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» 75
Burning Down the House: The 52nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2011)
by Cleo Cacoulidis
"It is within this vortex of social and political upheaval that Greek filmmakers have found some traction, creating sharp, insightful works that raise awareness while revealing unflattering truths about Greek society and the current 'crisis.'"
» 74
Dispatch from the Desert: The Fifth Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2011)
by Robert Keser
"The cinema exists to record the moment when souls become visible." – Jean-Michel Frodon
The Biggest and Smallest: Melbourne International Film Festival 2011
by Lesley Chow
"Eve is like a cat, attracted by textures — stroking a violinist's hands with chiffon and becoming entranced by a piece of fruit. She spends most of her time in ecstatic graceless dancing; even though anger and jealousy are present, they are rendered painless."
Who Blinks First? Isabelle Huppert and the Pope at Busan International Film Festival 2011
by Lesley Chow
"Moretti's aim in We Have a Pope is to unleash as many dissenting voices on the airwaves as possible — to create space within the tightness and enclosure of historical memories."
» 73
Crafting Community: The 2011 QDoc International Film Festival
by Gary Morris
"It's encouraging to see how articulate and unafraid many of the kids in Put This on the Map are in deciding who they want to be, how they want to live, and even what they want to be called: 'Very gay,' 'an ally,' 'dating an FTM,' 'not straight, gay, bi, anything.'"
» 72
The New-Style Comedy: Wai Ka-Fai and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (2011)
by Lesley Chow
"This wonderfully flexible approach to movie-making explains why Wai and To's films seem so alive to every implication — unlike most current U.S. comedies, where directors carefully steer around obstacles and pretend not to notice flaws in the set-up."
A Handful of Keepers: The 40th New Directors/New Films Festival
by Megan Ratner
"Kudos to the Vegas for showing not only the grimness of hustling, but also the ordinariness. As Clemente dresses, his middle-aged, matronly partner puts on her reading glasses to count the cash."
Cinemas of Poetry and Violence: The 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam (2010)
by Tijana Mamula
Rotterdam's edge is intact despite increasing hints of commercialism
» 70
Cinema, Virginity, and Swans: The Abu Dhabi International Film Festival 2010
by Robert Keser
"For a brief week or two, adventurous filmgoers can capture elusive truths found in works of complexity, moral ambiguity, and seriousness of purpose, all uncensored."
Illuminating the Interior: The DOC NYC Festival Debut
by Megan Ratner
Boasting Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, fest sets a high standard
I'm Not There: The 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival
by Lesley Chow
"The Killer Inside Me recalls the novel and film of American Psycho, in which a handsome killer unleashes three-dimensional violence on an otherwise banal society."
Heavy Hitter in a Delicate Balance: The 48th New York Film Festival
by Megan Ratner
Despite concessions to commerce, much to admire
Movie Love: The First TCM Classic Film Festival
by Joan McGettigan
"Standing in line ahead of someone was enough to start such a friendship."
» 69
History, Herstory, Our Story: The 2010 QDoc International Film Festival in Portland, Oregon
by Gary Morris
"She had a lot of action inside!"
The Sound of Silence: The 2010 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
by Kristen Anderson Wagner
"Even the most obscure titles drew impressive crowds, and the premiere events boasted sold-out houses."
Love, or Something Close to It: Four Films from the 50th Thessaloniki International Film Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
"There is always some madness in love; but, there is always some reason in madness." — Nietzsche
» 68
Tout Ne Va Pas Bien: Rendez-vous with French Cinema 2010
by Megan Ratner
"Vestiges of French customs and family life remain throughout these films, yet their concerns testify to a rapidly shifting society."
» 66
After the Surge: The 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival
by Lesley Chow
"An alternative agenda for the festival might be: what can we make of modernism?"
Bucking the Tide: The 2009 New York Film Festival
by Megan Ratner
This year's strong, idiosyncratic line-up reminds us that moviegoing can still be more than "a museum experience"
Lucky 13: The 2009 Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Getting out of the ghetto
From Air Dolls to the Anchorage: The 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival
by Ben Cho
"VIFF remains the unspoiled oasis for cinephiles looking to get away from it all."
» 65
No Transcendence: Cannes Film Festival 2009
by Karin Luisa Badt
"It's becoming more and more rare that a fresh, original film gets into the Cannes competition." — Frederic Boyer
» 64
Screening Hong Kong: The 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival
by Frank Bren
One of the world's largest cinema events is also one of the most ambitious
The View from Here: Middle Eastern Cinema at the 49th Thessaloniki International Film Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
"What happens when the gaze is returned?"
» 63
Deep and Wide: The 2008 American Film Institute Festival
by Megan Ratner
A sampling of the best of the fest's international offerings
» 62
Music in the Making: Highlights from the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival
by Lesley Chow
"The surprise musical number can represent a facile avoidance of complexity, a moment of true strangeness, or a way of harmonizing existing, underlying themes."
Queer Angles: The 2008 Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Feisty orthodox Jewish dykes, globe-trotting ladyboys, fascistic Armani queens — you know, the gang
What's Up, QDoc? Portland's 2008 Queer Documentary Festival
by Gary Morris
Seeing queer lives from the U.S. and Canada to South Africa and Iran
» 60
Plus Ça Change: The 2008 Rendez-vous with French Cinema
by Megan Ratner
Gingerly moving out of the 20th century, not quite into the 21st
» 59
Tickets to the Dark Side: The 43rd Chicago International Film Festival
by Robert Keser
"We will see whose heart is sharpest!"
Onward and Inward: On the 2007 Thessaloniki International Film Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
"Each work limns a moral dilemma that has no discernible answer."
» 58
How Did History Happen? The 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival
by Lesley Chow
"Each stranger is a figure of seemingly infinite potential, pinned down to a changing series of points."
Safety First: The 45th New York Film Festival
by Megan Ratner
The 2007 NYFF's more cautious than courageous this year
» 57
Movin' On Up: The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
by Megan Ratner
From neighborhood festival to NYC player
Closing the Closet: QDoc: The2007 Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival
by Gary Morris
"We couldn't figure out how to divide the cat."
» 56
Secrets of the European Union: Chicago's Tenth Annual EU Film Festival
by Robert Keser
They saw what you did!
On the Border of the Thermian Gulf: The Ninth Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival
by Karin Luisa Badt
"The documentaries that most stood out have a near fictional flair, blurring the border between reality and fable."
» 55
Dragons, Tigers, and Citizen Rayns: The 25th Vancouver International Film Festival
by Ben Cho
Asian cinema triumphs in this year's D&T, Tony Rayns's last
» 53
Success Breeds Confidence: Korean Movies at the NYAFF
by Bo-Myung Seo
A quartet of recent Korean films shows a reassuringly robust national cinema
» 47
Theda Bara's Eyes: The 40th Chicago International Film Festival, Part 2
by Robert Keser
Angelopoulos to Zhu: "This is an artistic film. You wouldn't like it."
» 46
Theda Bara's Eyes: The 40th Chicago International Film Festival, Part 1
by Robert Keser
From Akerman to Zhu
The Verve Is Back: The New York Film Festival 2004
by Megan Ratner
This year's fest features a wealth of winners — and a few flops
Where Kink Is King: CineKink Festival 2004
by Gary Morris
Won't you be my pony boy?
» 44
Too Busy Making Work: Honoring Michael Snow at the — 2004 Thessaloniki Film Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
Painter, photographer, sculptor, composer, musician — and here, seminal experimental filmmaker
» 42
Together Again in the Dark: The 2003 Chicago International Film Festival
by Robert Keser
The crowd has a thousand eyes
57th International Film Festival in Edinburgh
by Megan Ratner
Not the best of times, not the worst of times
2003 Montreal World Film Festival
by Joanne Bealy
A world-class city offers a world-class fest — despite some troubled backstory
The 2003 New York Film Festival
by Michael Ratner
This year's NYFF is a decidedly mixed bag of tricks
» 41
Put the Camera on Us! Documentaries at the 2003 SFILGFF
by Gary Morris
Reality cinema celebrates homos of this year and yesteryear
» 40
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, 2003
by Megan Ratner
Fine performances are the main attraction of this timely New York tribute to recent French film
» 38
The 38th Chicago International Film Festival, 2002
by Robert Keser
"The Scandals of 2002"
The 40th New York Film Festival, 2002
by Megan Ratner
"No reassurance and little escapism — just right for the current state of uncertainty"
» 37
San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: The Docs!
by Gary Morris
As usual, reality trumps the alternatives
San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: The Dicks!
by Gary Morris
Where have all the penises gone? This year, to England
» 36
The 20th Bergamo Film Meeting, March 9-17, 2002
by Megan Ratner
This fine Italian festival features wide variety, no polemics
The Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival, Canada 2002
by Joanne Bealy
An engaging mix of cinema — two-thirds of it Canadian — visits the Great White North's "postcard village on steroids"
The Belfort International Film Festival, France 2001
by Maria van Dijk
Identity politics, urban terror, and Bulle Ogier distinguish this festival from some of its more pretentious peers
» 35
Uncertainty and Change: The 42nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2001)
by Cleo Cacoulidis
The fest's focus on New Argentine cinema is especially timely in light of the country's dire economic situation
San Francisco's Berlin & Beyond Festival (2002)
by Gary Morris
Despite the American juggernaut, Germany and its neighbors continue to make good regional cinema
37th Chicago International Film Festival (2001)
by Robert Keser
"It's so twenty-first century!"
» 34
Cinemayaat 2001: The Fifth Arab Film Festival in San Francisco
by Gary Morris
More relevant now than ever, this solid fest brings some of the complexity of the Arab world to often uncomprehending western eyes
QFilmistan: The First South Asian LGBT Film Festival
by Gary Morris
A treasure trove of short queer cinema — and one feature — from cultures where creating it can be a criminal act
» 33
Shaddup! The 2001 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
by Gary Morris
All's quiet on the cinematic front in this seductive survey of the artful '20s
The 2001 San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Gangbangers, sex robots, and babydykes, oh my!
Queer Documentaries at the 2001 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
A bumper crop of docs scale the heights and trawl the depths of queer culture
Penisspotting in the 2001 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Our annual survey of cinematic dick in the SFILGFF
» 32
Yugoslavia in Focus: Observations From the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
Archival footage, dramatizations, and dark satire capture the dire end-of-century events in the former Yugoslavia
San Francisco's 2001 International Human Rights Watch Festival
by Gary Morris
Celebrating activism and exposing some of the more chaotic corners of world politics
San Francisco's IndieFest 2001
by Gary Morris
Some bright lights and a few dim bulbs distinguish this year's preeminent indie showcase
» 31
Russian Cinema After Perestroika: Notes from Thessaloniki International Film Festival
by Cleo Cacoulidis
A heady tour of recent Russian cinema from one of Europe's oldest festivals
» 29
Documentaries at the 2000 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Friendly Christians, bitter rent boys, and South Africa's liberated queens are part of this year's queer reality parade
Penisspotting at the 2000 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Our spongy-tissued li'l pal is a bit shy this year
» 25
The 1999 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
The preeminent queer filmfest in overview
Penisspotting: Phallic Imagery in the 1999 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Sightings of our spongy-tissued li'l pal in this year's fest
Ask, Tell: Documentaries in the 1999 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Highlights of the lives of real-life queers from as far as South Africa and as near as your closet
Of Loincloths and Lamé: "Sons of Hercules" at the 1999 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Shed a tear for these long-lost Roman go-go boys and evil queens of all sexes
» 23
Cultural Makeovers: San Francisco's Tranny Fest 1998
by Gary Morris
Wrestling with the limits of the body — and breaking them
» 21
The 1998 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
The queer community's longstanding obsession with roles and labels may be starting to loosen up
Penisspotting in the 1998 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
For those who prefer anatomy to artistry, or more coarsely, meat to melodrama, we offer this consumer guide
Queer Cartoons in the 1998 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
Cartoons have always been a rich repository of queer subtext. How else to explain all those too-close buddies and their serious lack of female companionship?
Queer Innovators in the 1998 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
The queer contribution to experimental film
» 19
Queer Voices in the 1997 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
by Gary Morris
The world's biggest lesbian and gay filmfest shows the pleasures and pitfalls of gay auteurs caught between assimilation and opposition. Watch out for the "Stepford" homosexual!
The Penis in the Festival (SFILGFF)
by Gary Morris
And you thought the lavender-haired titmouse was an endangered species! Penises are hard to find even in gay movies that ought to know better

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