EIFF REVIEW: Balikbayan an uplifting documentary with heart
Edmontonian Jon Jon Rivero made a promise at his father’s deathbed – that he would discover his roots in the Philippines. Jon Jon’s trip was an epic journey of meaningful service that has consumed much of his life, and led to the eloquent documentary film seeing its world premiere at the Edmonton International Film Festival: […]
EIFF REVIEW: Happy Place an Emotionally Draining Film
The closing feature at the Edmonton International Film Festival is based on the personal experience of writer-actor Pamela Mala Sinha – who was violently raped after she moved to Montreal to begin theatre school. Her attacker not only physically violated her but stole her subsequent life. “I don’t fit anywhere in the world,” is one […]
EIFF REVIEW: Vegreville-filmed Drama Probes Old Ukrainian Wounds
It is Ukraine – the year is 1943 and the German army has broken through the lines and is systematically slaughtering everyone in a local village. The first images we see in Troy Ruptash’s film They Who Surround Us are fragmented and disconnected. They will come together in the mind of the film’s central character […]
EIFF REVIEW: Banksy Most Wanted Digs Deep Into Picasso of Street Art
The elusive graffiti artist Banksy may be the most famous artist in the world. His simple but affecting works have appeared mysteriously on walls, also in galleries, on trains, cars and wherever an inviting surface appears. He’s parlayed his shadowy persona and artistic genius into a fortune guessed at $50 million. His stencil of a […]
EIFF REVIEW: Jasmine Road a tear-jerker with a message: ‘They’re just like us.’
A redneck rancher unwittingly becomes the host of a family of Syrian refugees. What could possibly go wrong? Better yet: What could go right? Jasmine Road, the opening night feature at the Edmonton International Film festival, looks on the positive side of the immigration issue that has touched nearly every Canadian. Writer-director Warren Sulatycky takes […]
Old Strathcona Peace Camp Raises Awareness of Edmonton’s Unhoused
Camps set up by members of Edmonton’s “unhoused” population are a familiar sight in the inner city and River Valley. More and larger encampments are appearing, a visible testament to a lack of safe, affordable shelter and supports. The latest such community is the Peace Camp, a group of about 20 tents that set up […]
