Puerto Rico is a place I did not know a lot about. I almost went to San Juan on a vacation once, but had to cancel last minute because of an illness. Besides knowing it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth, I had […]
Sofia Alaoui is an Arab filmmaker who grew up, as she says, “between China and Morocco.” Her mother is French and her father is from Morocco. What I love about this filmmaker is that she is expansive as a person. Sofia has really connected with […]
Discovering a filmmaker like Linh Tran at the beginning of her career is unbelievably exciting. A friend of mine has already made a bootleg Girls on Top T-shirt with her name on it, and I want one to accompany my Sofia Coppola, Chloé Zhao, Charlotte […]
One of the most surreal experiences I had this year was meeting one of my favorite filmmakers, Sarah Polley. I had the opportunity to interview Sarah for my coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival. To say the least, I’m a super fan. When we […]
Congratulations to Rebecca Fons for being Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoan of the Year (2022) for Film! I admire and am kind of obsessed with Rebecca Fons. She makes things happen, and when it comes to the Chicago film community, she is opening doors for filmmakers and […]
As a movie lover, I can’t help connecting the meaning in my life to what I’m seeing on the screen. Sometimes films expand my meaning, and sometimes they confirm it. That mirror reflection is what draws me to certain films and is what motivates which […]
During a time when women’s bodies are being used as a political agenda, it is so refreshing to see a film that elevates female sensuality through the lens of consent. This film is “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, and is based on the classic book by D.H. Lawrence. […]
Last week Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema Film Festival wrapped up its 15th season showing eight Hong Kong productions. I was fortunate to interview one of the filmmakers behind one of these movies, Hoi Yeung, about the coming-of-age gem “The First Girl I Loved”, which he […]
I was very fortunate to interview “recovering journalist” and producer (“The Square”) Dina Amer about her feature directorial debut “You Resemble Me,” inspired by a story she first got wrong. The story is about a Muslim woman in France named Hasna who got mixed up […]
With the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” coming this Friday (11/11/22) we bring back snippets of our January 2019 Black Panther issue and our interview with Oscar-Winning Production Designer Hannah Beachler. Earlier this year, we chose “Black Panther” to be our film focus for […]
“The world stands out on either sideNo wider than the heart is wide;Above the world is stretched the sky,—No higher than the soul is high.The heart can push the sea and landFarther away on either hand;The soul can split the sky in two,And let the […]
I’m going to be 40 next month. For a while I couldn’t think or say that without flinching a bit. I have had it instilled in me there are certain markers you hit at certain ages of certain life experiences. Once you pass that age, […]