Behind Festival Season: A Volunteer’s POV
Come take a look at what really goes on behind the scenes of a film festival, and I’ll share my festival volunteer do’s and don’ts!
Latest
Analogue is in, so here's some offline inspo
From London-based book clubs to my friend's novel, I think we're all gonna benefit from a little analogue-ing of our lives in 2026. Here are some suggestions to get you started...
Charli XCX and the hierarchy of chasing cool
In a recent Substack post, Charli muses on cool as a protective mechanism around an artist's control and integrity, cultural miscommunication and facsimile, ubiquity and the concept of passionate creation. I want to propose that something deeper is at play.
To all the new Aficionados!
We saved you a seat...
UMNIA's Ins and Outs for 2026, culturally speaking.
It's shaping up to be a very cool, and very offline, year for a lot of people. My two cents, should you be interested, are enclosed.
Elon Musk froze culture and we must unfreeze it.
The reason for forever sequels, Billboard Chart freeze, nostalgia pop, COVID Denial and the rising price of RAM is all the same -- and we cannot let it continue if we want to survive.
we actually can retire Euphoria.
Gen-Z, Purity Politics, Sydney Sweeney, Creepy Old Men™, Embarrassing Boyfriends, The Epstein Files, Olivia Nuzzi, Generational Infighting, Eddington, abuse, and Sex on Screen. Also Nick Fuentes.
Move over Eddington, "Wake Up Dead Man" is the defining political satire of 2025
Analysing faith as it manifests within America, Johnson once again used the masterful and time-tested device of the whodunnit to try and comment on why "we're all so divided".
🔒The Case for Depression as a Villain (Full Video)
The extended version of our new Video Essay for Paid Aficionados!
Stranger Things, Thunderbolts, and The Case for Depression as a Villain (Video Essay)
In this Video Essay filmed earlier this year, Nor García Grau explores how Depression has become a brilliant, and relatable, foil in popular media in 2025.
A collection of Short Films for the Zeitgeist | Sweet and Short
Sleep demons, sandy beaches, liminal spaces and so much more! Anika valiantly trawls through the archive of Shorts in our inbox, and brings us her favourites!
Man Strives For Greatness, but there are Consequences™: How to break the Toxic Ambition loop on Film
Can anyone imagine greatness without the same old consequences?
Why should you care about physical DVDs and DIY movie nights?
One woman's guide to bringing the fun back into your cinematic life.
Film
Shelby Oaks: A horror movie mashup
Despite all it's flaws, it's definitely not a "horrible movie" but it's certainly a messy debut.
Film
And now, a mini LFF Roundup
Some rapid fire reviews for films I was less enthused by...
Film
The best films of the year were all made by women.
Incredible coincidence – will hollywood heed the message?
Film
🇬🇧🇸🇩When home can only be in the mind, it's time for Green Screen: Khartoum (Documentary Review) | BFI LFF 2025 (English with Arabic Translation)
With humour, unpretentiousness and deep care, five brave Sudanese icons recount their brave escape from the Civil War, and green screen helps visualise the Khartoum they were forced to leave behind.
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I have an axe wound: Queens of the Dead (Review)
A campy, tender romp through Zombie conventions, this collection of colourful characters remind us that Horror has always been for the Gworls.
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Lush Hyperrealism: 100 Nights of Hero | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Adapted from a queer feminist graphic novel that borrowed from Scheherazade, this luscious experiment in fantasy-as-realism is a true treat for the Ren Faire Romance Set (my friends and collaborators all), and is bound to be a cult favourite.
Film
Tuwaine Barrett & Bradley Banton dissect the process of creating "More Life" | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Set entirely in an Instagram Live, this hangout movie quietly catalogues friendship, identity and performance -- Lead Actor Tuwaine Barrett and Actor/Writer/Director Bradley Banton get into the process with us.
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The Chronology of Water (Review) | BFI LFF 2025
Based on the 2011 memoir by American writer Lidia Yuknavitch, Kristen Stewart's debut is more experimental than narrative – and does more to honour than it does to analyse.
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Instagram is ✨Cinema: More Life (Review) | BFI LFF 2025
Where theatre meets Instagram Live, you can make cinema, and director Bradley Banton has found a unique angle on the hangout film here.
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I saw the Face of God in the Jet Wash (Short Film Review) | BFI LFF 2025
In homage to the short, this review is written in a similar style to how the film is narrated. In 2019 I had decided that Music was evading me, and become too heavy a craft considering it had birthed my career as an Audio Engineer, and was now somewhat badly
Film
I saw this film again and it actually got better: 'The Testament of Ann Lee' | BFI London Film Festival 2025
"This is a story about how pacifism is political. How gender, race, religion are all precursors for violence, and how the denial of that violence is a radical act. However, the story opens up further, like a deep network of roots underground, the more you observe."