Elissa Suh

New York

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

Articles

Zeinabu irene Davis by Elissa Suh

6 days 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 week 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 weeks 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

1 month 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?

1 month 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

1 month ago | 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

1 month ago | 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.
Meet Susan Chardy, the Breakout Star of Rungano Nyoni’s Thrilling and Urgent ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’

2 months ago | vogue.com | Elissa Suh

In recent years, a wave of films has sought to confront the horrors of sexual violence and abuse against women, but On Becoming a Guinea Fowl stands apart. The second feature from Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, who won the Un Certain Regard award for best director at Cannes, the film balances the comic, the tragic, and the surreal with a gutting sense of urgency. Susan Chardy as Shula in On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, in theaters now. Photo: Chibesa Mulumba.
Honest opinions on this year's Oscar nominees

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

The Oscars are the pinnacle of middlebrow culture. Sometimes a nomination can even diminish or complicate my interest in a particular film, that stamp of “prestige” rendering it over- or underrated or simultaneously both. Take Conclave, for instance, which can be viewed as either an airplane movie or more, depending on when you clocked it during its hype cycle. During awards season, watching movies is about managing expectations more so than usual. All to say, don’t take the Oscars too seriously.
WHERE I'M EATING IN NYC NOW

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

Taking a page froom Grub Street and from The Angel, this is an honest accounting of where I’m dining and where I’m looking forward to eating the most most. It features a mix of restaurants frequenting on the regular, and others I’m excited to check out. It’s truer to life than a typical “best” or “hottest” list, and I’ll likely expand on places I try in future posts. Let me know what’s on your radar, or if end up at any of these restaurants and want tips on what to order. Updated 2/27.