“Necessity is the mother of invention.” — a proverb whose origin is unknown, though is believed to have evolved from a statement within Plato’s Republic, “our need will be the real creator.” True or not, when times get tough, when… Read More ›
film festival
Watch “The Feast” for a well-crafted cautionary tale rooted in Welsh folklore. [SXSW Film Festival]
The dinner table is a universal symbol of community, nourishment, and respite, but directors of horror movies often repurpose the place where people come together for a meal to create some of the most awkward and unsettling cinematic moments of… Read More ›
As long as the patriarchy exists, there will always be a “Witch Hunt.” [SXSW Film Festival]
Three years after her directorial debut Head Count, Elle Callahan returns with the allegorical Witch Hunt. A mixture of YA tropes, fantasy, and horror, Witch Hunt imagines an alternate Earth wherein witch craft is illegal in America to the point… Read More ›
Without a clear focus, this telling of “Disintegration Loops” falls on deaf ears. [SXSW Film Festival]
Ambient music is one of those things that pervades your life in the basest of forms, but when you learn the depths of the genre within the modern music scene, it kind of blows your mind. This was my experience… Read More ›
By the time folk horror doc “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror” ends, you’ll want even more. [SXSW Film Festival]
Folk horror is something that, for a while, I didn’t know was genuinely one of my favorite forms in the horror genre. It’s difficult to categorize it as its own separate sub-genre as its products can be widespread and incredibly… Read More ›
Documentary “The Oxy Kingpins” is an effective look at the rage of why and how it’s so easy to get hooked on prescription medication. [SXSW Film Festival]
Prescription drugs have become a dangerous enterprise encompassing our world today. Dealing drugs has become a business that isn’t what shows like “Breaking Bad” makes you think it is. In actuality, it resides in the category of being an industry… Read More ›
Raw, unflinching, and defiant “Luchadoras” follows the reclamation of personhood in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. [SXSW Film Festival]
If you were to presume that co-directors Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim’s documentary Luchadoras (Female Fighters) is about female wrestlers in Mexico, you’d only be about a quarter correct. While their film does follow four wrestlers — Lady Candy, Baby… Read More ›
History makes it clear that “Women Is Losers,” but there is hope to change that for the future. [SXSW Film Festival]
Have you ever become instantly smitten with a film from the first few moments when it just felt like you’re vibing on the same level? With the rhythmic sounds of Oskar Cartaya’s “Get Up (Muévete)”, the audience is treated to… Read More ›
Refreshing political doc “Kid Candidate” goes beyond the unconventional candidacy to call out corruption in local government. [SXSW Film Festival]
NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation has a running gag about “Ice Town,” the winter sports complex that series regular Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) tried to build when he was miraculously elected mayor of his hometown at the age of 18…. Read More ›
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” brings new meaning to the phrase “balls out” in its post-apocalyptic action/adventure tale. [Sundance Film Festival]
A nameless stranger. A damsel in distress. A suicide mission that no one but the best can handle. These three requirements appear in countless stories, from gunslinger westerns of the East to the samurai tales of the West, each possessing… Read More ›
If you want to know “How It Ends,” begin with yourself. [Sundance Film Festival]
The latest project from Mister Lister Films is at once existential and profound, while completely self-indulgent. In their balance, both of these can be true, combining into a film that’s as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. Conceived, developed, and shot… Read More ›
Documentarian Rodney Ascher’s “A Glitch in the Matrix” explores the mystery of Simulation Theory. [Sundance Film Festival]
It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real, that is to say of an operation of deterring every real process via… Read More ›
Indie drama “Take Out Girl” delivers a thoughtful meal, not a dissatisfying snack. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
There are many paths to success. Even one generation ago, that meant going to school, getting a job, and working there until retirement. On that path at that time, a single income was typically enough to provide for an average… Read More ›
Director Tali Yankelevich’s “My Darling Supermarket (Meu Querido Supermercado)” explores the macro and micro elements of a fractal existence. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Much of our lives are mundane. We wake, we eat, we work, we eat, we sleep, we wake. In a way, life is a recursive action, predictable and endless. Where many would see a paralyzing dread, director Tali Yankelevich sees… Read More ›
Director Ja’Tovia Gary’s “The Giverny Document (Single Channel)” challenges its audience to consider the emotional weight of ignorance. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Artist Ja’Tovia Gary is a provocateur, a demonstrator, and a rebel. She uses her art as a means of proclaiming her space, her ideas, and her life as something of incredible value. None of this should be necessary, which appears… Read More ›
Chloé Hung’s sci-fi short film “Signal” possesses eerie parallels to now. [Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival]
The symbiotic relationship between art and reality continues to prove itself as an essential component of our society and culture. The concept of post-apocalyptic storytelling has been delivered in various forms with creativity ebbing and flowing. With the turbulent events… Read More ›
A Conversation with director Daniel Smith. [Real To Reel Film Festival]
“Reel Conversations” highlights filmmakers behind official Real to Reel Film Festival Selections. On this episode of “Reel Conversations,” Thomas Manning speaks with Daniel Smith, director of the short film, Sideways. Exploring friendships, gravitational anomalies, and the challenges to keeping relationships… Read More ›
A Conversation with Real to Reel Film Festival co-founders Will Eskridge and Noel T. Manning. [Real to Reel Film Festival]
“Reel Conversations” highlights filmmakers and others featured in the 21st Annual International Real to Reel Film Festival. On this episode of “Reel Conversations,” Thomas Manning speaks with Will Eskridge and Noel T. Manning II, cofounders of the Real to Reel… Read More ›
Martial arts dramedy “The Paper Tigers” honors the heritage of the genre while exploring the cost of neglected bonds. [Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival]
The phrase “peaceful warrior” will always sound like an oxymoron to those who don’t understand it. The confusion lies in perceiving these terms as in opposition to one another — one can’t be peaceful if one is trained in the… Read More ›
Meet Me at the Movies, Episode 398: Special Guest Violet Arth Dukes of the Real To Reel Film Festival. [Reel to Reel Film Festival]
In partnership with the Reel to Reel Film Festival, enjoy this extended interview with festival director Violet Arth Dukes on EoM partner Noel T. Manning’s television program Meet Me at the movies. Violet Arth Dukes, festival director, for the 21st… Read More ›