On this week’s two-part podcast, we’re sharing a conversation with Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, whose new film Graduation is premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and a Q&A with Roberto Minervini about his new film The Other Side, which opens here at the Film Society on Friday. Subscribe to The Close-Up on iTunes so you never miss an episode. If you like what you hear, leave us a review!

The Other Side is a portrait of bayou nihilism that splits its focus between a crazy-in-love, meth-cooking Louisiana couple and a heavily armed militia preparing for a government invasion. The genre-blending documentary had its New York premiere on opening night of our annual Art of the Real festival, and after the screening Minervini joined our Director of Programming Dennis Lim to talk about his collaborative process, cinematic intimacy, and Donald Trump. 

Mungiu is one of the key figures in what has become known as the Romanian New Wave. He broke through with his 2007 film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which won the Palme d’Or at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. His 2012 film Beyond the Hills won the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes, and it had its U.S. premiere in the New York Film Festival later that year. On the cusp of Graduation‘s premiere, we’re sharing a conversation Mungiu had with Indiewire’s Eric Kohn in 2012. 

Listen to the episode below or click here to listen and subscribe on iTunes.