By Leo Collis. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth, American Teacher is a documentary that focuses on the lives of four teachers, as they approach different points in their careers. Going beyond their role as educators, the film looks at how the profession has shaped their personal lives, and […]
Sexual Chronicles of a French Family (2011)
May 30, 2012
By Gary M. Kramer. Intensely erotic, and featuring beaucoup nudity, Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold’s Sexual Chronicles of a French Family wants to talk about–and show–people having sex. The filmmakers delight in presenting the subject both visually and verbally as the characters discuss sex as much as they are seen […]
Welcome To The Majority (2012)
By Leo Collis. After working in film and television for nearly a decade, Russell Owen steps up to present his debut full-length production, Welcome to the Majority. The film is centred on a post-apocalyptic purgatory, where nine people are forced to face their demons to find a way out. Split […]
Silent House (2011)
By Steven Harrison Gibbs. For nearly a decade, the horror genre seems to have been stuck in an immense black hole, from which has seeped a rank plague of remakes – be they of American classics or foreign sensations. On rare occasion, there might be a faint whiff of creativity […]
The Day He Arrives (2011): 55th San Francisco International Film Festival Review
By Janine Gericke. Korean writer and director Hong Sangsoo’s new film The Day He Arrives follows a former filmmaker and now professor, Seongjun, who seems to be stuck in every sense of the word. It’s a stark film that shows how tedious and repetitive life can sometimes feel. Seongjun arrives in Seoul for a brief […]
Contemporary Neorealist Principles in Abbas Kiarostami’s Filmmaking (1997 – 2005)
By Luke Buckle. ABSTRACT Iranian film has in recent decades comprised an increasingly important and influential cinema. The Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 paved the way for freedom of artistic and literary expression, communicating a new generation of unheard voices in Iranian society. More specifically Iranian cinema has progressed in […]
The Avengers (2012): The Mega-Blockbuster Hit of the Year!
By William Frasca. It’s no surprise that Marvel’s Avengers would be a success, but after its opening weekend in the US taking in over $200 million, and shattering the top box office record of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the new question is what can these superhero […]
1980-something
By Guilhem Caillard. A look at two striking films presented at this year’s 35th Göteborg International Film Festival (Sweden). Known for its emphasis on Nordic cinema, the Göteborg International Film Festival, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, has once again lived up to its reputation. Among the eight feature-length […]
The Fourth Dimension (2012) and other Highlights from the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival
By Janine Gericke. This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, which ends on May 3, has offered an array of spectacular films. One of the many films that stood out for me was the anthology film The Fourth Dimension. The Fourth Dimension brings together three short films by U.S. director […]
Abel Gance’s Magnificent Napoléon
By Janine Gericke. On March 24, 25, 31 and April 1, 2012, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival proudly presented Abel Gance’s five and a half hour epic Napoléon at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre presented by film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, along with the British Film Institute, American Zoetrope, the Film Preserve, and Photoplay Productions. Brownlow’s love of this film began in the 1950s, when […]