Desiree Akhavan

“I just want to like the first criterion DVDs I ever bought it was a Knife in the Water it was for a paper I wrote on Polanski I'm afraid to watch this I'm afraid about how offended I'll probably be but I worship this film and I worship the short that comes with it Two Men in a Wardrobe this is spectacular.”

“I mean this is just the like the fight sequence and Do the Right Thing is one of the best things that's ever been put on film it's flawless it's just a flawless sequence the opening sequence is great I think if there's anything that has been a mainstay in all the films it's like dancing and if you get those things right then you're fine.”

“This is spectacular it's yeah this Spirit of the Beehive I saw this for film school I don't remember what happens in it but I remember feeling so caught up in this girl's world I remember feeling like the film matched the world and that's really rare they're like the pace of the film and the unfolding of her narrative matched childhood in a way.”

“Then you have a film like Ratcatcher and a filmmaker Lynne Ramsay and you're like yeah I'm here for what she has to say Ramsay as an artist paintings there's some dance gorgeous I'm really touched by everything she does... Which is how I feel about Ratcatcher as well.”

“So we've got Cassavetes... One of the filmmakers he showed was Cassavetes and when I look back Cassavetes it felt like whenever I was watching his stuff like he was making his own rules... You're not Following anything prescriptive... I actually think a lot of filmmaking is throwing the rules at the window and being like this is what turns me on like this is where my instincts are taking me in that's what it felt like with all of the Cassavetes I've seen.”

“So we've got Cassavetes... One of the filmmakers he showed was Cassavetes and when I look back Cassavetes it felt like whenever I was watching his stuff like he was making his own rules... You're not Following anything prescriptive... I actually think a lot of filmmaking is throwing the rules at the window and being like this is what turns me on like this is where my instincts are taking me in that's what it felt like with all of the Cassavetes I've seen.”

“I have to take Tiny Furniture because I've never seen creative nonfiction and I think that's part of this DVD right yeah and an interview between Lena and Nora Ephron so I'll start with that so Tiny Furniture it's where I'm gonna start.”

“Safe was a really huge influence on Cameron Post there are like several sequences and a shot that I like straight up lifted from this but I watched this when I was about to do my last pass of the script and it kind of just blew my mind open I was like oh this there's a whole nother element of institutionalization and group therapy here that I haven't addressed yet.”

“I just got a really good pitch I Knew Her Well which I'm taking 100% because of the cover.”

“It's this is a really great cover for Day for Night.”

“This is Life Is Sweet I've never seen a more honest depiction on screen of bulimia but it's not about bulimia it's about this family it's Mike Leigh it's my favorite Mike Leigh film it's really good.”