Shane Slater
Shane Slater is a passionate cinephile whose love for cinema led him to creating his blog Film Actually in 2009. Since then, he has written for AwardsCircuit.com, ThatShelf.com and The Spool. Based in Kingston, Jamaica, he relishes the film festival experience, having covered TIFF, NYFF and Sundance among others. He is a proud member of the African-American Film Critics Association.
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in Interviews
Interview: Yoel Morales, Alexander Viola and Cristian Mojica Discuss their SXSW Winner ‘Bionico’s Bachata’
Through the Global section of their annual Film & TV lineup, SXSW has premiered some of the most inspired Latin American filmmaking in recent years. In keeping in that vein, the latest Audience Award winner in this section was the Dominican Republic’s Bionico’s Bachata. Directed by Yoel Morales, the film follows the madcap odyssey of […] More
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in Interviews
Interview: A Chat with ‘Les Indésirables’ Director Ladj Ly
In 2019, French filmmaker Ladj Ly made a grand arrival with his Oscar-nominated thriller Les Miserables. Exploring a similar milieu of a Parisian suburb divided along class and racial lines, his follow-up Les Indésirables follows the tensions between an activist and the upstart mayor who is determined to marginalize her working-class neighbourhood. Ahead of the […] More
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in Festivals, Interviews
Berlin Interview: Meryam Joobeur Explains ‘Who Do I Belong To’ and the Complexities of Examining Extremism
In 2018, Meryam Joobeur garnered major attention with her Oscar-nominated short film Brotherhood. Exploring the impact on a Tunisian family when a son returns from fighting with ISIS, that filmmaking experience inspired her to expand the story. Six years later, Joobeur’s powerful debut feature Who Do I Belong To is now set to captivate audiences […] More
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Interview: Bruno Mourral Talks ‘Kidnapping Inc.’ and its Haitian Sense of Humor
Blending social commentary and delirious genre thrills, Kidnapping Inc. was a highlight of Sundance’s Midnight section in 2024. Directed by Bruno Mourral, it follows two Haitian kidnappers who become embroiled in a larger political conspiracy when they take on their latest job. Following its premiere in Park City, Awards Radar caught up with Mourral to […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ is a Fascinating Detective Story
As the world faces the uncertain future of aritificial intelligence, the problem of racial bias has become a hot topic. This subject is central to Jazmin Jones’ thought-provoking documentary Seeking Mavis Beacon, which examines one of the original AI representations of a Black woman. Probing deeper to investigate the real woman who inspired the face […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘In the Land of Brothers’ is a Grim Portrait of the Refugee Experience
In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States waged a now infamous war on terror against jihadist groups in the Middle East. As military operations bombarded this region, the collateral damage was immense, forcing thousands into refugee status. This situation forms the focus of Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi’s tense drama In the Land of […] More
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in Festivals, Interviews
Sundance Interview: Pedro Freire on ‘Malu’ and Paying Tribute to his Mother
Playing in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Pedro Freire‘s Malu is a fiercely acted drama about a fading actress living in a Rio de Janiero slum. As she tries to struggles to build a thriving community, her relationship with her daughter and mother becomes increasingly fraught. Ahead of the […] More
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in Festivals, Interviews
Sundance Interview: Klaudia Reynicke Discusses the Making of ‘Reinas’
Set against the backdrop of social and political instability in 1992 Peru, Klaudia Reynicke’s Reinas is a poignant family drama told from the perspective of its two young sisters. As their mother plans their migration, their estranged father attempts to reconcile with them, causing further complications within the family dynamic. Ahead of its world premiere […] More
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in Interviews
Interview: Kaouther Ben Hania On the Sisterhood of ‘Four Daughters’
In 2016, a Tunisian woman named Olfa Hamrouni endured a living nightmare when her two eldest daughters became radicalized by the infamous Muslim extremists ISIS and disappeared. Years later, Olfa revisits the painful memories to tell the story of her family in Kaouther Ben Hania’s deeply moving documentary Four Daughters. Using professional actors to portray […] More
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Oscars: Predicting the 2023 Best International Feature Shortlist
With various critics groups already announcing their picks for the best non-English language films of the year, Anatomy of a Fall has emerged as the obvious consensus choice. But in a surprising plot twist in the unfolding narrative of the Oscar race for Best International Feature, this captivating courtroom drama was snubbed in favor of […] More
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in Interviews
Interview: Director Malid Alami Discusses ‘Opponent’ and the Evolution of Swedish Cinema
With films like Boy from Heaven, Holy Spider and Flee being submitted in recent years for Oscar submission, the face of Scandinavian cinema has notably strayed from the traditional White narratives. That trend continues with Malid Alami’s Opponent, this year’s Swedish Oscar contender for Best International Feature Film. In this hard-hitting drama, a man is […] More
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in Interviews
Interview: ‘2018’ Director Jude Anthany Joseph On Recreating the 2018 Kerala Floods
With a film industry only rivalled by the United States in terms of the number of productions, the selection of the Indian submission for the Best International Feature Oscar is always fiercely competitve. And when 2018: Everyone is a Hero was selected this year, director Jude Anthany Joseph was as surprised as anyone. Based on […] More