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23 November 2020
Caveat - A strong horror debut by Damian McCarthy
by Abla Kandalaft
A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.
I took a punt on this offering whilst browsing this year’s Leeds International Film Festival output. As usual, the programming was first-class but I usually make it my priority to hone in on entries that come under "horror". It’s no mean feat for a film to surprise and scare me given how blasé I’ve become but it’s an even greater (...) Continue Reading »
16 November 2020
Western Arabs by Omar Shargawi
by Abla Kandalaft
Filmed over the course of 12 years, Western Arabs is a chaotic and fascinating look at the intergenerational trauma and impact of displacement.
Omar’s father, Munir, was amongst the Palestinians that were forced to flee their homes after 1948. Still a young child, he fled with his family to Jordan before eventually immigrating to Denmark. It was there that he met his Danish wife, with whom he later had three sons, Omar and his two brothers, who appear to be at loggerheads most of the time. (...) Continue Reading »
14 November 2020
Our Picks + Our House & The Social Dilemma
by Abla Kandalaft, Coco Green
This week, Abla picks Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult, a sort of parallel documentary to the previously discussed The Vow, also about Keith Raniere and NXIVM but more explosive and revelatory, and Egyptian horror series Paranormal.
She mentions award-winning documentary Tell Spring Not to Come This Year available to watch online all this month here.
Coco Green talks about:
The China Hustle (2017)
Like the 2016 documentary Betting on Zero, about short sellers and their suspicions of (...) Continue Reading »
26 October 2020
Our Picks + Keenie Meenie: Britain’s Private Army
by Abla Kandalaft, Coco Green, Phil Miller
Our guest this week is Phil Miller, investigative journalist and staff reporter at Declassified UK. We discuss the origins of British mercenaries in recent proxy wars and the extent of government culpability in his documentary (and the book it’s based on) Keenie Meenie: Britain’s Private Army (2020) - available online! We also touch on the issues around British intervention abroad, involvement in the international arms trade and the effects on migration.
We’ve not been bawled over by any (...) Continue Reading »
12 October 2020
Our Top Picks + Revolution & Social Change in Sci-Fi
by Abla Kandalaft, Coco Green, Thomas Barlow
A longer episode than usual in which we are joined by Media Fund Strategic Coordinator Thomas Barlow. Among the many other things he does is conducting anti-fascist history tours in his home city of Manchester!
Tom chose to focus on themes of revolution and social change in sci-fi, with a particular focus on Elysium, The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica. We discuss how the film and series creators depict the agents of change, the use of a single hero-like protagonist as opposed to the (...) Continue Reading »
Yet again, Encounters treats us to some of the most discerning curating out there. The various programmes never disappoint, the comedy shorts are funny, the horror shorts are scary, the experimental shorts are wacky. Covid means we miss out on many things: the wonderful Watershed venue and its underrated risotto, the networking, the warm, friendly atmosphere and chit chat with the directors, the hustle and bustle and human interactions that inject the fun and dynamism in the festival (...) Continue Reading »
9 October 2020
Eternal Beauty : A Bold Representation of Mental Illness That Goes Beyond Dark Comedy
by Benjamin Hollis
Craig Roberts’ « Eternal Beauty » is a bold representation of mental illness that breaks with cinematic tradition, adding a rare level of nuance and compassion to an often misrepresented topic. Sally Hawkins stars as Jane, an isolated woman struggling with depression, schizophrenia and an at times toxic environment - 80s English suburbia. A chance encounter and whirlwind relationship with fellow patient Mike (David Thewlis) appears to grant her a new lifeline but instead serves only to (...) Continue Reading »
Following Emerging Filmmakers Night’s latest edition, True Grit", Mydylarama had a chat with both prize winners about their work, their sources of inspiration and filming during Covid. More about the winning entries, Single and Stretched Out here.
First up, Critics’ Prize winner Ashley Eakin who directed Single, talks to us about representations of disabilities on film, shooting in Canada and her many upcoming projects.
Audience Prize winner Alastair Train, who won the award for Stretched (...) Continue Reading »
1 October 2020
Tommy Hodgson’s Encounters TOP 5
by Tommy Hodgson
Writer Tommy Hodgson offers his own top picks from this year’s Encounters Short Film Festival.
Breadline (UK, director: Carol Salter): Breadline displays intimate footage of a food bank in a Northern town through the gaze of an elderly volunteer and, in doing so, serves as a damning indictment of the austerity state which the Conservative Party has manufactured and sustained within the UK. Carol Salter’s short tale is a personal, and soul-searching look into the ordinary people who have (...) Continue Reading »
29 September 2020
Our Picks + "Colonial Chic" & Gone With The Wind
by Abla Kandalaft, Coco Green
This week’s focus is "colonial chic" in light of the touted and actual removal of Gone With The Wind from a number of programmes and archives due to its racist outlook. We discuss themes of colonialism and postcolonialism through film, namely the above and Jane Austen’s work and their filmic representations. As the saying goes, it’s not what you’re looking at it’s what you see.
Our picks this week are the Encounters Film Festival - GET YOUR PASS - and its expert, sharp-eyed curating - only £10 (...) Continue Reading »
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