カテゴリー: Festivals
Rotterdam film festivalA set of shorts by film-makers from Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, Syria and Somalia are shocking, funny and mysterious in equal measureWith considerable chutzpah and elan, and in her capacity as producer and UNHCR Goodwill ambassad…
Water blessings and celestial offerings: Thailand’s Loy Krathong and Yi Peng festivals – in pictures
Millions of Thai take part in ancient annual festivities on 5 November that are held on the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar. Many head to waterways to release ‘krathong’ loaded with candles, flowers and incense, letting their mis…
Neeraj Ghaywan’s film benefits from excellent lead performances, strong cinematography and an apparent mentorship from Martin ScorseseHaving screened earlier this year at the Cannes film festival, this Indian drama has already drawn inevitable comparis…
Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than everThey sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre meditation. Some men were naked, their bo…
Inspired by a true story, this feelgood Indian film is about some Bollywood superfans making their own movies with a cheeky but admirable DIY ethosHere is a thoroughly enjoyable, big-hearted movie about building a better life through showbusiness. It i…
Cannes film festivalPayal Kapadia’s glorious Cannes competition selection is an absorbing story of three nurses that is full of humanityThere is a freshness and emotional clarity in Payal Kapadia’s Cannes competition selection, an enriching humanity an…
It’s no surprise that Ibrahim Nash’at’s documentary lacks in-depth interviews – his subjects barely tolerate his presence as he reveals the fighters’ lack of purpose after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan The spoils of war are a chore in this fascina…
The 1975 singer’s onstage condemnation of homophobic laws has angered conservatives and left some LGBTQ+ people uneasyThe 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a festival in Kuala Lumpur – where he criticised Malaysia’s homophobic laws and k…
Singer’s protest kiss with bandmate and criticism of anti-homosexuality law leads to ban and festival cancellationA three-day music festival in Malaysia has been cut short after the lead singer of the 1975 criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on s…
Saim Sadiq’s film explores the unsettled social and sexual identities of a widower and his children with delicacy and tendernessThe right way to feel love, and the right way to feel part of a family, are the insoluble difficulties at the heart of this …
Victims reportedly bled to death when glass-coated strings were entangled around their necksSix people, including three children, have died after their throats were cut by glass-coated kite strings during an annual kite-flying festival in India.Hundred…
Japan’s Coming of Age Day (Seijin-shiki) is a national holiday held in January to recognise young people who have been officially recognised as adults after turning 20. Many wear formal attire, traditional Japanese clothing or suits and ties to ceremon…
Meditative documentary All That Breathes is about two brothers’ devotion to protecting black kites against a backdrop of pollution and violence in DelhiThe award-winning documentary All That Breathes is a meditation on life in Delhi through the eyes an…
The Hindu festival of Holi is under way in India. The celebration heralds the arrival of spring Continue reading…
Years of adherence to stringent rules leave a performer at odds with modern society in this melancholy film from Chaitanya Tamhane, India’s first Venice competitor for two decadesChaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple comes boldly billed as the first Indian …