Film Festival
IDFA Review: Crazy, Not Insane
Over the last fifteen years, Alex Gibney has been frighteningly prolific, releasing amammoth twenty-eight feature-length documentaries. What is more impressive, is how consistently excellent they are. Not to mention award-winning, with the likes of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Dark Side in particular receiving a lot of plaudits. During …
Tallinn Black Nights Review: Ulbolsyn
The English-language dominance in UK cinemas means that we’re only ever exposed to a limited and often narrow range of European cinema. Whilst you’d expect this to be the best of the best, licencing is often down to other factors such as cast, crew and distribution deals. The further east you go within the continent, …
IDFA Review: Bitter Love
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to experience a holiday romance, you’ll know that there’s nothing quite like it. Caught up in the moment. Just the two of you. Without a care in the world or a thought for what that rendezvous will mean in the long or medium term. Time stands still. A cruise …
IDFA Review: ‘Til Kingdom Come
Evangelical Christianity is an anathema for reasonable and liberal people. It has been around for centuries but is most often seen today in the intolerant bile you witness on TV networks across the United States. Indeed, it’s a weapon which President Trump has (successfully) employed in his political rise. Characterised by hectoring preachers and wildly …
IDFA Review: City Hall
Within documentary film circles, Frederick Wiseman is something of a legend. He’s easily one of the greatest living American documentarians and continues to work in a refreshingly unique way. Since 1970, when he established his own production company (Zipporah Films), he has self-released a raft of wonderful observational films, including Ex Libris – The New …
Tallinn Black Nights Review: Kindred
Class has been a large part of British society for generations. Whilst the upper-classes may now be struggling to pay for their stately homes, if they haven’t already sold them off to the National Trust, they’re still living a life full of privilege and opportunity. However, the fragmenting of the landed gentry and degrading of …
IDFA Review: The Magnitude of All Things
Our world is dying. It has been for millions of years. However, since the industrial revolution, the actions of man have greatly speeded up this process. The acceleration has spiked within the last two decades, driven by the incessant demands of consumerism and the perpetual need for more energy. The Earth has reached a tipping …
IDFA Review: Once Upon a Time in Venezuela
Lake Maracaibo is a large tidal bay and a major fishing route in the North East of Venezuela. Whilst it’s one of the oldest lakes on Earth, its claim to fame is a weather phenomenon called the Catatumbo lightning; producing storms on almost half the night of the year. It is also the home for …
Tallinn Black Lights Review: This Town
When it comes to offbeat, outlandish and unlikely humour, there are few countries in the world that can hold a torch to New Zealand. Whether that’s the ‘90s slapstick of Peter Jackson’s Braindead and Bad Taste, the gentler humour of Eagle Vs Shark or Hunt for the Wilderpeople or the madcap horror of Housebound or …
IDFA Review: Petit Samedi
When people talk about drug addiction, they’re normally referring to junkies breaking into houses or homeless people collapsed on the street from spice. They think of someone who is out of control and unable to function within polite society. However, in many cases, this cannot be further from the truth. Whilst it still undoubtedly takes …