Tag: Film Festivals

When Red Fever Delivers an Honest Look at Indigenous Rights, What’s Revealed is Important

In what makes Red Fever’s cinematic discourse effective is that the filmmakers are able to touch upon a lot of issues without being too preachy.

Red Fever Documentary Poster
This documentary played at Hot Docs on May 1st, 5:00pm at the Ted Rogers Cinema May 3rd, 5:30pm at the TIFF Lightbox 1 Toronto, Ontario

Coming to Theatres June 14 

Catherine Bainbridge and Neil Diamond’s Red Fever is a very eye-opening documentary about why Native American culture fascinates the world. The iconography is nearly everywhere. Whether that’s with certain fashion trends or because entertainment rarely properly looks at their way of life, not everyone is happy about it.

What this film does is to show how White man has misrepresented those motifs. I’m glad what’s revealed will have an effect on those watching this presentation, and what’s special is its historic significance. Some of it can be traced to matters of spirituality, and other aspects concern lineage.

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From Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret to The Sacred Cave, NYC’s Animation First is Headed to a Weekend of Cinematic Wonder

In addition to what’s reviewed and put on the spotlight at NYC’s Animation First Film Festival, there’s also Robot Dreams and The Siren–these adult themed works look worth checking out.

As Animation First in NYC winds down its week long celebration, there’s still plenty to see as the weekend approaches. Not only will there be a spotlight on the National Film Board of Canada‘s French made works, but also there’ll be more feature films making their debut. Regarding the former, there’s eleven shorts (list can be read here) to take pleasure in checking out, and as for what was made available for me to screen in advance, I offer reviews of the following:

Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret

Nina and the Hedgehog's Secret Movie Poster - Animation First
Jan 27, 12pm at the FIAF Florence Gould Hall

This movie pays tribute not only to the early days of Disney animation but also becomes its own entity. That’s because the Hedgehog (voiced by Guillaume Bats) is drawn and animated much like how Mickey Mouse once looked, as created back in the Steamboat Willie days. While his interactions with the real world may well be a product of the title character’s imagination, what I got out of it is in how the two manage to help each other. The manifestation is right out of a storybook that Nina’s father would read to her every night.

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Top Genre Picks at the 2023 Chicago Critics Film Festival!

There’s lots to see at this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival, and we offer our list of what must be seen during this year’s event!

Chicago Critics Film Festival LogoMusic Box Theatre
Chicago, IL
May 5-11, 2023

The Chicago Critics Film Festival offers a selection of well-loved and upcoming works that will no doubt amaze. What’s offered to showcases the best of the best. Not only is this event recognizing the art of cinema and film criticism, but also they celebrate milestones too! For example, The Right Stuff is getting an anniversary screening!

What I present here are my top picks. Reviews will be posted in the coming days of some of these. And for more information, please follow the CFCA and the festival on Twitter at @chicagocritics or Facebook.

A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE movie poster

A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE

Anyone who has wondered why a certain Star Wars Holiday Special was made way back when it will get some answers in this documentary by Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak. There’s no advance spoilers to mention here, as I’m just as curious as to who is truly responsible. It did set a tradition for the entire canon though, and Life Day is hugely celebrated in this galaxy far, far, away.

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Seattle’s The Museum of Pop Culture May Calender is Nearly All Hands On!

The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, WA recently announced the reopening of its popular hands-on Sound Lab exhibition, and their May schedule of events is huge!

The Museum of Pop CultureThe Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) recently announced the reopening of its popular hands-on Sound Lab exhibition. This news is terrific because its a sign that the pandemic is abating, and they are welcoming visitors far and wide.

Also announced is the Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design exhibit will open June 18, featuring more than 60 works from films such as Black Panther, Do the Right Thing, Selma, Malcolm X, and more. Also coming are the following events:

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Two Top Quick Picks from Spark Animation Festival

This festival is not to be missed and more than half the programming are available to watch world-wide.

Spark AnimationOctober 28 – November 7, 2021

Vancouver, BC‘s Spark Animation Festival has always been on my radar for years. To finally get to see the short and feature length films offered here meant this organization finally made the call to fully stream all of their programming. This includes the works theNFB has scheduled in this event and include past favourites which I saw at Fantasia.

Last year’s show (pardoning the pun) sparked my interest in watching more of their selections. The timing of this event falls in October, sometimes before Fan Expo Vancouver, which, for a short time, ran in November. The option to attend in-person is often tough because of my budget on how often I can make trips to the mainland.

From the handful of pieces I saw as midnight rolled in, the two annual programs that deserve full attention are:

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Upcoming Animated Feature Films in 2021

The following is a guide of animated feature films from not only streaming services but also theatrical (film festivals included!); this list includes works with known release dates:

Animated Feature Films featuring PompoWe’re a little more than past the halfway point in 2021 and its amazing how time flies. There’s a lot more animated feature films being released than I realized, and had to compile a list of what’s still to come this year. We don’t have to be limited to the theatrical releases either. There’s a tiny selection coming to streaming services only. The bigger name films will no doubt have its run on the big screen before arriving on the smaller one a month or two later, if not at the same time.

In the same token, the film festivals that are operating also have a “virtual” component where they’re making their selection available to stream too. If it’s available to play in your part of the world, I advise checking these works out!

This list includes movies with known release dates:

Pompo: The Cinephile

Kadokawa Animation
Aug 7, 2021 at Fantasia Film Festival 2021

Based on the manga of the same name, this movie is not only a crash course for beginners on how movies get made but also a love letter to the art. We all see it through the eyes of a young girl, Pompo, and this work is sure to please and enlighten.

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