Blake Simons

Blake Simons is a London-based journalist and film programmer with a taste for the self-reflexive, sentimental, and surreal. You can find their other writing at BFI, The Film Stage, ScreenAnarchy, and more. They are creative director of the London International Fantastic Film Festival.

Actor Benjamin Turnbull (left) and Director Devin Shears (right) of 'Cherub'

‘It’s about being seen’: Devin Shears and Benjamin Turnbull on ‘Cherub’

Interviews - Blake Simons - 21 June 2025

INSIDE OUT 2025: From graduation project to festival favourite, the director and actor discuss sincerity, vulnerability, and forming relationships through images.

Directors Ivan Leung (right) and Harrison Xu of 'Extremely Unique Dynamic'

‘This interview is a meta extension of the film’: Ivan Leung and Harrison Xu on ‘Extremely Unique Dynamic’

Interviews - Blake Simons - 27 April 2025

QUEER EAST 2025: The long-time friends and now directors offer a look into what they really wanted to create, as filmmakers, in their riotous comedic debut feature.

Left to right: Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, directors of 'Night Stage'

‘It’s important to us that desire wins’: Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher on ‘Night Stage’

Interviews - Blake Simons - 31 March 2025

BFI FLARE 2025: The Brazilian writer-director duo talks performance, life’s perpetual push-and-pulls, and provoking the audience’s horniness in their erotic thriller.

'Outerlands' writer-director Elena Oxman

‘In my experience of writing and filmmaking, a lot comes from the gut’: Elena Oxman on ‘Outerlands’

Interviews, Long Reads - Blake Simons - 25 March 2025

BFI FLARE 2025: The US writer-director explores the origins of her debut feature’s nonbinary central character, finding the nostalgic and sacred through screens and music, and creating a sort of cinematic infinity mirror.