Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Listen’ (Anna Rocha de Sousa, Portugal, UK, 2020) showing on Saturday 30th October at 29th Raindance Film Festival, https://raindance.org/festival-programme/listen/, and then available for 3 days UK-wide via Curzon Home Cinema https://homecinema.curzon.com/film/listen/ ‘Listen’ is a testament to the fact that film can be a powerful medium for […]
Tag: film review
Untold Stories from the Black Wild West
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘The Harder They Fall’ (Jeymes Samuel, USA, 2021) opened the BFI London Film Festival (LFF), showing on 7th and 10th October at LFF, and streaming on Netflix from 3rd November 2021. Black History Month has been observed in the UK every October since 1987. One of […]
A Journey of Self-Acceptance
Film Review by Robert Abrams Review of Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, documentary directed by Ric Burns (Steeplechase Films, USA, 2019) Screening for one night only special event in UK and Irish cinemas on 29th September. For tickets and more information, https://www.altitude.film/movies/tag/coming-soon Oliver Sacks: His Own Life bears the key hallmarks of a Ric Burns […]
Breaking Free from the Cage of Modern Society
Film Review by Dr Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer “Nomadland” (Chloé Zhao, USA, 2020) winner of the Oscar for best film, best director (Chloé Zhao) and best actress in a leading role (Frances McDormand) in 2021. At the beginning of ‘Nomadland’ we meet Fern (Frances McDormand), a middle-aged, middle-class woman, in what is probably […]
Let’s Talk and Be Honest: Marianne Khoury, Egyptian film maker, Tackles Arab Women Taboos
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Let’s talk’ (Documentary film, directed by Marianne Khoury, Egypt, 2019, winner of best documentary film in Cairo International Film Festival 2019) Showing at ‘The Time is New: Selections from Contemporary Arab Cinema’ at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player from 27 August–5 October. Tickets on sale […]
Neuro-Diversity Explored in Film
Film Review by Professor Janet Harbord, Professor of Film, Queen Mary University, London When cinema has depicted autism it has almost exclusively sought to translate the world of the autistic person for a supposed neurotypical audience. But what happens if we start from a position of autism as a benefit, a modality that can renew […]
Finding Hope through Understanding
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent Spoiler alert: this review contains significant plot details. ‘Souad’ (Ayten Amin, Egypt, 2020) showing at UK cinemas from 27th August 2021, https://www2.bfi.org.uk/whats-on/bfi-film-releases/souad. Souad (Bassant Ahmed) is a 19-year-old girl who lives with her younger sister Rabab (Basmala El Ghaiesh), and their parents in Zagazig, a city […]
Sudanese Women Exercising Power and Politics
Suzannah Mirghani, Sudanese filmmaker, explores Sudanese matriarchal traditions in her short film ‘Al-Sit’ in conversation with Khalid Ali In 2019, Sudanese cinema came to the international limelight with three highly acclaimed films; ‘Khartoum Offside’ (Marwa Zein), ‘Talking about Trees’ (Suhaib Gasmelbari), and ‘You Will Die at Twenty’ (Amjad Abu Alala). These award-winning films were the […]
Women, the State and Film Activism
Film Festival Announcement by Khalid Ali The 25th Human Rights Watch Film Festival, UK Digital Edition, Barbican Cinema On Demand, 18–26 March 2021, https://ff.hrw.org/london Reproductive rights and the right to family, survivors of rape and access to healthcare are the focus of several documentaries in the 25th edition of Human Rights Watch Film Festival taking place from 18-26 March, presented exclusively on the […]
Unexpected Gifts: Film review of “Looted,” by Rene van Pannevis
Looted, directed by Rene van Pannevis, UK, 2019, available on virtual cinema and on-demand. by Professor Robert Abrams, Weill Cornell, New York. Alert: the review contains plot spoilers! The central story of Looted is a bitter father-son saga, a tragedy about parental failure and filial remorse. The film also includes explicit depictions of terminal […]