Author: Sarah Manvel

Female Characters, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Reviews, Women in Film

GFF2024 Review: The Dead Don’t Hurt

Year:2024 Runtime: 129 minutes Writer/ Director: Viggo Mortensen Starring: Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, Colin Morgan, Solly McLeod By Sarah Manvel Onscreen, Viggo Mortensen projects a righteousness that comes across like a mountain – solid, immovable and attractively dangerous. At the Glasgow Film Festival Q&A he was clearly nervous, which feels such at odds with his screen persona that it was a surprise, not to mention … Continue reading GFF2024 Review: The Dead Don’t Hurt

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Berlinale Film Festival, Documentaries, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Feminism, Film Reviews, Reviews, Women in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: Reproduktion

Year: 2024 Runtime: 111 minutes Written and directed by: Katharina Pethke By Sarah Manvel When writer-director Katharina Pethke began teaching at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg, where she had also been a student, she realised that her lecture hall was in the hospital where she had been born. But on mentioning this coincidence to her family she learned that both her mother and … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Reproduktion

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Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Film Reviews, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema, Writers

Berlinale 2024 review: Who Do I Belong To / Mé el Aïn

Year: 2024 Runtime: 117 minutes Written and directed by: Meryam Joobeur Actors: Salha Nasraoui, Mohamed Hassine Grayaa, Malek Merchegui, Chaker Merchegui, Rayen Merchegui, Adam Bessa, Dea Liane By Sarah Manvel No one should ever have to choose between ethics and family, but life is rarely black and white. Of course there are certain things in this world which are so evil that it’s human nature to … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Who Do I Belong To / Mé el Aïn

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Acting, Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, Female Writer, Film Reviews, Women in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: Maria’s Silence / Marijas klusums

Year: 2024 Runtime: 104 minutes Directed by: Dāvis Sīmanis Written by: Dāvis Sīmanis, Magali Negroni, Tabita Rudzāte Starring: Olga Šepicka-Slapjuma, Inese Kučinska By Sarah Manvel This gorgeous black-and-white Latvian-Lithuanian coproduction is more than a biopic of the Latvian silent-movie actress Maria Leiko. It is also an act of defiance and contempt for Russia, then and now. Its importance is in its depiction of a history … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Maria’s Silence / Marijas klusums

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Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Feminism, Film Reviews, Music, Reviews, Women in Film, World Cinema, Writers

Berlinale 2024 review: Gloria!

Year:2024 Runtime: 106 minutes Directed by: Margherita Vicario Written by: Anita Rivaroli and Margherita Vicario Actors: Carlotta Gamba, Maria Vittoria Dallasta, Sara Mafodda, Veronica Lucchesi, Paolo Rossi, Anita Kravos, Galatea Bellugi By Sarah Manvel At the Berlinale I was chatting with another critic about my problem with “Small Things Like These (2024),” which is a fantasia about a man standing up to the Catholic church … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Gloria!

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Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, LGBTQ Cinema, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: All Shall Be Well

Year: 2024 Runtime: 93 minutes Written and directed by: Ray Yeung Actors: Maggie Li Lin Lin, Patra Au Ga Man, Tai Bo, Hui So Ying, Fish Liew Chi Yu, Leung Ching Hang, Rachel Leung By Sarah Manvel It is very hard for anyone to admit that their family doesn’t really love them, but this is unfortunately a common experience for homosexuals, especially those of a … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: All Shall Be Well

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Activism, Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Film Reviews, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: Langue Étrangère / Foreign Tongue

Year: 2024 Runtime: 105 minutes Directed by: Claire Burger Written by: Claire Burger in collaboration with Léa Mysuis Actors: Lilith Grasmug, Chiara Mastroianni, Jalal Atlawil, Josefa Heinsius, Nina Hoss By Sarah Manvel Movies often forget what teenagers are really like: impulsive, careless, selfish, self-centered, convinced of their own superiority and unaware of the long-term consequences of their actions. This is all part of growing up, … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Langue Étrangère / Foreign Tongue

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Berlinale Film Festival, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Film Score, Horror, Reviews, Women in Film

Berlinale 2024 review: The Devil’s Bath / Des Teufels Bad

Year: 2024 Runtime: 121 minutes Written and directed by: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala Starring: Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, Maria Hofstätter Caution: Below contains discussion of mental health issues such as depression that some may find triggering. By Sarah Manvel “The Devil’s Bath” is a profoundly excellent and disturbing movie about depression, despair and the ways in which people coped with those emotions in 18th century … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: The Devil’s Bath / Des Teufels Bad

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Activism, Berlinale Film Festival, Documentaries, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Film Reviews, Indigenous People, Reviews, Underrepresented in Film, Women in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: Dahomey

Year: 2024 Runtime: 67 minutes Written and directed by: Mati Diop By Sarah Manvel “Dahomey” is an unusual hybrid documentary about the return to the nation of Benin 26 treasures looted by French soldiers from the kingdom of Dahomey. It’s a hybrid documentary because writer-director Mati Diop does something unusual but very much in keeping with the common theme of the movies this year’s Berlinale, … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: Dahomey

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Activism, Berlinale Film Festival, Documentaries, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Indigenous People, Underrepresented in Film, World Cinema

Berlinale 2024 review: The Empty Grave

Year: 2024 Runtime: 97 minutes Directed by Agnes Lisa Wegner and Cece Mlay By Sarah Manvel 1907 was a long time ago, but the hanging trees are still there. Trees where Tanzanian men were hung by the German army, or German men, during a war long forgotten in the west. And the great-grandchildren of those murdered men are able to touch the very place where … Continue reading Berlinale 2024 review: The Empty Grave

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