Question and answer interviews

theartsdesk Q&A: filmmaker Payal Kapadia on 'All We Imagine as Light'

'I DIDN'T WANT TO DIVIDE THE WORLD INTO TWO CATEGORIES, WITH MEN BEING BAD AND WOMEN BEING GOOD' An in-depth conversation with filmmaker Payal Kapadia 

An in-depth conversation with the director of the instant Indian arthouse classic

Payal Kapadia’s lyrical fiction feature debut All We Imagine as Light, which received the Grand Prix at Cannes in May, is now accruing end-of-year prizes. This week, the New York Film Critics Circle and the voters for the Gotham Awards (which honours independent movies) named it 2024’s Best International Film. More prizes will follow.

Interview: rising star Chloe Savage on the Arctic, outer space, and igniting children's wonder for the unknown

AN ARTIST'S DREAM Rising star Chloe Savage on the Arctic, outer space, and igniting children's wonder for the unknown

Beautiful books take you to worlds that are intricately imagined and a feast for the eye

How old were you when you first had an image of the Arctic? When you first had that image, what was it that most resonated? Was it its remoteness, the endless snow and ice, the polar bears? Did it seem like a mythical place of mirages and monsters? Or was it a place you thought you might travel to or even work one day?

Interview: Roy Haynes, Jazz Drumming Giant (1925-2024)

RIP ROY HAYNES (1925-2024) Reminiscences from the jazz drumming legend, who has died

The jazz legend reminisces, from Satchmo to Metheny

Roy Haynes, who had begun to seem immortal, has died aged 99. In this extensive Arts Desk interview from 2011, one of the greatest jazz drummers ranges across his remarkable life with sharp intelligence and generous feeling.

theartsdesk Q&A: director Jacques Audiard on his Mexican trans gangster musical 'Emilia Pérez'

The French filmmaker concocted an extravagant genre mash-up to confront the tragedy of Mexico's 'disappeared'

Jacques Audiard – creator of such subversive crime dramas and alternative romances as Read My Lips (2001), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), A Prophet (2009), and Rust and Bone (2012) – isn’t an aficionado of film musicals. But in blending one into his comic Spanish-language trans gangster thriller Emilia Pérez, the 72-year-old director has made the most beautiful aberration of his career.

theartsdesk Q&A: Anna Bogutskaya on her new book about the past decade of horror cinema

Q&A: ANNA BOGUTSKAYA On her new book about the past decade of horror cinema

In time for Halloween, the author discusses 'Feeding the Monster' - and why she thinks horror cinema has entered a new phase

You may have heard the phrase “elevated horror” being used to describe horror films that lean more toward arthouse cinema, favouring tension and psychological turmoil over jump-scares and gore.

theartsdesk Q&A: Alice Lowe on 'Timestalker' and what women rue through the ages

FILM DIRECTOR ALICE LOWE On 'Timestalker' and what women rue through the ages

The writer, director, and star inserts herself into the history of love

Before Alice Lowe wrote her first short film scripts, she was, despite success in television and theater, “terrified” of making a full-length feature. “I thought it was some untouchable Holy Grail. That you have to be somehow inducted before you’re allowed to breathe the word ‘film'." She's not terrified these days. Timestalker, Lowe’s second feature as director, writer, and star, is a fully realised passion project in every sense.

theartsdesk Q&A: young pianist Ignas Maknickas on appearing at the Roman River Festival and beyond

A rising talent who first performed with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra aged 9

The high level of entries for this year’s Leeds Piano Competition – 366, almost twice the number who entered in 2018 – is just one reminder that any young pianist wanting to make their name today is negotiating shark-infested waters. Technical excellence is a given – if you want to make a living, you need to have something extra to win the support of concert halls and critics.

theartsdesk Q&A: conductor Dalia Stasevska on her new album of contemporary orchestral music

Q&A: DALIA STASEVSKA The conductor on her new album of contemporary orchestral music

Finnish-Ukrainian conductor looks to bring the music of today to new audiences

Dalia Stasevska is a persuasive advocate for new music, as presented on her new album Dalia’s Mixtape. She combines a puppyish enthusiasm with a salesman’s eloquence – beneath which sits a steely self-confidence in her own artistic vision. The Mixtape is a collaboration between Stasevska, the BBC Symphony Orchestra (of which she is Principal Guest Conductor) and Platoon, an artist-led label that is part of the Apple Music family. I visited their studios in north London last week to speak to Dalia about the project and what it means to her.