ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Tribeca 2024

Festivals Interviews 

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton reflect on DIANE VON FURSTENBERG (Tribeca 2024) – Valerie Kalfrin interviews

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , ,

Diane von Furstenberg’s outlook is as lively as her eye-catching designs. The fashion and feminist icon is a quote machine of practical wisdom. Watch her Tribeca 2024 documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, attend a Q&A with her, or visit with her, and you’ll be tempted to take notes, even if you’re not a journalist or a film critic. The directors recently talked with AWFJ about designing this project and what they absorbed from the experience.

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Festivals Reviews 

BIKECHESS (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Sherin Nicole

Sherin Nicole , , , ,

The title, Bikechess, is the first indication the film is a farce focused on the hyperrealism behind how ridiculous, yet dangerous, governments can be. This second feature from writer/director Assel Aushakimova is not a comedy in the typical sense, you’re unlikely to laugh out loud. Bikechess rolls its eyes at its subject matter in the absolute certainty you will get the joke: How absurd the life of a journalist is when your job is to tell the truth, but you’d better not.

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Festivals Reviews 

THE EVERYTHING POT (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Sherin Nicole

Sherin Nicole , , , , , ,

Around 30 minutes into watching The Everything Pot, I asked myself: Is everyone in this movie whacked out, kooky beyond belief, 100% bananas? Why, yes. Yes, they are. That’s my review (just kidding). Before any concerns develop about my introduction, I’m not talking about mental illness. Instead, I’m marveling at this eye-popping pile-up of social blunders that will redden your checks in several shades of secondhand embarrassment.

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Festivals Reviews 

THE WEEKEND (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , , ,

All hail the mighty Daniel Orihai, who bursts out of Nigeria with a pounding, intoxicating instant horror classic, The Weekend. Nikiya is everything her gentle vegetarian fiancé Luc could have dreamed of; she’s confident, beautiful and as in love with him as he is with her. But with no family of her own, she yearns for a place in a traditional family, which clashes directly with Luc’s years-long decision to sever all ties with his mother, father and sister. With an invitation to attend his parent’s wedding anniversary celebrations in the village where he grew up, Luc begrudgingly relents, but upon arrival it does not take long for him to remember why he wanted to keep his distance in the first place.

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Festivals Reviews 

BAD SHABBOS (Tribeca 2024) – Sherin Nicole

Sherin Nicole , , , , , , ,

If one person behaved rationally in Bad Shabbos the movie would end after 20 minutes with a 911 call. But that wouldn’t be a NYC story, and this most definitely is. Directed by Daniel Robbins with co-writer Zach Weiner, Bad Shabbos is a religious culture clash comedy that brings together a zany ensemble led by Kyra Sedgwick and Clifford Smith AKA Method Man. The film thematically flips the traditional greeting “Good Shabbos,” unfolding over a chaotic Friday night.

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Festivals Reviews 

HACKING HATE (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , , , ,

Written and directed by Simon Klose, Hacking Hate follows award-winning Swedish investigative reporter My Vingren through a high-tech web as she discerns who operates several far-right social media accounts. On a broader scale, the film also examines how such extremists recruit others and encourage the spread of dehumanizing language and misinformation. Watchdog groups, media outlets and the FBI have attributed a rise in hate crimes in the United States since Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election to Trump’s racist and sexist rhetoric. Yet while Hacking Hate revisits his tweet before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, the film looks beyond the presumptive Republican nominee to a broader picture, placing the convicted felon alongside politicians from France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy who also have used hate to win populist elections.

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Festivals Reviews 

MASTERMIND: TO THINK LIKE A KILLER (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Beth Accomando

Beth Accomando , , , , , , , , ,

Abby Fuller’s Mastermind docuseries profiles criminal profiler Dr. Ann Burgess, who was also the inspiration behind David Fincher’s Mindhunter drama series. The two are excellent companions. While Fincher’s series focuses more on the men, Fuller’s docuseries lets us get an in depth look at Burgess’ contribution and her methodology. The docuseries also explores lesser-known cases than Mindhunter and that proves fascinating. Burgess is an amazing woman and we get insights into how she thinks and how her focus on victims provided a very different perspective on crime and behavior. This is an absolutely riveting show and it is about time the softspoken woman got her moment in the spotlight.

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Festivals Reviews 

DARKEST MIRIAM (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Sherin Nicole

Sherin Nicole , , , , ,

If someone asked me to contribute a song to the soundtrack for Darkest Miriam, written and directed by Naomi Jaye, it would be Splitting Atoms by the lovely, departed Lamya. Specifically, the chorus featuring the hook, “I lost but didn’t lose the lesson. Yes I’m, learning from falling, learning from falling down, hard lessons.” Like the song, the life of Toronto librarian, Miriam (Britt Lower), changes when she falls into a hole on the side of the road

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Festivals Reviews 

DADDIO (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , ,

Unfolding largely in real time over one hour and forty-one minutes, Daddio follows an unnamed woman (Dakota Johnson) headed home to the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan from JFK International Airport in Queens. In no mood to chat at first, she soon warms up to the driver (Sean Penn), a crusty guy ranting about how paying by apps and credit cards means no one throws you a little extra anymore. One of the smart touches in Daddio is how the talky script doles out character details. Daddio also is a universal one about finding meaning and connection in unlikely places, showing life can be a surprising trip.

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Festivals Reviews 

SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , ,

With their worlds rocked by the death of their beloved mother, three Greek brothers combine their various skillsets in their overgrown, baroque family home with the hope of bringing her back. As an unfortunate chicken and an unlucky paramore both learn the hard way, an antique art deco wardrobe becomes the unexpected site of a range of experiments intent on turning it into a bespoke, DIY machine with the ability to bring the dead back to life. But their complex interpersonal relationships between each other and their complicate their mission and their ability to deliver on its promise, are rendered even more confusing by an undisguised penchant for mind-altering hallucinogens.

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