Raindance: Don't give up

Watching Raindance Film Festival movies is a great tonic as both the US election takes place and London braces for a new month-long lockdown starting tomorrow. All of the films at Raindance are available for free online this year, so hopefully audiences are discovering lots of new movies that will be very difficult to see outside a festival setting. More highlights...

He Dreams of Giants

dir Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe; with Terry Gilliam, Adam Driver 19/UK ****

After documenting Terry Gilliam's ill-fated attempt to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 2002's Lost in La Mancha, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe are back to cover the film's ultimate production 17 years later. It's a story of artistic tenacity that echoes Cervantes' classic tale of a man on a mission. And it's an intriguing echo of Cervantes himself, who published his masterwork after two decades of struggle... FULL REVIEW > 

Antarctica

dir-scr Keith Bearden; with Chloe Levine, Clea Lewis 20/US **.

With a scattershot approach to teenage life, this loose comedy follows two teens through the school year, confronting big issues from body image to pregnancy. It all feels a bit random, struggling to build momentum without much sense of narrative drive. Filmmaker Keith Bearden takes a deliberately quirky approach, bringing out comedy in both fragile characters and even the most serious situations. And his sense of humour is lacerating.

The Woman With Leopard Shoes

dir-scr Alexis Bruchonl with Paul Bruchon, Pauline Morel 20/Fr ****

Shot in deeply shadowed black and white, this French thriller has a saucy tone that's both gripping and enjoyable. With a strong mystery at the centre, it provides proper intrigue and suspense. The film demonstrates how much can be accomplished with a tiny crew, as ambitious writer-director Alexis Bruchon and family seems to have done pretty everything on a reported budget of just €3,000. And it looks like a million... FULL REVIEW > 

True North

dir-scr Eiji Han Shimizu; voices Joel Sutton, Michael Sasaki 20/Jpn ****

This English-language animated film is certainly not meant for children, as it depicts the horrors of the North Korean prison system. Based on firsthand accounts, the story unfolds in a series of set-pieces that reveal hideous inhumanity. Often painful to watch, this is a terrific example of the kind of movie that can only be made with animation, revealing a truth that very few have lived to tell about... FULL REVIEW > 

NB. My anchor page for Raindance is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. Much more to come...