Film Festival
Sundance Review: Klondike
Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the last few weeks, you’ll have read about the growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia in the news. While the coverage tends to focus on the probability of an invasion and what form one might take, the countries are already ay war and have been …
Sundance Review: Sirens
While the last decade has seen a lot of progress within the music industry, it’s still a male-dominated area and one where women regularly find themselves treated as second-class ‘citizens’. That’s on top of the abuse, prejudice and harassment they routinely suffer. Especially if they actually have the temerity to play a musical instrument. Although …
Sundance Review: To The End
While history will remember the 2020 US Presidential election for the ‘storming of the Capitol’ and a victory for rationalism over populism, there were so many individual and dogmatic battles taking place. One of the most compelling arenas was the struggle for the hearts and minds of the Democratic Party. On the one hand, you …
Sundance Review: Utama
The Quechua people originated from Peru but spread out across South America into Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and Ecuador. Traditionally, these indigenous groups have lived off the land, either through agricultural cultivation or pastoral farming on higher ground. However, a combination of economic pressures and climate change has forced many to move to cities, often …
Sundance Review: After Yang
History is littered with directors who make a huge splash with their debut feature and then struggle to follow it up. It’s not surprising really as most toil for years to bring their first ‘baby’ to life. The tricky ‘second album’ has all of the expectation without necessarily the time or space to flesh out …
Sundance Review: The Worst Person in the World
Three is the magic number. This is particularly the case for many independent directors who want to bring their vision to the big screen but need more time to do it. The concept of a thematic trilogy helped the likes of Krzysztof Kieślowski (Three Colours), Park Chan-wook (Vengeance), Antonioni (Alienation), Wim Wenders (Road Movie), Roman …
Sundance Review: All That Breathes
In ancient Egypt, it is said that the god Isis would take the form of a kite in order to resurrect the dead. In Islam, it is said that if you feed pieces of meat to these birds, they will swallow your worries and problems. The black kite, unlike many of its kin, is a …
Sundance Review: Nothing Compares
Today, the pop music industry is mostly inhabited by a bunch of characterless and sterile stars. Any personality quirks or more eccentric characteristics are normally ironed out by record companies and their handlers. Or, occasionally, the latter is played up, in a controlled way, if they’re seen as beneficial to the ‘brand’. Whilst this isn’t …
Sundance Review: Riotsville, USA
The 1960s was a tumultuous time in the history of the United States of America. The post-war economic boom may have surged across the country but that didn’t mean it benefited all Americans. Historical racial tensions, which dated back to the time of slavery, bubbled to the surface, especially in the South. Poverty and social …
Sundance Review: Fresh
When online dating first began, it was seen as a great way for likeminded people to meet and fall in love. However, like just about everything created my man, and indeed men, the flaws in the system soon became apparent. Potential new mates relied on a logarithm which was often based on lies and your …