IFFR And the Rest Will Follow, Turkish director Pelin Esmer’s first fiction film in seven years, explores the relationship between personal aspiration, storytelling, and artistic creation. The film introduces us to Aliye, portrayed by Merve Asya Özgür, a 25-year-old housekeeper in the small Turkish town of Söke. Dissatisfied with her monotonous life and a stiflingContinue reading “Rotterdam 2025 Review: “And the Rest Will Follow””
Tag Archives: Directed by women
Rotterdam 2025 Review: “Orenda”
IFFR Pirjo Honkasalo’s Orenda, which premiered at the 2025 International Rotterdam Film Festival, invites viewers into a world both intimate and wide in thematical scope. It’s a meditation on grief, guilt, faith, and identity, wrapped in a narrative that unfolds with deliberate pacing and quiet intensity. While it may not appeal to those seeking immediateContinue reading “Rotterdam 2025 Review: “Orenda””
Rotterdam 2025 Review: “John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office”
IFFR In John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, directors Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens closely into the enigmatic life of neuroscientist John C. Lilly, whose unconventional experiments with dolphins, humans and psychedelics sought to expand the boundaries of human consciousness. Narrated by Chloë Sevigny, the film uses archival footage, cultural clips, and interviewsContinue reading “Rotterdam 2025 Review: “John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office””
Rotterdam 2025 Review: “I Shall See”
With I Shall See, Dutch director Mercedes Stalenhoef presents an immersive exploration of sudden loss and resilience in her first fiction feature. The film follows 17-year-old Lot, a passionate diver who dreams of becoming a maritime archaeologist, traveling, and living independently. Her life takes a devastating turn on New Year’s Eve when a firework failsContinue reading “Rotterdam 2025 Review: “I Shall See””
TIFF 2024 Review: “Mr. K”
Mr. K”, the English-language debut of Norwegian-Dutch director Tallulah H. Schwab, is a surreal and disorienting experience set in the confines of a seemingly inescapable hotel. Starring Crispin Glover as the titular Mr. K, a traveling magician who checks in for a single night, Schwab creates a Kafkaesque nightmare comedy where the ordinary is warped beyond recognition, and every attempt to find an exit leads deeper into the bizarre.
TIFF 2024 Review: “Measures for a Funeral”
Over the past eight years, director Sofia Bohdanowicz and actress Deragh Campbell have created a fascinating cinematic partnership centered around the character of Audrey Benac. In “Measures for a Funeral”, their latest collaboration, they explore the blurred lines between biographical and semi-autobiographical storytelling, merging the legacy of a forgotten Canadian violinist, Kathleen Parlow, with their own artistic reflections. The result is a film that is meta and captivating, oscillating between a portrait of Parlow and a meditation on the act of preserving and interpreting history, art, and personal identity through the former two.
TIFF 2024 Review: “Beloved Tropic”
Ana Endara’s debut fiction feature, “Beloved Tropic”, presents a relationship between two women whose lives intersect through a shared dependency in contemporary Panama City. The film centers on Ana María (Jenny Navarrete), a Colombian immigrant and experienced caregiver who harbors a secret, and Mercedes (Paulina García), a wealthy, sharp-tongued high-class woman struggling with the early stages of dementia. What begins as a rather straightforward arrangement quickly transforms into an exploration of autonomy, motherhood, and family.
Locarno 2024 Review: “Toxic”
“Toxic,” the directorial feature debut by Saulė Bliuvaite and winner of the Golden Leopard at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, is a holistic look into the realities of a community in a Lithuanian industrial town. The film centers on 13-year-old Maria (Vesta Matulyte), who, after being abandoned by her mother, is left to survive a harsh world with only her grandmother as a guardian. This isn’t a story about easy resolutions or hopeful escapes; it’s about survival and the fleeting connections that offer some semblance of comfort amidst the turmoil of life in a bleak lower-class industrial village. The film’s portrayal of a community trapped in cycles of poverty and exploitation feels authentic, particularly through its focus on Maria’s evolving relationship with Kristina (Ieva Rupeikaite), another girl her age with dreams of becoming a fashion model.
Berlinale 2024 Review: “Who Do I Belong To”
Following her 2018 Oscar-nominated short “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur’s debut narrative feature, ‘Who Do I Belong To,’ is a sensitive and emotionally charged examination of a Tunisian family torn apart by radicalization. Through a lens that is both intimate and deeply affecting, Joobeur explores the limits of a mother’s love, faced with the harrowing realities of her son’s actions. Amplified by Joobeur’s strong directorial decisions the film delivers a narrative that’s deeply embedded in the complexities of familial bonds and the pain of disillusionment.
Berlinale 2024 Review: ¨Memories of a Burning Body¨
“Memories of a Burning Body,” the sophomore feature by director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss where the Costa Rican director once again takes the stage at the Berlinale Film Festival shines with her storytelling prowess. Following the acclaim of her first feature, “The Awakening of the Ants,” for its strong feminist lens, Sudasassi Furniss returns with a narrative that pushes the boundaries of how the internal world of women, particularly those of advanced age, is portrayed in cinema even further.
