Persona

Feb 20, 2019 — An overview of the award winners and a few critical and personal favorites.

The director of Graduation and Beyond the Hills shares personal stories of growing up as a movie lover in Romania and picks up a few of his favorite films.

Jul 18, 2017 — During a period of personal turmoil, Andrei Tarkovsky created this enigmatic masterpiece, which explores spiritual and metaphysical mysteries through the prism of a science-fiction epic.

Jun 26, 2017 — The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Interpreter of Maladies speaks about her deeply personal connection to Indian cinema in this Criterion Channel exclusive interview.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson shouts out two of Fellini’s most personal films and praises the game-changing work of such masters as Cassavetes and Godard.

May 8, 2017 — Writer Durga Chew-Bose explores her personal connection to Uma Das Gupta’s quietly captivating performance as a carefree young girl in the masterful opening installment of The Apu Trilogy.

Dec 9, 2013 — The critic and WCP executive director offers a personal take on art cinema and a primer on the project’s scope and mission.

Mar 27, 2006 — Louis Malle’s coming-of-age drama offers an unusually full and individualized characterization of a boy whose yearnings, sensitivities, and fantasies outstrip his personality.

Sheila O’Malley writes weekly film reviews for RogerEbert.com, and has also written for Liberties Journal, Film Comment, and the New York Times, among other outlets. In 2025, she wrote The Art and Making of “Frankenstein,” the official companion book to...

Francine Prose’s latest book is 1974: A Personal History. She is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College.