PODCAST| Sarah Bradbury interviews Stephan James, actor of the film If Beale Street Could Talk.
We sat down with American actor Stephan James to discuss the themes of love, racial injustice and black masculinity in Barry Jenkins’ screen adaptation of James Baldwin novel If Beale Street Could Talk ahead of its UK release.
If Beale Street Could Talk: For the follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins chose to adapt the 1974 James Baldwin novel If Beale Street Could Talk. The film tells the story of Tish and Fonny, played by KiKi Layne and Stephan James, whose childhood friendship blossoms into romance until a cruelly unjust criminal system allows Fonny to be jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. A strong supporting cast – Regina King, Colman Domingo – completes a beautifully crafted, visually powerful and elegiac screen version of a tale that carries with it timely themes of racial justice as well as a belief in love trumping all else.
Rome is once again expanding the scope of its Film Fest: thirteen days of cinema, international premieres, renowned auteurs, emerging talent, series, documentaries, and cinematic heritage—with Javier Bardem, Paolo Genovese, and Monica Vitti at the heart of an edition that …
Javier Bardem will be one of the major guests of the Rome Film Fest 2026, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award and presenting Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s El ser querido.