This week, the Best in Show crew dives deep into two documentaries that just made the 96th Academy Awards shortlist. After answering some mailbag questions about pesky release dates and Oscars eligibility rules, London Editor Ella Kemp swoops in to take us in front of the camera with Jon Batiste—the composer and subject at the center of American Symphony—then Gemma goes behind the camera with Maciek Hamela, director of In the Rearview, which chronicles the immediate refugee crisis created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This episode of Best in Show includes interviews with two renowned film editors: first up, Letterboxd’s own video editor AJ tells us what makes good editing and lists his favorite examples of movie editing from 2023. And then, one of AJ’s 2023 picks, Jennifer Lame, s Mia Lee Vicino and Brian Formo for a chat about working with Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach and Ari Aster.

The crew chats with award-winning actors—Ella Kemp speaks with Oscar nominee and Letterboxd pal Paul Mescal, Mia has a casual chat about movies with Paul’s All of Us Strangers co-star Andrew Scott at the film’s premiere, and our East Coast correspondent Adesola Thomas rocked our centerpiece interview with Jeffrey Wright about American Fiction.

May December screenwriter Samy Burch s Mia and Gemma to for a chat, fresh from her New York Film Critics Circle win for Best Screenplay. We also welcome our London crew to give us the lowdown on their attending the British Independent Film Awards, including its big winner All of Us Strangers.

The season two premiere of Best in Show kicks off with a very special guest: Sean Fennessey, Head of Content at The Ringer, co-host of The Big Picture podcast and fellow awards obsessive.

Writer and Executive Producer of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off BenDavid Grabinki s slim and Flynn to chat about Big Trouble in Little China, Stop Making Sense, Midnight Run, and The Legend of Billie Jean.

Editor and critic of ScreenCrush.com and writer of a brand new book on Siskel & Ebert, Matt Singer, s slim and Brian to talk Los Angeles Plays Itself, Gymkata, his new book Opposable Thumbs, Classic Albums: Steely Dan - AJA, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Brian Formo brings you a special Killers of the Flower Moon episode—hear interviews with author David Grann whose searing of the Osage murders is the basis of Scorsese’s new film, Osage Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and Scorsese himself. 

The Letterboxd crew gathers for a roundtable discussion about The Exorcist. Slim⁠ puts on his seasonable vestments and welcomes ⁠Gemma⁠, ⁠Mia⁠, Brian and ⁠Mitchell⁠ into the Letterboxd Studio to walk down memory lane on their first-time watches, favorite moments, and much more.

Horror maven and Dread Central editor-in-chief Mary Beth McAndrews s Mia and Flynn to trauma bond with the girlies over her four favorite films: Joel Anderson’s Lake Mungo, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure, Bob Clark’s Black Christmas and Dusty Mancinelli & Madeleine Sims-Fewer’s Violation.

Horror and alien fans, it’s our time. Slim sits down with Brian Duffield to chat about his movie No One Will Save You. Brian wrote and directed this alien home invasion story (with much more) and since release it’s been one of the most-watched movies on Letterboxd.

It’s a match made in hell as Horrorville editor Brett Petersel s Gemma and Slim in a basement studio surrounded by zombies to talk through four of his favorite horror films: Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation, Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool and Waxwork from Anthony Hickox.