With both the festive season upon us and new restrictions imposed on cinemas, the mack is back and we're here to discuss our cinema comforts! We discuss our chicken-soup films that we watch religiously, as well as try to determine the common themes tying our movie choices that can reveal what we find comforting about our picks.

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It’s about time we absolve ourselves of the guilt we feel when enjoying our personal favourites! Writer Basje Boer joins us again to discuss why we should be liberated from the stigma of loving overtly shlocky action films, non-sensical comedies, and schmaltzy teen dramas and romcoms. We question what exactly we are suppose to feel guilty of and how this can limit your own unique love of cinema.

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With the release of their feature debut Gagarine (2020) in cinemas here in The Netherlands, we spoke with directors Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh to discuss the duality of Paris captured on screen. We explore how their magic-realist drama bridges the tensions between the romanticised dreamlike city and its neglected suburbs, united by a universal ability to dream and the importance of utopian images. Special thanks to Cinéarte for organising this episode.

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To “celebrate” the release of Clint Eastwood’s latest film Cry Macho and maybe his final swan song, Hugo & Tom get together to discuss their very different relationships to this Hollywood 'icon'. On the surface this may appear to be a review of one man's career in film, but perhaps it reveals something about our own attitude to cinema. Is this the Clint Eastwood spin-off show Hugo has always wanted...?

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In conjunction with the upcoming Camera Japan Festival at LAB111, a celebration of upcoming and contemporary Japanese films, we explore our own personal relationship to what Japanese cinema offers. The wealth of Japanese films are too rich to ever justly cover in a single episode, so instead we are joined by programmer and researcher of Japanese cinema Julian Ross, to explore an overlooked genre of Japanese film - Expanded Cinema, a radical form that subverts our understanding of what cinema can be and the audience's relationship to the screen.

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Before our Celebrating Cinema podcast takes a summer hiatus, we had the chance to check in with our film critic @hemmerzael for a special episode on @cannes_filmfestival! Hugo, part of a jury in Cannes and chatting to us from the French Riviera, joins LAB111 programmer @tomwaist, who wrestles with his fomo, as Hugo considers this the greatest edition of the renowned festival. With his love for lists Tom runs us through his own picks and potential inspirations for future programs at LAB111, mixed with Hugo’s anecdotes of socialising with Adèle Haenel.

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A director is much like a chef, and it is no surprise that directors often use cooking analogies when describing their own process. However, what is perhaps unclear is how a tomato actually symbolises the very essence of cinema, and why eating a blood sausage or a strawberry risotto could correlate to watching a Quentin Tarantino or Sofia Coppola film. Joining us in this celebration of food and cinema is film critic Joost Broeren-Huitenga, who together with his wife, Nienke Huitenga, also explores this unique relationship on their website Een Bord Vol Cinema. Tell us your own stories of food and cinema at celebratingcinema@lab111.nl, if you have any questions or topics you can also write to us.

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Eroticism should be found in balance! Now isn’t it about time that women in cinema got to look back, shifting the gaze back on to the male, or at least express what it is like to be looked at through the male gaze that has dominated cinema. Basje Boer, film critic and author, joins us in celebrating female desire in cinema and exploring the complex gender dynamics within cinema and the effect it has on us as an audience. Our film club choice The Beguiled (Sofia Coppola, 2017) kickstarts our discussion, a hot take on what happens when you equalise desire. As always, if you have any questions you would like us to discuss or stories about cinema you would like to share then please email us at celebratingcinema@lab111.nl

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