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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Fair Play’ Has High Stakes, Bruised Egos, and Asks Some Tough Questions
Relationship dynamics, both at home and in the workplace, are undeniably complex. Especially as one member of the couple does better or worse than the other, watching fissures form has inspired many a filmmaker. Fair Play, one of the most buzzed about titles at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, is playing with these elements, while […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘The Persian Version’ is an Involving Family Saga with Several Embedded Stories
Having multiple identities isn’t easy, and it can often lead to both internal and external conflict. But there are also advantages to being part of more than one culture and having influences that aren’t all the same. Being raised by immigrant parents means that aspects of their heritage and past will be mixed with assimilated […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Shortcomings’ is a Funny and Heartwarming Coming of Age Story
What a nice little thrill it is to discover a small gem at a film festival. Whenever it happens, it feels like a secret, just in cinematic form. This year, I found one in Shortcomings, an equally funny and heartwarming character study/coming of age story. Not only is it a fresh take on the aimless […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: Black Trans Lives Matter in ‘The Stroll’ and ‘Kokomo City’
Trans representation in the media has been slowly but surely improving over the years, most notably in the success of TV’s Pose. At this year’s Sundance, a pair of enlightening films showcase the next step in this push towards authenticity. Focusing on the lives of Black trans sex workers, The Stroll and Kokomo City tell […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Bad Behaviour’ Wastes Jennifer Connelly in An Unfocused Quest for Inner Peace
The subject matter of Bad Behaviour should make for a great movie. A black comedy taking down an entitled and toxic white women? There’s definitely fertile ground here. Tragically, this effort, playing at the Sundance Film Festival, bungles it, at least according to yours truly, while also wasting a committed lead performance from Jennifer Connelly. […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced for 2023
As the 2023 Sundance Film Festival presses on into its final days (coverage of the movies from Joey and some of the staff will continue for another week or so), the festival has announced its awards. Will some of these movies end up potential Oscar players? Time will tell, but you can see who and […] More
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in Festivals, Interviews
Interview: Aleeza Chanowitz on Her Very Funny, Boundary-Pushing Sundance-Selected Israeli Comedy ‘Chanshi’
Many observant Jews go to Israel, typically to study or to find a way to be closer to their heritage. But for Chanshi, the protagonist of the Israeli series from HOT that is screening at the Sundance Film Festival in the Indie Episodic program, she just wants to have sex with Israeli soldiers. What ensues […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘A Still Small Voice’ is a Poignant and Quiet Look at Spiritual Care
Spiritual care is, for many, a very important part of loss and grief. When something unexpected or unfortunate occurs, people tend to turn towards a higher power. It doesn’t have to be the same god or even a deity at all, but there is a comfort that comes from the idea of praying or just […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Cat Person’ is a Pitch-Black Depiction of Modern Dating
‘Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.’ That quote from Margaret Atwood begins Cat Person and really does put you in the headspace for what this film is trying to say. A look at modern dating and how two people can see things in very different […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Milisuthando’ Profoundly Reckons with the Legacy of Apartheid South Africa
The common image of apartheid South Africa often involves outright racial violence in the streets and cluttered townships straddling the country’s major cities. But there’s another underdiscussed element to the apartheid system, where separatist Black states where declared as independent entities within the country. The first of those forms a central concern of Milisuthando, a […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘The Pod Generation’ Doesn’t Have Nearly As Much to Say As It Thinks It Does
Science Fiction at the Sundance Film Festival usually relies more on ideas than on a massive budget for scope. That’s wonderful, to be sure, but it does actually require enough ideas and for them to be well developed enough to support a movie. Sadly, The Pod Generation comes up a bit short in that regard. […] More
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Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘Under G-d’ is an Important and Informative Short about Reproductive Justice
There is an assumption many people make that religion says abortion is not permitted. That’s a narrow view, however, which doesn’t speak to the different faiths that exist within the United States and the world, and addresses only the loudest and most conservative voices. Many high-profile cases of “religious freedom” involve the right of a […] More
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