https://youtu.be/gK8JaaheT1g Screenplay & Directed by Anthony Scott Burns Story by Daniel Weissenberger Canada/2020/105mins ★★★★ Those unfortunate enough to experience night terrors, or are familiar with the histories fascination with sleep such as Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare, will recognise the significant power held in our minds as we sleep. Escaping a nightmare is a life-long struggle, and when … Continue reading Come True – Review
https://youtu.be/XqBNcCFp2SM Directed by Zinnie Harris & Wils Wilson Written by Louise Ironside, Jackie Kay, Lynda Radley & Shona Reppe ★★★★ A Christmas past, a Christmas present and looking to Christmases yet to come, The Royal Lyceum Theatre strips bare the hallowed stalls of their stage to ensure the spirit of theatre presents itself to hungry … Continue reading The Lyceum Christmas Tales – Royal Lyceum Theatre
https://youtu.be/f5mfsyHp5v0 Written & Directed by Will Thorne UK/2020/93mins ★★★ One last job - that’s all they ever want. But when you owe someone, and we mean owe someone, well – you’ve just got to do as you’re told. Mark, a recently released hitman from South London, has only one interest following prison, his family. Specifically, his daughter … Continue reading Silent Night – Review
Written by Ricardo Acosta & Peter Murimi Directed by Peter Murimi Kenya/2020/70mins ★★★ While identifying as gay isn’t strictly illegal in Kenya, the act of engaging in a relationship with someone of the same gender or sex is. An openly honest account of a young gay man’s struggles with receiving the equality he deserves, I Am … Continue reading I Am Samuel – BFI London Film Festival
https://youtu.be/Sjcf19B4Viw Written & Directed by Oskar Lehemaa, Mikk Mägi Estonia/ 2019/ 88 mins ★★★ Milk, it is a dangerous substance – or were you not aware? Causing chaos, its necessity to the small communities across the world leads to a disturbing reliance on the soft, quivering underbellies of so many cows. The stop-motion animation The Old Man may … Continue reading The Old Man: The Movie – Fantasia Film Festival
Feeling like this year has sucked a bit of magic out of the summer? Perhaps after all that home-schooling, some of the little (and older) ones could do with some energising, phantasmic entertainment? Well, ready those special magic words, hold on tight and prepare to be astonished at the wizardry of Magic Gareth Live. Despite the … Continue reading Live in Your Living Room with Magic Gareth – Preview
https://youtu.be/OEgysK5W5bI Written & Directed by Neasa Hardiman Ireland / 2020 / 89 mins ★★★ The sub-genre of ecological horror usually finds itself graced by the ‘marvels’ of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening or Cody Duckworth’s Harbinger. These narratives regularly push the ethos of ‘mankind bad – nature good’, with limited tact or subtlety, when, with reworkings and deft narratives, the films’ intentions … Continue reading Sea Fever – Review
Shadowbird (★★★★) Shadowbird starts as a quaint production but grows into something so much more. A fisherman, sculpted wonderfully by Mary and David Grieve, begins his story in the way all good stories are told... as he finishes off a pint. Soon, we're thrown into a world of epic adventure and charming design. The frame through which performers convey … Continue reading Manipulate Festival Part 2 – Summerhall
Transfigured (★★★★★) Transfigured by Oceanallover begins with a cautionary note: involvement from the audience is key to the event. This involvement simultaneously fails to extend beyond mere pleasantries and idle chatter, and is crucial to the outcome of the show. An audience member is asked to pick a card, and when they do so, one of thirteen performers … Continue reading Manipulate Festival 2020 Part 1 – Summerhall
