A Book Review by Narjess Jafari Langroudi. A captivating and conclusive investigation of a cinematic luminary.” In continuing the wide-ranging ReFocus: The International Directors series, Edinburgh University Press has released Refocus: The Films of Rakhshan Banietemad (edited by Maryam Ghorbankarimi) which covers the complex filmography of one of Iran’s most […]
Unearthing the “Story” of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation: Landsberry-Baker and Peeler’s Bad Press
By Jenny Paola Ortega Castillo. If people are not liking you, then you’re doing your job.“ -Angel Ellis Freedom of the press is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution; it has been a cornerstone of American democracy since its ratification in 1791. Nonetheless, […]
Policies of Migration: Sylvain George on Nuit obscure – Au revoir ici, n’importe où (2023)
By Yun-hua Chen. I don’t want to make a film about political discourses. I don’t want to preach to people. My purpose as a human being is to define and redefine my position in the world. How can we live with absolutely beautiful and totally awful things at the same […]
New Voices During Labor Unrest: Selections from the 48th Toronto International Film Festival
By M. Sellers Johnson. The presence of exceptional domestic screenings surely attests to the saliency of the Canadian film industry – a reminder of the importance of local creatives, amidst the large collection of international filmmakers and audiences.” In the early weeks of September, Toronto found itself once more engulfed […]
For the “God Jean-Luc”: Thomas Imbach on Say God Bye
By Yun-hua Chen. I was already under the spell of Godard. I thought, why not just start in my home country as a self-taught filmmaker?” From his teenage years, Swiss filmmaker Thomas Imbach was ensnared by Godard’s allure. Say God Bye, his latest documentary, chronicles his journey embarked upon with […]
Recent Contemporary Protest Cinema and Political-Cultural Exoticism
By Hamed Soleimanzadeh. By bringing attention to the challenges of the surrounding world, exotic protest cinema encourages audiences to take responsibility against the injustices and inefficiencies.” The concept of political-cultural exoticism in protest cinema refers to the presentation and understanding of ethnic, national, and regional cultures and policies in films […]
War at a Distance: Aurora’s Sunrise
By James Slaymaker. In its intricate tapestry of storytelling modes and its profound engagement with the ethics of representation, “Aurora’s Sunrise” stands as a cinematic work that dares to confront the complexities of historical memory. It forces us to re-examine the role of cinema in shaping and distorting the past….” […]
Starting from Scratch: Asmae ElMoudir on The Mother of All Lies (Kadib Abyad)
By Yun-hua Chen. For the story that I wanted to tell, there were no pictures and no proofs of what happened. I just started with one picture, and I finished with 500 hours of footage. I wanted to tell the story, but how I tell this story should be different.” […]
Into the Universe: Filmmaker Daphné Baiwir on King on Screen
By Leo Collis. “I really wanted to give the audience the feeling that they were entering the Stephen King universe.” The chances are, whether knowingly or not, you’ve seen a Stephen King adaptation on screen. The prolific author from Portland, Maine, has written over 50 books, and he has inspired […]
Collective Catharsis: An Interview with Cyril Aris on Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano
By Yun-hua Chen. For me the process of making this film allowed me to digest my feelings and experience as a means of catharsis on a collective level with the film crew….” On 4th August 2020, a catastrophic explosion devastated the port of Beirut due to 2,570 tons of ammonium […]