Despite significant progress in recent years, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face discrimination and marginalisation in Asia and around the world. While some countries have made strides towards equality, many from the community still live in fear of persecution, violence, and rejection by society due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. In Asia, cultural…
Category: Short films
“Laundromat on the Corner” Review
The Laundromat on the Corner is a 17-minute short film and the directorial debut of Japanese producer and writer, Tetsuki Ijichi. While it takes the form of a traditional “Asian” ghost story, it uses this form to relate an intercultural love story, which crosses not only cultures but also the boundary between life and death….
Santi Review
Santi (Jon Gutierrez) sits wedged on a sofa at a dinner party with his girlfriend Violet (Zulekha Chaka). He’s politely listening as two of Violet’s friends bicker about the ongoings of a night out – a night out Santi clearly wasn’t invited to. Squished on-screen between their two out-of-focus side profiles, Santi can’t get a…
“The Long Goodbye” Review
What makes one British? A birth certificate, an accent or a passport? There is no denial that the UK has always been resistant to the idea that immigrants could become a permanent part of British society. However, when Brexit hit the ground, no one could have predicted how much hate would resurface. To be clear,…
“David” Review
Therapists are often seen as omniscient emblems of level-headedness, reassurance, and wisdom. Enigmatic individuals who soak up your life story and provide answers to all your burning existential problems; all while you barely know anything about their own lives. It’s almost easy to believe that they have no problems at all – but this is…
“The Present” Review
The directorial debut of British-Palestinian writer and director Farah Nabulsi, The Present follows the story of Palestinian father Yusef (Saleh Bakri) and his young daughter Yasmine (Mariam Kanj) as they set off across the West Bank to pick up groceries and find an anniversary present for Yusef’s wife. Facing relentless roadblocks, checkpoints, and apathetic IDF…
Moloka’i Bound Review
Winner of the Oscar-qualifying Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Best Short Work at this year’s ImagineNATIVE festival, Moloka’i Bound is the story of Kainoa (Holden Mandrial-Santos), a formerly incarcerated man who is trying to reconnect with his preteen son, Jonathan (Austin Tucker). Showing up out of the blue one day outside Jonathan’s school whilst Jonathan is…
A Syrian Woman: Human Stories from Jordan Review
When Syria plunged into a civil war in 2011, no one could have predicted that the conflict between its own people would turn into a multi-sided battle, in which mostly civilians had suffered. Brutal slaughter, acts of terror, political and social consequences of military operations led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis: almost half a million…
Hanxiong Bo’s Drifting Review
Since the late ‘70s, China has implemented a strict policy enforcing that each family is only allowed to have one child in order to control China’s growing population. Although this policy was reformed in 2016, the controversial ‘one-child’ policy has had devastating and traumatic effects on families for generations. Growing up during the height of…
Gets Good Light Review
Coming out of the growing ‘Abolish ICE’ movement – Gets Good Light is a compassionate and powerful protest against the growing powers of the Immigrant and Customs Enforcement Agency in the United States. Since the start of Trump’s administration, the number of individuals apprehended by ICE has only grown – approximately 4,143 undocumented immigrants without…
Madeleine Gottlieb’s Snare Review
Settled amongst soothing music, plastic vegetation, and steamed dumplings in the corner of a dated Chinese restaurant sits 50-year-old Steve (played by Steve Rodgers). He’s just quit his 9 to 5 to pursue his life-long dream of being a punk-rock drummer and is waiting to spill the joyous news with his rockstar son, Jobe (James…
Fauve Review
Kicking off with an orchestra of cicadas, chirping birds, and the sound of rocks crunching under worn-out trainers, Fauve sets itself up as an ode to the rural and nostalgic. Two troublemaker preteen boys Benjamin (Alexandre Perreault) and Tyler (Félix Grenier), are roaming around an abandoned railway track; locking each other in deserted train carriages,…
Detainment Review
On February 12, 1993, a security camera in a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, captured the moment 10-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables abducted two-year-old James Bulger when his mother, Denise, had taken his eyes off him momentarily. Played by Leon Hughes (Thompson) and Ely Solan (Venables) in short film Detainment, the pair are seen…
Barnaby Blackburn’s Wale Review
If something seems to be too good to be true, it usually is. Even if you want to believe otherwise; even if you are starving for a proper opportunity to show itself so you can finally, finally make a breakthrough in your opportunity-deprived life. This is a hard lesson that gets served to a young…
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