Film Festival
Grimmfest Review: Alone
When tragedy strikes, the way we deal with that loss and grief is unique to the kind of person we are. Some people simply can’t go on with their normal routine and retreat into an almost catatonic state. Others try and ignore it completely and carry on with their lives as if nothing has happened, …
LFF Review: Stray
It’s unusual to see stray dogs on the streets of most Western countries. Whilst canis familiaris is a common sight almost everywhere else in the world, pets without owners tend to end up in animal rescues or shelter; with a limited life expectancy. However, In Turkey, they’re very much part of the landscape and the …
LFF Review: Mangrove
When the HMT Empire Windrush landed at Tilbury Docks in 1948, it signalled the start of a widespread migration from the Caribbean. These immigrants were invited to the UK to plug holes in the British labour market, predominantly within the health service and public transportation. Most of these newcomers settled in London and were largely …
Nightstream Festival Preview
The knock-on effects of the ongoing crisis have been particularly difficult for the creative sectors, but trying to organise a film festival in the current climate ranges from daunting to impossible. Undeterred, five US genre festivals have found a novel solution. Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights have banded together to …
Grimmfest 2020 Preview
Now approaching its teens, Grimmfest has firmly cemented its place on the UK horror film festival circuit. However, as you might well expect, the (normally) Manchester-based festival looks very different in 2020. This year it’s packed-up its mask and moved online. Fear not, because you’re still going to be treated to twenty new features, a …
BFI London Film Festival 2020 Preview
The BFI London Film Festival 2020 is, for obvious reasons, looking a bit different this year. The stars of the film world will not be descending on London in their droves this time round. However, whilst some festivals may have hunkered down for better times, not at the BFI. Whilst this year’s offering is online …
Open City Docs Review: Once Upon A Youth
Whilst it might not have seemed so at the time, your teenage years are the ones which will stay with you for the rest of your life. The music you listen to, the films you watch, the books you read and the people you shared those obsessions with. It’s a time of growth. Of transition …
Open City Docs Review: Sunless Shadows
Despite all the progress which has been made over the last few decades, we still live in a distinctly patriarchal world. Whilst it’s the case (pretty much) everywhere, in some places it seems like very little progress has been made over the last hundred years. Indeed, certain nations have regressed. These tend to be states …
Open City Docs Review: Victoria
One of the most fascinating aspects of town planning is the phenomenon of ghost cities. Places which have been designed and created to be bustling metropolitan centres but which end up, due to political, economic or environmental factors, empty and largely abandoned. The most famous examples are in China, but you can find many others …
Open City Docs Review: Faith
Whether you want to class them as religions or cults, there are undoubtedly a heck of a lot of them. The fact anyone can create one, is the first sign of danger. Although, it’s almost always men who start them, and ‘coincidentally’ they usually involve some form of free love/bigamy. However, most seem to be …