Author: Sarah Manvel

Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Feminism, Film Reviews, History, Reviews, Women in Film, World Cinema

Review: There’s Still Tomorrow

Year: 2023 Runtime: 118 minutes Directed by: Paola Cortellesi Written by: Paola Cortellesi, Furio Andreotti, Giulia Calenda Starring: Paola Cortellesi, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Giorgio Colangeli, Valerio Mastandrea, Vinicio Marchioni, Francesco Centorame, Yonv Joseph By Sarah Manvel This movie has been marketed a comedy, which is not strictly true. It was also an award-winning smash hit in its native Italy, breaking box office records, which is something … Continue reading Review: There’s Still Tomorrow

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Female Characters, Feminism, Film Reviews, Film Score, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers, Reviews, sports, Women in Film

Review: Challengers

Year: 2024 Runtime: 131 minutes Directed by: Luca Guadagnino Written by: Justin Kuritzkes Starring: Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, Zendaya By Sarah Manvel Well, well, well. Luca Guadagnino is the best director about inhabiting a body that has sex currently working in American cinema. “Challengers” is in theory about tennis, but in reality it’s about three people and how they use their bodies to get what … Continue reading Review: Challengers

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Film Festivals, Film Industry, Short Film, Spotlight, Underrepresented in Film, World Cinema

Muslim International Film Festival Launches in London 

by Sarah Manvel The first Muslim International Film Festival, an innovative new addition to the global festival calendar, had its press launch yesterday. It will run from the 30 May to 2 June in central London and is allegedly the first film festival in Europe to focus on movies made in and/or by the Muslim world.  It will consist of two programmes of short films … Continue reading Muslim International Film Festival Launches in London 

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Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Film Reviews, Music, Reviews, Women in Film

Review: Back to Black

Year:2024 Runtime: 122 minutes Directed by: Sam Taylor-Johnson Written by: Matt Greenhalgh Starring: Jack O’Connell, Marisa Abela, Lesley Manville, Eddie Marsan, Bronson Webb, Juliet Cowan By Sarah Manvel In 2009 writer Matt Greenhalgh and director Sam Taylor-Johnson collaborated on “Nowhere Boy,” which was about how John Lennon the young man became John Lennon the Beatle. Now in 2024 writer Matt Greenhalgh and director Sam Taylor-Johnson … Continue reading Review: Back to Black

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Activism, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Feminism, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, LGBTQ Cinema, Reviews, Women in Film, World Cinema, Writers

BFI Flare 2024: What a Feeling

Year: 2024 Runtime: 110 minutes Writer/ Director: Kat Rohrer Actors: Proschat Madani, Caroline Peters, Heikko Deutschmann, Gohat Nurbachsch, Barbara Spitz, Allegra Tinnefeld, Nicole Ansari-Cox, Anton Noori By Sarah Manvel “What a Feeling” is a midlife crisis movie that doesn’t take itself seriously. It is also an immigrant love story set in Vienna, and only after that is it a gay film – not a welder … Continue reading BFI Flare 2024: What a Feeling

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Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Feminism, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Indigenous People, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers, Reviews, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

BFI Flare 2024 review: We Were Dangerous

Runtime: 83 minutes Directed by: Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu Written by: Maddie Dai Starring: Erana James, Manaia Hall, Rima Te Wiata, Nathalie Morris By Sarah Manvel “We Were Dangerous” is a pleasing fantasy movie about three girls – two in their late and one in their early teens – who finds themselves trapped in an unpleasant situation designed to break their spirits. Other movies on this … Continue reading BFI Flare 2024 review: We Were Dangerous

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Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Indie Film, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers, Reviews, Underrepresented in Film

BFI Flare 2024 review: Summer Solstice

Year: 2023 Runtime: 81 minutes Writer/Director: Noah Schamus Actors: Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Marianne Rendón, Mila Myles, Yaron Lotan By Sarah Manvel What is it about contemporary American culture that keeps people in a state of arrested development? It seems like the external milestones that represent “success” — an impressive career, home ownership, and committed relationships — have become the things which create emotional maturity instead … Continue reading BFI Flare 2024 review: Summer Solstice

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Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Indie Film, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers, Underrepresented in Film

BFI Flare 2024 review: Close to You

Year: 2024 Directed by: Dominic Savage Written by: Elliot Page and Dominic Savage Starring: Elliot Page, Peter Outerbridge, Hillary Baack, Wendy Crewson, Andrew Bushell, David Reale By Sarah Manvel Quentin Crisp was a ground-breaking homosexual and a gay icon who found success as a raconteur of his unusual life experiences, including an unusual for-the-time openness about his sexuality and sex life. But despite making a … Continue reading BFI Flare 2024 review: Close to You

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Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

GFF2024 review: Green Border / Zielona Granica

Year: 2024 Runtime: 147 minutes Directed by: Agnieszka Holland Written by: Maciej Pisuk, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz, Agnieszka Holland Starring: Jalal Altawil, Dalia Naous, Taim Ajjan, Talia Ajjan, Al Rashi Mohamad, Behi Djanati Atai, Tomasz Włosok, Joely Mbundu, Malwina Buss, Monika Frajczyk, Jasmina Polak, Maja Ostaszewska, Maciej Stuhr By Sarah Manvel On first assumptions, a black-and-white movie featuring multiple sequences of terrified people being forced to run … Continue reading GFF2024 review: Green Border / Zielona Granica

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Female Characters, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Mental Health, Reviews, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

GFF2024 review: Hesitation Wound / Tereddüt Çizgisi

Year: 2024 Runtime: 84 minutes Written and directed by: Selman Nacar Starring: Tülin Özen, Gulcin Kultur Sahin, Ogulcan Arman Uslu  By Sarah Manvel “Hesitation Wound” tries to have its cake and eat it. That is to say, it tries to show a criminal lawyer in a small Turkish city both as a person and a professional, but only manages to short-change her twice. Both aspects of … Continue reading GFF2024 review: Hesitation Wound / Tereddüt Çizgisi

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