Film Festival
EIFF Review: The Justice of Bunny King
There’s a housing crisis in many countries around the world but few can match New Zealand when it comes to the current rate of inflation. Whilst the Kiwis have been widely praised for the handling of the pandemic, during the same period house prices have gone up by well over 20%. Despite cooling measures introduced …
EIFF Review: Skies of Lebanon
There’s never a dull moment in Lebanon. It’s sometimes good, sometimes bad, but life is never boring. With a civilisation dating back to the seafaring Phoenicians, its location in the Levant region bordering the Mediterranean Sea has afforded it a uniquely diverse culture. Beirut has long been a multicultural city, at one time or another …
Fantasia Review: Midnight
Despite living in a modern connected world, and we’ve seen marked improvements due to rapid technological advances, being deaf or suffering from hearing loss puts you at a disadvantage in most areas of life. Unless you’re impacted by it yourself, it’s almost impossible to understand the difficulties that seemingly simple everyday tasks can pose. However, …
EIFF Review: The Man Who Sold His Skin
Every refuge is an individual, with their own unique history and life experiences. There’s a distinct difference between economic migrants and someone seeking humanitarian protection. The vast majority of asylum seekers don’t want to leave their homeland but are forced out by conflict, torture, persecution etc. Often triggered or sponsored by the countries they try …
EIFF Review: Stop-Zemlia
The classroom can be a lonely and miserable place when you’re an outsider, standing on the sidelines while everyone else seems to be having so much fun. School is a happy time for many but lots of teenagers struggle with the challenges transitioning between childhood to adulthood can bring. The number of adolescents dealing with …
Fantasia Review: The Sadness
It’s easy to forget that we, as humans, are just a slightly more intelligent kind of primate. While we might like to think of ourselves as distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom, when it comes down to it we are still animals. With all the needs and instincts of any other mammal. Although …
Fantasia Review – Caution Hazardous Wife: The Movie
I think most of us, at one time or another, have dreamt of escaping from our everyday boring humdrum lives. Travelling the world and doing lots of exciting and fun/dangerous things. The clash between suburban ennui and a secret personality is one which pervades popular culture, from superheroes to undercover spies. The latter most successfully …
EIFF Review: Walk With Angels
Children routinely go missing in South Africa. About one every five hours on average according to official statistics, but the true picture is likely to be much worse. This can be for many reasons. They may have run away from home, fleeing violence or something worse, or been kicked out for one reason or another. …
EIFF Review: Even Mice Belong in Heaven
Thanks to the likes of Disney, Ghibli and Pixar, as well as smaller studios such as LAIKA and Cartoon Saloon, animation has become an integral part of mainstream cinema. Whilst the films we see on the big screen are mostly CGI or 3D, there continues to be a small but noticeable number of stop-motion movies …
EIFF Review: The Beta Test
Breaking into the film industry is far from easy. Independent filmmakers can spend years and years trying to get their big break. Often making a number of shorts in the hope that they’ll impress enough to secure funding. Take Jim Cummings, for example. Despite releasing his first debut feature back in 2010 it took eight …