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KINDS OF KINDNESS
“Kinds of Kindness” is a 2024 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and co-written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. The film is structured as a triptych, featuring three distinct yet thematically interconnected stories, with the same ensemble cast appearing in different roles throughout. Each tale explores themes of domination, control, and the human desire for meaning,…
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LE JOURNAL D’UNE FEMME DE CHAMBRE aka DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID
“Le journal d’une femme de chambre” aka “Diary of a Chambermaid” is a 1964 satirical and unsettling drama directed by Luis Buñuel. The film critiques French provincial society, exploring themes of repression, xenophobia, sexual obsession, and class hypocrisy. The story follows Célestine (Jeanne Moreau), a brilliant yet disillusioned Parisian woman who takes a job as…
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2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
“2001: A Space Odyssey” is a 1968 groundbreaking science fiction epic directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Kubrick, along with acclaimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, that redefined the genre and filmmaking itself. Deeply philosophical and visually stunning, the film delves into themes of human evolution, artificial intelligence, space exploration, and the boundaries…
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SHORT FILM: WANDER TO WONDER
“Wander to Wonder” is a 2023 short stop-motion animation film directed by Nina Gantz and written by Simon Cartwright, Daan Bakker, and Stienette Bosklopper. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Short Animation and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The film features Terence Dunn as Billy Budd,…
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SISTER MIDNIGHT
“Sister Midnight” (2024) is a darkly comic, surreal horror-drama written and directed by Karan Kandhari in his feature debut. The film stars Radhika Apte, alongside Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam, and Smita Tambe. Set in the dense, chaotic sprawl of Mumbai, the film blends deadpan humor, social satire, and grotesque fantasy to explore alienation, repression, and…
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EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX (BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK)
“Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)” is a 1972 American comedy anthology film written, directed, and starring Woody Allen. The film is a loose adaptation — more like a parody — of Dr. David Reuben’s best-selling sex manual of the same name, transforming clinical questions into a series…
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ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO aka A BAY OF BLOOD
“They came to play… they stayed to die.” That was the tagline for “Ecologia del delitto” aka “A Bay of Blood,” a 1971 seminal Italian giallo film directed by Mario Bava. Widely considered a precursor to the slasher genre, the film is known for its graphic violence, inventive kills, and nonlinear narrative. It mixes classic…
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ENYS MEN
“Enys Men” (Cornish for “Stone Island”) is a surreal, slow-burning folk horror film released in 2022. It was written, directed, and edited by Mark Jenkin, known for his work on “Bait.” The film is shot on 16mm film, giving it a grainy, analog aesthetic, and is set in 1973 on an isolated, uninhabited island off…
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TESS
“Tess” is Roman Polanski’s 1979, emotionally devastating adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The film tells the tragic story of a young peasant woman whose life is shaped—and ultimately destroyed—by the social injustices and moral hypocrisies of Victorian England. The film is divided into three distinct acts, chronicling Tess’s life, starting…
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SACRED HOUSES: THE MAREEL, SHETLAND ISLANDS, UK
The Shetland Islands, a remote archipelago in the North Sea north of the Scottish mainland, had one cinema, The North Star in Lerwick, which was converted into a music venue in 1989. In complete transparency, I worked extensively with a band called “Idlewild” during their early days. They were strong advocates for remote concerts in…
The Other Cinema 