Daniela Thomas initially centers Vazante on a man who fails: Antonio (Adriano Carvhalho), a white farmer who can’t make his land grow a thing, support a homestead, or ensure the survival of his wife [...] Continue Reading
Gegen Die Wand
Fatih Akin’s films provide audiences with a strident reminder that there is no typical immigrant or diasporic experience. Akin’s films, which often center around the experiences of German Turks [...] Continue Reading
The 2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Films
The Oscar-nominated shorts category has become one of my favorite Academy Award categories in recent years for three reasons: First, the format allows audiences to experience what’s new in [...] Continue Reading
The Faces and Places of French New Wave: Varda’s Lasting Influence on Modern Cinema
The New York Times’s review for Agnès Varda’s “Cleo From 5 to 7,” published in September 1962, found the film wanting: “[it] fails to do more than skim the surface of a cryptic dramatic theme.” If one [...] Continue Reading
Connect at the Fresno Film Festival
Going to the movies has often been associated with escape. We go to the movies to “escape” our realities for 90 or so minutes, to bear witness to lives and experiences different from our own. Film, [...] Continue Reading
Telling Stories to Build Community: Talking and Listening in Lucky
“Lucky” is a story about what is possible when people sit to tell and to listen to each other’s stories. In “Lucky,” the place where this happens is a low-lit bar where the people of a small desert [...] Continue Reading
Coltrane’s activism can be accessed through his jazz
A bit past the midway point in “Chasing Trane” you’ll be treated to some details about how John Coltrane composed “Alabama.” “Alabama” happens to be one of the jazz songs that makes a strong case for [...] Continue Reading
Exploring the absence of Asghar Farhadi
One of the main reasons I’m excited to see “The Salesman” when Fresno Filmworks brings it to the historic Tower Theatre on April 14 stems from Asghar Farhadi’s absence from the Academy Awards. The [...] Continue Reading