“As a first feature, ‘We Are from There’ is an assured piece of work. Tanios paces the documentary well, and maintains a consistent and observant tone when it would be easier to lean on the sentimentality or urgency of the assembled footage.”
“‘Shell and Joint’ thrives in being carefully discovered by peeling away one layer after the other.”
“The film may seem purposeless at first, but eventually it reveals itself to be a portrait of the proud insanity of Florida, one that feels eminently authentic.”
“‘Shirley’ is not just a film about the pain and struggle of creativity for all artists, but about women particularly.”
“By seemingly stripping the sacredness from the cenotes, and forcing the sinkholes to be penetrated by the eye of the camera, Oda appears to deconstruct the documentary’s premise: there’s no mystery to unearth…”
“‘Scare Me’ takes a while to get going, awkwardly finding its footing through its opening scenes, but when it settles into the long night of storytelling in the cabin, Ruben’s debut feature becomes a total delight.”
“‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is an abortion drama that is so grounded in reality, so meticulous in its details, that it becomes one of the most moving and insightful movies made on the subject.”
“What’s consistently left out of the ‘Cheer’ conversation is a discussion of the precarious tension of love and exploitation between coach Monica Aldama and the team.”
“Chukwu avoids any overt didacticism in her storytelling, even if the mounting pressure on the beleaguered protagonist is delivered with quiet resolve and suffocating dread.”
“Andersson depicts fragments of humanity, stitched together with humour and relatability, and without a hint of loftiness or condescension.”
“Over time, a film critic should be able to engage with cinema in an all-encompassing manner, acknowledging the interior and exterior forces of what makes a movie…”
“What drives through the heart of LSFF’s New Shorts: London Lives is the expansiveness of the city and the loss of connection through digitalisation. Collectively, the films demonstrate the importance of community.”
“‘Color Out of Space’ is one of the weirdest, most disgusting, thought-provoking and provocative releases of the year…”
“The persona, the artist, the maestro, the ringmaster — one can’t help but bask in the direct, subjective joy and the elegiac reverence for cinema itself.”
“The films of Bill Forsyth are well-observed, genial comedies — and yet the director’s humor is intermingled with a powerful strain of sadness, an attentiveness to protagonists lost and longing.”
“In her mysterious way, Hatidze’s character is as gorgeous and singular as the breathtaking images collected by cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.”
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“LSFF’s Oscillations strand is one of the more immersive parts of the festival, with each film exploring social norms, bodily autonomy and the intersections of life.”
“The Houses in Motion strand breaks the mould in successfully exploring how concepts of life and death, home and away and physical and mental states metamorphose and develop within their own spaces.”
“Many directors twice Balagov’s age could only dream of making a film this unwavering and unsettling — so explicit in its understanding and exploration of extreme female pain.”
“With a fresh, new approach, Mendes memorializes not only his grandfather, but all the brave soldiers of WWI, reminding viewers of the individual tragedies that comprise warfare.”