We live in a world of so much connectedness, yet how connected are we to one another? In Magnus von Horn?s Sweat, we see how alone we can be in the midst of masses. We see that celebrity is not the same of a happy, healthy life. We see that what we see of someone on...
?There it is. Take it.? (William Mulholland, opening the gates to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, 1913) Water is a big deal here in California. It is not just about the presence or lack of rain (although that is important). For over 100 years, huge amounts of water...
A small college prep school in rural Louisiana boasts that 100% of graduates are accepted into college, including 32% into Ivy League schools. An impressive record. It gained national media attention due to viral videos of students learning of their acceptances. That...
?Because I could no longer ignore death, I pay more attention to life.? Based on a true story, Grace and Grit, from director Sebastian Siegel, is story of love in the face of death. The specter of death is of such existential power that we would expect such a story to...
?If you leave me, I?ll have to kill you.? Those words are not an empty threat by a thwarted woman. Christian Petzold?s Undine retells the folklore/myth of a water nymph who is compelled by her nature to destroy an unfaithful lover. That underlying story has found...
Part of my self-identity is as a jock. That isn?t to say I?m particularly athletic, but I always wanted to be. I took part in sports, but never excelled. But that desire helps define me as a person. Changing the Game, a documentary by Michael Barnett, is a look at the...
I?m always happy to promote short films as part of the entertainment landscape. Often the only chance people get to see shorts is at film festivals or during the Academy Awards season. But now Disney has created a program of live action shorts streaming on Disney+...
?My prayer worked! I can?t believe it!? Based on a true story, Julio Quintana?s Blue Miracle is a story of answered prayers, but it is even more a story about finding rebirth in the people around us. It is the story of a washed up boat captain, a fishing tournament,...
?Surely we belong to God and to Him we shall return.? In Zeshawn Ali?s Two Gods we see the struggles of people dealing with violence in their lives and neighborhoods. The documentary set mostly in Newark, New Jersey, focuses on Hanif, a Muslim casket maker and ritual...