The straw goat in Gävle will turn 50 years old on Christmas 2016. The municipality is planning a big party and the goat builders are working hard to make the goat extra nice. The big question is whether it will burn down like so many times before. At the same time, the whole world is laughing at the phenomenon.
This year, in light of the pandemic and the inability to gather with our loved ones, a few of our staff members reviewed their favorite holiday films with the hope of recreating some of the sentimentality that reminds us of home.
I can say without question, that this is the first movie I’ve ever seen where art imitates life so much that I could 100% identify with it on a personal level. The predominately Black cast of characters are people with hopes, dreams, fears, and ambitions.
Madres takes place in the 70’s following a Hispanic married couple who move to a migrant farming community. Diana, who is pregnant, starts to become suspicious of their new environment after she and the women around her develop strange symptoms. Could it be a curse, a sickness, or something else?
GOAT (2026) opens to the chanting of a crowd: "Roots run deep!" The rest of the film goes on to echo that sentiment, offering gorgeous animation and a heartfelt story along the way.
