Life Is A Film Fest

There have been some wonderful sad films at Tribeca this year. Writer/director Lauren Meyering’s confident debut HORSEGIRLS is one that manages to uplift and constantly make you laugh thanks to a clever script and the incredible performance of autistic actress Lillian Carrier as Margarita. Gretchen Mol breaks your heart as her ailing mother, who relentlessly tries […]

I was not expecting Takashi Miike’s latest to be a courtroom drama, but the bone-chilling details of the case in SHAM keeps him in familiar territory.  We spend the first 20 minutes of the film witnessing a racist and sadistic teacher tormenting one of his students. Just when we can’t hate this monster more, Miike […]

Charlotte Ercoli takes obsession with nostalgia to new levels in her West Village comedy FIOR DI LATTE.  Tim Heidecker is hilarious as playwright Mark, who is addicted to huffing the perfume he bought when he was on vacation in Florence to bring back memories of that magical time she shared with Francesca (Marta Pozzan) and […]

James Sweeney’s TWINLESS has the most cleverly constructed script of any film I have seen this year. It starts out as a drama about losing a twin, and takes unexpected turns into a thrilling dark comedy territory.  Dylan O’Brien and Sweeney are pitch perfect in their roles, their characters receiving both sympathy and disapproval from […]

Christian Nilsson’s WESTHAMPTON is an understated homecoming drama that distinguishes itself thanks to its strong visuals and Finn Wittrock’s nuanced performance.  After causing an accident in high school and moving to LA, filmmaker Tom returns to his hometown where he is not wanted. Nilsson peels the layers of the story slowly switching between the present […]

Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s jury deliberation drama RE-CREATION takes its cues from 12 Angry Men. It’s a fictional account since the real murder case never went to trial in Ireland.  Sheridan plays the wise head of the jury, Vicky Krieps is the skeptical Juror #8 and John Connors is the annoying, angry Juror #3, […]

Taking its name from the Sonic Youth song that plays over its end credits, Urška Djukić’s LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS is a lyrical portrayal of sexual awakening and frustration in Slovenian countryside.  Beautifully shot mostly in close-ups of its talented young actresses’ faces, it follows teenager Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) as she becomes close friends with […]

Tina Romero picks up the baton from her father and delivers QUEENS OF THE DEAD, a vibrant and campy queer zombie horror set in Brooklyn.  She assembles a fantastic ensemble cast led by Katy O’Brian and lets them have some gory fun for an hour and forty minutes. The synth score and house-heavy soundtrack is […]

Writer/director/actor/violist Isabel Hagen effortlessly comes up with so many awkwardly funny moments in her debut ON A STRING, I started wondering how it is possible I hadn’t heard of her before.  Since her character is a violist named Isabel, I assume that the film is based at least partially on her own experiences. Isabel in […]