THE DIRECTOR'S NOTEBOOK RECOMMENDS

Creative works worth returning to, studying closely, and thinking deeply about

One of the questions I get asked most often is: “What should I be watching?”

The truth is, I watch everything. Films. Television. Music videos. Experimental shorts. Performances. Old cinema. New cinema. Things that are technically brilliant. Things that are emotionally messy but formally fascinating. Work that succeeds wildly and work that collapses under the weight of its own ambition but still teaches me something valuable.

As a filmmaker, I think studying other artists is essential. Not in the sense of imitation, but in the sense of learning how images function emotionally. Learning how tension is built. Learning why certain performances stay with us. Learning what the camera reveals that dialogue cannot. Learning how rhythm, sound, silence, movement, editing, atmosphere, and emotional pressure all shape the experience of a story.

My hometown of New Orleans is a place where storytelling feels alive. Stories exist in the architecture, in the music drifting through neighborhoods, in family histories, in second lines, in the rhythm of conversations, in grief, in humor, in food, in silence. It’s a city that teaches you very early that storytelling is not simply information. It’s feeling. Memory. Atmosphere. Spirit.

So this series isn’t bout reviews. I’m not particularly interested in assigning stars or deciding whether something is “good” or “bad.” I’m interested in looking beneath the surface of the work and asking deeper questions.

Why does this scene linger in our minds? Why does a particular performance feel truthful? How is dread being constructed? What emotional language is the camera speaking? Why do some images haunt us long after the story itself is over?

Sometimes I’ll write about horror films. Sometimes television episodes. Sometimes performances. Sometimes music videos, short films, or visual artists whose work I think filmmakers should spend time studying closely. Some of these works will be masterpieces. Others will simply contain moments of brilliance worth examining.

And honestly, some of the most valuable lessons in filmmaking come from works that are flawed, contradictory, or reaching beyond their grasp.

More than anything, this series is meant to be an ongoing conversation about the craft itself and the endless ways artists teach one another how to see.

I’d also love for you all to share your own recommendations with me along the way. Some of the greatest films, books, and artists I’ve ever encountered came through conversation, community, and people saying, “You need to watch this.”

So consider this a new corner of The Director’s Notebook - living inside of THE CASE FILES - an evolving archive of creative works worth studying seriously.

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THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER - kicks off the series.

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Stacey Muhammad is a writer, director, and daughter of New Orleans. Her lens is committed to the cinematic testimony of Black life and the unyielding brilliance of the Southern imagination. From her upcoming feature film, The Return, to her directing work on series including Amazon Prime’s CROSS, Queen Sugar, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Harlem, she tells stories where Black people are the architects of the narrative, not the scenery. She is the creator of The Director’s Notebook, a digital film school and creative sanctuary for those reclaiming their birthright through craft and truth.

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