Cinetopia runs a monthly radio show on EHFM where we cover new film releases and major film festivals as well as showcase interviews with filmmakers, industry experts and professionals. Our show is also streamed in podcast form on various platforms.
OCTOBER 2024 of EHFM: Megalopolis, Joker: Folie à Deux, The Taste of Mango reviews plus interviews with Queer East Festival, Local Cinema Project, and Since Yesterday Film
This month's Cinetopia show team (Amanda, Kat, and Clara) review 3 films currently out or coming soon to cinemas:
"Megalopolis," Francis Ford Coppola’s latest film
Joker: Folie à Deux, directed by Todd Philips and stars Joaquin Phenoix and Lady Gaga
And finally, "The Taste of Mango," a debut feature documentary film by Chloe Abrams that will be coming out in theatres Nov 15…
As well as interviews with Yi Wang, director of Queer East Festival, organisers as part of the Local Cinema project including Morvern Cunningham, project coordinator, Tomas Gerrard from BSL Film Club at Deaf Action, and Hollie Ruddick from Crannie Community Hub.
Finally, Amanda talks to Blair Young who is the co-director of Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands.
SEPTEMBER 2024 of EHFM: THE SUBSTANCE, REBEL RIDGE, LEE plus interviews with Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival & Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival
On the September edition of the Cinetopia Radio Show and Podcast, the Cinetopia team reviews 3 films currently out in cinemas or streaming on your TVs: Coralie Fargeat’s THE SUBSTANCE, Jeremy Saulnier’s Netflix crime thriller, REBEL RIDGE, and LEE, directed by Ellen Kuras.
Our host, Amanda, sat down with Marion Aréchaga, Director and Curator of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival which is having its 11th edition this year from the 2nd to the 26th of
October, here in Edinburgh and across Scotland.
Amanda also chatted with some of the curators and organisers, Harriet Idle and Ilia Ryzhenko, of the Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival which runs from the 1-5 October in Glasgow.
AUGUST 2024 of EHFM: 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival coverage
This month's the Cinetopia team, Amanda Rogers, Garry Arnot (Cinema Perspective), and Clara Strachan, cover the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival, with reviews of the films, THE OUTRUN (dir Nora Fingscheidt) , SING SING (dir Greg Kwedar), BLACK DOG (dir. Guan Hu), and LOLLIPOP (dir Daisy-May Hudson). Amanda sits down with the director and producer of BLACK DOG, Guan Hu and Liang Jing, as well as the director/writer of LOLLIPOP, Daisy-May Hudson for interviews on their films.
JULY 2024 of EHFM: KINDS OF KINDNESS, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS, and THE BIKERIDERS
For our July Cinetopia show, Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers and show regular Garry Arnot from Cinema Perspecive reviews of KINDS OF KINDNESS, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS, and THE BIKERIDERS. The team also discuss the programme launch of the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival, plus an interview with Festival CEO & Director, Paul Ridd, and Festival Producer, Emma Boa.
JUNE 2024 of EHFM: 2024 SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST COVERAGE
On our June edition 2024 of the Cinetopia Radio show, Amanda Rogers and Clara Strachan cover this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, reviewing the documentary films DEVO and ETERNAL YOU, and many more from the UK’s leading documentary festival.
Plus Clara sits down with Inma de Reyes, director of The Boy and the Suit of Lights and Amanda interviews Duncan Cowles, director of Silent Men, two Scottish-based filmmakers whose films had their World Premiere at Doc/Fest this year.
MAY 2024 of EHFM: May 2024 on EHFM: CHALLENGERS, LA CHIMERA, LOVE LIES BLEEDING, and SLOW Film Reviews.
This month Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers was joined by Edinburgh-based film academic, Kat Zabecka, a new contributor to our show to review 4 new release films currently out in cinemas across the UK and beyond.
APRIL 2024 of EHFM: CIVIL WAR, MONKEY MAN, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST, MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING
On our April show Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers and show regular, Clara Strachan, review Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR, Dev Patel's MONKEY MAN, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (spoiler alert!), and Simon Chamber's documentary, MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING.
March on EHFM: Dune Part II & Do Not Expect Too Much from The End of the World Reviews, plus Glasgow Film Festival 2024 Coverage and Interview with John Archer, Director of Janey
Our March episode is maybe our most film-packed episode yet! We review big cinema releases, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part II and Radu Jude’s Don’t Expect Too Much from The End of the World, both out in cinemas this month.
Plus we give our full coverage of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival 2024 including a review of Tummy Monster, La Chimera, and an interview with John Archer, director of Janey, the festival’s closing film.
February on EHFM: AMERICAN FICTION, THE ZONE OF INTEREST, and OCCUPIED CITY plus an interview with Martin Benchimol, director of THE CASTLE
On our February edition of the Cinetopia Show, our team Amanda Rogers, Simon Bowie, and Garry Arnot, preview the IberoDocs Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival plus review the recent films AMERICAN FICTION, THE ZONE OF INTEREST, and OCCUPIED CITY. Amanda also sits down with the director of THE CASTLE, Martin Benchimol, to discuss his award winning documentary-fiction hybrid film set in the Argentinian Pampa region.
Jan 2024 on EHFM: Reviews of POOR THINGS, PRISCILLA, and SCALA!!! plus an interview with Rowen Henderson from The Film Cult
On our first episode of 2024, show co-producer Jim Ross and show regulars Clara Strachan and Simon Bowie join Amanda from Cinetopia (https://cinetopia.co.uk) to discuss three new release films in the UK, POOR THINGS (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos), PRISCILLA (dir. SOFIA COPPOLA), and SCALA!!! Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits (dir. Ali Catteral & Jane Giles). Amanda also sits down with Rowen Henderson, one of the founders of Edinburgh's local non-profit THE FILM CULT and talk about some of their fantastic initiatives they've organised in Edinburgh.
November on EHFM 2023: IDFA Documentary Festival Coverage 2023, reviews of Anatomy of a Fall, Loch Ness: They Created a Monster, Femme, plus interviews with Yi Wang and Juan Palacios
On the November edition of the Cinetopia Radio show and podcast, Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers is joined with show regular Garry Arnot and Amaya Banuelos Marco as we review the Palme d’Or winning, Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet) plus new release films including the Scottish documentary Loch Ness: They Created a Monster (John MacLaverty), which was screened at the Inverness Film Festival and the British film Femme (Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping).
Amaya Banuelos Marco and Amanda talk all things documentary covering IDFA, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2023, reviewing three films together, El Echo, directed by Tatiana Huezo, Alreadymade by Barbara Visser and and Cemetaries of Cinema, directed by Thierno Souleymane Diallo. Amaya also chats with director Juan Palacios who directed the film As the Tide Comes In which was part of the festival’s international competition.
Amanda also sat down with Yi Wang, director of the Queer East festival which is coming to Edinburgh starting from the 28th of November with a free event at City Chambers which I’ll be part of myself and a series of films playing at Summerhall from 29th-1st December.
Interviews
Over the years, we have interviewed a host of filmmakers and industry experts. Check out a few select interviews of note.
Meet our contributors.
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AMANDA ROGERS
PRODUCER and HOST
Director of Cinetopia, Amanda hosts the Cinetopia show & interviews various guests for show. Originally from the USA, Amanda has been a filmmaker and creative producer since 2005 and is now based in Edinburgh Scotland. She co-founded Cinetopia in 2018 and created the Cinescapes outdoor film festival in 2021.
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JIM ROSS
CO-PRODUCER
Jim is the co-producer of the Cinetopia podcast and EHFM radio show, a freelance film critic, and Editor-in-Chief of TAKEONECinema.net, which has covered festival and independent cinema since 2011. He has served on the Cambridge Film Festival submissions panel and is a former Deputy Director of the Cambridge African Film Festival. Beyond TAKE ONE he has written about film for a number of publications and websites including Little White Lies and hosted a fortnightly radio show on Cambridge 105FM from 2011-2013
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SIMON BOWIE
FREELANCE FILM CRITIC
Simon Bowie is a part-time film critic and culture writer. He has covered a range of film festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, and BFI Flare LGBTIQ+ Film Festival. As well as reviewing films for TAKE ONE, he has spoken about Twin Peaks at several conferences and written about the representation of time and trauma in contemporary television.
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CLARA STRACHAN
Clara Strachan is a fitful film journalist, focussing on the intersection between the cultural and political. She has covered new releases, re-releases of seminal but overlooked films, BFI Flare, Sheffield Doc Fest, EIFF, Open City Film Festival, Take One Action Film Festival and FrightFest. She has been a Cinetopia semi-regular for several years.
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GARRY ARNOT
Garry is a part-time film critic, founder of Cinema Perspective, and a regular guest on the Cinetopia podcast. He has been writing about film for the past 10 years and has covered festivals in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Chicago.
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STEPHANIE BROWN
FREELANCE FILM CRITIC
Scottish film critic based in Edinburgh. Interested in art, culture, and philosophy, with a passion for independent and underground films. Always looking for the most bizarre flicks out there.
previous shows
October on EHFM 2023: London Film Festival Coverage and Interview with Paul Bruce, Director of Edinburgh Short Film Festival and actor Jamie Robson
On this October edition of the Cinetopia radio show and podcast, Show co-producer Jim Ross and show regular Simon Bowie reviewed films from the London Film Festival including Emerald Fennell's SALTBURN as well as Martin Scorsese KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON as well as EILEEN.
Amanda sat down with Paul Bruce Director of the Edinburgh Short Film Festival and Jamie Robson, an actor who features in two films as part of this 13th edition of the festival.
September 2023 on EHFM: reviews of FREMONT, PAST LIVES, EL CONDE, and BROTHER plus an interview with SMOKE SAUNA SITERHOOD director Anna Hints
On the September episode of the Cinetopia show, the team (this month Jim Ross, Clara Strachan, Simon Bowie, and Amanda Rogers) cover four new release films that are currently out in cinemas: FREMONT (dir. Babak Jalali), PAST LIVES (dir. Celine Song), EL CONDE (dir. Pablo Larraín) and BROTHER (dir. Clement Virgo). Amanda also interviews Anna Hints, director of the acclaimed film, SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD. Anna won the best direction award for World Documentary competition at Sundance 2023.
August 2023 on EHFM: Reviews of BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, and as part of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 reviews of PASSAGES and AFIRE
On this August episode the Cinetopia team (this month Jim Ross, Garry Arnot, and Amanda Rogers) cover the Barbenheimer movies, Greta Gerwig's BARBIE and Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER. We continue our coverage of Edinburgh International Film Festival which begins this week (18th-23rd August) with reviews of PASSAGES directed by Ira Sachs, and AFIRE, directed by Christian Petzold plus some of our recommendations for to catch at this edition of Edinburgh's premiere film festival.
JULY 2023 on EHFM: EDINBURGH FILM FEST PROGRAMME LAUNCH PLUS REVIEWS OF MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, SHABU, and ASTEROID CITY
On this month's episode, Cinetopia's Amanda is joined by film critic and show regular, Simon Bowie, to review a nice selection of summer films. First up is Mission: Impossible 7 - Dead Reckoning Part 1, 2 hours and 49 minutes of action and not much else (in our opinion :)). Next up is a new charming dutch documentary, SHABU, directed by Shamira Raphaela. Simon and Amanda, both self-proclaimed Wes Anderson fans, talk through his latest, Asteroid City, and how it holds up to his other films over time (or maybe doesn't?). Tune in to find out!
Amanda also sits down with some of the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival programme team including Kate Taylor, Programme Director, and Rafa Sales Ross, one their core programmers to talk through this year's film festival programme!
June 2023 on EHFM: Sheffield Doc/Fest Coverage + interviews with Paul Sng, director of TISH, Dr. Jess Brough, founder of Fringe of Colour Festival, and Rohan Berry Crickmar of Folk Film Gathering
This month, show host and Cinetopia co-founder, Amanda Rogers is joined by Cinetopia curator Amaya Bañuelos Marco and show regular and critic, Clara Strachan, to review the 2023 Sheffield Doc/Fest. They review together 4 films from this year's programme: TISH, YOUR FAT FRIEND, THE CASTLE, and LONELY OAKS.
Clara talks to Dr. Jess Brough, founder and co-director of Fringe of Colour Film Festival which is happening from 23-29 June in Edinburgh. Amanda also sits down with TISH director, Paul Sng, which was the opening film of the 2023 Sheffield Doc/fest and also speaks with Rohan Berry Crickmar, an organiser of the Folk Film Gathering happening across Edinburgh in June 2023.
May 2023 on EHFM: Reviews of THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS, PLAN 75, MASTER GARDENER, AND BRAINWASHED SEX, CAMERA, POWER
Amanda Rogers from Cinetopia was joined by Garry Arnot and Clara Strachan to discuss four new release films this month: The Eight Mountains directed by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch currently out in cinemas. Plan 75 Chie Hayakawa, a Japanese film also out in cinemas at the moment. Master Gardener, Paul Schrader's latest film out on the 26th of May. And finally, the documentary, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, directed by Nina Menkes.
April 2023 on EHFM: Reviews of RENFIELD, ONE FINE MORNING, RODEO and LOCAL HERO 40th Anniversary
On our April edition of the Cinetopia Radio show and podcast, Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers is joined by show co-Producer to talk about the recent activity of the Save Filmhouse campaign and our proposed activity around the 40th Anniversary of the classic Scottish film, LOCAL HERO. Also on this episode, Amanda and Jim review the following new release films: RENFIELD, ONE FINE MORNING, and RODEO.
March 2023 on EHFM: GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW and BERWICK FILM AND MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL
[originally aired on EFHM 21st March, 2023] On our March edition of the Cinetopia Radio show and podcast, Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers is joined by Amaya Banuelos Marco to talk about the recent activity of the Save Filmhouse campaign and the recent protest outside the building. Also on this episode, show regulars Garry Arnot and Simon Bowie recap their time at the 2023 Glasgow Film Festival including reviewing the following films: Typist Artist Pirate King, Other People's Children, Sanctuary, and March on Rome. Amaya joins Amanda again to talk about the 2023 Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival.
February 2023 on EHFM: Reviews of BLUE JEAN, SUBJECT, NOSTALGIA, and Glasgow Festival Opening Film, GIRL plus an interview with BAFTA nominated Marie Liden, director of ELECTRIC MALADY
For our February episode of 2023, Amanda Rogers from Cinetopia was joined by Garry Arnot to discuss our OSCAR predictions as well as review new release films: BLUE JEAN, a debut feature directed by Georgia Oakley, SUBJECT, Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall, NOSTALGIA, director by Mario Martone; We also preview the 2023 Glasgow Film Festival including reviewing the festival's opening film, GIRL. Amanda also sat down with the documentary director, MARIE LIDEN, who was recently nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer, for her direction of ELECTRIC MALADY
January 2023 on EHFM: Reviews of Tar, Enys Men, Saint Omer, EO and an interview with Sean Lìonadh, director of Too Rough
For our first episode of 2023, Amanda Rogers from Cinetopia was joined by Garry Arnot and Simon Bowie, and together they reviewed the following new release films: TAR, directed by Todd Field and starring Cate Blanchett; ENYS MEN, Mark Jenkin's latest feature film; SAINT OMER, documentary filmmaker, Alice Diop's first narrative feature, and Jerzy Skolimowski's EO. Amanda also interviewed Sean Lìonadh, director and writer of TOO ROUGH, a Scottish short film that has already won the Scottish BAFTA awards among many others in 2022.
December 2022: Reviews of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Decision to Leave, Nanny, and Troll
On the final episode of 2022, Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers is joined by film critics Stephanie Brown and Simon Bowie to review some of Netflix's biggest hits, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and Roar Uthaug's Norwegian monster flick, Troll. They also review Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave on Mubi as well as Nikyatu Jusu's film Nanny.
November 2022: The Banshees of Inisherin, The Oil Machine, and Causeway, interviews with Jim Hickey, Ali Campbell, Patti Mroz, & Bel Ingham.
This month show regulars Jim Ross, Simon Bowie and Stephanie Brown review Banshees of Inisherin, The Oil Machine, and Causeway. Amanda Rogers also interviews Jim Hickey, former Director of the Filmhouse and Edinburgh International Film Festival (from 1979-1993) who shares an incredible history of these two Edinburgh film institutions and their importance for both the city but also UK and international cinema, as well as Patti Mroz and Ali Campbell, two former Filmhouse supervisors and Bel Ingham, a former FOH member of staff who set up the Former CMI Staff Welfare Fund
October 2022: Edinburgh's Filmhouse and film festivals, Blonde, Triangle of Sadness
This month, Amanda Rogers is joined by show co-producer Jim Ross, Clara Strachan to discuss the demise of Edinburgh's Filmhouse and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the impact on the festival scene in the city and Scotland. The team also review Marilyn Monroe biopic BLONDE and Palme D'Or winner TRIANGLE OF SADNESS.
June 2022 on EH-FM: Jurassic World Dominion, Canon Arm and the Arcade Quest, Pleasure, and Sheffield Doc/Fest 2022
In our June edition of the show, Cinetopia founder Amanda Rogers is joined by co-Producer and Take One Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Jim Ross, as well as Cinetopia programmer, Amaya Banuelos Marco, to review six films: The big dinosaur blockbuster, Jurassic World Dominion, Mads Hedegaard's documentary Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest about Danish unsung heroes of retro 80s arcade games, Ninja Thyberg's striking and provocative first feature, Pleasure, that takes a detailed look into the Los Angeles-based porn industry. We also review three films as part of this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest: I Didn’t see you there by Reid Davenport, Swing And Sway by Fernanda Pessoa and Chica Barbosa, and finally, Midwives by Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing.
August 2022 on EH-FM: Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Cinetopia radio team including Amanda Rogers, Jim Ross, Isobel Salamon, and Clara Strachan review three films part of this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival in this EH-FM special. In this episode the team review the festival's opener, AFTERSUN, directed by Scottish filmmaker, Charlotte Wells, starring Paul Mescal and Francesca Corio, which made its UK premiere in Edinburgh after winning a jury prize at Cannes earlier this year. The team also reviews the New Zealand comedy, NUDE TUESDAY, directed by Armağan Ballantyne, showcasing the festival's mid-gala film. Finally, the team reviews OFFICIAL COMPETITION, directed by Argentine directors Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn and starring Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Oscar Martinez. The group also shares their overview of what to look out for in the rest of the festival programme.