Turns out you do. And Cooper is both funny in it, and wondrous behind the camera. In a few words, it’s a film you won’t want to miss.
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Dhafer L’Abidine and Yasmine Al Massri in a still from ‘Palestine 36’ courtesy of Philistine Films
The most important film you'll watch this year: Annemarie Jacir's Oscar submission 'Palestine 36'
Why, you ask? Because if we are ever to understand the Palestinian/Israeli issues of the present, we need to go back nearly a century and wrap our heads around the crimes, struggles and mistakes of the past.
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Tessa Thompson in ‘Hedda’ by Nia DaCosta, photo courtesy of Amazon
Phenomenally wicked woman: Tessa Thompson blows it out of the water with her performance in 'Hedda'
The film, directed and written by Nia DaCosta based on the play by Henrik Ibsen, transports the story to 1950s England, with all its class issues and gender bias, and adds into the mix an LGBTQ twist that transforms what could be a dated narrative into one for the here and now.
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Banin Ahmad Nayef in a still from ‘The President’s Cake’ courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Review: Iraqi Oscar hopeful 'The President's Cake' by Hasan Hadi at BFI London Film Festival
The Iraqi helmer’s film premiered in Cannes this year and suddenly, I couldn’t imagine a world without its presence. But it was as if one day, Hasan Hadi’s presence and talent exploded onto our consciousness, ready to take his place in the world of cinema greats.
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'Broken English' in Venice: The unjust unmaking of Marianne Faithfull will be undone!
Two wondrous filmmakers, two outstanding actors and one musical legend come together to recount an icon and set the record straight. In more ways than one.
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Kaouther Ben Hania's Oscar nominated film 'Four Daughters' to screen at Ciné Lumière in London
The special preview on 17 February will be followed by a discussion with Ben Hania who will be present in person.
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Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival to open with Hansal Mehta's 'The Buckingham Murders' starring Kareena Kapoor
While at the BFI London Film Festival, where the title world premiered this past week, the filmmaker sat down for an insightful ‘Selfies Interview’ and discussed a bit about the film as well as why he loves having Kareena in his project.
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'High & Low: John Galliano' London review
There are so many layers to filmmaker Kevin Macdonald’s film that it would take more than a few hundred words to get to them all. At the core of this stunning must-watch documentary is a fashion hero turned antihero who could be a poster child for explaining our current times.
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Masculinity, fashion and biker culture decoded : Jeff Nichols' 'The Bikeriders' examined
Apart from the great look of the film and the immediate immersion for the viewer into the late 1960’s biker culture of the American midwest, ‘The Bikeriders’ also offers insight into masculine insecurities and strengths and in the process, becomes yet another favorite Jeff Nichols work of seventh art.
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'Saltburn' by Emerald Fennell opens the BFI London Film Festival, with a twist
The film is exactly what is needed to encourage audiences to watch more cinema in the theaters, and amazingly enough, it is an Amazon MGM Studios production — proving that streamers do know it best if given the chance to do their thing.
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Awards hopefuls, indie gems and streaming must-watches: My BFI London Film Fest wish list
There is just so much good stuff screening at this year’s London Film Festival — from a documentary about a nearly-cancelled forever fashion icon, to a film featuring Austin Butler and Michael Shannon as bikers, to MENA gems, Oscars and Golden Globes hopefuls and indie treasures. So buckle your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy fortnight.
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Sci-fi reimagined: Talking to Moin Hussain about 'Sky Peals' in Venice
We often forget that some of the best films ever made didn’t come with colossal budgets and outrageous VFX, their brilliance established through a great story and very relatable characters. British-Pakistani filmmaker Moin Hussain’s debut feature, which premiered in Venice before being poised to screen at the upcoming London Film Festival, is just one of those films.
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Netflix's 'NYAD' brings together the brilliance of Annette Bening & Jodie Foster
An Oscar win has always eluded the wonderful Annette Bening, while it has been more than 30 years, and her official coming out, since Foster won the last of her Academy Awards. ‘NYAD’, a Netflix film could change the game.
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Reviewing David Fincher's 'The Killer' without giving too much away...
Starring the magnificently contained Michael Fassbender as the unnamed hitman, this is one film that must be viewed without any previous knowledge of its story and possibly on a cool Fall evening, with a shot of premium whiskey nearby. But you’ll have to see for yourself why that is.
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Marcello Fonte in Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’, photo by Greta De Lazzaris
London Film Festival is all going to the Italians... Italian filmmakers that is!
Back in February during Berlinale, at the very start of this strange yet fateful year, I watched Laura Bispoli’s ‘Daughter of Mine’ and fell back in love with Italian cinema. I was then satisfied further in Cannes, where I got to watch three more fantastic Italian films — which included Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’ and Alice Rohrwacher’s ‘Happy as Lazzaro’. Then Venice rolled around and there was ‘What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?’ by Roberto Minervini and my personal, patriotic soul burst with pride.
Well, London audiences will soon be able to experience all of these titles in one place along with a selection that will include Laura Luchetti’s ‘Twin Flower’, Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Suspiria’ and Eduardo De Angelis’ ‘The Vice of Hope’. They are all part of the BFI’s London Film Festival Italian selection of cinematic picks from our peninsula.
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Mimmo Borrelli and Giuseppe D’Ambrosio in a still from Vincenzo Marra’s ‘Equilibrium’
“The courage to hang in there”: Vincenzo Marra Talks About His Quietly Brave ‘Equilibrium’
I have noticed that we’ve lost the ability to stand up for ourselves. But, perhaps more tragically, we’ve forgotten how to stand up for the weaker and more vulnerable in our society. I believe that’s part of the reason why we crave violent entertainment where big burly men stand up to other big burly men and win after a blaze of car chases, noisy fights and assorted fireworks. They do what we can’t manage anymore.
To paraphrase the great Nelson Mandela, courage is not the lack of fear, rather being able to work through it and triumph above it. We all feel afraid of something, somewhere, just as we all possess courage. But the ultimate question is which will win in this eternal struggle within ourselves?
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Khalid Abdalla in a still from 'In the Last Days of the City'
Tamer El Said's 'In the Last Days of the City': "What do you do when the world is collapsing around you and you only have a camera?"
I believe there are two types of films. There are those that take you on an adventure -- meaning you go through a rollercoaster of emotions and excitement while sitting in the theater, surrounded by others who share the same thrills with you.
Then there are movies which bring you on a journey, one that can last you a lifetime. Egyptian filmmaker Tamer El Said's 'In the Last Days of the City' belongs to the latter category. Once you inhabit its well-shot landscapes and meet its unforgettable cast of characters, they never, ever let go of you. And that's a good thing! More than a year and a half later, after my first viewing they continue to color my dreams and tint my emotions, but most importantly, they have changed the way I think of Cairo, Egypt and its courageous inhabitants.
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