Tag: Cinema
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Sheffield Doc/Fest: Staff Highlights.
I’ve been working for Sheffield International Documentary Festival for 7 months. I’ve now seen the Festival from both sides; as a member of the press and a member of the hard-woking team behind the scenes. Alongside a varied and ambitious film programme, there are also talks, sessions, debates and interviews and the ever-growing virtual realities…
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My Scientology Movie.
The church of Scientology has remained a pop culture fascination for several decades, constantly prominent in our minds because of high profile followers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Louis Theroux, familiar with documenting and deconstructing the bizarre and the delusional, approaches the subject at a very particular angle. When Theroux struggles to gain…
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Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach.
When I was 17 I saw Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen. My introduction to cinematic realism, my mind was blown. In the months that followed I devoured Loach’s back catalogue and, for the first time, consciously sought out new and innovative films and genres that I’d never experienced. I was mesmerised by seeing a film where…
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Green Room.
A heavy-metal band wake up in a field of maize, having fallen asleep at the wheel and having run out of gas. The band prove to be somewhat drifters, close to calling it quits as they struggle to cover the cost of petrol. Desperate for cash, the group agree to perform at a dingy venue inhabited by…
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Mustang.
In modern day Turkey, five sisters walk out of school on the last day of term. Summer upon them, they play on the beach and fool around in the cool water. We are met with a joyous atmosphere, as the girls bask in the freedom that the school holiday promises. The opening scenes of Mustang…
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Demolition.
When a young woman dies, her father and husband sit in a hospital waiting room, trying to process the devastation. Now widowed, Davis approaches a vending machine with the aim of scoring some peanut M&Ms. When the machine jams and his money is wasted, he sets about writing a letter of complaint to the vending…
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Son of Saul.
In the hell of the Holocaust, Saul Ausländer is working as a member of the Sonderkommando. Forced to burn the bodies of other prisoners following their hideous murders in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Saul sees a dead boy that he believes to be his son. He becomes instantly determined to save the boy’s body…
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Miles Ahead.
The title of Don Cheadle’s passion project refers to the innovation, revolution and originality found in the music and work of Miles Davis. You may have seen the main poster for the film which features Cheadle with his head down, sunglasses on, clasping his trumpet whilst a cigarette billows sexy smoke from his mouth. The…
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The Brand New Testament.
God exists and he resides in Belgium. That’s the briefest premise I can provide for The Brand New Testament, the latest from director Jaco Van Dormael. Despite what our cultures may have taught us, God is not the man behind miracles and the ten commandments. Instead, he dedicates himself to writing the rules of the universe.…
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Victoria.
It took director Sebastian Schipper two years to get his latest film Victoria accepted at any film festivals. Cast and director took to the streets of Berlin three times to film their electric vision in just one miraculous shot. Settling on the third version, Schipper brought his masterpiece to the world. A world who proved unprepared, with…
Hannah McHaffie 