What does it take to bring a novel to the screen — and what do you have to leave behind?
Producer Peter Spears and director Daniel Minahan each discovered Shannon Pufahl's On Swift Horses independently, and both knew immediately it had to be a film. In this conversation, filmed during the 2025 Ponta Lopud Film Festival, they talk about adaptation, instinct, casting, and the unexpected collaborations — in music, in editing, in a single a cappella song — that quietly shaped the final film.
No moderator. No script. Just two artists, on an island, in conversation.
Guest biographies
Producer
Peter Spears
Peter Spears is the Oscar-winning producer of Nomadland, which also won Academy Awards for director Chloé Zhao and star Frances McDormand, along with the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Venice Golden Lion, and Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture. Spears produced Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, for which he received an Oscar nomination, and Bones and All, which won the Silver Lion at Venice. His most recent film, On Swift Horses, directed by Daniel Minahan and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, and Diego Calva, premiered at TIFF and was released by Sony Pictures Classics worldwide.
Director, Producer
Daniel Minahan
A Golden Globe winning director and producer, Daniel Minahan’s recent work includes On Swift Horses, which premiered at TIFF and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. He made his feature directorial debut with Series 7: The Contenders, which screened at Sundance and Berlin. Minahan directed and executive produced Fellow Travelers (Fremantle/Paramount+), nominated for Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards, and helmed Halston (Netflix), for which Ewan McGregor won an Emmy. He also directed multiple episodes of Game of Thrones and won an Emmy for The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
