The Assistant Director Awards (ADA) partnered with Meet the ADs podcast to share the winning teams’ insights with a wider audience in a two-part Assistant Director Awards Special podcast episodes.
Julia hosted the 2025 ADA Winners’ Q&A featuring the gold-winning AD teams of Ripley and The Substance.
Episode 17 focuses on the beautifully crafted black-and-white series RIPLEY, an AD-masterclass in precision, planning, and the challenge of locking off extraordinary film locations across Italy.
Julia speaks with: 1st AD Peter Thorell. Key 2nd AD Barbara Pastrovich and Floor 2nd AD Gianluca La Rosa. Also mentioned, though not part of the recording, are Italian 1st AD Davide Sacchetti and 2nd Unit 1st AD Lorenzo de Nicola.
Episode 18 focuses on THE SUBSTANCE. Expect an in-depth look at how the amazing AD team supported the film’s uncompromising vision, managed its high-pressure sequences, balanced its stylistic extremes, and worked together to bring its dark, daring world onto the screen.
Julia speaks with: 1st AD Matthieu de la Mortière, 2nd ADs Olivia Delplace & Benoît Seiller, 2nd 2nd AD Anne Juin, and 3rd ADs Agathe Manzanares & Joséphine Anquiez.
This Q&A was recorded live on Zoom, with a visual audience present and questions coming in throughout the session — so the conversation style is a little different from the usual Meet the ADs episodes.
Meet the ADs team :
Podcast: @meettheads_podcast
Julia & Tim: @juliaeiber @tim.schaer
Post Production Audio: Fabian Simon @fabian_a_simon
Music: Daniel Herget (www.blacktriaudio.de)
Logo Design: Benjamin Probst (www.benjamin-probst.de)
ADU (AD Union Germany): www.ad-union.org/en/home
