Film Review: Initiation

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Blu-Ray Review: Carla’s Song

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Film Review: Zana

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Pope Francis

Pope Francis, or Jorge Mario Bergoglio to his friends, is unique in many ways. He’s the first pope to hail from the Americas and the first from the southern hemisphere. Not since the eighth century has there been a head of the Roman Catholic Church from outside of Europe. Most importantly of all, there has …

Hector snr and jr

Héctor Abad Gómez was a prominent Columbian doctor, university professor and human rights activist. He is responsible for the foundation of the Colombian National School of Public Health and pioneering a number of public health programmes for the poor in Medellín. During his later life, his focus shifted towards tackling the injustices within his country; …

Cami

Genre cinema is full of nightmarish visions. Whether that’s witches, ghouls, vampires, werewolves, aliens, ancient gods or just about every monstrous creature the brain can possibly devise. Indeed, whilst folklore, myths and legends hold their own dread, there’s nothing which can rival the human imagination when it comes to conjuring up terror. This is a …

Shira and Maria

Families can be complex, confusing, confounding and confrontational, but more often than not blood is thicker than water. All families have a tangled web of inter-relationships, shared histories and those topics avoided at all costs. However, when you’ve finally found that special someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, your nearest …

Protestors for gay rights

Today, being gay in a progressive society generally means being a second-class citizen in one way or another. Seen, accepted but usually not afforded the same legal protections as someone in a heterosexual relationship. In less open and tolerant countries it remains a criminal office, often punishable by death. However, there was a time, even …

The Tarrants receiving a phone call

It must be strange to be born to a generation which doesn’t remember ‘domestic’ terrorism in the UK. Whilst ‘the Troubles’ cast a shadow over Northern Ireland for three decades, the spectre of the IRA was a constant threat in mainland Britain. Indeed, we seem to be heading in that direction again. Long before Islamic …

Group on the streets of London

There once was a time when youthful rebellion and protest were a mainstay of British life. Indeed, activism and campaigning were often regular pastimes during the 1970s and early 1980s. Especially around the time when Margaret Thatcher came to power and society was becoming increasingly conservative. AIDS was on the rise and a number of …

The haunted house is a perennial favourite of genre cinema. As anyone who has stayed in a really old building will know, they seem to have a life and personality of their own. Strange noises are common, as are unexplained occurrences. They have provided the atmospheric setting for many of the best horror films, including …

Billy Tipton

Born in Oklahoma City, Billy Tipton was a talented pianist and jazz musician who both played with the greats and became a renowned bandleader. He was also a dedicated family man, living with his wife and three adopted sons. However, when he died suddenly in his 70s, his family and friends were in for one …

Group of five assemble

Spearheading the Romanian new wave and one of the most intriguing, interesting and confounding of his countrymen, Cristi Puiu has an eye for the epic. Whether it’s his hilariously obtuse The Death of Mr Lazarescu, oddly engaging Sieranevada or the pleasantly baffling Aurora, he can never be accused of not making his audience work for …