Told from the perspective of a cat, this melancholic 16mm short begins as a portrait of a relationship between a young Japanese woman and an American man. An air of poetry and wistfulness pervades but there’s heaviness under the surface, and as the peaceful images morph into darker ones, we are forced into a reconciliation with the past. Director Anna Takayama presents a series of lovely and evocative visuals following the couple through NYC snowstorms and Japanese street markets. When the intimate travelogue expands into a reckoning, it gains gravity from the perspective of more than one lifetime. -KA.
While stuck at home during lockdown, a Russian woman living in L.A. ponders how to stay busy and convince herself everything’s okay. “Stay At Home Movie,” made by Sasha Lebedeva — she writes, shoots, edits, color grades, and stars — is a simple but stylish self-portrait of boredom and restlessnes...
A faithfully recreated 1970s cigarettes advertisement unspools into a surreal satire on melodramatic marketing. “Ralph Styles Ultra,” by director Nic fforde, is an exquisitely-realized mockup complete with period-perfect performances, music, art design, costuming, and hair and make up. A debonair...
An archival biography film about the early career of Deborah Harry told entirely through press interviews where she endures superficial, tedious, and demeaning questions from journalists. Meghan Fredrich directs and edits “Deborah Harry Does Not Like Interviews,” a video essay collage of sorts, w...
