Photosensitivity Warning: There are a few scenes of refracted light that may be triggering for sensitive viewers. In August 2020, a video of 11-year-old Anthony Mmesoma Madu dancing outside of his ballet school went viral, garnering attention not just from… Read More ›
film festival
Filmmaker Omar Kamara explores the rich complexity of sibling relationships in dramedy “African Giants.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Sir Isaac Newton With all of the discussion of borders — who’s securing them, who’s refusing to do so, what do we do with the… Read More ›
First-time documentarian Ryan Jacobi explores the man behind the improv character in “I’m ‘George Lucas’: A Connor Ratliff Story.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
Before there was The Mandalorian (2019-??), Andor (2022), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), or Ashoka (2023), before there was either a Prequel or Sequel Trilogy, there was only Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of… Read More ›
Don’t miss out on Rasheed Stephens’s best day of his life in the mixed-format dramedy “All I’ve Got & Then Some.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
“Best Day of My Life!” When asked how he’s doing by friends, colleagues in the comedy realm, passengers in his latest pick-up, and everyone in between, Rasheed Stephens (himself) replies with the same answer: “Best day of my life.” It’s… Read More ›
A Conversation with “I’m ‘George Lucas’: A Connor Ratliff Story” director Ryan Jacobi and producer Patrick Cotnoir. [Slamdance Film Festival]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently spoke with some of the team behind the documentary I’m ‘George Lucas’: A Connor Ratliff Story, which premiered at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival. Director Ryan Jacobi and producer Patrick Cotnoir discuss their doc’s… Read More ›
Filmmaker Rafael Toledo is set to make an explosive impression with his short film “Blockbuster.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
In an era where it seems like most major studio releases are one giant computer-generated sequence after another, there’s something desirable about watching a film with practical effects. Realism is overrated when there’s something tangible before us, even if it… Read More ›
Filmmaker Pete Ohs’s satirical comedy “Love and Work” utilizes laughter as a gateway for much-needed introspection. [Slamdance Film Festival]
Exacerbated by a variety of global conditions due to COVID-19, the United States is now a society in which working is the prime directive. Not creating art, not engaging with cultures or communities beyond ourselves, just working in order to… Read More ›
Filmmaker Daniel Robbins’s new doc “Citizen Weiner” encourages audiences to make the change they want to see in their local government. [Slamdance Film Festival]
In the ‘80s, there was a trend of films that built up their own cliché — the rag tag group of kids going up against the big city conglomerate, usually to save a community center. Do keep in mind that,… Read More ›
Xun Sero’s documentary “Mamá” covers a lot of ground in its simple premise of a mother/son conversation. [imageNATIVE]
When we’re children, we look to our parents for our needs. We rejoice when we get what we ask for, and we encounter terrible pains when we don’t. That pain can turn into resentment to the point where it festers… Read More ›
Charming play-turned-film “Inky Pinky Ponky” is a star-making vehicle for co-writer/lead Amanaki Prescott-Faletau. [imagineNATIVE]
As children, there’re all kinds of games available to entertain and to instill a little competition. The trick is that some of those games can end up with some players feeling a little left out, especially when the point of… Read More ›
Filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin offers optimistic resistance while exploring generational trauma caused by religious violence in her documentary “WaaPaKe (Tomorrow).” [imagineNATIVE]
In May of 2021, news broke worldwide of a discovery in Canada of a mass grave containing the bodies of 215 Indigenous children. This would be shocking to many, the idea that schools created by the Canadian government would so… Read More ›
Erica Tremblay’s family drama “Fancy Dance” is a fictional tale baring the scars of real trauma. [imagineNATIVE]
There are the stories we tell and then there are the stories beneath them. These are sometimes stated outright, bubbling to the surface, unable to be contained, while others are told via pieces of dialogue or in the negative spaces… Read More ›
Writer/director Pierre Creton’s “A Prince (Un prince)” utilizes an observatory documentary-like approach that disconnects the audience from his coming-of-age tale. [New York Film Festival]
When we think of coming-of-age tales, there are certain staples that come to mind: youth, love, introspection, heartbreak, and maybe a little absolution. Writer/director Pierre Creton (A Beautiful Summer (Le bel été)) disregards almost all of these in his recent… Read More ›
Filmmaker Miko Revereza’s “Nowhere Near” is an experimental documentary capturing the scars of a life lived in waiting. [New York Film Festival]
There’s a strange hypocrisy to the American Dream. Citizens of the United States of America have called their country the greatest in the world, touting its various freedoms (perceived or law-based), all while going to other countries to spread their… Read More ›
Rosine Mbakam’s “Mambar Pierrette” elevates with an observation approach over tropes. [New York Film Festival]
Despite what stories tell us, our lives don’t end when we achieve the dream, overcome the adversity, or, worse yet, get taken down by the corporate monster trying to rip down the community center. Until we cease to function, the… Read More ›
Intriguing concepts are diluted by abandoned threads in Paul Duane’s folklore horror “All You Need is Death.” [Beyond Fest]
Before the written word carried the words of the present into the future, the oral tradition was used to safeguard family and cultural histories. This method, though reliant on the memory of the custodian, still remains a valued part of… Read More ›
Filmmaker James Benning’s experimental doc “Allensworth” is a meditation on time and space that may only resonant with those aware of the subject. [New York Film Festival]
Filmmaker James Benning has been making movies as early as 1972, starting with his short film Time and a Half. His projects shift in specificity, but each one appears to be an exploration of a precise subject, and Benning has… Read More ›
Documentarian Michael Gitlin invites audiences to go night swimming with “The Night Visitors.” [New York Film Festival]
Trigger Warning: Photosensitive audience members beware as there are several moments of flashing/strobing, close-ups on bulb filament, bright white backgrounds, and other elements which may induce episodes or migraine. Recently, on a walk with my family, my eldest spoke about… Read More ›
A Conversation with “The Last Stop in Yuma County” writer/director Francis Galluppi. [Fantastic Fest]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently spoke with writer and director Francis Galluppi about his directorial debut, The Last Stop in Yuma County. A selection for Fantastic Fest 2023, this western flick stars the likes of Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue,… Read More ›
Kim Jee-woon’s dark dramedy “Cobweb (거미집)” explores the duality of depression and optimism in creation. [Fantastic Fest]
“Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott, author There is no story more powerful than the one we tell ourselves. Are we the hero? The villain? Are we the main character… Read More ›