Tallgrass Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Sarah Moshman on UNBOUND
Sarah Moshman, daughter of documentary filmmaker Harvey Moshman, grew up on set, so to speak, and has since early childhood wanted filmmaking to be her fulltime profession. She’s worked primarily in television, producing and directing segments for prominent news shows and popular series. In 2013, she won an Emmy. In 2015, she won a Gracie. […]
Read MoreChinese TV: LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL – Essay by Dana Ziyasheva
The Chinese show Love Between Fairy and Devil is such a carefully choreographed ballet of emotions and thoughts on the nature of love, power, and society — hammering home its points with an impossibly attractive cast and a highly addictive soundtrack — that I, a bone-weary middle-aged woman with grown-up kids, found myself pledging all my time (and the entirety of my soul) to it.
Read More10 International Animated Films That Showcase World Cultures – Dana Ziyasheva reports
The United States has always been a culturally diverse country, and it will become even more so in the future. In 2019, more than half of Americans under age 16 identified as a racial or ethnic minority for the first time – so not really a minority after all! Young audiences want to relate to what they’re watching, explore their heritage, and learn about their friends’ cultural background. And Hollywood has started to take notice: Moana, Mulan, Coco, and Encanto added ethnic diversity to Disney/Pixar’s time-tested formula, with action-packed, broad-stroke narratives centered on their title characters’ identity search.
Read MoreMegan Mylan on SIMPLE AS WATER – Interview by Mythily Ramachandran
Academy award winner Megan Mylan’s latest documentary, Simple As Water, was shortlisted for an Oscar but did not make it to the final list of nominees. Mylan received an Oscar for her documentary, Smile Pinki, and the Independent Spirit Award for Lost Boys of Sudan, which was also named as a New York Times Critics’ Pick.
Read MoreRape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study, by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas – Book Review by Marietta Steinhart
There is fortunately no taboo here, no film too deranged and no character untouchable. Even the cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew gets his comeuppance. “On most occasions Penelope Pussycat clearly does not enjoy his sexual advances.” Thinking about it, Pepé Le Pew was more than just a little rapey.
Read MoreTribeca Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Mickey Sumner on WITH/IN – I’m Listening
Mickey Sumner’s I’m Listening was shot in response to the WITH/IN short film initiative. The directive was simple: Using an iPhone and whatever’s easily at your disposal, shoot a short film dealing with quarantine life in 2020. It’s not as if there wasn’t a surplus of storytelling angles, themes and emotions available, considering how much […]
Read MoreSWEAT – Review by Marietta Steinhart
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.
Read MoreNEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN – Review by Marietta Steinhart
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. With nothing but a fold-up table under his arm, a mysterious Ukrainian masseur walks into an anonymous gated Polish community, not unlike American Suburbia in Tim Burton’s gothic fairy tale Edward Scissorhands (1990), a surreal punch at capitalism in the Reagan Era. The bourgeoisie seemingly has it all, yet their lives are empty and grotesque.
Read MoreDIRECTOR ROHENA GERA Chats SIR – Mythily Ramachandran interviews
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.
Read MoreIndian directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh won two Sundance awards for WRITING WITH FIRE – Mythily Ramachandran interviews
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. 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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