6th London East Asia Film Festival: “Keep Rolling” Review

On the set of her 2017 film Our Time Will Come, Ann Hui is slapping wet mud all across the backs of actors. Her other hand is clutching a walking cane. She stands in the pouring rain, puffing cigarettes, and yelling orders. Reaching 70 years of age – and spending the past 40 plus years working in film…

65th BFI London Film Festival: “Ride the Wave” Review

Premiering at the London Film Festival this year, Martyn Robertson’s Ride the Wave follows the life of a 14-year-old surfer, Ben Larg. Hailing from the Island of Tiree in Scotland, at such a young age Ben has already grown a strong love for water sports and a passion to make it in life as a…

 “Delphine’s Prayers” Review

“The old man I slept with for 15,000 francs…it gives me goosebumps” 30-year-old Delphine confesses in one scene. She is telling the story of how she sold her body as a teenager to pay for hospital treatment for her niece who was sick with malaria. Despite Delphine’s efforts, her young niece passed away before Delphine…

23rd Udine Far East Film Festival: “Keep Rolling” Review

On the set of her 2017 film Our Time Will Come, Ann Hui is slapping wet mud all across the backs of actors. Her other hand is clutching a walking cane. She stands in the pouring rain, puffing cigarettes, and yelling orders. Reaching 70 years of age – and spending the past 40 plus years…

“You Have to Put Your Heart in the Project for Your Project to Have Heart.” – In Conversation with Kevin Derek, a Documentary Filmmaker and Producer

When your interview starts with lots of laughter, you know that the conversation is going to be a delightful experience. Kevin Derek is an interesting person; he is smart, humorous and self-critical. But, above all, he is a thoughtful and very passionate, award-winning documentary filmmaker whose latest production More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story…

“More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story” Review

“Wax on, wax off”, almost every single generation is familiar with Mr. Miyagi’s famous words from The Karate Kid. Pat Morita, often known for his memorable role as the above-mentioned sensei, was a man of many talents, and what he managed to achieve during his life was incredible. The Karate Kid made Morita into a…

I am Samuel Review

The criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Africa is commonplace. In 2013, 38 African countries made homosexuality a crime under the law. Opposition to people of different sexual orientation has become more and more visible, with Kenya being one of those countries where homosexuality is criminalised and socially unacceptable; if convicted, a person could face up…

BlackStar Film Festival: Pier Kids Review

“You can’t choose your family”, or so the saying goes. But for many LGBTQ+ youth this simply isn’t the case, as Elegance Bratton’s hard-hitting and poignant documentary about homeless queer kids of colour shows.

What Walaa Wants Review

‘Be careful what you wish for’ is the ominous phrase told to children all over the world when they are desperately grasping for something they don’t quite understand. In this case, young Walaa Khaled Fawzy Tanji wants nothing more than to gain a firm grasp of power in a world she has absolutely no authority…

3rd London East Asia Film Festival: Tropical Fish Review

Chen Yu-Hsun dishes up a lively and lovable comedy-drama with this New Taiwanese Cinema classic. Originally released in 1995, Tropical Fish encapsulates an authentic and personal look at Taiwanese approaches to family-living and the nation’s harsh school system. Mocking how concerned families are with school exams and how ludicrous the studying regime for adolescents can…