Life Is A Film Fest

Films about childhood don’t get any more heartwarming than Morrisa Maltz’s coming-of-age drama JAZZY.  We were first introduced to Jasmine in Maltz’s previous film The Unknown Country as a member of Lily Gladstone’s character’s extended family. Here we witness her interact with her best friend Syriah and other classmates, who constantly make you laugh with […]

The strange family dynamics, absurd plot points, and the use of classical music in Sonja Prosenc’s FAMILY THERAPY show the influence of early Yorgos Lanthimos films. There are also nods to Jacques Tati such as the modern architecture, nuns walking by, and a small dog running around. Another similarity to both directors is that the […]

You think your neighbors are bad? You might want to hug them after you see the ones from hell in Jed Hart’s RESTLESS. The life of a retirement home nurse, played by Lyndsey Marshal, turns upside down when unsavory characters playing loud drum and bass music until the wee hours move in next door.  Marshal […]

Tim Blake Nelson is angry, resentful, and very funny in one of his meatiest roles as ex-boxer Bernard ‘Bang Bang’ Rozyski in Vincent Grashaw’s Detroit drama BANG BANG.  While Nelson is the film’s greatest asset, the script draws you in right from the get-go and the supporting cast that includes Glenn Plummer, Kevin Corrigan, Andrew […]

Mara Tamkovich’s UNDER THE GREY SKY tells the true story of Belarusian journalist Katsyaryna Andreeva, who was arrested for covering the brutal response to protests in 2020. Tamkovich recounts the events straightforwardly and manages to get under your skin.  We are all aware that this is happening in many countries around the world, yet seeing […]

Winner of the Best International Feature Award at Tribeca Festival, BIKECHESS finds comedy in the absurdities of everyday life amid constant government propaganda in Kazakhstan.  It follows TV reporter Dina, the married cameraman she is having an affair with, and her lesbian activist sister while they have to deal with authority figures and a narrow-minded […]

Director/actor Nnamdi Asomugha’s THE KNIFE is a breathtaking thriller that takes place over one night at a black family’s home after an intruder is stabbed, presumably by the patriarch played by Asomugha.  Melissa Leo is so good as the unlikable detective interrogating the family, she would be contending for an Academy Award nomination if this […]

Naomi Jaye’s DARKEST MIRIAM is as quirky as one would expect from a film executive produced by Charlie Kaufman. Britt Lower’s mild mannered Miriam has a mundane life working as a librarian dealing with the same characters every day. Things take a turn when she starts a relationship with Tom Mercier’s cab driver Janko.  It […]

In Fernando Andres’ lighthearted queer comedy RENT FREE, best friends Jordan and Ben are broke and make a plan to spend a year living rent free in Austin. Your level of enjoyment will depend on your sense of humor and how likeable or tolerable you find the main characters.  In addition to directing and co-writing […]

Susanne Rostock’s FOLLOWING HARRY can be seen as a sequel to her 2011 film Sing Your Song, which covered Harry Belafonte’s contributions to civil rights movement.  The new film contains plenty of footage from the last 12 years of his life and concentrates on how he inspires a new generation of activists who follow in […]