Film

by Miranda Hazrati @mirandahazrati Once the preserve of the art-house crowd, in recent years foreign films have begun to reach a much wider audience, reflecting the increasingly multi-cultural society we live in. As viewers discover the cinematic delights that lie beyond the subtitles, foreign language films have crossed over from niche to mainstream popularity with films like ‘Amélie’ taking on Hollywood blockbusters at the boxoffice. 1. Cinema Paradiso Ironically this beautifully crafted film by young, unknown Italian director Guiseppe Tournatore...

Dawn O’Donnell was a convent girl who became a professional ice skater, travelled the world and then landed up in 1950s Australia, a penniless lesbian. By the time of her death in 2007, she had stormed through Sydney’s gay underworld and built herself an empire of bars, clubs, steam rooms, sex shops and drag shows, inspiring The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This fascinating documentary explores the mythology (was she a mobster? an arsonist? a murderer?) and life...

By Miranda Hazrati @mirandahazrati The indie film scene has been steadily growing since the 1960s, feeding the public’s desire for something more than the standard formula offered up by the main film studios. A huge boom in independent film-making came during the ‘80s led by trailblazing directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, David Lynch, the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino, who soon became a household name as his films enjoyed huge box office success. No longer seen as art-house, niche...

Tagged as 'The transgender revenge comedy of the year' (Rolling Stone) Tangerine was shot entirely on an iPhone 5 by director Sean Baker (STARLET, PRINCE OF BROADWAY). If you're after a more subversive Christmas tale than the usual festive fodder then Tangerine is for you, revealing as it does Hollywood subcultures rarely captured on screen.  Released November 13th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YJxN8hoQbQ&feature=youtu.be Clips from the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGMKdEzcd7w Chester cheated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2btJ5zClZ2c

Dame Hyndman  @duncanpoundcake When asked why Schindler’s List was not shot in colour, Spielberg answered by saying he did not want to beautify the horror of the Holocaust with colour. It did not deserve to be shot in colour. Colour represents life and hope. Think of colour films and you would be forgiven for going with super vibrant Technicolour films from the late 1930’s through to 1950’s. Technicolour film was not about real life, it was world of heightened colour...

Terence Davies (The House of Mirth, The Deep Blue Sea) has taken on the challenge of adapting Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic Scottish tale Sunset Song. But can model-actress slashie Agyness Deyn do Gibbon's heroine Chris Guthrie justice? Deyn was last seen in 2014's Electricity. Sunset Song will be released December 4th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQqqkTdwv50&feature=youtu.be

By Leslie Byron Pitt @Afrofilmviewer An obtuse and absurdist piece that will most likely delight Dylan Thomas fans, but leave many cold. For far too often these days, British film is observed for its flouncy period pieces or grubby gangster/hooligan skulduggery. Such unfortunately narrow focus often dismisses British cinema’s strong taste for the strange, the odd and the folksy. From the creepy folk horror of the 70’s, to the contemporary offerings to Ben Wheatley (A Field in England) and Carol...

Perhaps unsurprisingly louche, cocky but ultimately soft-hearted Hans Solo is at the top of the list, from a recent survey of the nations favorite Star Wars character, with dapper robot C-3PO following closely behind. Irritating Jar Jar Binks and gross Jabba The Hutt coming down low on the favorites list. (For those wondering who Wedge Antilles is click here.) All the results from the fifteen hundred respondents that took part in the survey below. And if you need any convincing...

There's been countless film and TV adaptations of Mary Shelley's brilliant Gothic Classic Frankenstein, (check out this A-Z for proof), so can the latest version from director Paul McGuigan and screenwriter Max Landis offer anything fresh? We'll see. Starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. Out December 3rd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YJOS2sksXQ&feature=youtu.be