For many years, I’ve made a list of 12(ish) films that I judge most important or just plain favorites of the year. This year I’m going to do it a little bit differently. I’ve noted that this is an especially good year for subversion—and art is often good precisely...
Øystein Mamen, in his documentary Punishment, takes us inside a Norwegian prison and inside the minds and souls of four prisoners taking part in a silent spiritual retreat. Along with two prison chaplains, they reflect on their past, the consequences of their choices,...
We often measure casualties of war statistically. But doing so only serves to distance us from the reality of the pain and suffering. It also dehumanizes the cost of war: it becomes about numbers, rather than people. One Bullet, from documentarian Carol Dysinger, is...
Slamdance Film Festival has made what they call “Unstoppable” into an important part of the festival’s DNA. These films are made by or about people with disabilities (whether visible or not). These sections (feature and shorts) have films that provide an outlet for...
Slamdance Film Festival has often looked to distinguish itself by providing an outlet for filmmakers who see the world a bit differently. One of the ways it does that is through the “Unstoppable” sections, both for feature films and shorts. These films are made by or...
The thirtieth edition of Slamdance Film Festival is underway. Slamdance shares Park City, Utah, with its more famous sibling Sundance this week. While Sundance will gather more attention, Slamdance is, at times, edgier and also exemplifies the power of films made by...
How does one speak of losing not just one child, but two? In Four Daughters, Kaouther Ben Hania takes us into a family that has suffered such a loss—but not as we might think. She takes us back to see the family’s life before and after the loss. It is such an intimate...
Lina Soualem’s Bye Bye Tiberias is essentially a way for the filmmaker to get a better understanding of her roots. But, as we watch, we also get to understand a bit about life as exiles (be it involuntary or the result of personal choice). It brings a decidedly female...
“Things are only simple when you choose not to examine them.” September 3, 1939. Britain has declared war on Germany. The world is filled with fear and uncertainty. That is the setting for Matthew Brown’s Freud’s Final Session, in which we watch an imagined meeting...