by Tom Llewellin A woman who has just murdered her husband walks into a parking garage, where she gives a strange man a couple of cigarettes. Now she’s on the ferry to a secluded Southeast Asian island, bundles of cash strapped to her body. The man straps the bills off, and they cast uneasy glances at each other. They sit on a white beach as waves lap the secluded shoreline, trying to to negotiate and renegotiate some level of intimacy. But it’s plain to see they are shaken by ...

Meryam Joobeur is a young Montreal-based filmmaker who has worked with Sasha Lane of American Honey fame, among others. Her new short film Brotherhood explores issues of cultural dislocation, family tension and sacrifice. It won the award for best Canadian short film at TIFF in September.  In Brotherhood, a family’s eldest son returns home from Syria to his Tunisian shepherd family, accompanied by his new wife - a young woman wearing a niqab, a garment in which only the eyes are vi...

Director/Writer: Stephen A Sepher Production company: Kingfisher Media Starring: Billy Flynn, Christa B Allen, DB Sweeney, Chris Mulkey Dead On Arrival updates the classic 1950 film noir thriller DOA with a cast of misfits and a Deep South twist. Sam Collins (Billy Flynn in his feature film debut) is a pharmaceutical sales rep sent to Louisiana to close the deal of a lifetime. After a lavish New Year’s Eve party, Sam finds out he's been poisoned. In the desperately brief window the ...

REVIEW: Baher, Her Mind (short) Director: Hassan Akhondpour Prod co: Paya Film Toos Iran, 25 minutes Hassan Akhondpour’s debut short is already making waves across the Middle East, with over two million shares and scores of discussions generated since its May 19 premiere at the Cannes Short Film Corner. Told in 25 minutes and without dialogue, Baher: Her Mind is a journey into the psyche of our protagonist —whose name we never hear spoken out loud— convinced her husband ...

Directors: Khurram H Alavi, Ayman Jamal Writer: Ayman Jamal Production company: Barajoun Entertainment United Arab Emirates, 109 mins Bilal is the debut of Dubai-based Barajoun Entertainment, and the first animated feature film to come out of the United Arab Emirates. In a mythical desert kingdom rendered in careful detail, a young slave strives for freedom. With spectacular set pieces and a sweeping scope, Bilal starts off on the right foot for a debut effort. In a mythical des...