Venice and Toronto Reviews: More film reviews from Venice and Toronto received by subscribers with more on the way… For the full reviews and interviews, please subscribe here: https://akoroko.com/subscribe/
- ‘The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos’ meets Djibril Diop Mambéty’s “African film language” challenge as a scrappy, timely work that gives voice to a community often muted in mainstream media.
[I also interviewed the filmmaker collective behind the film]
- “Perfumed with Mint,” the feature debut from Egyptian cinematographer-turned-director Muhammed Hamdy, is all atmosphere. But the film’s striking imagery and poetic approach to trauma create an affecting experience that lingers.
- “Sudan, Remember Us,” directed by Hind Meddeb, is a rousing documentary chronicling Sudan’s 2019 revolution and its aftermath. The film offers an intimate, if urgent ground-level perspective of a nation in upheaval.
- “Freedom Way”: The depiction of bureaucratic absurdity and systemic corruption prompts Kafka-esque comparisons, even if unintended; as do portraits of characters trapped in a system they can’t fully comprehend or escape, feeling a sense of powerlessness.
- “Aïcha”: In its most powerful moments, “Aïcha” provides a window into the complexities of modern Tunisia from a young woman’s perspective, challenging viewers to consider the often-invisible struggles they continue to face in seemingly “progressive” societies.
- “Dahomey”: Mati Diop’s sophomore feature film “Dahomey” is a penetrating and fresh exploration of cultural restitution, identity, and the lingering impacts of colonialism. Blending reality with elements of fantasy, the film confronts the real-life narrative of the repatriation of 26 royal artifacts from France back to the Republic of Benin.
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