Shayda is an All-Encompassing Look at Overcoming Abusive Relationships (Middleburg Film Festival)

Shayda follows a young Iranian mother named Shayda (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi) who takes refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) as she seeks a divorce from her estranged husband Hossein (Osamah Sami)…

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The Persian Version Explores Mother-Daughter Relationships (Sundance Film Festival)

Writer/director Maryam Keshavarz’s new film explores the dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship amidst the backdrop of Persian culture. The Persian Version introduces us to Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a free-spirited Iranian American woman trying to find her way in…

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Ferrari Doesn’t Quite Come Together Across the Finish Line

Legendary director Michael Mann returns to the big screen with a new biopic centered around a legendary car maker. Ferrari transports us to the summer of 1957 as Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) and his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz)…

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The Color Purple is a Visual and Musical Marvel

Following up an iconic story with a new retelling is always a daunting task and adapting a story as beloved as this one can be even more challenging. The Color Purple follows the same story many are familiar…

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Fingernails Fails to Live Up to Its Interesting Premise (Sundance Film Festival)

Studies consistently show that our society is increasingly lonely and isolated. Even the young who typically are enjoying the romantic exploration and freedom that typically accompanies youth in the post-World War II western world are having less sex and less relationships…

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American Fiction is Part Emotional Family Drama, Part Genius Satire, Complete Masterwork (Middleburg Film Festival)

In the wake of America’s great racial and equity reckoning over the past decade, one conversation that has arisen amongst minority and underrepresented groups as a result is, who gets tell our stories and become elevated as the “voice” of…

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Maestro is a Technical Marvel Paired with an Emotional Story of Marriage’s Complexity (Middleburg Film Festival)

Bradley Cooper returns to directing with a biopic about a famous musician, this time focusing on a famous, real life figure. Maestro chronicles the rise of famous composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) as he builds his musical legend alongside…

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The Zone of Interest Powerfully Displays the Banality of Evil (Middleburg Film Festival)

The concept of evil triumphing within society not because of some over-the-top conquest, but because of everyday people becoming numb to the slow march of what they know to be wrong is an oft explored concept within the…

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Poor Things is Hilarious but Challenging in A Way That Provokes Thought

Director Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone have teamed together on the big screen once more. Set in Victorian London, Poor Things tells the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman who curiously behaves like a toddler….

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Eileen’s Bland Story Fails to Take Advantage of Its Talented Cast (Sundance Film Festival)

A new film based on a novel of the same name brings together a skilled cast of actors. Eileen brings us into the mundane, and often painful, life of a shy young woman of the same name, played…

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