10s Across the Borders is a pan-Asian documentary feature directed by Chan Sze-Wei, spotlighting the ballroom scene culture in Southeast Asia. Starring three pioneers Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, Teddy Oricci, and Aurora Sun Labeija from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand, it uncovers this fascinating subculture derived from African and Latinx communities in New York in a…
Category: Film events and festivals
62nd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival: “Beyond 93 Letters” Review
What is it like to request the end of your own life? Beyond 93 Letters follows the heavy-hearted journey of Ting-ying, who, after earning her PhD, is diagnosed with a brain tumour. After four years of ineffective treatments and relentless pain, she ultimately sends a plea for help to Dignitas, the Swiss organisation that provides…
62nd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival: “The Long Departure” Review
One of the greatest pleasures, or perhaps essential rituals, at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF) is exploring its consistently strong shorts program, particularly the documentary section. They usually struggle to reach wider audiences outside of the festival circuit, making this showcase a rare opportunity. This year, among a blossom of Taiwanese short films,…
“Sand City” Review
Sand City (2025), Mehde Hasan’s debut feature, derives its title from the city of Dhaka: Bangladesh’s capital and a huge industrial metropolis. Directly from the opening, it becomes clear how fundamental the grainy material is to the city and its inhabitants. Sand trucks roam the streets, distributing sand from its harbour to construction sites. The…
20th London Korean Film Festival: “Frosted Window” Review
Kim Jong-kwan is surely one of a kind as a filmmaker. His work reveals a keen sensitivity to the human condition. His cinema has always been a dialogue between isolation and empathy, often exploring how people drift in and out of each other’s lives, guided by memory and the delicate tremour of feeling. From Worst…
20th London Korean Film Festival: “The Land of Morning Calm” Review
Set against the subdued beauty of a Korean fishing village, The Land of Morning Calm, written and directed by Park Ri-woong, is a restrained and moving exploration of displacement and the tensions beneath everyday life. This is not a story about national identity or grand political themes; it is about people: ordinary and flawed. The Land…
20th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Kim Jong-kwan, Director of “Frosted Window”
Within the subtle intimacy of Kim Jong-kwan’s films lies an entire universe. His cinema captures the delicate spaces between people; the brief moments of longing, love, hesitation, and loss. The South Korean filmmaker, a graduate of the Seoul Institute of the Arts, has built a reputation for making films of profound emotional delicacy. From his…
Tibet Film Festival London 2025: “MOLA” Review
Every once in a while, a documentary comes along that makes you pause and reflect on your own life – and how you move through the world. Shown at this year’s Tibet Film Festival in London, MOLA: A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss is a beautiful portrait of family and faith, and a story…
Tibet Film Festival London 2025: “State of Statelessness” Review
What does it mean to be stateless in a world that measures existence through borders and documents? For most, nationality is an assurance – a birthright so inherent that it goes unnoticed. But for millions across the globe, including Tibetans living in exile, statelessness is not an abstract concept; it’s a wound that never closes….
Tibet Film Festival London 2025: “Wisdom of Happiness” Review
In today’s fast-changing and uncertain world, wisdom, happiness, and compassion are no longer just ideals; they’re essential tools for finding balance and connection. Wisdom today isn’t simply about intellect or knowledge; it’s about discernment, the ability to see clearly through the noise and distraction that fill modern life, and to make choices that serve not…
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