Filmmaker Spotlight: Hirokazu Koreeda


Written by Patricia Xu “I’ve learned to value ordinary life. And I still have a wish to portray that.” – Hirokazu Koreeda Hirokazu Koreeda is one of the greatest contemporary Japanese directors of this generation. Often being considered as the next Yasujiro Ozu, his masterpiece films show gentle, heart-warming, yet bitter sides of human life. […]

Why Tangerine (2015) is more relevant than ever this International Women’s Day


To celebrate International Women’s Day, NFF volunteer Rhiannon Talbot-Arnold takes a look at the fruitful message underneath the skin of Sean Baker’s 2015 film Tangerine and explains why it’s more relevant than ever, even five years since the film’s release. Tangerine’s premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival sparked a flurry of critical commentary; critics were […]

Pain and Glory Review


Almodovar’s latest masterpiece, Pain and Glory – otherwise known as Dolor y Gloria, is a thought provoking indulgence into the intimate parts of life; as have all of his preceding films. Almodovar has managed to craft a story which precisely harks pain from past and present whilst also seeing the characters revel in glory simultaneously. […]

Review: Midsommar


If ever a film was a perfect interpretation of an oxymoron then Midsommar (2019) is that film! Chaotically peaceful and beautifully traumatic thematically plague the narrative of this macabre Scandi scare; doing so to unnerving effect. Detached from Aster’s previous work (HEREDITARY 2017)), his recent endeavour into the disturbed and deranged tells a potentially darker […]

Are VFX killing cinema? Panel Discussion at NFF2018


As part of the Norwich Film Festival, I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion about VFX in films, called “Are VFX killing cinema?” In short, the answer was NO. Overall, the discussion was good and entertaining around the importance of VFX in the industry and also how its changed cinema. Throughout the discussion […]