Film
Film Review: Dying for Divorce
Domestic violence is a major issue in every corner of the world but in more traditional cultures it’s almost endemic. In Turkey, for example, more than one-in-three women (and girls) has been a victim. As with almost all Muslim countries, women are treated as second-class citizens. Men often see their wives, partners or daughters as …
Tallinn Black Night Review: A PLace Called Dignity
After the end of World War II, many Nazis fled to safe havens abroad, often ending up in South America where they (generally) received a warm welcome. It’s estimated that almost 10,000 Nazi officers and collaborators forged a new life in Argentina, Brazil or Chile. The latter played host to Colonia Dignidad, an isolated commune …
Blu-Ray Review: The Thin Red Line
While the end of World War II in Europe officially came on VE Day, 7 May 1945, fighting continued in the Pacific arena. Japan eventually surrendered to America at the beginning of September, but the conflict didn’t simply stop overnight in a war which encompasses much of the globe. There have been countless films about …
IDFA Review: Set!
There’s nothing that gets the blood flowing quite like competitive sports, and it’s often the competition that is more important than the sport itself. As a species, there’s something in our nature which thrives off a challenge. Going head-to-head with someone else and coming out victorious. Winning is a great feeling. However, when this mindset …
IDFA Review: A Thousand Fires
The climate crisis is front-page news at the moment with many of the conversations swirling around COP26 centring on curbing carbon emissions. While countries make commitments on dates to become net-zero and phase out their reliance of fossil fuels, in favour of renewables, in practice it’s not that simple. Although the focus is on polluting …
IDFA Review: Intensive Life Unit
In the ‘developed world’, life expectancy usually increases year on year. This is largely thanks to consistent advances in medical treatments, technology and healthcare services. While, on the face of it, this is a great human success, there are also consequences. Although we may live to greater and greater ages, that doesn’t mean that our …
Tallinn Black Night Review: Quake
While we take it for granted, our memory is vital to every aspect of our daily lives. Our experiences and actions make us who we are, for better or worse. Even the most basic functions are hardwired into our brain. If that’s suddenly taken away then how is it possible to cope with the void …
IDFA Review: The Banality of Grief
How do you deal with grief? Everyone reacts in their own way, anywhere on the cycle from denial, anger, bargaining, depression to acceptance, at any given moment in time. There are no right or wrong answers. Whether someone withdraws into themselves or faces their loss head-on, it’s a difficult and traumatic journey. One which, despite …
Tallinn Black Nights Review: Erasing Frank
Rising from the ashes of numerous different movements and sounds, punk rock established itself as a major music genre in the 1970s. The main hubs were New York City and London, but it caught the imagination of a generation of disenfranchised youths all around the world. While much of the focus was on the US …
Tallinn Black Nights Review: A Vanishing Fog
The Sumapaz Páramo is the largest stretch of alpine tundra ecosystem in the world. This huge swath of Andean moorland is located in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense near the Columbian capital. It’s an ecologically rich and wonderfully biodiverse area which provides water for the inhabitant of Bogota. It’s considered to be a sacred place by the …