Indie Prof

The annual Oscar column is here, so into the breach we go. Enjoy!

The Oscars loom, and I continue to review films that will be nominated or that I think should be nominated. This was a particularly good year for international film, and so this month I review another of the best films as well as a wonderful new documentary plus a book review.

This month Indie Prof reviews the Darren Aronofsky film “The Whale, a documentary about Vladimir Putin’s foe Alexei Navalny, and a review of Rachel Maddow’s book “Bag Man.”

This month Indie Prof gives a a longer review of a film from the Denver Film Festival as well as another international feature that surely will be nominated for an Oscar.

The Denver Film Festival is here, and this year’s lineup is a great one. The best news: the in-person shows, the filmmaker and star visits, and the parties are back this year. The festival runs from November 2–13.

Mark your calendars: the Denver Film Festival runs from November 2 to 13 this year. Once tickets go on sale, a must-see at the festival is “Klondike,” a Ukrainian film.

This month’s column celebrates two international works that thrill, delight, and simultaneously make us cringe at points. In short, they represent the best of this beautiful art form.

CinemaQ at the Sie Film Center celebrates its 14th Annual Festival. Two films of note are “The Sixth Reel” and “Jeanette.” Plus a new Trekkie series “Strange New Worlds” and the movie “Resurrection.”

July is Sci-Fi month, and specifically, the 12th Annual Science Fiction Film Series. This year, we return to fully in-person shows at the Sie. The Indie Prof also reviews “Lapsis” and For “All Mankind.”

The Italians aren’t necessarily known for sci-fi, but their cinema has a strong history of genre films that comment on the contemporaneous society in which they made.

This month’s reviews focus on the subject of revenge. To be more specific: male revenge. To be even more specific: bloody, gruesome, and sometimes inexplicable revenge.

I have taught films from all over the world, and they always illuminate something special about the world we are observing. That same beauty is available to all of us, and I wish to share some of it with you this month.