Ahead of Things We Like’s premiere, director Adi Jahić joins Split Picks to discuss his debut feature and an underseen classic from a beloved character actor
Writer-director Adi Jahić spoke with Split Tooth back in February about his excellent debut film,Things We Like, which he also edited and is featured on screen in a crucial second act role. Early in the conversation, Jahić noted that he’s rarely inspired by films in the traditional sense, never watching anything while at work on a project or making conscious homage. He credits Tom Noonan’s What Happened Was…, however, with convincing him to set out on directing a feature-length film of his own. Jahić describes the 1994 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner as, like the best features, “saying a short film’s worth of things every 10 minutes.”
Things We Like premieres next week at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. In anticipation of the May 17 screening, Jahić joined associate film editor Bennett Glace to discuss how both his film and Noonan’s present viewers with unexpected emotional turns, the benefits of the occasional mishap on set, and more.
Listen to the episode below, or on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon:
Check out the online premiere of Things We Like, hosted by Split Tooth:
Six films to watch, suggested by Adi Jahić:
Last month, we asked Adi Jahić to compile a list of recommended viewing for our newsletter. His list is included below in full, including links to where you can watch each film. Sign up for our newsletter here for more recommended viewing and listening from our staff and favorite artists.
1: The Forest for the Trees, Maren Ade (2003)
This film by Maren Ade moved me after the first viewing, but took another for me to really get. Ade’s incredible style shapes this film about loneliness and connection into something very special.
Stream on Kanopy or Tubi
2: In Between Days, So-Yong Kim (2006)
So-Yong Kim’s films are so soft and delicate and this one, her debut, is perhaps the most so. Kim allows this film to so often be in between emotions and in between meanings.
Stream on Kanopy
3: Scenes From a Marriage, Ingmar Bergman (1973)
This is the greatest, most beautifully human film I have ever seen, and is the best from Bergman’s incredible filmography in my opinion. Make sure you watch the full, 5-hour episodic version (not the 2-hour version) as the film deserves it.
Stream on The Criterion Channel
4: A Man Escaped, Robert Bresson (1956)
Every Bresson film could’ve made it on this list, but this is the one I connected with most (though there are some of his I haven’t yet found). The way Bresson alters consciousnesses and creates meanings are like no other, but most of all he creates powerful, unique emotions.
Stream on Criterion Channel or Amazon Prime
5: Funny Ha Ha, Andrew Bujalski (2002)
A movie full of flutters and jagged edges, Funny Ha Ha is Bujalski’s debut and is, in my opinion, his masterpiece. With great performances by Bujalski and Dollenmayer, it creates nuanced, everchanging meanings; it does a lot more than simply feel realistic
Stream on Kanopy
6: Present Company, Frank V. Ross (2008)
Present Company is the film that most strongly presents the attributes that make me love Ross’s films. This film is so raw in its emotions and meanings: it doesn’t give any room for melodrama nor cleanliness. It’s one of the best ever American movies.
Present Company is available to rent at Portland’s Movie Madness video store
Read about Present Company in Split Tooth’s Films of Frank V. Ross essay and interview series
Read our essay on What Happened Was… from 2021:
Stream What Happened Was… on Amazon Prime
Purchase What Happened Was… on Blu-ray
Follow Things We Like on Instagram for screening times, to be announced soon!
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Split Picks theme music by Nick Miller, Lee Walker, and Craig Wright
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