A compact and light-hearted Brazilian animation, Papaya, screening at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, feels exceptionally sincere and heartening as director Priscilla Kelle’s feature debut. Without dialogue, the constant adventure of the papaya seed reflects a teeming Amazonian forest landscape blazing with colours through its vitality and the complex interactions of plants coexisting within…
Tag: film festival
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “Iván & Hadoum” Review
Hadoum, a Moroccan woman, and Iván, a Spanish trans man, are colleagues in a greenhouse in southern Spain, where they fall in love. However, this love is tough. It has to face problems such as class and race, and, most practically, it interferes with Iván’s promotion. Behind it all lies the expectation of his entire…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “The River Train” Review
In many regions of Argentina, the malambo exists not only as a dance but also as a cultural inheritance etched into the body – a percussive ritual passed from father to son, from dust to bone. Each step lands with such force that it feels like the earth itself is trembling. The more you watch…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: In Conversation with Ian de la Rosa, Director of “Iván & Hadoum”
Set against the sun-soaked landscapes of southern Spain, Iván & Hadoum, directed by Ian de la Rosa, tells a love story connected as much by place and everyday life as by desire and identity. Through small but meaningful moments, like reclaiming the word “hybrid,” the film quietly shows trans identity as something defined by choice…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “I Understand Your Displeasure” Review
In I Understand Your Displeasure, Kilian Armando Friedrich creates a powerful and moving portrait of domestic and migrant workers, focusing not only on their daily labour but also on the psychological pressures they face while trying to keep both life and work in balance. Friedrich’s camera remains intimately close to Heike (Sabine Thalaou), the cleaning…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: In Coversation with Kilian Armondo Friedrich, Director of “I Understand Your Displeasure”
Premiering in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, I Understand Your Displeasure, directed by Kilian Armando Friedrich, is a wonderful work. Known for his background in documentary cinema, including Nomades du Nucléaire, which debuted in Berlin and later won the German Short Film Award, Friedrich brings the same observational intimacy and ethical…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “Paradise” Review
Paradise is a cinematic odyssey spanning two distant countries. Directed by Jérémy Comte and co-written by Will Niava, this debut feature interrogates the seduction of deception while celebrating the stubborn, unquenchable beauty of human life. The film confronts the shadowed world of scams and street crime, yet both directors remain committed to portraying the vibrancy,…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “Yellow Letters” Review
Premiering in Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, Yellow Letters, directed by İlker ÇATAK and written by him alongside Ayda Meryem ÇATAK and Enis KÖSTEPEN, begins as a simple, intimate family story that gradually reveals itself to be far more powerful and troubling. The opening is shattering in its simplicity. Under the dark lights…
“Dead to Rights” Review
In December 1937, the city of Nanjing was thrust into an unimaginable nightmare. During what has become known as the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese forces captured the Chinese capital, committing atrocities that left tens of thousands dead and countless others traumatised. This dark chapter of history, filled with destruction, brutality, and human suffering, provides the setting…
Jonny Durgan’s “G.S.W” – Short Film Review
Driven by a compelling narrative, Jonny Durgan’s G.S.W. slowly tightens its grip on the viewer, refusing to let go until the final moments. Built around a single emergency, the film examines moral fracture and the collision of professional duty with personal fear. The film follows Beth (Genevieve O’Reilly: Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, Ahsoka,…
Singapore International Film Festival: “The 4PLY Clandestine System” Review
Directed by the emerging talent Natalie Sin, The 4PLY Clandestine System has earned its place as one of Singapore’s five standout short films at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), competing in the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition. The film’s strength lies not only in its craft but in its local soul; it re-examines…
Singapore International Film Festival: “10s Across the Borders” Review
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…
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,…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 