Josep Abad and Ainet Jounou in The Gravedigger’s Wife (2022)
[IMDb]
HENRY BELL is fascinated by the underlying curiosities and contradictions of one of the great poets of the Mediterranean
DAVID RENTON recommends a books that explores the ways in which disabled people are made to feel both of and not part of this world
JONATHAN TAYLOR is fascinated by the philosophical problems that permeate the art of life-writing
GORDON PARSONS steps warily in between the lines of Britain’s most famous diarist
SIMON DUFF recommends a recording of Arvo Part that takes the listener on a pilgrimage through seemingly distant times and events of the Bible
WHAT makes a film “memorable”? What makes it worth referencing, or remembering, or even watching in the first place? Why, at a moment when world events are often stranger than fiction, would we turn from the glorious escapism of big feature films and opt for something tiny, different, and rooted instead in the real?
The “tiny” films listed here are world-changing films, pivotal movies those who care about film should really get to know.
Alcarras, by female Spanish director, Carla Simon, is a semi-autobiographical, bittersweet tale about belonging, rooted in her native village (Alcarras). With stunning camerawork in deliberately natural colour, it is an elegant film, acted with real power and a strong feeling for its ordinary farmers faced with challenging circumstances that threaten to destroy their world.
RITA DI SANTO gives us a first look at some extraordinary new films that examine outsiders, migrants, belonging and social abuse
RITA DI SANTO reports on the films from Iran, Spain, Belgium and Brazil that won the top awards
RITA DI SANTO surveys the smorgasbord of films on offer at this year’s festival
