Brief Encounter is a series by Canal180 where two directors sit down to talk about cinema.

In this episode, Bette Gordon and John Smith talk about the role of humour in storytelling, performing a persona on screen, the freedom of separating sound from image, the part chance plays in making a film, and why narrative never quite gives desire its ending.

Bette Gordon emerged from New York's downtown independent film scene in the late 1970s and early '80s, she became one of the defining voices of feminist and avant-garde cinema. In the same orbit as filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch and James Benning, Gordon made films like "Variety" that probed the politics of looking, desire, and urban life, helping reshape the language of American independent cinema.

For over five decades, John Smith has quietly redefined what cinema can be, transforming everyday observations into playful, thought-provoking films that blur the boundaries between documentary, fiction, and conceptual art. Emerging from London's experimental film scene, he has become one of Britain's most influential and distinctive voices in artist filmmaking.

In partnership with Curtas de Vila do Conde.