Alex Ross Perry’s documentary Videohaven is the perfect visual dissertation that hits all the right emotional and thoughtful notes you want it to without being overly sentimental. Socio-cultural hub, consumer mecca, and source of existential dread, the video rental store forever changed the way we interact with movies. With narration
Tag: film review
The Lonely Musketeer ★★★★ – Raindance 2025
Nicolai Schümann announces himself as a filmmaker to keep a keen eye on with his suffocating thriller, The Lonely Musketeer. It’s one hell of a debut with a powerhouse performance from Edward Hogg. Rupert (Edward Hogg) wakes up in a sealed, windowless room with no recollection of how he got there.
Casas Muertas ★★★ 1/2 – Sheffield Doc Fest
One thread runs through all of the multi-generational subjects in Rosana Matecki’s excellent documentary, Casas Muertas – they are all haunted in some form by ghosts, whether that is family who are lost, or a country that resembles nothing of what it once was; these people are haunted and lost.
Redlight to Limelight ★★★ 1/2 – Sheffield Doc Fest
Dreams are everywhere; everyone has them. In Bipuljit Basu’s empathetic Redlight to Limelight, we see those who are the most fragile dreaming, and all you can do is dream with them. Sex workers and their kids in a Kolkata brothel run Cam-On, a video production unit where they create stories.
Shards of Light ★★★★ Sheffield Doc Fest
Marcus Lenz and Mila Teshaieva’s emotional sequel to When Spring Came to Bucha takes us on the next phase for the people of the city, rehabilitation. The heavy weight of trauma complements the unflinching truth of what it’s like to live on in the wake of destruction. The residents of
Blue Has No Borders ★★★ 1/2 – Sheffield Doc Fest
There’s a lot to like about Blue Has No Borders, as the filmmaker Jessi Gutch provides us with a documentary that tackles Britain’s identity crisis and shows that, like everything in life, it was already there right in our faces and is a lot more hopeful than we think. In
Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari – ★★★★★ Cinecittà: Italian Doc Season 2025
If there is one thing that you come away with from Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari by filmmakers Martina Parenti and Massimo D’Anolfi, it is that the planet would thrive without humans on it. This powerful documentary warrants your fullest attention, as it takes your breath away. Divided into three acts on
Trade Secret ★★★★ – Sheffield Doc Fest
A haunting documentary about the disgusting commercial trade of polar bear fur, Abraham Joffe’s Trade Secret expertly exposes the betrayal of those meant to protect a vulnerable species. Each year, hundreds of polar bears fall victim to a brutal international trade. The situation seems dire, but hope emerges when three
Breakwater – ★★★★ (Raindance)
Max Morgan’s intimate debut feature Breakwater is a film full of subtle performances and rife with some gorgeous cinematography. With a pace that verges on glacial, its final act is a thoughtful and bold swing. Oxford student Otto (Daniel McNamee) is down on the Suffolk coast to meet his girlfriend
Factory ★★★ 1/2 – Sheffield Doc Fest
Factory is a stark and relentless look at the apathetic machine that is the factory line. Director Hao Zhou shows us the uncomfortable level of micro-management that prioritises profits over humans. In a Lenovo technology factory, business is ever-evolving, especially in this specific factory in 2020, as it was in
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