Review by Gregg W. Morris
Category: Archives
Destination of old published stories.
The 23rd New York Asian American Film Festival, July 12 -28
This year’s NYAFF features more than 90 new and classic titles from China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and beyond, with nine world premieres, 12 international premieres, and 38 North American premieres.
A Pensive, Mesmerizing Eulogy About the Brazilian Teammates of a Downhill Skateboarding Icon – Allysson Pastrana – Coming to Terms with their Existential Angst Over His Sudden Death During a Downhill Speeding Competition
Inspired by one of the film’s directors, this is a bitter-sweet tale about downhill skateboarders coming to grips with the existential grief they are experiencing over the death of a teammate who died in a competition. This film is tagged as a documentary-drama-sport-movie yet it’s filmmaking is infused with a fierce spirituality that is cosmic, surrealistic and transcendent.
– By Gregg W. Morris
Director Sabrina Van Tassel’s Bitter-Sweet, Melancholic Tour de Force Nearly Blew This Reviewer Out of His Seat
Woven in the thick, ethnographic fabric of Van Tassel’s poignant documentary narrative – in her pursuit of truth-the-whole-truth-&-nothing-but-the-truth – are sketches, vignettes, anecdotes, stories, customs, traditions, practices, sociopolitical analysis, and histories (regional and national). The result is an extraordinary story that absolutely has to be told and re-told, seen and re-seen, echoed and reechoed: The genocide is real and so are efforts to end it once and for all.
– Article-Review by Gregg W. Morris
2024 Tribeca Festival Announces Competition Winners –
Part 1
“After a banner year of Tribeca programming, I do not envy our jurors’ task of selecting this year’s winners,” said Tribeca Festival Director and SVP of Programming Cara Cusumano. “I’m delighted to see they’ve chosen to honor a diverse, international, adventurous group of films that truly reflect the Tribeca spirit. We can’t wait to continue to follow and support all these films’ journeys into the world.” –
Article by Gregg W. Morris
This World Premiere Directed by John Antonio James and Bill Mack Should Be Considered a Top Contender for Shout Out! Documentary of the Year
Film Review, Part 1 (Followups in the Works)
BLACK TABLE caught me off guard. I was swept up into the film so fast that I fumbled and stumbled shifting into reviewer mode. It took 30 minutes before I stopped swallowing and gulping scenes down, and a measure of…
BIG BREAKING FILM MAKING NEWS:
Film Lab Announces Theme of 20th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition
The most electrifying and boundary-breaking filmmaking competition of the year has launched. – By Gregg W. Morris
DRIVER: Director Nesa Azimi’s Beaut of a Documentary About Women Long Haul Truckers
“Cinema as a whole can be seen as a vehicle for empathy — in general, the goal of a film is to make the audience feel as if they have lived the experiences of the character onscreen, and can identify with their struggles,” writes H.R. Starzec on Medium.com. Starzec could have been writing about DRIVER.
“There’s a feeling of sensitivity and understanding at every level, and the filmmaker trusts that the audience is capable of extracting these feelings from film.” – A must see movie. Article by Gregg W. Morris
Feature Film Lineup for Tribeca Festival 2024 Announced
This year’s program includes 103 feature films from 114 filmmakers across 48 countries. The lineup comprises 86 world premieres, two international premieres, six North American premieres, and eight New York premieres. Half of the films in competition are directed by women. Additionally, 35% (36) of feature films are directed by BIPOC filmmakers. There are 30 films directed by first-time filmmakers and 25 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects. – By Gregg W. Morris
The Celebrated Filmmaking Competition Whose Leadership Is Damn Serious About Diversity: 72 Hour Shootout- Part 3
Quentasia Studios, INC YouTube Interview of Jennifer Betit Yen and Tyler Ham Pong Conducted by Gregory Q. Jenkins of Quentasia Studios Premiered March 30, 2024, The Quentasia Podcast Season 3: Jennifer Betit Yen & Tyler Ham Pong. A wide ranging…