PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Todd Phillips, director of the film Joker.
Todd Phillips is at the 76th Venice Film Festival in competition with Joker, an origin story of the most important antagonist of Batman, Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Is turning into Joker a defeat for the wanna be comedian Arthur Fleck or an evolution? Todd Phillips clarifies that the film is structured and narrated in a way that the audience can decide.
Joker centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night… but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Marian Arechega, director of the vibrant Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, discusses the 2026 edition programme, showcasing recent and diverse cinema from Spain.
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 …