Commissioned by the BBC & BFI, CLASH is a short experimental documentary critiquing Britain's obsession with period dramas, and how they erase the diverse reality of Britain today. This film - part parody, part candid interview - is a response to Humphrey Jennings' 1942 'LISTEN TO BRITAIN', a documentary used to propel a myth of national unity. CLASH, through the perspectives of underrepresented queer people of colour, critiques the myths we still tell ourselves on screen. Through candid interviews and staged period-drama sequences with our subjects - involving a hobby horse race in East London - our film explores the issues surrounding nostalgic heritage cinema, and how it erases the diverse landscape of Britain today.
“Candyman ain't a 'he.’ Candyman is the whole damn hive." Candyman represents all Black victims of white supremacy, and this art form narratively conveys it in a succinct, adulatory way, the history of which is rare to find.
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone has a complicated relationship with race. It has a diverse cast, but not without its problems. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s two book series, the show features characters from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which is very straight and white, and the Six of Crows duology, which is much more diverse. When bringing together a cast and writing about these characters, the team behind the show expanded upon some of the representation missing from the first trilogy, then seemed to take away representation from the duology. Shadow and Bone seems to play a bit of a push and pull game when it comes to portraying diversity onscreen.
While Peter’s heroics might have been a bit unrealistic at times due to his lack of experience, I will always support the civilian taking down the establishment.
In the film adaptation, director Jon M. Chu turns each musical number into a massive show stopper, with grand set pieces and a wealth of diverse dancers. Yet, in this attempt to show reverence for the people of the Washington Heights barrio, Chu, or maybe more specifically those in charge of casting, left out a crucial part of the community, Afro-Latinos.
The Resort has an excellent climax surrounded by disappointments. Somehow, at a mere 75 minutes, this movie still manages to be 70 minutes too long.
'Living' dives into many themes that we can all understand regardless of our cultural backgrounds. We can see this through the shared similarities between 'Ikiru' and 'Living'.
