Alice Waddington – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Alice Waddington on PARADISE HILLS and DISCO INFERNO – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas interviews

December 15, 2019March 30, 2022 awfj-admin 0 Comments Alice Waddington, disco inferno, female filmmakers, motw, Movie of the Week, paradis hills

Dazzling with an artistry that straddles a deep love of the past with a slick high-tech future, the feature debut Paradise Hills from Spanish filmmaker Alice Waddington is as fearless politically as it is stylistically. With a superstar cast featuring Emma Roberts, Awkwafina, Danielle Macdonald, Eiza González, and cult film icon Milla Jovovich, Paradise Hills is a masterclass in how feminism and femininity can coexist in profoundly engaging, meaningful ways.

Movie of the Week Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK November 1, 2019: PARADISE HILLS

October 27, 2019October 30, 2019 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments Alice Waddington, awkwafina, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, danielle macdonald, eiza gonzales, emma roberts, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, loren king, marilyn fwrdinand, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Pam Grady, paradise hills, susan wloszczyna

Alice Waddington’s lush, imaginative directorial debut builds such a convincing dystopian world that you’d be forgiven for assuming it must be based on some intricate, “Hunger Games”-like series of YA novels. But Brian DeLeeuw and Nacho Vigalondo’s tale of privileged young women at a very unusual “finishing school” called Paradise Hills is a true original.

Reviews

PARADISE HILLS – Review by Nikki Baughan

October 21, 2019December 15, 2019 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Alice Waddington, awkwafina, eiza gonzales, emma roberts. danielle macdonald, milla jovovich, paradise hills

An off-kilter, steampunk blend of Disney, The Handmaids Tale and The Stepford Wives, writer/director Alice Waddington’s feature debut is entirely as intriguing as that sounds. A visually unique, narratively striking study of society’s attempts to control women, to mold them into an acceptable version of femininity, its determinedly fantastical elements are anchored by its strong themes and excellent performances.

Reviews

PARADISE HILLS -Review by Shiela Roberts

October 21, 2019December 15, 2019 Sheila Roberts (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments Alice Waddington, awkafina, danielle macdonald, Eliza Gonzales, emma roberts, motw, Movie of the Week, paradise hills

Paradise Hills, Spanish filmmaker Alice Waddington’s feature debut, is a stylish fantasy sci-fi thriller and a visual delight that does not disappoint. Set in a futuristic environment, the film’s ensemble cast includes Emma Roberts, Milla Jovovich, Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina and Eiza Gonzalez. When Uma’s (Roberts) socially ambitious family forces her into an arranged marriage to a wealthy young man she has no affection for, the outspoken young teenager decides to defy social conventions in order to marry the man she truly loves.

Festivals

WOMEN FILMMAKERS AT MONTREAL’S INTERNATIONAL FANTASIA FILM FEST – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reports

July 3, 2019July 21, 2019 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments Alice Waddington, asia argento, horror, Jovanca Vuckovic, Mirrah Foulkes, montreal international fantasia film festival, women directors

Breaking with past bad habits, the presence of women-made movies at genre film festivals around the world is now becoming an assumed norm rather than a curious anomaly. The 2019 iteration of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival is a case in point, a fiercely independent and originally programmed festival that defines ‘outside the box’ curatorial thinking to the point that it has earned a strong international reputation for taste-making and trend-setting on the global film genre scene.