By Daniel Lindvall. At the time of writing [20 August 2015] the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism has just published what is described as ‘the most comprehensive analysis of diversity in recent popular films ever conducted’, focusing on ‘data assessing gender, race/ethnicity and LGBT status […]
The Impossibility of Anti-Montage: Sebastian Schipper on Victoria (2015)
November 7, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. Various contemporary filmmakers like Aleksandr Sokurov and Shahram Mokri have tried to make features through single continuous takes, introducing creative ways to establish the relationship between digital technology, time, and cinema. Sebastian Schipper is among the latest generation of young directors who has entered the field with Victoria […]
Falling Apart Badly: Miss You Already
November 6, 2015
By Elias Savada. I suspect the issues I have with the new Drew Barrymore-Toni Collette BFF “dramedy” Miss You Already (including a 112-minute, too-long running time) is how overwrought and familiar it seems. Despite the earnest approach from its two stars (who also serve, with Christopher Smith, as producers), there isn’t […]
Lensing 20th-Century Britain: An Interview with Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE
November 5, 2015
By David A. Ellis. Sydney Wylie Samuelson CBE was born on 7th December 1925 and is the son of film pioneer, producer and writer George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947), who created Worton Hall and Southall Studios. Worton Hall in Isleworth housed one of the earliest film production companies in the UK. Sydney […]
Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the Politics of Escapism
By Richard Grigg. Director Guy Ritchie’s 2015 film The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is of course inspired by the U.S. television series of the same name, a program that was extraordinarily popular for a brief period in the mid 1960s in America and abroad. Taking its cue from James Bond in […]
Dread in the Family: Luciferous
October 31, 2015
By Elias Savada. An escalating madness is the center of the disturbing world of Luciferous, a slow boil screamer presented at this year’s Spookyfest. The normalcy of city life for young, intelligent professionals Alex and Mahsa, and their vibrant 7-year-old daughter Mina is stretched to the limits of sanity, as […]
Diva Directors Around the Globe: Spotlight on Anne Fontaine
October 25, 2015
By Anna Weinstein. French filmmaker Anne Fontaine has written and directed fourteen films since her debut in 1993. Her films, Dry Cleaning (1997), How I Killed My Father (2001), and Coco Before Chanel (2009) brought her international attention as a writer-director, and her film Nathalie (2003) was adapted into Atom […]
When a Room is No Longer Just a Room: An Interview with Eric Khoo
October 21, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. Eric Khoo’s latest film, In The Room, is a tapestry of stories that all take place over several decades in Room 27 of the Singapura Hotel. Sex is the common thread of the tales and through the individual guests of the hotel we can observe all the facets […]
Reviewing the narratively challenged Masaan
By Devapriya Sanyal. To me Masaan (2015) didn’t give the feeling of eternal life flowing by, in its depiction its multifarious stories, set beside the silently flowing Ganges. The river is witness to a love blooming between two young people as also the death of one, it is also the […]
FilmInt on the Underground: Simon Anderson and Patrick Walsh on Morning Is Broken
October 14, 2015
FilmInt on the Underground is a blog dedicated to emerging filmmakers. An Interview by Tom Ue. Directed by Simon Anderson, and produced by Elisabeth Hopper and James Northcote, Morning is Broken was selected as part of the BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival, the British Council fiveFilms4freedom series, the Inside Out Toronto […]