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Beth Cu says: “Set in Marseille, about 2 girlfriends, one Muslim one Jewish, and them trying to navigate/mitigate the religious/cultural/gender restraints their families put on them. The main lead, Myriam, was stunning, in looks and acting – her partner not

Beth Cu says: “This was my favorite at TIFF. A Hong Kong city story about two people trying to do their best despite feeling like bad people, who wind up being each other’s last straw – petty get-backs lead to

Beth Cu says: ” Italian film, focused on two young women, oldtime friends, reunited for a climb up Mt Etna. the volcano is very much the 3rd character – lots of atmospheric, longshot & and stock footage of it throughout.

Beth Cu says: “Film was a period piece, set in Japan the last year of WWII and a few beyond, and followed a girl who had been evacuated out of Tokyo, then brought back when the program ended, to find

Chris says: “From THE SECRET OF KELLS to WOLFWALKERS, I’m convinced Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon will never let me down. Their latest, the feature debut of director Louise Bagnall adapts JULIÁN IS A MERMAID, a 2014 children’s book by

Chris says:  “It’s the sort of title that makes one want to reply, ‘Cool story, bro.’ Admittedly, I had some expectations for this to be good since it stars the normally likable Taron Egerton (who was sublime as Elton John

Michael says: “Director Hosum Abu Dan makes his feature film debut (after multiple documentaries) about a father and teen-aged daughter living in a refugee camp in Gaza after losing their mother and siblings in a bombing. Shot in an actual

Michael says: “Ferit Karahan’s sixth feature film, DJINN WEDDING, is a sweeping, angry tale about a family cursed after moving into a house that was taken from the previous owners. Told in three chapters, the first focuses on the family when

Michael says: “EVERYTIME, German director Sandra Wollner’s follow-up to the similarly confounding THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN, explores grief — and more, grief in the digital age. It was a difficult film for me to get through… particularly the first

Val says: “THE AGE OF GOODBYES is a film full of quiet longing, with twists and turns that intrigue rather than shock. A story of overlapping pasts, presents and futures with lush costumes and beautiful production design. The setting of

Val says: “Salari’s first film is a powerful look at the cosmetic surgery epidemic in Tehran.  She gains amazing access into surgical ’boutiques’, the influencer-doctors that run them, and their clientele.  In one notable scene, Salari takes the viewer inside

Val says: “Barbara Kopple and her team take us into the beating heart of New York City’s delivery culture, the delivery workers who staff UPS, Amazon, and the many food delivery apps that New Yorkers depend on daily. It’s a

Val says: “Beautiful and devastating; this one’s sure to be a favorite. It’s a more sincere turn from Kore-eda, and rightly so considering his source material. I loved it’s soaring score, touching relationship between the two main characters, and how

Val says:  “‘Jeff said ‘This just wasn’t ready for TIFF,’ and I think I couldn’t say it better. A trio of musicians recon with their deadly choices as they spend a (excruciatingly long) few hours in a hotel room preparing

Michael says: “This strong tale of racial injustice takes place in the 1970’s, following the lives of three young women, sisters are were separated as children, each following different paths in Los Angeles after a relocation program in the 50’s

Michael says: “Arthur Harari, screenwriter for ANATOMY OF A FALL, has directed a film adapted from a graphic novel written by he and his brother Lucas, aptly called THE UNKNOWN. A science fiction tale only as a premise, the film explores

Michael says: “Spanish films SISTERS (HERMANAS), written and directed by Ione Hernández, was a competently-made film with a screenplay that lacked the needed emotional impact to make it really succeed. Two sisters, Chelo and Marta, bring their families together to

Michael says: “David Turpin’s turgid debut was not for me. More of a tone poem than a film, it was bewildering as to why this AIDS story that embraces every trope and slows its pacing down to the most sluggish

Michael says: “Marie Kreutzer’s GENTLE MONSTER could have been a great film, but by tackling a very difficult subject with a procedurally straight-forward tone undercuts some of the emotion. Still, there was a lot to like about this film about

Michael says: “Moving, optimistic portrait of a young Irish man turning after 18 after living his childhood in foster care after being separated from his younger brother and his social worker. Danny falls into a bit of trouble after hardships

Val says: “Tony Vahl’s first feature is a dark, disturbing, gorgeous triumph. She explains that when she was young, her grandmother told her about people from villages around East Germany that ‘went into the water’ right as Germany was about

Michael says: “Both bold, and retro, with a modern twist, writer/director Kamila Andini takes a classic western revenge tale and modernizes it from a feminist point of view and tosses in a dash of mysticism and otherworldliness. Led by a

Michael says: “Fern Cody’s CLOSING NIGHT is a difficult film. It’s also a tear-jerker, and a laugh-out-loud experience. When celebrated stage and film actress Sandra Vale (a tightly wound Sarah Paulson), takes the Broadway stage in ‘Mother Courage and her

Michael says: “Boldy, experimental narrative about a queer, neurodivergent young man’s experiences moving through life. The film is broken up into segments, where Robin tries different roles in life to see how he can fit in as a man. The

Val says: “Giraldo’s debut film is a quiet meditation on a series of horrific massacres precipitated by political unrest in Colombia in the 1990s. The horror and violence occurs offscreen, and the audience is left to sit with the children

Val says: “I can’t say enough about DOROTHY.  I actually can’t because the midway point features a huge spoiler which will ruin your experience of the film if I reveal it.  I can tell you that it defies genres and

Val says: “A stunning combination of film noir and the graduate, set in a the political unrest of 50’s Argentina. In a small town south of the capital, a man returns from prison and we are launched into a time-hopping

Val says: “Yes to a sumptuous production, vibrant celebration of Nigeria’s diverse landscape, lickable cinematography, gorgeous cast and award-worthy hair, makeup and costume. I very much enjoyed the subtelty and yet undeniable juxtaposition of the privelaged lives of our main

Michael says: “My biggest disappointment so far, TRASH MOUNTAIN was a good movie, but I was hoping for something great. When Gavin’s father dies, he must leave his queer community in Chicago to return to rural Missouri to help his

Michael says: “Feel good film about trophy wives from Hong Kong living in America. Yin, played by Isabelle Wei, is fairly newly married to a wealthy IT guru, BT, whose job takes him to Hong Kong for lengthy stints. Her

Michael says: “Niki Bryne’s THE JULIA SET is a success because of the terrific cast and phenomenal performances, in an important film that sometimes comes across heavy-handed and preachy. Chase Infiniti shines as Julia a freshman in college invited to

Michael says: “This was a huge surprise, as I was dubious about it before the screening, fearing it might be a little sensationalistic.. Writer/director Sharon Kleinberg has made a beautiful film about a trans man in Mexico City who becomes

Michael says: “Sidse Babett Knudsen (‘Borgen’, LIMBO, CLUB ZERO) leads a cast of fierce, conflicted women and teens in Amalie Næsby Fick’s debut feature our of Denmark, WHAT LIES BETWEEN US. Those familiar with Kate Bush may know the song,

Michael says: “After dealing with a personal crisis, Danny finds his footing as a life coach after a week-long seminar. Danny spends quite a bit of money setting up his business, including a website and office supplies, which he has

Michael says: “Director Nicolás Pereda’s latest film is an homage to his mother, and focuses on Tere, one of first of a cohort of Mexico’s female composers, her good friend, Rose, another composer, and her daughter being interviewed in her

Laks says: “Val had been nudging me to watch American Psycho for a year or so and up to this point, I thought she was just waiting for a chance to gush over her high-school crush, Christian Bale but as

Tony says: “A stunning jewel. . . . The best . . . cinematic experience . . . since ROCKY IV.”    

Jason says: “A LITTLE POND’s goal is to educate its audience about the Nogunri massacre of 1950, and it succeeds:  It presents a reconstruction of that shameful incident in the best detail that the filmmakers could extrapolate.  It is almost

Jason says: “Ole Bornedal was never really away from filmmaking, but time spent trying to work Hollywood and then working Danish theater kept his film output very sparse in the ten years leading up to 2007.  Since then, though, he’s

Jason says: “It’s not that you can’t make a scary, surprising vampire movie any more – my last two trips to this festival delivered LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and THIRST, so it can be done.  It’s just hard; the

Jason says: “So, here’s my question:  If you lived in this tiny Japanese village, what sort of evidence would you need to declare that Rinco’s cooking has magical wish-granting powers?  After all, in the sort of small town where everybody knows

Jason says: “Mamoru Hosoda perhaps didn’t make a huge name for himself with THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME, but he made a very good animated film that told a fantastical science fiction story that was also very emotionally grounded. 

Jason says: “I’ve got an issue with THE LAST EXORCISM, but it’s about as minor as one can be:  It may be borne almost entirely out of my personal beliefs and one that only becomes an issue in the final

Jason says: “A frustrating aspect of seeing foreign films at festivals is that they tend to be very directer-oriented, so if it’s a performance that catches one’s eye, the most likely situation for seeing that actor again is if he/she

Jason says: “Take heart, people of the world; the west and the east aren’t necessarily so different after all.  Sure, we may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but if both cultures churn out romantic comedies where the

Jason says: “Norway’s FATSO goes for the comedy of discomfort far more than an American version of the same story would, and as a result, maybe it makes sense in that case that it ends with only the wispiest sense

Jason says: “Marijuana’s got little to no appeal to me in real life, and I don’t find most stoner characters very funny, either.  So HIGH SCHOOL has a little work to do with me from the start.  It does okay

Thom says: “It’s a bit of a stretch to include this in an LGBT film festival, although one of the characters (maybe two?) is certainly homosexual. But, then again, director Lifshitz did make the rather confusing COME UNDONE, as well

Jason says: “Last year, I saw Wai Ka-fai as a guest at another film festival, and as one might expect, most of the questions in the extended Q&A were about his collaborations with Johnnie To.  WRITTEN BY didn’t play until

Jason says: “Somehow, I got the idea into my head that CASTAWAY ON THE MOON was going to be a serious film, all allegory for isolation within the city and breaking its hero down to find out who he is

Jason says: “Crime movies are filled with hitmen, to the extent that, if these numbers existed in the real world, it would be a shock if any potential murder victim lived more than a couple of days and nobody could make