Culture
Film
On this page, readers will find thoughtful analysis, recommendations and interviews with vanguard film-makers. From Q&As with big name directors to coverage of grassroots productions, our commentary taps in to live discussion around human rights, gender equality, Indigenous rights and environmental disaster.
Commemorating Hong Kong’s lost youth
Husna Ara finds Blue Island a confused documentary, bogged down by form and lacking in political nuance.
The alternative film review
Malcolm Lewis weighs up a selection of independent and studio-produced films from the global zeitgeist.
The alternative film review
Malcolm Lewis on Karim Aïnouz and Céline Sciamma's most recent contributions to parallel cinema.
Hot docs
Richard Swift shares highlights from the 2021 international documentary festival in Toronto.
The alternative film review
Malcolm Lewis reviews Luxor directed and written by Zeina Durra; Shirley directed by Josephine Decker.
The filmmaker bringing survivor stories to light
Leesa Gazi speaks to Subi Shah about Rising Silence — her film about the women sexually assaulted during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Mixed media: film
Malcolm Lewis reviews Woman at War, directed and co-written by Benedikt Erlingsson; The Third Wife, directed and written by Ash Mayfair.
Mixed media: film
Malcolm Lewis reviews Burning, directed and co-written by Chang-dong Lee; Green Book, directed and co-written by Peter Farrelly.
Mixed media: film
Malcolm Lewis reviews Disobedience directed by Sebastián Lelio and The Workshop directed by Laurent Cantet.
Mike Leigh on class war and political hope
Ahead of his upcoming film, Peterloo, Mike Leigh speaks to Sam Thompson about cinema, history and politics.
Fahrenheit 11/9: a merciless take-down of the liberal establishment
Youssef El-Gingihy delights in US filmmaker Michael Moore’s latest polemic.
Mixed media: Film
Tehran Taboo written and directed by Ali Soozandeh;
The Heiresses (Las Herederas) written and directed by Marcello Martinessi.
FiSahara: the world's most remote film festival
The festival offers refugees and international guests excitement and windows into forgotten worlds, writes Stefan Simanowitz.
Ken Loach on 'I, Daniel Blake': what happens when people leave the cinema?
The media present poverty as the fault of the poor, Ken Loach tells Malcolm Lewis in this interview.
What can Mad Max tell us about water scarcity?
Beulah Devaney finds an unexpected message in the Hollywood blockbuster.
Confronting the seven myths of Israel’s history
Israeli filmmaker Lia Tarachansky tells Frank Barat about the challenges and rewards of making On The Side of the Road.
Ken Loach: why I support a cultural boycott of Israel
The acclaimed film director talks to Frank Barat about Palestine, politics, and why he wants to keep causing trouble.
Living on One – the reality of a dollar-a-day existence
Struggling to understand the meaning of poverty, four students took on a challenge, with unforeseen consequences, writes Anna Bevan.
Interview with Adam Beach
The Canadian First Nations actor, star of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and US TV dramas Big Love and Law and Order, talks to Sian Griffiths about the importance of being a role model for young aboriginal kids.
