Digging Shallow And Deep—Portrayals Of ‘The Farmer’ In New Tamil Cinema
“The customary hero-introduction shot in Tamil language drama Kadaikutti Singam (2018) happens during the scene of a rekla race, the traditional bullock cart sport held in Tamil Nadu villages. Before Karthi Shivakumar, the star actor who plays the lead character, makes an appearance, Soori, the comedian who plays the hero’s best friend, takes a look at the bustling arena where bulls are rubbing shoulders with men, and gushes, “How could you curtail this happiness!”” Continue reading Digging Shallow And Deep—Portrayals Of ‘The Farmer’ In New Tamil Cinema
Squeal Like a Pig—Custodial Violence in Tamil Cinema
“The subject of this essay is custodial violence in Tamil cinema, films produced in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where over a hundred custodial deaths were recorded in the past two decades without a single conviction.” Continue reading Squeal Like a Pig—Custodial Violence in Tamil Cinema
A Sculpture of Ashes—Liner Notes On A Modern, Cinephilic Tragedy
” When I boarded the Nellai Express early in the morning of 16 June 2019 to journey from Neyveli to Chennai along the eastern stitch of the Indian peninsula, I was only marginally surprised to find a thick diary, of the corner-stationery variety, lying atop the brief table next to my berth. Someone had also left behind a half-eaten packet of salted almonds.” Continue reading A Sculpture of Ashes—Liner Notes On A Modern, Cinephilic Tragedy
“Are You Waving The Flag At Me?”—Sly and Prurient Americans at the Berlinale
Ruairí McCann looks back at two distinctly American titles from this year’s Berlinale, one new and one old. Continue reading “Are You Waving The Flag At Me?”—Sly and Prurient Americans at the Berlinale
A lecture by Gregory Markopoulos delivered at Kent State University, June 30, 1968
The following text originally appeared in the Whitney Museum of American Art book, Gregory J. Markopoulos: Mythic Themes, Portraiture, and Films of Place (1996). Continue reading A lecture by Gregory Markopoulos delivered at Kent State University, June 30, 1968
International Women’s Day 2022
Happy International Women’s Day! Continue reading International Women’s Day 2022
Ann Hui
“Hui is too versatile and too prolific to be pinned down, labeled, or marketed but too prominent to be “discovered.”” Continue reading Ann Hui
LaToya Ruby Frazier’s ‘The Notion of Family’ (2001-2014)
The camera’s capacity to act against the intractable march of time, the “slow deterioration” of Frazier’s family and town, is enabled in large part by her method of working, through the years-long, collaborative relationships Frazier establishes with her photographic subjects. Continue reading LaToya Ruby Frazier’s ‘The Notion of Family’ (2001-2014)
Red, a Jodie Mack tribute
In February 2011, Jodie Mack’s Rad Plaid was shown at Anthology Film Archives while two groups from the audience shouted “plaid” every time they saw vertical or horizontal lines on screen. Continue reading Red, a Jodie Mack tribute
Caught Between Two Worlds—A Scene Analysis of ‘Surname Viet Given Name Nam’ (Trinh T. Minh-Ha, 1989)
How do I make a documentary that dispels the relevance of the term ‘documentary’? This is a question that seems to pulse through Trinh T. Minh-Ha’s work, most notably in her seminal film Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989). Continue reading Caught Between Two Worlds—A Scene Analysis of ‘Surname Viet Given Name Nam’ (Trinh T. Minh-Ha, 1989)
ULTRA DOGME 