Josh and Benny Safdie with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne at NYFF52. Photo by Julie Cunnah.

On this week's episode of our podcast The Close-Up, we sat down with filmmaking brothers Josh and Benny Safdie. Their new film Heaven Knows What had its U.S. Premiere at the 52nd New York Film Festival last fall.

Heaven Knows What is a gritty New York drama starring Arielle Holmes as Harley, a heroin addict in a chaotic relationship with the explosive Ilya, played by Caleb Landry Jones. Much of the film was shot just blocks from Lincoln Center and it is based on Holmes’s own experiences living as a junkie on the streets of New York. On the occasion of its theatrical release, Film Comment Digital Editor Violet Lucca spoke with the Safdie Brothers about the film. The candid conversation ranged from their approach to the film's score, their relationship to the cast, and the challenges of shooting in New York. 

As a bonus, the episode also features an excerpt from our recent conversation with Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard (My Struggle), who joined us for our new series Print Screen, which invites authors to present films that have complemented and inspired their work. Knausgaard selected Lars von Trier's Dogme 95 classic The Idiots, and following the screening he joined our Director of Programming Dennis Lim to discuss what the film, and cinema in general, means to him and his work.