ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

the female gaze

Interviews 

Megan Mylan on SIMPLE AS WATER – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Guest Post, Exclusive)

Jennifer Merin , , , , , ,

Academy award winner Megan Mylan’s latest documentary, Simple As Water, narrates the plight of four families ripped apart by the Syrian war. The film was shortlisted for an Oscar but did not make it to the final list of nominees. Mylan, who received an Oscar for her documentary, Smile Pinki, and an Independent Spirit Award for her Lost Boys of Sudan speaks with Mythily Ramachandran about filming Simple As Water and families in exile.

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Guest Posts Reviews 

SWEAT – Review by Marietta Steinhart (Guest Post)

Jennifer Merin , , , , , ,

Few films have pictured the Social Media phenomenon as empathically as Sweat. Thanks to a powerhouse performance by Magdalena Koleśnik, Sweatallows for a very nuanced and kind look at a profession that has been demonized and mocked. Watching movies about people staring at their phones is usually about as stimulating as watching grass grow. This is not the case here. Koleśnik’s energy is contagious.

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Guest Posts Reviews 

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN – Review by Marietta Steinhart (Guest Post)

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , ,

There is a spellbinding sense of fairy tale realism to Małgorzata Szumowska’s latest, her first co-directed film with long-time cinematographer Michał Englert. Never Gonna Snow Again is loaded with social commentary – it’s wicked and quietly wonderful.

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Guest Posts Interviews 

Rohena Gera on SIR – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Guest Post)

Jennifer Merin , , , , , ,

Director Rohena Gera’s debut feature film, Sir broke all stereotypes of Indian cinema with a story that explored the changing dynamics of a relationship between Ashwin-a affluent young man and Ratna-his live-in domestic help. In India where caste and position in society determines relationships, Sir was much appreciated for its sincerity and honest narration. Sir premiered in the Critics Week at Cannes (2017) winning acclaim. Gera became the first woman filmmaker to receive the Gan Foundation award as well as a prize at the Cannes Critics Week.

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Guest Posts Interviews 

Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh on Making WRITING WITH FIRE – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Exclusive Guest Post)

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , ,

Debutant directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh received two awards-Audience award and Special Jury award at Sundance Film Festival 2021 for their documentary Writing With Fire, chronicling the rise of ‘Khabar Lahariya’ (Waves of news), India’s only newspaper run by Dalit (considered untouchables) women and which recently went digital. em>WWF is produced by Black Ticket Films, a production company cofounded by Thomas and Ghosh and recognized for its award winning shorts including Timbaktu that received the Indian national award in 2012 as Best Environmental film. Mythily Ramachandran talks to the duo on the making of this documentary.

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Festivals Interviews 

Whistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Aimee Long on A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL

Jennifer Merin , , , , ,

Inspired by a true event, A Shot Through The Wall is about an Asian American police officer who accidentally discharges his weapon during an investigation, killing a black teenager through an apartment wall. The case spirals out of control as the incident is deemed police racial bias.

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Festivals Interviews 

Whistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Wendy Morgan on SUGAR DADDY

Jennifer Merin , , , , ,

Some films jump off the screen to announce the arrival of vital new talent. Such is the case with Wendy Morgan’s Sugar Daddy, starring Kelly McCormack in a tour de force performance as Darren, a new age music composer and performer who is trying to break into the record industry. Sugar Daddy is the opening film for Whistler Film Festival 2020.

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Festivals Interviews 

Whistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Niav Conty on SMALL TIME

Jennifer Merin , , , , ,

Niav Conty’s Small Time is about childhood, family, and the role models around us. Stubborn patriotism, dogmatic faith, and the sexualization of young women are all themes that swirl around in this tragic story about a ten year old girl surrounded by addicted adults. Your heart goes out to her.

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Festivals Interviews 

Whistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Ali Liebert on THE QUIETING

Jennifer Merin , , , ,

The Quieting tells the story of Maggie, an anxious and newly queer woman on the eve of her first date with a woman. She is thrown into the throes of self-doubt and fear is confronted by an unexpected guest. Sara Canning and Julia Sarah Stone star in this psychological thriller by Ali Liebert that snaps the struggle of identity sharply into focus.

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Festivals Interviews 

Whistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Elinor Nechemya on OUR HEARTS BEAT LIKE WAR

Jennifer Merin , , , , ,

With his eyes in a fantasy book and his ears to the horrific testimony of an Eritrean refugee, nine-year-old Sinai falls asleep at his mother’s workplace, and his mind drifts away. In his sleep his mother tells him a surrealistic fairytale about a Syrian refugee family living in Sweden. This “fairytale” is about a young Syrian boy who falls into a coma-like situation after the family receives a deportation letter from the government.

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