The Last Thing I Saw

Ep. 426: Julia Loktev on My Undesirable Friends: Part II—Exile

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. Julia Loktev’s continuing chronicle of Russian independent journalists My Undesirable Friends: Part II—Exile had its world premiere at the Venice film. I sat down with Loktev in Venice to talk about her equally stirring and urgent Part II. We delved into the trust involved in accomplishing this up-close-and-personal filmmaking as well as capturing all the complex tones (dramatic and even some humor) among these journalists, who boldly continue their work chronicling Russia abroad even as their home country declares them persona non grata.

My Undesirable Friends: Part II—Exiles opens October 9 at Film Forum after screening in the New York Film Festival.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 425: Robert Daniels on Toronto 2026: Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Union Town, Alpha Gang, The Liberation, I Play Rocky

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 2026 Toronto Film Festival kicked off its 51st edition this year, and I saw as many films as I could fit into my visit to the city. Here to talk about some more is Robert Daniels, regular New York Times contributor and associate editor of RogerEbert.Com. Among the titles discussed are Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (directed and written by Bassam Tariq, starring Mahershala Ali), I Play Rocky (Peter Farrelly), Union Town (Barbara Kopple), Alpha Gang (Zellner Bros.), and The Liberation (Guy Nattiv, starring Carrie Coon).

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 424: Mark Asch on Toronto 2026: Tender Loving Care, The Debut, Misty Green, Idda, The Face of Horror

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 2026 Toronto Film Festival kicked off its 51st edition this year, and I saw as many films as I could fit into my visit to the city. Here to talk about a few is Mark Asch, who’s writing for a number of publications. Among the titles discussed are the new Mike Leigh movie, Tender Loving Care; The Debut (directed by Jesse Eisenberg, starring Julianne Moore); Misty Green (directed by and featuring Chris Rock, starring Rosalind Eleazar); Idda ( directed by Irene Dionisio); and The Face of Horror (directed by Anna Biller).

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 423: Jessica Kiang on Venice 2026: Bunker, Possible Love, Queer Edward II, Mr. Nelson Did You Kill People, Oasis

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the 2026 edition of the Venice Film Festival winds down, I was delighted to sit down with Jessica Kiang of Variety to talk about a few more selections. Among the films discussed are Bunker (directed by Florian Zeller, starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem), Possible Love (Lee Chang-dong), Mr. Nelson Did You Kill People? (Shinya Tsukamoto), the German-Austrian drama Oasis (Jannis Lenz), and the Derek Jarman documentary Queer Edward II (Theo Rollason).

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 422: Jonathan Romney on Venice 2026: Dau, Life of Jorge Luis Borges, Bertolucci by Guadagnino, Musk, plus Naza

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The podcast returns with more from the 2026 Venice Film Festival! This time I’m joined on the Lido by Jonathan Romney, who writes criticism at Screen Daily and the Observer. Among the films discussed are Dau (directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky), Life of Jorge Luis Borges (Mariano Llinás), Joie de Vivre (aka the Bernardo Bertolucci documentary by Luca Guadagnino), Musk (Alex Gibney), and the devastating Naza (Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor).

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass