https://youtu.be/xT5pjLRZFR4 Written by Ahlam Directed by Katie Posner ★★★★ There’s something which can escape even the tightest of militaristic strangleholds: words. A series of anti-government and establishment, armed rebellions and uprisings occurred across much of the Arab world in late 2010 – stretching into the following year and beyond. Its consequences, and the lives lost, … Continue reading You Bury Me – The Royal Lyceum
Written & Directed by Seón Simpson and Gina Donnelly ★★★★ Previously a part of Summerhall’s online Fringe in 2021, SeónSimpson and Gina Donnelly’s production makes an in-person appearance – and by Jesus, was this worth the wait. Uncompromising, unapologetic, and unfiltered, Two Fingers Up grabs audiences by the unmentionables and shakes their understanding (or lack) of sex, pleasure, … Continue reading Two Fingers Up – Summerhall
https://www.youtube.com/embed/4RV6TJMbDZs?feature=oembed&wmode=transparent Written by Ryan Calais Cameron Directed by Robb Watt ★★★★ What constitutes family? Blood? Comradery? Name? What about race. Human Nurture unpacks the fallout of the baseline questions of nature vs nurture, and how we come together despite differences. Ryan Calais Cameron’s superbly precise and compact production explores the growing tension between two friends, Roger and … Continue reading Human Nurture – Traverse Theatre
Written & Directed by Seón Simpson and Gina Donnelly ★★★★ What do you remember of sex education and puberty? Or at least, what can you remember that you haven’t blotted out? For many we were given the archaic and established believes that our parents and grandparents were told; of how to act, what to shave … Continue reading Two Fingers Up – Summerhall
Written by Rachel O’Regan Directed by Hannah McEachern ★★★★ When all is said and done there’s only one constant throughout life – chaos. Whether it’s in childhood, adulthood, or at its sharpest just after leaving school, and one final hurrah is on the cards for these five young women before they take their conformed place … Continue reading AfterParty – Space Triplex
https://youtu.be/yj5DP6rqyN4 Directed by Eion Macken Ireland USA/ 2020/96 mins ★★ Unable to separate itself from the distinctly obvious inspirations of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, Here Are The Young Men lowers the age of the principal cast and centres on three lads finishing school and emerging into the cruel and waiting world. The transgression of youth is a staple of cinematic … Continue reading Here Are The Young Men – Review
https://youtu.be/IM2qhrjktTQ Written & Directed by Terry Sanders ★★★ There’s an erroneous statement that life was easier in the past, just as much as it’s wrong to claim life is easier now. California in the sixties was far from the golden state some outside of America perceived it to be, with worries of war, austerity, and … Continue reading Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey – Review
https://youtu.be/-nK6WFgdchM Written & Directed by Tayarisha Poe USA/ 2019/ 97 mins ★★ Whether you’re a prefect, a drama bobby, or a ‘skin’, everyone struggles to find a place at school and, if cinema is to be believed, especially in America. Set against the soft, rolling green mounds of a Pennsylvania boarding school, Selah and the Spades attempts … Continue reading Selah and the Spades – Amazon Prime
"A subdued but brutally realistic look at redemption and forgiveness"
https://youtu.be/DeKTP516Iuc Writer & Director - Dominga Sotomayor Chile Brazil Argentina Netherlands Qatar/ 2018/ 110 mins Dominga Sotomayor Castillo has a penchant for producing cinema which places family experiences at its core. She examines the dynamics between generations, without putting dependence on melodrama. Nature is a common theme, particularly with her 2013 film La Isla, how freeing … Continue reading Too Late To Die Young – Filmhouse, Edinburgh
