Welcome to our hub for Film Festival coverage on FilmRoot. Please find direct links below to our most recently covered Film Festivals including reviews and recaps.
In colonial Zanzibar, a young revolutionary and runaway wife from different parts of the city meet. As their romance grows, so does their revolutionary fervor in this adaptation of Shafi Adam Shafi’s novel.
It’s rare that you see Tanzanian films on the international film festival circuit, especially those that are directed by Tanzanians. The industry in the East African country is dominated by Swahiliwood’s low budget, rapidly made ‘Bongo films,’ which, like the majority of African cinema industries are largely ignored by Western film festivals. So it’s nice to see a Tanzanian representative on the international film festival circuit in Tug of War, even if it isn’t your typical Tanzanian film. Unlike ‘Bongo films,’ Tug of War‘s production quality matches the criteria for Western film festivals, with beautiful cinematography inspired by Wong Kar Wai, good production design, and great acting. It perfectly fits the Western expectations of ‘good’ international cinema.
The warmly patient pace of Tug of War defines the films tone, characters, and relationships. It’s created through the slow motion shots and orange tinted film that the director, Amil Shivji, uses throughout the film, just as Wong Kar Wai did in In the Mood for Love. The slow motion highlights some of the defining moments in the character’s relationships. This is clearest in the shot of Denge and Yasmin’s first glance of each other. Stretching out this fleeting glance captures the longing in that brief look, symbolically starting the embers that starts their romance. These slow motion moments also signify their enlightenment. One shot shows Yasmin pushing against the flow of a moving crowd. At regular speed, the shot might be forgettable, but in slow motion it becomes symbolic of her going against the grain of her family’s expectations and grabbing her own independence. Lastly the slow motion also emphasizes the link between their budding romance and new-found independence with the anti-colonial revolution that stands against both. This is captured in the slow motion scene of red pamphlets falling between them like wedding confetti (as in the image above).
For a beautifully shot, anti-colonial Tanzanian film inspired by Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, watch Tug of War. It features sumptuously warm cinematography, a slow burning romance, and a fight for independence. This interracial, extra-marital love is anti-colonial. Viva la revolución.
As the main categories at the Oscars are becoming more predictable and less diverse, the Oscar Shorts are diversifying. This year, the 15 Oscar Shorts originate from 6 different countries and feature stories from 9. Their issues span from young girls escaping from patriarchy and war by taking up skateboarding to battle rappers running for U.S. office. So forget the Best Picture for a minute and take some time to get to know the Oscar Shorts.
The Animated Oscar Shorts
Daughter (Czech Republic)
A silent story about the relationship between father & daughter, along with the tension between them that grows from the lack of speech – him in his sick bed, her by his side, and a small bird that crashes through their window, allowing unhealed memories to flood back into their lives.
Daughter arguably hosts the most abstract narrative of the five shorts, a story that would, oddly enough, benefit from a little more overhead description. There’s nothing wrong with silent film of this nature at face value, but Daughter shoots its action so frenetically at times, bouncing and careening down staircases and hallways, there’s no denying a little explanation would root this film in something closer to emotion, rather than confusion. -ST
Hair Love (USA)
Following the mysterious absence of her mother, young Zuri looks to her mom’s old blog videos (voiced by Issa Rae) for advice on combing her unmanageable locks. Enter dad, who’s no expert on the subject himself, in a heavyweight match-up against Zuri’s overwhelming curls.
Hair Love combines a more sentimental, dated animation style with pastel colors to resemble more modern 3D studio visuals. It blends well, even if the stylization of Zuri’s hair and her pet cat are somewhat jarring depending on what serves the narrative. But among the five nominees, Hair Love is the closest to serving the values of everyday life, a story in which the simplicity becomes the biggest asset. -ST
Kitbull (USA)
A stray kitten, stubborn and independent beyond help, wanders into the den of a ferocious-looking pitbull. The events that follow bond the two unlikely compatriots in a friendship to set them off on better paths.
Obviously, Kitbull is a profusely charming short film. The titular characters of Kitbull are radical caricatures treated with the movement & attitude of real animals. In appearance, it compounds into a very believable and unlikely adventure, and emotionally, it works into the most tender of this year’s shorts, a tearjerker for the pleasure crowd. -ST
Memorable (France)
Louis lives with his wife Michelle, who encourages his penchant for painting and artistry even as it starts to take over his mind. Slowly, the objects in Louis’ life start to lose shape, disintegrating and releasing their objective state of matter – soon enough, his mind does the same.
Satisfyingly, the most memorable of this year’s animated shorts, “Memorable” is touching and devastating in equal measures. What begins as a commentary on the condition of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease mutates into an engaging and abstract visual representation of losing touch. With some hints of Loving Vincent inspiration, Memorable dreams up a piece of filmmaking that only animation could perform, a painful headspace that paints with what we can only imagine outside of the living world. -ST
Sister (USA)
A biopic-esque tale of a young man’s recollection of growing up in 1990s China, welcoming and regretting the recollection of his treatment toward his annoying little sister in their childhood home. He wonders what may have happened had he woven their experiences differently.
An analysis of the Chinese one-child policy, Sister takes a few liberties in re-contextualizing its story to serve a twist ending that doesn’t necessarily benefit its greater message. The felt animation is some of the more impressive as the Academy has ever recognized, but Sister doesn’t focus too much its style over its substance, a somewhat bland take on the premise that tries to aim for too much among an already emotional pool of entries. -ST
The Documentary Oscar Shorts
In the Absence (US/SOUTH KOREA)
When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from the national authorities.
In the Absence contains the most memorable images of any of the short films nominated for the Academy Awards. Seeing the MV Sewol slowly sink with most of its passengers on board whilst coast guard operators debate whether the situation is serious enough to send help is chilling. However, taken as a whole short film, In the Absence loses its way visually and narratively in the following scenes. It becomes more reliant on words displayed on bland backgrounds instead of trying to convey the words visually. It also tries to rapidly cover the whole scope of all the disaster and its aftermath in the final 10 minutes, such as the impeachment of the President, which mists the narrative of the film. It might work better if these events were left out instead of referenced without explaining how they affect the main narrative. -RS
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a girl) (UK/US/Afghanistan)
In Afghanistan, many young girls are not able to participate in sports because of the ongoing war, as well as cultural customs. As a result, there are limited recreational opportunities for women and girls, especially those from impoverished backgrounds. However, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) tells the story of a skate charity which helps Afghan girls to read, write, and skateboard in Kabul.
This short documentary covers everything you might expect of a film titled ‘Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)’. It features a lot of skateboarding in a warehouse, frequent anecdotes of bombs exploding near the student’s homes, and a lot of stories about girls limited by the patriarchy. There aren’t any surprises or cinematographic flourishes as the film doesn’t need them; the combination of skateboarding in a warzone if you’re a girl is already special enough. -RS
Life Overtakes Me (USA)
Over 400 refugee children in Sweden have withdrawn into a coma-like state because of previous trauma. Life Overtakes Me tells the story of two of these traumatized young refugees, and their families, that develop this rare psychosomatic illness called Resignation Syndrome.
Life Overtakes Me shines a light on an unknown illness. Resignation Syndrome still doesn’t appear to be fully understood, which makes it all the more strange and terrifying. The two children shown in the film both appear to be permanently sleeping and their families have no guarantee that they’ll ever wake up or return to normal. Life Overtakes Me shows how heavy the emotional burden is on their families, and also how their refugee status, despite the obvious trauma they’ve experienced, is not guaranteed. -RS
St. Louis Superman (USA)
St. Louis Superman follows Bruce Franks Jr., an activist by day and a battle rapper by night who runs for office in the Missouri House of Representatives. To succeed, he has to overcome personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a bill to recognize the impact gun violence has had on his community.
Bruce Franks Jr. is an example of who should be elected to each state’s House of Representatives. He appears to be a pretty normal guy from Ferguson. He’s a father, he’s from the area, he grew up in poverty, he protests with people in his community, and battle raps as a side hustle at night. The only difference between him and other people from the area is that he ran for office. St. Louis Superman reminded me of a bite-size version of Netflix’s Bring Down the House. Both films feature grass-roots local activists entrenched in their community running for office to make a change. -RS
Walk Run Cha-Cha (USA)
Paul and Millie Cao fell in love as teenagers in Vietnam, but were soon separated by the war. Paul managed to escape from Vietnam, and a few years later managed to get papers for Millie to join him in California. After a few decades of working hard to build new lives abroad, they are making up for lost time on the dance floor. Walk Run Cha-Cha is their story.
Whilst their stories are inspirational, they feel underdeveloped and unemotional. We learn that Paul left Vietnam a few years before Millie, but we don’t hear much about why he left first, why Millie was stuck in Vietnam, and how they coped without each other for those years. We also don’t hear much about the decades they lived together in California before they started dancing. It’s not clear what happened in these decades and how they grew apart (if they did), and why they felt they needed to start dancing together to make up for lost time. Walk Run Cha-Cha could also do with more emotion. Both Paul and Millie tell their stories very factually, without any color, making it harder to sympathize with their struggle to be together. As a result, it feels more like a film about a normal retired couple that takes up dancing as a pass time. At least there’s bonus points for showing off their ballroom dancing at the end. -RS
The Live Action Oscar Shorts
A Sister (Belgium)
Alie is in trouble. It’s night-time, and she’s stuck in a car with her abusive partner. The only thing she has is the person on the other end of the emergency call line.
A Sister is the perfect short thriller. The script fits snugly into the 16 minute run time. Any longer and it would feel stretched, and any shorter and it would feel underdeveloped. A Sister also manages to renew something that has been done before (see The Call) by focusing on a woman in an abusive relationship instead of a woman attacked randomly. Abusive relationships are much more common than random attacks, which makes the film feel more real and the message feel much closer to home. Whilst it highlights the danger of an abusive relationship for women, it also forces men in relationships watching the short to see themselves in her violent male partner. It packs a punch. -RS
Brotherhood (Canada, Tunisia, Qatar, Sweden)
Mohamed is a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. However, he’s deeply shaken when his eldest son Malik returns home from fighting with ISIS with a quiet young wife. The silent tension between father and son rises until it reaches breaking point.
Brotherhood is a well-made international art-house short set in Tunisia. The shots of rural Tunisia indicate the beauty of the country as well as the isolation of Mohamed and his family. He doesn’t have any neighbors. His family is completely alone. So when Malik returns and Mohamed refuses to communicate with his son, he cuts him off from his family and society. Without a dad that trusts him, Malik is thrown to the lions. – RS
Nefta Football Club (France)
Nefta Football Club is a light comedy featuring two young brothers living along the Tunisian/Algerian border. Whilst they’re biking through the desert they come across a headphone wearing donkey carrying lots of cocaine.
The synopsis sounds like a recipe for disaster for the two young brothers. However, the director Yves Piat manages to keep the film light, keeping it away from the bleakness of Amat Escalante’s Heli. The lightness is achieved through the absurd images (e.g. a donkey wearing headphones and the final image of the football pitch) as well as the good natured, naïve younger brother who believes the stash is just a lot of washing powder. -RS
Saria (USA)
Saria follows two inseparable orphaned sisters, Saria and Ximena, as they fight against daily abuse and unimaginable hardship at Virgen de la Asuncion orphanage in Guatemala. The film imagines the daily events leading up to the tragic fire at the orphanage in 2017 that claimed the lives of 41 orphaned girls.
It’s great to see more dramatic films from Central America featuring indigenous leads, but Saria felt too short to feel truly invested in Saria’s life. It depicts a very quick build up to a riot, escape, and finale which would be more engaging and thrilling with a bit more time invested into the characters. Ultimately the story would be a better fit for a feature film rather than a short, so hopefully we’ll get to see a feature version of Saria in the next few years that improves the film just like the feature of Les Miserablesand Atlantics built on the short. -RS
The Neighbor’s Window (USA)
The Neighbor’s Window features Alli and her husband, parents of young children fed up with their daily routine and responsibilities. Their frustration increases when a young couple in their twenties move in across the street and show off their affection for each other with complete disregard for whoever is watching. It’s a Rear Window for the Instagram generation.
Just as seeing pictures of your friends traveling around the world on your phone whilst your working long hours in the office drives jealousy, the parents in The Neighbor’s Window rue on their lost youth whilst they watch their young neighbors dramatically make love in the apartment opposite. Their relationship gets worse when they start fighting over a pair of binoculars to help see them clearer. However, ultimately, The Neighbor’s Window shows that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that we should always be grateful for what we have. It’s a life-affirming message that might just win it the best live-action short at the Oscar’s. -RS
Landfall is a political film imbued with anger at the current state of Puerto Rico. It captures life in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, choosing to depict the current post-Hurricane tragedies instead of the actual Hurricane, and setting them within the history of U.S. imperialism. In doing so, Landfall presents a critique of disaster capitalism (see Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine) and the U.S. stranglehold on Puerto Rico and it’s ineffectual politicians.
That being said, the actual footage isn’t inherently political. Each scene from each part of the island is shot observationally without any directorial input or opinion. For example, the profile on the wealthy real estate family by itself doesn’t include any tough questions for the family or a political lens. However, by moving between these profiles of wealthy families and crypto-billionaires and profiles of rural farmers struggling to make a living and activists protesting the governor, the film becomes political. It juxtaposes the increasingly wealthy with the increasingly poor to highlight the growing inequality on the island. And by jumping around the country to visit a range of communities, Aldarondo shows that this inequality is endemic to all parts of the country.
One of the most memorable snapshots captures the arrival of U.S. crypto billionaires. They’ve arrived on the island cloaked in good intentions with promises for employment and wealth via the blockchain. However, when confronted by locals on their similarities with the white American imperialists that preceded them their benevolent facade crumbles. One represents the danger of a white savior – talking down on the locals as if he’s the only one that can solve their issues – whilst another represents the cultural eradication of cultural appropriation in her dreaded hair. Cut with scenes documenting the history of U.S. imperialism and speakers pressing Puerto Rico to privatize the country to encourage foreign investment and the warning signs are clear. Puerto Rico is on the brink of being re-colonized by wealthy Americans looking for a clean tax-haven for their millions. Their arrival is a threat to indigenous Puerto Rican life.
Landfall is made as an urgent warning to the precarious situation on the island. Just like Zuckerberg’s land grabs in Hawaii, and the privatization of post-Katrina New Orleans, post-Maria Puerto Rico is arriving at its own tipping point. Fortunately there is some hope that indigenous way of life prevails, represented in the people protesting the Governor, the community schools, and the family standing up to real estate in Vieques. The fight for Puerto Rico isn’t quite over.
Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for more reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF.
If you’re ready to sit down for a few hours to indulge yourself in some cosy, trivial Argentine mysteries, meet the latest film from El Pampero Cine, Trenque Lauquen.
Trenque Lauquen comes from Laura Citarella, one of the members of El Pampero Cine, a group of filmmakers which also includes Mariano Llinas (La Flor, Extraordinary Stories), Agustin Mendilaharzu, and Alejo Moguilansky. Each of the members of the collective usually pop up in the credits of each other films under different roles, making each of the collective’s films feel like a team effort. They each also use the same actors, so if you’ve seen another of their films before, you’re likely to see a familiar face in this one.
Trenque Lauquen, like it’s El Pampero Cine predecessors, isn’t a light commitment. It’s just over 4 hours long, split roughly equally into two sections which are both tied together by Laura’s character. The entire film takes place in Trenque Lauquen, a city on the far west border of Buenos Aires province near La Pampa. It looks like a pretty unremarkable city, with nothing to really distinguish it from anywhere else in Argentina. However the blandness is all part of the film’s construct. As with the majority of films from the El Pampero Cine collective, Trenque Lauquen uses the mundane as a foundation for it’s engrossing mysteries.
El Pampero’s films are, at their core, fairly simple. There aren’t any extraordinary premises, but they also work as tiny odysseys. Characters embark on fantastical adventures where the mundane is re-signified as something strange, new, and magical. The strangeness with which Pampero approaches the world is inherently transformational. Any and all minutiae represents a good excuse for them to tell a story as if we as the audience were kids listening in rapt attention, trying to keep us from seeing the world in its drab normality, allowing us to perceive things differently and hatch crazy schemes.
Trenque Lauquen, like La Flor and Extraordinary Stories, feels like indulgent storytelling. It’s as if the filmmakers of El Pampero Cine have been challenging each other to come up with new quirky mysteries to keep audiences interested for longer periods of time. They haven’t seemed to hit their limits yet as each of their last few films have kept audiences interested just to see where the mysteries lead us. Each of their films is like following a maze or river cruise full of pleasant surprises. Plus the pacing and characters are conducive to our immersion in the mystery; they’re both always patient and never rushed. They create the relaxed environment to let the mystery lead us along. Serious things happen in these films, but because of the tone, it never feels real-world serious. This is why these films are indulgent storytelling – they’re there to simply entertain and nothing more, and they do this better than anyone else in the industry.
The Santa Barbara International is officially underway! Whilst Sundance (Utah) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands) capture most of the film industry’s attention in January, Santa Barbara draws in a load of movie fans. There won’t be any major studio deals happening here, but there is an impressive slate of local and global films.
I’ll be attempting to cover the majority of the film offerings outside of Europe and Northern America, including the Latin American and International competitions. So expect to see a few quick fire reviews on this site over the next week from the international competitions. I’ll also aim to write up a recap of everything else I see at the festival and at home on screeners, which also gives you a brief overview to how the festival works. Bring on the films.
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