Showing all posts about trailer
Asghar Farhadi wins Cannes Grand Prix award for A Hero
11 May 2022
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival for his latest feature A Hero. Farhadi is the master of suspenseful drama, and A Hero — which opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday 9 June 2022 — is said to be his best work since A Separation in 2011. Check out the trailer.
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The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, a film by Luàna Bajrami
10 May 2022
Luàna Bajrami first came to my attention in her role as Sophie, in Céline Sciamma’s stellar 2019 film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, but the French-Kosovar actor is also a writer and director, and La Colline Où Rugissent Les Lionnes (The Hill Where Lionesses Roar), trailer, is her debut feature:
Best friends Jeta, Li and Qe live in a remote Kosovan village from which they see no way out. Bored and restless, the young women spend their days dreaming big but not living large – until, in a moment of aimless distraction, they rebrand themselves as a gang and fall into a life of crime. Exhilarated by the newfound sense of independence offered by their illegal pursuits, the trio soon discover that their ill-gotten gains come with some dangerous caveats.
The parallels between Bajrami’s film and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are intriguing, with — to be succinct — both stories featuring three women contravening social norms.
While The Hill Where Lionesses Roar screened at last year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, it didn’t appear to have a wider Australian theatrical release, so it looks like streaming may be the only option for seeing the film in this part of the world.
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Mothering Sunday, a film by Eva Husson
4 May 2022
Mothering Sunday, trailer, by French film director Eva Husson, based on the 2016 novel of same name by English author Graham Swift, is a tale of secret love playing out on an unseasonably balmy March day, on an English country estate, in 1924.
The events of Graham Swift’s novel take place over the course of one day — the holiday Mothering Sunday. Maid Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) has the day off, as her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Niven (Colin Firth and Olivia Colman) are attending an event to celebrate the engagement of their neighbours’ son, Paul (Josh O’Connor). Jane is an orphan, so has no mother to spend the day with — but she does have Paul, with whom she’s been having a years-long secret affair. The story unfolds as they spend their final day together as lovers.
Mothering Sunday opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday 2 June 2022.
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Eva Husson, film, Graham Swift, trailer
Martin Eden, a film by Pietro Marcello
3 May 2022
Martin Eden, portrayed by Italian actor Luca Marinelli in the 2019 film of the same name, trailer, directed by Pietro Marcello, is a barely literate sailor who decides he wants to become a writer.
Inspiration comes in the form of Elena Orsini (Jessica Cressy), the daughter of a well-off Neapolitan family, after a chance set of circumstances bring them together. Determined to become “worthy” of her hand in marriage, he devotes the next two years to self-education, while writing as much as he can.
But writing is not an occupation for the faint-hearted, and as the rejection letters pile up, he begins to wonder if he’s doing the right thing. But Martin Eden, loosely based on Jack London’s semiautobiographical 1909 novel, is perhaps a warning to be careful what you wish for.
You might attain what it is you aspire to, but at what cost? And might you lose sight of what it was you really wanted in the first place?
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film, Jack London, Pietro Marcello, trailer
Hello, Bookstore a documentary by A.b. Zax
30 April 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging time for many people, particularly small businesses. Brick and mortar retailers, independent bookshops among them, struggled with lockdowns that kept customers away. Numerous operations were threatened with closure, and not all survived.
Hello, Bookstore, trailer, a documentary by American filmmaker A.b. Zax, looks at the impact of the pandemic on The Bookstore, in Lenox, a town in the American state of Massachusetts, which has been owned by Matthew Tannenbaum for over forty years.
In the shadow of the pandemic, a small town rallies to protect a beloved local bookstore in its hour of need. A landmark in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Bookstore is a magical, beatnik gem thanks to its owner, Matt Tannenbaum, whose passion for stories runs deep. Presiding at The Bookstore for over forty years, Matt is a true bard of the Berkshires and his shop is the kind of place to get lost in. This intimate portrait of The Bookstore and the family at its heart offers a journey through good times, hard times and the stories hidden on the shelves.
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We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, by Jane Schoenbrun
27 April 2022
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, trailer, by American filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun, promises to take viewers down a couple of bottomless rabbit-holes…
Late on a cold night somewhere in the U.S., teenage Casey sits alone in her attic bedroom, scrolling the internet under the glow-in-the-dark stars and black-light posters that blanket the ceiling. She has finally decided to take the World’s Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game, and embrace the uncertainty it promises. After the initiation, she documents the changes that may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available for the world to see. As she begins to lose herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out, claiming to see something special in her uploads.
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Keep Stepping, a documentary by Luke Cornish
19 April 2022
Keep Stepping, trailer, by Sydney based documentary maker Luke Cornish, which has its world premiere at the 2022 Sydney Film Festival, explores the world of competitive street dancing in Australia.
On Sydney’s urban fringe, two young women battle for a better life in the underground world of competitive street dance. Patricia, Romanian-born and hanging out for a visa, is a breakdancer. Gabi, of Chilean-Samoan heritage, pops with power. Both dream of escaping the rough hand they’ve been dealt. Will a win at Australia’s biggest dance competition Destructive Steps – in which 60 contestants compete in the preliminary rounds – be their golden ticket? Or will the external pressures of financial hardship and volatile relationships stop them from even reaching the dancefloor?
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film, film festivals, Luke Cornish, Sydney Film Festival, trailer
A trailer for Conversations with Friends TV series
14 April 2022
A trailer for Conversations with Friends, a television series produced by BBC Three and Hulu, based on the 2017 novel of the same name, by Irish author Sally Rooney.
Conversations with Friends follows Frances, a 21 year old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. Frances is observant, cerebral and sharp. Her ex-girlfriend, now best friend, Bobbi is self-assured, outspoken and compelling.
Though they broke up three years ago, Frances and Bobbi are virtually inseparable and perform spoken word poetry together in Dublin. It’s at one of their shows that they meet Melissa, an older writer, who is fascinated by the pair. Bobbi and Frances start to spend time with Melissa and her husband, Nick, a handsome but reserved actor.
While Melissa and Bobbi flirt with each other openly, Nick and Frances embark on an intense secret affair that is surprising to them both. Soon the affair begins to test the bond between Frances and Bobbi, forcing Frances to reconsider her sense of self, and the friendship she holds so dear.
It won’t be news to fans of Sally Rooney, but the series goes to air on Sunday 15 May 2022.
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Boiling Point, a film by Philip Barantini
11 April 2022
I once had a housemate who worked as a chef. When he wasn’t on the job — which didn’t seem to be often — he refused to cook. At all. A solitary jar of vegemite, and a loaf of bread, were the only foodstuffs to be found on his shelf in the pantry of the kitchen. Before moving in, another housemate warned me not to expect culinary feasts to be served.
Perhaps Boiling Point, trailer, the new drama feature from Britsh filmmaker Philip Barantini, goes someway to explaining my former housemate’s reluctance to go near a kitchen outside of working hours. Who’d want to be thinking about their pressure-cooker like workplace environment when they weren’t on duty?
On the busiest night of the year at one of the hottest restaurants in London, charismatic, commanding head chef Andy Jones balances along a knife’s edge as multiple personal and professional crises threaten to destroy everything he’s worked for. A surprise visit from a health and safety inspector sets the staff on edge as the overbooked hotspot begins to fill with guests. Jones alternately berates and cajoles his diverse staff, trying his best to diffuse tensions between management and his crew, while catering to the ridiculous demands of customers.
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film, Philip Barantini, trailer
Sydney Film Festival announces first 22 films for 2022
6 April 2022
The Sydney Film Festival has unveiled the first twenty-two movies that will be featured at this year’s event. Among their number is The Passengers of the Night (Les passagers de la nuit), directed by French filmmaker Mikhaël Hers, and starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, as a woman trying to get her life back on track.
Election night, 1981. Socialist François Mitterrand has been declared president and there are hopeful celebrations across Paris. But it is not a happy night for Elisabeth (Gainsbourg, Antichrist), whose marriage has come to an unexpected end. She must find the means to support herself and two teenaged children. When she lucks upon a job on her favourite talkback radio show, she meets Talulah (Noée Abita, Slalom, SFF 2021), a charismatic young woman who is struggling, and invites her home. Free-spirit Talulah has a lasting impact, inspiring confidence in each of the family members.
I couldn’t find a trailer, but did locate a clip of this scene from the film.
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