Panelists

Denis Villeneuve

Co-Writer/Director/Producer

Mary Parent

Producer

Tanya Lapointe

Producer

“I tried to be faithful to Frank Herbert’s vision about the idea of a cautionary tale, about being careful with charismatic figures, and the danger of blending religion and politics.”

Panelists

Jacques Audiard

Writer/Director

Karla Sofía Gascón

Actor

Zoe Saldaña

Actor

Adriana Paz

Actor

Selena Gomez

Actor

“Fundamentally, the DNA of the film is opera. And opera gives us so much freedom. It allows for all these forms…”

Panelists

Mike Leigh

Writer/Director

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Actor

Michele Austin

Actor

“What’s really important is to see Black British families in this context, being a family having anxieties, dealing with their issues – because real Black families do.”

Panelists

RaMell Ross

Co-Writer/Director

Ethan Herisse

Actor

Brandon Wilson

Actor

“If you’re going to tackle something like this and turn it into a film, you have to reimagine it completely, or you risk making a terrible film of a brilliant book, which is everyone’s nightmare.” 

Panelists

Malcolm Washington

Co-Writer/Director

John David Washington

Actor

Danielle Deadwyler

Actor

Alexandre Desplat

Composer

“It was so fearless because, right away, we were like, OK, we’re making our film. There’s a lot of versions of this story that exist, and this one is ours.”

Panelists

Chris Sanders

Writer/Director

Kris Bowers

Composer

Lupita Nyong’o

Actor

“Alexa, Siri, and, you know, those voices on TikTok and Instagram that are so positive and nothing’s ever wrong. That sort of can-do attitude. That was the starting point for Roz …”

Panelists

Nick Park

Director

Merlin Crossingham

Director

Carla Shelley

Executive Producer

“I think we’re going to make everybody cry. We’re going to surprise everybody and make you laugh as well. It’s really emotional. That’s what’s at the heart of it.”