Tag: Middleburg Film Festival

Conclave Is an Engrossing Political Thriller That Also Deftly Explores Religion (Middleburg Film Festival)

Coming off of the success of 2022’s All Quiet on the Western Front, director Edward Berger returns to cinema with the adaptation of a 2016 novel. Conclave finds us alongside Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) following the sudden…

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Anora Mixes Comedy and Drama to Explore The Psyche of Dancers (Middleburg Film Festival)

Winter/director Sean Baker is back with a new film that stays close to his trademark penchant for realistic portrayals of working class segments of society not often explored that has been buzzing on the film festival circuit. Anora is…

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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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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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May December Offers Surprising Nuance to Infamous Public Controversy (Middleburg Film Festival)

We’ve all heard and followed salacious and infamous cases of wrongdoing in the tabloid media, from OJ Simpson to Mary Kay Letourneau. In turning these stories into gossip, the real heinous effect on the lives of those involved…

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Saltburn Tackles Class Stratification Using A Familiar Gothic Story (Middleburg Film Festival)

Emerald Fennell burst onto the scene of talented writer/directors with 2020’s Promising Young Woman and three years later, she makes her anticipated return to multiplexes. Saltburn begins on the campus of Oxford University with freshman student Oliver Quick…

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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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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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