?When a man tries to play God, the darkness awakens.? Based in Jewish folklore, The Golem is a tale of looking for a savior, but finding instead destruction. Set in seventeenth century Lithuania, a Jewish village is under attack by local Gentiles who blame the Jews for a plague that is killing people. How should…
Covering Slamdance has been a bit different for me because I didn?t actually attend the festival. Through filmmakers and publicists sharing screeners with me I?ve covered the film festival from the warmth of southern California.
Since most of the films (exceptions: Boni Bonita and This Teacher) I?m reporting on today are docs, I?d like to highlight some documentary filmmakers who have premiered work at Slamdance: Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom), Seth Gordon, (King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters), Kurt Kuenne (Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His…
Slamdance is designed to focus on new and emerging filmmakers. Over the last 25 years it has produced an impressive alumni list, including (with some of their more well known films): Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Batman Begins, Memento), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamiite), Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Anthony and Joe Russo…
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?. It is celebrating its 25th year in 2019, and seeks to serve new and…
Living on an isolated tropical island, Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey) is a fishing boat captain who lives a peaceful life on Plymouth Island, an isolated island in the Carribbean. However, his world is soon shattered when his ex-wife Karen (Anne Hathaway) tracks him down and, desperate for help, begs Baker to rescue her and their…
Dolphin movies never get old. There is probably a scientific or biological reason for this, but at the core, I think it?s because humans and dolphins share an intelligence and desire for community that translates well onto both large and small screens. From Flipper?to Dolphin Tale, dolphins are often portrayed as the heroic animal that…
Directed by Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle (La La Land), First Man?tells the story of one of the most iconic moments in history as it tracks NASA?s quest to be the first to put a man on the moon. Following the journey of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), the film explores the human side of the mission, without…
It would be an oversimplification to call this a Black Lives Matter film, although it most certainly fits that description. But it is also a far deeper examination of not only African-American identity, but of the importance of finding oneself in order to know one?s place in the world and how that fulfills what one is meant to do with their life.
After 60 years, Mary Poppins Returns! With Emily Blunt stepping into the legacy (and Oscar-winning) legacy of Julie Andrews, Poppins automatically has massive expectations to live up to the charm of the original Disney classic. But, is the result practically perfect? Or does the sequel ?go fly a kite?? In a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious conversation, I?m joined…
