By Amir Ganjavie. The central questions in Western philosophy concern what is truth, reality, and right or wrong. Major sources of debate for Greek philosophers, these notions have become very problematic in our postmodern virtual world. As Jean Baudriallrd argues, it is no longer truth that shapes reality but rather reality which […]
Letting Welsh Drama Breathe: Gareth Bryn on The Passing
April 11, 2016
By Paul Risker. The dark psychological drama The Passing (2016) is a moment in which the Welsh landscape is blighted by yet another brooding tale. Although just as characters of film are stalked by their dramatist creators who make them the prey of dramatic provocation, so too can the landscape be […]
Curating the 2016 Tribeca Shorts – A Conversation with Sharon Badal
April 9, 2016
By Gary M. Kramer. It’s Tribeca Film Festival time again, which means my annual conversation with Sharon Badal, curator of the festival’s shorts programs. This year’s fantastic line up offer some new programs: California Dreaming, which features stories from the other coast; Warped Speed, a first-ever Sci-Fi program (in honor […]
On Trauma, Loss, and Fatherhood: An Interview with Joachim Trier on Louder Than Bombs
April 7, 2016
By Amir Ganjavie. Louder Than Bombs, Joachim Trier’s third feature, tells the story of an aging schoolteacher (Gabriel Byrne) who grapples with the recent death of his wife (Isabelle Huppert) and tries to find a way to reconcile with his two sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid). Quite a bold entry […]
Fear and Trust: Dana Ivgy on Performing Next to Her
April 4, 2016
By Paul Risker. While fear and trust can be perceived as two opposing forces within the human experience, for actor Dana Ivgy these two forces converged in her portrayal of an autistic sibling in the touching Israeli drama Next To Her (2014). “It was obviously a very big challenge and lesson for […]
This Still Can’t Be Happening! – Callan Potter on Bruno and Boots: Go Jump in the Pool!
April 3, 2016
By Tom Ue. In 1976, Gordon Korman’s seventh grade track-and-field coach-turned English teacher had given the class time to write: he completed what became This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978, updated in 2003), the first installment in his Macdonald Hall (Bruno and Boots) series (1978-1995). The novel appeared two […]
An Interview With Gayle Kirschenbaum: Look At Us Now, Mother!
By Anna Weinstein. Gayle Kirschenbaum ’s 2004 documentary A Dog’s Life: A Dogamentary, which premiered on HBO, explores the bond between dogs and humans, told through her relationship with her Shih Tzu, Chelsea. Her documentary short, My Nose (2007), was a festival favorite and became the inspiration for her most recent […]
“A Strange, Organized Mixture”: David Farr on The Ones Below
March 15, 2016
By Paul Risker. David Farr’s directorial feature debut The Ones Below (2016) reflects ambition stemming from the storyteller’s youth, before his career in theatre that held back work in film. As Farr explains: “I came out of university in the early to mid-nineties and it was just a very difficult environment in those […]
A Conversation with Marco Berger
March 11, 2016
By Mark James. Argentinean director Marco Berger first gained notoriety for his 2009 Berlin Film Festival hit, Plan B—a film that explored modern gay romance in an ironically authentic Buenos Aires where nothing is as it appears on its surface. In the film Berger fuses genuine erotic suspense with romantic comedy […]
Keeping it Bleak, and Feminist: Gilles Paquet-Brenner on Dark Places
February 27, 2016
By Paul Risker. Neither is the final version of a film nor the path of the filmmaker a collection of exclusive deliberate creative choices. Writer/director Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s breakthrough came with Sarah’s Key (2010), a story that follows one woman’s journey into the past that has subsequently been echoed by Dark Places […]