Films

The revolution introduced me to art, and art, in its own turn, brought me to the revolution.

Sergei Eisenstein

Monday, 04 May 2020 11:41

Challenging and politically-minded: the Visions du Réel documentary film festival

Written by Phil Hobbins-White

in Films

Phil Hobbins-White reports on the Visions du Réel documentary festival Switzerland’s Visions du Réel is one of the country’s oldest film festivals, yet this year, like many other film festivals, it needed to move online in order to happen at all. Featuring films from all over the world, Visions is…

Wednesday, 11 March 2020 13:36

Finding peace through music: Listen To My Song

Written by Danny Mitchell

in Films

Danny Mitchell introduces his new film set in Colombia, where the peace process is under way and Esteban, a rapper in the Colombian FARC guerrilla movement, dreams of becoming a musician but first he must reconcile himself with his family. https://vimeo.com/396672524 Synopsis: Esteban escaped poverty in the ghetto when he…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 02 March 2020 15:24

'There Is No Evil' wins Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2020

in Films

Written by Rita Di Santo

Rita Di Santo presents brief film reviews from the Berlin Film Festival 2020 The 70th Berlin International Film Festival came to a close with There Is No Evil, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s scorching denunciation of the death penalty in Iran taking the top prize, the Golden Bear. Rasoulof was not…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Thursday, 30 January 2020 16:21

Marxism Goes To The Movies

in Films

Written by Mike Wayne

Mike Wayne weighs the influence of Marxism on film culture Marxist filmmakers, Marxist-influenced culture and Marxist theory, have all had a huge influence on world film culture for more than a hundred years, although it is an influence that is often denied. The struggle for control over the cinematic means…

Chaplin Eisenstein Hostiles Alea Watkins

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 23 December 2019 15:18

The Nightmare Before Christmas

in Films

Written by Jack Brindelli

Jack Brindelli offers some lessons for the radical left from an animated skeleton This December is particularly troubling for an unrepentant leftist like me. On top of the usual festival of gluttony and materialism that caps every year, I find myself living a very real nightmare before Christmas. Like many…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 23 December 2019 15:10

The Decade of Asian Cinema: Top Ten Films of 2019

in Films

Written by Dennis Broe

Dennis Broe reviews the best films of 2019 This is the end of the decade, and it is worth noting that the two most consistently outstanding directors of the last 10 years are both Asian. They are China’s Jia Zhangke and South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho, whose film Parasite is the…

Monday, 09 December 2019 14:36

arise! film review

Written by Jack Brindelli

in Films

Jack Brindelli reviews arise!, the new film from Culture Matters, available to watch here. Director: Carl Joyce Writer: Paul Summers Cast: Joyce McAndrew, Amber Pearson, Brenda Heslop, Jac Howard, Jean Spence, Mollie Brown, Paul Summers Running time: 7 mins The situation in the UK is symptomatic the global political moment…

Wednesday, 27 November 2019 22:46

Blow It to Bits

Written by Rita Di Santo

in Films

Rita di Santo interviews the British director Lech Kowalski, director of of Blow It to Bits Timely and urgent, but not in the daily papers, Blow It to Bits is the story of workers who threaten to blow up a factory. A dense, entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking documentary, which clearly…

Lech Kowalski

Thursday, 14 November 2019 20:57

Synonyms: a denunciation of aggressive Israeli nationalism and its macho, militaristic culture

Written by Rita Di Santo

in Films

Rita Di Santo reviews Synonyms by Nadav Lapid, showing at the Seville Film Festival Seville Festival is a great place to catch up with the best in recent European cinema. Audiences can enjoy prizewinners such as the winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms. The film follows an ex-Israeli…

Friday, 08 November 2019 14:26

The Architects: a film about the reasons for the GDR's collapse

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Films

Jenny Farrell discusses The Architects, a film made in 1989/90 which traced the reasons for the collapse of the GDR 30 years ago, on 9 November 1990, the inner-German border was opened, West Berlin was flooded with shoppers, and over the next few days and weeks the East German state…