Category Archives: Film Festivals

Bystanders review #AIFF22

September 23, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Koumbie | Written by Koumbie, Taylor Olson, and Lisa Rose Snow | 90 min The script for Bystanders has won The Michael Weir Award for Best Atlantic Screenwriting, and it's well-deserved. Bystanders has a script I'd call courageous, how it wades into issues other writers might hesitate to consider. It's the story of…Read More

#LunenburgDocFest22 preview

September 22, 2022 flawintheiris

For the first time the Lunenburg Doc Fest is running for seven days, from Thursday, September 22 through the 28th. That means more opportunity to see a broader selection of new documentaries, both on site and online. Here's a few that I've had the good fortune to see in advance: Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On…Read More

All That Breathes, Holy Spider reviews #AIFF22

September 22, 2022 flawintheiris

All That Breathes | Directed by Shaunak Sen | 97 min New Delhi is one of the world's largest, and most polluted cities. Its denizens — human and animal alike — have to live with its uncontrolled growth and overpopulation and the city's poisoned air and water. This is an astonishing film, a look at…Read More

LENS ME YOUR EARS on #TIFF22 and #AIFF22

September 21, 2022 flawintheiris

As regular readers of FLAW IN THE IRIS — and followers of the site's Instagram account — know I've recently returned from Toronto where I covered the 2022 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. (Click here to read all the reviews.) On the most recent episode of the podcast I co-host with the multimedia…Read More

#TIFF22 is a wrap: 10 things I learned at the Toronto International Film Festival

September 19, 2022 flawintheiris

I write this as I'm relaxing in the Toronto Island airport lounge, about to board a plane back to Nova Scotia. The Toronto International Film Festival is a blast and a bit of a monster, and while I loved being here I also feel like I've been hanging on to the festival's vast, scaly hide…Read More

No Bears, The Fabelmans, The Lost King reviews #TIFF22

September 18, 2022 flawintheiris

No Bears aka Khers Nist | Written and Directed by Jafar Panahi | 106 min On a recent episode of the podcast I cohost, LENS ME YOUR EARS, we watched and talked about a number of Iranian films, including a couple by activist filmmaker Jafar Panahi, The White Balloon and Taxi. I very much appreciate…Read More

Causeway, The Eternal Daughter, and Decision To Leave reviews #TIFF22

September 17, 2022 flawintheiris

Causeway | Directed by Lila Neugebauer | Written by Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Elizabeth Sanders | 92 min This lean, even austere New Orleans-set drama is from a first-timer, and sees the return of Jennifer Lawrence — who's taken a little time away from her acting career recently — giving a surprisingly embodied performance, all angular…Read More

One Fine Morning, Broker reviews #TIFF22

September 16, 2022 flawintheiris

One Fine Morning aka Un Beau Matin | Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | 112 min Having enjoyed Hansen-Løve's Things To Come and most recent Swedish set, Bergman Island, I was still unprepared for how much I adored her brand new picture. It's unabashedly French with its Paris locations and story of a modern…Read More

The Banshees of Inisherin, The Wonder reviews, #TIFF22

September 15, 2022 flawintheiris

A couple of Ireland-shot period movies today, both of which feature old houses burning down. Otherwise, they're quite different. The Banshees of Inisherin | Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh | 109 min I learned today that Inisherin, the island where this yarn is set, is fictional. It was shot in Inishmore, the largest of…Read More

#AIFF22 Preview

September 14, 2022 flawintheiris

Regular readers will know I'm in Toronto right now seeing films at the 2022 edition of Toronto International Film Festival, but I can't help but feel a little wistful to be missing the launch of the Atlantic International Film Festival — recently known as FIN, though that branding seems to be a little less prominent…Read More