Claudia Puig, president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, is currently a critic for NPR’s “FilmWeek” and a contributor to NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” Before moderating a Zócalo/UCLA panel discussion titled “Will Black Panther Really Change Hollywood?” at the ArcLight Hollywood, she spoke in the green room about soufflé, a nun who taught Eastern religion, and films that the public loves and she hates.
What superpower would you most like to have?
Toss-up between flying and reading people’s minds.
What dessert do you find impossible to resist?
A chocolate soufflé I had at a Cajun place in Santa Barbara, a place called The Palace Grill.
What teacher or professor changed your life, if any?
I had a teacher, believe it or not, in high school, a Catholic girls high school (which I would not recommend), who was a nun. In the 1970s, she was open-minded, and she taught a class called comparative religions. We learned about Western and Eastern religions, about Daoism, Islam, all of it …. And then she taught a class in religious literature. She opened up my mind.
Where do you go to be alone?
I like to go walking. My neighborhood is in a canyon, and there’s an area that’s off the roads—a little hiking trail. It’s just a verdant and peaceful world up there. When I see green, it makes me happy.
Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime?
Netflix. Followed by Amazon. I don’t do Hulu at all.
How many movies do you see in a year?
A couple hundred.
What, if anything, will you eat or drink while watching a movie?
An iced tea or water.
You are currently program director for the Mendocino Film Festival. What sort of films play best there?
A lot of environmentalist documentaries, political documentaries, music documentaries, films about social issues. We showed Dolores about Dolores Huerta, and she was there. It was a huge hit. We also showed Rumble: Indians Who Rocked the World—a documentary—and they loved it.
What is your favorite non-American film?
A German film, The Lives of Others, closely followed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Is there a publicly beloved film that you can’t stand?
Terms of Endearment, I hate. Forrest Gump, not a fan. Titanic, hate. I could go on.
What was the last book you read?
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng.