The BIFA Podcast

For this episode of the BIFA Podcast the multi-talented duo of Craig Roberts and Simon Farnaby got together for a chat about the cinema experiences that formed them, and how those experiences informed their recent collaboration, The Phantom of the Open - the story of an amateur golf fanatic who manages to wangle his way into the biggest golf tournament in Britain.

Since appearing as Oliver Tate in 2010s Submarine, Craig has gone on to appear in a variety of TV and films, including Bad Neighbours, 22 Jump Street and The Fundamentals of Caring, but he’s also moved behind the camera. The Phantom of the Open is his third feature at the helm, after directing dark comedies Just Jim and Eternal Beauty in the last few years.

His latest is written by Simon Farnaby, whose unmistakable comedy performances have seen him appear in Horrible Histories, Ghosts, Yonderland and lots more, and his skills as a writer can be seen in recent british comedy favourites Mindhorn and Paddington 2.

In this conversation Craig and Simon look back at the marvel that is Christopher Reeve’s superman, how Superbad informed Submarine and they have a big, Licorice Pizza inspired love-in on the works of Paul Thomas Anderson

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

In this episode actors of the podcast, BIFA Breakthrough Performance award nominee Max Harwood and Lauren Patel, stars of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, got together for a lovely chat about their cinematic influences. 

The story of a boy determined to go to his school prom in drag, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has been a hit on stage and now on screen, and Max and Lauren had a lot to talk about about it! 

Max and Lauren’s friendship and chemistry is infectious and hilarious and their cinematic upbringings are equally entertaining. From getting terrified by the Polar Express, to being awestruck by Jennifer Lawrence, to the hotly contested debate about going to the cinema by yourself.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

In this episode of the BIFA Podcast actors Claire Rushbrook and Ellora Torchia rewind their lives through film and share their most formative cinematic moments. 

Breaking out with a remarkable performance in Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, Claire has journeyed from Spice World to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as TV favourites Doctor Who, Whitechapel, Black Mirror and loads more. Most recently she appeared in Clio Barnard’s feature Ali & Ava, and received a BIFA Best Actress nomination. 

Arriving in cinemas this spring, Ali and Ava is about the connection formed between two lonely individuals, Ava played by Claire and Ali, that’s former podcast guest Adeel Akhtar, as they make an intense and meaningful connection, despite Ali’s marriage to Runa, played by Ellora.

Selected as a star of tomorrow by screen magazine, Ellora was nominated for Breakthrough Performance at the recent BIFA awards, for her work in Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth, and she follows up her superb work in that film, with a memorable supporting turn in Ali and Ava. In this episode of the podcast Claire and Ellora reveal their differing experiences of the cinema growing up - whether they happened in the UK or India - they get into their work with Clio Barnard on Ali and Ava, and the terrifying cinema experience that is… Flash Gordon.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

In this episode of The BIFA Podcast actors Paapa Essiedu and Lennie James explore the stories and cinemas that made them who they are. 

If you’ve been watching, well, lots of great TV over the last decade then chances are you’ve seen Lennie. From beloved police procedural Line of Duty, to undead adventures in The Walking Dead, to Save Me, the disappearance drama that he created, wrote and starred in. But now he’s off the small screen and on stage, currently performing in A Number at the Old Vic, and Paapa who he’s chatting to here, plays his son. 

Having established himself with performances in King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, Paapa star rose considerably in 2020, with his remarkable performances in Gangs of London and Michaela Coel’s groundbreaking series I May Destroy You, in which he played Kwame. And most recently he appeared in the short film Femme, which won the prize for Best British Short at the BIFA awards in December 2021.

In this episode of the podcast, recorded between performances of their play, Paapa and Lennie explore how the hype around a cinema release has changed over the years, from queuing around the block, to your Netflix queue, the difference between a Saturday morning picture and a Saturday night picture and just how important films like Blade and Black Panther have been for Black Londoners.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen

In this episode director Jonas Poher Rasmussen spoke to actor and producer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau about 2021 BIFA Best International Independent Film winner Flee, which Jonas directed and Nikolaj served as an executive producer on, along with former podcast guest Riz Ahmed. This week Flee made history, becoming the first film to receive Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film, Best Animated Film and Best Documentary.

Flee tells the story of a man named Amin as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation to director, and close friend, Jonas, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan to modern Denmark.

Having made a name for himself through documentary radio and live action storytelling, Flee marks an ambitious and fruitful creative leap for Jonas, working in animation for the first time. Nikolaj Coster Waldau (who listeners will remember as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones), serves as an executive producer on the film and in this podcast they get into just what makes Flee so special, as well as their own journeys through film, including why keeping secrets is so important for acting, and why one of Jonas’s best reviews came from two strangers sharing a beer.

The BIFA Podcast is a Little Dot Studios production for BIFA

The show is hosted by Jake Cunningham

It’s produced by Ellie Aitken, Jake Cunningham and Harold McShiel

And it's edited by Content is Queen