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In this interview, Palestinian writer and director Annemarie Jacir talks to Borrowing Tape about the challenges of recreating 1930s-era Palestine, tackling Israeli censorship around her film, and working with a stacked Palestinian and British cast. Available on rent on Prime Video and Letterboxd Video Store. Interviewer: Shaurya Thapa

20-year-old wunderkind Kane Parsons adapts his viral, unnerving YouTube clips for the big screen in this claustrophobic journey through the liminal spaces known as “backrooms”. When a down-on-his-luck furniture store owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a seemingly never-ending portal of eerie, empty yellow-walled rooms, his therapist (Renate Reinsve) steps in to find him into the unknown. An amusement park ride from corporate hell.

Hello everyone, I am Shaurya Thapa of Borrowing Tape, and today I'm joined with acclaimed Palestinian director and writer Annemarie Jacir. Today, we are talking about her new film, Palestine 36, which is a historical drama on the Arab revolts in 1936 against British colonial rule in Palestine. The film came out last year here in the UK and other parts of the world. It's releasing in the US now and was Palestine's official submission to the Oscars.

The year is 1947, as a ragtag bunch of explorers set out in the frozen Alaskan wilderness to find the survivors of an ill-fated expedition. For cartographer Ellie Bannister (Brittany Allen), the stakes are personal as she aims to find her missing adventurer father until she and her party cross paths with the titular yeti, a supposedly abominable snow creature. A campy but thrilling creature feature with some impressive practical effects.

Creature features aren’t new to Hollywood, even though we’re yet to get a definitive film on the mysterious snow giant called “Yeti”. Writers and directors Gene Gallerano and William Pisciotta are trying to fill that gap with their aptly titled period-adventure-horror The Yeti. The duo talks to Borrowing Tape about the dearth of yeti films, rewriting the mythical creature’s historical origins, while letting us in on the secrets behind creating the gargantuan beast on set. Listen here.

The hotly anticipated and hotly debated Michael Jackson biopic traces the rise and early career of the King of Pop (MJ’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in his screen debut) from child prodigy to enigmatic moonwalker. First, let’s get the headline-making context out of the way. As has been heavily reported already, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic underwent a chaotic behind-the-scenes journey before heading to the big screen.

After Sam (Kate Mara) crash-lands back to Earth, she’s urged by her high-ranking military dad (Laurence Fishburne) to lie low and rehabilitate in a swanky house in the woods. Separated from her family and recovering from her injuries, Sam is hell-bent on prepping for her next mission while suspecting an otherworldly presence from her last mission. A neat Spielbergian space thriller.

Hello everyone, I am Shaurya Thapa of Borrowing Tape, and greetings to our listeners on planet Earth. I say that because today I'm joined with Jess Varley, the writer and director of the space drama The Astronaut. Welcome Jess. How are you feeling today? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. How are you? I'm good. I'm on planet Earth. No motion sickness. I could never be one, but that's great to hear, Jess.

Project Hail Mary opens with a man waking up on a spaceship with zero memory of who he is or how he got there. Based on Andy Weir’s bestseller, it’s a high-concept grounded in survival. Rylan Grace (Ryan Gosling) must improvise his way through an impossible situation, and as the stakes keep rising, every solution feels like a gamble. Gosling leads this sci-fi thriller, which makes a great companion to The Martian.

Floria (Leonie Benesch) is a nurse committed to performing her duties even if a late night at an understaffed hospital tests her limits. ​Petra Volpe’s frantic medical drama uses long takes and panicky situations but never resorts to soapy spectacle. Written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe (The Divine Order), Late Shift is set entirely over the course of a night as Floria and a colleague tirelessly devote themselves to a barrage of patients.