By Vernon Nickerson Full disclosure: I want the planet to watch this entire documentary from beginning to end as many times as needed so that no human being in America forgets. Specifically, we must never forget the history of our current pandemic of violence at the hands of people who, once upon a time, were…
By Vernon Nickerson 500,000 deaths to date. Once upon a time it was only 100,000; 25,000 of those were from NY, NY. Thankfully, 61 died in New York with a family’s remembrance. This is where “Leylak” (the Turkish word for mauve and or lilac) begins. Historically, the color symbolizes spring and mourning the loss of…
By Vernon Nickerson Won’t regret, can’t forget what they did for love. I am besotted by this film, as witness my first thoughts after watching “Anatomy of Wings” for the first time. On the wings of love, they fly like an eagle. “Anatomy of Wings”, masterfully helmed by educator and director Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander in…
By Vernon Nickerson Angela Washko Director/ Writer/ Producer masterfully leads an ensemble Drag Queen village cast to raise a fabulous film extravaganza, “Workhorse Queen” ! If there’s a niche in the LGTBQ+ community for a beautiful, powerful, profound and inspirational and moving tale perfectly pitched, have I got a “Workhorse Queen” and her family to…
By Vernon Nickerson Seaspiracy, which I am defining for purposes of this review as a secret plan to do harm to the ocean’s ecosystems comes out on Netflix in a time when a flood of revelations across multiple disciplines has rushed forth in the vacuum created by the absence of Donald J. Trump’s shrill science…
By Vernon Nickerson How many fathers have introduced/given their transgendered children things as adults as if they were children who were never allowed to say no thanks and or reject the offer? Writer-Director Em Weinsten highlights in a taut short film the primary issue of this dynamic where something is demanded from another without asking…
By Joanna Panayi Directed by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez Brown, “GNT” is an edgy animated short created by and for women. Honest conversations between young females inspire this short film to expose the repeated cycle that is self-validation. We see the female characters Glenn, Nikki, and Tammy’s contradictory friendship as it often relies upon…
By Vernon Nickerson Alisi Telengut’s animated film and Official Selection at Sundance 2021, “The Fourfold”, is a visual feast of nature, sound, color, and humans in animation. As soon as it opens in theaters post-pandemic, you can look forward to enjoying it on the big screen where it was born to be seen. Based on…
By Vernon Nickerson I found music video director / filmmaker / actor Noel David Taylor’s “Man Under Table or: I’m Writing a Movie” fascinating. It is unique as a film made PRE-COVID-19 and released in the midst of a global pandemic which has changed irrevocably how films are marketed/ distributed and “build an audience” in…
By Vernon Nickerson What would happen if a diverse POC cast made a 21st century redux of Les Miserables? It would be “Cut Throat City”. From director RZA and writer P.G. Cuschieri comes the explosive “Cut Throat City”, the story of four boyhood friends from New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward who return after Hurricane Katrina…
Something for everyone, See “Everything – “The Real Thing Story” as soon as you can! By Vernon Nickerson Wow! Who knew? 1976- America turned 200. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic (pond), “Everything – The Real Thing Story” was making history and breaking barriers. A rabid pink-skinned racist’s rant opens a film about the greatest Black British…
By Vernon Nickerson Chelsea Christer’s reality drama-documentary “Bleeding Audio” will be a hot ticket for fans of fan favorite punk rockers “The Matches” as soon as tickets are available. If, like most feature length films in the COVID era, it is streamed, that platform had best be prepared to be shredded. Officially, “Bleeding Audio” is…
By Liisa Cohen “Through The Night”, directed and produced by Loira Limal, captured my heart and attention. Whoa! What is Love? This heart warming and deeply moving film captures the life and soul of an exceptional woman. “Through The Night” is an intimate cinema verité portrait of three working mothers whose lives all intersect at…
By Liisa Cohen “Softie”, a film by Sam Soko is a perfectly paced, gut wrenching account of Boniface Mwangi as we follow this photojournalist turned political activist turned MP candidate on his personal journey. Boniface “Softie” Mwangi has long fought injustices in his country as a political activist. Now he’s taking the next step by…
By Liisa Cohen AVIVA, written and directed by the incredibly gifted Boaz Yakin, is an intensely sensual, borderline erotic, love story told through the lens of gender fluid dance, romance and unapologetic physical interactions. It is very gender fluid. The character Aviva is a young Parisian who develops an online romance with a New Yorker…
By Liisa Cohen The opening frames had my heart pounding, the ending frames had me in tears. NASRIN is a deeply moving, heart breaking and all too real story of Nasrin Sotoudeh, an attorney, human rights activist and political prisoner in Iran. With the back drop of modern day Iran, director/ writer/producer Jeff Kaufman and…
By Liisa Cohen Completely captivating, “MR SOUL!” is not just a documentary about Ellis B. Haizlip and his 1968-1973 Public Television show “Mr. SOUL!”. “Mr. SOUL!” is a deeply moving, beautifully edited, must see, absorbed and cherished film about a television show that started a movement reflecting the SOUL of all black people and the…
By Monteque Pope-Le Beau Writer and Director Kel Thompson’s independent feature film “The Terrible Adventure” is a delightfully sweet children’s film. “The Terrible Adventure” was the creative idea of Director Kel Thompson and his children. In the age of Greta Thunberg, “The Terrible Adventure” give gives a powerful message to children that there is nothing…
By Monteque Pope-Le Beau In the day to day bustle of life a gesture can means so many things. A word can be used to bring happiness or a weapon to hurt. Together they create the defining aspects of the book of one’s life. The chapters in one’s life tells the story of how they…
By Monteque Pope-Le Beau “Don’t Read This On A Plane” is a delightfully funny and poignant film about finding what it is you truly want out of life. Who would not enjoy traveling across the European country side meeting wonderfully interesting people while having the privilege of visiting some of the most beautiful and prestigious…
