Rebecca Martin

Interviews, LGBTQ+, Queer Stories

14 min read

“By Hook or By Crook” at 25: Silas Howard and Harry Dodge on Friendship, Queer Cinema, and Radical Tenderness

by Rebecca Martin

June 5, 2026

Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir, When the World Didn’t End,

2026 Films, Interviews

3 min read

Emotional Stunts: Nora Kirkpatrick on “Couples Weekend” and the Art of Honesty

by Rebecca Martin

May 20, 2026

When I sat down with director Nora Kirkpatrick, she described her latest feature, “Couples Weekend,” as “The Breakfast Club for adults.” It’s a comparison she credits to actor Josh Gad,

2026 Films, Horror, Interviews, LGBTQ+

9 min read

Externalizing the Internal: Natalie Erika James on her latest horror gem, “Saccharine”

by Rebecca Martin

May 19, 2026

We are living in a culture right now where we are constantly feeding ourselves, and not only with food. The content constantly competing for our attention on all sizes of

Chicago, Profile, reviews

5 min read

“Do Something Pretty” is a universally relatable portrait of early ’90s teen angst

by Rebecca Martin

May 18, 2026

“That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in

International Films, Interviews

12 min read

Finding Freedom in Form: British independent director Kate Cragg on keeping the independent tradition alive

by Rebecca Martin

May 15, 2026

Kate Cragg’s filmmaking begins with a refusal: a rejection of the “proper way” of doing things. Where conventional cinema prizes structure, coverage, and clarity, Cragg has built a practice grounded

2026 Films, Indie Films, Interviews

10 min read

Katie Aselton on “Magic Hour,” Creative Vulnerability, Codependency, and Soulmate Casting

by Rebecca Martin

May 8, 2026

In “Magic Hour,” filmmaker and actor Katie Aselton returns to the intimate, emotionally raw storytelling that first defined her career. Premiering last year at the South by Southwest film festival,

2026 Films, Documentaries, Profile, reviews

12 min read

Femme Film Series: May Spotlight on Doc 10 and Chicago Critics Film Festival

by Rebecca Martin

May 5, 2026

This month’s lineup leans heavily into documentaries, with “The Invite” as the lone outlier. Watching these films, I kept circling back to my own life—each one opening up a different

2026 Films, Film Festivals, Interviews

5 min read

Reclaiming Attention: Sara Robin on “Your Attention Please” and the Fight for Digital Autonomy

by Rebecca Martin

April 23, 2026

In “Your Attention Please,” director Sara Robin explores one of today’s most pressing yet hard-to-define crises: the decline of human attention in a digital world built to capture it. What

2026 Films, Profile, reviews

8 min read

Femme Film Series: April 2026

by Rebecca Martin

April 16, 2026

Some films invite passive observation; others refuse distance altogether, demanding a more intimate kind of surrender. The selections in the April 2026 Femme Film Series—”The Chronology of Water,” “My NDA,”

2026 Films, Interviews

5 min read

One Voice, Amplified: Stephanie Laing on “Tow,” Truth, and Tenacity

by Rebecca Martin

April 1, 2026

Emmy-winning filmmaker Stephanie Laing has built a career on finding humanity in unlikely places—whether through the biting satire of Veep or the emotionally layered storytelling of Physical. Now, with her

2025 Films, 2026 Films, essay, Profile, reviews

9 min read

Femme Film Series: March 2026

by Rebecca Martin

March 8, 2026

For me, movies and meaning are inseparable; I process my daily life through this art form. The cinema is not just entertainment—it’s a vital lens through which I understand the

Chicago, Indie Films, Interviews

14 min read

The Women Behind “Hekla”: Crafting Chaos, Color, and the Courage to Be Seen

by Rebecca Martin

March 3, 2026

In conversation with Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Brookelyn Hebert, Mary Tilden, and Heather Kuhlmann. Some films move like a straight line. “Hekla doesn’t. It rushes, swerves, collides—then bursts into color

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