Docunight Presents: Iranian Women's Stories
Four documentaries, now streaming on the Criterion Channel, embody the adopted slogan of the current protest movement: Woman, Life, Freedom

Four documentaries, now streaming on the Criterion Channel, embody the adopted slogan of the current protest movement: Woman, Life, Freedom
Curry Barker’s film, Obsession, soars in success this past May leaving everyone who has watched it in extreme chills and disturbance. And taking it to new levels of why men are always the root of horror films even when they try not to be.
'Uprooted' is a short film on what's happening in Ukraine as of today. This captures the emotions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Shadow & Bone excels in natural story representation with powerful centering of culture. Jessie Mei Li stars as Alina Starkov, the feisty cartographer with kindness, innocence, and integrity, who comes to be revealed as the legendary summoner of light.
Him is visually stunning—all concrete cathedrals and bone-rattling impact shots that look like a nightmare highlight reel. Marlon Wayans is magnetic as this legendary quarterback who's basically selling salvation with a smile that never quite reaches his eyes. But the story keeps running in circles: more tests, more cryptic pep talks, more ritualistic drills. The sports-as-religion metaphor beats you over the head when subtlety would've been more effective. The middle drags, and that finale chooses spectacle over substance. It's undeniably stylish, but left me cold. Also worth noting: despite the Monkeypaw connection, this isn't actually a Jordan Peele film—he didn't write or direct.
Diana’s spirit has taken off, ‘No right, no wrong, no rules for me.’ And in that moment, as she runs on the screen, she gets it, her ‘Let It Go’ moment.