Middle Eastern Films

Tehran Taxi / Jafar Panahi’s Taxi: purporting to be a snapshot of life in Tehran but an examination of life and behaviour under a police state

4 min read

Jafar Panahi, “Tehran Taxi” aka “Jafar Panahi’s Taxi” (2015) Banned by the Iranian government in 2010 from making films, director Jafar Panahi nevertheless managed to make…

Read article Tehran Taxi / Jafar Panahi’s Taxi: purporting to be a snapshot of life in Tehran but an examination of life and behaviour under a police state

Italian and Italian-language Films, North American Films

The Last Man on Earth: still retaining the power to shock and horrify with a message of post-apocalyptic despair and existential angst

4 min read

Ubaldo B Ragona and Sidney Salkow, “The Last Man on Earth” (1964) Over 50 years since it was made, this cheaply made horror film has clearly…

Read article The Last Man on Earth: still retaining the power to shock and horrify with a message of post-apocalyptic despair and existential angst

French and French-language Films

In the Beginning: interplay of social realism and individual psychologies results in a film of self-renewal and fulfillment

4 min read

Xavier Giannoli, “À l’Origine” / “In the Beginning” (2009) It’s rather too long by 30 minutes and a couple of sub-plots, one involving Gérard Depardieu sleepwalking through…

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Australian and New Zealand Films

SBS versus President Bashar al Assad of Syria: a respectful interview revealing Western prejudices and assumptions about the Syrian war

3 min read

SBS News Interview with President Bashar al Assad (1 July 2016) Two years in the making, SBS journalist Luke Waters’ interview of Syrian President Bashar al Assad…

Read article SBS versus President Bashar al Assad of Syria: a respectful interview revealing Western prejudices and assumptions about the Syrian war

Multi-media Presentations, North American Films

WikiLeaks, Hillary-Gulen Intimate Ties & How Clintons Gave Birth to Mullah Gulen’s Terrorist Network: an astounding report on the links between US politics and extremist Islam

4 min read

Newsbud Spotlight with Sibel and Spiro (12 August 2016): WikiLeaks, Hillary-Gulen Intimate Ties & How Clintons Gave Birth to Mullah Gulen’s Terrorist Network In the wake…

Read article WikiLeaks, Hillary-Gulen Intimate Ties & How Clintons Gave Birth to Mullah Gulen’s Terrorist Network: an astounding report on the links between US politics and extremist Islam

Latin American Films (Spanish language)

The Embrace of the Serpent: a film condemning European colonialism and its effects also carries a message of reconciliation and hope

4 min read

Ciro Guerra, “The Embrace of the Serpent / El Abrazo de la Serpiente” (2015) Filmed on location in the Amazon rainforest region, this remarkable film features…

Read article The Embrace of the Serpent: a film condemning European colonialism and its effects also carries a message of reconciliation and hope