★★★★ Stars Directed by: #HesamRahmani Written by: #HesamRahmani Starring: #ArlenYaghobian, #MohsenPoryousefian, #VahidSalehizadeh, #ErfanMohitian, #HesamRahmani Film Review by: Alicia Moore This gorgeously artistic music video was created for the song Illness Brings Understanding by Item Caligo. Item Caligo is a one-man project of Sergey Epifanov, an artist based in Volgograd, Russia. The type of genre that his music follows is considered, by himself, as ambient, modern classic and minimal – which truly sums up what the ears are met with. This style is an excellent match for the style the music video presents itself as. The song is soothing but with a lot of depth to it; that specific sense of depth intertwines with the film as it carries a mysterious and beautifully brooding ambience. The story that unfolds doesn’t appear to want to be followed by the closed mind, it may contain a meaning that the creator has hidden within but the sheer creativity and intense detail is incredibly immersive. One aspect that really stood out to me was the fact that no character present, even in scenes together, seems to directly interact with one another. The attention is more focused upon the camera lens or the soil. The beings stare at the audience through the camera or slightly hang their heads as they stare at the ground below their feet. That invisible barrier between the characters, as well as the connection to the audience, adds to the heavy atmosphere and creates many exciting questions surrounding the relationship between the individuals and their actions onscreen. Following the statement of the brooding ambience that is present, the setting of the video is dark itself and, at times, a shot is lit simply by a large flame held by a character. The video almost wears a blackened mask, physically in regards to the setting and also within the unravelling plot. This blackened mask is only broken a few times with certain bursts of coloured smoke. Even though the smoke is vibrant in colour, the darkness is obviously still in existence as the smoke is dense, swallowing the characters it encircles. Scenes of dripping or stained blood are shown towards the ending of the video, completely validating the looming sense of acute iniquity. I feel compelled by my own enjoyment of the video to add that these more distinct shots are so wonderful; they are probably the brightest shots throughout the entire video which shows their significance to the viewer. I highly praise the director of photography and editor, Hesam Rahmani (also the main director and writer of said video,) for his evident talent in filmmaking as well as great attention to detail. The overall editing of the video also can be said to have an impact on the created ambience. The characters’ onscreen sequences are edited together with a mixture of slow motion sections, sharp cuts between different takes and the original stance that was filmed. As mentioned previously, the video carries a sense of mystery, and this range of editing choices strengthens that perception flawlessly. The music video for Illness Brings Understanding is a magnificent, captivating piece of film. Every element of the video leaves a strong impression on the viewer and definitely raises hairs on the back of the neck – in the most positive way possible. This is such an expressive production and, like its matching music, the video is peaceful but still holds contrast through its somewhat unsettling nature.

★★★★ Directed by: #JohnBalazs Written by: #MichaelJKospiah Starring: #MatthewTheodorou, #HayleyBeveridge, #RichardNorton, #JasperBagg, #NatashaMaymon, #NicStevens Film Review by: Darren Tilby An ominous opening introduces us to husband and wife, Noah (Matthew Theodorou) and Madeline (Hayley Beveridge), who no longer have the best relationship. A lack of communication and physical contact has caused Madeline to seek solace in her sister’s company (Jessica - Nic Stevens) and driven Noah into the arms of another woman (Sophia - Natasha Maymon). But then a brutal and premeditated home invasion – which ends with Jessica’s murder, Madeline’s rape, and Noah left in a 39-day-long coma – sees the couple re-evaluate their lives, eventually setting them on a revenge-filled pursuit for justice. Australian-made revenge thriller, Rage, certainly isn’t afraid to tackle difficult subjects head-on. The violence throughout is bloody and nasty and, at times, profoundly disturbing. The rape scene is, of course, the most difficult to stomach. The camera lingers on the events unfolding for what seems like a lifetime, but is, in fact, just long enough for it to feel extremely uncomfortable but in no way obtrusive or crass. It’s actually incredibly well handled, and I applaud Director John Balazs for his well-judged filming of this scene. Complementing Balazs’ vision is Ben Luck’s superbly creepy camerawork, which brought to mind Stefan Duscio’s sublime work on The Invisible Man in that it captures that constant discomforting awareness of being watched. But Rage has something else in common with The Invisible Man too, something less approving. For all the things it gets right; for all the intrigue it builds in the first half of the film, Rage just can’t get the ending right. That downward spiral begins at around the half-way point and is mainly down to less-than-brilliant character resolution. Now I’m going to tread carefully here because I don’t want to sound like I’m accusing Michael Kospiah of being a poor writer—because he isn’t. The entire first half of the film (that’s a whopping 90-odd-minutes) is fantastic, and he weaves a web of intrigue that had me perplexed the whole way through. There are many different avenues to go down here, which is great, and I love that even many of the side characters are fully fleshed out and engaging individuals. The issue is with so many avenues to explore, many of them lead to dead ends, while others are forgotten part way through and never seen or heard from again. The other problem the movie suffers is that its incredibly long running time of (around) 140-minutes causes huge disjoints between the characters that can take you out of the experience. With a bit of tidying up, I feel that a good 30 - 40-minutes could get chopped with no detrimental effect to the film whatsoever. Where Rage excels, though, is in its presentation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Like the rape scene that caused it, while utterly harrowing, PTSD is handled in a frank, realistic, but wholly respectful manner. Balazs has really done his homework here. But, of course, to make it work, you need an actress that can pull it off. Here is where Hayley Beveridge (as Madeline) comes into her own. She’s an absolute delight to watch in any scene, but post house invasion, she kicks things up a gear. Her portrayal of a woman; a survivor who has PTSD is outstanding and stands as one of the best I’ve seen for a hell of a long time. She’s our one solid throughout this film; our emotional link; our investment in its world, and I really can’t praise her enough. Rage is a solid revenge-thriller that certainly deserves your time. But more than that, it deserves more than what it ended up being. For me, the payoff at the end just wasn’t there. I think perhaps I’ve sounded more critical than I wanted to here. I have really enjoyed this film, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it’ll play well with audiences, particularly to fans of the genre. I’ve only been as critical as I have because the film has so much potential that it fails to live up to. It’s a bit like when your mum tells you she’s not mad, she’s just disappointed. That’s what I felt by the end: a little disappointed.

★★★★ Written & Directed by: #KaineLevy Starring: #DanielDavids #IsobelWood Short Film Review by: #ChrisBuick On the eve of September 3rd 1939, when Britain has just declared war on Hitler’s German forces, sending the country into what would become its second major global conflict in a little more than two decades, a love affair between a young Jamaican farmhand (Davids) (with nothing to his name except a filthy mattress in an outbuilding where he lays his head every night) and a wealthy English girl (Wood) is tested not only by the prejudices of society but also the young man’s courageous sense of duty and search for respect. It’s great to see a screenplay that works on many levels, Levy should be proud of what he has achieved here. On the surface, it may seem like a simple tale of forbidden love, the kind of Romeo and Juliet story that we have seen many times before, but that’s merely the tip of the iceberg. Levy has injected his film with so many layers and a plethora of themes that sadly are just as pertinent today as they were then. Racial prejudice, classism and segregation, are unfortunately still all relevant social issues and Levy seems to be making a statement that even today we are a nation and a world with much to learn from our very chequered past. While perhaps the film could have leaned into these themes a bit more (some of the issues Levy alludes to seem to be inferred more often that they are implied), it's clear that everything Levy seems to want to say with this film has been purposefully thought out and although subtle at times, it’s all there for you to find. Others are more obvious, one such example being the words of Neville Chamberlain echoed throughout the film, where Levy is clearly signifying that their sentiments are just as applicable to ourselves today as well as the tyrants we faced back then. “For it is evil things that we shall be fighting against; brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution. And I am certain that the right will prevail” Asides from its brilliantly crafted screenplay, Farewell Waltz manages to be a filmmaking triumph too. The look and feel of the period are not only captured by a delightful sense of colour and beautiful cinematography, but also the resounding score from the accompanying Budapest Art Orchestra, all allowing us to feel somehow transported back through time. Finally, all this hard work is rounded off nicely by two commanding yet incredibly tender performances from our lead duo, who manage to convey every important nuance of Levy’s script despite a complete absence of dialogue, a true testament to their abilities and passion for their craft. Intended as a very fitting tribute to real life soldier Walter Tull, but Farewell Waltz is also a brilliantly crafted film with a lot of heart, passion and very important things to say. #ChrisBuick Watch the trailer here

★★★★★ Directed by #KennyLeon Written by #ChristopherDemos-Brown Starring #KerryWashington, #StevenPasquale Film Review by Rochelle Mclaren “Race is the child of racism, not the father” – Ta Nehisi Coates Directed by Kenny Leon, American Son is a film about a woman, Kendra (Kerry Washington) who reunites with her husband Scott, (Steven Pasquale) at a police station where they hope to get answers about their son Jamal, who has been reported missing. Due to both Kendra and Scott being two different races, the film focuses on their points of view on what life is like for an African American boy to live in America. In the film the audience learns that as a mixed-race boy, Jamal struggles with identity issues. The audience gain an understanding of the relationship between Jamal and his father compared to Jamal and his mother who has more of an understanding around Jamal’s struggles. American Son was created to make the audience understand what it is like for an African American boy to live in America, and to also understand the kind of issues that they go through such as police brutality, appearance, education and much more. The film is set in a police station, which the director felt was a useful and significant choice of location to discuss an important situation that has occurred for many years and is still occurring today. The film also shows that how a person’s social media posts can affect them, especially when being involved with the police. Performance wise, Kerry Washington did an amazing job when portraying a stressed-out mother who is clearly afraid of the world because of the colour of her skin. The audience learns that Kendra is an intelligent lady and she knows her history, she even corrects her husband’s grammar a few times. Through her acting, the audience can feel Kendra’s pain, stress and anger. Kerry Washington uses strong facial expressions when portraying Kendra. Steven Pasquale did a brilliant job acting as a wealthy privileged man who refuses to understand the issues that his mixed-race son faces. When watching American Son, the audience would find a few moments that would stand out to them. The first is the fact that Jamal is not physically present in the film, through the words of his parents, the audience would gain an understanding of Jamal’s character which can be shown through the way his father praises how Jamal was raised and how his mother explains Jamal’s struggles. The second moment is when Kendra walks out of the police room to go for a drink of water. The audience learn discover how old the building is as it is mentioned that the building was open during the segregation period, when Kendra walks over to the water fountain, the audience see’s two fountains, and a plaque on the wall, which is dedicated to “The Big 6”. The final moment is when both parents learn that Jamal may have been taken into custody, if this is true, why was his parents not taken to see him even though his is 18 years old. The film portrays a great use of lighting, its not too dark and not too bright, but with the use of heavy rain and thunder storms in the background it enhances the effect of the film. Camera wise, when capturing a character’s facial expression, the back ground is usually blurred out, which is used on purpose for the audience to focus on the character. Overall the film is realistic and worth the watch, it is based around an important situation that happens in real life, the characters mention real victims such as Eric Gunner. By watching the film, the audience may learn something new. #RochelleMcLaren

★★★ Directed by: #DominicJackson Written by: Dominic Jackson Starring: #DrewHorner, #RotimiPearce, #GraceParry Indie Film Review by: Chris Olson Polar Movie Review Told in the dogme 95 style, #filmmaker Dominic Jackson's indie film Polar is a mumblecore drama that attempts to explore the central character's alcoholism and emotional fragility through a warts and all storytelling approach. Drew Horner plays the lead role of Robin, a down and out whom relies on his enabling best friend Steve (Rotimi Pearce) for employment, good times, and companionship. Through a myriad of drinking sessions, hangovers, and failed attempts at chatting up women, we learn more about Robin's substance abuse and the worrying state of his mental health. What will it take to get him on the right path when everything in his environment has been cultivated to nurture his negative habits and attitudes? Impressively cinematic for such a small budget (apparently just £100 - most of which presumably went on getting the tinnies in), Polar is a worthy UK indie film that makes a potent concoction from a few small but essential ingredients. First of which is Horner in the lead role. His portrayal of an alcoholic is raw, daring and compelling, easily the most engaging aspect of the movie. His chemistry with Pearce, whilst overloaded with the phrase "bro", feels genuine and keeps the viewer glued to the relationship, apparently utilising some improvisation to aid the #dogme95 style. As we see more and more that Steve is not necessarily a healthy companion for Robin, the sequences where the latter falls victim to his addition become increasingly harrowing to watch. Much of the #filmmaking is simple but effective. Long, static shots are often used for dialogue heavy scenes. A few pieces of flair are thrown in for good measure, such as a long distance opening shot or a quick cut edit of Robin handing out flyers, but for the most part audiences can expect a gritty and intimate approach to the visual aspects of the piece. There is some brilliant music provided by Hector and the Leaves which made Polar feel akin to another quintessentially British movie (quintessential for different reasons) like Notting Hill. Where the outing stumbled is the loose plot. Robin's odyssey through: drinking too much, getting on tubes, and fumbling through exchanges with fairly forgiving women, felt monotonous and lacked the infusion of redemption. His crude and embarrassing behaviour was not balanced with enough warming material for the viewer to become fully sympathetic to his character, so instead of feeling invested in his quest for self love we become a numbed bystander to his folly. Impressive British filmmaking with a crushing narrative that goes deep into self abuse. It goes a little too deep and forgets to leave a way to get itself out. Watch the Movie Trailer: The film is currently available to watch on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B07XFH5BHW/

★★★ Directed by #SamFeder Starring #LaverneCox, #BiancaLeigh, #JenRichards Film Review by Lawrence Bennie Sam Feder’s documentary, Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, arrived to Netflix five months after its Sundance premiere. In that time, the world has been shook by COVID-19 and BLM. Notably, the film shares its title with the infamous “sex is power” thriller directed by Barry Levinson. That 1994 film had Michael Douglas’ businessman being sexually harassed by Demi Moore’s character. Feder’s film explores the misrepresentation of the transgender community in Hollywood and, consequently, its impact on American culture. Titles aside, the two films couldn’t be more different. Feder offers us a revealing alternative journey through Hollywood history. We begin at an unlikely junction with D.W Griffith’s Judith of Bethulia (1914). Historian Susan Stryker calls our attention to a scene where the biblical heroine beheads a lecherous general. An early example of a cut then appears. Then, we are suddenly outside the general’s tent, where a “trans-gender, non-binary” character is seemingly hovering over proceedings. Stryker recognises the significance. “A cut figure presides over the invention of the cinematic cut…trans and cinema have grown up together. We have always been present on-screen”. Stryker’s observation is shared by a range of trans-gender personalities throughout the film who express that trans-representation on screen has often been far from positive. In particular, the 1990s seem to have been a hotbed for the transgender issue. Feder’s guests talk lovingly about the progressive Paris is Burning (1990) before recoiling in horror at derogatory moments in The Crying Game (1992) and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). Then, in 1999, comes a real breakthrough with Hilary Swank’s Oscar-winning performance in Boys Don’t Cry (1999). “We’ve come a long way”, Swank said back to Hollywood itself, opening her acceptance speech for Best Actress. Yet, even a landmark like Kimberly Peirce’s film poses problems. Some speak of a powerfully felt resonance and liberation when seeing the film; others highlight the factual inaccuracies in retelling of the story of a murdered trans-man. We then come up to date, in fact with Netflix itself, with Orange Is The New Black. Laverne Cox, herself a prominent interviewee in the documentary, earned an Emmy Nomination for her role as Sophia Burset, marking the first time an openly transgender person received such a nomination in any acting category. In his book on Hollywood Cinema, Richard Maltby expresses that “it is more accurate to describe Hollywood as having several interconnected histories than to impose a single dominant perspective”. Disclosure puts forward not only an interconnected history but also a new history, a heartfelt cry against the machinations that can hide within the dream factory. #LawrenceBennie

★★★ Directed by: #TonyClementeJr Starring: #FranchescaDavis, #LucasIverson, #IdyllTekeli, #AndréVauthey and #DarienLaBeach Film review by: Brian Penn For a five minute film called Hopelessly I do wonder whether director Tony Clemente Jr is pulling the chain of film reviewers; let’s see how hopelessly short this film review can be. Darren (Lucas Iverson) wakes up in the arms of Gabi (Franchesca Davis). They smile as a silent survey of the previous night begins. Gabi soon jumps out of bed and Darren grabs a skateboard. Are they ever going to be enough for each other; or is the perfect partner just around the corner waiting to be found? The film examines a day in the life of a polyamory relationship, the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved; an open relationship in everyday parlance. It would appear to be an oxymoron or at very least stretch the definition of relationship to its very limit. Gabi is confined to the opening and closing frames as we see Darren embark on a voyage of discovery. The park proves to be fruitful hunting ground as he meets the handsome Sawyer (André Vauthey) and the pretty guitar playing Bennett (Idyll Tekeli). But does he find excitement or fulfilment when confronted with dazzling possibilities. At the end of the day Gabi returns in hand-in-hand with Riley (Darien La Beach); has she finally made her choice? This is not so much a short film but a long TV commercial. With no script or spoken dialogue it relies exclusively on visuals to carry the story such as it is. With bold white captions introducing the characters it maintains a certain finesse, and does just enough to keep the viewer interested. Nicely done but it sometimes felt like an advert for Gap.

Star Rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑ Directed by: #DanielZiegler Written by: #DanielZiegler Starring: #FaithDecker, #TaylorMcGlone, #IanHolt, #BrittneyWatson, #TaylorDahl, #BrandonCaraco Film Review by: Thomas Jay Elodie is a 2019 independent film Written and Directed by Daniel Ziegler. An artful experience to watch, the film concerns a playwright, Sabrina Stone (Faith Decker) as she’s led into a chaotic world of her own creation and lands directly in the midst of a kidnapping. We the audience are introduced to Decker’s Sabrina Stone as she’s in the process of crafting a script for her play, her latest production seems to be the final thing holding her together the rag tag group of people she holds close and when they secure the chance to perform the piece to a respectably sized audience, things take a sudden and calamitous downward spiral. Forced into playing the titular Elodie out of pure necessity, it becomes clear to all involved that the problems need to be addressed and Sabrina sets about this upon her transportation to the diegetic world of creation. Production company Black Box Films suggest “the protagonist crumbles under her personal and artistic pressure” and frankly I’d struggle to put it a better way myself. Thematically it does tackle the process of creating something and is in proxy of that somewhat of a self-reflection on behalf of the character. Now the themes have been better established, I’ll cover them in detail for a minute or two. Artistic and personal pressure, the heart of the film and boy I don’t think I’ve seen a film profess it’s themes with such clarity and visual quality for quite some time. The whole narrative arc charts Sabrina’s struggle to find some kind of comfort let alone pride in her work and I’m sure in some degree it is a point that resonates with just about everyone in a multitude of contexts and it’s perfectly caught here, conveyed best through performance and cinematography. The camera is a really outstanding element of form in Elodie but the way it chooses to run with a really tight close up for its most popular shot type really allows the actors to do their best work, after all the face is the tool that is most nuanced and most important in that profession and the way such a choice allows the face to “speak” is a genuine stroke of genius, not only does it channel early Spike Lee, but it really allows the face to work in all its glory and such a fine detail is something you don’t get to typically see. Focusing solely on such an element of each star only serves to add to the immense atmosphere this film has. I wouldn’t say tension (though that is applicable in a few action sequences) but just this crippling sense of almost impending doom, working to a deadline or fighting against your own standards, tiredness etc. It’s personal pressures that Sabrina has are all numerous narrative threads, from the feeling/very real fear her friend is being ripped away from her (represented by Elodie’s kidnapped sister) or her slowly collapsing relationship the character of Sabrina is both stunningly performed and exceptionally written/directed. I could rave on for an eternity about this point but to be honest there are other worthy aspects in need of a glance, let alone a whole other theme as well. The notion of artistic pressure is an odd, minefield of sorts if you really sat and thought about it. Imposed by one of two parties (if not both) - the creator and the fan base. That’s it. Perhaps most intense and evident in the music industry, or to put it better, at its most toxic on this sphere, just chart the history of your favourite band to see how reception around them changes and arguably worsens with each album. Anyway, to take it back to the ‘two sides’ I think the film manages to tackle the self-inflicted struggles. In pure logical terms, it fits in with her own struggles of mental health and the intense pressures Sabrina places herself under. In herself she feels lost and suffers some kind of writer’s block, hence why she’s thrust into the world of Elodie challenged to search for an ending, or more accurately: motivation. On that note I’ll jump straight to the ending, a final shot of Sabrina on stage smiling to herself sat in the audience. Its somewhat ambiguous, there is no explicit conclusion in any sense but, as obvious it seems, that smile suggests she’s comfortable and can now take pride in what she’s created, it reminded me in ways of Birdman of 2014 with that wildly thought provoking end. Just to briefly touch on it’s inspirations, I’ve not been able to find any confirmation of this so it’s largely conjecture on my behalf but to be honest, this is a love letter to cinema and you’d be wildly delusional to think otherwise. With some of that flowing, stunning camerawork that the likes of Chazelle and Iñárittu have used in some of their recent Oscar winning films. It takes major inspiration from Chazelle in terms of its block, bright colours and bears some similarities in dynamics to the relationship at the core of Whiplash. On top of this, it channels clear elements of the western genre with frequent use of the ‘shootout’ shot/reverse shot structure, a nod to Taxi Driver with a top down shot of a glass and even some meta elements that would make Wes Craven blush. Impressively Elodie manages to pay respect to those that inspired it whilst keeping a clear identity of its own. My only major critique of the film was the pacing. It is an incredibly difficult premise to pull off and so much thematic or narrative content that has to be fed to the audience in the early acts but it did slightly stumble. I feel to a degree that some of the resolution seen in the fictional world could‘ve been held back a tad bit longer to just keep me full engaged but in all honesty, it is just a personal problem that may not be universal. Circling back to the visuals, Ziegler’s direction is really strong. Having just made the connection of the clear influence from The Wizard of Oz via the use of retrograde cinematography for the imagined world and, though this realisation makes a bit of a stump to my reviews structure (hows that for a fourth wall break?) just adds to what I noted earlier. This is a clear evolution of what’s come before in the history of cinema and just relays the directors love for and awareness of his artistic medium. Elodie has such a personality to it I was seriously blown away by the quality of it. Sound. Now speaking for myself, if you’ve followed my reviews or looked at my other film related writings, I have a tendency to never really pick up on the elements of sound outside of really on the nose use as in: theme(s), dialogue etc. Now here I didn’t have that problem. Arguably it was borderline poor standard as sometimes it was overwhelming over other key elements but in the whole it was complimenting and well fitting. Contributing to the film’s incredibly complex atmosphere by adding an element of the fantastical it was truly astounding. Well crafted and mimicking the conventions of so many directors and genres, the character study of Sabrina Stone in Elodie is a damn fine outing on behalf of both Ziegler and his cast/crew. Honestly I’d urge you to keep an eye on what anybody involved comes out with next and I’d urge you to track this title down, available to stream right now on Amazon Prime. Reviewed by: #TomJay

★★★★ Directed by: #NikolaStojkovic Written by: #NikolaStojkovic Starring: #RyanSatterfeal, #TylerBurke, #AngelPedraza, #MelissaNelson Film Review by: Darren Tilby Roman hates posers. You know, those people on social media who present a facade of having an oh-so-perfect life when, in actuality, it’s anything but. Or those people who sing the praises of charitable people or unsung heroes, but don’t actively do anything to further the cause - see the “Clap for NHS/Carers” movement here in the UK as an example. Most of us have likely been guilty of bemoaning the falsity of people like this (I know I have). The kind of people who will clap for NHS workers during a devastating pandemic, then forget about them ten-minutes later and flock to the nearest beach at the next inkling of a sunny day. I may be digressing slightly, but yeah, those people. Roman hates them! The thing with Roman (Ryan Satterfeal) is that he’s a profoundly unlikeable person: he picks people apart with a sardonic arrogance, always seeing the worst in everyone for no better reason than – and I’m quoting South Park here – “...a cynical asshole.” But, surprisingly, I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he was saying, which in turn made me question my own views and prejudices. But that’s what good writing – complemented by an equally fine central performance – and a well-put-together movie can do, right? Make us re-evaluate our own beliefs and actions, or lack thereof. In this way, we’re put directly into Roman’s shoes, as he re-evaluates his own life choices over 24 hours. Stojkovic guides us through this in four separate acts: Act 1: Resentment Act 2: Rationalisation Act 3: Reverence Act 4: Reformation As you can perhaps tell by the titles of the individual acts, there are very distinct religious undertones here. And if this isn’t apparent enough, the canorous choir-like score as each act presents itself and Angel Pedraza’s act 2 taxi driver being called Jesús should be a dead give away. Although, I’m not entirely convinced about the effectiveness of all this or what it’s trying to say. But it’s there all the same. In reality, Poser plays out more like a work of Dickens; A Christmas Carol for the age of social media. Roman embodies the spirit of Scrooge, and there are three individuals (great performances from Melissa Nelson, Tyler Burke and Angel Pedraza) featured across the four acts (the ghost of Christmas past, present and future, respectively) trying to convince Roman to change his ways. It’s really well thought out, even down to the theatrical construction of having these curtained acts – each self-contained stories in their own right – which complete a larger narrative and idea. There’s a lot to like about Poser: it has a lot to say and submits much for consideration. I loved the classical Hollywood era composition and the theatricality in how it presents itself. And while Roman as a character is, for much of the film at least, hard to connect with (or even want to connect with), the film’s 25-minute runtime means we don’t have to suffer Roman the cynic for too long before he begins his “reformation”. Solid filmmaking that gives as much as you give it.

★★★ Written & Directed by: #RoryJoscelyn Starring: #SamanthaAnderson, #LewisCartwright, #AliceRyan Short Film Review by Taryll Baker Set in a future where Britain has a system in place to regulate the birthrate, Joanna and Greg are police officers assigned to collect women who breach this law and take them into custody for emergency procedures. A unique cyberpunk look into an authoritarian world where children come at a substantial premium. As futuristic short films go, Human Cargo is one that doesn’t feel too far away from our present. If only for its use of (or the lack thereof) technology and small scale scenes. There’s a lot of intimate moments with the three main characters, and in such a short time, there’s a fair amount of development. In some ways it feels like a kind of spiritual spin-off of Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, in that it has a very bleak and gloomy atmosphere, with the stripped-down visual style. The performances from the cast are appropriately raw, with several scenes for each of the three actors to dig their teeth into the characters. With a bigger budget and a green light, Human Cargo has the potential to be a feature hit. I think the shorter runtime actually stops this from being greater. I’ve seen a few feature films adapted from shorts, so it’s not out of the question, and hopefully someday these actors get the chance to explore their characters further. That said, what we already have here is a fairly enjoyable and thought-provoking piece. Samantha Anderson and Alice Ryan proving that they can handle more emotionally demanding scripts, with Lewis Cartwright’s support adding a more held-back but strong presence. With every human tale such as the one in Human Cargo, you expect an equally human score, and composer Toby Dunham delivers on that front. He creates a synthy ambience that lays the ground for the dreamy yet despairing piano that plays during some of the more devastating scenes in the film. His work supports the story without intruding too much, allowing the emotion to play out freely for both the performers and the audience. I appreciated the focus on story rather than a high saturated look and flashy technology, though it could benefit from a cleaner, slightly more exciting visual palette to grab the average viewer’s attention, with the chance of them being engrossed in the layers beneath thereafter. Human Cargo is an entertaining short, and shows that writer and director Rory Joscelyn certainly has some big ideas ready to be presented on-screen. Watch the trailer for Human Cargo below. #TaryllBaker

★★★★ Directed by #CamCowan Film Review by Hope Madden As little Anna tells viewers and her elementary school classmates, Madagascar is the 4th largest island on earth, and likely the single poorest country. Ninety three percent of Madagascar lives on less than $2 a day and half the population is children. Madagascar is also devastatingly beautiful, not unlike Cam Cowan’s documentary Madagasikara. Beautifully photographed and expertly edited, Madagasikara introduces you to a world you just didn’t know existed—one that’s never been site to war and yet grows more ravaged by poverty daily. It’s a world where breaking quarry rocks with hand tools offers the most stable occupation, for as long as your body holds out. The world of this film is one so impoverished it may as well be medieval—part of a long forgotten period where a family’s best hope for the survival of their children is the convent. For all the destitution, Cowan’s film is surprisingly joyous at times, primarily because of the beautiful little faces surrounding the three mothers—Deborah, Tina and Lin—that are the documentary’s main focus. It’s hard to watch so many sweet, cute children and not feel joy. Their pain is also more punishing. A decade of botched elections put the island nation at the center of a tug of war between a millionaire looking to exploit what he can for his own gain (sounds familiar) and a pro-military dictator even less interested in the wellbeing of his citizens. It also put Madagascar in the crosshairs of a global community more focused on sanctioning its leaders than in feeding its population. Wisely, Cowan humanizes the tale of strife by dropping us into the day-to-day of three different women. Their struggles, joys and heartaches breathe life into statistics that could otherwise overwhelm, their resilience and their frailty speak powerfully to the human condition. #HopeMadden

★★★★ Directed by #LeslieWoodhead Starring #SophieOkonedo Film Review by George Wolf Just One of Those Things has plenty of things going for it, but catch it right now, and you can add “timing” to the list. Really, there’s never a bad time to be swept away by one of music’s all time great voices, but these 90 minutes seem even sweeter right about now. Director Leslie Woodhead assembles a wealth of performance footage, archived interviews and even some home movies to trace Ella’s rise from reform school and homelessness to concert stages across the globe. Buoyed by the tender narration from actress Sophie Okonedo, Ella’s story becomes one of happenstance, perseverance and one-of-a-kind talent. Her original aspiration was to be a dancer, but when other dancers at the Apollo Theater’s amateur night in 1934 were too good, 16 year-old Ella decided to sing. From that night until her death in 1996, she mastered jazz, big band, the great American songbook, and of course, be-bop swing. In fact, the film’s non-performance highlight is a truly fascinating, nearly clinical deconstruction of the otherworldly ability that made Ella perhaps the greatest “scat” vocalist the world has ever known. Watch and learn, hepcats, it’s amazing. Though the bulk of the film is given a linear, by-the-numbers presentation, the musical history it recounts is essential. An important and timeless biography, Ella‘s got that swing. Which, as you may have heard, means a thing or two. #GeorgeWolf