The Story of Film: An Odyssey is an unprecedented cinematic event, an epic journey through the history of world cinema that is a treat for movie lovers around the globe. Guided by film historian Mark Cousins, this bold 15-part love letter to the movies begins with the invention of motion pictures at the end of the 19th century and concludes with the multi-billion dollar globalized digital industry of the 21st.Read More »
There is a lot to admire about this pointed modern-day political satire, but you’ll have to get over a few hurdles. One of them is the unnecessary length, another is the distracting use of a circular frame – a device that references Chinese art and hints at its heroine’s constrained plight, but often makes the viewer feel as if they’re peering through a keyhole.Read More »
With staggering self-assurance and disarming creativity, director Houda Benyamina bursts onto our screens with the frenetic story of Dounia, a teenage girl living in a crime-fuelled suburb on the outskirts of Paris. Along with her best friend Maimouna, the budding entrepreneur vies for the attention of local dealer Rebecca, whilst simultaneously embarking on a fraught emotional relationship with a handsome male dancer who has caught her eye. But as Dounia’s work and personal lives rapidly escalate, her control begins to slip and she soon finds herself dangerously out of her depth. A neat feminist twist on the typically male-centric terrain of the gangster thriller, this imaginatively directed and sharply-performed drama signals the arrival of some major new talents. In its depiction of female friendships and power dynamics, the film makes for an interesting companion piece to Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood, while as a vibrant explosion of youthful energy and imagination, it stands defiantly on its own.
— BFIRead More »
A father and a son from Crimean Tatar family transport the body of deceased older son and brother from Kyiv to bury him in Crimea.
10 wins & 23 nominations.Read More »
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This award-winning homage, illuminates the life of German Jewish Expressionist architect Erich Mendelsohn. His story unfolds through the letter exchange, the correspondence of two artists brought to life by director, Duki Dror. Mendelsohn’s career followed the trajectory of many German Jews fleeing Nazism; he worked in England, Israel and in the USA. His earlier work, the Einstein Tower, is one of the important exemplars of modern architecture. Dror deftly juxtaposes the architect’s designs with contemporary images, weaving in reflections from architects who use these unique buildings today – a testament to the integrity and timelessness of his visionary design.Read More »
Amir Dutta’s latest film, Wittgenstein Plays Chess With Marcel Duchamp, Or How Not To Do Philosophy, is a 17-minute animation that adapts an essay of the same name by Steven B. Gerrard. The essay examines how Wittgenstein and Duchamp, both keen chess players, used the game to question language and perception. The film has a winking style of animation—by the director’s wife, Ayswarya S. Dutta—that involves the juxtaposition of cutout figures, objects and backgrounds. It’s a sprightly investigation into the nature of surface appearances and how we perceive meaning, packed with allusions to art, linguistics, philosophy and chess.Read More »
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In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout from Senegal, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. SEMBENE! tells the unbelievable true story of the father of African cinema, the self- taught novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a 50-year battle to return African stories to Africans. SEMBENE! is told through the experiences of the man who knew him best, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive materials. A true-life epic, SEMBENE! follows an ordinary man who transforms himself into a fearless spokesperson for the marginalized, becoming a hero to millions. After a startling fall from grace, can Sembene reinvent himself once more?Read More »
Chinese-Canadian writer-director Johnny Ma follows his 2016 feature debut, Old Stone, with this touching drama. Zhao Li is the manager of a rundown theatre on the outskirts of Chengdu, China, inhabited by a small troupe that performs the art of Sichuan opera to disinterested audiences night after night. When she receives a notice of demolition for the theatre, Zhao Li hides the news from everyone else, fearing that the threat of their home’s destruction could spell the end of their close-knit family. As she struggles to search for a new theatre for them to work and live in, elements of Sichuan opera and its fantastic characters slowly begin to seep into Zhao Li’s world.Read More »
