STRAW 2025: A Mother’s Silence Was Louder Than a Siren
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.

Blue Roses moves between an operating theatre, a cockroach laboratory, and a blue netherworld representing the interior of a knee. It blends documentary techniques (non-actors playing versions of themselves) with hallucinatory shifts in setting and character that disrupt our ability to distinguish what is real from what is imagined.
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.
At first glance, one wouldn't think John Carpenter's cult classic would be a thematic double-billing - or that Free Guy would be worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as They Live - but the two films of vastly different genres have more similarities upon further examination.
In all honesty, “Black and Blue” is a satisfying experience, complete with solid craftsmanship. With the help of cinematographer Dante Spinotti, Deon Taylor (the director) creates a murky, lived in atmosphere.
Animation as a medium of storytelling can be thought to be open to all ages and as I hope my reading will reveal, 'Nimona' could be interpreted as a transgender story.
The film does not add anything to its own conversation or genre, and falls flat once it’s about to end and must declare some sort of conclusion.
As Andrew’s life begins to change, his passion for drumming soon becomes a spiraling obsession in the pursuit of perfection. Through the use of disturbing and abusive training methods, Fletcher puts Andrew through emotional and physical agony.