NYFF 2021: Silvan Zürcher & Alexandre Koberidze in Conversation

In an NYFF lineup with a record number of new and emerging filmmakers, Alexandre Koberidze’s What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? and Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s The Girl and the Spider—both sophomore features—stood out for their sui generis approaches to cinematic narrative and form. Formally assured and intellectually audacious, the two films, in their own unique ways, electrify the quotidian with currents of desire, romance, and modern myth. During the festival last week, Film Comment Co-Deputy Editor Devika Girish sat down with Silvan Zürcher and Koberidze—who are old friends from their time together at the the renowned DFFB (the German Film and Television Academy Berlin)—for an in-depth talk. The conversation covered the two directors' filmic inspirations and aspirations, their trajectories within Swiss and Georgian cinema, the whimsical play with time and place in their movies, and much more. A special thanks to HBO, the presenting partner of all NYFF Talks.