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blakethinks.bsky.social
Blake Simons
@blakethinks.bsky.social
440 followers 360 following 180 posts
🎥 interview evangelist, programming @ LIFFF
✍ romance, japan, animation, queer, latam, at BFI, IndieWire, The Film Stage, ScreenAnarchy and more

Contact: blakesimons97(at)gmail(dot)com
https://muckrack.com/blakesimons
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blakethinks.bsky.social
Blake Simons @blakethinks.bsky.social · May 27
I spoke with Takashi Miike about an industry in flux, for MUBI Notebook mubi.com/en/notebook/...
Head-On: A Conversation with Takashi Miike
The genre auteur discusses queer subtexts, a changing industry, and winning a fight in one minute or less.
mubi.com
blakethinks.bsky.social
I spoke for an hour with One Cut of the Dead mastermind Shinichiro Ueda about his delightful heist caper ANGRY SQUAD (which plays The Japan Foundation Touring Programme this month), and the thrill of a successful filmmaking gambit

desperatelyseekingsubtitles.substack.com/p/shinichiro...
Shinichiro Ueda talks ‘Angry Squad’: “It’s about connecting the dots through trial and error”
JPF ‘26: One Cut of the Dead’s mastermind discusses the thrill of a successful filmmaking gambit
desperatelyseekingsubtitles.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:04 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
I loved HA-CHAN, and I think you will too
February 5, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
impemboganecue.bsky.social
February 4, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
junlper.beer
it’s genuinely reassuring to me that this is the most miserable and paranoid person in the entire world
February 5, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Blake Simons
weard.moe
part 3 pre-order/crowdfunding on feb 9. only another two hours of movie left to shoot and then we can release it :)
February 4, 2026 at 9:19 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
I’m excited about Japanese genre cinema again

IAI just premiered at @iffr-festival.bsky.social. A familial chiller, it reveals itself as a tender drama about dementia & shared psychosis

I spoke with director Zenzo Sakai. Remember that name

desperatelyseekingsubtitles.substack.com/p/zenzo-saka...
Zenzo Sakai wants to surprise you with ‘IAI’, a familial drama in a genre disguise
IFFR '26: A fresh genre filmmaking voice arrives, exploring dementia and shared psychosis with unexpected tenderness and sensitivity
desperatelyseekingsubtitles.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:26 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
I spoke with Markiplier for @lwlies.com. One of the most successful YouTubers on the planet, he now finds himself an overnight box-office sensation — and disruptor

In a mutually curious conversation, we explore what IRON LUNG means to film, to games, and to Markiplier

lwlies.com/this-just-in...
How gaming YouTuber Markiplier became an overnight box-office…
Iron Lung has unexpectedly turned the box office upside down – what led a YouTube legend to take on Hollywood with his horror feature debut?
lwlies.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:49 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
AAAAH
February 3, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jslaterwilliams.bsky.social
I was in the vicinity of ARCO director Ugo Bienvenu twice during the London Critics’ Circle Awards tonight and I definitely considered doing my own stupid bit in person
jslaterwilliams.bsky.social Josh Slater-Williams @jslaterwilliams.bsky.social · 25d
There is virtually no chance that ARCO could win the Best Animated Feature Oscar, but the Academy should still get Ben Affleck, John Goodman and the ghost of Alan Arkin to present that award and say the line
John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck in the movie 'Argo' (2012), their characters toasting drinks, most likely after having just said "Argo fuck yourself!"
February 2, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Blake Simons
dengerow.bsky.social
The legendary Japanese filmmaker Hasegawa Kazuhiko died on Jan. 31 at age 80. He only directed 2 films—The Youth Killer and The Man Who Stole the Sun—but both are celebrated masterpieces that influenced a generation. He was also a member of Director's Company.
hochi.news/articles/202...
「太陽を盗んだ男」「青春の殺人者」の長谷川和彦監督死去　８０歳　 - スポーツ報知
映画「太陽を盗んだ男」で知られる映画監督・長谷川和彦（はせがわ・かずひこ）さんが１月３１日午後、誤嚥（ごえん）性肺炎による多臓器不全のため都内の病院で死去したことが１日、明らかになった。８０歳だった
hochi.news
February 1, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
bnq1.bsky.social
January 31, 2026 at 9:56 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
In my favourite interview of the month, I spoke with @nagahisa about BURN, a film that he likens to the bible, in that different passages will resonate with different people

screenanarchy.com/2026/01/sund...
Sundance 2026 Interview: BURN Writer-Director Makoto Nagahisa Wants His Sophomore Feature To Affect You
The 'We Are Little Zombies' director discusses his flammable new feature.
screenanarchy.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
hannahstrong.co.uk
Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao)
Lisa Simpson running into Homer and Marge's bedroom dragging Bart on a cot, yelling "Mom, Dad, Bart's dead!"
January 29, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
willowcatelyn.bsky.social
I am very excited to announce that I'm going to be hosting a Miskatonic Institute lecture on March 16th, and I'll be talking about the Trans Feminine Grotesque. Full details below:

miskatonicinstitute.com/events/gazin...
a still image from LONGLEGS A still image from SLEEPAWAY CAMP A still image from THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
January 28, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
michaeljleader.bsky.social
It's official. Anime Ltd are releasing AKIRA, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES and ANGEL'S EGG in the UK this year!

Dates to come!
January 28, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
theendofcinema.bsky.social
New for subscribers only, I watched four of the films in the @metrographnyc.bsky.social's on-going Clara Law retrospective and wrote about them. They're really good!

www.thechinesecinema.com/clara-laws-i...
Clara Law's Immigrant Songs
Films from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Beyond
www.thechinesecinema.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jslaterwilliams.bsky.social
My local Odeon is dropping H IS FOR HAWK and THE HISTORY OF SOUND after one week to show this twice a day.
January 27, 2026 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Blake Simons
ashponders.bsky.social
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
A screenshot of WhatsApp: Ash: Sebastián, I have one very pressing question. Sebastián Di Martino: Let me know Ash: Are jaguar soft? Sebastián Di Martino: They are very soft (two hearts on the answer)
January 25, 2026 at 11:13 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
For @indiewire.com, I reviewed Makoto Nagahisa's BURN, a film that I found oppressively nihilistic but stylistically undeniable #Sundance2026

www.indiewire.com/criticism/mo...
‘Burn’ Review: This Shinjuku Odyssey Is Oppressively Nihilistic but Stylistically Undeniable
Sundance: “We Are Little Zombies” writer/director Makoto Nagahisa shines an uncompromising light on a district’s overlooked denizens.
www.indiewire.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jeffrueter.bsky.social
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."
Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti “We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jslaterwilliams.bsky.social
For @indiewire.com’s Sundance coverage, I reviewed EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET, a thrilling, witty doc about ordinary, unrelated Glaswegians spontaneously organising to fight an immigration raid… and winning

www.indiewire.com/criticism/mo...
‘Everybody to Kenmure Street’ Review: A Vital and Inspiring Portrait of Spontaneous Collective Action
Felipe Bustos Sierra’s energizing documentary tells the story of ordinary Scots resisting a hostile immigration raid.
www.indiewire.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jacoboller.bsky.social
the feel-good film of Sundance is a documentary where a community stands up to immigration officials, tells them to fuck off, and wins www.avclub.com/everybody-to...
A timely Sundance doc is an ICE-breaker around community action
Everybody To Kenmure Street shows what's possible when immigration officials aren't allowed to murder at will.
www.avclub.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
ongamesjournal.bsky.social
Want to see your writing in glorious print? In ON3 we are going to mentor and showcase new voices. Email [email protected] with an example of your work and any relevant experience by 8th Feb. on.games

#GamesJournalism #GamesWriting
January 23, 2026 at 4:44 PM
blakethinks.bsky.social
Ahead of the film's Sundance premiere, I spoke to THEYDREAM director William David Caballero for
@cartoonbrew.bsky.social about what it means to recreate, reconstruct, and rotoscope your family. A fascinating conversation about an intrinsically personal feature.

www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...
BTS Of 'TheyDream': Miniatures, Rotoscoping, Memory
Caballero discusses hybrid animation, miniature sets, and rotoscoped performance in a deeply personal documentary shaped by family memory and grief.
www.cartoonbrew.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Blake Simons
jslaterwilliams.bsky.social
They didn’t like them when they were Ann Lee
jonathanmb32.bsky.social Jonathan @jonathanmb32.bsky.social · 18d
For the first time in 20 years, Searchlight did not receive a single Oscar nomination today - even crazier when you consider that they received Best Picture nominations in all but three of the last 19 years.
January 22, 2026 at 3:25 PM