Cinema in One Take

Timothée Chalamet’s Oscars Gaffe, The Bride! Debate & Why Best Actress Nominees Are Getting Older

With the Oscars fast approaching, Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab dive into the strange theatre of awards-season campaigning — where one off-the-cuff comment can suddenly dominate the conversation.
This week they unpack Timothée Chalamet’s opera and ballet gaffe, and ask whether Oscar races are increasingly decided by narrative, momentum and campaign drama rather than the performances themselves.
Emma also brings a fascinating Oscars statistic into the discussion: the average age of Best Actress nominees and winners has risen from 27 in the 1940s to 47 today. What’s behind that shift — and does it really reflect progress for women in the film industry?
In their weekly review segment, they also tackle Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale. While many critics have dismissed the film, they defend  the feminist retelling of the Frankenstein myth. 
And they discuss why Barbra Streisand receiving an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes feels long overdue.
A one-take conversation about cinema, awards politics and the stories shaping world cinema right now.

Claes Bang on 'The Great Arch', Berlin Festival Turmoil & Why European Cinema Matters

Danish actor Claes Bang ( The Square, Dracula, Bad Sisters) joins Cinema in One Take to discuss his new French film The Great Arch, by Stephane Demoustier, playing the uncompromising architect behind one of Paris’s most striking landmarks.
Speaking with hosts Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab, Bang reflects on portraying a fiercely principled creative figure, what the AI future holds for cinema, and why he believes European cinema remains creatively vibrant. He also shares his thoughts on the turmoil surrounding this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
The Great Arch is screening at the Institut français London from March 11 2026.

Cinema in One Take — Oscars Fatigue, a César Surprise, Berlinale Politics and Welsh language cinema

 
With Oscars 2026 approaching, film critics Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab ask whether awards season has simply become too long. From the Golden Globes to the Academy Awards, they debate whether audiences still watch the Oscars — and why this year’s race feels unusually unpredictable.
They also head  to the César Awards, where American director Richard Linklater won Best Director for Nouvelle Vague, his tribute to Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave. What does it mean when an American filmmaker wins France’s biggest film prize?
Plus: a Berlinale update as Tricia Tuttle receives strong backing from the film industry, and Emma champions the Welsh-language film Effie o Blaenau, which premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival, along with Gaelic language titles, sparking a wider conversation about minority-language cinema across Europe.
Expect lively debate, thoughtful film chat, and a celebration of world cinema in all its languages.

When Film Awards Are Not About Film

In this week's Cinema in One Take, Kaleem Aftab and Emma Jones digest what happened at the BAFTA Film Awards, when a racial slur was aired by the BBC broadcast of the event.
They also discuss the Berlin Film Festival winners, and that ceremony was overshadowed (as was the entire festival) by political controversy.
Who'd want to run a film festival and what happened to these events being about the films?
You can also find Kaleem's written feature about directing a film festival here
 

The Myth of Neutrality at the Berlinale 2026

On the latest Cinema in One Take. Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab look back at the political controversy that dominated this year's Berlinale festival, over remarks Jury President Wim Wenders made during the opening press conference.
Emma picks out 'Rose' starring Sandra Huller, as her favourite of the Berlin Competition films, and runs through a few more of her highlights, while the pair pay tribute to two giants of film, Frederick Wiseman and Robert Duvall, who both died that week.
Plus Kaleem was sent to watch 'Wuthering Heights' by himself on Valentine's Day for the podcast and he gives his own verdict.
You can also read Kaleem's written feature on the political storm at Berlin here, and subscribe for regular updates  to our substack.
 
 

Live from Berlin Film Festival: German Cinema and Afghan Rom Coms

In this week's Cinema in One Take, It's the start of the Berlin International Film Festival and Emma and Kaleem raise the topic of a new levy on streaming profits in Germany that have to be reinvested in film and TV. A great idea for German culture, or just ignoring what audiences actually want?
Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat opens the festival with a rom-com set in Kabul as the country falls again to the Taliban, 'No Good Men.'
Which films has Germany given us that are unmissable? (And who gets to pick Fatih Akin's 'Head On'?) 
That's Cinema in One Take, presented by Kaleem Aftab and Emma Jones.
For more in depth analysis, see our Substack 
 
 
 

Kristen Stewart Directing Debut, Colour Inclusive Casting and Riz Ahmed's Hamlet

This week Kaleem and Emma explore Kristen Stewart's excellent directing debut The Chronology of Water, starring Imogen Poots, and her recent words to the press that at some point she might quit the USA, because she "can't work freely there."
They ask why (Mark Ruffalo aside) there's a deafening silence from Hollywood in the middle of awards season during a turbulent time in the USA.
They explore a recent report on so-called 'colour blind' casting been seen as 'tokenism' by audiences, and move on to Riz Ahmed's brilliant performance in Aneil Karia's 'Hamlet' which is out in the UK this week.
 

Big in Japan, I Love Boosters and Breathless, Richard Linklater-style

Cinema in One Take's Kaleem Aftab and Emma Jones discuss what's behind the surge in Japan's box office. They also  disagree over Richard Linklater's new film 'Nouvelle Vague', about the making of Jean-Luc Godard's movie 'Breathless' And as Sundance comes to an end in Park City, Utah, they mark the end of an era with some of their best Sundance films and memories.
 

Oscar and EFA Saints, "Sinners' and 'Sentimental Value'

Kaleem and Emma sit down to discuss the Oscar nominations right after they happened and to celebrate Sinners (16 nominations, Kaleem's favourite film) and Norway's Sentimental Value (9 nominations) - which also dominated this week's European Film Awards in Berlin. Plus, Matt Damon's words to Joe Rogan on how Netflix films are being watched (hint: with distraction!) and a recommendation for Greenland's best filmmaking. That's this week's Cinema In One Take! .
 
 
 
 

The Globes and a Golden Year for Cinema in 2026 (maybe)

It's 2026 ! And to kick off January, hosts Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab dive into the the state of international cinema as they start the year.
They discuss the surprising resilience of cinema and how optimistic they both are about the big screen, despite press claims of its decline, highlighting the impressive box office performance of 2025.
They also wrangle over the Golden Globes... including Kaleem's lingering mixed feelings about them..and what it means for the upcoming Oscar nominations, and whether critics will pick their favourites or be swayed by box office success.
And stay tuned till the end,  because they pick some of the films they most want to watch in 2026.. films which if Thierry Fremaux is listening, they're sure he wants to show at this year's Cannes Film Festival.