‘Kathak: Dancing With Taboos’ Film Festival Review: A Story of Passion and Perseverance
Eloquent and informative, Hajera Sheikh’s documentary Kathak: Dancing With Taboos tells a story of love for one’s culture and perseverance through adversity.

Under threat in Algeria, Ismahel emigrates to France where he wants to live and work, with the hope that the people he's fleeing from will forget him the time he is away. In the letters that he writes to the daughter that he left behind in his homeland, he tells his own story in the guise of the biblical tale of Jonas and the Whale. Somewhere in France, an elderly farmer has just lost his young son. His three other children help him as much as they can to get through the trial of the funeral, but the ceremony is halted when the old man falls ill. The two stories unfold parallel to each other and are alternated.
Eloquent and informative, Hajera Sheikh’s documentary Kathak: Dancing With Taboos tells a story of love for one’s culture and perseverance through adversity.
The movie makes it abundantly clear that Meeka becoming an official heir is the most likely going to happen. But if you are expecting to see a movie about Meeka’s perseverance and eventual ascent to the throne, prepare to be deeply disappointed.
'Rag Tag' encompasses the diversity within the African Diaspora by showing London Nigerian men learning to regulate their emotions while navigating love and societal pressures.
Complex relationships between mothers and daughters are far from a new concept, whether the strain comes from abandonment, beliefs, or trauma. In My Only Wish, an Incluvie Film Festival submission, Brenda Gutierrez’s take on her character’s maternal divide comes in the form of abandonment.
With such a raw look at the 15th century, it seems that Disney was really trying to step outside of its element with this motion picture.
One of the great achievements of this film is its ability to challenge the mind and to force you to try to process information in a different way than you’re used to.