Spotlight | Film Festival Today

Film Review: “Toni Erdmann” Plays the Long Game and Wins

February 6, 2017

In “Moana,” Disney Offers a Powerful and Delightful Fantasy of Female Derring-Do

December 1, 2016

Film Review: “The Light Between Oceans”

September 2, 2016

Spotlight

RIP Claude Chabrol

September 12, 2010

The Unserious Genius of “Serious People”
By Hannah Tran
November 14, 2025
Serious People (Pasqual Gutierrez/Ben Mullinkosson, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars Would you rather have to set healthy work-life boundaries or create a casting call, hire a lookalike, and coach them to impersonate you at work so you don’t have a conflict with your personal life? When music video director Pasqual’s opportunity to direct the next Drake video coincides with his wife Christine’s due date, the choice is clear: he hires a security ... >>
MdFF Review: “Love Chaos Kin”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
November 10, 2025
Love Chaos Kin (Chithra Jeyaram, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars A thoughtful documentary protagonist is a boon to a filmmaker, able to elevate even the simplest of subjects beyond its narrative limitations. In Love Chaos Kin, from director Chithra Jeyaram (Foreign Puzzle), the topic at hand is full of layered complexities, though at its core is mainly about love. Thanks to Lakshmi Iyer, the main character and anchor of the story, all the many nuances of ... >>
Middleburg Interview with “Left-Handed Girl” Director Shih-Ching Tsou
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 30, 2025
Filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou is a longtime collaborator of Sean Baker’s. In her first helming effort, the 2004 Take Out, she shared directorial duties with Baker. Since then, Tsou has produced many of his later films, including the 2021 Red Rocket. She and Baker co-wrote the screenplay for Left-Handed Girl, though Tsou is the sole director on it. The movie follows a family of three—mom, a teenage girl, and a much-younger daughter (a southpaw, hence ... >>
Middleburg Interview with “Hedda” Star Nina Hoss
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 27, 2025
In the new film Hedda, from director Nia DaCosta (Candyman), German actress Nina Hoss (TÁR) plays Eileen Lovborg, former lover of the main character and now professional rival to that person’s new husband. An adaptation of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play Hedda Gabler, the movie switches Eileen’s original gender from male to female (he is “Eilert” in the source text), and also moves the action to 1950s England. These changes ... >>
Middleburg Interview with “Come See Me in the Good Light” Director Ryan White
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 27, 2025
Documentarian Ryan White is nothing if not prolific, tackling a great variety of issues as he goes. In his latest movie, Come See Me in the Good Light, he profiles the late spoken-word poet Andrea Gibson (who was non-binary and used they/them pronouns), who died on July 14 of this year, fours years after receiving a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2021. Appointed the Poet Laureate of Colorado in 2023, Gibson was a star in their field. White ... >>

5 Films to See at the 2025 Maryland Film Festival
November 4, 2025
Though traditionally held in the spring, the 2025 ...>>
5 Films to See at Middleburg 2025
October 15, 2025
The 13th iteration of the annual Middleburg Film ...>>
5 Films to See at New/Next 2025
October 2, 2025
The New/Next Film Fest is back for its third ...>>
10 Picks for TIFF 2025
September 1, 2025
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) ...>>
Films to See at Fantasia 2025
July 15, 2025
For fans of the weird, wild, and wonderful, the 29th ...>>