01:27:50 Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students (2025) dir. Claire Simon
01:31:00 Blue Heron (2025) dir. Sophy Romvari
01:36:00 The Drama (2026) dir. Kristoffer Borgli
01:40:15 Outro