Articles
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For most of the 2000’s, director Denis Villeneuve was a semi-notable Canadian filmmaker in the midst of a self-imposed sabbatical. Despite his stunning successes in his home country’s awards circuit, he had grown disenfranchised with his profession, and focused instead on raising his children until he found material compelling enough to justify a return. The…
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We’re very excited to announce that we’ve partnered with the Indie Film Hustle Podcast Network to bring you our very own podcast series! Introducing: THE DIRECTORS SERIES WITH CAMERON BEYL: A FILM HISTORY PODCAST Our first few episodes adapt our video and text essay series on director Christopher Nolan. Available now via Apple Podcasts, Spotify,…
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The short film format, arguably even more so than the conventional feature-length, possesses the capacity to showcase the medium of cinema at its highest ideal. Freed from the constraints of narrative expectation, the short film can fly its freak flag sky-high as it ventures out into open water in search of artistic experimentation, innovation and…
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While director Denis Villeneuve had reportedly vowed not to end his self-imposed sabbatical from feature filmmaking until he found a suitably-compelling project, the short format evidently didn’t require the same high bar of scrutiny. Six years after the making of MAELSTROM (2000), Villeneuve would return with an extremely brief, yet hard-hitting, effort. Clocking in at…
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Notable Festivals: Cannes (Director’s Fortnight) The 21st century has long been heralded as an optimistic era of transformative societal change, but two decades in, it’s clear that it will continue to be dominated by the regressive attitudes of the 20th. The trend began as early as the waning hours of December 31st, 1999, when New…
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Notable Festivals: Sundance, Berlin In recent years, director Denis Villenueve has emerged as one of the most exciting filmmakers working in large-scale, big-budget studio filmmaking. While he doesn’t quite command the box office like his generational cohort Christopher Nolan, he has nonetheless parlayed the appreciation of critics and a cult fan base into a similarly-showmanlike…
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If one were to take a poll of contemporary cinephiles asking them to name the most exciting filmmakers working today, the name of director Denis Villeneuve would undoubtedly slide in towards the top of the list— if not cap it outright. Films like PRISONERS (2013), SICARIO (2015), and ARRIVAL (2016) have stunned audiences with their…
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Having lived in Los Angeles for over a decade now, I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with famous filmmakers. I once saw Ridley Scott marching down the New York backlot set at Warner Bros, cigar lodged firmly between gritted teeth as he barked orders at his entourage of assistants and aides. I caught Quentin…
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Notable Festivals: Venice One of the lesser-talked about aspects of pursuing a career in filmmaking is the loss of that visceral or “magic” sensation that made us fall in love with the medium in the first place. The ability to passively sit back and let ourselves get swept up in the story becomes hampered by…
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Notable Festivals: Berlin (Silver Bear), SXSW (Closing Night) It’s dangerous to be a dog in a Wes Anderson film. Whether it’s being caught between a brick wall and the receiving end of a speeding convertible as in THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001) or speared through with a boy scout’s arrow as in MOONRISE KINGDOM (2012), man’s…
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It appears that director Paul Thomas Anderson and I are engaged in a strange dance: every time I think I’m up to-do-date with my essays on his work, he goes and drops a new piece that takes the film world completely by surprise. This time, however, I was ready, thanks to a cryptic teaser photo…
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Director Paul Thomas Anderson is quite obviously well-regarded for his contributions to the theatrical feature space. Case in point: his last three films — THE MASTER (2012), INHERENT VICE (2014) and PHANTOM THREAD (2017) —- were included in a recent (if somewhat premature) ranking by Indiewire of the 100 best films of the decade. However,…