Edinburgh Shorts: In The Dark
Anna Whealing previews the ‘In The Dark’ program of the 2018 Edinburgh Short Film Festival, where “there is much to sink your metaphorical teeth into”.
Category Archives: Reviews
Ava
AVA is the fictionalised account of a teenage girl growing up in Iran. Our title character is a teenager we recognise – we see her gossiping with her friends, tolerating the strictures of school and finding solace in her talent for the violin. But one day a tiny act of rebellion thrusts her into a … Continue reading Ava
The Witch Hunters (Zlogonje)
Based on the book, O DUGMETU I SREĆI by Jasminka Petrović, ZLOGONJE (THE WITCH HUNTERS) picked up the Young People’s Jury Award in Toronto for Best Feature Film (Ages 8-10) at its world premiere and deserves to do just as well here in the UK. Not only is THE WITCH HUNTERS a wonderful family film … Continue reading The Witch Hunters (Zlogonje)
Shoplifters
Rarely can a packed Arts Picturehouse audience have been as totally engrossed in a movie as during the screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s SHOPLIFTERS (this year’s Palme D’Or winner at Cannes). Unfolding at its own deliberate pace over two hours, the story of the Fagin-like Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky) and his dysfunctional family scraping a living … Continue reading Shoplifters
South East Stories: New Filmmaking Talent
SOUTH EAST STORIES: NEW FILMMAKING TALENT showcases ten films from the next generation of filmmakers across the region. Concerning many topics, including religion and mental health, the main themes shared by all the short films are those of growing up or finding a place in society. One film that stood out was 4C, which tells the … Continue reading South East Stories: New Filmmaking Talent
Ava
Written and Directed by Sadaf Foroughi (2017), AVA is about the life of an Iranian teen attending an all-girls school. She is a smart pupil and excellent musician, whose life changes when she decides to take on a risky bet, and soon starts to realise how she is viewed by her friends and family. The … Continue reading Ava
A Woman Captured
Beautifully filmed, Bernadett Tuza-Ritter exposes a dark reality happening behind many closed doors in Hungary and around the world: modern day slavery. In the form of one woman’s story, she has transferred it to the big screen for everyone to see. A WOMAN CAPTURED is a shocking film to watch. It follows Marish as she … Continue reading A Woman Captured
Júlia Ist
JÚLIA IST is an intriguing and captivating character portrayal, and proof of Elena Martin’s original voice and filmmaking potential. Sarah Henkel reviews at Cambridge Film Festival.
The Fall of the House of Usher; The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope
The main event at this performance, part of the Festival’s ‘Restorations and Rediscoveries’ strand, was Jean Epstein’s hour-long silent LA CHUTE DE LA MAISON USHER (THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER) from 1928. It was preceded by Jan Svankmajer’s THE PENDULUM, THE PIT AND HOPE (KYVADLO, JÁMA A NADEJE), a live action short with … Continue reading The Fall of the House of Usher; The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope
Lemonade
The audience feels both a spectator and participant of her life, merely flittering place to place, passengers in her voyage towards the ‘American Dream’.