One of my favorite films as a kid, this one follows the journey of three aboriginal kids escaping the internment camp they were placed in to try and return home.
From: Australia, AustralasiaContinue reading “Rabbit Proof Fence – Institutionalized Racism in Australia”
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Whale Rider, Another Country, Tanna
If you’re a horror fan or someone who loves languages, check out this film. Edge of the Knife offers horror fans something different and film fans an opportunity to see the first film shot with a Haida cast, speaking Haida, on Haida land.
From: Canada, North AmericaContinue reading “Edge of the Knife – A Living Haida Legend”
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon
Next: Antichrist, The Revenant, Tanna
Anori’s sweeping shots of Greenland’s snow covered glaciers and mountains sets an awe-inspiring tone for the film. The ethereal landscape shots add to the mystique of the Greenlandic myths spoken between Anori and Inuk that frame Anori. However, the beauty of the set up and intriguing mythical framing unfortunately don’t carry through into the bulk of the movie, as a simple love story and black and white battle between good and evil fall flat.
From: Greenland, Europe/North America Watch: Trailer, IMDb, Website Next: Tanna, Romeo + Juliet, Miryza
Anori starts with panoramic shots of Greenland’s glaciers and snow capped mountains backed by loud idyllic music, not too far off the airy sounds of Sigur Ros. It sets a tone of wonder and mystique that supports the dreamy scenes of Anori telling Inuk the Greenlandic myths she learnt as a child. With both of them dressed in white and shot brightly, these scenes feel like they’re happening in another realm.
From the mystical opening, the film cuts to Inuk falling into a coma after an accident at sea. After Anori flies to the hospital to be with him, the film jumps into the past to show us how Anori and Inuk met and how their love for each other grew.
Anori relies on images and sound to convey emotion. Like the characters in a Terrance Malick film, Anori and Inuk don’t say much to each other and appear completely in awe of each other. Their racing emotions are carried in the melodramatic soundtrack whilst their growing love is visualized in the newly blossoming Spring landscape. The images and music are nice, but not unique. They hit the expected notes of a romantic TV soap or telenovela, which makes the melodrama a bit obvious.
The lack of dialogue also hinders the film’s ability to develop the characters. As the flashback scenes are bathed in bright light and melodramatic music, we only see Anori and Inuk through rose-tinted glasses. We never see another side to their lives or hear about their backgrounds, so we can only take them as unquestionably good people. This portrayal becomes more problematic when the antagonist to their love is revealed and is presented as evil incarnate. Whilst the antagonist has his own problems, they are shown to be caused by them, forcing us to accept that he is simply evil, with no chance of redemption. The lack of dialogue and character development leaves the three main characters as a bit one-dimensional: they’re either good or evil, leaving no room for our interpretation.
If you’re looking for quick tragic young romance,the obvious place to go is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Baz Lurhmann’s adaption is the most extravagant. Tanna is a great modern day adaptation set within the Kastom tribe from Vanuatu.
Or if you’re looking for films which combine love and myths, check out the melodramatic Mirzya from northern India.
Or for more indigenous films from North America, check out Edge of the Knife or browse the NFB catalogue of free indigenous films and take your pick.
The Latinx Inclusion fellowship was created last year by LALIFF to increase opportunities for underrepresented groups within the Latino community. Each of the Afro Latino and Indigenous Latino directors selected for the fellowship were granted $20k to produce a short and each one premiered at LALIFF 2022. Here’s a quick review of 9 of the 10 brilliant short films, which span a variety of topics from sexuality to race across the drama, comedy, and fantasy genres.
Somos de Aqui is a love story between a Haitian-Dominican man and a Dominican woman set within the racist immigration policies of the Dominican Republic. One is waiting for their visa to return to the U.S. whilst the other fears deportation to an unknown country.
The best part of Somos de Aqui is the love story. The chemistry between the two leads had me smiling all the way through. I even felt a bit cheated by the short run time of the movie and the political ending, as it meant we couldn’t see more of their growing relationship (and more of the Dominican Republic). However, that’s kind of the point of the movie – you’re meant to be sucked into the love story so you’re disappointed by the ending. It makes you hate the racist policies in the Dominican Republic as it cut this romance short. That being said, I’d love to see a full feature love story from this director in the future.
When a phone sex operator is accepted into a Ph.D program across the globe, she must confront her devout Catholic mother, with her difficult decision.
Like many of the films in the Latinx Inclusion fellowship, Hoar centers on family relationships. They’re integral to the plot and the character development of the short. The parents represent tradition and home, whilst the lead is trying to find and differentiate themself as a separate entity from their family. Hoar also feels like a stage play adaptation, because of the heavy dialogue, absence of sound, and one-location set. Both the stage-play style and seen before narrative feel a bit too same-y even with the great Afro-Latina lead.
A recently adopted 8-year-old refugee spends a day preparing for her first red carpet appearance with her new pop star mother.
The mother-daughter relationship in Sin Raices feels deliberately awkward. Partly because they’re adjusting to each other’s company, but mostly because the daughter isn’t made to feel at home. Her new mother opts to spoil her instead of spending time with her and dresses her up to be an accessory to her look instead of protecting her from the limelight and allowing her to grow. The daughter’s lack of dialogue only furthers how she’s fetishized for her indigenous appearance and heritage by her new mother. Sin Raices highlights how indigenous identity is appropriated to the detriment of the very alive indigenous communities in the Americas.
After the death of her grandfather, a young woman experiences a spiritual awakening when she is called by Yemaya, the orisha Goddess of the Sea.
Featuring a great performance from Princess Nokia, Daughter of the Sea is a homecoming for a lonely pop star. Like the reconnection felt by the Dominican woman in Somos de Aqui, Princess Nokia’s Puerto Rican homecoming allows her to reconnect to her heritage and country through her mother’s spirituality. The lush green forests and sea turn the country into a visual paradise and her rustic family home and the warmth from being close to her family make everything feel like home. Especially in contrast to the cold glass-filled empty home of hers in Los Angeles. It shows that home is where your family is; Yemaya’s calling her is just the icing on the top.
When a dysfunctional BIPOC cheer squad are sent to the woods to settle their differences, they must learn to become a team to save their coach from serial killers.
Bodies Will Tumble and Fall revels in the dumb entertainment of B-movie slashers. It plays on stereotypes as well as horror genre tropes to create an enjoyable, if silly and random, comedy. Unless you’re completely against cringy humor, you’ll find this appealing.
In Gabriela, a young undocumented Guatemalan woman dreams of joining a Country Club swim team in the Southern States of America. She’s stuck between two worlds; striving for the American Dream for citizens and the American Dream that brought her undocumented mother to the country. The citizen’s American Dream is what she’s been brought up to believe in, by her education and neighbors. However, she’s boxed into the latter – forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a maid because of her undocumented status.
Her identity crisis is beautifully shown through her ‘alone time’- particularly in scenes with Gabriela swimming in the pool. In the water, she’s in her zone and can’t be disturbed by white neighbors, country club attendants, or her mother, reminding her of who she can and cannot be. The water doesn’t judge and gives her the time from everyone else to become her own person.
Rumiñahui appears to be the perfect son and brother. He’s made the effort to spend time with both parents and helps to raise his younger brother, teaching him their heritage he proudly carries. The only thing he hides from his family is his sexuality.
Heritage is a coming out gone wrong story. Whilst there is a quick documentary interlude that highlights a heritage of homosexuality in Pre-Colombian society, the focus of this short is on the unfortunate anti-LGBTQ+ reaction of Rumi’s parents (as foreshadowed in the opening scene). Heritage uses prejudice to shock the audience, a bit like the swimming pool scenes in Gabriela. In this case it distracts a little from the nice character building work and interesting links to indigenous heritage from earlier in the movie, even if it’s purpose is to highlight an unfortunate reality.
When Raul accidentally double books himself with a date with a woman and a man at the same time in the same place, two animated inner voices take over.
Raul Playing Game uses the time-loop and Inside Out tropes to turn an embarrassing situation into a cringy slapstick comedy. Whilst the situation feels unlikely, there’s definitely some fun in the video-game style dating scenario that evokes nostalgia for The Sims as well as the modern gamification of dating thanks to apps like Tinder. And despite the flashy style, that bounces between animation and live action, it contains a solid moral message for everyone.
Set in the 1930’s, Zack and his sick brother are left at home in the remote American West as their father ventures out for medicine. All they have for company is a magic phonograph that holds memories of their mother.
This short feels a lot like Bless Me, Ultima. It appears to be set in the same period with similar set design and costumes, and features unpredictable ghosts and magic that both haunt and protect the two brothers. It’s not clear why Zack’s brother fell ill or why the phonograph must keep playing, but it probably has something to do with their dead mother who they still hold dear many years later. The Record is a quaint tale that will probably make you thankful that you don’t like in a humble and remote electricity-less abode in the 1930s.
All of the 9 shorts we got to see as part of LALIFF 2022 are worth seeking out online in the next few months. We’re excited to see what these directors do next.
For more from LALIFF, check out last years reviews in the LALIFF 2021 Hub .
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