Festival Reviews

Shayda

Shayda

by | Aug 12, 2023 | , ,

Noora Niasari’s episodic debut film ‘Shayda’ stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi (‘Holy Spider’) in an involving performance as an Iranian woman in an Australian women’s shelter.

Rossosperanza

Rossosperanza

by | Aug 10, 2023 |

The audacious second feature from Annarita Zambrano (‘After the War’) explores the mindspace of Italian teenagers in 1990 who aren’t allowed to be themselves.

First Case

First Case

by | Aug 9, 2023 | ,

A young French law-office worker unexpectedly finds herself defending a murder suspect in First Case (Première Affaire), the debut feature from Victoria Musiedlak. The unassuming drama continues in the vein of down-to-earth portraits of regular people working in...

Baan

Baan

by | Aug 8, 2023 | , ,

An undisciplined feature debut burdened by regrettably immature dialogue that knee-caps a potentially interesting impressionistic exploration of what “home” means in a globalized world.

Patagonia

Patagonia

by | Aug 8, 2023 | , ,

A developmentally delayed young man falls under the spell of a pansexual itinerant children’s entertainer in Simone Bozzelli’s well-performed but psychologically ill-judged feature debut.

Touched

Touched

by | Aug 7, 2023 | ,

Claudia Roranius’s ‘Touched’ competently telegraphs a complex intimate relationship with unusual frankness and gorgeous visuals, and yet, it falls short of its own material in true emotional terms.

Stepne

Stepne

by | Aug 7, 2023 | , , ,

Maryna Vroda’s richly lensed feature debut is a melancholic look at a dying part of north-eastern Ukraine that’s seemingly untouched by the present war, and while the narrative holds interest thanks especially to the protagonist, it’s the documentary-like scenes that are the film’s heart.

All the Fires

All the Fires

by | Aug 6, 2023 | ,

With ‘All the Fires’, first-time director Mauricio Calderón Rico rises to the challenge of a sensitive coming-of-ager with LGBTQ+ interest and a personal style.

Yannick

Yannick

by | Aug 3, 2023 | , ,

Quentin Dupieux’s gentle satirical humor has been put to better use than in “Yannick,” a slight (in every sense) comedy in need of either more intelligence or delirium to make it meaningfully fill its 66-minute running time.

Shayda

Shayda

by | Aug 12, 2023 | , ,

Noora Niasari’s episodic debut film ‘Shayda’ stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi (‘Holy Spider’) in an involving performance as an Iranian woman in an Australian women’s shelter.

Rossosperanza

Rossosperanza

by | Aug 10, 2023 |

The audacious second feature from Annarita Zambrano (‘After the War’) explores the mindspace of Italian teenagers in 1990 who aren’t allowed to be themselves.

Awards Corner

Locarno 2023

  • No awards yet.