Whatever Others Might Think, You Belong Here
It is the first sunny day of the year in London. The walk across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern feels euphoric. London is not always a place I feel I belong, but in the sun, the city feels like the only place I could ever be. The evening before, my dad had cold…
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‘Palestine 36’ Asks A Radical Question: What Is Stronger Than Empires?
In the concluding scene of Palestine 36, Afra (Wardi Eilabouni), a young Palestinian girl and a carrier of the knowledge of her culture, ancestors and the atrocities committed against them, walks barefoot through the stone streets of Jerusalem. This image, following the razing of Afra’s village, the torturing of her community, the destruction of her…
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Is Yorgos Lanthimos’ Prada Galleria Ad A Battle Cry Against Artificial Intelligence?
Since striking in 2023, artists have brought the rapid acceleration in the use of generative AI in film to the forefront of contract negotiation and cultural consciousness. Filmmaking is a creative endeavour, but it is also a technical practice. Artificial intelligence is beginning to automate the practice of filmmaking in all stages of production, from…
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The Lessons In ‘Nightcleaners’ Remain Important, 50 Years On
Between 1970 and 1972, a group of filmmakers (Richard Mordaunt, Mary, Kelly, Marc Karlin, Humphry Trevelyan and James Scott) working under the moniker Berwick Street Film Collective filmed women who spent nights cleaning the office buildings around London. This November, to mark the 50th anniversary of Nightcleaners, LUX are sharing the film online until the…
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Rian Johnson Revives Film Franchising With Wake Up Dead Man
Franchising: the writing on the wall for any IP. There’s a reason Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale have kept the rights to Back To The Future under lock and key, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire warning its ‘80s alumni of the chains it forged in the afterlife. Yet Rian Johnson, previous helmsman of Star Wars’ most polarising…
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