The Ochoa family gets profiled in Midnight Family as a result of the EMT service that they provide for patients with medical needs in Mexico City. Like any family, they have their own financial issues. In spite of this, they still keep doing what they love because it means helping those with a medical need. Things may be different below the border than they are in the US where certified volunteers run their own EMT…
"Sundance 2019: Midnight Family"Author: Danielle Solzman
Danielle Solzman
A tribute to the cultural melting pot, Abe is about a 12-year-old kid known as Abraham, Avram, and Ibrahim but he’d rather simply be known as Abe. “I don’t think he’ll ever be Jewish or Muslim enough for these people,” Amir (Arian Moayed) tells Rebecca (Dagmara Domińczyk) of their son, Abe (Noah Schnapp). Both of Abe’s parents are both agnostic. One can seemingly guess that this doesn’t sit well with either of their families. He’s…
"Sundance 2019: Abe"
Midnight Traveler is an important documentary and captures the overseas immigration battle that Muslim immigrants are facing. Midnight Traveler tells the story of Hassan Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, and their family. This is not a fun story by any means nor is it easy. If not for filmmakers willing to help them, it’s quite possible that their story might not be out there. In any event, this is a documentary that takes the Muslim immigration story beyond just…
"Sundance 2019: Midnight Traveler"
These six titles are among several narrative and documentary shorts selected to screen during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Fran This Summer comes from writer-director Mary Evangelista. The film takes place during the summer when Fran begins her gender transition. This is one of those short films where we can probably learn more about the characters if expanded into a narrative. But for a short film, it gets straight to the…
"Sundance 2019: The Shorts Program"
Spiral Farm‘s indie film budget may constrain the filmmaking decisions by writer-director Alec Tibaldi but doesn’t take away from the film. Anahita (Piper de Palma), a teenager, lives on this Southern California commune that looks like it was taken out of the 1960s. Everyone in this commune has to work together in order to survive on the farm. Anahita’s dreams of being a professional dancer keep tugging at her. Even though the farm has been her…
"Slamdance 2019: Spiral Farm"
Stefanie Abel Horowitz spoke with Solzy at the Movies about her short film, sometimes, i think about dying, holding its world premiere during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The short held its world premiere this evening. Congrats on the world premiere of sometimes, i think about dying during Sundance! How excited are you to bring your short film to the mountain? Stefanie Abel Horowitz: Out of my mind excited. It’s the most exciting thing to…
"Sundance 2019: Stefanie Abel Horowitz talks sometimes, i think about dying"
America the Beautiful is an innovative found-footage thriller that plays right into the current American political environment in the Trump era. Upon moving to San Bernardino, Calif., Billy and Carly Reynolds decide to remodel their new house. This leads to Billy Reynolds’s Extreme Home Makeover being uploaded onto YouTube. Nobody expects what happens to take place next. It turns out that their neighbors are racist Trump voters. This comes through by way of the dialogue. …
"Slamdance 2019: America the Beautiful"
Lost Holiday takes us to our nation’s capital as the independent film shows us why it is a solid candidate to join the Gone Girl cinematic universe. There’s no place like home for the holidays. In this instance, home just happens to be our nation’s capital of Washington, DC. This is where Margaret (Kate Lyn Sheil) finds herself with her friend Henry (Thomas Matthews). Henry is in graduate school while Margaret–who also goes by Maggie–teaches…
"Slamdance 2019: Lost Holiday"
Markie in Milwaukee follows transgender woman Markie Wenzel over a number of years through her struggles with transitioning and its impact on her life. We first meet Markie Wenzel in 2013. This is when she had decided to put off transitioning and go back to living as a man. The reason for doing so is the toll that it’s taken on her. She lost her family as a result. Not only this but her marriage…
"Slamdance 2019: Markie in Milwaukee"
The musical Nintendo-inspired We Are Little Zombies is one of the more eclectic offerings during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It’s only after their parents get cremated in which Hikari, Ikuko, Ishi, and Takemura meet each other. As viewers, we are first introduced to emotion-less Hikari. He descibes Japanese funeral customs as being five times more boring than history classes. Ouch! These four young teenagers decide to start a band as a means to an…
"Sundance 2019: We Are Little Zombies"