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David House The Rapture The Delinquents The Settlers Monster Fallen Leaves Ian Merkel Monster. Four Daughters Toll They Shot The Piano Player Tsugaru Lacquer Girl Numb Seven Winters in Tehran Between Revolutions Raging Grace Just The Two Of Us Totem

Our Society had 4 Film Reviewers this year These reviews  are the  personal opinions limited to films seen This page works best with a Full screen or a Tablet David House Ian Merkel Lisa Naiberg Arash Taheri The Zone of Interest UK ,US, Poland Special Presentations Anatomy of a Fall France Special Prentations   A Normal Family South Korea Special Presentations Terrestrial Verses Iran Focus: Women, Life and Freedom The

FAR FROM THE TREE   Reviewed by Lisa Naiberg Far From the Tree Country – Czech Republic This study of a middle-aged woman’s struggle to survive in bleak circumstances also portrays her fractured relationship with her rebellious teen daughter. The title appears ironic, as the daughter – who finds her ambition thwarted – may have more traits in common with her mother than she realizes. The two discover a bond through

IN TOO DEEP   Reviewed by Ian Merkel In Too Deep United Kingdom   Category: Family Adventures This disturbing UK short about a couple grieving the death of their young daughter won a number of best awards in various Short Film festivals both in Canada and the US. The Awards were for Best Director, Best Score, Best Cinematography and Best Short A couple loses their young child and are separated. They

SPASM        Reviewed by Arash Taheri Spasm Islamic Republic of  Iran Category: Nothing Comes Easy   Spasm is probably one of the most powerful audition tapes you will see. This short film is about Shekufeh, an avid actress whose aim is to get her first cinematic role since her initial experience was unsuccessful and chaotic. Although this film is only about 30 minutes with no cuts and no

UNDERCURRENT   Reviewed by Lisa Naiberg Undercurrent   Rikiya Imaizumi has fashioned a leisurely paced, beautifully filmed and finely acted drama that offers a profound meditation on our perception of ourselves and others, and on identity, memory, suppressed guilt and grief. The opening screen displays two definitions of the title word, overtly setting the stage for a psychological chronicle. Yet Undercurrent’s haunting poetic imagery, narrative surprises, and masterful camerawork − allowing

SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN    Reviewed by Ian Merkel Seven Winters in Tehran Multiple Festival Awards  Berlin International Film Festival 2023 Winner Compass-Perspektive Award Best Film Steffi Niederzoll 2023 Winner Peace Film Award   Seven Winters in Tehran is a documentary based on the secret filming of footage and taped recordings smuggled out of Iran to Germany. Reconstruction of many scenes were made in Germany, using mostly miniatures.  In the summer of

CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT  Reviewed by Lisa Naiberg Chronicles of A Wandering Saint Awards  SXSW Film Festival 2023 Winner SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award Tomás Gómez Bustillo This is a leisurely, quirky and poignant comedy, suffused with magical realism, which revels in its defiance of expectations. Rita, a pious, elderly church janitor in a rural Argentine town, strives to distinguish herself in the eyes of the local priest. Upon discovering

ANIMAL Reviewed by Lisa Naiberg Animal Awards  Locarno International Film Festival 2023 Winner Best Performance Dimitra Vlagopoulou 2023 Nominee Golden Leopard Best Film Sofia Exarchou Styled as a slice-of-life portrait of Kalia, a dancer and the leader of an entertainment troupe of foreign workers, this understated depiction of two widely divergent social classes makes quiet, disquieting observations. Shy, new Polish recruit Eva learns to copy her mentor’s continual forced smile and disco-themed

THE RAPTURE  Reviewed by David House Rapture Awards  Cannes Film Festival 2023 Winner SACD Award Critics’ Week Iris Kaltenbäck  This film opens with Lydia rushing home with a birthday cake, only to be greeted by her partner Julien telling her that he had slept with another woman last night. Tearfully, she dashes off from this breakup scene to a birthday party for Salome, her best friend. At the party Salome and

LONELY OAKS  Reviewed by David House Lonely OaKs Awards  Berlin International Film Festival 2023 Nominee Compass-Perspektive  Award  for Best Film 2023 NomineeBerlinale Documentary Award Directors: Fabiana Fragale, Kilian, Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff       This is an observational documentary about environmental activists in Germany It is filmed over a 2 year period, 2018-2019, by Steffen Meyn, an investigative journalist and film student. The setting is the Hambach forest which is next to a