The Tom Luddy Connection: The Man, The Movies, The Rolodex

The Tom Luddy Connection: The Man, The Movies, The Rolodex

From The Kitchen Sisters Present by The Kitchen Sisters & Radiotopia

September 1, 2026 · 53 min · Episode 293

About this episode

The episode explores the life and impact of Tom Luddy on the film industry and his connections with filmmakers and festivals.

Tom Luddy was a quiet titan of cinema. He presided over the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley for some 10 years, co-founded and directed the Telluride Film Festival for nearly 50 years, produced some 14 movies, match-made dozens of international love affairs, and foraged for the most beautiful, political, important, risky films and made sure there was a place for them to be seen in the world. And he made sure that the people making this powerful work were known and knew each other. Tom Luddy with his photographic memory, his infinite rolodex, his encyclopedic knowledge of global cinema and his catalytic ability to connect people, caused the most unusual of collaborations to come to be. Tom championed the French New Wave, the Czech New Wave, Brazilian cinema novo, dissident Soviet cinema, directors Francis Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Agnes Varda, Les Blank, Paul Schrader, Agnieszka Holland, Barry Jenkins, Laurie Anderson and countless others. Tom passed away on February 13, 2023. There’s a giant hole in the screen without him here. But his DNA is in the hundreds of filmmakers, musicians, writers and activists he nurtured and inspired. As film enthusiasts gather this…

People in this episode

Hosts: Davia Nelson, Nikki Silva

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Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pacific Film Archive, Telluride Film Festival

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