Young love often appears in the cinema as tender, idealistic and bittersweet, but it rarely terrifies and goes against the grain. In Bones and All, two young people brought together by their taste for human flesh hit all these notes in the best way possible. Maren (Taylor Russell) is an 18-year-old living with her dad... Continue Reading →
TIFF 2021: Mlungu Wam (Good Madam)
In Mlungu Wam (Good Madam), archaic ideals take on a nightmarish role for a woman and her family. Tsidi (Chumisa Cosa) is estranged from her extended family after her grandmother dies. She leaves the family home to stay with her mother, Mavis (Nosipho Mtebe), a maid for an ailing, rich white woman named Diane (Jennifer... Continue Reading →
Fantasia 2021: A Different Monster: Black Women and The Monstrous
I was invited to do another presentation for Fantasia 2021! This was something brewing in my head for a while, so I was thrilled to explore Black women in a monstrous role. I wanted to reach back and reveal how Black women are seen in general and apply those perceptions to some of our favourite... Continue Reading →
Sound of Violence
A young woman channels trauma, a sensory condition, and obsession into her artistry in producer Alex Noyer’s directorial debut, Sound of Violence. Alexis (Jasmin Savoy Brown) is a brilliant young woman. A teaching assistant in the music department at a college, she creates beats with the help of her roommate Marie (Lili Simmons), who customizes... Continue Reading →
In Plain Sight: She Never Died
As a programmer for The Blood in the Snow Film Festival, I have the privilege of seeing some fantastic films created here in Canada, and I feel even luckier when we acquire them. One such film, She Never Died, screened in 2019 to great acclaim. Directed by Audrey Cummings, it’s not exactly a sequel to... Continue Reading →
Atlantics and the Beauty of Lost Love
Mati Diop’s Atlantics (Atlantique) is a tale of loss, eternal love and a vibrant vision of modern African storytelling very much needed to expose filmgoers to new representations of genre film. In the city of Dakar, Ada (Mame Bineta Sane) is betrothed to the rich and worldly Omar (Babacar Sylla) and she’s not happy. She... Continue Reading →
Sweetheart: A Creature Feature with Heart
Who do we have to rely on when the chips are down and we have to fight a mysterious creature while we take refuge on a deserted island? This is the dilemma for a young woman in J. D. Dillard’s Sweetheart. Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) has washed ashore a beautiful and secluded tropical island. The boat... Continue Reading →
No Comfort in Ma
Formulaic teen slasher films have been around for decades. Popular kids who fulfill all the tropes chased by an immortal antagonist, one who is relentless in its pursuit and thorough in its decimation of all things young and fancy free. But this time, the boogeyman is a black woman who harbors a deep-seated anger for... Continue Reading →
The Tokoloshe: Mythology and Modern Trauma
With the South African film industry making new strides to create opportunities for local and foreign filmmakers, director Jerome Pikwane tackles the horror genre with his first feature film The Tokoloshe. Busi (Petronella Tsuma) is a desperate young woman who finds work at a derelict hospital as a night-shift cleaner. She must deal with a predatory... Continue Reading →
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