Tibet Film Festival London 2025 Explores Compassion and Identity Through Cinema

The Tibet Film Festival London returns this year with a rich program of premieres, workshops, and special screenings, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience Tibetan stories on the big screen and engage directly with filmmakers, scholars, and cultural leaders. Celebrating the Year of Compassion in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday,…

ALULA Film Festival: In Conversation with JI Qiuyu, Director of “The Homeless”

Chinese filmmaker Ji Qiuyu approaches the world with gentleness. Her documentary The Homeless captures the lives of those existing on the margins of society, people who have drifted between belonging and isolation, freedom and invisibility. Rather than portraying homelessness as a tragedy, Ji observes it as a complex human condition. Shot with a compassionate eye,…

ALULA Film Festival: “Obedience” Review

Based in the heart of Hong Kong, the district of Hung Hom feels like a city within a city, a place where the living and the dead coexist almost side by side. Coffins glide through narrow streets toward nearby funeral homes, while a few steps away, commuters and street vendours fight for space among the…

2025 ALULA Film Festival: “The Homeless” Review

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…

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: “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…

69th BFI London Film Festival: “Left-Handed Girl” Review

Left-Handed Girl is one of those films that makes your heart ache and smile at the same time. In her stunning solo debut, Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou tells the story of a family who, in the face of struggle, confront painful secrets yet ultimately rediscover what matters most: their love for one another. Following a…