Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
What does love look like? In mainstream film and television, it usually means grand gestures, dramatic fallings out and reunions – and all of these highs and lows navigated by people with remarkable facial symmetry, of course. The short documentary Couple in a Room Smoking Cigarettes (2020) invites viewers to bear witness to a less romantic, although, for many around the world, perhaps more relatable form of love. Following Jadwiga and Wiesław Wójcikowie over the course of a day, Katarzyna Gondek, a Polish-born filmmaker based in Belgium, offers a close-up look at the quotidian routines that define their lives together. Taking place wordlessly and entirely within the confines of their apartment, the rhythms of toe-tapping, song-humming, snoring, coffee-drinking and, as the title promises, the lighting of many a cigarette, become mesmerising as the film unfolds. With a soft focus, sharp edits and close attention to the sounds of everyday life, the production finds an unlikely poetry in the unremarkable paces of the couple’s partnership.
Director: Katarzyna Gondek
video
Subcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
5 minutes
video
Technology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
video
Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A whale hunt is an act of prayer for an Inuit community north of the Arctic Circle
8 minutes
video
Music
The peculiar beauty of a song caught between composition and improvisation
3 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
video
Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes