Blog | Film Reviews & Movie Trailers

Interview with BFI programmers Aga Baranowska and William Fowler

Nov 6, 2019
4 min

Interview with BFI programmers Aga Baranowska and William Fowler

Interview by: Chris Olson As part of the BFI Season on filmmaker Shirley Clarke, I caught up with the curators to find out more about the influential artist and how they go about showcasing such an extraordinary talent. What are your roles within the BFI? Will: I’m a Curator of Artists’ Moving Image at the BFI National Archive. I also programme seasons and monthly Experimenta screenings at #BFI Southbank, which present artist film and alternative moving-image culture. Aga: I

The Wigmaker of Wellington Street documentary film review

Sep 11, 2019
2 min

The Wigmaker of Wellington Street documentary film review

★★★ Directed by: P. William Grimm Written by: #PWilliamGrimm Starring: #PeterCoates Documentary Film Review by: Chris Olson Serial killer #documentaries are on the rise and the huge popularity is largely down to the binge-worthy nature of shows and movies as well as the painstaking lengths #filmmakers go to present them. Audiences are able to immerse themselves into the facts and fiction surrounding real life cases of brutal killings from a safe distance and even explore the

Character short film

Jan 16, 2019
2 min

Character short film

★★★ Directed by: #RizwanWadan Starring: #AaronTaylor, #DavidSchaal, #ConorBoru, #ThanimChoudury, #EdwardKugutzi Short Film Review by: #ChrisOlson Challenging a multitude of stereotypes and prejudices, short film Character, from Say Hello Films and director Rizwan Wadan, holds little back in getting its overt message across. The result is a thought provoking, if slightly gloopy, piece with impressive cinematic flair. David Schaal plays a harassed businessman whose bad day gets

Fly short film

Sep 30, 2018
2 min

Fly short film

★★★★★ Directed by: Nadira Amrani Starring: Flohio BFI London Film Festival Review by: Chris Olson Part of the “Journey” thread at the LFF 2018, Nadira Amrani’s short film Fly is a fluid piece of cinema with an incredible central performance. Charting the rise of a female rapper in Bermondsey, the movie explores a smorgasbord of cultural and social issues whilst providing a quasi coming-of-age parable in which the main protagonist literally gets their wings. The film stars re

Interview with Natasha Marburger from London Independent Film Festival

Apr 10, 2018
2 min

Interview with Natasha Marburger from London Independent Film Festival

Interview by Chris Olson Due to kick off on Friday 13th of April, the London Independent Film Festival (LIFF) will play host to a fantastic selection of indie cinema, including short films from newcomer filmmakers. I had the chance to catch up with Natasha Marburger from the festival to speak about this year's event. Who are you and what do you do for London Independent Film Festival? My name is Natasha Marburger and I am the Festival Director for the London Independent Film

The Director: A Comedy About Homelessness short film

Jan 15, 2018
2 min

The Director: A Comedy About Homelessness short film

Directed by Patrick Ireland Written by Sam Wise and Patrick Ireland Starring Mark Keegan and Patrick Ireland Short Film Review by Euan Franklin You can’t expect to walk in a city like London and not be struck by the issue of homelessness. More than 300,000 people are homeless in the UK, 8000 of whom reside on the streets of London. Roll up Patrick Ireland, the creative director of Shout Out UK – a political website for the youth of today. In his mockumentary short The Directo

Baby Gravy short film

Oct 12, 2017
2 min

Baby Gravy short film

Written and Directed by Marley Morris Starring Sophia Di Martino, Jade Anouka BFI London Film Festival Review by Chris Olson British short film Baby Gravy is a skilfully comedic entry into this year's BFI London Film Festival "London Calling" event which plays host to some exceptional filmmakers. Written and directed by Marley Morris, this LGBTQ tale of searching for a suitable applicant for natural insemination is heartfelt, charming, and delightfully funny. Starring Sophia

London Film Festival 2017

Sep 20, 2017
6 min

London Film Festival 2017

Everything you need to know about the 61st London Film Festival Film Festival Feature by Owen Herman On 4th October 2017 the 61st BFI London Film Festival will begin. Over twelve days, fifteen cinemas will show two-hundred and forty-three features from sixty-one countries. Four competitions will be judged and the “Strands” of Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Family, Experimental, and Treasures will all be explored. There is much to get one’s head arou

Secret Cinema: Moulin Rouge

Jun 17, 2017
3 min

Secret Cinema: Moulin Rouge

Film Event Feature by Chris Olson The feeling of saturation is most definitely a 1st World Problem. We find ourselves, on a daily basis, bemoaning the way in which we consume culture and then readily go ahead and engage with it in the exact same way. Specifically in the movie world, there is the franchise formula which has a stranglehold on cinemas for the next few generations, a glut of reboots (from the earliest days of cinema to TV shows no one liked the first time they ca

The Salesman

Apr 11, 2017
3 min

The Salesman

★★★★ Directed by Asghar Fahadi Starring Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi Film Review by Hannah Sayer On Sunday the 26th February, the day of the Academy Awards ceremony, Sadiq Khan hosted an outdoor screening of Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman in London’s Trafalgar Square. With support from Curzon Artificial Eye and Amazon Studios, the free event was hosted by the Mayor of London in response to Farhadi’s refusal to attend the Academy Awards

Mob Handed indie film

Aug 25, 2016
2 min

Mob Handed indie film

★ Written and directed by Liam Galvin Starring Robin Reid, Yvette Rowland, Jason Marriner & Jeff Stewart Indie Film Review by Hannah Sayer Liam Galvin’s vigilante drama Mob Handed is his second film after the controversial 2010 film Killer Bitch. The film garnered a great deal of publicity during filming as it was reported to contain graphic scenes of violence and extreme sexual content, which turned out to be exaggerated. Following on from this controversy, Galvin chooses t

Freedom Writers

Oct 11, 2015
2 min

Freedom Writers

Directed by Nura Gudaal Starring Bryony Cole, Ify E, King Tshikeva, Stephen Odubola, Gulied Osman, Glody Kinkiani, Nekkita Hollett, Moesha Barker Short film review by Hannah Sayer Clever and thought-provoking in its handling of its subject matter, Freedom Writers is a short film which explores the effects on a group of black teenagers when a race crime is committed against a person of colour by a group of white males. The film opens with a news style introduction recounting