- Afghanistan, Africa, Cate Blanchett, Culture, Drama films, Europe, Festivals, Film, Iran, Middle East and North Africa, Migration, Rotterdam film festival, Short films, Somalia, South and Central Asia, Syria, Ukraine, World news
Displacement Film Fund review – Cate Blanchett masterminds short film collection that brims with life and intensity
Rotterdam film festivalA set of shorts by film-makers from Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, Syria and Somalia are s…
- Culture, Documentary films, Film, Law, Rape and sexual assault, Society, South and Central Asia, Sri Lanka, World news
The Taste of Mango review – powerful memoir of family secrets in Sri Lanka
Film-maker Chloe Abrahams combines documentary and memory in candid conversations with the women in her family…
- Activism, Afghanistan, Culture, Documentary films, Film, Global development, Malala Yousafzai, Protest, Society, South and Central Asia, Taliban, Women, Women's rights and gender equality, World news
Bread & Roses review – Afghan women reveal crushing reality of Taliban rule
Made under dangerous conditions, this documentary charts how the lives of three women were turned upside down …
- Bollywood, Business, Comedy, Comedy films, Culture, Drama films, Festivals, Film, Film industry, India, South and Central Asia, Superhero movies, World news
Superboys of Malegaon review – boisterous heartwarmer about movie-loving underdogs
Inspired by a true story, this feelgood Indian film is about some Bollywood superfans making their own movies …
- Cannes film festival, Culture, Drama films, Festivals, Film, India, Mumbai, South and Central Asia, World cinema, World news
All We Imagine As Light review – dreamlike and gentle modern Mumbai tale is a triumph
Cannes film festivalPayal Kapadia’s glorious Cannes competition selection is an absorbing story of three nurse…
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Flickering Lights review – how the arrival of electricity heralded peace in a turbulent Indian state
Years in the making, this documentary shows preparations for the arrival of mains power in a village in Nagala…
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Bratan review – warm-hearted road movie is all about the journey
Director Bakhtyar Khudojnazarov’s debut feature about two young brothers attempting to find their errant fathe…
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A Rifle and a Bag review – quiet study of a marginalised Indian family
Documentary follows Somi and her husband, who are struggling to live an ordinary life after their past as Naxa…
- Culture, Documentary films, Film, India, Media, Pakistan, South and Central Asia, Television, Television & radio, World news, YouTube
While We Watched review – reporter Ravish Kumar’s quiet courage in Modi’s India
News anchor Kumar stays quietly courageous amid nationalist hysteria in Vinay Shukla’s tense documentary – but…
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Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom review – heart and feet-warming tale of a Bhutan village
A trainee teacher’s dreams of becoming a singer are interrupted when he is posted to the world’s remotest scho…
- Cannes 2022, Cannes film festival, Culture, Drama films, Festivals, Film, Pakistan, Romance films, Society, South and Central Asia, Transgender, World cinema, World news
Joyland review – subtle trans drama from Pakistan is remarkable debut
Saim Sadiq’s film explores the unsettled social and sexual identities of a widower and his children with delic…
- Animals, Birds, Conservation, Culture, Documentary films, Environment, Film, India, South and Central Asia, Wildlife, World news
All That Breathes review – Delhi’s birdmen on a mission to save the black kite
Two Indian brothers dedicate themselves to rescuing birds that are being poisoned by pollution in this complex…
- Buddhism, Culture, Documentary films, Film, Health, Islam, Midwifery, Myanmar, Religion, Rohingya, Society, South and Central Asia, World news
Midwives review – a Muslim and a Buddhist grapple with childbirth in strife-torn Myanmar
Sombre documentary shot over five years follows two healthcare workers as they deliver babies in a brutally di…
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The Big City review – Satyajit Ray’s miraculous look at a new world of possibility
The struggles and triumphs of a 1950s Kolkata family whose highest earner is a woman is told with marvellous l…
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Thar review – Anil Kapoor’s violent cop thriller puts the punch in Rajasthan
There are hints of Sergio Leone and Cormac McCarthy in this Rajasthan-set mystery starring the actor and his s…