By N. Buket Cengiz. The 12th edition of Documentarist, the sole independent documentary festival in Turkey, was held on 15-20 June 2019 in Istanbul with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy, consulates of Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Check Republic, Denmark and other institutions such as the Goethe Institute. Among the […]
In the Heart of the World: Soap Opera Meets Social Realism in Brazil
Martin Kudlá?
July 22, 2019
By Martin Kudláč. The Brazilian cinema has been in the viewfinder of the International Film Festival Rotterdam for some time now and certainly for a good reason. New talents have been emerging and captivating cinema has been pouring out of the country despite the ever-increasing political turbulences. Brazilian films have been […]
Bonding vs. Protection: Jan Zabeil’s Three Peaks
July 18, 2019
By Gary M. Kramer. Made in 2017, but just getting a release now, Jan Zabeil’s Three Peaks is a flinty chamber drama set mainly in the Dolomites. And despite the spectacular mountain range location – the title refers to Aaron’s (Alexander Fehling) favorite rock formation – most of this nervy film is extremely claustrophobic. The story […]
Deadites vs. Adaptation: Media and The Evil Dead
Valerie Guyant
July 18, 2019
By Valerie Guyant. The following is an excerpt from The Many Lives of The Evil Dead: Essays on the Cult Film Franchise, © 2019, Edited by Ron Riekki and Jeffrey A. Sartain by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640. www.mcfarlandbooks.com. Evil Dead has been adapted for different media, […]
The Immigrant Dream Life: An Interview with Amir Ganjavie on Pendulum
July 15, 2019
By Ali Moosavi. Pendulum is the first film made by Amir Ganjavie, an Iranian diaspora film critic (and a Film International contributor), based in Toronto. Ganjavie is engaged in a wide variety of cinematic activities. He has pioneered the Iranian Film Festival in Toronto, an annual festival showcasing the cream of […]
Film Scratches: Multiple Remembrances of Things Past – Luz en la Copa (2017)
July 11, 2019
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. In Luz en la Copa (Light in the Cup), a complex and brilliant experimental feature by Bolivian filmmaker Alejandro Pereyra Doria […]
Forbidden Desire: The Reports on Sarah and Saleem
Ali Moosavi
July 10, 2019
By Ali Moosavi. If the quality of a country’s cinema is judged on a per capita basis, then surely Palestine would be sitting at the top table. For a country boasting a population of less than five million, it has consistently been producing films of a very high standard and […]
Reconciliatory Depiction of Time: Richard Billingham’s Ray & Liz
Mina Radovic
July 10, 2019
By Mina Radovic. Richard Billingham’s debut as a director is an unjudgmental, observational, frequently difficult, and highly internalized portrait of his family. Composed to the brim, glacial but consistent in its movement of the camera, with a beautifully decaying pastel colour texture, the film follows a series of interconnected vignettes […]
All in the Method – Remembering British Television: Audience and Industry by Kristyn Gorton and Joanne Garde Hansen
July 9, 2019
A Book Review by Tony Williams. This recent monograph (Bloomsbury/BFI, 2019) aims to debate the importance of everyday TV memories involving academics, audiences, and fans, in terms of recent theoretical developments in the field of British television studies. It is an academic study in the full-sense of the term, one […]
Alone on New Adventures: Lara and Patrick (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
Ali Moosavi
July 8, 2019
By Ali Moosavi. Two films competing for the main prizes at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Both having a person’s name as their title. Lara (Jan Ole Gerster) from Germany and Patrick (Tim Mielants) from Belgium. Lara opens with a shot of the eponymous character, alone in her bedroom, […]