By Anne Brodie First Cow is a deceptively simply told fable that gets under the skin and lingers. Two men in the Klondike have vague dreams of cashing in on the 1896 gold rush. Kelly Reichardt whose films I deeply admire takes us back in time to the brutal unforgiving north full of dreamers and dangers. John Magaro and Orion… View Post
By Anne Brodie There’s a history of strong showings of Icelandic films at the Toronto International Film Festival dating back to the early eighties. Programmer and film scholar Steve Gravestock has programmed Nordic film year-round and for the festival since 1999, introducing us to a wealth of unique and distinctive work. He focuses on the rich history of the films… View Post
Canadian actor Vinessa Antoine isn’t a lawyer but she plays one on TV. CBC’s Diggstown, now in its second season, centers on Marcie Diggs, a woman of integrity and empathy, an intrepid lawyer working in a Halifax firm. She’s no-nonsense and holds the highest standards of her profession – not always the easiest path. But given the cases she takes… View Post
Ken Loach is a social realist filmmaker whose films reveal the plight of the working class in Britain. His sharp focus on social, economic and other injustices has opened eyes for five decades. They are urgent and of the moment. In Sorry We Missed you, Loach turns his lens on the gig economy, an often-ruinous way of earning through freelance… View Post
by Anne Brodie We celebrate International Women’s Day with Hillary a fascinating documentary on one of the most influential women of modern times, Hillary Clinton. Hulu’s docuseries by Nanette Burstein captures the then-presidential candidate in 2016 leading up to, during and after she won but lost the presidency. It feels like an action thriller, the international intrigue in Russian interference,… View Post
by Anne Brodie Jessica Matten is a Cree and Metis actor from Alberta best known for her work on Blackstone, Frontier, Burden of Truth and the influential short A Red Girl’s Reasoning now being adapted as a feature film. Matten makes television history in the new series Tribal on APTN. She plays Sam Woodburn, a newly appointed Tribal Police Chief… View Post