Djinn Wedding from Turkish filmmaker Ferit Karahan is not a ghost story, but you can feel a supernatural presence throughout the film. It is the follow-up to his excellent, equally tragic Brother’s Keeper, and trades that film’s realism for a surrealist approach. It centers on guilt, trauma, and the burdens passed down through generations, following […]
Children of the Monkey – Venice 2026
In Tommaso Landucci’s narrative debut feature Children of the Monkey, Dario is the loving father of Enrico, a disabled child who needs constant monitoring. Perhaps because he imagines how much easier life would be if he had an able-bodied child, he starts showing interest in his teenage nephew Giacomo, takes him under his wing, and […]
No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman – Venice 2026
Avan Jamal puts on a captivating performance as the fearless sniper Vyan, who is desperately trying to find her missing sister abducted by ISIS in mid-2010s Iraq, in Halkawt Mustafa’s thriller No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman. Most of the footage was shot among the rubble of war-torn Mosul, giving the film […]
Diane in the Loop (Un détour par Diane) – Venice 2026
Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s DIANE IN THE LOOP (Un détour par Diane) is an offbeat film, which follows the parallel stories of Diane and her mother as they have to come to terms with the traumas of the past and move on with their lives. It strikes a fine balance between comedy and drama while […]
House of the Wind – Venice 2026
There have been many films about the immigrant experience. Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu’s semi-autobiographical debut feature HOUSE OF THE WIND, instead, explores the solitary life of an 80-year-old mother whose children all left Cameroon to live abroad. Josette is preoccupied with making plans to bring at least some of them back home again. While trying to […]
Buddy – Fantasia 2026
Casper Kelly’s BUDDY has everything going for it. The concept, the script, and the execution are all top notch, and it is genuinely unnerving. Buddy, a Barney-like TV show character with the appearance of an orange unicorn, gets increasingly unhinged and unleashes terror on the kids and other characters on the set. I have no […]
Papaya – Fantasia 2026
Priscilla Kellen’s animated film PAPAYA tells the story of a papaya seed that has to constantly keep moving to avoid growing roots. Because it depicts the dialogue-free journey of a character into the unknown, it immediately brings Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow to mind. It is a coming-of-age story suitable for children and adults of all ages. […]
Never After Dark – Fantasia 2026
Dave Boyle’s Never After Dark starts out as a ghost story before taking some unexpected turns that lead it in a whole new direction. It effectively builds suspense through its inventive script and purposeful editing. Shōgun star Moeka Hoshi gives a convincing performance as Airi, a psychic who guides spirits to the next world. The […]
Blaise – Fantasia 2026
Fans of the awkward moments in Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office will likely get a kick out of Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon’s adult animated film BLAISE. Carole (Léa Drucker), Jacques (Jacques Gamblin), and their teenage son Blaise (Timéo) are all conformists who don’t want to offend anyone and just want to be liked. […]
The Samurai and the Prisoner – Fantasia 2026
2020’s WWII drama The Wife of a Spy was the first traditional period piece Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed. Now we also have The Samurai and the Prisoner, which just screened at the 2026 Fantasia Festival. It is a Shakespearean jidaigeki, set in the 16th century, that brings some of Akira Kurosawa’s films to mind. Some of […]