I won’t stop, even when my mother tells me, ‘please no more documentaries’
SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2026
GOOD LINKS
- How to make a film with John Wilson (It’s Nice That) — We’ve always enjoyed the observational dryness of filmmaker John Wilson and his HBO series How to With John Wilson that found unimagined richness in the most banal subjects. His first-ever full-length film explores the history of concrete. Yes, concrete. This interview with It’s Nice That brings his curiosity to the creative process itself, from pattern recognition and intentional pattern breaking, to why being in an a cappella group makes it impossible to be embarrassed by anything else ever again.
- “I won’t stop. Even when my mother tells me, ‘please, no more documentaries’” (The Creative Independent) — This interview with documentarian Drew DeNicola, director of films on musicians Big Star and (forthcoming) Sun Ra, contains lots of wisdom on the importance of persistence. “Staying interested starts with finding the right subject to begin with. There have been plenty of nights… where I was up all night on an edit, out of money, feeling terrible, asking myself: Is this really as good as I think it is? Is it worth all this time? And the answer always comes back almost immediately: It’s totally worth it.” Don’t believe your own hype but make sure you actually believe in your inspiration.
- “A completely blank newsletter” (Melissa Broder) — We’ve officially reached the phase of social media where intentionally sending empty newsletters is what it takes to feel and say something. So much noise.
SPOTLIGHT: From Earth to Sky
Earlier this year, our friends and neighbors at Are.na and Triple Canopy hosted a night of talks exploring the metaphors we use to describe the internet that are based on the natural world. Everything from the cloud to the dark forest.
Speakers included Ingrid Burrington, Ruby Justice Thelot, Lai Yi Ohlsen, and Becca Abbe, with each giving individual presentations as well as a group conversation. The discussion touches on questions we’ve been asking too: how much are we really ‘living’ online, and what do we actually want from the spaces we share?
Read a recap, with videos, from Are.na here.
SOFTER Digital Futures 2026
Our DFOS friends SOFTER are returning to Rødvig, Denmark next week for their annual conference. The lineup and festivities look excellent: three days of workshops, talks, performances, and shared meals bringing together designers, artists, technologists, and activists to imagine more caring, collaborative ways of making technology.
Our own Danielle Paterson is hosting “Dark Forest OS: Transmissions From New Internets,” a workshop where small groups use DFOS to build their own worlds from the ground up and explore how we might connect, inhabit, protect and create differently online. If you’re in Denmark, come find us. More here.
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DFOS
