Exclusive Interview: Georgia Oakley & Rosy McEwen on 1980s-set lesbian drama Blue Jean “what happens in the film is still so relevant”

Writer-director Georgia Oakley’s impressive directorial debut Blue Jean is a compelling character study set in northern England in 1988, as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass the notorious Section 28 of the local Government Act which stigmatized the nation's gay and lesbian population, stoking homophobia—both societal and internal—at the height of the HIV/AIDS... Continue Reading →

June 11, 2023 0

Sundance 2022 Film Review: Brainwashed Sex-Camera-Power ★★★★★

Independent filmmaker Nina Menkes returns to Sundance with the explosive Brainwashed Sex-Camera-Power, based on her own lecture (Sex and Power, the Visual Language of Oppression), a compelling illustration of the pervasive objectification of women in the history of Hollywood film and its off screen, real world implications such as employment discrimination and a culture of... Continue Reading →

January 25, 2022 4

Athena Film Festival 2021 Review: Julia Scotti Funny That Way ★★★1/2

Golden Globe nominated screenwriter and playwright Susan Sandler makes her feature documentary directorial debut with Julia Scotti: Funny That Way—available to watch online until March 21st as part of this year's virtual Athena Film Festival at Barnard College—a tender and heartwarming portrait of the charismatic trans comedian. If you watch America's Got Talent you'll likely... Continue Reading →

March 13, 2021 0

Exclusive Interview: Sundance horror Knocking star Cecilia Milocco & filmmaker Frida Kempff: “I didn’t want to exploit the female body. We’re so used to seeing that & I’m tired of it”

Frida Kempff's debut narrative feature Knocking (Knackningar), which world premiered at Sundance, is a compelling psychological horror that follows Molly (Cecilia Milocco) in her determination to find the source of the mysterious knocking sounds she can hear from her new apartment, while still grieving the loss of her girlfriend. Read our ★★★★ review of the... Continue Reading →

February 18, 2021 2

Sundance 2021 Film Review: The World to Come ★★★★

Part of Sundance 2021's Spotlight program, director Mona Fastvold's Queer Lion-winning The World to Come, adapted from a short story by Jim Shepard, immerses us in the bleak daily life of a contemplative mid-nineteenth century woman, Abigail (Katherine Waterston), living on the stark, unforgiving Northeastern frontier with her husband Dyer (Casey Affleck). The film opens... Continue Reading →

February 2, 2021 0

Film Review: John Lewis: Good Trouble ★★★★

Dawn Porter’s feature length documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble is both an up close and personal biographical study of the activist and longstanding public servant, as well as a compelling examination of the history of the Civil Rights movement, through Lewis’ vital role in it. What results is a fascinating and inspiring chronicle of an extraordinary life... Continue Reading →

June 26, 2020 0