By Benjamin Akpan Stories of war are ripe with accounts of courageous men – bloodied and pain ridden – weathering through the bombs, guns, and cannons of battle, emerging victorious with songs of triumph welcoming them back to their families that have been consumed by the grief of war’s uncertainties. We love these tales of conquest that permeate official narratives and cultural conversations, seemingly forgetting that women also went to war too. And so, Russian writer Svetlana Alexievich took it upon herself to collate rich, oral accounts of Russian women who fought in the Second World War in her book The Unwomanly Face of War. Completely void of the romanticism sustained by the male gaze, Alexievich’s book did not go unnoticed; her body of work compiling harrowing accounts from women struggling to survive during the war and rebuild their lives afterwards earned her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015.
By Benjamin Akpan The last time Palestinian director Elia Suleiman appeared on our screens, he brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to our attention with beautiful imagery, music, and silent expressions. With barely a word spoken, he showed us his perspective of the violent relationship between both nations, just as perplexed by the conflict as anyone else. Ten years later, Suleiman returns with It Must Be Heaven to his mute character perplexed, this time around, by the absurdity of the rest of the world.
By Laura 'Simply Leah' McNeil The 2019 CaribbeanTales International Film Festival’s 14th year was filled with gems. Many things to be learned through the stories that were chosen to be told through film. On music night CTFF took the opportunity to uncover a hidden gem.
By Benjamin Akpan Thus far, 2019 has been the year for sophomore horror triumphs. In March, Jordan Peele brought his Lupita Nyong’o-led allegorical nightmare Us, which balanced wit, terror, intrigue, and action, to construct a petrifying narrative that was just as entertaining as it was socially reflective. Then, in July came Ari Aster’s Midsommar, a psychedelic cluster of blood-splattering barbarity that found humour in the physicality of grief and the turmoil of a relationship gone badly.
By Laura 'Simply Leah' McNeil
Venus and Magnet was definitely an interesting presentation at the 2019 Caribbean Tales International Film Festival held at The Royal Cinema in Toronto. This short film written and directed by Elspeth Duncan of Trinidad and Tobago is a cute tale that packs a powerful message.
By Laura'Simply Leah' McNeil
At the 2019 CaribbeanTales Film Festival we were presented with a documentary/biography by Peter Bailey called Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders at The Royal theatre in Toronto. In this film, writer and director Peter Bailey takes us on a journey through the events, and aftermath of Hurricane Irma and Maria which devastated the Virgin Islands and the neighbouring islands.
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