• White Filmmakers’ Relationships With Race: The Problem With Malcom & Marie

    Annabelle Underdown Malcom & Marie (2021), written and directed by Sam Levinson, the creator of the critically acclaimed series Euphoria, is a film that attempts to depict the volatility of relationships. However, the potential to explore the complexities of a relationship connected to drug addiction and fame, is superseded...
  • Celebrating Female Film Makers

    Annabelle Underdown Female filmmakers are continually underrepresented in the industry. Despite the necessary perspectives they bring to the writing room, set and editing suite, the perseverance of the patriarchy persists. Cinema continually celebrates films made by men, as reflected in the measly five nominations received by women, for the...
  • Remi Weekes ‘His House’: Portraying The Immigrant Experience Through Film

    Annabelle Underdown Remi Weekes debut feature film, His House (2020) graced our screens after its Netflix release at the end of October. The film centres around south-Sudanese asylum seekers, Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku), as they navigate their new home in a dilapidated Essex town. After watching...
  • ‘Horrified with Horror’: The Academy Awards’ Relationship With Horror Films

    Annabelle Underdown The Oscars have a phobia of horror, with only six Best Picture contenders ever having been loosely labelled ‘horror movies’. In the 92nd Academy Awards, the horror genre was left solely represented by one nomination: Best Cinematography for The Lighthouse (2019). Why do the Academy Awards continuously...
  • Ari Aster – How An Obsession With Cults Resulted In Two Unforgettable Horror Films

    Annabelle Underdown Ari Aster has become one of the most successful and celebrated horror writer-directors in the twenty-first century. His debut feature film Hereditary (2018) received both critical and commercial success. The ‘breakup opera’ Midsommar (2019) solidified his writing and directorial achievements, exhibiting his profoundly distinct cinematic voice and...
  • Director Spotlight: Barry Jenkins

    Annabelle Underdown Barry Jenkins is at the forefront of contemporary cinema – alongside other Black film makers he is a pivotal figure in the integration and celebration of Black stories. From Medicine for Melancholy (2008) to If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Jenkins has always placed Black love at...