My Brother the Devil Written by Sally El Hosaini, Aymen Hamdouchi Directed by Sally El Hosaini UK, 2012 My Brother the Devil tells the story of British-Egyptian teenager Mo, who has decided that he is finally old enough to join his older brother Rashid and his friends in their drug-peddling gang. But Rashid has a …
The Angels’ Share Written by Paul Laverty Directed by Ken Loach Ireland, 2012 The choice of Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share as this year’s Opening Gala Film was a surprise to me. Usually the festival kicks off with a homegrown film – last year it was Halifax’s own Roller Town, the year before that, Score: …
The Guard Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh 2011, Ireland Talent is said to run in families. This certainly seems to be the case in the McDonagh family. Martin McDonagh’s 2008 ultra-black and extremely raunchy comedy In Bruges was an unlikely success. Now his brother, John Martin McDonagh, has written and directed his own …
Pina Directed by Wim Wenders 2011, Germany / France / UK The idea of watching contemporary dance pieces for over an hour and a half may not sound like the most riveting way to spend an evening. However, right from the get-go, Wim Wenders’s new film, Pina proves this assumption wrong. The film offers a …
Restless Directed by Gus Van Sant Screenplay by Jason Lew 2011, USA Gus van Sant is a very dynamic filmmaker that has tried his hand at many kind of genres and types of films. His latest, Restless tells the story of Enoch, an angry teenager who withdraws from the world following the deaths of his …
Visit the official website for the Atlantic Film Festival Senna Directed by Asif Kapadia Though Canadians as a whole tend not to be all that interested in F1 racing, it does continue to be an immensely popular sport in other parts of the world. Top drivers such as German Michael Schuhmacher enjoy immense fame in …
Following on the heels of big cousin TIFF, the Atlantic Film Festival may be smaller in scope but not in variety. Each year the film festival taking place in late September in Halifax, manages to strike a delicate balance between international arthouse and smaller, Canadian and even local films. Some of my favourites from last …
Daydream Nation Directed by Michael Goldbach Usually I dislike it when people say, “Oh that movie was weird.” I’m always inclined to think that they’re missing something. Or maybe I’m just a movie snob. Quite possible. However, halfway throughout this movie, I turned to a friend and said precisely those words to her. This movie is …
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger Directed by Woody Allen I feel the same way about Woody Allen that I feel about the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Yeah, you had some awesome stuff going in the 60s and 70s but maybe, just maybe it may be time to start just hanging out with …