Pakinam Amer
@pakinamamer.bsky.social
Emmy-winning journalist. Aspiring screenwriter & filmmaker. Immersive storyteller @ MIT Virtuality. Former KSJ fellow. Board @ Imagine Science Films. Words & podcasts: SciAm, Nature, Science, The Boston Globe & others.
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
“In my experience, every kind of writing requires some kind of self-soothing Jedi mind trick, and, when it comes to essay composition, this rectangle is mine.” Zadie Smith shares the blueprint she uses to write impersonal essays. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/wen976
The Art of the Impersonal Essay, by Zadie Smith
In my experience, every kind of writing requires some kind of self-soothing Jedi mind trick, and, when it comes to essay composition, the rectangle is mine.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 16, 2025 at 12:00 AM
“In my experience, every kind of writing requires some kind of self-soothing Jedi mind trick, and, when it comes to essay composition, this rectangle is mine.” Zadie Smith shares the blueprint she uses to write impersonal essays. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/wen976
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
This story has me losing it tbh www.latimes.com/california/s...
Beloved SoCal octopus will spend her final days caring for eggs that will never hatch
News of the approaching demise of Ghost, a giant Pacific octopus at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, prompted an outpouring of sadness on social media.
www.latimes.com
September 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
This story has me losing it tbh www.latimes.com/california/s...
So have people agreed on an alternative to #coverfly? #scriptsky
July 24, 2025 at 12:39 PM
So have people agreed on an alternative to #coverfly? #scriptsky
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
It’s horrifying indeed
July 18, 2025 at 10:36 PM
It’s horrifying indeed
Breath of fresh air podcasts.apple.com/eg/podcast/t... #podcast
The Secret Sex Lives of Muslim Women - EPISODE 1 - Salma Hindy's Sexual Journey
Podcast Episode · The Secret Sex Lives of Muslim Women · 21/04/2025 · 49m
podcasts.apple.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Breath of fresh air podcasts.apple.com/eg/podcast/t... #podcast
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
Same-sex relationships have existed since time immemorial. What’s newly visible is the notion that engaging in them might be an exclusive preference and defining quality.
How “The First Homosexuals” Shaped an Identity
A timely exhibition dissects the emergence of modern ideas about gender and sexuality—and the backlash against them.
www.newyorker.com
July 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Same-sex relationships have existed since time immemorial. What’s newly visible is the notion that engaging in them might be an exclusive preference and defining quality.
In a pop interview with Nicholas Hoult for Letterboxd, he mentioned how brilliant the storyboarding was for No Country for Old Men & how it was great to see how the Coens prepared.
Anyone has the storyboards for the film and can share them? I’m so curious! #filmsky #writing #directing
Anyone has the storyboards for the film and can share them? I’m so curious! #filmsky #writing #directing
July 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
In a pop interview with Nicholas Hoult for Letterboxd, he mentioned how brilliant the storyboarding was for No Country for Old Men & how it was great to see how the Coens prepared.
Anyone has the storyboards for the film and can share them? I’m so curious! #filmsky #writing #directing
Anyone has the storyboards for the film and can share them? I’m so curious! #filmsky #writing #directing
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
The photographer Robert Giard created an archive of more than 600 queer writers, including Allen Ginsberg, Edmund White, Audre Lorde, and more.
An Enduring Archive of Queer Writers’ Portraits
Robert Giard spent his career photographing hundreds of cultural luminaries and niche literary figures in the hopes of “recording something of note” about the gay experience.
nyer.cm
June 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The photographer Robert Giard created an archive of more than 600 queer writers, including Allen Ginsberg, Edmund White, Audre Lorde, and more.
I’m always amazed at how similar Pakistanis and Egyptians are — down to the humor, even. Two sprouts from the same seed.
June 25, 2025 at 12:37 PM
I’m always amazed at how similar Pakistanis and Egyptians are — down to the humor, even. Two sprouts from the same seed.
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
In this week’s Directed By Women Viewing Guide: two new docs, a queer dramedy, a coming-of-(old)-age drama, one of Netflix’s best films on the big screen, a screening series at MoMA, Il Cinema Ritrovato, a doc on PBS, a pair of teen sex comedies, and a Palestinian short film.
For the sake of our present we have to forget our past.
Weekly Directed By Women Viewing Guide
oldfilmsflicker.substack.com
June 20, 2025 at 3:47 PM
In this week’s Directed By Women Viewing Guide: two new docs, a queer dramedy, a coming-of-(old)-age drama, one of Netflix’s best films on the big screen, a screening series at MoMA, Il Cinema Ritrovato, a doc on PBS, a pair of teen sex comedies, and a Palestinian short film.
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
From 2015: Why being an early bird doesn’t make you superior.
No, Mornings Don’t Make You Moral
We are different people at different hours of the day, but an early bird isn’t superior to a night owl.
www.newyorker.com
June 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM
From 2015: Why being an early bird doesn’t make you superior.
One of the unrivaled masterpieces of non-linear storytelling — the visuals (all practical, no CGI) still stunning two decades later.
June 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
One of the unrivaled masterpieces of non-linear storytelling — the visuals (all practical, no CGI) still stunning two decades later.
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“lmao" said Gandalf, “well it has.”
“lmao" said Gandalf, “well it has.”
July 1, 2024 at 4:44 PM
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“lmao" said Gandalf, “well it has.”
“lmao" said Gandalf, “well it has.”
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
In celebration of #PrideMonth, we’re unlocking 6 standout Sundance Collab event recordings — free to watch all June long. These sessions spotlight LGBTQ+ filmmakers and the stories that move our community forward. 🏳️🌈
🎟️ Use code: PRIDE25
🔗 collab.sundance.org
🎟️ Use code: PRIDE25
🔗 collab.sundance.org
June 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
In celebration of #PrideMonth, we’re unlocking 6 standout Sundance Collab event recordings — free to watch all June long. These sessions spotlight LGBTQ+ filmmakers and the stories that move our community forward. 🏳️🌈
🎟️ Use code: PRIDE25
🔗 collab.sundance.org
🎟️ Use code: PRIDE25
🔗 collab.sundance.org
*chef’s kiss*
should follow more music journalists here
should follow more music journalists here
June 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
*chef’s kiss*
should follow more music journalists here
should follow more music journalists here
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
How To Be a Writer, #111:
Open laptop
Look into the void
Scream into the void
Consider that maybe the void also sometimes feels this way about you
Ask the void if it takes milk
Choose a nice mug for the void
And maybe a chocolate biscuit
Lose yourself in the void
Tea
Open laptop
Look into the void
Scream into the void
Consider that maybe the void also sometimes feels this way about you
Ask the void if it takes milk
Choose a nice mug for the void
And maybe a chocolate biscuit
Lose yourself in the void
Tea
January 23, 2025 at 6:24 PM
How To Be a Writer, #111:
Open laptop
Look into the void
Scream into the void
Consider that maybe the void also sometimes feels this way about you
Ask the void if it takes milk
Choose a nice mug for the void
And maybe a chocolate biscuit
Lose yourself in the void
Tea
Open laptop
Look into the void
Scream into the void
Consider that maybe the void also sometimes feels this way about you
Ask the void if it takes milk
Choose a nice mug for the void
And maybe a chocolate biscuit
Lose yourself in the void
Tea
Anyone have the screenplay for Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda) translated into English, or even in Japanese? I can try and get it translated. For educational purposes.
May 27, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Anyone have the screenplay for Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda) translated into English, or even in Japanese? I can try and get it translated. For educational purposes.
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
Tony Notarberardino’s photographs document the residents of the Chelsea Hotel—a cross-section of sex workers, performers, celebrities, vagrants, and club kids.
These People Used to Live Here?
Before the Chelsea Hotel got swanky, a long-term resident captured the louche building—and its iconic guests—with a black-and-white-film camera.
nyer.cm
May 26, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Tony Notarberardino’s photographs document the residents of the Chelsea Hotel—a cross-section of sex workers, performers, celebrities, vagrants, and club kids.
“Identity is not discovered, it is decided. You do not stumble into greatness, you declare it.”
May 27, 2025 at 9:10 AM
“Identity is not discovered, it is decided. You do not stumble into greatness, you declare it.”
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
Today marks five years since George Floyd was killed by police. Our June 22, 2020 cover “Say Their Names,” by Kadir Nelson, illustrated how Floyd’s murder embodies the history of violence inflicted upon Black people in America. nyer.cm/UmfefJw
May 25, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Today marks five years since George Floyd was killed by police. Our June 22, 2020 cover “Say Their Names,” by Kadir Nelson, illustrated how Floyd’s murder embodies the history of violence inflicted upon Black people in America. nyer.cm/UmfefJw
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
Character Before Clues: The Noir Detective's Code
At the heart of noir is a central tension: the world is corrupt, maybe even irredeemable—but the protagonist refuses to be.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/n...
#writingcommunity #amwritingmystery #mystery #noir #amwriting #booksky
At the heart of noir is a central tension: the world is corrupt, maybe even irredeemable—but the protagonist refuses to be.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/n...
#writingcommunity #amwritingmystery #mystery #noir #amwriting #booksky
May 6, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Character Before Clues: The Noir Detective's Code
At the heart of noir is a central tension: the world is corrupt, maybe even irredeemable—but the protagonist refuses to be.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/n...
#writingcommunity #amwritingmystery #mystery #noir #amwriting #booksky
At the heart of noir is a central tension: the world is corrupt, maybe even irredeemable—but the protagonist refuses to be.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/n...
#writingcommunity #amwritingmystery #mystery #noir #amwriting #booksky
Reposted by Pakinam Amer
Sinners is proving there’s an audience for movies made for grown ups. It’s not Soderbergh’s fault that the studio threw Black Bag out there with no marketing in winter to die.
April 21, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Sinners is proving there’s an audience for movies made for grown ups. It’s not Soderbergh’s fault that the studio threw Black Bag out there with no marketing in winter to die.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb... just catching up to S6
Opinion | Netflix's racist final season of "The Crown" takes the worst lessons from history
The penultimate batch of episodes reinforce the paradigms that made, and make, the brutality of imperialism possible.
www.msnbc.com
April 19, 2025 at 11:17 PM
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb... just catching up to S6