'The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975' : The Revolution Will Be Documented

E. Nina Rothe February 10, 2018

I think the reason I love cinema so much is that, as a medium, it possesses the most potential for uniting the world. While we watch a DVD of a French film at home, sit in a theater being washed over by the images of an Italian B & W classic, or surreptitiously check out the recent download of a Bollywood movie on our iPad, we are undeniably transported to other lands, other eras and, most importantly, other ways of looking at things. But while the promise is there every time we choose a title, few films achieve the grand objective of forever changing our mind and enriching our world permanently.

Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson’s documentary 'The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975' is one of those once-in-a-lifetime films which seamlessly reaches the full cinematic goal of changing its viewers’ world for good.

PHOTO BY GIORA BEJACHLior Ashkenazi and Sarah Adler in still from Samuel Maoz’s ‘Foxtrot’ — PHOTO BY GIORA BEJACH
Lior Ashkenazi and Sarah Adler in still from Samuel Maoz’s ‘Foxtrot’

Talking ‘Foxtrot’ with Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler and Samuel Maoz in Venice

E. Nina Rothe February 10, 2018

In a great film, there is always a moment when things change — that instance when the viewer is caught off guard, and left with an indelible feeling to take home. I consider it the cinematic equivalent of that famous Maya Angelou quote “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Personally speaking, a truly successful movie is one where that moment remains with me, hours later, casting a spell over my heart and soul.

Samuel Maoz’s ‘Foxtrot’ is that film. More than twelve hours after watching it at the Venice Film Festival where it is featured in the main Competition section, I’m still only barely able to process it emotionally. Even though the filmmaker created an artful, visually stunning, sonically powerful, perfectly acted, intellectually stimulating and utterly entertaining film — I can just remember how it made me feel. I doubt I will ever forget actually.

'Anna's War' photo courtesy of the filmmaker

With 'Anna's War' Aleksei Fedorchenko Takes the Audience to the Frontlines

E. Nina Rothe February 2, 2018

Just what is it like to survive as a little girl in a big World War?

That is the basic, deep and haunting question that Russian filmmaker Aleksei Fedorchenko asks in his latest 'Anna's War'. I've been a big fan of the director's work since his 2011 oeuvre 'Silent Souls' because somehow, in a very grand cinematic way Fedorchenko manages to portray the most intimate of emotions, the basic core fears and passions we all carry inside.

Phenomenal Man: Samuel L. Jackson Channels James Baldwin in ‘I Am Not Your Negro’

E. Nina Rothe February 1, 2018

In I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck manages to weave archival photos, video and even the odd space footage into a beautifully watchable, mesmerizing, can’t-tear-your-eyes-away-from-the-screen masterpiece of understanding, drawn out straight from Baldwin’s writing. Samuel L. Jackson narrates by reading from the 30 pages of notes for Remember This House, a book Baldwin never completed where he wanted to tell the story of his three murdered friends — MLK, Malcolm X and Evers. At times I had to remind myself that it wasn’t Baldwin talking me through his fascinating life, but Jackson instead. If ever someone channeled the spirit, courage and great humanity of the author, it’s the beloved Hollywood actor.

Highlights of the Dubai Film Festival: Producer James Cabourne Talks 'Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards'

E. Nina Rothe January 31, 2018

To any woman who hasn’t lived under a rock in the last twenty years, the sheer mention of the name “Manolo” sends shivers down our spine. Possessing a great last name, Blahnik of course, but known perfectly by his famous, inimitable first one, Manolo makes the kind of shoes a girl’s dreams are made of.

At this year’s Dubai International Film Festival, fashion is in the air, along with film. I mean, movies are always enough for me, but when documentary filmmaking is mixed with the wonderful world of style, I find my pieces simply write themselves. This one certainly seemed to float out easily, because Michael Roberts’s ‘Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards’ is a wondrous work of fashionable cinematic art. There I’ve said it.

Favorite movies only need apply. Life is too short to write about what I didn't enjoy.

'The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975' : The Revolution Will Be Documented

Talking ‘Foxtrot’ with Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler and Samuel Maoz in Venice

With 'Anna's War' Aleksei Fedorchenko Takes the Audience to the Frontlines

Phenomenal Man: Samuel L. Jackson Channels James Baldwin in ‘I Am Not Your Negro’

Highlights of the Dubai Film Festival: Producer James Cabourne Talks 'Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards'

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