Homelessness is one of the most visible manifestations of social inequality. Globally, individuals experiencing homelessness often face multiple layers of marginalization – not only lacking stable housing but also encountering barriers to healthcare, employment as well as social services. The causes of homelessness are complex and intertwined, ranging from poverty, unemployment, and housing shortages to…
Author: View of the Arts
View of the Arts is run by female arts journalists and works with a diverse team of writers and film critics.
ALULA Film Festival: In Conversation with Bian Zhuo, Director of “As the Water Flows”
Bian Zhuo’s As the Water Flows is a gentle and beautiful film about aging and reconciliation, shaped by the director’s own family story. The film was inspired by the diary of Bian’s late grandfather, a man who suffered greatly during China’s Anti-Rightist Movement. What started as an attempt to recreate that hardship slowly turned into…
2025 ALULA Film Festival: “As the Water Flows” Review
One wonders what the title As the Water Flows truly means – at least until the film’s final moments, when its philosophy finally surfaces. Water moves forward, never looking back, yet somehow it reflects everything it passes. Life, Bian Zhuo seems to say, is much the same: a continuous current defined by the memories we…
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025: “When the Trees Sway, the Heart Stirs” and “Rokkoku Kitchen” Review
Directed by Lee Jiyoon, When the Trees Sway, the Heart Stirs centres on the story of residents in Seoul’s Jeongneung Valley, who have begun relocating amid plans for regional redevelopment. The director turns her lens to the mundane, everyday moments of life, walking alongside both current and former residents to capture their experiences. The film lays bare…
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF) 2025, the largest biennial festival focusing on documentary in Asia, gathers outstanding works from 2023 to 2025 to navigate the observance from intimate family matters to the turbulence of our living world. This year, the witness of diverse ‘home(land)’ in chaos enshrines the perseverance within people, from Palestine to…
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025: “SPI” Review
SPI (烤火房で見るいくつかの夢) directed by Sayun Simung, reveals a touching Tayal family story centring around ‘gaga’, certain routines and rituals that sustain solidarity and peace among Tayal people. After the death of Grandpa Wilang, Grandma Yabay can hardly break away from the sadness, followed by the pregnancy of the underage granddaughter, the camera unfolds how Sayun’s…
Exploring “UTOPIA” with ID:Earth – Exclusive Interview
ID:Earth is a visionary artist whose work combines cinematic soundscapes, electronic textures, and stunning human storytelling. Her recent single UTOPIA explores themes of love and the evolving relationship between humanity and technology, creating a sonic universe where analogue values and futuristic progress coexist. The track is part of a larger narrative that will be revealed…
FOCUS Art Fair London 2025 – The Beauty Behind Abi Dionisio’s Work – Exclusive Interview
We met Filipino artist Abi Dionisio at FOCUS Art Fair London 2025, where she was represented by ONE EAST ASIA, and presented her new series called When Threads Take Turns. Her work immediately attracts the eye: at first glance, her paintings appear to be complex embroidered fabric. Step closer, and the illusion dissolves; what looks…
FOCUS Art Fair London 2025 – FiNGAiSM: The Art of Kento Senga – Exclusive Interview
Best known as a member of Kis-My-Ft2, Kento Senga has spent over twenty years entertaining audiences through music, dancing, and acting. But behind the pop idol image is a thoughtful artist whose work, as well as creativity, goes beyond one’s imagination. Born in Nagoya, Senga began dancing at the age of three, inspired by the…
How Annemarie Jacir Brings Palestine’s Forgotten Uprising to the Screen – “Palestine 36” Review
Some filmmakers tell stories, and some preserve entire histories through their work. Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir belongs to the latter. Across her extraordinary career, from Salt of This Sea to When I Saw You and Wajib, Jacir’s work comes from a place of honesty, an understanding of her people’s struggle, and a refusal to let their…
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