Currently Browsing: Beatrice Viri
A Girl from Mogadishu is a dramaticized documentary directed by Mary McGuckian about Somali-Irish activist Ifrah Ahmed. It follows Ahmed’s tumultuous life to her righteous activism today. Ahmed, portrayed by How To Get Away With Murder’s Aja Naomi King, flees a war-torn Somalia as a teenager and is trafficked to Ireland. When thrust into a […]
When spoiled rich girl Sasha Li blows through most of her trust fund, she is cut off by her father and forced to go back to China and work for the family toy business. Go Back to China opens 3/6. FF2 review coming soon!
The real life of Tommaso Buscetta the so called “boss of the two worlds,” first mafia informant in Sicily 1980s. The Traitor opens 1/31. FF2 review coming soon.
Quezon’s Game is a drama directed by Matthew Rosen and written by Janice Y. Perez and Dean Rosen. The multilingual film stars Raymond Batasing as Philippine president Manuel Quezon and has him working towards one of his lesser-known feats: granting Jewish refugees sanctuary in the Philippines. Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri Quezon’s Game is […]
The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, directed and written by Alison Reid, is a documentary about Anne Innis Dagg, one of the first zoologists to do extensive field research on a wild animal. Dagg fell in love with giraffes at a young age and contributed significantly to what we know about the animal today. However, being […]
The Advocate is a documentary by Rachel Leah Jones that follows Isreali human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel’s life and career defending Palestinian clients. Focusing on the cases of 13 year old Ahmad and domestic violence victim Israa Jabis, The Advocate is a difficult and heart-wrenching watch reminding that there is always two sides to a […]
The Invisible Life, based on the The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão by Martha Batalha, is a Brazillian-German film directed by Karim Aïnouz and written with Inés Bortagaray and Murilo Hauser. The movie follows two sisters that are kept apart due to a lie told by their father, and their differing lives connected by persisting […]
Seberg is a political thriller directed by Benedict Andrews, from a screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Amy Waterhouse. Portrayed by Kristen Stewart, Jean Seberg was not only a pioneer of French New Wave cinema, but also a staunch activist, funding the Black Panther Party (3.0/5.0). Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri Seberg starts off with […]
*This review contains spoilers, so proceed with caution! Little Joe is a surrealist horror film directed and written by Jessica Hausner, co-written with Géraldine Bajard. Alice is a plant breeder specializing in genetic engineering, developing a new species to sell for her corporation. She illegally brings home a plant for her son, Joe, oblivious to the […]
Ximei (2019), directed and written by Andy Cohen with Gayle Ross, is a documentary about Ximei Liu, a human rights activist focused on equal rights for AIDS patients. Ximei contracted the disease due to China’s “black blood” economy, and fights against state-inflicted discrimination of a disease the government gave to her in the first place. […]
Shooting the Mafia, directed by Kim Longinotto, centers on photographer Letizia Battaglia and her work documenting the perils caused by the Italian Mafia. (BV 4.0/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri Veteran filmmaker Kim Longinotto’s newest documentary is a thoughtful and evocative portrait of an unconventional hero. Letizia Battaglia is a woman of many layers, […]
The Portal is an experiential documentary directed and written by Jacqui Fifer, consulting six pioneers on their visions for humanity through mindfulness of meditation. (BV: 3.0/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri The Portal centers six different subjects, who are philosophers, scientists, and innovators, and even features Sophia the Robot. They speak about their life’s […]
The Kingmaker, written and directed by Lauren Greenfield, is a portrayal of Imelda Marcos — the woman behind infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who declared martial law in the Philippines from 1965-1982. (BV: 4.0/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri The Kingmaker starts with Imelda Marcos being driven around urban Philippines. On the ride, kids stop […]
Immortal Hero, screenplay by Sayaka Okawa, is a film about a man determined to spread his gospel of love. Makoto Mioya is a successful author who owns a publishing company, and seemingly has a perfect life — but soon, faces a life-threatening, near death experience that causes him to reevaluate his priorities. (BV: 2.0/5.0) Review […]
High Strung Free Dance, directed by Michael Damian and written with Janeen Damian, is centered on two struggling artists, a dancer and a pianist cast in a highly-anticipated Broadway show by a zealous, perfectionist choreographer. (BV: 3.0/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri High Strung Free Dance is all about the hustle and bustle of […]
*This review contains spoilers for Sister Aimee! Sister Aimee, directed by married duo Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann, is a dramatization of real life evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s supposed kidnapping scandal. Overwhelmed by success and its daunting expectations, Aimee and her lover chase his dreams of the Mexican border — and stumbles upon an adventure […]
Always in Season, directed and written by Jacqueline Olive, centers around an act that was “thought to have been left in the past” — lynching, a form of racial terrorism. On August 29th, 2014, African American teen Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, North Carolina. Lennon’s death was ruled a […]
Promise at Dawn, directed by Eric Barbier and co-written with Marie Eynard, is an adaption of Romain Gary’s memoir of the same name. Supposedly near his death bed while vacationing in Mexico, Romain recalls his tumultuous but loving relationship with his mother. A failed actress in Russia, single mother Nina Kachew puts extreme expectations on […]
American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, explores what happens to General Motors workers in Ohio as the Chinese Fuyao Glass company takes over its old factories. (BV 4.0/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri Michelle and Barack Obama’s film company “Higher Ground Productions” delivers a deeply thoughtful debut documentary with American Factory. […]
Where’d You Go Bernadette, directed by Richard Linklater and written by Linklater, Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo Jr, is a mystery comedy-drama that centers around a mother and daughter’s relationship. Former architect Bernadette Fox is depressed due to trauma and lack of creative outlet. She decides to embark on a trip to Antarctica for a […]
The Kitchen (2019), directed by Andrea Berloff, is an American shoot ‘em up film starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss. Set back in the 1970’s during New York City’s crime wave, three women become leaders of the local Irish mob after their husbands are arrested. Reviving the mob after incompetent rule, they restore […]
Otherhood, directed by Cindy Chupack, is a lighthearted comedy about three mothers in the next stage of life that no one really seems to talk about, the stage after ‘motherhood’. Carol, Gillian and Helen are best friends, who bond over their empty nests. Vindicated after their sons barely acknowledge them on mother’s day, the three […]
For Sama is a documentary, directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, focused on the female experience of war, a real-time narrative compiling Waad’s horrifying experiences in Aleppo. Told as a nonlinear “love letter” from mother to daughter, Waad struggles with the struggle between her daughter’s safety and fighting for the Syria she and her […]
General Magic, directed, produced and written by Sarah Kerruish (with Matt Maude), is a documentary about a company that worked on a device “15 years too innovative for its time”. In the mid-90’s, the predecessor to today’s smartphone, Sony’s Magic Link PDA, was invented but poorly received. A fruitful, riveting documentary starring some of today’s […]
Killers Anonymous, directed by Martin Owen and written by Elizabeth Morris, is a crime thriller centered on a group of assassins in hiding as a manhunt goes on for the perpetrator of a senator’s assassination. (BV 3.5/5.0) Review by Junior Associate Beatrice Viri Killers Anonymous opens with Gary Oldman’s unnamed character facilitating a group therapy […]
In Endzeit, directed by Carolina Hellsgard and written by Olivia Vieweg, after a zombie apocalypse takes over the world, only two German cities remain— Weimar and Jena. In Weimar anyone who’s even slightly infected is killed, while Jena desperately searches for a cure. Vivi, a struggling mental patient, is sent to Weimar to combat the […]
Being Frank, directed by Miranda Bailey, is a feel-good comedy about college-bound Philip, who, fed up by his strict, emotionally distant father, sneaks out during spring break with his friend Lewis and accidentally discovers his father’s biggest secret. Shocked and conflicted by his father’s second family, Pat becomes an unwitting accomplice to the lie. Will […]
The Proposal details director and visual artist Jill Magrid’s own journey for access to architect Luis Barragán’s archives in Switzerland— and her controversial means of gaining the owner’s attention. (3.5/5) With Jill Magid’s trance-like narration, The Proposal takes the viewer between Mexico, New York and Switzerland as she works on a multimedia art installation based on the […]
The Third Wife, Ash Mayfair’s ambitious directorial debut, is a tale of female resilience in male-dominated ancient Vietnam, where a 14-year old girl becomes a wealthy landowner’s third wife. (4.0/5.0) Review by Intern Beatrice Viri Transported down the river in ceremonial canoe, inexperienced and baby-faced May (Nguyễn Phương Trà My) becomes the third wife of […]
*This review has mentions of sexual abuse At the Heart of Gold, directed by Erin Lee Carr, is a documentary detailing the decades-long sexual abuse conducted by Larry Nassar, former USA Olympian gymnastics coach, on hundreds of young girls — and exactly how he got away with it for so long. (BV 4.5/5.0) Review by […]
