In some ways Betrayed, from director Erik Svensson is like many other films about the Holocaust. It tells the story of the deportation of Jews from Norway in 1942. (Actually, we start three years earlier, in more normal times.) But this film doesn?t quite follow the...
Why do people (now a few thousand) climb Mt. Everest? George Mallory (who may or may not have been the first to reach the summit) famously answered the question by saying, ?Because it?s there.? But there has to be more to it than that. Mountaineering is a dangerous,...
Journalism has the power to give voice to those who are unseen in society. In Writing with Fire, from directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, we see how a group of women in India have found their own voice through their journalistic work. The film won an Audience...
In Geeta Malik?s India Sweets and Spices, we are put into the world of affluent Indian-American culture, with all its color and exoticness. Yet, all may not be as bright and pleasant as it would seem. The filmmaker draws on her experience of growing up in this culture...
How strange that AFI Fest 2021 is already coming to an end. But perhaps next year the festival will be able to move back to a weeklong fully in person event. Still, it is important to thank the staff and volunteers for the work they did to make this such a...
If you?re in the mood for a time-bending coming-of-age story, Petite Maman will do the trick. From director C?line Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady On Fire, Tomboy) this is the story of eight year old Nelly, who after her grandmother?s death goes to the grandmother?s house...
?We are responsible for the community we build and the stories we tell.? This is the tagline for AFI Fest 2021. That phrase appears on various promotional materials. It reflects the idea that films are more than just entertainment; they help to shape the way people...
Welcome to the 2021 edition of AFI Fest. Last year, the festival was all done virtually. This year is a hybrid with some films being available virtually and others only shown in the theaters at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The festival is abbreviated from...
Coming out in time for Veterans? Day is Sunken Roads: Three Generations After D-Day from documentarian Charlotte Juergens. In part it is a way of recording the memories of the ever-shrining number of veterans of that era. But more, it is a personal story of a much...