NewFest — A–Z of films

Clements discovers a story that is diverse, inclusive and profoundly optimistic.

Itself an important contribution to lesbian history, the film uses photographs and snippets of archive material to bring viewers closer to the human stories that came close to being lost.

There are fine performances throughout and the two leads are both excellent.

There's a heavy helping of genre clichés in Brad Michael Elmore's pacy, energetic teen thriller, but he succeeds very effectively in updating the old stories for a modern audience.

Whatever you expected to happen is not about to do so.

Everything hinges on Blane's performance. Open and emotional and in-your-face as it is, there's more depth there than first meets the eye.

Lisa Zi Xiang's astutely written début uses the familiar formula of a multi-generation family saga as a launchpad for thematic and structural experiment.

There's a sense of joy around the kids' participation that has at least as much to do with their parents.

Jonathan is an ideal subject because he's completely open to the world.

With its light touch, candid camera approach, this documentary gets under the skin of the issue.

Taking its time and drifting lightly from one scene to another, this beautifully composed film really gets under the skin of its subjects, who seem marvellously at ease with the camera.

Frankly, it's refreshing to see any film that features women having a good time at fan conventions without wearing Princess Leia slave girl outfits.

Particularly intriguing here is the overlap between hentai and art.

Varón brings depth to a character who could easily have been annoying.

There's a comedy of misunderstanding underlying all this as well as more overt comedy as the friends banter with one another and are forced to deal with some of the consequences of their hypocrisy.

What the film does well is to quickly set aside the simple conflict stemming from Matthias' prejudice and make room for other kinds of character development.

Stunningly beautiful cinematography dominates a film in which the dialogue is sparse.

Rodrigo Bellott, who adapted the film from his own play, employs multiple layers of fiction to explore themes around loss, rejection, redemption and that deep human longing to understand what's going on inside the minds of those we love.