Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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Precarity, Therapy Films and Ethics: True/False Film Fest 2023
In its second post-pandemic, in-person year, True/False was still trying to convince audiences to come back (there were fewer venues this year than pre-pandemic) to watch artful documentary, but the in-person joy was contagious. For one long March weekend, the True/False Film Fest turns the college town of Columbia, Missouri into an arts extravaganza. The films range from the mainstream (Going Varsity in Mariachi, a high-school competition film from the Texas border) to surprising (Milisuthando Bongela’s Milisuthando, about identity challenges in post-apartheid South Africa), to the strange (Raphaël Grisey and Bouba Touré’s Xaraasi Xanne/Crossing Voices, which uncompromisingly mixes past, present […]
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True/False Film Fest 2023: Constructed Communities
A reliable way for filmmakers to generate audience sympathy is flattering attendees by stoking their regional pride, as at my first screening of True/False Film Fest 2023: Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s short Moune Ô, followed by the world premiere (one of eight at this year’s fest) of Sebastián Pinzón Silva and Canela Reyes’ La Bonga. Attending in-person, the latter pair spoke of the sense of community they felt in Columbia, Missouri and how that related to their film, an observation that raised some cheers. In his subsequent webcam-taped intro, Jean-Baptiste said how happy he was to have his film showing even if he […]
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15 Films We’re Anticipating at the 2023 SXSW Film and TV Festival
The SXSW Film and TV Festival is officially underway, and this year marks quite a few significant milestones for the organization. For one, this is the event’s 30th iteration, and the first one that Claudette Godfrey oversees in her brand new role as Festival Director, taking over the position that Janet Pierson occupied for 15 years. (Natalia Keogan interviewed Godfrey shortly before the fest kicked off, which you can read here.) This also feels like SXSW’s ostensible “comeback” since COVID, with the festival implementing a concerted focus on reconvening on-site in Austin, Texas. This year’s lineup certainly reflects a return […]
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“Never Delete Your Old Footage”: Jed I. Rosenberg on Pavement Documentary Louder Than You Think
When it comes to music documentaries, the bar is low—some new footage, a long-unseen live performance, maybe a fresh anecdote or two—and yet rarely cleared. For Pavement fans, though, Louder Than You Think will be essential viewing. The trim 90 minutes tell the story of the band’s original drummer, Gary Young, also the engineer of their first sessions at the Stockton, California record studio from which the film gets its name. It’s no secret that Young was essentially kicked out of the band for his heavy drinking habit, which is still on full display in this film; throughout his interviews, Young […]
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Five Questions for SXSW’s New Film & TV Festival Director Claudette Godfrey
At this year’s edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival, two significant milestones will be achieved: the festival will celebrate its 30th iteration, and it will be programmer Claudette Godfrey’s first as the organization’s newly-minted Festival Director. She was passed the torch back in October, taking over for SXSW leader Janet Pierson, who previously occupied the position for 15 years. An Austin native, Godfrey has effectively worked from the ground up since she began at SXSW as a volunteer crew manager in 2006. During a recent interview via Zoom, Godfrey told me about the various job titles she’s amassed […]
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Trailer Watch: MoMI’s First Look 2023
Watch the trailer for the Museum of the Moving Image’s annual First Look showcase, which will run from March 15-19 in Queens, New York City. The 38-film lineup features 25 New Faces of Film alums Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan‘s New Strains, which recently won a Special Jury Prize at IFFR as well as Kevin Jerome Everson‘s short Gospel Hill, on which he collaborated with Claudrena N. Harold. Other notable titles include Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel‘s short film Maid, which will be shown ahead of the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita. We’ve also covered several First Look films during their premieres at other festivals, including […]
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Everything Everywhere All at Once Sweeps the Spirit Awards
The Daniels’s Everything Everywhere All at Once won Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards yesterday. The A24 picture, which has been sweeping other awards events, is the Best Picture frontrunner for next week’s Academy Awards. The film dominated other categories as well, winning Best Director for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Lead Performance for Michelle Yeoh, Best Breakthrough Performance for Stephanie Hsu, and Best Editing for Paul Rogers, Best Supporting Performance for Ke Huy Quan and Best Screenplay, again for Kwan and Scheinert. No other work won more than one category with the exception of the TV […]
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Sundance Institute Announces 2023 Momentum Fellows
The Sundance Institute announces eight filmmakers selected for the fifth annual Momentum Fellowship, a program created to provide financial support and coaching for mid-career artists from underrepresented communities. The year-long fellowship is tailored for artists who have recently achieved a major accomplishment—such as a successful feature film or episodic work—and offers customized guidance for the fellows as they aim to level up in their careers. “Over the years, the fellows selected for Momentum have all experienced success with their recently completed projects. This has often been a critical moment for artists to receive creative and tactical support as they focus […]
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“A Militant Archiving Process”: Mohanad Yaqubi on R21 AKA Restoring Solidarity
The Tokyo Reels, a project by Subversive Film (Mohanad Yaqubi and Reem Shilleh), was first exhibited as an installation and mini film festival at documenta fifteen. This collection of 20 films depicting the Palestinian struggle was safeguarded for decades by Japanese activists before its preservation by Subversive Film. Following its restoration, the collection served as the basis for R21 AKA Restoring Solidarity (2022), set to have its North American premiere at this year’s True/False Film Festival. In November 2022, as R21 was having its world premiere at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam, we spoke with Yaqubi on transnational film […]
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The Overlook Film Festival Announces 2023 Lineup
Today, The Overlook Film Festival unveils the slate for its 2023 edition, to take place in New Orleans from March 30-April 2. The horror-focused festival will open with Universal’s Dracula reboot Renfield and close with Evil Dead Rise, the latest entry in the Evil Dead franchise. Additional programming includes interactive events, live performances, immersive programming and parties. Several retrospective titles have also been announced, entailing a 30th anniversary screening of Joe Dante‘s Matinee, a 10th anniversary screening of Jim Jarmusch‘s Only Lovers Left Alive, Alfred Hitchcock’s silent film The Lodger accompanied by a live score and William Castle’s The Tingler “featuring surprise […]
