Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Review: Our River…Our Sky
Thanks to the reign of Saddam Hussein and two Gulf Wars, people in the West are much more familiar with Iraq than most of the Middle East. While the end of war might have signalled a new era for Iraq, that didn’t mean peace. Indeed, even while the coalition still occupied the country, violence and …
Raindance Review: Here Are the Young Men
If you leave school with a career mapped out then you’re one of the fortunate (and probably privileged) ones. Most of us simply end up making it up as we go along. Especially when there are very few prospects out there to choose from. The transition from childhood to adulthood is often tricky and it’s …
Raindance Review: My Thoughts Are Silent
Ukraine, as a country, is often overshadowed by the behemoth on its eastern border. As the second largest country in what was the Soviet Union, it’s territory far outstrips its population or global influence. The same can be said about its cinema. Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukrainian filmmakers have struggled to get their voices …
Raindance Review: Survival Skills
There’s no genre of film quite like horror when it comes to obsessive fans. There’s equally nothing quite like their love for all things retro in any other sphere of filmmaking. The humble video cassette, for instance, is on a par with vinyl amongst collectors. There’s a nostalgia for those cheap straight to video films …
Raindance Review: Nafi’s Father
The European colonisation of Africa wreaked a scale of damage on the continent from which it may never recover. Africans were exploited and killed for precious natural and human resources. Whilst independence should have given countries a new start, most soon fell foul of corruption, civil war and a form of economic exploitation. Whilst the …
Raindance Review: He Dreams of Giants
If you were a studio head looking for a director to deliver a film on time and to budget, the last man on earth you’d turn to is Terry Gilliam. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is considered to be one of the biggest flops in the history of cinema. The former ‘Python’ has been trying …
Raindance Film Festival 2020 Preview
The 28th Raindance Film Festival takes place between 28 October and 7 November. This year’s showcase of some of the best of UK and international independent film will be a hybrid of select live events and an extensive virtual platform. The festival is a hotbed of creativity and talent, but as well as an industry …
Film Review: Between Dog And Wolf: The New Model Army Story
There’s a section(by Lina Skaisgiryte) in the programme notes for this eagerly-anticipated film that really caught my eye: “At the heart of it, this documentary also explores a deep, dark fear: the fear of not making a mark on the world, the fear of being forgotten.” And there, in the second half, as Director Matt Reid is …