By Khalid Ali, film and media correspondent In its 40th edition, the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), 20-29 November 2018 (https://www.ciff.org.eg/), pays special tribute to nine outstanding Arab women directors. A distinguishing feature shared by these directors is that they tell stories which are deeply rooted in their respective cultures, but still manage to connect […]
Category: Film and Media
Going a Long Way in a Wheelchair
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (Gus van Sant, USA 2018). Review by Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer. Don’t Worry, Gus van Sant’s latest film, explores several mental health themes through revisiting the real life memories of the cartoonist and writer John Callahan. In the film, John (Joachin Phoenix) suffered from serious […]
Neglected No More: An Authentic Portrayal of People Affected by Leprosy
Yomeddine (Abu Bakr Shawky, Egypt 2018), showing at the London Film Festival 18, 20, and 21 October, 2018. Review by Dr Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent. In spite of its worldwide impact, leprosy remains on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of Neglected Tropical Diseases. In 2016, there were 216,108 new cases registered […]
Recovering from collective trauma: Utøya 22. juli
Utøya 22. juli, directed by Erik Poppe, Norway 2018, showing at the London Film Festival, 12th and 13 October. Review by Dr Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent. In July 2011, a far-right extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, brought Norway to a state of national mourning. After setting off a bomb in government headquarters in Oslo, […]
Troubled Minds in Troubled Times: The London Film Festival
The London Film Festival (10-21 October 2018) explores children and adolescents’ mental health Review by Dr Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent. The 62nd British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival (LFF) returns in October with a selection of thought-provoking films from 75 countries. It is indeed a ‘globally diverse event’ as highlighted by its […]
PTSD and Fatalité Intérieure: Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘Cold War’
Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland 2018). Reviewed by Prof. Robert Abrams, Weill Cornell College, New York. Cold War is a film set mostly in Poland in the Communist era from 1949 to the 1960s. The majority of scenes are shot under a grim, steel-grey sky, befitting the spirit-crushing oppression that prevailed in that time and place. But the […]
Deafhearing Family Life in The Silent Child: an Unsympathetic Portrayal?
The Silent Child, C. Overton and R. Shenton, 2017. UK: Slick films Reviewed by Dr Sara Louise Wheeler, Lecturer in Social Policy, Bangor University At the 2018 Oscars, writer and actor Rachel Shenton made her acceptance speech in British Sign Language (BSL), when her film, The Silent Child, won the Oscar for best live action […]
At a Closer Look Nobody is Normal
Like Crazy, (Paolo Virzi, Italy, 2016) Reviewed by Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer Beatrice (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) and Donatella (Micaela Ramazzotti) live in a Mental Care Health Home. The former is an upper class mythomaniac, a compulsive liar with fantastical stories, whilst the latter comes from a lower socio-economic class and suffers from severe […]
Revisiting Dunkirk: A Call to Action
Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017, United Kingdom) Reviewed by Sanaa Hyder, MSc. Health Psychology Dunkirk opens with these words: “The enemy has driven the British and French armies to the sea. Trapped at Dunkirk, they await their fate. Hoping for deliverance. For a miracle.” This succinctly captures the sentiment of a beautifully-rendered war film portraying the […]
Talk to her: Creativity Without Boundaries
In this blogpost we have Raghda, multi-talented Arab artist, in conversation with our Film and Media Correspondent, Khalid Ali. Not many artists can claim as many titles as does Raghda, an Arab actress, poet, journalist, humanitarian and activist. Making her acting debut in The Peacock (1982), directed by Kamal Sheikh, she played the enigmatic bereaved […]