Film Festival
Sundance Review: Iron Butterflies
As we approach the first anniversary of the full Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s easy to forget that this war didn’t start in 2022. Indeed, the (recent) troubles with Russia can be traced back to the Maiden in 2013, which preceded Putin’s annexation of Crimea the following year. It was in the same year that …
Sundance Review: Slow
Cinema reflects the age, society and country it’s made in. For example, 1950s Hollywood portrayed romance as straightforward love between a man and a woman. They meet, get to know each other and soon Cupid’s arrow does its job. Wedding bells and a family follows, in that order. Obviously, this never really represented real life, …
Sundance Review: When It Melts
Trauma is a terrible thing. It’s not something you can outrun or escape from. It doesn’t matter how many years you bottle it up inside, it will suddenly resurface when you least expect it. You can close yourself off from the world, lock your emotions away, but unless you face up to it you will …
IDFA Review: Racist Trees
While America will claim that it’s a multicultural country which treats all its citizens the same, it has a really troubling history with race. While slavery was officially abolished in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act a hundred years later that segregation and discrimination on the grounds of race became illegal. …
IDFA Review: Much Ado About Dying
As a society, we are both living longer than ever before and also much more likely to have chosen to live somewhere far away from home. This creates a number of problems in itself. Traditional family support structures are less likely to still be in place. At the same time, the social care sector is …
IDFA Review: Look What You Made Me Do
One in three women has experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner, such as pushing, shoving and slapping. A quarter have suffered this in a more extreme form, including sexual violence, stalking and actual bodily harm. The vast majority of the perpetrators in these cases are men. The levels of protection afforded …
IDFA Review: The Lost Souls of Syria
One of the biggest issues in holding despots and authoritarian regimes to account is how to prosecute offenders for their crimes. There is the International Criminal Court, but not all countries, including the United States, Russia and China, have signed up to it. You can try the UN, but it’s likely that someone will veto …
IDFA Review: A Compassionate Spy
Over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in the Manhattan Project. While the result of countless hours of research would provide a blunt and terrible end to World War II, the focus tends to be on the work of a handful of scientists. The likes of Robert Oppenheimer, Glenn Seaborg and …
IDFA Review: Geographies of Solitude
Since the birth of Homo sapiens, we’ve been moving inexorably towards population centres. While early man lived alone or in family groups, more and more banded together for safety in numbers. This evolved into small settlements, which have grown in size ever since. Today, major cities are now hubs for young people and those seeking …
IDFA Review: Paradise
As long as there has been mature plant life on Earth, there have been wildfires. While these often decimate areas of forest, they’ve also played an important role in the evolution of life on this planet. However, climate change is driving an increase in both frequency and intensity. Warmer weather, increased prevalence of drought and …