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 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.
Read MoreIS LOVE ENOUGH SIR? – Review by Mythily Ramachandran
Is Love Enough Sir? is a tale of forbidden love. Rohena Gera marks her debut with a heart- warming and poignant story that holds a mirror to the class divide in India. This is Rohena Gera’s debut feature film in Hindi. The film won a Cannes Critic Week award in 2018 and is now streaming on Netflix.
Read MoreIndian Director Kavya Prakash begins her directorial career with VAANKU – Mythily Ramachandran interviews
Indian director Kavya Prakash opens her directorial career with Vaanku, about a young Muslim woman’s wish to lead the Islamic call for prayer, Adhan, generally done by men. When a young woman, Razia, expresses her wish to lead the prayer, it sets rolling a ripple effect in her family and society around. Kavya, daughter of noted Indian filmmaker V K Prakash – two times Indian national awardee – speaks with Mythily Ramachandran on Vaanku and her journey into cinema
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Ashley Eakin on SINGLE
Single confronts the complexities of being disabled and dating. Kim, who was born with one arm, gets set-up to go on a blind date. When she finally meets Jake, to her horror – he only has one hand. Unable to get over the apparent ignorance of the matchmaker, as well as her own insecurities about being different, Kim tries to bail on the date.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Janice Mingas on WHEN THE NIGHT HAS COME
When The Night Has Come sheds light on the dangerous reality of systemic racism and police brutality. It tells the story of Matt, a young Black man whose life is forever changed after he is stopped by the police for an identity check.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Ali Liebert on THE QUIETING
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.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Ariane Louis-Seize on SHOOTING STAR
On a family trip to observe the shooting stars, Chloé, a withdrawn teenager, discovers a dazzling attraction for her mother’s new boyfriend. Ariane Louis-Seize likes to write and film unconventional characters who break down barriers by acting as we would never dare to do ourselves.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Alex Anna on SCARS
Alex Anna’s body is a canvas: her scars come to life to tell a new story of self-harming. Live action and animation intertwine in this short and poetic documentary, both intimate and universal.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Wendy Morgan on SUGAR DADDY
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.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Elinor Nechemya on OUR HEARTS BEAT LIKE WAR
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.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Aimee Long on A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL
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. His fellow cops and unions initially tell him there’s nothing to worry about, but politics erupt and he’s left standing alone. His fiancée is African American, but his reluctance to involve her as part of a PR defense unleashes a series of mishandled opportunities for him to defend himself.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Niav Conty on SMALL TIME
Naiv 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,
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Interview: Susan Rodgers on STILL THE WATER
A former museum curator, Susan Rodgers’ film career started with a wardrobe continuity gig on the television show Emily of New Moon. Soon a box of wartime letters discovered in an attic launched her first film, the half-hour period drama Bobby’s Peace. Rodgers’ inaugural feature film, Still The Water, was completed in the spring of 2020.
Read MoreWhistler Film Festival Filmmaker Interview: Emily Dickinson on MARCH
First time director Emily Dickinson’s narrative short March takes place in 2024, and follows an American woman in her mid-twenties, as she travels to Canada to get a now-illegal abortion. A day in her life showcases abortion tourism, the current state of relations between the two neighbouring nations, the implications of a misogynist government, and the resilience of women. March is nominated for the EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Short at Whistler Film Festival 2020.
Read MoreTax Credit Changes to Benefit Canadian Female Filmworkers – Sharon McGowan and Jan Miller report
As women who have been working in the Canadian film and television industry for over three decades (on opposite sides of the country!), we are heartened by recent gender equity advancements in creative leadership positions in productions funded by Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, CBC and the NFB.
Read MoreSHAKUNTALA DEVI – Review by Mythily Ramachandran
Shakuntala Devi is a spirited tale of India’s mathematical genius. Vidya Balan completely owns the titular role while bringing alive this rags to riches story in director Anu Menon’s film.
Read MoreFilmmaker Anu Menon on SHAKUNTALA DEVI – Mythily Ramachandran interviews
Indian filmmaker Anu Menon busts Bollywood stereotypes, Known for films with stories about strong female characters, her latest feature is Shakuntala Devi, a biopic that chronicles the life of the legendary female mathematician known alternatively as the ‘wizard of India’ and the ‘human computer.’ Menon chats with Mythily Ramachandran about the titular character and making the film.
Read MoreMy Gen Z Perspective on Film Criticism – Riley Roberts comments
I’m 18. I’ve been a YouTube pioneer, the youngest movie critic in history, sold a company, and interviewed hundreds of A-list stars from Dwayne Johnson to Selena Gomez – all before my first period. With high school graduation behind me, I’m looking at a bright future of…what? Closed doors? Despite acquiring a decade’s worth of experience in the field, I’m learning that everyone wants me to knock on the door clutching a very expensive piece of paper – one that comes from the “right” place accompanied by some stunning numbers with decimal points.
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