Elissa Suh

New York

i write about film and food | @mubi @screenslate @eater @bonappetit @lithub @bombmagazine @voguemagazine @filmmakermag @archdigest @anothergaze @tmagazine

Articles

CINEMA HOTLINE: What are the best movies under 90-minutes?

1 week ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Earlier this year I saw Harmony Korine’s Baby Invasion at “new york’s largest independent music venue” presented by EDGLRD a one-night-only live remix edition. The main screen was flanked by two others, projecting alternate and additional footage—chopped, screwed, and distorted in real time by Korine himself, tucked away at a computer somewhere in our midst.
All the pasta I ate in Palermo-and The Leopard

3 weeks ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I just got back from Italy and that I’ve been in a mild shock since. Not because of a withdrawal from the country’s beauty (expected), or the food (also expected), but because of what happened after: I started cooking again, after a long rut, trying to recreate meals with varying degrees of success, less out of inspiration than hungry frustration. Getting one thing out of the way: the famously grotesque American portion size is myth in nyc.
Film and food diary, late spring

1 month ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

I'm in Europe—but not at Cannes (I'm keeping tabs on the festival through everyone I know here. The American movies are highly anticipated this year, not usually the case). I'm in Italy on a long-overdue honeymoon.
Zeinabu irene Davis by Elissa Suh

1 month ago | bombmagazine.org | Elissa Suh

Zeinabu irene Davis is a pioneering voice in independent Black cinema. A member of the influential UCLA “LA Rebellion” movement alongside filmmakers like Charles Burnett and Julie Dash, Davis has long used the medium to explore overlooked histories and underrepresented lives, particularly those of Black women.
Bonjour Tristesse and an interview with Durga Chew-Bose

1 month ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Next week is my birthday, which I will kick off as usual with a matinee. Rarely are there compelling new movies in early May, but this year it’s different. Today sees the release of three excellent films—Pavements, Vulcanizadora, Bonjour Tristesse—each pulling in wildly different directions. In today’s newsletter: I only have space to go deep on one, Durga Chew-Bose’s stunning directorial debut that I have been raving about since September.
Visual art on film with Saffron Maeve đ¨

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

I realize, with a small pang of guilt, that Iâve neglected to provide any kind of food update lately. I havenât not been eatingâquite the opposite. The (hopefully not false) promise of spring has me wandering the city and nibbling on whatever I can get my hands on, which I admittedly do in the winter, too. But it always feels more desperate then.
Let me solve your movie dilemmas

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

In Haley Mlotek's book No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, she writes about preferring to watch movies when they aligns with her mood, allowing her to absorb its full impact. “I want them most when they are uncanny replicas of life—moments and experiences used like elements rather than reflections. They warp under being watched.”I can relate. But sometimes, the right moment never comes.
Q: What movies should I play at a party?

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Movies deserve your full attention, but sometimes they’re just background viewing, but not in the mindless, nefariously passive way of Netflix. of Buttered Popcorn asks what makes the perfect party backdrop, much like the bar at Nitehawk, where old films silently play on a vintage TV. Could some movies actually be more enjoyable on mute? When it comes to party-movies, subtitles and genre movies are your friends here.
FOOL'S SPRING

Mar 25, 2025 | pigmami.substack.com | Jalil Johnson |Elissa Suh

I always consult last year’s outfits or phone a friend in whiplash weather. These are the fluffy, fun ideas that have recently come to me by way of last year’s camera roll, and running into real friends going about their real lives. Kicking off with my precious Tibi sweater I purchased in 2024.
SHORT TAKES #07 - by Elissa Suh - MOVIEPUDDING

Mar 19, 2025 | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Compact appraisals of things I’ve recently watched and eaten. Read them all here. My latest savory pastry obsession are the pigs in a bed (stuy) fromWelcome Home,a newish bakery from L'appartement 4F alum. The lattice croissaint is filled with sausage cooked with cayenne, and a hint of maple syrup. The best bits are the unassuming parts of the dough directly under the fennel-scented sausage that have been steamed into something soft like cheese or frangipane.