My Octopus Teacher (2020) Directors: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed Screenwriters: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed Starring: Craig Foster, Tom Foster Wildlife documentaries remain one of the most enduringly popular genres in film and television. From high-profile nature series to unexpected viral sensations, audiences repeatedly return to stories that bring the natural world close to home. My … Read more
Two Distant Strangers (2021) Directors: Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe Screenwriter: Travon Free Starring: Joey Bada$$, Andrew Howard, Zaria “Say their names. Remember their names.” Those lines close the Oscar-nominated live action short Two Distant Strangers, a stark and unflinching short film that confronts the repeated, racially motivated killings of Black Americans by law enforcement. … Read more
Collective (2019) Director: Alexander Nanau Screenwriters: Alexander Nanau, Antoaneta Opriș Featuring: Cătălin Tolontan, Vlad Voiculescu, Tedy Ursuleanu Collective is a powerful Romanian documentary directed by Alexander Nanau that earned rare double recognition at the 2021 Academy Awards, receiving nominations for both Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film. These nominations underscore the film’s quality … Read more
Genius Loci (2021) Director: Adrien Merigeau Screenwriters: Adrien Merigeau, Nicolas Pleskof Starring: Nadia Moussa, Georgia Cusack, Jina Djemba Genius Loci is a striking French animated short that stands apart from mainstream Western animation through its abstract visuals, immersive sound design, and mature thematic focus. Directed and co-written by Adrien Merigeau, and realized visually with the … Read more
Over the Moon (2020)Director: Glen Keane, John Kahrs Screenwriter: Audrey Welles Starring: Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Robert G. Chiu, John Cho, Ken Jeong, Sandra Oh Netflix’s animated musical fantasy Over the Moon was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2021 Oscars. Directed by veteran animator Glen Keane alongside John Kahrs and … Read more
The Letter Room (2020) Director: Elvira Lind Screenwriter: Elvira Lind Starring: Oscar Isaac, John Douglas Thompson, Brian Petsos, Eileen Galindo, Alia Shawkat The Letter Room is a tightly focused short drama centered on Oscar Isaac’s subtle, watchable lead performance. Clocking in at around thirty minutes, the film is written and directed by Elvira Lind and … Read more
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) Directors: Richard Phelan, Will Becher Screenwriters: Mark Burton, Jon Brown Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Amalia Vitale, Chris Morrell Chicken Run premiered twenty-one years ago and announced Aardman Animation’s arrival as a major feature-film studio. That debut, together with early hits like Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of … Read more
Yes-People (2021) Director: Gísli Darri Halldórsson Screenwriter: Gísli Darri Halldórsson Yes-People is a short animated film that finds warmth and wit in the ordinary rhythms of daily life. Nominated in the Animation Short Subject category at the 2021 Oscars, this compact piece by Icelandic filmmaker Gísli Darri Halldórsson stands out for its quietly observant tone … Read more
This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by Peter Charney. The Father (2021) Director: Florian Zeller Screenwriters: Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell Aging is inevitable, and for many it arrives with confusion, loss and a painful erosion of identity. Florian Zeller’s … Read more
If Anything Happens I Love You (2020) Directors: Michael Govier, Will McCormack Screenwriters: Michael Govier, Will McCormack The animated short If Anything Happens I Love You, written and directed by Michael Govier and Will McCormack, stands out as one of the most affecting pieces of short-form cinema in recent years. Released on Netflix, this hand-drawn … Read more