A 10-year-old girl learns her family’s dark secret in The Beast Within. Willow (Caoilinn Springall) is a 10-year-old girl living on a fortified compound with her father Noah (Kit Harington) and mother Imogen (Ashleigh Cummings). Willow begins to suspect something is up with her parents after a series of strange events, including her grandfather Waylon …
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A woman has to help an alien race to save her lost space brother in Meanwhile on Earth. Elsa Martens (Megan Northam) is a care home nurse, who is grieving for her astronaut brother Franck (Sebastien Pouderoux), who vanished without a trace while on a mission. One night, Elsa begins hearing Franck’s voice and learns …
A young woman stranded in the desert has to make it out in time to be picked up by her strict father in NAGA. Sarah (Adwa Bader) is a young Saudi woman dropped off at the market in Riyadh, who is given strict instructions by her father (Khalid Bin Shaddad) to be ready for pickup …
A 12-year-old Malaysian girl undergoes immense changes after hitting puberty in Tiger Stripes. Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) is a student at a Muslim all-girls school in Malaysia, who often ends up breaking the rules when hanging out with her friends Farah (Deena Ezral) and Mariam (Piqa). When Zaffan has her period one night, the resulting changes …
The now-orphaned sociopathic teenager sets herself out to save her dog from an ultra-right-wing terrorist cell in The Wrath of Becky. It has been two years since now-16-year-old Becky (Lulu Wilson) survived an attack by a gang of neo-Nazis that claimed the life of her father. Becky has since escaped from multiple foster homes and …
The contrast between teenage girls’ real and online lives is explored in Bloom. In the modern age, teenagers often find it easier to communicate with people online than in person. Three groups of teenage girls are followed as their lives on and offline are contested. Bloom Synopsis Bloom is a social-media-focused documentary directed by Fanie …
This review was originally published as part of my coverage of Fantasia 2022 A young girl raised by a polar bear in a frozen post-apocalyptic world has to escape from a band of marauders in Polaris. It is 2144, and Sumi (Viva Lee) is a young girl who roams the snowbound wasteland with her polar …
A young albino girl hopes to be adopted by Michelle Obama in Hawa. Hawa (Sania Halifa) is a 15-year-old afro-sporting albino girl who lives with her grandmother Maminata (Oumou Sangaré), who is not expected to live long. When Hawa finds out that Michelle Obama is in Paris for four days as part of a book …
A teenager in a coma reflects on growing up with intellectually disabled parents in Wildflower. After an unknown accident, Bea (Kiernan Shipka) is rushed to the hospital, where she remains in a coma. While unconscious, Bea reflects on her time growing up under the parentage of Derek (Dash Mihok) and Sharon (Samantha Hyde), both of …
A young girl raised by a polar bear in a frozen post-apocalyptic world has to escape from a band of marauders in Polaris. It is the year 2144 an Sumi (Viva Lee) is a young girl who roams the snowbound wasteland with her polar bear mother Mula. However, Sumi is separated from Mula following attack …
The controversy surrounding Lyme disease is explored in The Quiet Epidemic. Since it was first discovered in 1975, the common belief about Lyme disease is that it is a non-chronic condition that can just be treated with antibiotics. However, there is much evidence to suggest that this is not the case and doctors and activists …
A teenage girl becomes disturbed by the sudden change in the personality of her mother in You Are Not My Mother. Char (Hazel Doupe) is a North Dublin teenager, whose depressed mother Angela (Carolyn Bracken) suddenly vanishes, worrying Char, her grandfather Rita (Ingrid Craigie), and uncle Aaron (Paul Reid). However, Angela suddenly reappears in the …
An orphaned girl turned into a vampire must fend for herself in 19th century Spain in All the Moons. At the end of the Third Carlist War in 1876, an orphanage is attacked and a young girl (Haizea Carneros) is mortally wounded. She is saved by a woman (Itziar Ituño), who heals the girl but the …
A Korean family struggles to make ends meet after starting a farm in Arkansas in Minari. Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun) is a Korean immigrant, who has just moved from California to Arkansas with his wife Monica (Yeri Han) and young children David (Alan S. Kim) and Anne (Noel Kate Cho). Jacob hopes to make a better …
A mother of two shares a house with ten others in I Love You I Miss You I Hope I See You Before I Die. Betty Boykin is a young mother of two living below the poverty line in suburban Colorado Springs. Betty shares a house with ten other people, including Betty’s young daughter Jade …
A Toronto sex worker hopes for a better life for her and her daughter in Queen of the Morning Calm. Debra (Tina Jung) is a 29-year-old Korean-Canadian, who has been working as a stripper while she finishes her studies to become an accountant. However, life is hard for Debra, since she has to care for her …
The young assistant of a film producer becomes increasingly aware of the toxic environment she finds herself in The Assistant. Jane (Julia Garner) is a recent college graduate, who has been working for the last five years as an assistant in a film producer’s office, with the ambitions of someday becoming a producer herself. Throughout one …
A wealthy Korean family is tormented by a vengeful spirit in The Wrath. The heirs of the family of Madame Shin are being killed off on their wedding way by the vengeful spirit of a woman. Ok-bun is a young beggar, who is married off to Shin’s youngest son, in a last-ditch effort to break …
A grassroots campaign begins to get the first black NHL player into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Willie. In 1958, Willie O’Ree broke the NHL’s colour barrier when he was called up to play for the Boston Bruins. Despite their not being a day going by where he was the recipient of racist remarks, …
An undead teenage girl befriends blind boy in The Dark. Mina (Nadia Alexander) is a cannibalistic undead teenager, who haunts an isolated forested area known as the “Devil’s Den.” After dispatching of a fugitive criminal that enters the area, Mina meets the criminal’s blinded hostage Alex (Toby Nichols). Mina decides to help Alex get back to …
A man who’s slowly going invisible tries to save his daughter in The Unseen. Bob Langmore (Aden Young) is an ex hockey player, who is now a struggling mill worker in a quiet town. Bob abandoned his family 8 years earlier, partly due to the fact that he has a condition that is slowly turning him …
Two teenage girls strike up a summer friendship in Porcupine Lake. Bea (Charlotte Salisbury) is a 13 year old girl, who travels with her mother Ally (Delphine Roussel) to Port Severn, ON, where Bea’s father Scotty (Christopher Bolton) is running the family diner. With her parents embroiled in marital issues, Bea strikes up a friendship …
Teenagers in Finland participate in hobbyhorse competitions in Hobbyhorse Revolution. Traditionally viewed a children’s activity, many teenagers in Finland have taken this hobby to a new level, participating in hobbyhorse equestrian competitions. Mariam “Aisku” Njie, Elsa Salo and Alisa Aarniomäki are three such hobbyhorseists and they strive for success in the hobby they love, without …
From Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D) comes this adaptation of the novel by Joe Hill. After his girlfriend Merrin Williams (Juno Temple) is found dead, Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself the number one suspect in her murder and he’s shunned by practically the entire community, with exception of his brother Terry …
The Waiting Room is a cinéma vérité-style documentary about a public hospital in California. The film just shows the activity at the hospital over the course of the day. The only real narration comes in the form of voiceovers from the staff and patients. At the very least, the film is an interesting look at …
It all begins with the desire of one Iranian woman to leave Iran for a better life. Her husband does not want to leave and instead wants to stay and care for his father with Alzheimer’s. The couple file for divorce and so begins a series of events that will tear their family further apart. …
At TIFF, Bruce McDonald’s Trigger was notable as the first film to screen at the Bell Lightbox. While the film was a less extravagant affair at the Calgary Film Fest (the theatre was only a little over half full), it did not take away the fact that it was a very compelling film. The film …