On the 19th of August 1978, terrorists set alight to the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran; killing over 420 people inside. While setting cinemas on fire was not unheard of before and during the Iranian Revolution of the late 70s – what happened at Cinema Rex remained one of the deadliest terrorist attacks for over…
Category: Film events and festivals
BlackStar Film Festival: Right Near the Beach Review
It is hard to believe that it was just 30 years ago when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and recognised it as a “natural variant of human sexuality”. This change brought an annual celebration of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. Nevertheless, the abuse and discrimination of…
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.
BlackStar Film Festival – ‘Unapologetic’ Review
How many black lives must be lost for the world to listen? How long do they have to fight for the world to understand that black lives matter? The USA has been affected by the unlawful killing of people of colour by the police for many decades, with the last 10 years being the worst….
1st Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh Announces Its Ambitious Programme
The producers of Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh are pleased to announce their plans for the first ever, free to access edition of the Festival, taking place digitally between 18 and 27 of September. Originally planned as a physical event, the Festival was repivoted to a purely digital form in light of the global pandemic of…
The Last Ferry from Grass Island Review
Amongst the 263 islands that make up Hong Kong, nestled near the Shenzhen border, sits Grass Island. Hiding away in a small fishing village on Grass Island is ex–hitman Ah Hoi (Tai-Bo). Retired from his life of crime, Ah Hoi now spends his days keeping a low profile and looking after his elderly mother, Ah…
BlackStar Film Festival Announces Full Lineup, Ticketing, and More for 2020 Festival
BlackStar Film Festival, the world’s premier celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous film and video artists, is pleased to announce the full lineup of films for the 2020 program, which will take place August 20-26, 2020. In response to COVID-19, the ninth edition of the festival will be presented entirely online this year. This year’s…
22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: Victim(s) Review
Audiovisual texts, mainly film, are a desirable tool in the axiological education of many people. Thanks to the projection-identification mechanism, we can often relate to a film character and experience various emotional states with them, self-reflect and, like pedagogues, improve our quality of life by analysing our own emotions. There is one particular subject that…
22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: The House of Us Review
Wise upon her years, 12-year-old Lee Hana (Kim Na-yeon) is the backbone of her family; acting as a peacekeeper as she tries to calm raging arguments between her parents who are going through a divorce. Constantly cooking dinners in an attempt to bring her family back together – Hana’s gastronomic displays of affection aren’t appreciated…
22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Eunsoo Cho, Cinematographer of ‘Victim(s)’
Eunsoo Cho, born and raised in Seoul, Korea, has been an avid film lover since she was very young. She studied at the Korean National University of Arts, and received her M.F.A at the School of Cinematic Arts in the University of Southern California. In both schools, her focus was cinematography. Throughout the years, many…
