Nicolas Giraud directs and stars in THE ASTRONAUT (L’ASTRONAUTE), a gentle and beautifully shot film with some ambitious ideas around opening up space exploration and connecting with people on Earth. Although slow, the drama of the climax makes the journey worthwhile. Simon Bowie reviews.
Sophie Linnenbaum’s debut feature THE ORDINARIES crafts a story that very nearly collapses under its own concept but manages to say something about class and emotional expression. Simon Bowie reviews.
The theme of failure has such potency for a documentary film, but THE ARTIST AND THE WALL OF DEATH ends up with a rather traditional narrative trajectory that doesn’t get to the root of the importance of failure in creativity. Simon Bowie reviews.
Carol Morley’s TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING is a psychogeographic tour across England through the prism of an unappreciated artist suffering with mental illness. Simon Bowie reviews.
Although some structural issues weigh it down, TROPIC’s allusions to sci-fi horror elevate the story, mainly told through unspoken expressions and gestures. Simon Bowie reviews.
With OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDREN (LES ENFANTS DES AUTRES), Rebecca Zlotowski crafts a wonderfully mature romantic comedy-drama that tackles adult themes with grace and boldly positions itself in the canon of modern romance films.
Tereza Nvotová’s second feature NIGHTSIREN (SVETLONOC) uses the genre trappings of folk horror to explore patriarchy and sexual norms for women, and benefits from a dreamy expressionism in cinematography and editing.
SANCTUARY is a well-considered film that draws the audience into the tangled and shifting power dynamics of sub-dom kink and keeps the audience guessing until its unfortunate final moments.
Nida Manzoor’s POLITE SOCIETY closed Glasgow Film Festival 2023 on a high as one of the festival’s strongest and most creative films.
Associate Editor Simon Bowie reflects on the 2023 edition of Glasgow Short Film Festival, and its themes of machine learning, ‘weak’ artificial intelligence, and taking control of your own life or the tools you use.
