AFI Roundtable - All of Us Strangers, American Fiction, Freud's Last Session

By: Chris James, Eurocheese and Abe Friedtanzer

Reunions happen in the most unlikely of places. In this case, three The Film Experience writers ran into each other at the World Premiere of Matt Brown’s film Freud’s Last Session at the AFI Film Festival.

The fun of festivals is always to find out what are the similarities in everyone’s schedules and the differences. Since Chris, Abe and Eurocheese were all seeing Freud’s Last Session, All of Us Strangers and American Fiction during the festival, we thought it would be fun to have a round table to compare and contrast their opinions on the films. What did they love and what did they hate?

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Chris Diary 2 - AFI Film Festival - Four Daughters, The End We Start From, The Summer With Carmen

by Chris James

The rest of the AFI Film Festival had plenty more highs and lows in store. Movies from many different countries and genres were well represented in the remainder of the slate. Of the potential Oscar contenders, I was able to catch Tunisia’s Oscar submission this year - Four Daughters. The documentary film is helmed by Kaouther Ben Hania, who previously earned an Oscar nomination in 2020 for The Man Who Sold His Skin. The other jaunt abroad I took could not have been more different. The queer Greek comedy The Summer With Carmen served a fun comedy set in large part on a nude beach. This provoked a good bit of emotional whiplash as I saw it right after the climate change disaster drama, The End We Start From.

What did we think of this trio of films? Find out after the jump.

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Chris AFI Film Festival Diary #1 - Quiz Lady, Terrestrial Verses, The Bikeriders

By Chris James

Jodie Comer and Austin Butler star in Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders," which screened at the AFI Film Festival.

The Film Experience is back at the Hollywood and Highland complex for another film festival. The AFI Film Festival is back for another year. Throughout the weekend, the team is going to be sharing their reviews of some of the latest films to hit the festival circuit. The AFI Film Festival is often times the first time many Oscar hopefuls touch down on Los Angeles, in the same building that the Oscars are held no less. The festival also boasts an impressive number of international features, including 18 submissions for Best International Feature.

For this first dispatch, I've reviewed Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders, the LA premiere of Quiz Lady and the Iranian film Terrestrial Verses. Read after the jump to find which films triumphed and which fumbled...

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AFI Fest: “The Son,” “Women Talking” and "Alcarràs"

by Christopher James

Sarah Polley assembles a terrific ensemble for her fourth feature, "Women Talking."

Though Saturday was Day Four of the AFI festival, it was merely my second day spent wandering around the halls of the TCL Chinese Theater subsisting on popcorn and soda alone. What a doozy of a day it was. The films all spoke in different ways to parenthood, family, community, and gender dynamics. Between Sarah Polley's Women Talking, Florian Zeller's The Son and Carla Simón's Alcarràs which film soared to be the best of the bunch and which missed the mark entirely? My takes on all three are after the jump...

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AFI Fest: “Nanny” and “Piaffe”

by Christopher James

Anna Diop gives a powerful performance in the horror drama "Nanny," coming soon to Prime Video.

The AFI Film Festival kicked off in earnest Wednesday with the premiere of Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. The documentary of the pop sensation was directed by Alex Keshishian (“Madonna: Truth or Dare''). My first day at the festival was a double feature of female-directed genre pictures. Nanny, directed by Nikyata Jusu, and Piaffe, directed by Ann Oren. Both played with horror conventions in interesting ways to tell two very different stories. One deals with a complicated, bifractured tale of motherhood and sacrifice. The other dramatizes pleasure in odd, yet titilating ways. While both tell different stories and have different tones, one film was more successful than the other in marrying tone and storytelling into a satisfying package.

So which one was more successful? Find out after the jump...

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