27th Far East Film Festival: “Dark Nuns” Review

What is the cardinal rule of any horror film? That it needs to be scary, of course. Unfortunately, exorcist drama Dark Nuns seems to have forgotten that. Directed by Kwon Hyuk-jae and a spin-off to The Priests, Dark Nuns follows Sister Giunia (Song Hye-kyo), an unordained nun who moonlights as an exorcist. She is one…

“NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind)” Review 

Lindsay McIntyre’s NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind) is a heartfelt exploration of identity, cultural displacement, and survival. Based on the director’s grandmother’s story, this moving short film brings viewers to 1938, where young Marguerite and her mother Kumaa’naaq (koo-MAT-na) leave their Inuit homeland in Nunavut to build a new life in the South. This transition…

9th London East Asia Film Festival: “Locust” Review

Every generation has its angry young men, rebelling against the cultural conformity of the era. From James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Marlon Brando in The Wild One pushing back against the stifling conservatism of the Eisenhower age, to the various turn-of-the-century studies of disaffected adults stilted by middle-class life, these are snapshots…

Um Tae Goo: Finding Depth in Every Role – Exclusive Interview

To be an actor is to walk a fine line between reality and illusion, between self and character, and nowhere is this delicate dance more visible than in roles that challenge and stretch the frame of identity. The beauty of acting lies in the ability to entertain and in the subtle journey of transformation –…

74th Berlin International Film Festival: “REAS” Review

As we plough through this cursed era of remakes and unnecessary sequels, any film or TV series that features a brand new story is a blessing – and there’s nothing more original than real life. Lola Arias directs Argentinian self-proclaimed hybrid musical REAS, which sources its material from the charming inmates of Ezeiza prison a…