Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Michael Dimmitt
Brett says: “There are a few approaches one can take toward a documentary, and this project from Michael Dimmitt falls into that category of telling a story that its small target audience mostly already knows or is largely familiar with.
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Ángeles Cruz
Starring: Alexander Gadiel Mendoza Sanchéz | Danae Ahuja Aparicio | Myriam Bravo
Chris says: “A big draw of TIFF for me is an opportunity to see films from remote corners of the world that might not otherwise be available or on my radar. Sometimes they’re excellent and occasionally they’re atrocious, but this
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Kei Chika-ura
Starring: Hideko Hara | Mirai Moriyama | Tatsuya Fuji | Yoko Maki
Chris says: “Shot by Yutaka Yamazaki, who has served as cinematographer on Hirokazu Kore-eda films from AFTER LIFE to AFTER THE STORM, this second feature from director Kei Chika-ura is often Kore-eda Lite, although what’s missing is the supple touch
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ali Kalthami
Starring: Abo Salu | Hajar Alshammari | Mohamad Aldokhei | Mohammed Altawyan | Morouj
Michael says: “After making a dozen or more short films, writer/director Ali Kalthami has made his first feature film, where desperation meets opportunity, embodied by a man who spends long hours in his car, delivering a variety of products after
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Meredith Hama-Brown
Starring: Ally Maki | Luke Roberts | Nyha Huang Breitkreuz | Remy Marthaller | Sarah Gadon
Michael says: “Still reeling from her mother’s death, and finding herself in a stagnant marriage, Judith, a Japanese-Canadian woman takes her family to a couples’ therapy retreat. There her two daughters explore the Pacific coast while their parents work on
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Christopher Wilcha
Chris says: “Chris Wilcha, who worked as a producer on the TV version of THIS AMERICAN LIFE has numerous unfinished projects scattered throughout his career. This documentary, ostensibly about the still-hanging-on, small-town New Jersey record store he worked in as
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Dominic Savage
Starring: Elliot Page | Hillary Baack | Janet Porter | Peter Outerbridge | Wendy Crewson
Chris says: “When Elliot Page announced his transition, I was curious as to how this might change his acting career; his first major film role since then does suggest a new phase, returning to the small-scale, nuanced indie dramas that showcased his
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Sophie Dupuis
Starring: Anne-Marie Cadieux | Félix Maritaud | Marc-André Leclair | Theodore Pellerin | Vlad Alexis
Chris says: “Simon (Théodore Pellerin), a talented young performer in Montreal’s close-knit drag community is immediately smitten by Oliver (Félix Maritaud), a fellow drag queen freshly transplanted from France. They pursue a whirlwind romance while also collaborating together onstage, although their
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ninna Pálmadóttir
Starring: Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir | Hermann Samúelsson | Jóel Sæmundsson | Jóhann Jónsson | Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson
Michael says: “It’s not an international film festival without a moody, introspective Icelandic film, and Pálmadóttir’s debut feature, SOLITUDE fits the bill beautiful, but as is often the case, such as in 2019’s riveting tale of grief, A WHITE, WHITE DAY,
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Rating: 5 cats
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Chris says: “Sifting through and reminiscing about one’s own past is easy; contextualizing these memories and enabling them to resonate with an audience is trickier, as one has likely experienced in many an autobiographical narrative or essay film (Chris Marker
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Rating: 2.75
Director: James Krishna Floyd | Sally El Hosaini
Starring: Ben Hardy | Grant Davis | Hannah Onslow | Jason Patel | Val the Brown Queen
Chris says: “Luke (Ben Hardy), a working-class straight bloke from Essex unwittingly wanders into a London gay club and falls hard for Aysha (Jason Patel), a drag queen, making out with him before he realizes he’s not kissing a woman.
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Brady Hepner | Carrie Preston | Da'Vine Joy Randolph | Dominic Sessa | Paul Giamatti
Chris says: “If Alexander Payne’s last film, 2017’s sci-fi allegory DOWNSIZING was a big swing and a miss, his latest plays it much safer for the benefit of everyone involved. A return to smart, dyspeptic comedy, THE HOLDOVERS also reunites
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Agustín Almodóvar | Dash | Miguel Almodóvar | Pablo Almodóvar | Tilda Swinton
Diane says: “THE HUMAN VOICE, stars Tilda Swinton, so you’re already feeling good. Made in 2020, it’s an adaptation of a play Jean Cocteau wrote for his actresses to show their full range of emotions. Swinton plays a ‘woman on
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Ethan Hawke | George Steane | Manu Ríos | Pedro Casablanc | Pedro Pascal
Diane says: “STRANGE WAY OF LIFE opens on a typical Old West set, as the title song is sung, in Spanish, by what sounds like a female voice but turns out to be a man singing falsetto—intimations of unconventional elements
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Josh Margolin
Starring: Clark Gregg | Fred Hechinger | June Squibb | Parker Posey | Richard Roundtree
Chris says: “June Squibb found success late in life, well into her 70s and beyond when she appeared in small but acclaimed scene-stealing roles Alexander Payne’s ABOUT SCHMIDT and NEBRASKA; in both of these and many other film and TV
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Amy Nicholson
Chris says: “Amy Nicholson’s documentary tries to be the low-rent trailer park equivalent of Errol Morris’ GATES OF HEAVEN, offering a deadpan look at the last summer of one said establishment off the Virginia coast before it closes for redevelopment.
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Rating: 4.3 cats
Director: Greg Kwedar
Starring: Clarence Maclin | Colman Domingo | David Giraudy | Paul Raci | Sean San Jose
Michael says: “Colman Domingo stars as an inmate wrongly convicted and incarcerated at a maximum security prison. While working tirelessly on his clemency appeal, he is a motivating force behind the Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Prison Arts Program. While recruiting
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Zach Steinhauser
Chris says: “Alternate title: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Purple Martins (and Should Have Thought To Ask.) The largest species of swallows in North America, the Purple Martin resides exclusively in nesting structures in order to ensure their survival.
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Megan Park
Starring: Aubrey Plaza | Kerrice Brooks | Maddie Ziegler | Maisy Stella | Percy Hynes-White
Chris says: “18-year-old Elliot (Maisy Stella) celebrates her birthday with her two best friends by taking magic mushrooms on a camping trip in the woods; while all three experience hallucinations, only Elliot’s manifests in the form of her future 39-year-old
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Bill Ross IV | Turner Ross
Starring: Makai Garza | Micah Bunch | Nathaly Garcia | Nichole Dukes | Tony Aburto
Aaron says: “Film fest fans, we’ve all been there. You’re lining up your schedule and want variety (range is good) and safe logistics (can you make the commute work between tight screenings?). Two titles catch your eye: GASOLINE RAINBOW from hot
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