Reviews

Julia brings the amazing life of TV’s first celebrity chef into view

Julia Child might have been one of the most unlikely TV stars. At 6’3”, she would have been tall enough to play center in the WNBA (the tallest player on the Atlanta Dream in 2021 was 6’4”), she began her TV career at 51 and she wasn’t exactly the most telegenic presence. But she was a TV star and she was the world’s first TV food personality, and she was amazing. She’s also the subject of a great new documentary called Julia. 

Reviews

Mayor Pete: Portrait of the politician as an ambitious man

Watching Buttigieg seek the presidency in 2020 felt like watching someone molded from a young age to achieve greatness reaching the upper limits of their ambition. I do not mean this as a compliment. He went to Harvard and Oxford, joined the military, and became a consultant for McKinsey before entering public service and serving two terms as mayor, running for president and settling on becoming Secretary of Transportation. And at the time I’m writing this, he’s still two months away from his fortieth birthday. And he’s openly gay.

Festivals Reviews

MVFF: Paper and Glue

JR has been an incredible street arts for decades now, starting out as a graffiti artist and moving on to photography, large scale street art and so much more. In the same vein as Banksy, he has something to say and says it with his work. Now traveling the world to literally cover it with his images, he finds unique ways to unite and teach folks you’d never expect to see in one space together much less working together to create art. Spanning three very different projects (and many stories) this documentary shows intense, beautiful, and revelatory experiences affecting everyone involved.

Festivals Reviews

SIFF DocFest 2021: Storm Lake

Most people haven’t heard of the Storm Lake Times newspaper for the same reason they likely haven’t heard of the Nome (Alaska) Nugget or, say, the Daily World from my hometown of Aberdeen, WA. But the Storm Lakes Times fills an important role in informing the citizens of Buena Vista County, Iowa. Despite having a circulation not much over 3,000 for a bi-weekly, small-community newspaper, it won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for editorial writing and exposing corruption in the agriculture industry. 

Festivals Reviews

SIFF DocFest 2021: a-ha: The Movie

At the beginning of a-ha: The Movie, the three primary and constant members of the legendary Norwegian, synth-pop band tell their likelihood of recording another album. Pål Waaktaar-Savoy says he already has the next a-ha album written; Magne Furuholmen says he’s open to going back in the studio; and Morten Harket says that he sees no point in a-ha putting out another album. It’s a telling story that shows the disparate points of view for this band that’s told through this film. And, for the record, a-ha does have a new album scheduled for release in 2022.

documentary Reviews

What We Left Unfinished reveals depth in the golden era of Afghan filmmaking

Miriam Ghani has unearthed an engrossing bounty of cinema and history from 1970’s and 80’s Afghanistan. Several established filmmakers of the time give first-hand accounts of their experiences making movies while footage from several of their unfinished works are continuously running in the background. It creates a rich tapestry of the frankly mad circumstances of the time.