In addition, more than a dozen community events have been organized to further link Sundance’s mission with Chicago’s bustling independent film and arts culture. This includes panels on sustainable innovation in independent filmmaking, roundtables on film distribution, and independent cinema’s ties to Black liberation. Most notably, RogerEbert.com Publisher Chaz Ebert will be featured on the … Read more
Global films know how to milk a scene and make you feel like you are right there in the moment. “Layla,” “Malu “and “Reinas” took the World Dramatic stage at Sundance, and left viewers in a milk hangover. “Layla,” a must-see film about an Arab drag queen, will have you ready to perform colorfully under … Read more
Diary accounts of Frida’s life make the documentary “Frida” seem autobiographical; paired with animations of her paintings, the doc takes you through the mind of the legendary artist. Premiering March 15th on Amazon Prime Video, “Frida” is an artist’s story that the world should see. Her exuberant way of loving, her rebellious way of living and … Read more
Rosskam’s approach is two-fold, intercutting interviews about transmasculine sexual history and behavior with a fictional interaction between characters played by Theo Germaine and Aden Hakimi. Both halves of the film feel like they’re trying to playfully unpack the complexity of the transmasculine sexual experience, revealing how silly it is to paint any gender identity with … Read more
The camera zeroes in on the magnificence of the birds. They gloriously fly, flirt and regain the will to live, while in the “paradise” of the hummingbird rehabilitation sanctuary. The female hummingbirds, described as loyal, strong and maternal, pair tastefully next to Terry’s aura, as she pats their back. Terry talks about her life with … Read more
This Netflix doc examines the making of the charity single We Are the World, which united the biggest pop stars of the 80s. PLOT: In late 1984, inspired by the success of Band-Aid in the UK, legendary producer Quincy Jones decides to make a charity single including all of the biggest pop stars in the … Read more
“Sugarcane” also addresses the pain of family separation and the generations of harm it can cause. Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s searing documentary explores the intergenerational trauma carried by survivors of residential schools, especially the St. Joseph Mission near the Williams Lake First Nation, where conditions were so deplorable, former students still struggle to … Read more
The “star” of “Union” is the charismatic Chris Smalls, a former Amazon employee at its massive Staten Island warehouse, and the leader of a new union movement. As we all know full well by now, working conditions for Amazon employees are atrocious, at least in part because of how little collaborative negotiating can be done … Read more
Super/Man, the Christopher Reeve documentary that was the talk of the Sundance Film Festival, is likely to be acquired by Warner Bros for a cool $15 million. Having just attended the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, I can testify that none of the movies I saw here received the overwhelming emotional reaction that Super/Man: The Christopher … Read more
Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature is unique in that it upends the slasher formula by being from the perspective of the killer. PLOT: An undead monster is resurrected in the remote wilderness and goes on a rampage. REVIEW: Stop me if any of this sounds familiar: an undead monster wearing a mask, partying teens … Read more