This story is excerpted and adapted from Kristen J. Sollée’s Witch Hunt: A Traveler’s Guide to the Power and Persecution of the Witch, published in October 2020 by Red Wheel Weiser. To German witches—hexen—the Harz highlands of northern Germany is home, a mountain range steeped in pagan lore. Here, Quedlinburg, a dazzling medieval town untouched…
This story was originally published on SAPIENS and appears here under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license. On South Africa’s southern coast, above the mouth of the Matjes River, a natural rock shelter nestles under a cliff face. The cave is only about three meters deep, and humans have used it for more than 10,000 years….
The film blogosphere can’t get enough of Gina Carano. That’s not a good thing for “The Mandalorian” star. Carano, an MMA fighter turned actress, appears to lean to the right, politically speaking. She’s questioned the accuracy of the recent election vote totals, refused to follow the trans community groupthink and spoke out for free speech….
Andong Hahoe Folk Village is a traditional Joseon Dynasty village home to the Ryu clan of Pungsan, and harkens back to the 16th-century. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonAn important relic of Korean culture, this village was designed in Joseon period-style architecture and is home to many folk traditions. The village is…
★★★★ Directed by: Ambrose Smoke Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Ambrose Smoke Starring: Lauren Engels, Jonathon Sawdon, Benita Katende, Paula Isiegas Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Jason Knight Angie (Engels) is intelligent, hardworking and determined. She got a job at…
Sometimes a film’s trajectory from inception to viewers can impact expectations. Let’s just say that the list of worthwhile movies that sat on the shelf for years and were the dumped into theaters with almost no promotion and no critics screenings is incredibly short. So while it’s nice to say that we approach all films…
While episode two is a big upgrade from season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s premiere, there were really only three big takeaways: 1) Tina Burner has a copyright on the color combination of red, orange, and yellow; 2) Gottmik’s storyline is allowing the show to widen its scope in a positive way as drag becomes more…
In 1966 during the Vietnam War, Tran Van Lai, a politician, brought a house at 287/70 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Road in District 3 of what was then Saigon. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonOver the next few months, he constructed a secret cellar without the knowledge of his family. He used the secret hideaway to…
In his backyard in Kerala, India, Vinod Sahadevan Nair, 60, grows bananas and plantains and rears chickens and ducks. Situated as it is in an agrarian region, abutting the biodiverse Western Ghats, his farm may seem typical. But a walk through his four acres reveals bananas growing in every conceivable shape, size, and hue: from…
In 1916, West Virginia established a system of fire towers that were located on various mountain peaks throughout the state. By utilizing a chart and telephone system, employees were able to quickly pinpoint forest fire locations that helped increase response times. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe earliest towers were wooden structures….
With Exam, writer-director Sonia K. Hadad and co-writer Farnoosh Samadi expose the familial and cultural demands that an Iranian teenager must confront over the span of 15 suspenseful minutes. Exam is a riveting short film about a teenage girl named Sadaf (Sadaf Asgari) who lives in Iran. The film follows Sadaf over the course of…
Usually, looking at public art is a fairly passive experience. Often, viewers are completely forbidden from directly interacting with art, much less changing how it looks entirely. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonBut Show Your Stripes by Jim Conti, a glittery piece of public art above a vacant San Jose storefront, is different….
Deep in the Lost Coast of Northern California, one stand of peculiar redwood trees survived multiple logging efforts that cleared most of the old-growth in the surrounding forest. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonSalty ocean air and frequent harsh ocean winds through Shady Dell are thought to have caused these trees to…
It’s January 2021 and I’m reminiscing on the future of Black British filmmakers and their current state in the film industry. Coming off the back of Steve McQueen‘s Small Axe anthology and films like Blue Story and His House which made waves last year, I hope we’re just about on the precipice of seeing a…
Pies can be finicky. Overwork the dough, and the crust won’t flake. Too-liquid filling can hesitate to set, or ooze out of the tin. Most people, as a result, stick to the pies they know how to make, or simply buy them from the store. But Stacey Mei Yan Fong, a Brooklyn-based baker, has invented…
Queerly Ever After is a bi-monthly column where I take a look at LGBT+ films that gave their characters a romantic happily-ever-after. There will be spoilers. Also, don’t forget to buy your Queerly Ever After merch right here. In Different For Girls, former school friends Paul Prentice (Rupert Graves) and Kim Foyle (Steven Mackintosh) reconnect after…
★★★★ Directed by #AlexKnapp Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by #AlexKnapp Starring #AlexKnapp #OliviaLuccardi Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by Brandon Thomas The opening minutes of Go/Don’t Go hint at a burgeoning relationship drama. Shy boy meets an outgoing girl. Girl draws…
There’s a chance the year’s Best Picture Oscar winner could feature non-English speaking leads … again. The Asian drama “Minari” led the way with six nominations from the Colo.-based Denver Film Critics Society, followed by five nominations for “Nomadland” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” [Editor’s Note: This reporter is chair of the DFCS]…
One of my favorite animals on this planet is the pink flamingo. From their fabulous pink color to their simultaneously elegant yet awkward posture, courtesy of their lanky legs and necks, they are like no other creature on Earth, and I find that fascinating. So, naturally, I was thrilled to hear about Spanish filmmaker Javier…
This exhibit is located across the street from the Palm Springs Art Museum in a large courtyard. Easy to overlook, these sculptures of babies appear to crawl through the dirt and along the walls of the sandpit. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThese ten, unique sculptures are intended to be a statement…
In the Autumn of 1819, the body of a 15-year old girl was found floating along the estuary of the River Shannon. Through a police investigation, it was discovered that her death was orchestrated by her recently eloped husband John Scanlan, who was a few years her senior. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong…