The idea that a struggle can be waged via cinema is an appealing one today, as so many other battlefields seem already lost. For me, there is always hope lurking in film and television and, increasingly, online media. Political obstacles may seem insurmountable, but as I am fond of declaring: nobody has to elect a film. You can buy your ticket or download the new season or share the latest upload or streaming evidence and—at press time, at least—no one can stop you.
The Cinémathèque Française in Paris announced it would present a major retrospective of Arzner’s films in March and April. Whatever one might say about the many treasures of the Cinémathèque, one fact is incontrovertible: women film directors have never figured prominently. Could the Arzner program offer a refreshing change in the Cinémathèque’s offerings, perhaps even a sign that traditional French cinephilia is loosening its hold on French film culture? Sadly, not.
James Baldwin: Vocalizing History
Digital Sovereignty Online
Billy Woodberry’s Return to Form
Thriller’s Queer Feminist History
Rotterdam & Sundance Festivals
Writings on Juana Inés, Jackie, Earth
and Kate Plays Christine
RIP John Berger
Editor B. Ruby Rich weighs in on the latest issue of FQ, new revivals in a time of duress, trends in distribution, FQ’s approach to watching, writing, thinking about cinema and media in a time of ongoing political repression, and more.
FQ Editor-in-Chief B. Ruby Rich weighs in on the latest issue of FQ, new trends in streaming, FQ‘s panel at Film Society of Lincoln Center, and what media makers, critics, and scholars might do toward a new “cinema of urgency.”
Eleven years after its launch, the Morelia International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, FICM) is still Mexico’s most vibrant venue for both up-and-coming and established filmmakers.
FEATURES: A Special Dossier on The Act of Killing; An interview with Fatimah Tobing Rony; The Morelia Film Festival; Sundance at Thirty; and more…
“Last year’s Cannes was the best I’ve attended in twenty-seven years. This year was the worst…”
Megan Ratner reports from New York’s New Directors/New Films festival, praising The Minister, Las Acacias, and Stanley Kubrick’s debut Fear and Desire.
Brigitta B. Wagner reports from the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, reviewing Farewell My Queen, Sister, Jaurès, Revision, Barbara, and Our Homeland.