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 ›
film festival
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 ›
A Conversation with actors Jules Willcox and Marc Menchaca. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In this audio interview, Thomas Manning of The Run-Down On Movies speaks with Jules Willcox and Marc Menchaca, the stars of the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival selection, Alone, directed by John Hyams. Alone tells the story of a recently… Read More ›
Jeon Gye-soo’s “Vertigo” offers sensory exploration of romance from the heights. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In a corporate world made of glass, steel, and concrete, Jeon Gye-soo’s atmospheric Korean language film Vertigo captures the agony of one woman’s emotional and physical isolation and the slow-budding connection she makes with a high rise window washer contracted… Read More ›
A Conversation with writer/director/actor Donald Wilson. [Real To Reel Film Festival]
“Reel Conversations” highlights filmmakers responsible for some of the official Real to Reel Film Festival Selections. On this episode of “Reel Conversations,” Thomas Manning speaks with Donald Wilson, writer/director/actor for The Sound of Silence. The Sound of Silence explores the… Read More ›
A Conversation with director Bao Tran. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In this interview, Thomas Manning speaks with Bao Tran, the writer and director of the new kung fu comedy and Fantasia Film Festival selection, The Paper Tigers. Three Kung Fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, now one kick… Read More ›
A Conversation with directors David Darg and Price James. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In this interview, Thomas Manning sits down with directors David Darg and Price James, the filmmakers behind the Fantasia Film Festival selection documentary, You Cannot Kill David Arquette. Branded as the most hated man in wrestling after winning a highly… Read More ›
Expertly crafted in pieces, Korean mystery “Me and Me (사라진 시간)” does not combine to a satisfying whole. [Fantasia Film Festival]
When it comes to modern Korean horror (Parasite doesn’t count), there’s really a “before The Wailing” and “after The Wailing” period going on currently. Sure, there are still some fast-moving, breakneck horror being made in South Korea, but there has… Read More ›
A Conversation with director Rebecca Kirsh. [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 Rebecca Kirsh, the co-director of the short film, A Mind’s Eye. A very personal project for Kirsh, she seeks… Read More ›
“Sanzaru” is an intriguing slow burn, yet crashes in the landing. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Sanzaru is a film that might look like a film along the lines of The Dark & The Wicked in its rural set-up for a horrific force haunting a house, but off the bat, there’s something much stranger at hand…. Read More ›
A Conversation with writer/director Jim Picariello. [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 Jim Picariello, the writer/director for The Mushroom Huntress. Jim Picariello is a Real to Reel alumnus, and The… Read More ›
A quiet film with fantastic suspense, “Wildland (Kød & blod)” is a different flavor of mafia movie. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Although the Fantasia International Film Festival was held virtually this year, it still featured an incredible lineup of wild and visceral films that celebrated everything gory and horrific. Many of the featured titles were loud and boastful with their colorful… Read More ›
Psychological thriller “Sleep” explores German cultural identity with a fairy-tale feel. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Dreams help us process unspoken emotions and desires in contained, temporary environments. Those who dream can escape reality, explore a path unchosen, and tuck the experience away in a safe box. In Michael Venus’s feature-length debut, however, the borders between… Read More ›
French Western “Savage State (L’état Sauvage)” is a stark, quiet, introspective tale of survival. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Fantasia Festival has provided a bevy of opportunities to showcase some truly great genre films, primarily focusing into the sci-fi/horror route of things. The grisly, spooky, and downright weird have been on full display since the start of the festival,… Read More ›