ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

sundance film festival 2022

Reviews 

THE PRINCESS – Review by Ukar Alakbarova

Ulkar Alakbarova , , , , ,

The Princess, directed by Ed Perkins, serves as a reminder of how the loss of one particular person can have a significant impact not only on the country where they were from but the entire world. Using archival footage, the documentary reconstructs the life of Lady Diana; how she becomes Prince Charles’ wife, gives birth to two sons, her husband’s infidelity, her attempt to take her own life and rebuild it after divorce, and traveling the world to make it a better place. Her affair with Dodi Al-Fayed and her ultimate death in a tragic car accident. Whether you knew much or nothing, be prepared for a hell of a ride – an emotional roller coaster of the life and death of a woman who is now more alive than ever.

Read more
Reviews 

WATCHER – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , , ,

Watcher is a dark, smart treasure of a film, with the collaborative energy of director Chloe Okuno and Maika Monroe very much at the heart of what makes it such a compelling viewing experience. The decision to not use subtitles for the Romanian language dialogue in the film is a canny creative decision, adding further to our alignment with the main character as both she and we (assuming we are not familiar with the language) are excluded from what may or may not be important conversations.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , ,

Shot from a handheld camera as he walks or uses a wheelchair, I Didn’t See You There shows what filmmaker Reid Davenport sees day to day—and how other people view him. It captures an intimate look at life with a physical disability without romanticism or preaching but with nuance and empathy.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , ,

The career of a filmmaker might be dead in Leonor Will Never Die, but this winsomely zany adventure—and its main character—show that the power of stories to connect and heal is very much alive. The plot unfolds at a steadily engrossing pace, and the resolution is as off the wall as it is satisfying. In its affectionate take on grief, creativity, and how we all rewrite our lives, Leonor Will Never Die is a story where it’s a pleasure to get lost.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

WATCHER (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , , ,

Watcher is a dark, smart treasure of a film, with the collaborative energy of director Chloe Okuno and Maika Monroe very much at the heart of what makes it such a compelling viewing experience. The decision to not use subtitles for the Romanian language dialogue in the film is a canny creative decision, adding further to our alignment with the main character as both she and we (assuming we are not familiar with the language) are excluded from what may or may not be important conversations.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , , , ,

In her new documentary Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, director Nina Menkes cues up a bathtub scene from 1972’s Superfly. Guess what happens? From a close-up of a man and a woman, the camera glides down the woman’s back to her buttocks, then shows her breasts while the man stays discreetly in the suds. Compiling nearly 200 clips since 1896 from popular, classic, and indie films, Brainwashed analyzes certain filmmaking techniques that continually view women as objects

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

Leslie Combemale , , , , , , , , ,

In her documentary Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, which is inspired by her lecture “Sex and Power: The Visual Language of Cinema”, Menkes uses over 170 clips from films from the 1940s to the present from all genres to demonstrate that shot design is gendered. She makes a strong case for the idea that the visual grammar of cinema creates an environment that encourages discrimination, pay inequality, and sexual harassment, both inside and outside the film industry. Cinephiles may find themselves defensive about their favorite flicks, but it’s hard to ignore the many points she backs up with examples. Brainwashed may well fundamentally change the way we watch films, and it should.

Read more
Reviews 

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE (Sundance FF 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

awfj-admin , , , , ,

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a rare example of writing, direction, and performance in perfect balance, that gel together into something even more than the sum of its parts. Though certainly a fun film to experience in the moment, it will be one that many viewers will be appreciated more and more in retrospect. The first half hour feels like the slow escalation of what becomes an emotional rollercoaster, but like Nancy (Emma Thompson) does, it’s best to just put your hands up and enjoy the ride.

Read more
Festivals Interviews 

Adamma Ebo and Adanne Ebo on HONK FOR JESUS, SAVE YOUR SOUL – Leslie Combemale interviews

Leslie Combemale , , ,

With the filmmaking Nigerian-American Ebo twins, cinematic invention and output is all in the family. Adamma is the writer/director of new narrative satire Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul, which just premiered at Sundance 2022, for which Adanne is producer. Adanne Ebo explains, in an interview with AWFJ.org contributor Leslie Combemale, she also acts as sounding board and creative partner every step of the filmmaking process. It’s a partnership that works well, judging by the film, which beautifully maintains tonal consistency while riding the razor’s edge between dark comedy and poignant drama.

Read more
Festivals Interviews 

Mariama Diallo on Ghosts, Empowerment and MASTER (Sundance FF 2022) – Pamela Powell interviews

Pamela Powell , , , , ,

Writer/Director Mariama Diallo’s gripping first feature, Master, is a horror tale centering on the experiences of a Black young woman who is enrolled at a New England college with a predominantly White student body. Receiving many accolades at it’s Sundance 2022 premiere, the film has been picked up for distribution via Amazon Prime Video beginning March 18, 2022. Diallo discusses all the real-life inspiration that lead her to tell this haunting tale.

Read more