Filmmaker Joanna Vasquez Arong weaves together myths to tell how a small town in the Philippines copes with devastation and trauma in the aftermath of a typhoon. A girl’s voice divulges bits and pieces of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experiences she felt visiting this ravaged town. Premiered at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival.
Category: Film
Review in the works
MIRROR Film Review
Stylized & Minimalistic, Undeniably Delicious & Brooding, Edged With a Touch of Cynicism
This reviewer has no idea if Director Christina Yoon ever watched a ‘Twilight Zone,’ and could care less if she did or didn’t. It is only in this reviewer’s imagination that there are irresistible similarities between MIRROR and ‘Eye of the Beholder,’ a Twilight Zone episode. If challenged, I would give Sterling’s 5 stars out of 5 for its time. And Yoon’s? 5 stars, undeniably delicious.
AFTER CLASS Film Review
A familiar ring of a single, hard working mom willing to do whatever she can muster to help her young daughter. But it’s the sumptuous way that Director Xiu tells the story with impressive acting by principal and supporting actors, imaginative cinematography, a suspenseful plot with several surprises, a film score poignantly sweet. There will come a time in this film when viewers will gasp like they’ve never gasped before because of a brilliantly done scene in a exquisitely made film with flawless cinematography. Audiences should also for a tapestry of spell-binding irony.
DRIVING WHILE BLACK: RACE, SPACE AND MOBILITY IN AMERICA, A Ground-Breaking, Two-Hour Documentary Film by Acclaimed Historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy–Winning Director Ric Burns
Chronicling the riveting history and personal experiences – at once liberating and challenging, harrowing and inspiring, deeply revealing and profoundly transforming – of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond. By acclaimed historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy–winning director Ric Burns.
By Gregg W. Morris who is working on review.
Bombshell Trailer for a Bombshell Documentary
#UNFIT TRAILER from #UNFIT on Vimeo.
Film Review: THE LAST FERRY FROM GRASS ISLAND – A Palm Springs International ShortFest Nominee for Best U.S. Short
Fate catches up to a retired Hong Kong hit man who found sanctuary, spiritually and otherwise, as a fisherman on the peaceful Grass Island where he dutifully takes care of his mom who is being ravaged by dementia. One day, his former Chinese apprentice shows up to execute him.
By Gregg W. Morris
Film Review: DAY RELEASE (FREIGANG)- A Palm Springs International Shortfest Nominee for Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes
A hell of a story. Compelling. Picturesque, from the doe eyes of star Anna Suk playing with incredible finesse single mom Kathi (with a felony conviction) struggling to keep the nasty fates and cruel verities of life that have dogged her from being passed on to her wide-eyed son Patrick, played with aplomb by Patrick Schmidl.
Lineup for the 48th Dance on Camera Festival, July 17-20, by Dance Films Association & Film at Lincoln Center
This program travels the globe from Ireland to Argentina to Kazakhstan, and the festival will be presented digitally for the first time. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, July 1. For additional information visit Film at Lincoln Center at filmlinc.org, Dance Films Association at dancefilms.org, and follow tlhem on social media: @filmlinc and @dancefilms.
Gregg W. Morris
Palm Springs International Shortfest
Palm Springs Shortfest – JOSIAH nominated for the Best U.S. Short; explores Hollywood’s unconscious stereotyping. DAY RELEASE, nominated for the Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes;story of a single incarcerated mother facing a grave deadline. THE LAST FERRY FROM GRASS ISLAND, nominated for the Best U.S. Short; story of a hunted former Triad.
By Gregg W. Morris
CANE FIRE – Hot Docs Film Review
Director Anthony Banua-Simon’s CANE FIRE has the soul of a searing polemic in the form of a sobering memoir about the tropical Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. It looks like a paradise of paradises. For the indigenous and working class people who make the tourist industry shine it’s as bad as the eighth ring of Dante’s hell.
By Gregg W. Morris