Streamline
Written and directed by Tyson Wade Johnston, Streamline is a polished yet forgettable sports drama that puts young athletes, and the pressures they face, front and centre.
Articles by Shannon Page
Poly Styrene: I am a Cliché
In 1976, Marion Elliott-Said – a Somali-English teenager from London – formed a band. That band, called X-Ray Spex, would quickly become one of the most distinct groups to emerge from the fledgling punk scene. Marion, in her front-woman persona as Poly Styrene, broke into an industry that was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male, paving the way for other female musicians and women of colour. Many credit her with laying the foundations for what would,…
Try Harder!
Lowell High School is the top-ranked public high school in San Francisco. In a world where everyone is a straight-A student, Lowell seniors are stressed out, scrambling to secure places in the country’s top universities and balancing overwhelming pressure from their families and communities.
The Scary of Sixty-First
Until recently, when she was cast in the third season of HBO’s hit series Succession, Dasha Nekrasova was one of those niche internet celebrities that enjoys considerable notoriety in select circles while remaining virtually unknown in the larger public consciousness. She is perhaps best known as the co-host of the popular left-leaning podcast, Red Scare. Much like her podcast, Nekrasova’s debut directorial feature is calculated to invite controversy. Brash and antagonistic, The Scary of Sixty-First…
Benedetta
Set in 17th century Italy, and based on real people and events, writer/director Paul Verhoeven’s latest feature, Benedetta, is the story of a nun from a wealthy family (Virginie Efira) who experiences vivid, and highly erotic, religious visions. After a pretty young novice named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) arrives at the convent, Benedetta’s visions become more intense and attract the attention of local religious leaders – threatening the sexual and romantic relationship that is beginning to…
Gaza Mon Amour
Written and directed by Dégradé filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, Gaza Mon Amour is a sweet, subdued love story set in present-day Gaza.
The Pebble and the Boy
Written and directed by Chris Green (Strangeways Here We Come), The Pebble and the Boy is a sweet, quirky coming-of-age story that is as much a celebration of mod culture as it is a story of grief and growing up.
Nine Days
Written and directed by Edson Oda, Nine Days is a metaphysical film that follows a lonely man named Will, played by Winston Duke (Black Panther, Us), who is tasked with interviewing human souls and deciding which one will be given a chance to live. One soul in particular, Emma (Zazie Beetz), is an independent thinker who resists the tasks Will assigns and forces him to examine his own existence.
Toronto After Dark 2021: ‘Alien on Stage’
Directed by Lucy Harvey and Danielle Kummer, Alien on Stage is an unexpectedly heartwarming documentary about an amateur theatre group comprised of Dorset bus drivers who set out to produce a stage adaptation of Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi/horror Alien. Though their initial adaptation is serious, they are given the opportunity to take their show to London’s West End as a comedy.
Toronto After Dark 2021: ‘Nightshooters’
Combining martial arts with survival horror and thrills, Nightshooters may have a few rough patches – but it’s a hell of a good time.