Tag: Diverse

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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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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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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Dream Scenario is Brilliantly Biting and Funny Satire of the Social Media Age (Middleburg Film Festival)

Much has been made over so-called cancel culture, what it is, and whether it really exists at all. Some believe it is merely bad people facing the consequences of their actions, while some literally believe no one of…

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Next Goal Wins is a Classic Feel Good Sports Movie That Avoids Feeling Cliché

Based on a true story, Next Goal Wins follows soccer coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) as he is assigned by his estranged wife Gail (Elizabeth Moss) and her new beau/soccer executive Alex Magnussen (Will Arnett) to take the…

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The Holdovers is a Tender, Relatable Study of Loneliness, Depression, and the Need for Connection (Middleburg Film Festival)

Set in the 1970s, The Holdovers tells the story of how curmudgeon high school philosophy teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), high school student Angus (Dominic Sessa), and high school chef Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) all end up…

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Rustin is Part How-to Guide for Political Organizing, Part Character Study, All Engaging (Middleburg Film Festival)

As protests rage on around the world, the how of these massive demonstrations is often forgotten or glossed over. Who organizes these protests? How are thousands of people corralled into one place fighting for one cause? Rustin reintroduces…

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Killers of the Flower Moon: A Tale of Americana

“But the bigger we get, the more we’re taking from other people.” – Mobsters (1991) Social inequality and equity have become hot topics in American society over the past several years. Politicians, academics, and business leaders have all…

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