The Fifties: 2024 Edition

by Cláudio Alves 

DUNE: PART TWO is the nomination leader, with eight individual citations.

Some time ago, Nick Davis used to have an annual tradition on his blog, commemorating the landmark of fifty new releases watched with an awards roster of sorts. Going through different Oscar-y categories, it felt like a way to celebrate the year in cinema before all the buzzy releases took over the conversation. As a reader, I loved those lists, using them as recommendations and insight into a fantastic writer's taste. Moreover, between that and Nathaniel's Halfway Mark honors, I grew inspired. Thus, a personal tradition came to be, with me taking tally of my own imaginary ballots around the same period. This year, having reached the goal of fifty 2024 feature releases, I've decided to share my "fifties" with you.

Consider it a love letter to the films I've loved so far in the year. It's also my homage to two writers I've long admired and whose influence over my cinephilia is impossible to quantify…

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Ten Highlights from IndieLisboa

by Cláudio Alves

Dear reader, if you've noticed my relative absence in these early days of May, I can only apologize. I've been busy covering the 20th edition of the IndieLisboa film festival in the Portuguese capital. The event is a grand affair for the celebration of national and international independent cinema, with multiple competitive sections and prizes at the end of it all. This year's international competition winner was Juraj Lerotic's Safe Place, which I wrote about last year when reviewing various International Film Oscar submissions. Other titles should be less familiar to The Film Experience's readership, so this feels like an excellent opportunity to offer recommendations and spread the word on some nifty flicks. 

From an out-of-focus Hong Sang-soo experiment to an extensive Jan Švankmajer retrospective, from shorts to features, a little over 300 films made up the festival's program. Having watched roughly a third of those, here are ten highlights…

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