Welcome to Slamdance. While most of the world is familiar with the Sundance Film Festival, they may not have heard of Slamdance, a renegade festival also held in Park City, Utah, the same week. Slamdance?s mantra is ?By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers?. The Slamdance...
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature, For Sama brings a personal perspective to the Syrian conflict. The conflict in Syria has been fertile ground for documentary films. Two years ago The Last Men in Aleppo was among the doc nominees. This year The Cave is also...
?God showed me the way.? Harriet Tubman was given a boost into the national consciousness when she was chosen to be put onto the $20 bill (a plan that has been put on hold by the Trump Administration). But being on money is not all we need to know about her. Kasi...
The myth of Diana and Actaeon is the underlying basis for Redoubt from avant-garde filmmaker Matthew Barney. I know that I lost a good number of readers with the word ?avant-garde?, but I hope you?ll stay with me a bit longer, because this film really is an experience...
?Each of us is a priest of Christ. Me, you. Each and every one of you.? Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi (for Best International Feature Film) explores what it means to be a priest of Christ. But it does so through the story of an imposter who finds a community in need....
Workplace sexual harassment and abuse doesn?t qualify as ?man bites dog? news. But in recent years it has become news because of the rich and powerful people involved. #MeToo has become the catchall term for such abuse, especially in the entertainment industry....
It?s time for me to put up my favorite movies of the last year. So here?s Darrel?s Dozen for 2019 (with a few bonuses at the end). This year I?ll only rank the top film; all the rest will be alphabetical. Links are to my reviews, unless noted.) The #1 film for 2019...
I recently had the opportunity to speak by phone with Jan Komasa, director of the Polish film Corpus Christi, which is on the shortlist of films being considered for an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Feature. The film is the story of a young man (Daniel) who...
?You want to be whole.? A couple of hours before viewing Clemency, I took in an excellent photo exhibition focusing on walls. That influenced how I understood this powerful film. The obvious reason is that the film takes place mostly within a prison, but that is...