#SUNDANCE: “DIDI” (弟弟) REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Dìdi (弟弟) is set in 2008. A time when it was common to AIM your crush, film YouTube videos with friends not for fame but for fun, and realize that Facebook is the best form to stealthily spy on your friends. It follows Dìdi (Isaac Wang in the summer before high school begins. This impressionable boy learns through his friends and family what it means to be a good friend, person, and most importantly a good son. Writer-Director Sean Wang makes a striking ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “IN THE SUMMERS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Writer-Director Alessandra Lacorazza makes an emotional debut Feature with this story of two daughters coming of age over four summers spent with their troubled father. In The Summers follows two sisters, Violeta and Eva (who are played by different actors over the four summers we follow them), on a journey that spans the formative years of their lives. It takes place over four summers when two sisters visit their loving but volatile ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “DIDI”, “DAUGHTERS” AND “IN THE SUMMERS” WIN TOP PRIZES AT SUNDANCE 2024

Today the jury and audience award-winning films for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival were announced during a ceremony at The Ray Theatre in Park City. The Awards Ceremony occured two days before the conclusion of the Festival, taking place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024. This year marks the 40th edition of the Festival, bringing together audiences in Utah and beyond to ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “SUNCOAST” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Writer-Director Laura Chinn makes an impactful Feature debut with a script inspired by her own teenage experience. It’s set in 2005 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and tells the coming-of-age story of teenager Doris (a breakout performance by Nico Parker). Doris and her strong-willed mother Kristine (Laura Linney) care for Doris’ ailing brother. After years of caring for and watching him deteriorate at home to Brain ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “A REAL PAIN” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their recently deceased beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Writer-Director  and star Eisenberg returns to Sundance, after premiering his feature debut When You Finish Saving the World in 2022, to have the world premiere of his outstanding second ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Writer-Director Titus Kaphar’s feature debut is a powerful look at breaking the cycle of generational trauma, the healing power of art, and an examination of what forgiveness means. Established Artist Tarrell (André Holland) uses his paintings to find freedom from his past. A past that included trauma inflicted by his drug-addicted father La’Ron (John Earl Jelks) onto his mother Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) and him. Now, 15 ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “A DIFFERENT MAN” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Aspiring Actor Edward (Sebastian Stan) undergoes a radical facial reconstructive medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. However, his new face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play. A play based on himself — pre-surgery. Instead, theatre Director and Playwright Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) chooses Oswald (Adam Pearson) who meets the representation of the role. ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “WINNER” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Reality Winner (Emilia Jones) is a brilliant young misfit from a Texas border town who finds her morals challenged while serving as an NSA contractor. A sarcastic, gun-loving, vegan, and CrossFit fanatic, Reality is an unconventional Whistleblower who ends up being prosecuted for exposing Russia’s hacking of the 2016 election. Don’t confuse Winner with last year’s Reality. As Reality strictly depicted the interrogation that occurred inside Reality ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “MY OLD ASS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore My Old Ass is an entertaining, deeply funny, and tender film about living boldly. The summer before college, bright-yet-irreverent Elliott (Maisy Stella) comes face-to-face with her older self (Aubrey Plaza) during a mushroom trip. The encounter spurs a funny and heartfelt journey of self-discovery and first love as Elliott prepares to leave her childhood home in Muskoka for Toronto to attend University. Writer-Director Megan ... Read more

#SUNDANCE: “SEBASTIAN” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore Finnish-British Writer-Director Mikko Mäkelä delivers this riveting character study of 25-year-old writer Max (Ruaridh Mollica) who currently works as a freelancer at a popular magazine in London and has multiple short stories under his belt. Now writing his debut novel, he begins living a double life as a sex worker for research. There have been many movies about Sex Workers over the years. For the most part, those narratives have focused on ... Read more