Discovering Self-Identity in Santa Girl
One young woman with an unusual background tries to find and establish herself in the real world, which isn't exactly as festive as she hoped it would be.

"Why do you stutter?" a son asks his father, the comedian. "It's a long story," replies the father. "I was afraid of that," says the son, "can't you make a film about it?" As a viewer, you then step into the film and see Freek de Jonge performing as a committed street artist.
One young woman with an unusual background tries to find and establish herself in the real world, which isn't exactly as festive as she hoped it would be.
When diverse representation is featured on-screen, it oftentimes comes with strings attached that undermine the message they were trying to send. This can be attributed to the fact that behind-the-screen, the industry primarily does not reflect the breadth of diverse difference that is present in daily life. That’s why when something as powerful and authentic as Minari comes along, it is both incredibly wonderful and needs a large audience to witness it.
The newest Pedro Almodóvar movie, Pain and Glory, focuses on an aging and debilitated filmmaker, Salvador Mallo (played by Antonio Banderas) reflecting on his life in his old age.
With The Father, writer-director Florian Zeller- who wrote and developed the play upon which the film is based- pulls no punches as he confidently makes every effort to put the audience in the mind of someone whose grip on reality has all but vanished. It’s a dazzling testament to Zeller’s abilities as a director as he makes his first transition from stage to film appear as if he’s been working behind a camera his entire career. The dialogue he fashions with co-writer Christopher Hampton, along with the work of production designers Peter Francis and Cathy Featherstone, collectively makes the downward spiral of dementia startlingly tangible, doing so in a way that can be comprehended by everyone except the person it directly affects.
We, the Jane Austen aficionados, are suckers for everything and anything under the sun that’s remotely related to her and her world. That’s because we are so drawn to her unique style of fiction, romance, and social commentary, we take any allusion to her influence as a hint to what to expect when we start watching a movie or reading a book.
Kung Fu Chit was a beautifully made, empowering short film that really spoke to me. Featured in Incluvie’s 2020 Film Festival, Kung Fu Chit tells the story of a girl who doesn’t quite fit in.