FIlm Review
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Cameraperson
Kristen Johnson has been a documentary cameraperson for over 25 years. The award-winning cinematographer is today considered one of the best in her field and has helped create some incredible works of cinema. Happy Valley, The Invisible War, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Oath and Citizenfour, to name a few. However, the work has begun to take …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: In Pursuit of Silence
Our senses are bombarded on an daily basis. Walk around any city or large town and you’ll be assailed by loud noise; traffic, music, talking and much more. We’re increasingly plugged in to the technological era, often blanking out the background noise with personal media devices. Silence, which was traditionally revered and much sought-after, is …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Author: The JT LeRoy Story
JT LeRoy was born in West Virginia in 1980. Coming from a background of drug addiction, abuse and vagrancy, LeRoy’s story is a troubled one. In 1994 the self-styled ‘Terminator’ reached out to novelists and shared his writings. His first novel, Sarah, sparked a literary sensation and was swifty followed by The Heart is Deceitful …
Film Review: Cemetery of Splendour
The distance between the living and the dead can sometimes be negligible and the lines between waking life and dreaming occasionally blur. The belief in our connection to the spirit world is something which has been part of religions, cultures and personal beliefs for centuries. In his new film, Cemetery of Splendour, Apichatpong Weerasethakul mixes …
Film Review: Ambulance
Since the UN partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the State of Israel a year later, Arab-Israeli could rarely be described as amicable. With the formation of the PLO and subsequent war in 1967, there has been a frequently hostile peace interspersed with occasional wars or intifadas. Today, Palestinians live in intimidatingly …
Film Review: SEED: The Untold Story
For tens of thousands of years humankind has been self-sufficient when it comes to food production. Agriculture and farming played an integral role in the everyday lives of countless generations. However, the industrial revolution and modern farming techniques have almost wiped out traditional farming in the developed, and increasingly in the developing world. The rapid …
Film Review: Where You’re Meant To Be
If you know who Aidan Moffat is you’ll already have a good idea what to expect when it comes to tone from Where You’re Meant To Be. The irascible Falkirk singer is best know for his time performing with Malcolm Middleton in Scottish indie band Arab Strap. After they split in 2006 he continued to …
Film Review: How to Lose Jobs and Alienate Girlfriends
We live in a world where it’s possible for anyone to become a celebrity. With the advent of the internet and video sharing services such as YouTube, a whole generation has come to believe that fame and fortune is at the tip of their fingers. The rise of shows such as The Voice and X-Factor …
Film Review: Care
America sits on a ticking time bomb. No, this isn’t about terrorism, poverty, drugs, crime or the environment. This is about elder care. By 2040, the number of older Americans will double. Whilst the same is true for most Western European countries, there is little in the way of a safety net in the States. …
Film Review: The Measure of a Man
With controversy still heavy in the air after the end of Cannes Film Festival last month it continues to confound and confuse in its attribution of awards. Whilst all the headlines were around the winners of the Palme d’Or and Grand Prix, one film won an almost unprecedented two awards. Shahab Hosseini won Best Actor …