Tallinn Black Lights Review: This Town
When it comes to offbeat, outlandish and unlikely humour, there are few countries in the world that can hold a torch to New Zealand. Whether that’s the ‘90s slapstick of Peter Jackson’s Braindead and Bad Taste, the gentler humour of Eagle Vs Shark or Hunt for the Wilderpeople or the madcap horror of Housebound or …
IDFA Review: Petit Samedi
When people talk about drug addiction, they’re normally referring to junkies breaking into houses or homeless people collapsed on the street from spice. They think of someone who is out of control and unable to function within polite society. However, in many cases, this cannot be further from the truth. Whilst it still undoubtedly takes …
IDFA Review: Radiograph of a Family
Whilst in Britain we have a national religion, the percentage of the population who attend church regularly is down in single figures. Although this apathy spans much of Europe, we tend to assume that in the Islamic world devotion is widespread. This is not always the case, and historically how observant the citizens of a …
IDFA Review: Il Mio Corpo
In 2012, Italy had the highest rates of child poverty in Europe. For decades, the south has been overlooked by the wealthier north and Sicily is the country’s poorest region. This neglect has resulted in a power vacuum which allowed the mafia to take over and corruption to run rampant. Crime and illegal work are …
IDFA Review: Non Western
Despite it being the twenty-first century, interracial marriage is still taboo in many cultures and countries. Indeed, this form of union is often forbidden, whether that’s legally, morally or religiously. Or at least viewed in a different light to other weddings from ‘within’ a ‘community’. Minority groups within wider society are often the most steadfastly …
IDFA Review: Long, Live, Love
When someone is suffering from a serious illness, focus naturally centres on their welfare and wellbeing. They become the centre of attention for their friends and family, whose trajectories shift to orbit around them. It’s easy to forget that those people dedicating their lives to caring for them can be equally traumatised, often suffering in …
IDFA Review: Jacinta
The bond between a mother and daughter is very special and entirely different to any other familial relationship. This closeness which comes both from nature and nurture is one which is extremely difficult to break. However, when things do go wrong it’s also a connection which can be severed forever. Motherly love is entirely unique …
IDFA Review: Ziyara
By the end of World War II, there had been a Jewish community in Morocco for over two thousand years. Their numbers peaked around 1948 when there were roughly 250,000 living in the North African country. With political turmoil, the prospect of independence and the creation of the State of Israel, the following years and …
IDFA Review: Gunda
As human beings we’re programmed to long for companionship. Now, that naturally comes from within our own species, but I’m sure no one really needs a biology lesson. However, unless you live in certain states of America, that is very different to the love and affection pets can give us. Whether that the sloppy and …
IDFA Review: The Last Hillbilly
In today’s popular culture the term ‘hillbilly’ is often used to describe someone who is unsophisticated, poor and from the country. Maybe even a little backwards. However, in reality the term originally simply referred to someone hailing from the (southern) Appalachian Mountains or the Ozarks. Perceptions of this group have evolved from the independent pioneering …