IFI French Film Festival

Frederick Wiseman is the cinéaste of institutions. Even his one narrative film, A Couple, composed as a series of monologues by Sophia Tolstaya, centres around an institution. A cursory glance over his filmography reveals something of a…

Primary among the pleasures of filming musicians at work is the possibility of looking in on otherwise unseen technical exercises. Watching music is as invigorating as hearing it played. Exemplary in this is footage of bands working…

It’s called the trial of the century. Pierre Goldman, a Jewish man of Polish origin, was previously convicted of an armed robbery that ended in a double murder. The fiercely intelligent Goldman wrote a book proclaiming his innocence and…

Pacification has the markers of a taut political thriller. There is an exotic setting, a colonial possession, and a white linen suit. One can image a well-intentioned Yves Montand playing the martyr for Costas-Gavras. Albert Serra,…

The phrase "it's quality, not quantity" feels like it was invented for Petite Maman, writer-director Céline Sciamma's follow-up to her 2019 masterpiece Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Just 72-minutes-long and set almost entirely in and around…