Candidates Of Death - Amber Wilkinson - 20272
"Candidates Of Death" is a 17‑year documentary chronicling director Maciej Cuske and his son Stansiu’s annual horror‑short projects with friends across the Polish countryside. The film stitches together footage from childhood water fights to teenage filmmaking seriousness, creating a collage that mirrors the passage of time. It explores father‑son bonding, the evolution of DIY filmmaking tools, and how a playful hobby matured into a career‑shaping experience. The narrative’s non‑linear style emphasizes moments over plot, echoing the spirit of Richard Linklater’s *Boyhood*.
Around Paradise - Amber Wilkinson - 20269
"Around Paradise" is a 2026 documentary by Russian filmmaker Yulia Lokshina that explores El Paraíso Verde, a 14.23 sq km gated enclave in southern Paraguay. Founded by Erwin and Sylvia Annau, the community markets to affluent conspiracy theorists, right‑wing extremists and anti‑vaxxers,...
Cruel Tale Of Bushido - Donald Munro - 20268
Tadashi Imai’s 1965 film *Cruel Tale Of Bushido* follows salaryman Iikura, who discovers his ancestors’ tragic fates during the Edo period and sees how the samurai code still haunts modern Japan. The narrative shifts from a contemporary hospital scene to...
Don't Be Prey - Jennie Kermode - 20266
The documentary "Don’t Be Prey" follows Mark Sowerby’s quest to conquer the Oceans Seven—seven notoriously dangerous straits—after a 2018 financial scandal shattered his reputation. The film details the physical hazards of open‑water swimming, including sharks, hypothermia, jellyfish stings, and extreme currents,...
Dua Ji - Amber Wilkinson - 20267
Yu‑Han Tsai’s 18‑minute short “Dua Ji” debuted at SXSW, earning a four‑star review. The film follows a Taiwanese family grieving their matriarch, exposing how tradition places ritual responsibility on the male line. Lead actress Kuei‑Mei Yang portrays the mother’s suppressed emotions...
Glasgow Short Film Festival Opens by Andrew Robertson - 2026-03-19 22:52:44+00:00
The 19th Glasgow Short Film Festival opened with a surprise feature, “Downriver A Tiger,” a Catalan‑Glasgow co‑production directed by Victor Diago. Festival director Matt Lloyd used the opening to lament the recent closure of the Centre for Contemporary Arts and...
A Place to Belong by Jennie Kermode
Irish filmmaker Liam O Mochain’s new anthology film “Abode” opens in UK cinemas on March 20, 2026. The movie stitches together five distinct stories about the many meanings of home, selected from ten concepts he developed. O Mochain self‑financed the project over four years,...
Abode - Jennie Kermode - 20265
Liam O Mochain’s new anthology "Abode" strings together five short films set in Dublin, each probing a different facet of what home means. The pieces swing from gritty realism to darkly comic sci‑fi, anchored by meticulous set design that makes every...
Project Hail Mary - Andrew Robertson - 20263
The new "Project Hail Mary" film, starring Ryan Gosling, translates Andy Weir’s bestselling novel into a two‑and‑a‑half‑hour sci‑fi adventure that blends practical effects with heartfelt alien companionship. Director duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller lean heavily on tangible set pieces,...
Children No More: Were And Are Gone - Edin Custo - 20258
Children No More: Were and Are Gone, a 36‑minute documentary by Hilla Medalia, follows a group of Israelis holding weekly silent vigils in Tel Aviv after a March 2025 airstrike killed 193 children in Gaza. The film juxtaposes the mournful ceremony—photographs...
The Devil Is Busy - Edin Custo - 20259
The documentary *The Devil Is Busy*, co‑directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Christalyn Hampton, follows a single day at an Atlanta women’s health clinic, exposing the intense security measures required for abortion care. It centers on Tracii, the clinic’s head of...
Hunky Jesus - Edin Custo - 20261
Jennifer M. Kroot’s documentary *Hunky Jesus* examines the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a queer‑focused ministry that emerged in San Francisco in 1979. By weaving archival footage with contemporary interviews, the film shows how the Sisters turned drag, humor, and ritual into...
The Land Of Sometimes - Jennie Kermode - 20262
The Land Of Sometimes is a family‑fantasy film starring Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham‑Carter and a cameo by Mel Brooks, backed by Terry Davies’ West‑End‑style musical score. The story follows twins Elise and Alfie as they chase a wish‑granting watch into a precarious island...
Fifteen - Jennie Kermode - 20257
Fifteen is a horror‑drama that follows two 14‑year‑old girls, Ligia and Mayet, as their quinceañera approaches while a supernatural pregnancy transforms their lives. The film blends visceral gore with the anxieties of adolescence, using the myth of La Llorona to...
Eructation - Amber Wilkinson - 20255
Eructation, a six‑minute documentary directed by Victoria Trow, follows Oregonian Kaylee Kotlins as she trains to break the world record for the loudest female belch, currently 107.3 decibels. The film employs meticulous set dressing, Wes Anderson‑inspired visuals, and precise sound...
Pizza Movie - Jennie Kermode - 20256
Pizza Movie premiered at SXSW 2026, following two college misfits who stumble upon a mysterious designer drug while waiting for a pizza delivered by a stair‑incapable robot. The film starts as a series of disjointed comedy sketches but gradually coalesces...
Golden Night for Closure in Thessaloniki by Amber Wilkinson - 2026-03-16 12:52:44+00:00
Michał Marczak’s documentary *Closure* captured the Golden Alexander at the 28th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, earning a €12,000 prize and positioning the film as an Oscar documentary contender. The jury praised its immersive portrayal of a grieving father’s search for...
Stay-at-Home Seven: March 16 to 22 by Amber Wilkinson, Jennie Kermode, Mateusz Tarwacki
The "Stay‑at‑Home Seven" column for March 16‑22 curates a weekly slate of films and documentaries streaming across BBC iPlayer, Film4 and BBC2, with commentary from Amber Wilkinson, Jennie Kermode and Mateusz Tarwacki. Highlights include the war‑propaganda documentary “Mr Nobody Against Putin,” the satirical series...
Bearing Witness by Amber Wilkinson
Filmmakers Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman have turned their Oscar‑shortlisted documentary short into a feature debut, Nuisance Bear, which premiered at Sundance and screened at Thessaloniki. The film examines the contentious practice of air‑lifting polar bears from Churchill, Manitoba,...
Forevergreen - Jennie Kermode - 20251
Forevergreen, a 13‑minute animated short nominated for this year’s Best Animated Short Oscar, dazzles with a woodcut‑style visual aesthetic that blends hand‑drawn textures and modern CGI. Despite Disney animators shaping a cute bear protagonist, reviewers criticize the thin storyline and...
The Perfect Neighbor - Amber Wilkinson - 20245
The Perfect Neighbor, an Oscar‑nominee documentary by Geeta Gandbhir, reconstructs the June 2023 killing of Black mother AJ Owens by white neighbor Susan Lorincz using police body‑camera footage, interview‑room video, and phone clips. The film’s editing, led by Viridiana Lieberman, weaves these...
Butcher's Stain - Jennie Kermode - 20252
Butcher’s Stain, a 26‑minute Israeli short directed by Meyer Levinson‑Blount, earned an Oscar nomination and a four‑and‑a‑half star rating from Eye for Film. The narrative follows Samir, an Arab employee in an Israeli supermarket, who is accused of removing Hamas...
Come See Me In The Good Light - Edin Custo - 20247
Ryan White’s documentary *Come See Me In The Good Light* chronicles Colorado poet‑laureate Andrea Gibson’s final year, premiering at Sundance 2025 and released before Gibson’s July death. The film intertwines Gibson’s candid poetry, humor, and humility with the stark reality...
The Alabama Solution - Amber Wilkinson - 20246
“The Alabama Solution,” an Oscar‑nominated documentary by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, exposes severe overcrowding and violence in Alabama’s prisons, where facilities operate at 200 % capacity with only a third of needed staff. Using contraband‑smuggled phones, inmates provide first‑person testimony...
Armed Only With A Camera: The Life And Death Of Brent Renaud - Jennie Kermode - 20250
Armed Only With A Camera: The Life And Death Of Brent Renaud is a 2025 documentary directed by Brent’s brother Craig, weaving archival footage and new scenes to trace Brent Renaud’s career and his fatal ambush in Ukraine. The film...
All The Empty Rooms - Jennie Kermode - 20248
Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp’s short documentary All The Empty Rooms captures the personal spaces left behind by victims of U.S. school shootings. By filming preserved bedrooms, the project humanizes the 420 children killed in 2025, shifting focus from...
Never After Dark - Jennie Kermode - 20242
Never After Dark, screened at SXSW 2026, follows professional psychic Airi and her deceased sister Miku as they investigate a haunted house owned by a mother‑son duo planning a property flip. The film blends classic J‑horror motifs with a modern...
Two People Exchanging Saliva - Jennie Kermode - 20244
Two People Exchanging Saliva, an Oscar‑nominated short by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, depicts a dystopian society where kissing is illegal and punished by being sealed in a box and dropped from a cliff. The film blends noir‑style black‑and‑white visuals...
Edie Arnold Is A Loser - Jennie Kermode - 20241
"Edie Arnold Is A Loser" debuted at SXSW 2026, chronicling a Catholic schoolgirl who discovers punk drumming against strict curfew, anti‑punk authority, and a lack of instruments. The film blends teen romance with a DIY music narrative, highlighting the protagonist...
'Our Present Is Barbara’s Future' By Edin Custo
Documentary "Barbara Forever" by Brydie O’Connor spotlights pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer, whose five‑decade career is introduced to new audiences at Sundance and Berlinale. The film resonates with both early‑twenties queer viewers and senior lesbians discovering Hammer for the first...
A Friend Of Dorothy - Jennie Kermode - 20240
‘A Friend Of Dorothy,’ an Oscar‑nominated short reviewed by Jennie Kermode, explores the historic concept of queer safe‑spaces through a chance encounter between teenage JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu) and an elderly Dorothy (Miriam Margolyes). The film weaves two origins of the phrase—The...
Kill Me - Jennie Kermode - 20238
Kill Me, a dark‑comedy thriller screened at SXSW 2026, follows Jimmy (Charlie Day) who awakens in a blood‑soaked bathtub with no memory of a suicide attempt. He enlists the help of 911 operator Margot (Allison Williams) to uncover whether he...
First Light - Jennie Kermode - 20236
First Light, directed by James J. Robinson, is a lyrical indie drama that premiered at the 2026 Glasgow Film Festival. The film follows Sister Yolanda, a convent nurse confronting a dying construction worker’s fate while questioning the Church’s moral priorities....
Jailbroken - Jennie Kermode - 20235
Jailbroken, a minimalist prison thriller starring Bryan Larkin and Armin Karima, debuted as the opening film of the Frightfest strand at the 2026 Glasgow Film Festival. Set almost entirely within a single cell, the film relies on tight performances, dynamic...
Happy Hour by Jennie Kermode
Sam A. Davis’s short‑film "The Singers" has earned an Oscar nomination after a whirlwind festival run and millions of Netflix views. The project casts viral‑video singers from Instagram and TikTok, relies on improvised dialogue, and was shot on 35 mm film...
Psalms Of The People - Jennie Kermode - 20234
‘Psalms Of The People’ is a documentary that follows sound‑designer Rob McNeacail as he explores Gaelic psalm singing across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. The film captures intimate moments in a care community for adults with learning disabilities, visits a...
In The Land Of Lost Angels - Jennie Kermode - 20232
‘In The Land Of Lost Angels’ is Bishrel Mashbat’s noir‑styled debut, following two Mongolian immigrants who kidnap a wealthy man’s son in night‑time Los Angeles. The film intertwines a tense kidnapping plot with probing questions of cultural identity and assimilation....
Turner & Constable - Jennie Kermode - 20233
The Exhibition on Screen documentary spotlights the first joint Turner‑Constable showcase at Tate Britain, running November 2025 to April 2026. It contrasts Turner’s dramatic light experiments with Constable’s grounded English landscapes, while highlighting their shared influences such as Claude Lorrain....
Red Riding - Jennie Kermode - 20231
Red Riding, a Scottish reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, marks actor Craig Conway’s directorial debut. The film follows teen Redele (Victoria Tait) as she navigates grief, family secrets, and class tension on a remote estate. Critics praise the moody atmosphere and Tait’s...
Indomitable Spirit by Jennie Kermode
Effi O Blaenau, a low‑budget Welsh‑language film adapted from Gary Owen’s play Iphigenia In Splott, premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival. Director Marc Evans and lead Leisa Gwenllian turned the monologue‑heavy stage work into a full‑length drama, shooting on location in...
The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford - Jennie Kermode - 20229
The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford, screened at the 2026 Glasgow Film Festival, follows Kenneth (Peter Mullan), a grieving museum caretaker forced to replace his historic tours with a fantasy production called White Stag Of Emberfell. Mullan’s gravitas anchors a...
Jaripeo - Edin Custo - 20230
Jaripeo, co‑directed by Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, documents gay men embedded in Mexico’s traditional rodeo culture. The film follows participants in Michoacán’s jaripeo scene, exposing how they negotiate machismo, family expectations, and religious faith while expressing diverse queer identities. It highlights...
Effi O Blaenau - Jennie Kermode - 20228
Effi O Blaenau, a Welsh‑language film directed by Marc Evans, adapts Gary Owen’s acclaimed play Iphigenia In Splott and follows the turbulent life of Effi, a benefit‑dependent young woman in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Leisa Gwenllian’s raw, magnetic performance anchors a story that...
The Wizard Of The Kremlin - Jennie Kermode - 20227
The Wizard of the Kremlin, directed by Olivier Assayas, adapts Giuliano da Empoli’s novel into a political thriller that follows a Surkov‑like figure recounting his rise alongside Vladimir Putin. Paul Dano delivers a deliberately flat performance, while the film rushes...