Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Review: Tantura
As the saying goes, history is always written by the victors. Especially when it involves war or fighting, where the emphasis is placed on the heroic triumph and little is mentioned about exactly how it was achieved or what happened in the aftermath. War crimes happen more often than you’d think, but they are almost …
Sundance 2022 Preview
Every January in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival comes to town. It’s the largest independent film festival in America and prides itself on screening a diverse range of world premieres from around the globe and promoting new filmmaking voices. This year’s line-up is the usual high-quality mix of US and World narrative and …
Sundance Review: Judas and the Black Messiah
Following the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, the FBI turned its full attention to The Black Panther Party. Whilst Director J. Edgar Hoover described them as ‘the greatest threat to the internal security of the country’, much of their activities were focussed on community social programs. However, as the end of …
Sundance Review: The World to Come
Whilst the popularity of Westerns may have been on the wane for a long time, filmmakers still seem fascinated by this period of American history. The excitement and danger of exploration. The pioneering lifestyle. Traditionally, this has been an almost all male province, with women often relegated to merely wives or prostitutes. However, only we’re …
Sundance Review: Wild Indian
When Europeans arrived on the shores of North America, they were surprised to discover myriad tribes of Indigenous Peoples, but their coming usually signalled death, in one way or another. Their customs and cultures were considered basic and barbaric by Christian invaders who simply couldn’t or wouldn’t understand their ways. In subsequent generations, Native American …
Sundance Review: Try Harder!
There’s huge competition between high school students to gain admission to Ivy League colleges in the US. Year on year, the number of applications rise whilst acceptance rates often fall. Even for young people enrolled at prestigious schools, it’s incredibly difficult to get onto the course you want to study at your preferred institution. Race …
Sundance Review: Rebel Hearts
One of the main criticisms which can be levelled at any major religion is that it has failed to keep up with the times. Whether that’s in the way they operate or some of their tenets which often date back thousands of years. Despite many mini-schisms, Christianity is as guilty as any of being archaic …
Sundance Review: Bring Your Own Brigade
In 2018, the Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history. It claimed the lives of 86 people and ravaged four towns in Butte County. The town of Paradise was almost completely destroyed, levelling over 18,000 buildings and displaced 10,000 residents. Several fires hit the state at the same time, putting …
Sundance Review: Captains of Zaatari
Millions upon millions of children around the globe grow up dreaming of becoming a professional footballer. The same dream has been passed down from generation to generation. Today, wherever you are in the world, thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can watch your heroes play on TV or online. Whilst the chances of …
Sundance Review: Hive
For a relatively new country, or more accurately an autonomous province or partially-recognised state, Kosovo has had more than its fare share of trauma. During the Yugoslav Wars, it was the region which was on the receiving end of the most intense oppression from the Serbian authorities. Kosovan Albanians were the victims of horrendous discrimination, …