Most recent articles
Posted on 9 January 2020
Gaza, dir: Gary Keane & Andrew McConnell
by Tommy HodgsonGaza never falters in its intimate portrayal of humans whose lives have been profoundly affected by political decisions made without their consent or interests at heart. The footage is unmanufactured; it is not a passive news report about the body count of an active war zone but a real character study of personal and societal perseverance through the most devastating circumstances. It is both destruction and happiness; pain and dancing; and only political insofar as it spells out that (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 18 December 2019
Road to Palestine (1985), dir: Layaly Badr and Upper Gate (1991), dir: Arab Loutfi - London Palestine FF
by Tommy HodgsonThe London Palestine Film Festival’s ‘Women of the Revolution’ event featured two films from female directors – both grainy but politically vital insights into the plight of Palestinians in the 1980s.
The first, Layaly Badr’s Road to Palestine, served as a dark short with a long message – one of deep-rooted resistance and tragic injustices, a tale of Palestine’s reality for decades. The film, as a cartoon, burdens stick figures with the results of conflict and oppression, in the setting of a (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 9 December 2019
It Must Be Heaven by Elia Suleiman
by Tommy HodgsonThe London Palestine Film Festival opened with an expectedly strong, but nonetheless captivating experience, screening Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven at the Barbican. The film’s protagonist leads a life by observation, with Suleiman playing himself - only presumably more silent and bemused. His quizzical looks throughout invite us to view the bizarre events before our eyes with a similar detached penetration, as Suleiman lives day to day in his home country, then to Paris and New York (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 5 December 2019
Court de la semaine : Nocturnes de Matthieu Bareyre
by Elise LoiseauAvant de réaliser le long métrage documentaire L’époque (2018), Matthieu Bareyre a posé sa caméra à l’hippodrome de Vincennes.
Loin des représentations de Degas et Manet, l’hippodrome est devenu un lieu devenu anonyme, voué à la fabrication et à la diffusion d’images. Sous les lumières blafardes et au milieu des chaises en plastique, Mehdi, Jimmy, Safir et Kader réalisent leurs pulsions par procuration : derrière une large fenêtre en verre, à distance de la course, ils font corps avec les chevaux et leur (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 29 November 2019
Short of the Week: Nightmare of Gaza by Farah Nabulsi
by Abla Kandalaft"Gaza is unfortunately not a nightmare. Gaza is a horrifying reality. Farah Nabulsi’s short film, Nightmare of Gaza, presents that reality in an artistic way and reminds all of us of the ongoing tragedy." Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist.
A haunting, abstract and experimental narrative of a woman in the streets of Gaza surrounded by the devastation after the bombs have stopped. She has been helping others, but revelations show it is she who now needs help.
Our short of the week has just (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 22 November 2019
Short of the Week: Baghdad Messi
by Mydylarama teamIraq 2009. Ten-year-old Hamoudi has only one leg, but is totally obsessed with football. He and his friends - like the rest of the world - are looking forward to the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester (Messi versus Ronaldo). But then Hamoudi’s television breaks down!
Kurdish-Belgian director Sahim Omar Kalifa’s award-winning short is ruthlessly heart-braking, with a beautifully moving central performance by Ali Raad Al-Zaidawy. Baghdad Messi was amongst the 10 short (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 14 November 2019
Soviet Hippies, directed by Terje Toomistu - UK Premiere
by Tommy HodgsonSoviet Hippies, directed by Terje Toomistu, ‘Lenin vs. Lennon’ – UK
Premiere via Dash Arts Continue Reading »
Posted on 7 November 2019
The Ponds by Patrick McLennan & Samuel Smith - coming at Art House Crouch End
by Benjamin Hollis“The Ponds” meets the Londoners whose lives have been changed by outdoor swimming
Visit Hampstead Heath in North London at the summer’s peak and you’ll see hundreds of sun-seeking locals swimming in the park’s ponds. Although that quintessential image will be familiar to many Londoners, few know that the ponds continue to draw regulars throughout the winter.
“The Ponds” is a yearlong study of the motley crew that religiously swims in the Hampstead Heath ponds every day, come rain, shine or even (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 2 November 2019
Nightcleaners at Bertha DocHouse
by Benjamin HollisNightcleaners – An oddity of its time that captures the British working class struggle of the early 1970s
« Nightcleaners » is an early 70s observational account of London’s female office cleaners embroiled in an arduous struggle for fair pay and fair treatment by their male and middle-class bosses. The film has an admirable grip on the public conscience, garnering sustained attention from activists and doc-lovers alike over the years and prompting a well-received screening at Bertha Dochouse (...) Continue Reading »
Posted on 16 October 2019
Lynn+Lucy, dir. by Fyzal Boulifa - LFF 2019
by Anne-Sophie MarieThe Mayfair Hotel, where I’m about to meet Lynn + Lucy writer and director Fyza Boulifa and newcomer Roxanne Scrimshaw (Lynn), seems very far away from the film’s environment. Set in Harlow, the subtly dark and beautifully acted narrative follows two young mothers who have also been best friends all their lives, in spite (or maybe because of) their very different personas: Lucy the party animal, Lynn almost the wallflower. But when a tragic accident occurs and the local community reacts, (...) Continue Reading »
Latest comments