The first episode of the new year! On the thirty- fifth episode of All the Film Things, I am joined by my friends and ATFT regulars "unofficial co- host"/ Emmy- winning photojournalist Cole Echevarria, writer/ director Samy- El Kamel, and Samy's friend movie lover Adolfo Miranda to talk about 2024 in film! This episode is explicit and a few recent films are spoiled, especially Joker: Folie à Deux.
2023 set the bar pretty high in terms of years in film. While I believe 2024 was mostly a lackluster year in cinema, there were undisputed gems beloved by many. Most of us agreed the latter part of the year contained the best new releases compared to the beginning of the year, including films like A Real Pain, Anora, and The Substance.
As previously stated, both Cole and Samy are ATFT regulars while this is Adolfo’s first time on the show! More specifically, this episode marks Cole’s 17th time and Samy’s 10th time over the course of 81 ATFT episodes recorded thus far.!Cole, Samy, and I have reflected on past years in film for three years in a row now. Our "2022 in Film" episode is in the vault but check out Samy and I talking about "2023 in film" last year (Episode 11)! I always look forward to this yearly episode since it not only gives me an opportunity to chat with my friends but it is nice to know these episodes will act as a time capsule years from now. With each episode, the banter only gets funnier and funnier, even if it is at my expense. Cole and Samy will hopefully be back on ATFT soon for the upcoming Oscars special!
Last month, Cole won an Emmy for his work with First Coast News on the news package “Waiting for Rebuild”!! Click the link to watch it!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDo6Cbvzyj4 Samy’s long- anticipated short film “Waveform” will be released soon, under his production company Barefoot Python Media, but is expected to hit some film festivals so it may be a while before it is readily accessible online. Check out the teaser trailer for the short on the Barefoot Python Media YouTube channel by clicking this link!: https://www.youtube.com/@BarefootPythonMedia You can also find Samy discussing his updated top ten favorite films of 2024!
Last year’s “2023 in Film” episode was more of a year in review. That was the intention with this episode but unfortunately we ran out of time. This episode is most entirely the four of us sharing our top favorite films of the year. Cole and I each share our top five favorites of the year while both Samy and Adolfo each shared their top ten favorites. Even though we share a few similar favorites, our lists truly vary between each other. Cole’s favorites of the year have changed slightly since last June’s “Film Finds” episode. Adolfo, an A24 fan, listed several A24 productions in his top ten list and also made a comparison using Conclave that thrilled me. Samy chose his favorite films carefully and, as per usual, articulately describes each of his picks in a way that will entice you to watch them soon after listening to this episode. My list was not as concrete as everyone else’s but I talked about the return of one of my favorite actresses, Angelina Jolie in Pablo Larraín’s Maria, before sharing my favorite film of the year which was such a controversial choice that it launched a long analytical debate. All this and more on the brand new episode of All the Film Things!
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