— by BEV QUESTAD — “There is an obvious candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize and that’s Edward Snowden,” said Jon Karlung, CEO of Bahnhof, a Swedish Internet service provider in Stockholm that can monitor the monitors. Edward Snowden, a US citizen in exile in Russia, has alerted the[...]
Author Archive
Review: The Good Postman
— by BEV QUESTAD — The genius of this documentary, set in a tiny town in Bulgaria, is that it is a microcosm of the world. While the citizens of Great Dervent, Bulgaria, fear change, strangers, unemployment and loneliness, their major contentious issue in a recent election is what to do [...]
Review: Nowhere to Hide
— by BEV QUESTAD — America may be lacking moral leadership these days, but its vigilance and ethical spirit are stronger than ever. This year’s powerful 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival (HRWFF) in New York City features the most crucial issues of our time, opening with a candid do[...]
Review: Afterimage
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Where can I find Dr. Strzeminski?” asks an eager new student at an art field trip. Flopping down on his stomach, Strzeminski rolls down the hill above her. His students shout out and roll in gay laughter down the mountainside as well. Władysław Strzeminski was k[...]
Review: Harold and Lillian
— by BEV QUESTAD — Considered a secret weapon by movie industry professionals, Lillian Michelson explains that she and her husband worked as a team for 60 years on films like “The Ten Commandments,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Spartacus,” “The[...]
Review: A Quiet Passion
— by BEV QUESTAD — At the end of the second semester at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, circa 1850, the students were asked, “Do you wish to come to God and be saved? Those who wish to be Christian and be saved will move to my right. To those who remain and hope to be […][...]
Review: The Zookeeper’s Wife
— by BEV QUESTAD — Their son sleeps with two blond cubs cuddled gently around him. A long-nosed black and white furry badger clutches like a baby to a human. A dromedary, aka a one-humped camel, scurries humorously around the zoo grounds in free abandon. This seemingly innocent film open[...]
Review: The Levelling
— by BEV QUESTAD — Set in the scenic Somerset Levels across the misty Bristol Channel of the Atlantic opposite Wales, this poignant film is the master teacher on reunification and redemption. Beginning with a happy revelry in mid-October, the guys get hot and riled up as they dance aroun[...]
On the Map: Seattle Jewish Film Festival
— by BEV QUESTAD — Laugh, cry, love, gather and celebrate are the words for the 2017 annual Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF), held March 25 – April 2, 2017. On its final-day, an exceptionally well-made documentary, “On the Map” with legendary Bill Walton narrating, will entertai[...]
Review: You’re Killing Me Susana
— by BEV QUESTAD — Yeah, Susana (Verónica Echegui) is killing everyone watching this film. She’s Natalie Portman-beautiful and haunting — no match for Eligio (Gael García Bernal), her weak-minded husband. She is the responsible, talented, good-looking writer and he is an irresp[...]
2017 PIFF winners announced
— by BEV QUESTAD — The results of the 40th annual Portland International Film Festival Audience Awards are in. With 98 feature films, 66 shorts and an audience of close to 35,000, winning overall for Best Narrative was “Truman,” a poignant story of friendship at the end of life. Howe[...]
I Am Not Madame Bovary: Official Trailer
— by BEV QUESTAD — The fabulously diversified Portland International Film Festival has been extended to Feb. 27. An example of one of PIFF’s exquisite foreign films is the picturesque Chinese blockbuster by Feng Xiaogang. Known as China’s Steven Spielberg, he uses a unique screen[...]
Starless Dreams: Trailer
— by BEV QUESTAD — Award-winning director Mehrdad Oskouei was given access to an incarceration facility for girls 18 and under in Iran. Gently asking them why they were there and what their hopes for the future were, he discovers a greater societal transgression than the girls’ crimes.[...]