You will leave this exquisite documentary about Tokyo ramen master Masamoto Ueda with a full heart and a hankering for chashu ramen.
Continue readingCome Back Anytime (また いらっしゃい) (2021)
StandardCaptains of Za’atari (2021)
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A lushly-beautiful documentary with a story that perfectly encapsulates the plight and humanity of refugees.
Continue readingNudo Mixteco (2021)
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This stunning first feature by Ángeles Cruz interweaves the stories of three indigenous women across one festival day in a small village in the Cerro Nudo Mixteco mountainous region between Puebla and Oaxaca in Mexico.
Continue readingLa Verónica (2020)
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Mariana Di Girolamo is in the centre of every frame in Leonardo Medel’s stylish, unsettling and completely absorbing look at artifice and narcissism.
Continue readingThe Hill Where Lionesses Roar (2021)
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The Hill Where Lionesses Roar is a remarkable achievement by 20-year old actor Luàna Bajrami (seen recently as Sophie in Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)), who is writer, director and star of this languidly beautiful story that captures the frustrations of youth, poverty and gender in rural Kosovo.
Continue readingSun Children (Khorshid) (2020)
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This Oscar-nominated drama from Iranian director Majid Majidi begins as a heartfelt tale of plucky street urchins but soon reveals a deeper story of the grim realities for those who are most vulnerable.
Continue readingMayor (2020)
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This is a beautifully-made documentary that carries us close beside the mayor of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Musa Hadid, as he goes about his day, dealing with everything from fountains to Israeli aggression.
Continue readingWomen Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2019)
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With a run-time of 14 hours, this is a documentary to own so that you can dip in and out when you have the time. I was expecting a chronological exploration of female directors but this is something much more universal. Breaking the art of film-making down into 41 chapters, each technique and approach is illustrated only by clips from films made by women.
Continue readingLast and First Men (2017)
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This was the first time at MIFF 68.5 that I really missed being in a cinema. Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson directs his only feature, bringing together three distinct and disparate components to create an emotional experience that cries out for sensory immersion.
Continue readingEma (2019)
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Plot be damned, this wacky, fantastical tale carries you along in a multi-coloured street dance, transfixed by the awful beauty that is Ema.
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