What would you do if intimate images from your life were shared with the world and you could do nothing to stop it? Based on real events that took place in 2014, Hacked focuses on how the women whose images and videos were shared without their permission from iCloud. The hack was investigated and a man was arrested, but this did not mean that the trauma was over for his victims. Continue reading “Hacked Movie Review from @kleffnotes”
Katerina Gorshkov’s feature debut The Experience ties together a variety of genres under the umbrella of a teen coming of age story through the lens of Scarlet, Allison Kove, and her time at a wilderness camp designed to help her stop acting out. Once she arrives at this camp we see her working through her previous experiences from recent years as well as repressed elements from her childhood. As we bounce through these memories, we also see her father’s life outside of his daughter, which is far more dangerous than his family ever knew. Continue reading “The Experience Movie Review from @kleffnotes”
Boybands create a culture of fandom that appears to be unrivaled in society. With roots that stem back to The Beatles, new bands have appeared and with the rise of social media the involvement fans have has been able to take on a new level of involvement. I Used To Be Normal focuses on four women who connected powerfully with specific boybands during their formative years and how this love has continued on, especially in the case of three women in the documentary. Continue reading “I Used To Be Normal Movie Review from @kleffnotes”
Fall back into a nostalgic time with the return of The Banana Splits, the animal rock band that starred in The Banana Splits Adventure Hour in 1968. This cult classic returns with a gory edge in the new The Banana Splits Movie. Set in the present, the Banana Splits (Bingo, Fleegle, Snorky, and Drooper) are still filming and young Harley is ecstatic to learn that he will be going to see a live taping for his birthday. Once the show ends things take a dangerous turn as The Banana Splits learn that their show has been cancelled, but they can’t let the show come to an end. Continue reading “The Banana Splits Movie Review from @kleffnotes”
Inspired by the strange true events that occurred in January 2018 in Hawaii, 40 Minute Over Maui, is a comedic examination of what happens when you are unexpectedly confronted with you own mortality. Josh Covitt and Michael Feld adapted the false missile alert that did actually occur in Hawaii and crafted it into a short that is funny and touching. When a vacationing couple receive the alert they have to cope with the fact that their lives, as well as all of humanity, could be ending in minutes. Continue reading “40 Minutes Over Maui Short Film Review from @kleffnotes”
Daniel Bogran’s short film, Low, recently screened at LA Shorts and tells the story of what happens when someone commits an act that they aren’t sure how to get back from. Jef, played by Vincent Cusimano, tries to keep his composure after suffering the consequences of a decision he can’t seem to outrun. As things unfold he finds himself being forced to confront his regret through a series of thrilling and strange coincidences. Continue reading “Low Short Film Review from @kleffnotes”
One of the recent short films to appear in the LA Shorts Film Festival, CODA, focuses on a young dancer who is born to deaf parents. The writer/director of the film, Erika Davis-Marsh, film and television director who recently graduated with her MFA in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California. She was a finalist for the competitive 2016 Television Academy Foundation’s Episodic Directing Internship. I had the opportunity to check out this film and wanted to share my thoughts on this inclusive work. Continue reading “CODA Short Film Review from @kleffnotes”
For my second feature focused on the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which concludes today, I will be reviewing No Box for Me: An Intersex Story. This film examines the limits of binary visions in connection to sex and gender. Floriane Devigne reflects on the way that intersex people re-appropriate their bodies and construct their identities outside of the societal idea that being intersex is something that must be treated or repaired. By doing this she questions social norms and the idea of male and female identities. Continue reading “No Box for Me Movie Review ( @hrwfilmfestival )from @kleffnotes”
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival is back this year and screening films that focus on a variety of important social topics that span the globe. Running from June 13th to June 20th participants will be able to expand their knowledge and learn more about the world around them. One of the featured films this year is Bellingcat: Truth in a Post Truth World. It follows the rise of the controversial “citizen investigative journalist” collective, which is committed to redefining breaking news through the use of open source investigation. Continue reading “Bellingcat Movie Review ( @hrwfilmfestival )from @kleffnotes”
Malcom Ingram created Southern Pride as a companion work to his 2006 award winning documentary Small Town Gay Bar. This first piece explored gay bars in rural Mississippi and in this new work he returns to document what it is like running a gay bar in Mississippi following the election of Trump. This new piece also includes a profile of lesbian bar owners in both Biloxi and Hattiesburg. Ingram loves to tell stories of everyday heroes who are creating communities in unlikely places and his choice to make Southern Pride evolved from an opinion piece he drafted for CNN after the PULSE shooting in Orlando. This work led him to think about the work he had done in his original documentary and 24 hours after the election results were announced he had a plan to return to the South and document what was happening there in the wake of this new tide of politics. In his own word, “Southern Pride is the story of strong, queer women and their allies who answered the call to make their community better, in a time when the world is being torn apart.” Continue reading “Southern Pride Movie Review from @kleffnotes”
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