Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jonathan Keijser
Starring: Ayham Abou Ammar | Hatem Ali | Kathryn Kirkpatrick | Mark Camacho | Mark Hachem | Najlaa Al Khamri | Yara Sabri
Michael says: “This gentle story about a Syrian refugee family who find refuge and success in Nova Scotia is based on a true story, and reminiscent thematically of the Broadway music, Come from Away. After the bombing of the family
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ayten Amin
Starring: Basmala Elghaiesh | Bassant Ahmed | Carol Ackad | Hagar Mahmoud | Hussein Ghanem | Sarah Shedid
Michael says: “In SOUAD, writer/director Ayten Amin examines the inherent dichotomy of conservative religion and social media. The film centers on a pair of sister, Souad and Rabab living in a small city north of Cairo, in a two-act structure
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Gaysorn Thavat
Starring: Amelie Baynes | Angus Stevens | Erroll Shand | Essie Davis | Ryan O'Kane | Thomasin McKenzie
Michael says: “Essie Davis is on a roll with portrayals of fierce but flawed mothers protecting their children. She made a big impression in THE BABADOOK, then followed that up with BABYTEETH. Now she tops THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING,
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Starring: Andrea Heick Gadeberg | Gustav Lindh | Lars Brygmann | Mads Mikkelsen | Nicolas Bro | Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Jeff says: “This was a hoot, with the always reliable Mads Mikkelson playing a former military man babysitting a mathematician and his two geek friends as they map out the plot that murdered his wife and take on the gang
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Christopher Makoto Yogi
Starring: Chanel Akiko Hirai | Constance Wu | Hau'oli Carr | Kanoa Goo | Nelson Lee | Steve Iwamoto | Tim Chiou
Chris says: “As Masao (Steve Iwamoto) nears the end of his life on the coast of Hawai’i, he’s visited by the ghost of his wife, Grace (Constance Wu), who died at a young age. Flashbacks to their courtship and marriage
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Nicole Riegel
Starring: Austin Amelio | Becky Ann Baker | Gus Halper | Jessica Barden | Pamela Adlon
Chris says: “In her promising debut feature, writer/director Nicole Reigel depicts life in a small industrial Ohio town in a way that isn’t quite documentary-like, but with enough attention-to-detail to feel pretty authentic. As Ruth, a teen from a broken
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Majid Majidi
Starring: Ali Nassirian | Javad Ezati | Roohollah Zamani | Shamila Shirzad
Michael says: “Belmont World Film Festival did a great job assembling their virtual film festival this year. They screened several high profile international films, and did so for a full week, running from March through April. Gave plenty of opportunities
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Sarah Suco
Starring: Camille Cottin | Céleste Brunnquell | Daniel Martin | Éric Caravaca | Jean-Pierre Darroussin | Laurence Roy | Spencer Bogaert
Michael says: “Belmost World Film Festival had a really strong line-up of international films this year, screening each one virtually for a week through April and into May. I caught THE DAZZLED, French actress Sarah Suco directed this semi-autobiographical film about
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Hamid Farokhnezhad | Hediyeh Tehrani | Houman Seyyedi | Pantea Bahram | Sahar Dolatshahi | Taraneh Alidoosti
Michael says: “The first film by Farhadi that I saw was the riveting A SEPARATION, released in US in 2012, which I didn’t realize was his first film until quite a bit later. His follow-up film, the nearly as riveting
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
Starring: Jerry Mofokeng | Makhaola Ndebele | Mary Twala | Silas Monyatse | Siphiwe Nzima-Ntskhe | Thabiso Makoto | Thabo Letsie | Tseko Monaheng
Michael says: “Mantoa is an 80-year-old widow who has lost everything. Living in a small village in the Southern African country of Lesotho, she has buried her husband, her children, even her grandchildren, and is just waiting to die herself, despite
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