Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flicks Pix
Nora Lee Mandel is a member of New York Film Critics Online. Her reviews are counted in the Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter:
Complete Index to Nora Lee Mandel's Movie Reviews and Commentaries
My reviews have appeared on: Film-Forward; FF2 Media; Lilith, FilmFestivalTraveler; and, Alliance of Women Film Journalists and for Jewish film festivals. Shorter versions of my older reviews are at IMDb's comments, where non-English-language films are listed by their native titles.
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As of mid-2014, I am marking my own stricter application than others to fiction features of the Bechdel-Wallace Test
Originally suggested by Allison Bechdel, as inspired by her friend Liz Wallace (so her name was added to the symbol as of 2016), in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 to note a film that features (1) at least two named female characters; (2) who talk to each other; (3) about something besides a man. Symbol first designed by the Swedish chapter of Women in Film and Television; thanks to The Hot Pink Pen for the updated image. But my own criteria consider a substantive interaction about substance and gender for when a film features more than female relationships.
TV Recommendations
My Best Films of 2024
My Best Films of 2023
My Best Films of 2022
My Best Films of 2021
My Best Films of 2020
My Best Films of 2019
My Best Films of 2018
My Best Films of 2017
My Best Films of 2016
My Best Films of 2015
My Best Films of 2014
My Best Films of 2013
My Best Films of 2012
My Best Films of 2011
My Best Films of 2010
My Best Films of 2009
My Best Films of 2008
My Best Films of 2007
My Best Films of 2006
My Best Films of 2005
My Best Films of 2004
My Best Films of 2003
My Best Films of 2002
My Best Films of 2001
Reviews by Nora Lee Mandel in my idiosyncratic categories of how I think of of flicks:
CHICK FLICKS
IF YOU’RE JONESING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THE WIRE
IMPACT OF 9/11 ON NYC THROUGH MOVIES
IMAGES OF DENTISTS AND PREVENTIVE TOOTH CARE IN MOVIES (carrying on the work of Dr. Irwin D. Mandel z”l)
JEWISH WOMEN IN (and missing from) THE FLICKS
MASTERPIECE THEATER: MOVIES AS MEDICINE
For the MIDDLE-AGED AT HEART: HURRAH FOR GROWN-UPS!
For the MUSIC (and/or the dancing)
NEW YORK NEW YORK: IT'S A HELLUVA TOWN
NOIR NIGHT OUT
OGLING TEENS AND '20SOMETHINGS
POPCORN EATERS
ROMEO AND JULIET (and friends) ACROSS THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
SCI-FI and FANTASY from A DISTAFF POV
And then there's RUSSELL CROWE (with commentary on the actor)
Friends don't let friends watch bad movies! -- John Ridley
It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons. -- Pierre Rissient
Mothers of America/let your kids go to the movies! -- Frank O’Hara, Ave Maria
MY BEST FILMS of 2024 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
The Legionnaire (Il legionario) (preview at 2022 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center/ Film Movement Plus)
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
Achilles (Ashil) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Visit Films)
BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction
Tótem (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Sideshow Janus Films)
Shayda (2023 premiere courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Talking About The Weather (Alle Reden Übers Wetter) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of German Film Office)
The Peasants (Chlopi) (Kudos to writer/director DK - Dorota Kobiela- Welchman and score by Lukasz Rostowski) (oil painting animation) (2023 premiere courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Earth Mama (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ courtesy of A24)
Fancy Dance (Kudos to co-writer-director Erica Tremblay [Seneca-Cayuga], co-writer [Tlingit] Miciana Alise, and star Lily Gladstone [Blackfeet/Nez Perce]) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 Athena Film Festival)
The Persian Version (2024 Athena Film Festival/ 2023 preview courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Inshallah A Boy (Kudos to director/co-writer Amjad Al Rasheed and co-writers Rula Nasser & Delphine Agut) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Sisterhood (HLM Pussy) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Banel & Adama (Kudos to Khady Mane) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release by Kino Lorber)
Tendaberry (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Arthur&Diana (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Voice of Others (La Voix Des Autres) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Foremost By Night (Sobre Todo De Noche (Kudos Lola Dueñas) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Alpha Violet)
Malu (hybrid) (Kudos Yara de Novaes) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (Shashvi shashvi maq'vali) (Kudos Eka Chavleishvili) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Totem Films)
Documentary
Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ theatrical release by Oscilloscope)
A Place Of Our Own (Ek Jagah Apni) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Queen Of The Deuce (at 2022 DOC NYC/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Bye Bye Tiberias/ Tibériade (at 2023 DOC NYC/ theatrical release via Women Make Movies)
999: The Forgotten Girls (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (“Short List” at 2023 DOC NYC/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films)
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ HBO Documentary)
Q (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2024 Athena Film Festival)
How To Make Challah (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
Anyuka (Mother) (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
Self-Portrait: 47 KM 2020 (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
1489 (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Echo (El Eco) (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Break The Game (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2024 theatrical release)
Between Revolutions (Între revoluții) (hybrid) (Kudos to epistolary writer Lavinia Braniște) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Irena’s Vow
Shimmering Bodies (Corpos Cintilantes) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Kill 'Em All (Mátalos A Todos) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Documentary
Breaking The News (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2024 Athena Film Festival)
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
A Cautionary Tale (Cum să fiu mort, dacă-s viu?) (documentary) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
A Journey in Spring (Chun Xing) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Being Film and Art Co., LTD)
BEST ROMANCES
The Breaking Ice (Ran Dong) (Kudos to Heaven Lake) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Taste of Things (La passion de Dodin-Bouffant) (2023 preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Day I Met You (O Dia que te Conheci) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
BEST PANDEMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE
MMXX (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
A Good Place (Ein Schöner Ort) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/SPIRITUAL/APOCALYPTIC
Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell (Bên trong vo kén vàng) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
I.S.S. (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Bleecker Street)
The Animal Kingdom (Le Règne animal) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPSE I Recommend Despite My Gripes
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS
Io Capitano (Kudos to Seydou Sarr) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
The Temple Woods Gang (Le gang des Bois du Temple) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (Adieu Monsieur Haffman) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Libertate (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Asphalt City
Blaga’s Lessons (Urotcite Na Blaga) (Kudos Eli Skorcheva) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Heretic Films)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Disco Boy (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ theatrical release by Big World Pictures)
BEST NEO-NOIRS
Sleeping Dogs (courtesy of The Avenue)
Limbo (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Boss (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries)
They Shot the Piano Player (animation) (2023 preview courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
The Klezmer Project (Adentro Mío Estoy Bailando) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Hazel (dual) (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Robot Dreams (courtesy of Neon)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
Sujo (Kudos to Co-Writers/Directors Astrid Rondero & Fernanda Valadez, Cinematographer Ximena Amann) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Grace (Blazh) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
After The Long Rains (Baada Ya Masika) (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Delegation (Ha’Mishlahat) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
All, or Nothing at All (A/B) (Suo You You Shang De Nian Qing Ren) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
BEST COMING TO TERMS
Permanent Picture (La Imatge Permanent) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Cu Li Never Cries (Cu Li Không Bao Gio Khóc) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Dreaming & Dying (Hao jiu bu jian) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Lights on Film)
Omen (Augure) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Utopia)
Runners-Up: BEST COMING TO TERMS
The Shadowless Tower (Bai ta zhi guang) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Featherweight (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
The Promised Land (Bastarden) (Kudos to Mads Mikkelsen) (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
One Life (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Bleecker Street)
The Fox (Der Fuchs) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
BEST SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY:
Driving Madeleine (Une belle course) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Accidental Texan (courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
BEST CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World (Nu Aștepta Prea Mult De La Sfârșitul Lumii) (courtesy of MUBI)
BEST DOCUMENTARY RE-ENACTMENTS/DOCU-DRAMA/FICTION HYBRIDS
Solaris Mon Amour (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Samsara (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Otro Sol (Kudos to the Atacama scenery) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Queendom (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Vishniac (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Abramorama Films)
Crossing The River (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmakers)
A Message from the Future: Bosnia Greets Ukraine (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Centropa)
Giado: Holocaust in the Desert (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Go2Films)
Generation 1.5 (courtesy of Go2Films)
Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World (courtesy of Fiore Media Group)
On the (Sur l’) Adamant (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Gwetto (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Magic Mountain (Jadosnuri Mta) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
What Did You Dream Last Night, Parajanov? (Was Hast Du Gestern Geträumt, Parajanov?) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Behind Closed Doors (A Portas Fechadas) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Limitation (ვადაგასული საქმე) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story (preview at 2022 DOC NYC/ theatrical release by All Is Well Pictures)
Occasional Spies (Spioni de ocazie) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Intercepted (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Cosmos Films)
Scale (Meezan) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA
Resistance: They Fought Back (courtesy of Abramorama)
Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Golda’s War Diaries (at 2024 Jewish film festivals/ courtesy of Go2Films)
The Clinic (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Threat Assessment (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Much Ado About Dying (courtesy of First Run Features)
BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Your Fat Friend (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2024 Athena Film Festival)
How To Come Alive…With Norman Mailer (at 2023 DOC NYC/ Showtime/ 2024 theatrical release via Zeitgeist Films)
Flying Lessons (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws:
Gumbo Coalition (at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 Workers Unite Film Festival)
The Books He Didn’t Burn (Die Bücher, Die Hitler Nicht Verbrannte) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Cargo Film & Releasing)
James Joyce’s Ulysses (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Arena on BBC Four)
Fioretta (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of 7th Art Releasing)
Spinoza: Six Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Go2 Films)
Periphery (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of ”No Silence On Race Project”)
God + Country (courtesy of Oscilloscope)
Transition (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ streaming release by AGC Unwritten, Our Time Projects and Gravitas Ventures)
Lyd (courtesy of Icarus Films)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Lateral (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS especially of films I hadn’t seen before
Henry Lynn’s Mothers of Today (Hayntige Mames) (1939) (U.S. Premiere of 35mm film restoration by the National Center for Jewish Film at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Ivan Sen’s Toomelah (2011) (Amazon Prime)
Ariane Lorrain & Shahab Mihandoust’s Zagros (2018) by VUCAVU/F3M (on Vimeo)
MY BEST FILMS of 2023 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Let It Be Morning (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ theatrical release by Cohen Media)
Labyrinth of Peace (Frieden) (mini-series) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum/ Menemsha Films release/ begins streaming on ChaiFlicks April 2023)
R.M.N. (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films)
Concerned Citizen (Ezrah Mudag) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
200 Meters (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center/ 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Owners (Vlastníci)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Kudos to Lily Gladstone) (courtesy of Apple+)
American Fiction (courtesy of Orion Pictures/MGM Studios)
The Zone of Interest (courtesy of A24)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Bruiser (courtesy of Hulu)
Bread and Salt (Chleb i sól) (at 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Persian Lessons (Kudos to ensemble, cinematography, and use of languages) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ Cohen Media Group release)
Oppenheimer (IMAX courtesy of Universal Pictures) then see the documentary A Compassionate Spy (via Magnolia Pictures)
Dirty Difficult Dangerous (in 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and of Nora Ephron Award winners.
Fiction
Alice, Darling (courtesy of Lionsgate)
Cinema Sabaya (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ theatrical release by Kino Lorber)
Alegría (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ shown at 2022 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Castles in the Sky (short) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Charlotte Salomon: Life and the Maiden (La Jeune Fille et La Vie) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Saint Omer (courtesy of Neon and Super Ltd.)
Cherry (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ Entertainment Squad theatrical release)
Full Time (À plein temps) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
Baby Ruby (Kudos to writer/director Bess Wohl) (courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
You Left Me Alone (short) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Emily (courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
Other People’s Children (Les Enfants des autres) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
Paris Memories (Revoir Paris) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
The Worst Ones (Les Pires) (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Mother and Son (Un petit frère) (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rodeo (Kudos to Julie Ledru) (courtesy of Music Box Films at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Line (La Ligne) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Lionsgate/Starz)
A Thousand and One (Kudos to Teyana Taylor) (courtesy of Focus Features)
Immaculate (Imaculat) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Family Time (Mummola) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Kidnapping of the Bride (El secuestro de la novia) (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Chile ‘76 (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Trenque Lauquen (at 2022 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Precious Ivie (Ivie wie Ivie) (streamed through German Film Office)
Clare (Chiara) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Like Turtles (Come Le Tartarughe) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Blue Jean (Kudos to writer/director Georgia Oakley and star Rosy McEwen) (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Scarlet (L’envol) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
The Other Widow (Pilegesh) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Good Person (Ha'Nefesh Ha'Tova) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Future (Ha’Atid) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2023 Other Israel Film Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Je’vida (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Smoking Tigers (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Boca Chica (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Marinette (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Let Liv (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Fish Out of Water (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Queens (Malikates) (at 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Beasts (As Bestas) (Kudos to co-writer Isabel Peña) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Amiko (こちらあみ子) (Coming of Age) (“Next Generation” in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (朝がくるとむなしくなる) (“Next Generation” in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Klondike (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Scrapper (Coming of Ager) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
My Love Affair with Marriage (hand-drawn animation) (Kudos to writer/director/animator/designer/co-editor Signe Baumane; animator Yajun Shi; composer Kristian Sensini; and voice cast (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by 8 Above)
Barbie (Kudos to writer/co-director Greta Gerwig, songs, and production design) (Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures)
Beautiful, FL and Maxine (shorts in “Disney Launchpad”)
Nightsiren (Svetlonoc) (Fear of Supernatural Division) (Kudos to actress Natália Germáni, and director/co-writer Tereza Nvotová) (courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
Bottoms (High School Satire Division) (courtesy of Orion MGM Amazon Studios)
Cat Person (Kudos to scripter Michelle Ashford, director Susanna Fogel, and actress Emilia Jones) (courtesy of Studio Canal/Rialto Pictures)
More Than Ever (Plus Que Jamais) (RIP Gaspard Ulliel) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Anatomy Of A Fall (Anatomie d’une chute) (Kudos to Sandra Hüller) (courtesy of Neon)
The Road Dance (Kudos to the Isle of Lewis) (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Chuck Chuck Baby (Kudos to writer/director Janis Pugh for karaoke musical) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Clashing Differences (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
This Place (Kudos to authentic Indigenous/Refugee cast) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Nyad (Kudos Annette Bening and Jodie Foster) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ Netflix)
Rose (Kudos to Sofie Gråbøl) (courtesy of Game Theory Films)
Crime Is Mine (Mon Crime) (Feminist satire) (Kudos to costume designer Pascaline Chavanne) (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Documentary
Bella (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release opens in L.A. by BAM Moves, LLC)
Transparent (short) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Joanna d'Arc (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Taste of Mango (courtesy of the filmmaker at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters (O tahtai. Savendar tai seiandar) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Serafina (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Seven Winters in Tehran (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Big Sister (Koromousso) (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Anonymous Sister (at 2021 DOC NYC/ theatrical release through Long Shot Factory)
Plan C (at 2023 Athena Film Fest/ theatrical release via Level 33 Entertainment)
The Gullspång Miracle (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Black Birth (short) (in ”The Queen Collective Program” at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Invisible Beauty (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures)
Bella! (including Liz Abzug’s protest posts) (PBS’s American Masters)
Reality Winner (aka United States Vs.) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC/ theatrical release by Codebreaker Films)
Joan Baez I Am A Noise (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
The Three of Us (שלושתנו) (previewed at 2023 DOC NYC)
Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn (at 2023 DOC NYC)
Mediha (at 2023 DOC NYC)
Shari and Lamb Chop (at 2023 DOC NYC)
Neirud (at 2023 DOC NYC)
Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) (“Short List” at 2023 DOC NYC/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Savvusanna sõsarad) (“Winner’s Circle” at 2023 DOC NYC/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Kokomo City (“Winner’s Circle” at 2023 DOC NYC/ courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Last Song From Kabul (short) (courtesy of Paramount+)
Sabotage (courtesy of Go2 Films)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Haute Couture (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Woman on the Roof (Kobieta na dachu) (seen at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Fucking Bornholm (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Illusion (Iluzja) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Maid (Camarera De Piso) (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Lost King (courtesy of IFC Films)
Petrol (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Face of the Jellyfish (El rostro de la medusa) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Princess (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Silent (HaShtika) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
Öte (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Silver Haze (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Am What I Am (そばかす) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Between Two Worlds (Ouistreham)
Remembering Every Night (Subete no Yoru wo Omoidasu) (courtesy of Kim Stim at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Showing Up (courtesy of A24 Films)
The Marsh King’s Daughter (Thriller) (Kudos to Northern Ontario wilderness) (courtesy of Lionsgate & STX)
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt (Kudos to cinematographer Jomo Fray) (courtesy of A24 Films)
Quiz Lady (courtesy of Disney+)
Documentary
In The Company Of Rose (previewed at 2022 DOC NYC/ Greenwich Entertainment theatrical release)
Witness (at 2023 DOC NYC
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Fiction
The Blue Caftan (Le bleu du caftan) (courtesy of Strand Releasing
Saturn Bowling (Bowling Saturne) (Noir) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release via Dark Star Pictures)
Shreds (Strzępy en) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Human Flowers of Flesh (courtesy of Cinema Guild)
The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne) (courtesy of Janus Films Sideshow)
Mountains (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Lesson (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Bleecker Street Media)
Documentary
Call Me Dancer (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release via Abramorama)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures/ CNN Films/ HBO Max)
Blue Box (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ DOC NYC/ theatrical release by CinePhil at Film Forum)
26.2 To Life (at 2022 DOC NYC/ theatrical release by San Quentin Marathon)
Caterpillar (at 2023 DOC NYC)
BEST ROMANCES
America (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Three Nights a Week (Trois nuits par semaine) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
L’Innocent (courtesy of Janus Films at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rye Lane (courtesy of Searchlight Pictures on Hulu)
Joyland (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Hummingbird (Il Colibrì) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Past Lives (courtesy of A24 Films)
J005311 (Bromance) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
The Legend & Butterfly (レジェンド&バタフライ) (1500’s era) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Wandering (流浪の月) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
My Sailor My Love (courtesy of Music Box Films)
All Of Us Strangers (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet Lehdet) (Courtesy of MUBI)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
In From The Side (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Love Life (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Afire (Roter Himmel) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Chestnut (Kudos to triangle cast) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
The Mattachine Family (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
BEST PANDEMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE
New Strains (Showcase Screening at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Human Nature (Natureza Humana) (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
A Strange Path (Estranho Caminho) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Secret Art of Human Flight (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Plastic (Kudos to music by Ide Kensuke) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Eternal Memory (La Memoria Infinita) (“Short List” at 2023 DOC NYC)
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS
Kompromat (courtesy of Magnet Releasing/Magnolia Pictures)
Cairo Conspiracy (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films/ at “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Gravity (La Gravité) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rhino (Nosorih) “Godfather of Ukraine” (courtesy of XYZ Films in 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
To The North (Spre nord) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Once Upon A Time In Ukraine (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Society of the Snow (Sociedad de la Nieve) (Netflix)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Schächten—A Retribution (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
The Creator (Amazon Prime)
BEST NEO-NOIRS
The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ Film Movement)
Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA via Yellow Veil Pictures)
Autobiography (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Delta (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
One Night With Adela (Una noche con Adela) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Madeleine Collins (preview at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
At The Gates (courtesy of Picturehouse)
Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Men of Deeds (Oameni de treabă) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival/ Dekanalog theatrical release)
Waikiki (at Mother Tongue Film Festival/ Seattle International Film Festival/ 2023 release in Regal theaters)
Rumble Through the Dark (Kudos to Marianne Jean-Baptiste as “Big Momma Sweet”) (courtesy of Lionsgate)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
Close (courtesy of A24 Films)
The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) (courtesy of Neon and Super Ltd.)
Burning Land (Adama Boeret) (courtesy of Seventh Art Releasing)
Tori and Lokita (courtesy of Janus Sideshow with 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
War Pony
Arnold Is a Model Student (Arnon pen nakrian tuayang) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
L'immensità (courtesy of Music Box Films)