Writer-director Céline Sciamma follows her 2019 Queer Palm-winning masterpiece Portrait of a Lady on Fire with the immensely evocative Petite Maman, which received its world premiere at Berlin today. While Portrait captured the intensity of romantic love between two women, Maman delicately and ingeniously explores the bond between mother and daughter. Eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz)... Continue Reading →
Sundance 2021 Film Review: Flee ★★★★
Jonas Poher Rasmussen's remarkable Flee world premiered at Sundance 2021, winning the festival's World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary. As the film opens a caption tells us that this a true story and that some of the names have been changed to protect the subjects' anonymity. In present day Copenhagen, Denmark we meet 36... Continue Reading →
Sundance 2021 Film Review: Pleasure ★★★★
As twenty year-old Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel) arrives in Los Angeles from her native Sweden she's asked by a US customs agent whether the purpose of her visit is 'business or pleasure', with her momentarily delayed reply giving director Ninja Thyberg's stunning debut feature, co-written with Peter Modestij, its title. Pleasure, which expands on Thyberg's... Continue Reading →