A Man Called Ove’, is directed and adapted by Swedish filmmaker Hannes Holm. Sourced from the New York Times Bestseller of the same name, the original story was written by Fredrik Backman. The film follows Ove, an isolated retiree who spends his days enforcing neighborhood rules and visiting his wife’s grave. Right as Ove’s given up on life and drifts to thoughts of joining his wife, a unlikely and unwanted friendship starts to develop with his boisterous new neighbors. ‘A Man Called Ove’ comes to theatres September 30th and is Sweden’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017…
Author: Wyatt Phillips
‘The Lovers And The Despot’ tells the tale of a South Korean Actress, Choi Eun-hee, and director, Shin Sang-ok, who were captured by North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un in the 70’s. Both were held captive with the intention of using their artistic talent in cinema to make films for N. Korea. In the midst of their tumultuous time in captivity, the two found a way to record their conversations with Kim Jung Un, which include incredibly odd dialogue from the dictator himself, where he describes himself as a ‘midget’s turd.’ This movie is wyrd. Not weird, but full on…
Enough can’t be said about how wonderful this movie will make you feel. Divine waves of ambivalence roll over the mind from scene to scene. Dipping from emotional highs to the unfathomable lows, with a clear persistent reminder of the endurance of the human spirit over conflict. ‘A Man Called Ove’ celebrates life in all its facets in no shy manor, weaving together grand treatises on the struggle to be alive with the intimacy of a conversation you might have with an old friend—all this and a killer sense of humor about itself. ‘A Man Called Ove’, is directed and…
“Presence in the experience is the thing that separates VR from cinema.” Choice words from writer, filmmaker, and all around revolutionary for the true independent model – James Kaelan, the director and co-writer for the Virtual Reality experience ‘The Visitor’. The VR experience takes you to the Acido Dorado house in Joshua tree, where a man and woman share a tense encounter on the edge of existence. ‘The Visitor’ holds a haunting but intriguing tone throughout, pulling you in through careful staging and camera placement. Walls and ceilings both covered in mirrors, the architecture around you adding to confounding dreamlike atmosphere.…
Something’s funny here, but it’s not the chauvinism—despite the routine dirty jokes made throughout, ‘Parched’ director Leena Yadav gives insight into rural Indian society by creating a dark satire of the gender divide still present in those communities. With a primary focus on four women caught in that divide, each struggling to overcome their personal boundaries with the opposite sex. What makes these lead characters inside of ‘Parched’ so unique? It may be that the women on screen are given the opportunity to unapologetically share their perspective on sex, men, and the unfair obligations placed on them by tradition. An…
There is nothing like being there. When one see’s first-hand the battle waged by others it invokes the saving grace of mankind, empathy. This principal applies especially when looking into marginalized communities found in the heart of first world countries. Often times, without these windows of insight, larger communities will isolate these cultural shadows, preferring never to reflect or interact with them. Luckily, there’s such a thing as documentaries. Director Jack Pettibone Riccobono cuts through the popular disassociation with his debut documentary, THE SEVENTH FIRE, and shines a light on one of the results of America’s murderous upbringing. The film…
Not all stories have a bad guy. Not every relationship is lucky enough to have a clear antagonist to stand against and in ‘How He Fell In Love’ it confronts the audience with exactly that. It is within these tales that we come closer to understanding our human experience; they reflect back to us the reality that most struggles come from within—it’s our self and our emotions we’re looking to control. “How He Fell In Love’ starts on Travis after he watches a former flame tie the knot in upstate New York. He ends up sharing a car back to…
An intimate portrait of a friend who was diagnosed with cancer, CRISTINA is the latest documentary from Academy Award Nominated director Michèle Ohayon. Michele is based in Los Angeles with her company Kavana Entertainment, which is currently engaged with international projects spanning across different genres. CRISTINA will premiere at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival on June 25th at 4:30pm. Born in Casablanca and raised in Israel, Michèle graduated from Tel Aviv University (Film & Television), after serving in the army. She has spent the last thirty years directing and producing documentaries that deal with issues of human conflict,…
At times, ZERO DAYS sets a dystopian and anxiety-ridden tone. Accompanied by a panic-inducing soundtrack, the dark subject matter can be overpowering. Though this documentary may be psychologically trying to sit through, ZERO DAYS dredges up necessary issues at the core of a modern day problem most Americans don’t realize has materialized: a cyber war doomsday scenario that could collapse the world’s infrastructure in seconds. It’s real. It’s here. And according to the movie, we’ve already come close to it happening once. ZERO DAYS is directed by veteran documentarian Alex Gibney. Before tackling this heavy topic, Gibney worked with HBO…
A powerful depiction of social movement bordering on vigilantism, ‘Almost Holy,’ directed by Steve Hoover, shines a light on Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko and his extreme ministries to combat problems plaguing the heart of Ukraine. These ministries include: kidnaping drug addled homeless children to get them off the streets, providing protection and shelter for abused women, confronting opiate dealers, and organizing protests to run drugs out of his community. Active since the early 2000’s, Pastor Gennadiy has worked his cause through many outlets, all detailed in the documentary, but his main focus is a recovery home he started, named Pilgrim. It’s…