In Waves, from director Trey Edward Shults, a suburban African-American family faces struggle, then tragedy. Healing is surely needed, but in what power will they find it? Ronald (Sterling K. Brown) is a demanding and domineering father. He describes himself as ?the...
It is time again for AFIFest Presented by Audi. While there is almost always some sort of film festival taking place in Los Angeles, AFIFest is the time that American and world cinema are center stage here. The 2019 event will feature 142 titles (80 features, 1...
One of the basic frameworks for a plot is The Hero Takes a Journey. It is seen in The Odyssey, any number of road movies, as well as the Gospel According to Luke. The Peanut Butter Falcon (winner of an audience award at SXSW) is the latest iteration of that plotline....
In 2016 the homeless population of Los Angeles grew to 58,000 people. Disco?d is Matthew Siretta?s look at a handful of those people. Siretta gives us a very personal look at some of those who live in homeless encampments. The title comes from a slang term that means...
?Turning poop culture into pop culture is the fastest way to solve the sanitation crisis? (Jack Sim) Yes, there is scatological humor in Lily Zepeda?s documentary Mr. Toilet: The World?s #2 Man. How can there not be given the subject: a worldwide sanitation crisis. It...
?Deep down I knew. We all knew. We did nothing.? Although it is not limited to the Catholic Church, sexual molestation of minors by clergy is an issue that continues to burden the church. In France, a notable example centered on a priest, Bernard Preynat, and the...
Cyrano, My Love is an intersection of live and art. It could be debated which is imitating which as we follow fin-de-si?cle French poet/playwright Edmund Rostand as he struggles to create the play which brought him fame and success, Cyrano de Bergerac. The film opens...
Dilili in Paris is a celebration of fin de si?cle Paris. While it is an animated story of a young dark-skinned girl?s adventure, the core of the film is to meet some of the amazing men and women (especially women) of the Belle ?poque. The center of the film is Dilili,...
?Some are born under a lucky star, some are born into collisions? (Mexican proverb) A title card at the beginning of Collisions tells us ?Every four minutes a US citizen child is separated from a parent by deportation.? The film is told from the perspective of two...