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Posted on 1 April 2020
Three New Documentaries To Watch Now
by Benjamin HollisDocumentary Weekly creator Benjamin Hollis shares his top three doc picks available to watch online.
Cunningham – Curzon Home Cinema, Amazon Prime, iTunes
Trailer
As unfortunate and disruptive as the Covid-19 outbreak has been for the film industry, the resulting boom of online releases will be welcomed by cinephiles around the world. On March 20th, Alla Kovga’s highly anticipated « Cunningham » joined the growing list of films forced into an early online release.
An ode to legendary dance (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 28 March 2020
A Pick Of Online Releases
by Mydylarama teamDuring this hopefully short-lived period of confinement, we’ll bring you some new releases, old gems and freebies that are now available on streaming platforms or video on demand to help distract us all from our currently precarious financial and emotional conditions.
We’ll post 2 or 3 titles at a time, starting with these recent releases:
Bacurau - MUBI
Bacurau is a small, isolated and impoverished village lodged somewhere in the backwaters of Brazil. The day after the death of the local (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 24 March 2020
Short Of The Week: Denis Villeneuve’s Next Floor
by Abla KandalaftWhat better time to unearth this early short by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve?
In the midst of the supermarket hording that is quickly characterising these end times, Netflix is showing Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform, whose obscene and opulent gorging sequences are starkly reminiscent of Villeneuve’s Next Floor, which sees privileged diners nauseatingly stuffing their faces with exquisitely prepared meats.
Much like The Platform, it is a dark and satirical, purposely over the (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 9 March 2020
Q&A with Pierre Mouzannar, dir. An Arabian Night - Clermont 2020 award winner
by Abla Kandalaft, brasserieducourt.com, Elise LoiseauSpending his last night as a civilian in his dream-like local tennis club, Michael, a young British soldier confronts a glimpse of the near future waiting for him on the other side of the night.
Video interview to come...
An Arabian Night is a dreamy huit-clos with an out-of-time quality reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s Night On Earth. Through the tale of this improbable encounter, much like in the Arabian Nights, the writer seeks to explore the reality of two worlds colliding, and the wider (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 24 February 2020
Q&A with Mostafa Morad, dir. Henet Ward - Clermont 2020
by Abla Kandalaft, brasserieducourt.comHalima, a Sudanese woman living in Egypt, works as a henna painter. On a regular working day, she goes to one of Giza’s local areas to prepare a bride for her wedding. Her seven-year-old daughter Ward accompanies her and starts to wander around and discover the place.
A well-structured narrative short and an impressive debut from Egyptian director Mostafa Morad, whose camera work and carefully selected intimate moments drop us straight into the chaos of the pre-wedding rituals and allow us (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 21 February 2020
Q&A with Shanawaz Nellikunnil, dir. 405 - Clermont 2020
by Abla KandalaftFour-O-Five, the film, is about an un-named man in an un-named town, who has lost everything, including the love of an un-named girl because of an un-named sin committed by him at some point.
Here’s our video interview with the director and actor Dhaananjay Talwade.
There is a beautifully poetic quality to your film, and also a sense of loss and regret. What do you hope the audience will get out of it?
Thanks for the compliment, I want the audience to know what freedom really is; (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 21 February 2020
Q&A with Shady Srour, dir. Oslo - Clermont 2020
by Abla KandalaftZiad, a Palestinian day labourer, is denied entry into Israel for work that day.
Not wanting to return home empty handed after promising his daughter meat for dinner, he needs to get creative.
Trump’s latest meddling in the region has effectively left many if not most Palestinians feeling hopeless. The title of this short is a nod to the Oslo Accords that ended up dispossessing them of more of their land and subduing much of their fight for rights and freedom. The recent US "deal" further (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 18 February 2020
Q&A with Hamza Bangash, dir. Stray Dogs Come Out At Night - Clermont 2020
by Elise LoiseauKarachi, Pakistan. Iqbal, a migrant sex worker, cannot come to terms with his illness. He convinces his uncle to take a day trip to the beach, desperate for respite. The Arabian sea beckons.
An original film about an oft-ignored demographic. Hamza handles the subject matter with sensitivity and respect, painting a complex, human portrait of a character that is too often faceless.
Can you explain the title? What is the symbol or role of the dog?
In the late of night, the streets of (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 14 February 2020
Q&A with Sofia Alaoui, dir. Qu’importe si les bêtes meurent [So What if the Goats Die] - Clermont 2020
by Abla KandalaftIn the heights of the Atlas mountains, Abdellah, a young shepherd, and his father are snowed in. As their animals start to starve, Abdellah goes in search of supplies in a village more than a day’s walk away. With his mule, he arrives in the village and discovers that it has been deserted because of a curious event that has left all the believers baffled.
The product of a truly incredible mix of genres, this short is a mesmerising oddity shot amongst the stunning, other-worldly landscape of (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 13 February 2020
LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL - London Lives 3
by Louis ChristieThrive (Jamie Di Spirito, 2019)
A sublimely intelligent and sensitive film, which sees a hook-up move into a challenging conversation. A naked man wakes up, lights up a cigarette and smokes out the window – through which the daylight outside illuminates the whole room. This is the only light source in the film, and it’s used brilliantly. Grindr buzzes. His date comes over, and they’re kissing almost before he’s through the door. The orange curtain is drawn, turning the generous daylight into a (...) Continue Reading »
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