Writer and director: Phil Allocco Well, this is embarrassing. While there was no trouble identifying the Liverpool landmarks used in The Batman although the 5lbs of Pressure is set in New York it was filmed largely in Manchester and it was difficult to spot a single location. But then, as Phil Allocco’s film is relentlessly seedy and grim, that might be a blessing. Released from gaol after impulsively committing murder Adam (Luke Evans) returns to the scene of the crime. He is motivated by the urge to make a connection with his teenage son Jimmy (Rudy Pankow) which, he is…
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Director: Shinya Tamada Here’s a worthwhile subject for a movie: the orientation of asexuality, which applies in the case of about 1% of the population. Call centre worker Kasumi (Toku Miura), aged thirty, does not experience sexual attraction – the basic definition of asexuality – and neither does she have any romantic feelings. She feels perfectly content as she is, but after her sister gets married and becomes pregnant, pressure builds on her to do the same. Exasperated by her lack of progress towards securing a husband, her mother goes behind her back and arranges a matchmaking meeting at a…
Writer and director: Carl Joseph Papa Oscar Wilde euphemistically defined homosexuality as ‘the love that dare not speak its name.’ Writer and director Carl Joseph Papa applies this definition literally in his animated examination of the impact of trauma in The Missing: the protagonist does not have a mouth. Not having a mouth may be the least of the problems faced by Eric (Carlo Aquino). He works as an animator in the Philippines and his workmate Carlo (Gio Gahol) is giving signals he is interested in being more than a friend- a development Eric’s mother Rosalinda (Dolly de Leon) is…
Writers and directors: Alejandro RojasJuan and Sebastián Vasquez Kafkaesque dramas in which innocent people are crushed by nameless bureaucracies are a familiar concept. La Llegada, written and directed by Alejandro RojasJuan and Sebastián Vasquez, is disturbing simply because it raises the possibility the bureaucrats might have a point. La Llegada opens with impeccably liberal signposting-a radio broadcast establishes the film is set in 2019 and mocks the ambitions of then-president Donald Trump to limit immigration into the United States. Diego (Alberto Ammann) and partner Elena (Bruna Cusí) are travelling from Barcelona to Miami where they hope to become citizens, Elena…
Writers: Tsai Ming-liang, Tsai Yi-chun and Yang Pi-ying Director: Tsai Ming-liang The River is being screened as part of the Queer East Festival yet it is possible ‘queer’ might refer to the peculiar nature of the dysfunctional family members as much as the sexuality of the characters. Hsiao-Kang (Lee Kang-sheng) bumps into an old Girlfriend (Chen Shiang-chyi) who is working on a movie being shot on the highly polluted the Tamsui river. The film’s Director (Ann Huei) persuades Hsiao-Kang to take the place of an unconvincing manikin and pretend to be a corpse floating face-down in the murky river. Shortly…
Writer: Muriel Spark Adaptor: Gabriel Quigley Director: Roxana Silbert There’s a poignant scene towards the end of this production which demonstrates that the acoustics of the theatre are sound enough to support actors speaking their lines, rather than shouting them. That being the case, you wonder why the rest of the show is so needlessly loud. There’s a strong sense that the young women featured in this adaptation of Muriel Spark’s warmly evocative novella are talking over each other, and that’s the reason they’re raising their voices. Yet they aren’t. They may be competing with each other in various ways…
Writers Javier Félix Echániz, Asier Guerricaechevarría and Jon Iriarte Director: David Marqués Machismo is a social construction of masculinity common across Latin American and Spanish culture that maps out how men should engage with their gender based on virility, courage, strength, and power. The central joke in En temporada baja is that, although the film concentrates almost exclusively on male characters, none of them can be considered in any way macho. Actually, it debatable how far they can be classed as civilised. Alberto, (Antonio Resines) is the closest to an alpha male. A fast-talking hand-waiving shyster in the manner of…
Writer: Zoë Bullock Adapted from the work by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko Director: Shilpa T-Hyland There’s something to be said about caring for our little nightmares before they ferment into larger ones – when their influence extends beyond just our own headspace. And that despite how they make us feel and the pain they can impart, are they not still something of ourselves? Anxiety or trauma with the prospect of being re-shaped and guided into something constructive or healing? When playwright Zoë Bullock was introduced to Annouchka Gravel Galouchko’s story, Shō et les Dragons D’Eau, the tale of a Japanese village plagued with nightmares which they would…