International: Middle East
Toronto 2026 Review: TEHRAN, UNDER THE SKIN Reveals the Politics Beneath the Promise of Transformation
Afsaneh Salari's formally controlled documentary examines cosmetic surgery in Iran as an unstable expression of conformity, resistance, consumer desire, and bodily autonomy.
New York 2026 Review: NAZA, AI-Assisted Genocide
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor directed the documentary. Once we delegate our moral obligation to AI, we've already lost whatever we are fighting for.
Venice 2026 Review: NO PARADISE IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A WOMAN Goes into Stealth Mode to Confront the Scars of War
Merging the exportable mechanics of a stealth-combat thriller with the political urgency of Kurdish resistance, Halkawt Mustafa delivers an ambitious Iraqi-Norwegian genre film.
Toronto 2026 Review: FURIES, A Feverishly Hellish Heist By Women Scorned
What is the world coming to when you have to steal your own hard earned money? Dalia is in need of a significant surgery. Until then, her medicine is only available on the black market, where half of it is...
MOTELX 2026: More International Titles Added, a Block of Iron Curtain Horror, And Shorts Programmes Announced
The twentieth edition of MOTELX is coming in September. The Lisbon-based genre festival is celebrating its twentieth anniversary so the festival has announced the first ten international titles in the program this year. Joining the previously announced Fuck My...
Karlovy Vary 2026 Interview: THE FRIEND'S HOUSE IS HERE Directors Maryam Ataei and Hossein Keshavarz
Directors Maryam Ataei and Hossein Keshavarz discuss the clandestine production, collaborative method and international trajectory of their film, a Tehran-set drama about artistic freedom, friendship and resistance under political pressure.
Now Playing: EVIL DEAD BURN, WESTHAMPTON, THE ISOLATE THIEF
Plus: 'Moana,' 'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,' 'Mockbuster,' 'Reading Lolita in Tehran,' 'Black Chariot,' 'Crossing.'
Opening This Week: EVIL DEAD BURN Terrifies, THE ISOLATE THIEF Resonates
Plus: Live-action 'Moana,' inside The Asylum in 'Mockbuster,' 'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass' (comedy), 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' (drama), 'Black Chariot' (landmark in Black cinema), 'Crossing' (Chinese war).
Fantasia 2026 Shorts: Beauty in The Light, The Dark, Out There And in Each Other in Shorts Programme
The best festivals draw in the the best films and filmmakers. That goes for features, it also goes for short films, and Fantasia's short film programme is a entire beast of it's own. The full lineup of over two...
Sheffield 2026 Review: LIFE SUPPORT Follows Doctors Volunteering in Gaza
Solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza seems impossible given the politics involved. That hasn't stopped doctors in Life Support from volunteering their services. Daniele Rugo's documentary shows how difficult it is to try to help. Made up primarily of talking...
UNIDENTIFIED Review: Making Sure the Victim Receives Justice
Mila Al Zahrani and Shafi Al Harthi star in writer/director Haifaa Al Mansour's murder mystery.
Tribeca 2026 Review: MUTTER: THE DIARY OF A MOTHER, Primarily a Story of Love, but There Is Blood, Death, and a Monster
Turkish filmmaker Alphan Eseli's thriller stars Hazar Ergüçlü.
Now Playing: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Nostalgic Action Comedy, POWER BALLAD Bonds Over Music
Plus: 'Another World,' 'Carolina Caroline,' 'Chum,' 'Jinsei,' 'The Little Sister,' 'Scary Movie,' 'Tracy & Martina: Goin' Out West,' 'Underland,' 'Zombeid.'
Opening This Week: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Roar, POWER BALLAD Sings, CAROLINA CAROLINE Steals
Plus: 'Underland,' 'Another World,' 'Chum,' 'Jinsei,' 'The Little Sister.'
Cannes 2026: Kicking Off
To paraphrase Shakespeare *, some attend Cannes, some yearn to attend Cannes, and some watch Cannes selections months or years later. I have been in the third camp all my life, but I remain eager to see what films are...
Now Streaming Weekly Roundup: LEGENDS, LORD OF THE FLIES, UNCONDITIONAL
Plus: 'Amadeus,' 'The Chestnut Man S2,' 'Citadel S2.'
BLACK RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT Review: Hypnotic Meta-Mystery Bends Time, Space and Genres in Quantum Storytelling
Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri has transformed the Möbius strip into a cinematic form of its own, extending beyond the familiar framework of time loop narratives. Following his 2020 feature Careless Crime, Mokri returns with another intricately constructed film, Black Rabbit,...
YES Review: Singing Bootlicker Blues
Nadav Lapid's searing satire stars Ariel Bronz and Efrat Dor. It's obnoxiously pointy and honest, yet sad.
Berlinale 2026 Interview: IN A WHISPER Director-Writer Leyla Bouzid on Queerness and Her Narrative Approach as a Tunisian Filmmaker
As a Tunisian queer filmmaker, one must exercise particular care when addressing an issue that remains deeply taboo in society to this day. Yet this does not prevent Leyla Bouzid from boldly portraying the increasingly precarious reality faced by homosexual...
Berlinale 2026 Review: IN A WHISPER (À VOIX BASSE) Unearths the Queer Stigma in a Tunisian Family and Beyond
Eya Bouteraa, Hiam Abbass, and Salma Baccar form a familial portrait across three generations confronted with an unspoken secret.
