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 […]
Tag: film review
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 […]
Review of “I Know This Much Is True” TV series (Derek Cianfrance, USA, 2020)
“Man Can Do What He Wills But He Cannot Will What He Wills” On the Freedom of the Will, Arthur Schopenauer, 1839. By Dr. Franco Ferrarini, gastroenterologist and film reviewer. This short HBO series centres on the life of two twin brothers, Thomas, and Dominick Birdsey (both played by Mark Ruffalo), the former affected by […]
Reflecting on Loss and Grief
Review of ‘Loco’ (Rory Wilson, UK, 2020), ‘Skeletons’ (Will Peppercorn, UK, 2020), and ‘Early Grief Special’ (Jessica Chowdhury, UK, 2020), showing at the BFI Future Film Festival—Free Program Available online 18–21 February 2021, https://www.bfi.org.uk/future-film-festival Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent History taking from patients, and presenting stories of people’s illness in a […]
Blurred Lines: “Preparations to be together for an unknown period of time” (Film Review)
‘Preparations to be together for an unknown period of time’ (Lili Horvát, Hungary 2020) Khalid Ali’s selection for the best feature film in 2020, and Hungary’s submission for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ for 2021 Oscars by Khalid Ali The opening credits for Lili Horvat’s film are lines from a Sylvia Plath’s poem pondering on […]
Love and Insight in a Time of Plague (Film Review)
‘The Sixth Day’ (Al-Youm Al-Sades) (Youssef Chahine, Egypt, 1986, produced by Misr International Films) Review by Professor Robert Abrams, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Based on the novel of the same name by Andrée Chedid, ‘The Sixth Day’ portrays the raging epidemic of cholera in Egypt in 1947. With its inescapable relevance to the current […]