Cinema in One Take

Thirty years after Trainspotting introduced a generation to the worst toilet in Scotland, does Danny Boyle’s era-defining film still hold up — or do we simply miss being young?
Kaleem recalls seeing it at one of its earliest Edinburgh screenings (for £1!) and winning a 25-word review competition, while Emma argues that civilisation peaked in the 1990s and has been deteriorating ever since.
They also discuss the extraordinary French success of the lavish wartime epic De Gaulle: Résistance; the gloriously unlikely, visibly handmade animated film Niu Lai challenging Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey at the Chinese box office; and why audiences may finally be turning against AI slop.
Plus, could documentaries steal the show at the Venice Film Festival? With the controversial Gaza film NAZA, Alex Gibney’s Musk and an Oasis reunion documentary all heading to the Lido, reality might prove more interesting than fiction.
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This week, Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab look at Hollywood’s troubling history with child stars following the death of Hayden Panettiere at just 36. Why has the industry struggled for decades to protect young performers — and how much can we really connect the pressures of childhood fame with what happens later in life?
They also discuss new developments in the real-life case behind Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated The Voice of Hind Rajab, and debate whether the film’s international success and campaigning helped bring pressure for action.
Then, a change of gear: why might the hugely successful Barbie never get a sequel? Are studios simply wary of trying to catch lightning twice — or are Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie still being underestimated?
Plus: Stand By Me, Trainspotting at 30, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma — and why, apparently, even dinosaurs can’t save The End of Oak Street.
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Cinema is having a blockbuster summer. The Odyssey and Spider-Man are smashing records, surprise hits such as Backrooms and Obsession are pulling younger audiences into cinemas, and the box office comeback we've been predicting finally seems to have arrived.
So why is it still so difficult to make money from independent film? After producer Marco Perego — behind some of this year's most acclaimed indie films like Fjord — said at Locarno that you shouldn't get into independent cinema for the money, we ask whether the traditional routes for discovering and selling indie films are still working.
Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab look at what's driving audiences back to the big screen, whether a new generation of young movie stars is emerging, and what the blockbuster boom really means for the rest of the film industry.
Plus, Emma recommends watching Maite Alberdi's extraordinary documentary A Child of My Own, while Kaleem discusses Hyper: The Stevie Hyper D Story — and his unexpected personal connection to the film.
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The Venice 2026 line-up is here—and, as with Cannes, a pattern seems to be emerging. Are Hollywood studios moving away from the world's biggest film festivals?
Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab give their first reaction to the Venice Official Selection, which includes Danny Boyle's Ink, Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine, Florian Zeller's Bunker, Primetime starring Robert Pattinson, and Lee Chang-dong's long-awaited return Possible Love.
They ask whether Venice is still the launchpad for Oscar contenders, why many of the major US studios appear to be sitting this year out, and what this could mean for the future of film festivals, not to mention the famous Venice red carpet this year. Could Venice's documentary section, which includes the Oasis film, Don't Look Back in Anger, and Alex Gibney's new film Musk, actually be the biggest headliners?
Plus, Elon Musk announces that Grok will create its own AI version of The Odyssey in response to Christopher Nolan's blockbuster, prompting a wider discussion about historical accuracy, colour-conscious casting and whether AI can ever compete with filmmaking craft.
Finally, Emma and Kaleem recommend two films worth seeking out: the acclaimed British coming-of-age drama Ish and the darkly comic thriller Bad Apples, starring Saoirse Ronan.
View the full Venice 2026 Official Selection here: La Biennale di Venezia – Official Line-up
Which films are you most excited to see at Venice? 
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Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is finally here, and Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab are, for once, in agreement about something: that it's a masterpiece.
In this week's episode of Cinema in One Take, we review Nolan's ambitious adaptation of Homer's epic, discussing why it works so brilliantly as both an intimate character study and a spectacular cinematic experience. We debate whether it's Nolan's greatest film, unpack Matt Damon's performance as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway's powerful Penelope, Samantha Morton's unforgettable Cersei, and whether Tom Holland delivers one of the strongest performances of his career, yes, even above Peter Parker.
We also explore the film's themes of war, homecoming, sacrifice and empire, discuss its breathtaking IMAX visuals, and ask where The Odyssey now sits among Christopher Nolan's remarkable filmography.
Plus, Kaleem reflects on his return to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival after almost two years away from festival life—and an unexpected meeting with  Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright.
In this episode:
• Our spoiler-light review of The Odyssey• Is this Christopher Nolan's finest film?• Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o and Samantha Morton• A film that reflects modernity through an ancient epic • Returning to Karlovy Vary• An unexpected evening with Jeffrey Wright
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Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has broken BFI IMAX ticket sales records a month before release or before any reviews, raising a fascinating question: are Nolan and Avatar's James Cameron the last truly bankable directors in cinema?
This week, Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab debate Nolan's unique relationship with audiences, and how many other directors could inspire those sales. Or is the box office also excitement about the topic of the film itself?
Staying with Greek myths, Emma explores the release of Welsh-language drama Effi o Blaenau, originally inspired by the Greek tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis via an acclaimed bok, Iphigenia in Splott, and what a new wave of Welsh and Irish language filmmaking says about the confidence of Celtic cinema.
The pair also look ahead to the Venice Film Festival, discussing whether Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning will be there, the prospect of Tom Cruise going to the Lido for Digger, and how important the Venice red carpet is for publicising a film.
Plus: Emma reviews Toy Story 5, Pixar's examination of childhood, screens and technology — and Kaleem makes the case for Toy Story as the greatest film franchise ever made.
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Steven Spielberg's long-awaited new alien epic Disclosure Day has finally landed. Is it his best film in 20 years, or a frustrating missed opportunity? Cinema in One Take's Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab disagree about what Hollywood's legendary director has created.
They also discuss the controversy surrounding Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid and his withdrawal from FIDMarseille after calls for a boycott if he attended, because his previous film Yes received money from the Israel Film Fund. Should filmmakers be judged by the actions of their governments - even when they're highly critical of them?
Plus, Kaleem pays a personal tribute to Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed director of Persepolis, who died last week, and Emma watched Dreams of Violets, the first fully AI-generated feature to premiere at a major film festival, in this case, Tribeca.
You can find Kaleem's Substack on Marjane Satrapi, and all of their articles, here:
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What happens when YouTubers start making some of the biggest films in the world?
This week on Cinema in One Take, Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab dive into the extraordinary success of Backrooms and Obsession, two breakout hits from directors who built huge audiences online before stepping behind the camera. What took Hollywood so long to recognise the talent pipeline?
They also tackle the Tribeca-premiering Dreams of Violets by Ash Koosha to Martin Scorsese's latest AI venture, and ask when technology opens doors for filmmakers, and when it starts replacing people.
Plus, why are family films still more likely to feature a talking animal than a woman over 60 in a leading role? ( Not to mention a man called Chris)  Emma unpacks the latest industry figures and what they reveal about who Hollywood still thinks can sell a movie.
And, in new releases,  Kaleem recommends The Little Sister, the latest film from Hafsia Herzi, a moving coming-of-age drama that explores faith, identity and sexuality in contemporary Paris.
 

Our final Cannes Film Festival wrap-up is here!
In this episode of Cinema in One Take, Emma Jones reports back from the Croisette after a whirlwind fortnight at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, while Kaleem Aftab joins to unpack the winners, surprises, controversies and biggest talking points from this year’s Palme d’Or race.
They discuss why Christian Mungiu’s Fjord emerged as the festival’s major winner, how films like Minotaur, Fatherland and La Bola Negra were also this year's big winners, and whether Cannes 2026 marked a shift away from easy ideological certainties in contemporary cinema.
The conversation also explores:
Why critics appeared divided over Fjord
The growing prominence of LGBTQ stories at Cannes
Why so many of this year’s prize winners were epic-length films
The emotional impact of Coward and A Man of His Time
The strongest discoveries from Un Certain Regard, including Every Time, Ben’Imana and Elephants in the Fog
Breakout cinema from Rwanda, Nepal and the Central African Republic, including Congo Boy
The British success of Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
The devastating Iranian documentary Rehearsals for a Revolution
And why some of the festival’s most exciting films may have existed outside the main competition entirely
Plus: the Palm Dog winner La Perra, Cannes audience reactions, world cinema discoveries, and which films could now become major players in the Oscar conversation. 
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The Palme d’Or race at the Cannes Film Festival is becoming more unpredictable by the day as the festival enters its final stages. Emma Jones speaks to Kaleem Aftab from Cannes, to talk about the icy family drama Fjord starring Sebastian Stan, the politically charged Russian thriller Minotaur, and the visually stunning World War I love story Coward.
They also explore one of the festival’s biggest emerging themes: the remarkable number of LGBTQ+ stories this year, from Japanese romance dramas to queer wartime love stories and buzzy late-night festival title Jim Queen.
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