Sacred Forest is a documentary about the rich mountain forests of Taiwan. If you like yer David Attenborough, you’ll like this. Chen Yufeng describes the evolution of the unique ecosystems of the Taiwanese mountain forests. They host some of the most ancient and largest trees on earth. From fir, juniper, cypress and cedars, down to…
A New Country traces the history of South Africa from the fall of apartheid to present day as it relates to the promise of a Rainbow Nation. When watching Nelson Mandela’s long walk to freedom, was the promise of that day, of real freedom and a new equality for all in South Africa, was that…
This blog celebrates the wide range of excellent films shown at the Glasgow Film Festival, as well as other film festivals shown in Glasgow. Some reviews are long, some reviews are short. All are intended to give you an idea of what you might like to see, and take a chance on something a little…
Downstream to Kinshasa is a documentary following the attempts of the victims of the 6 Days War to get the compensation allocated to them by taking their case to Parliament in Kinshasa. The 6 Days War occurred in 2000, when the fighting between Rwanda and Uganda spilled across the border onto Democratic Republic of Congo…
A documentary set inside a salon in Tunis on the eve of the 2019 Tunisian presidential election, the second ever held in this new democracy. The hairdressers debate each other and their clients on the issues of the day and the merits of the candidates. I love that this is set within a hairdressers. The…
Garderie Nocturne is a beautifully observed documentary focusing on Ms. Coda’s night nursery, looking after the babies and infants of women who work at night in the sex trade. Despite the contentious issues that might surround the subject, this film is purely a slice of life of what is. It shows a very domestic story…
Excruciating. Excellent, but excruciating. This is one of the only films I had to pause and walk away from and come back. So many things in this are a deeply uncomfortable watch. So, this film starts with the intention of showing a more positive, fuller picture of life in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of…
Arachnid is a short film in which Anansi begs his woman to return. Ama, an Ashanti goddess, has been hurt too many times, but will Anansi, with all his tricks, be able to persuade her to take him back? A really cool, beautifully shot piece playing out this scene from a traditional folktale in a…
Holy fuck, that was great. Each scene was so tense, I feel queasy. Covering the 2018 Zimbabwe election, President follows Nelson Chamisa, leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, and his team, as they fight the first vote since the deposition of long-incumbent tyrant, Robert Mugabe. Quick intro if you are not…
Rosine Mbakam’s latest film is Delphine’s Prayers, a heartbreaking and moving documentary about one woman’s life. Across the course of the film she tells her life story to the camera, a story of survival despite all odds. Delphine, like Rosine, was born in Cameroon and now lives in Belgium with a European husband. But where…