Film Comment magazine has added three new online columns by Farran Smith Nehme, Margaret Barton-Fumo, and Violet Lucca, and online spotlight on Black History Month, and a weekly podcast featuring in-depth discussions with critics, curators, and more.
“With the podcast and topical columns by truly exceptional critics, Film Comment is building on the strengths of its bimonthly print magazine,” said Interim Editor Nicolas Rapold. “We’re privileged to publish their work, and we look forward to continued expansion of our in-depth coverage in both form and scope.”
Frequent Film Comment magazine contributor Farran Smith Nehme will focus on Classic Hollywood and beyond for her biweekly Wednesday column, which launched with an appreciation of George Cukor’s Les Girls (1957) and will next appraise Douglas Sirk’s Sleep, My Love. Nehme is the author of Missing Reels, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and a contributor to the New York Post. Margaret Barton-Fumo’s column, posting the first Friday of every month, examines music and film, with each edition accompanied by a custom-made playlist. Her first installment explored the ’70s blaxploitation soundtracks of fast-and-furious independent powerhouse AIP (American International Pictures), and next month she will delve into John Carpenter’s heart-pounding scores. Barton-Fumo is the author of a forthcoming book on Paul Verhoeven and a longtime contributor to Film Comment, for which she has interviewed Brian De Palma, Paul Williams, Andrzej Zulawski, Isaach de Bankolé, Nick Broomfield, and others.
Film Comment’s Digital Editor Violet Lucca will take on the latest cultural debates in film and the world at large with her weekly Tuesday column, weaving together criticism with a response to the issues of the day. Her first edition is a critical look at gender and the construction of identity, with discussion of films old (I Knew Her Well, Darling) and new (Marguerite), and this week she examines the representation of race in depictions of classical Hollywood.
Lucca will also produce The Film Comment Podcast, a weekly space for critical conversation about film, with a look at topical issues and the big picture. It will feature the voices of Film Comment editors (Kent Jones, Amy Taubin, Nicolas Rapold) and contributors (Nick Pinkerton, Ashley Clark, Michael Koresky, Aliza Ma, Eric Hynes), other critics and programmers (Wesley Morris, Mark Harris, Matt Zoller Seitz, Ina Archer, Molly Haskell), filmmakers, and additional special guests, and will post on Tuesdays.
A recent podcast grew from an in-depth look at Douglas Sirk to considering representations of race and ethnicity. This week’s features a discussion with Kent Jones about the Coen Brothers timed to their new Old Hollywood–set comedy, Hail, Caesar!, and future subjects will include a debate about drama and trauma in movies about the past, ranging from 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi to Jia Zhangke’s work, Son of Saul, Race, and more. The podcasts are available on iTunes, SoundCloud, and the Film Comment website.
In addition to these new initiatives, the Film Comment website commemorates Black History Month with weekly appreciations of historically overlooked performances by black actors, including an interview with Julie Dash on the 25th anniversary of Daughters of the Dust.
