MIFF 2020 – ROUGH CUT

Review: ‘Women Make Film’, and How, In This Epic Documentary Chronicling the Female Gaze

Mark Cousins’ gargantuan series on female directors is captivating and aspirational from every one of its 14 hours.

It may be a meaningful step forward for Australian queer cinema, but this lesbian teen rom-com offers little outside of representation.

Filmed in 1967 and reconstructed in 2020, Matilda Alexander ponders Raúl Ruiz’s Chilean cinépoem, which brims with visionary ambition.

Pablo Larraín’s latest film is a metaphysical exploration that gives into the domination, submission and total openness of the senses.

Matilda Dorman deciphers the hollow political and social resonances that lie with a quasi-fictional film about a bar on closing night.

Shalini Kantayya’s documentary is a methodical look at facial recognition algorithms which avoids being by-the-numbers.

This slow-burning Guatemalan ghost story deals with heavy questions about complicity and justice.

In this year’s impressive Animated Shorts line-up, three films elevate the mundane through style and tone.

In this year’s heavy-hitting International Shorts line-up, three women-centric films stand out, exploring separate facets of female isolation.