Interview: ‘His Three Daughters’ Filmmaker Azazel Jacobs on What the Movie Means to Him

Of the many reasons why His Three Daughters is such an affecting work is the personal touch filmmaker Azazel Jacobs gives to it. While he’s created the characters played by Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Jay O. Sanders, they all feel like people we know. Jacobs clearly knows them, in a profound way. A year after debuting to acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, the movie has now hit Netflix. Recently, I sat down with Jacobs to discuss the flick. Today, that chat comes your way.

In my review here, I had the following to say about Jacobs and his filmmaking:

Writer/director Azazel Jacobs really breaks through here, essaying a bittersweet work that has laughs as well as tears. The direction is admittedly simple and does make you wonder if this was once a play, but the writing is just so good. The layers on each character, especially Lyonne’s, is incredible. It all builds incredibly well, including up to the moment that moved me so strongly. Jacobs has been doing interesting work for years, but His Three Daughters is on a whole other level.

Below, you can hear my conversation with Jacobs. We spoke a bit about the Mets as recording began, but we pick up right afterwards. I was interested in hearing about all aspects of the work, including what being at the finish line means to Jacobs. He’s very thoughtful with his answers, so the discussion goes to some interesting places. We spend lots of time talking about Sanders’ character too, which I don’t think happens as often as the sisters for him. It’s a lovely talk for a lovely film. If you haven’t seen His Three Daughters yet, the movie is on Netflix and is a must see…

Here now is my interview with His Three Daughters writer/director Azazel Jacobs. Enjoy:

His Three Daughters is currently streaming on Netflix!