Category: Reviews Page 1 of 70

A still from Seized by Sharon Liese, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jackson Montemayor.)

The 94-minute documentary “Seized,” directed by Sharon Liese, which screened at Sundance, is a timely story out of Marion, Kansas (population 1,890). On August 11, 2023, local police chief Gideon Cody raided the offices of the Marion County Record, demanding all electronic devices be handed over. The police chief and several other officers also went to the home of the publishers of the paper, Eric Meyer and his 98-year-old mother Joan.

Eric Meyer is an exceptionally well-spoken former journalism professor and the publisher of the Marion County Record. Eric said, “I knew it was going to make news.” When his 98-year-old mother died the next day, Eric knew that “a really good story just became a great story.” Eric’s Mom says of the men in her house, “Do you understand how big a shit-storm you guys are in? Newspapers have got power, too.”

Do they, any more?

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

This story of the abuse of the 1^st amendment freedom of speech, the 4^th amendment and a possible conspiracy was cited recently in a similar case, where Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home was raided and her laptops and mobile phones were seized. The Washington Post commented that Trump’s FBI had “stomped on a once-inviolable right,” making this documentary about a successful defense of Constitutional rights both a legal precedent and, hopefully, cause for hope in the ongoing fight against encroaching totalitarianism.

As the 98-year-old Joan Meyer said (on videotape) to the men in her home, “Nazi stuff. The worst I’ve ever seen. You’re nothing but a bunch of bullies.” As we all wait out the assault on Minneapolis, those observations ring truer than ever.

PUBLISHER ERIC MEYER

Seventy-two year old publisher Eric Meyer of the Marion,, Kansas, Marion County Record.

Eric Meyer already was on bad terms with Marion’s Mayor Mike Powers. That hostility comes through loud and clear, from the moment that the mayor showed no interest in meeting new reporter Finn Hartnett right through to the final sit-down interview.

Eric said, “I’m a stubborn son-of-a-bitch. If you back me into a corner, I’m not going to back down.” Finn Hartnett, the new kid on the block agrees, saying, “Eric is a stoic, proud man and he is very committed. He is committed to leading this kind of life as a pariah.” Finn jokingly tells Eric that “the highest award in journalism is getting shot by the CIA.” The joke falls flat in 2026 Minneapolis, where two citizens were recently shot by federal ICE troops while exercising their right(s) to protest peacefully.

RAMIFICATIONS

In Trump’s America, it has been made clear that the owners of large media firms should expect much friendlier regulatory treatment if they bring their journalists to heel. Paramount’s CBS News has already stifled a story on “Sixty Minutes” about the inhumane El Salvador prison where Trump is fond of sending illegals. CBS has canceled Stephen Colbert’s Late Night Show. ABC removed Jimmy Kimmel from the air briefly. (CBS: Channel Bull Shit was heard used during one late night program.)

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos replaced that newspaper’s opinion columnists with right-leaning columnists and editors. Bezos’ Amazon (and Blue Origin) takes in billions of dollars in federal space and defense contracts. Bezos is concerned that Trump could cut off access if displeased. Amazon rolled out the movie “Melania” recently, a glossy $40 million dollar documentary focusing on our Russian-born First Lady. The film had ten times the budget of most documentaries and lists Melania Trump as Producer. It also is directed by Brett Ratner, recently charged with sexual harassment and pictured in a just-released Epstein document, seated next to Epstein and two unidentified women.

Bezos has not made any comment about the illegal raid on his own Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson‘s home, which may indicate who’s winning the war on journalism. Keep in mind that Eric Meyer’s raid on his newspaper took place in 2023; the court case and eventual victory dragged on for two years into 2025. Would Eric Meyer prevail, as he ultimately does, in today’s climate?

Much depends on the courts doing their job and not being bullied into doing the bidding of those in power. Recently, the FBI raided a Georgia election headquarters and seized voter records from 2020. Where are they now? Why aren’t the courts demanding their return? What is being done with those confidential voter records? Why was Tulsi Gabbard spotted loitering in the area when and where the records were seized? Is history going to be rewritten, as it has been in Russia? All valid questions when the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts skews conservative and seems to believe in the concept of giving the executive branch much more power than it previously possessed in our democracy.

Shark investor Mark Cuban just put out a warning to legacy media, noting that today’s youth are more likely to get their “news” from websites like YouTube or podcasts, many of which are often slanted. The traditional journalism of my day ( I was a Ferner/Hearst Journalism Scholarship recipient), which is the journalism of Eric Meyer, has given way to slanted news from a variety of sources. Add to that the streaming of movies undercutting theater audience attendance and those who report news or make movies may be in trouble (especially if they attempt to really investigate the truth of a situation involving powerful people.)

THE CAUSE OF THE MARION, KANSAS NEWSPAPER SEIZURE

You have to pay close attention to find out what, exactly, was the cause of the raid on Eric Meyer’s newspaper. There’s no doubt that Eric Meyer’s frosty relationship with the mayor played into the situation. There was, also, the expressed opinion from the mayor that newspaper journalists who are simply trying to do their job are “the enemy.” The Fourth Estate, as journalists have long been known, can ruffle feathers when they disclose truths that others would like kept private. Certainly the Epstein files are a good example.

In the case of Marion, Kansas, there was a feeling that Eric Meyer might write an editorial.
“There are forces at play that are diametrically opposed here. People are afraid to speak out because they are afraid that he will write an editorial and come after them if they speak out.”

Eric Meyer’s response was, “You don’t get into this business to be loved. It’s just part of the game. You feel a little isolated.” Nate, Eric’s son, noted, “They (the town fathers) picked the wrong people to go against. My grandmother was absolutely not going to back down.” Said Eric : “It’s a taboo in American democracy to raid a newsroom. We’re going to sue the living daylights out of this.”

ERIC’S STATEMENT

Sharon Liese, director of Seized, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.)

“What Marion’s got to hope for, at this point, is that we were the place where someone attempted to abuse its power, and we were the place where it stopped.” He added, “It’s about a system that didn’t function right because someone felt it was time to be the bully.”

LAWSUITS

The raid on Eric’s newspaper apparently arose from a romance between Police Chief Gideon Cody and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. Kari Newell wanted to secure a liquor license for one of her establishments, but her former best friend Pam Maag (a Linda Tripp if there ever was one) sent a record of Newell’s drunk driving arrests to the newspaper and the police and alleged that local law enforcement was turning a blind eye. Kari Newell’s ex-husband also claimed to have told the police that Kari was driving without a valid driver’s license, but claimed the authorities said they were not going to do anything about it. Upon verification of the information, the Marion County Record did run the story, which caused Sheriff Cody to get a warrant signed by the Honorable Laura Viar, a judge who did not live in Marion and did not read the document before signing it. Text messages (“What’s up, Buttercup?”) between the two indicate that Chief Cody may have decided to extract retribution, which we’ve seen at the highest level of government lately.

OUTCOME

At the end of this interesting and timely documentary both Eric Meyer, Director Sharon Liese and Finn Hartnett (who now writes for New York’s The New Republic) were asked about the outcome.

With Bernie Rhodes as attorney for the Marion County Record, a state judicial panel heard the case twice and advised the judge that she should read what she signs before she signs it. The Honorable Laura Viar was removed from Marion County. The newspaper sued for $10 million in damages, knowing that the town only had about $2 million in insurance. Meyer said, “We went to some pains to make sure that the amount would be there and also to secure the little statement that admitted wrongdoing on the part of the Sheriff’s department…The maximum of this charge is going to be probation for Gideon Cody. It will just take longer to get it done. He’s not going to get a job as a police officer, anyway, The biggest disappointment was the number of places where this could have been stopped.”

Added Eric Meyer, “It’s convenient to say that it was all Gideon’s fault. He was rightfully run out of town. But so many groups that were there to protect our rights were so blasé about the whole thing. It’s a story about the abuse of power against Americans.”

The insurance company paid $3,050,000 to the newspaper, $50,000 more than the town’s insurance covered. The $600,000 that Phyllis Zorn received from the settlement allowed her to retire. Nicholas Semrad’s charming music adds to the already excellent storytelling, and the final outcome might give all of us in America a small measure of hope, when it comes to standing up for what is right against allowing what is wrong to continue to dominate.

CONCLUSION

Said Eric Meyer at Sundance, “I would hope that people would think that I believed in something and I didn’t give up on it.”

A timely sentiment from a terrific documentary.

“Nuisance Bear” Wins Documentary Prize at Sundance 2026

By Connie Wilson

On January 31, 2026

In Movies, Reviews

A still from Nuisance Bear by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Gabriela Osio Vanden.)

In 2021 Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman made a short about polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, which is known as the Polar Bear Capitol of the World. The remote and frigid area first caught the attention of the filmmakers in 2015 and their 2021 short has now become a 90-minute documentary. I remembered enjoying the short, and I enjoyed the 90-minute documentary version, as did the jury at Sundance, which proclaimed it the documentary winner on January 30^th.

SOUND

The sound design by David Rose and the original music by Cristoabl Tapia de Veer helped the overall impact of the film, with Andres Landau editing film shot by six different cinematographers. Two of those shooting the bears up close and personal were the directors, but they were also aided by Michael Code, Jack Gawthrop, Samuel Holling and Ian Kerr, who got shots of the bears from unnervingly close range. (Code is also listed as one of the producers.)

Voice-over narration in the Inuit language is from Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons, to whom the film is dedicated (1943-2025). The Indian narrator tells us, “This story about a bear is a story about us.” He goes on to say that no story is ever simple, but stories are like mazes. They lead us where we least expect to go.

TOURISM

Gabriela Osio Vanden, director of Nuisance Bear, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Gabriela Osio Vanden.)

This Inuit native of the area explains that the polar bears stay on land looking for food until the ice freezes. The longer they stay on land, the more powerful and dangerous the situation becomes for humans. A polar bear is described as “ a visitor from the past navigating the maze of the present.” We learn that polar bears are gradually losing their hearing because loud noises are frequently used to scare them away. We also are told that caribou have very poor eyesight. The tourists that are aboard the Lazy Bear Expeditions buses (I saw 8 full buses in one shot) are encouraged to wave their gloved hands in the air like antlers, as the caribou might even join them, thinking they are fellow caribou.

We see a bear trap (and watch a polar bear outwit the trap to succeed in eating the fish used as a lure) and learn that the southern town of Churchill is more welcoming to polar bears. They often trap them and relocate them to the wilderness—or what’s left of it— after tagging them. If you head further north, northern hunters live in fear of the bears. We hear one Inuit hunter say, to applause at a town hall meeting, that if a nuisance bear bothers him “I will put it down.”

DANGERS

Among other problems the bears pose, there are government regulations about hunting. Halloween night is the night that has been given over to hunting for polar bears. One wonders if this is to protect the small ghosts and goblins out trick-or-treating. Indeed, one of my favorite images among so many gorgeous ones of the bears in nature was a shot of children in Halloween costumes, silhouetted in the headlights of an automobile on the night that the polar bear draw leads to the killing of a bear we saw being relocated to the wilderness, tagged, and left with a distinctive green paint mark. The northern hunters do not cater to tourists and prefer a more hard-line approach to controlling the bears.

TWIST

Jack Weisman, director of Nuisance Bear, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jack Weisman.)

Quite far into the documentary we get a surprise twist when the narrator says: “Not long ago, a man was attacked by a polar bear. He sacrificed himself to save his children. That man was my son.”

CONCLUSION

I liked “Nuisance Bear,” but it was not my favorite of the documentaries I saw this year. However, it is worth mentioning that every single Oscar-nominated documentary for this year’s Oscar race came through Sundance (my favorite: “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”) and, in the past decade, six of the winners have been Sundance projects.

“Hanging by a Wire” Screens at Sundance

By Connie Wilson

On January 31, 2026

In Movies, Reviews

A still from Hanging by a Wire by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute.)

“Hanging by a Wire,” a 77‑minute documentary by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, follows the terrifying ordeal of eight passengers—six of them teenagers—left suspended in a cable car after one of two supporting cables snapped. What began as an ordinary school commute across the mountains of northern Pakistan on the morning of August 22, 2023, became a day-long fight for survival. The boys were left dangling 900 feet in the air, 5,250 feet from their destination, with the world watching and praying that rescue crews could reach them in time.

Like other disaster documentaries involving trapped miners or the Thai boys’ cave rescue, this story carries the same desperate plea: “Tell the world we want help.” What unfolds is a series of competing rescue attempts—some heroic, some chaotic, and all marked by the urgency of lives literally hanging in the balance.

SKY PIRATE

The first rescuer to reach the site was Sahib Khan, a self-styled “sky pirate,” who arrived around eleven in the morning. He successfully rescued one boy before being ordered to stop. As he explains it, “After I rescued the boy, I got a call telling me to shut the operation down.” Sahib was disturbed by this and said the reason was “ because I am poor.” Despite that, he later shares that people in Pakistan now recognize him and thank him for his bravery.

HELICOPTER RESCUE

Sonia Shamroz Khan, the district police commander, called in an experienced helicopter pilot, Lt. Col. Zain Ali, after four and a half hours. One of the boys, Irfan, was the only passenger eventually lifted out by helicopter. Unable to secure the harness that was passed down to him, he held onto the rope with his hands alone. Before attempting it, he told his father, “Dad, whether I live or die today, I’m going to jump.”Irfan’s father said, “When they told me he had made it to the helicopter, that’s when I opened my eyes.” A second helicopter arrived later, but the downdraft from the rotors violently shook the cable car, nearly flipping it. Another boy, Niaz, told his father, “I might die today.” Once rescued, Niaz said simply, “There was pure joy when my feet finally hit the ground.”

A still from Hanging by a Wire by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.)

ZIP-LINE RESCUE

Next came Ali Swati, a gym owner and zip‑line operator whose father once scolded him for not joining the Army. Determined to redeem himself in his family’s eyes and save the boys, he made a dangerous attempt shortly after dark. Ali was selected as the third rescuer because of his experience with his zip-line business, money and the equipment he already possessed.

The initial efforts by Ali were challenging. The wire shook under his weight; the car shook. Terrified, the boys screamed, “Why do you want to kill us? Why are you putting more weight on the cable car?” Tensions flared between Swati and the sky pirate perched on top of the car, but ultimately the priority became getting the boys out alive.

RESCUE TIME-LINE

A real‑time timeline heightens the film’s tension. Brendan McGinty’s aerial cinematography captures both the beauty and danger of the remote terrain and there was ample film footage of the crisis taken that day, which is used.

The boys were eventually saved, but their trauma lingers. One says, “We feel like we’ve been given a second chance to live.” Rizwan shared that he still relives the incident in nightmares and added, “I still feel scared whever I pass by the cable car.” Irfan continues to avoid the site, saying “There is a fear in my heart.”

Most remarkably, the ruined cable car still remains suspended from the damaged cable today, a grim monument to the day eight lives were left hanging by a wire.

“Joybubbles” Brings Joy to Sundance Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On January 30, 2026

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Joybubbles” at the Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)

Joe Engressia is a name that you might not recognize. Joybubbles, which legally became Joe’s name in 1991,is a name that might also leave you in the dark. You can learn about Joybubbles in this Rachael J. Morrison documentary at Sundance and simultaneously take a look back at the telephone of yesteryear.

BACKGROUND

“In the dark” describes Joe Engressia for his entire life, as he was born blind. His life path, however, was so unusual that Director Rachael J. Morrison gathered archival footage of Joe as a young boy and as an adult to tell his story in a charming 79 minute documentary. It tells the story of a young innocent blind boy who decided that he didn’t ever want to grow up. Joe even established a church, the Church of Eternal Childhood, getting an online minister’s degree. Its motto “We won’t grow up.”

Joybubbles’ Peter Pan mind-set stemmed from childhood sexual abuse during a brief stay with his also blind sister at a school for the blind in New Jersey when he was 6 and ½,. Joe demonstrated high intelligence (some reports reported an I.Q. of 172), graduating 33^rd out of over 800 students, and he discovered a unique ability to whistle tones with perfect pitch. He was, therefore, able to make long distance calls for free.

TELEPHONES

Phones became Joe’s way of reaching out to the world. We’re not talking cell phones, since Joe was born May 15, 1949. As someone who predates Joybubbles, I can personally testify that long distance phone calls were very expensive and a Big Deal. My own mother basically forbade ever making long distance phone calls unless someone in the family had died, as the hourly wage back then was $1.25 and a long distance phone call could easily run $15 a pop (or more.) In defense of AT&T, which comes off as the $90 billion dollar unpopular monopoly it was for decades, the quality of land lines far surpasses that of cell phones. They’re a vanishing breed, but I still have one.

Joe found the phone to be a real equalizer for a blind person, since you can talk to people without them seeing you. When he learned to make the whistling sound at 2600 mhz that triggered long distance calling, (thanks to his perfect pitch), he earned local and national notoriety. He could make long distance phone calls for the others in his University of South Florida dorm for free. That led to Joe being reported to the phone company and facing charges that were eventually bargained down from federal charges to misdemeanor nuisance variety charges.

LIFE PATH

A near-death experience after Joe contracted what sounded like pneumonia in 1959 at the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship camp for the blind, when the temperatures for the native Florida boy, were in the fifties, Joe may have hallucinated thoughts about bubbles (Joybubbles). He also dreamed of becoming financially independent and living in a high rise with a swimming pool. He continued to want to be embraced by total love. To that end, Joe/Joybubbles placed an ad in the local newspaper and, later in the phone book for Zzzzyerrific FunLine. Strangers could phone to hear his half-hour musings on many subjects.

In 1982 Joybubbles moved to 22 E. 22^nd St. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began regressing to heal himself, traveling to the Mr. Rogers Collection of videotaped programs at the University of Pittsburgh. He watched all of the Mr. Rogers programs on videotape, which took him days. There was a primal innocence about everything Joybubbles did, which may well have “saved” him, as he listened to his inner philosopher.

WISDOM

Rachael J. Morrison, director of Joybubbles, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Michael Worful.)

Joe—or Joybubbles, as he came to be known—shared many words of wisdom. Here are a few: “If you love something enough, it’ll love you back.”

“In the process of being an adult, you have to find out what works for you and what doesn’t. You have to realize that you’re an adult and sometimes you have to gamble,”

The head of a smaller phone company that ultimately hired Joe to work for them (Millington Telephone Company in Eureka, Tennessee) felt that Joe should be shielded from the many requests for interviews about his unique whistling ability. Joe felt that, “I could be my own person, be a real citizen.” Joe told his boss in Tennessee, “I feel that I’m human, and that’s where our philosophies differ.”

And then he quit.

Joe/Joybubbles moved to the Service Center in Denver in September of 197. to Minneapolis in 1982. He felt he “just needed a way to get loads of people to phone me” and attempted a classified ad, with a number that did not work. He finally settled on the last entry in the phone book and provided weekly updates for those who called in, one of whom was Steve Wozniak of Apple.

Said Joybubbles: “It was quite a realization that somebody could love me and I could have friends.” Others, such as CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman, who was sent out to do a story on Joybubbles was also asked to take Joybubbles to the movie “Big.” To Steve, the movie seemed a reflection of the life Joybubbles was trying to live.

PERSONAL OBSERVATION

I lived with a blind roommate in my second year of college. Susan (Willoughby). Susan and her siblings were all born blind to a sighted couple. What made Susan’s story even more unique was that two sisters married two brothers. Susan and her brothers and sisters were born blind, while the other couple had children born with normal sight. This interested the University of Iowa, which immediately conscripted the families for further study. Susan was majoring in Cane Travel when she and I roomed together. She was studying Cane Travel and Orientation and was very smart. She was able to beat me at any card game you can name, and she knew when it was me coming down the hall just from the sound of my footsteps.

I was drafted to help Susan match outfits (color coding on the clothing existed, but sometimes a tag would go missing) and, also, to take her to movies. I was told, later, that the University had hand-picked me to be Susan’s roommate. I remained her roommate all year, despite the fact that the books for the blind were so huge in those days that there was only a narrow path left to wind your way to our bunk beds. Our room became a “hangout” for other blind students and it was not unusual to enter and find a blind student “seated” (if that is the right word) in the waste paper basket, a rather large industrial strength version. I learned braille, but to learn it without sight is a much bigger achievement.

CONCLUSION

Joe Engressio was a remarkable human being who was the Peter Pan of Phone Phreaks. They became known as PhonePhreaks between 1969-1971 when the Captain Crunch cereal whistle opened long distance fraud opportunities to others without perfect pitch whistling skill.

As “Joybubbles” underscores, “Joe Engressia was a joyful person; he wanted everyone else to be happy. To that end, Joe’s simplistic world view was: “The essence of genius is being able to hang onto the mysteries of childhood for as long as possible.”

When Joybubbles was not heard from for a week, friends initiated a wellness check. Joe Engressio, (aka Joybubbles), was found dead in his tenth floor apartment on August 20, 2007, of congestive heart failure. His final thoughts: “Love me enough to let me go. Remember: every day is a gift.”

Good advice for us all in a thoroughly enjoyable Sundance documentary.

“American Doctor” Screens at Sundance 2026

By Connie Wilson

On January 29, 2026

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Mexico, Movies, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews

A still from American Doctor byPoh Si Teng, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ibrahim Al Otla.)

“American Doctor” is a Sundance documentary that follows three physicians grappling with the unbearable gap between what they’ve witnessed in Gaza volunteering at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis and what the world is willing to acknowledge regarding the reality of what is going on in Gaza. As I watched this documentary I recognized the familiar feeling that, when those in power lack human morality and compassion, the real life crises you are witnessing feel hopeless. The doctors’ concern that their efforts are futile is just one more battle to be fought.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about senseless violence in the Ukraine, Gaza, Iran or Minneapolis, the feeling is the same. As articulated at one point by one of the doctors in this powerful documentary: “There’s an institutional trend to silence and speaking out about this. From the boards of every single university, from the boards of hospitals: they just don’t care at what cost this is achieved…Most American physicians are horrified, but they are too frightened to speak up….” Consider that documentary statement as it relates to January 6^th, Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and victims of senseless violence in any ongoing war: “They don’t give a shit about anybody else as long as they kill the person they’re after.”

CINEMATOGRAPHERS

Director Poh Si Teng keeps the cameras closely focused on the work of three American doctors in Gaza at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, letting the doctors’ exhaustion, anger, and quiet despair speak louder than any narration. Cinematographers include Ibrahim Al-Otta, Ramzy Haddad, Arthur Nazaryan, Chris Rentaria, and Poh Si Teng, with editing by Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Christopher White.

The result is a film that radiates a specific kind of helplessness — not the helplessness of uninvolved bystanders, but of experts who have seen the consequences of violence up close and personal and still can’t get anyone to listen to them. We see the physicians returning to the United States to speak to representatives at Chuck Schumer’s office, John Cornyn’s office, Ted Cruz’s office—all for naught. This feeling of tilting at windmills is so widespread, so ubiquitous, that you walk away from the experience of this film overwhelmed by the realization that Kelly Ann Conway’s “alternative facts,” when truth is what is required in society, has contributed mightily to the mess we are all now mired in.

THE DOCTORS

“The American” doctors followed in the Sundance documentary are (l to r) Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Mark Perlmutter, Director Poh Si Teng and Dr. Fereze Sidhwa. (Photo from AFT)

The doctors are Dr. Fereze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon from California and a Zoroastrian who actively wonders whether his inability to let the injustice of this genocide go on without protesting proactively in perpetuity is what is keeping him from finding the girl of his dreams. Dr. Mark Perlmutter: a Jewish orthopedic surgeon from North Carolina. As a Jew, he is more at liberty to speak out against the repressive far right regime of Benjamin Netanyahu, and he does so. He also shares that his father was a physician who helped concentration camp survivors in World War II, upon arriving with U.S. forces. The third doctor is Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian-America from Chicago who is an Emergency Room doctor in real life with a wife and two darling children. He encounters more hassles than the other two doctors just to be allowed to enter Gaza as a volunteer, often being left at the border by red tape just hours before entry. (“It’s a degree of inconvenience that’s essential. The Israelis choose to notify you that you are not being allowed in literally the night before.”)

All three are risking their lives to go into Gaza and attempt to treat dire injuries under the most primitive conditions. Since the Israeli Army intentionally targets hospitals, there is nowhere for the trapped populace—especially the children—to seek care. The doctors banded together to write an opinion/editorial entitled “As Surgeons We Have Never Seen Such Cruelty Like Israel’s Genocide in Gaza.” The X-ray machine at Nasser Medical Complex has been broken for 11 months; there are only 2 operating rooms.

THE TASK

The three weary doctors are followed amongst their colleagues in Gaza through the halls and operating rooms of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. In the 1 hour and 33 minute film, the hospital is hit by Israeli forces three times. In the film’s finale, a rocket hits the second floor men’s surgical ward, incinerating a 15-year-old boy whom the doctors had just saved. We see two little boys, aged 2, dead and brought in carried in their grieving father’s arms. A ten-year-old has no pulse in her left arm and shrapnel injuries to her foot. If she survives, she is going to lose both legs and her left arm. Early in the film, the doctors remark on the number of children brought in with gunshot wounds to the head, which they say cannot be simply accidental. The killing of children here is 600 times that in the Ukrainian conflict.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest civil rights and advocacy organization, has called for streaming platforms in America to carry this documentary, saying: “This important documentary shows, through the eyes of three heroic Americans, the reality of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. All Americans should see this film. We urge all streaming services in the nation and worldwide to host and promote the film.”

POLITICS ASIDE

Poh Si Teng, director of American Doctor, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Marcus Yam.)

After Dr. Ahmad appears with Dana Bash on CNN, he received a particularly hostile e-mail cheering for “Hamas to renege on the hostage deal before the Sunday deadline so that Israel can finish the job of eliminating the presence forever of every single Palestinian member of Hamas. Chew on that, Doctor.” The Israelis have protested that the Palestinian Hamas forces often hid their headquarters under hospitals, to avoid detection. Israel used that as their justification for bombing hospitals. We are all aware of the precipitating event when 251 civilians in Israel were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Dr. Ahmad’s response is: “I’m not a spokesperson for anybody. I’m not ‘pro’ anything. I’m a Palestinian who wants to see babies that look like my babies not being killed any more.” Over 1700 health care workers have lost their lives in Gaza since Israel launched its retaliatory attack on Gaza. 94% of the hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including the Nasser Medical Complex.

The U.S. has provided $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and took 251 hostages, according to a report by Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs.

EMOTIONS UPON DEPARTURE

At the end of the film, on March 18, 2025, when most of the Nasser Hospital seemingly collapses after bombing, the doctors must leave; they feel guilt. “When you leave, you really feel that you have no right to leave. You get this feeling of a kind of shame,” says Dr. Fereze Sidhwa. “I don’t feel like I should have left, because nobody was there and nobody was coming in to replace me. I think it would have been better to have stayed on. I had some access to media and to people who could write about these things.” Also articulated is this thought: “The people in Gaza told us that we have to advocate on their behalf. None of us wants to, but we all feel a sense of duty.”

Peer-reviewed analysis in The Lancet estimated 64,260 traumatic deaths in Gaza by June 30, 2024, rising to over 70,000 by October 2024.
Demographics: Studies indicate that 59.1% of these deaths in Gaza are women, children, and the elderly.
Over 100,000 Palestinians have been injured.

CONCLUSION

A companion piece for “American Doctor” is 2024’s “No Other Land,” a film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective that shows the destruction of the occupied West Banks’ Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers.

“American Doctor” is a very powerful firsthand account of what has happened and is happening in Gaza, told by those who have made multiple trips there to try to help. As the “Vanity Fair” Sundance team that wandered into this one when they couldn’t get into “Shitheads” said, “It’s the most powerful thing we’ve seen at Sundance, so far.”

“American Doctor” underscores the need for people of good moral fiber to stand up against and speak out against injustice anywhere, whether in a place far from home or on our own doorstep. If it is wrong and the PTB have presented a “truth” or rationale built on lies, that must be called out by people of good conscience.

From “American Doctor:” “First responders and journalists are being attacked. Every aspect of life has bee destroyed. There’s been no accountability. Who is going to bring the perpetrators to justice? Who is going to prosecute them? Who is going to confront the perpetrators in a way that they cannot rest without seeing us. It’s the only way that we can achieve accountability and justice.”

Do those words from “American Doctor” apply in other settings?

Yes, they do.

Let’s all act like we get the message that might does NOT make right and we must unite,as Minnesota has, to stand up for our neighbors and the sanctity of human life.

“Norheimsund” Screens at Sundance on January 26, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On January 26, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Norheimsund” is a 12-minute short from Cuban Writer/Director Ana Alpizar. It is making its North American Premiere at Sundance after its World Premiere on September 4, 2025 at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival’s Sala Giardino. It premiered at 9 p.m.at the Park City Library Theatre at Sundance on 1/26/2026.

Ana is a native of Cuba. Her first short “Fisherman” screened at Sundance in 2017 and played a significant role gaining her asylum in the United States. “Norheimsund” took her back to Cuba to shoot the film. It is the authentic vibe of shooting in the streets of Cuba that makes the film special. The director’s knowledge of Cuba shines through and informs the project. Ana is currently studying for her MFA at NYU’s Tisch School and this film was part of her 2nd year curriculum.

PLOT

Paula Masso Varela as Yamita in “Norheimsund”at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

The synopsis reads: “A girl’s long-distance romance with an older Norwegian man promises to pull her and her mother from their austere life in Cuba, but her dreams are shaken when she realizes he isn’t as idyllic as he seems.”

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

Alpizar admits that the original impetus for the film was a story she had heard in Cuba about a young Cuban girl who is taken to a Scandinavian country by her much older suitor. The suitor removes the girl’s eyes to transplant to his sightless daughter and then sends the Cuban girl back to her native country, poor and blind.

Yamita (Paula Masso Varela) and Pocahontas (Darianis Palenzuela) in “Norheimsund” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)

Says Alpizar, “Since I was a child, I grew up hearing that story and hearing stories about sixty year-old Europeans who, essentially, bought exotic Cuban brides with the promise of a better life. These women were the Cinderellas of post-Soviet Cuba, seen as heroines not only for having escaped the island’s agonizing reality, but also for their potential to become providers for their families from abroad.

Unfortunately, those stories aren’t just distant memories; they still reflect the painful everyday reality of thousands of Cuban women today. “Norheimsund” is precisely an invitation into that bittersweet world, a door opened to a place where the brutality of circumstance can render deeply human even that which, in another context, would be unforgivable.

This story was born out of a desire to tell an intimate tale of mutual sacrifice between a mother and daughter, two women who carry the weight of each other’s expectations and broken dreams, trapped in a country where hope seems to have faded long ago.”

“Norheimsund” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

“Norheimsund” deals with the reality of life in poverty-stricken Cuba, where a pretty girl can leverage her beauty to enthrall Scandinavian men and, hopefully, receive financial support. Alpizar, herself refers to it as pseudo prostitution in Cuba.

The beautiful young girl in this 12 minute film is Yamita (Paula Masso Varela). She is talking with Sven, far away in Norway, with her mother Yaima’s (Yaite Ruiz) encouragement. This arrangement, where a young girl must use her sexuality and beauty to “earn” money for her impoverished Cuban family, is commonplace.

POCAHONTAS

Unfortunately, Yamita is not the only beautiful young Cuban girl hoping to ensnare a Norweigan benefactor. The equally lovely Maibelbi (Darianis Palenzuela), also known as Pocahontas, has also been talking to Sven. Yamita feels she is being two-timed.

“Norheimsund” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

When confronted, Pocahontas quickly acknowledges her conversations with the mysterious Sven. In fact, we learn that Sven sent the money for an air conditioner to be installed in Maibelbi’s godmother’s Cuban bedroom. Pocahontas treats the situation as completely normal, laying it on the line very realistically. She tells Yamita: “These foreigners stink so bad, fucking them ain’t easy.”

THE HEAT

Another character in the twelve-minute short is the unrelenting Cuban heat.

“Norheimsund” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute.)

The director, in a “Rialta” August 10, 2025 interview, “I’m traumatized by the heat and by those fans that don’t blow any air and that you have to hang on to to get them started.” The weak fan in Yamita’s home is dubbed Panchito. It gives up the ghost by the end of the short. Said Alpizar, “I think the heat is a state of mind, one that makes Cuban reality even more agonizing.”

QUESTIONS

Early in the short one of the women in the beauty shop comments that if you speak English, it makes things much easier. One wonders why all of the women who are seeking a rich Sugar Daddy abroad don’t attempt to become proficient in English? When, exactly, are the girls in physical proximity to these Norwegian men?

Travel to Cuba has been restricted for U.S. residents for some time, although I have one friend who was able to visit during the years that the Obama administration allowed a loophole for cruise ship visitors to the island nation. Is it easier for Scandinavian residents to travel to Cuba?

“Norheimsund” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

Given Pocahontas’ remarks I think the answer must be yes. The only Cuban girl that seems to have been taken back to Norway to live permanently is Camila, whose Norwegian family we hear about secondhand. I would have liked more information about how often and when Norwegians visit Cuba.

I thoroughly enjoyed the twelve minutes of Cuban life in “Norheimsund” and I will enjoy a longer film from Writer/Director Alpizar about modern life in Cuba. I’ll be watching for more films from Ana Alpizar. Cinematography was by Yuqian Zhang and Sound design was by Denis Colina.

“Norheimsund” screens again at these times:

Writer/Director Ana A.Alpizar. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute.)

Sundance at the Megaplex Theater in Park City at Redstone 3 on 1/27 at 1:50 p.m.; at the Holiday Village Cinema 3 on 1/30 at 9 a.m.; and at the Broadway Centre Cinemas 6 on 2/1 at 9 p.m

“Prime” Midnight Short at Sundance on January 25, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On January 26, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Scary stories

“Prime” midnight short at Sundance on January 25th. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute.)

The midnight short “Prime,” written and directed by Meagan Coyle, has some gorgeous images shot on McEnroe Organic Farm. According to Coyle, the entire film started out as a comedy, but morphed into a meditation on the director’s guilt over eating meat. As the press notes say, “The director still eats meat, and she still feels guilt about it.”

PLOT

The plot features an accident survivor who joins a commune group on an organic farm after she has survived a horrible car crash that incinerated her mother. Claire Whitfield (Katie Mumford) joins the group in an upstate New York farm that looks idyllic. In fact, the images in this 16 minute short are outstanding. [If only the acting were as good.]

There is much mumbo-jumbo about “Life’s greatest accomplishment is to maintain the infinite cycle of life.” Exactly what that means is not clear from the outset, but this is a midnight short, so use your imagination.

CAST

Katie Mumford in the Sundance Midnight Short “Prime” on January 25, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

Actress Katie Mumford plays Claire Whitfield. The cult leader is an older woman named Rhea, portrayed by Anita Durst. Durst, who founded this farm collective IRL, has a very Zen vibe. Durst’s real-life background lends itself to her fictional role, as noted in information below.

The various scenes of nature and McEnroe farm are impressive.

The acting is not.

THE GENESIS OF “PRIME”

Writer/Director Meagan Coyle is a graduate of Boston College who has been doing make-up on the New York indie scene since 2017. The lead actress, Katie Mumford, appeared previously in “The Ring of Light” (2022). Anita Durst plays cult leader Rhea. Durst’s career is described as “eclectic.” Here is what that means in more concrete terms.

CHASHAMA

Photo courtesy of “Prime” Midnight Short at Sundance 2026. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

Durst is the founder of Chashama, which is said to mean “to have vision” in Persian. That translation is disputed and some say Chashama is a made-up word entirely. Because Durst is the daughter of a New York real estate mogul, she had the connections to envision support for the arts utilizing locations in the New York City area that were otherwise not being utilized, a project she has been pursuing since 1995.

ChaShaMa has transformed 70 locations throughout the city and launched the careers of over 12,000 artists by giving them access to subsidized space, which supported approximately 10,000 public presentations for over 500,000 viewers. Chashama helps create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate. These spaces are then used for artists, small businesses, and for free community-centric art classes.

ABOUT ANITA DURST

McEnroe Organic Farm, the location for “Prime,” the Midnight Short written and directed by Meagan Coyle that screened at Sundance at 11:55 a.m. on January 25, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

Anita Durst (daughter of developer Douglas Durst, who is the 81-year-old younger brother of convicted murderer Robert Durst of “The Jinx” fame; Durst died in prison in 202,) Anita has been a star, a muse, and a patron of the avant-garde performing arts and emerging arts scene in New York City, since she was 18.

Following the death of her mentor and artistic professor Reza Abdoh from AIDS in 1995, Durst was driven to create a place for artists free of financial and subjective constraints. Anita has worked for over 20 years to secure over one million square feet of space in New York City for artists. Born in New York City, she has lived in New Foundland Canada, Ibiza Spain, and the New York City suburbs, Anita resisted conventional schooling and eventually ended up caring for her grandfather.

Chashama, as an entity:

Awards 11 million worth of real estate to artists
Subsidizes 300 artist work spaces
Provides over 215 free art classes
Gives 200 artists free space to present
Supports over 75 businesses with free space

“PRIME” IMAGES

One of many gorgeous images from the Sundance Midnight Short “Prime,” which screened at Sundance 2026 on January 25, 2026, (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).

The images in the short “Prime” are what makes this short noteworthy. They are gorgeous and memorable. Cinematography was by Joshua Echevaria. Editing of the many beautiful images was by Mike O’Brien. Ben Chesnau was responsible for sound design and Yan Pavelchuk was the composer.

Onscreen, portraying the leader of the collective farm, Rhea, Durst gives off a very Jim Jones-ian/David Koresh vibe, well-suited to what passes for the plot of this 16-minute visual treat. Enjoy the images and applaud Durst’s tireless work for artists and art, which come to light in this Sundance short,

“Crisis Actor” Screens at Sundance on Sunday, January 25, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On January 25, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

“Crisis Actor, , Sundance short from Writer/Director Lily Platt screened on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

“Crisis Actor,” written and directed by Lily Platt, highlights Sarah Steele, an actress whose face is instantly recognizable. Although the 13 minute Sundance short relates a message that there are people who thrive on drama, Steele carries the film on talented shoulders. She is ably supported by Philip Ettinger, who has 56 roles to his credit, himself.

Writer/Director Lily Platt of “Crisis Actor.”

Over 20 years ago Steele won honors playing Bernice in the Adam Sandler vehicle “Spanglish,” which was a good Adam Sandler role long before his “Jay Kelly” or “Uncut Gems” praise. Steele’s performance in “Spanglish was voted the BestPerformance by a Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role (2005). In 2010 she won a Dorian Award as Rising Star of the Year. “Please Give” in 2011 earned her the 2011 Robert Altman Award and the cast won a Gotham award for Best Ensemble.

THE GOOD FIGHT

Sarah Steele (IMDB photo)

The role for which much of America recognizes Steele is Marissa Gold on “The Good Fight.” Steele won an award as Best American Actress (Septimius Award) playing Marissa Gold, the daughter of Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold, for 58 episodes between 2017 and 2022.

Her character Celine in “Crisis Actor” has just lost her day job. She lost the job partially because of her own high-strung histrionics. As she is leaving, Celine shares a cigarette on the street with a fellow Al-Anon member (Philip Ettinger, “First Reformed”) before accompanying him to the meeting and then on to his apartment. Philip’s character shares that he just kicked his sister out of his apartment, because of her over-the-top drama/drug habit. He physically demonstrates, to Celine, that being around his sister is like being constantly jolted.

Philip Ettinger (IMDB photo).

His high-drama sister arrives in person and interrupts a conversation the two are having about spontaneity, fighting, and crisis relationships. We also learn, early on, that Celine broke up with boyfriend Henry six months before, but she has been holding Henry’s belongings hostage.

CONCLUSION

It’s all in character and in keeping with the aptly titled short “Crisis Actor.” The original score by Luca-Scoppett Stern is good, especially the song “Hit & Run,” written by Anna Schwab and Alexandra Lily Cohen and performed by Sadie.

Why do I get the feeling that Lily Platt, daughter of Oliver Platt, has firsthand experience with high-strung crisis actor types? Not a lot more happening in this one, but Sarah Steele moves through its brief paces with the confidence and expertise of a true pro.

*******************

Post Script: On 1.28/2026

The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was awarded to: Lily Platt for Crisis Actor / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Lily Platt, Producers: Sophie Seyd, Alex Bendo, Lexi Preiser) — Fired from her day job, an impulsive actress crashes a support group and spirals into a chaotic night that forces her to face her addiction to drama. Cast: Sarah Steele, Philip Ettinger. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This short is uniquely brilliant in its ability to balance laugh-out-loud levity with the emotional pain of honest self-reflection. This film is a succinct display of craft in writing, directing, acting, and a deeply insightful depiction of the distorted state of American values today. The Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction goes to Crisis Actor.

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple:” Never Boring, But Very Bloody

By Connie Wilson

On January 19, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

(The voice-over on the trailer is Arthur C. Clarke from a BBC Horizon program, September 21, 1964.)

“28 Days Later: The Bone Temple” is directed by Nia DeCosta, who was the first Black woman (and also the youngest) to direct a Marvel Studios film. Also known for this year’s “Hedda,” 2021’s “Candyman,” and 2018’s “Little Woods,” DaCosta is in hot demand. She was the recipient of a Black Perspective Achievement Award at the 61^st Chicago International Film Festival (October19, 2025).

DaCosta said, “My big pitch when I was talking to the producers, including Danny and screenwriter Alex Garland, before I came on was, ‘I’m going to make this my own. I’m not going to try to make a Danny Boyle movie. That’s impossible to make. He’s so special. And it didn’t really interest me.'” Apparently DaCosta’s vision means blood and lots of it. Be warned.

The film was originally announced as part of a planned trilogy, with Alex Garland (“Civil War”) serving as screenwriter for all three. In January 2025, Danny Boyle confirmed that he would direct the final film in the trilogy. Cillian Murphy, from the original film, makes an uncredited appearance in a tacked-on ending that is obviously a Trump era warning, utilizing references to the Weimar Republic.

A quote is used in a scene between Jim (Cillian Murphy) and his daughter Sam, whom he is instructing in history. The quote “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it” is attributed to Winston Churchill in 1948. Investigation makes it unclear whether it is really original to Churchill or, instead, to George Santayana and/or Edmund Burke. Maybe that’s what happens when you are forced to teach history to your daughter (Sam) in a country over-run by infected humans. (Home schooling does better with more resources—like the Internet.)

CAST & PLOT

The story of humans infected by a virus that turns them into bloodthirsty zombies with superior physical powers first came out in 2002, directed by Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “Shallow Grave”). It was entitled “28 Days Later.” Its plot was described this way: “Four weeks after a mysterious incurable virus spreads throughout the United Kingdom, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.”

In 2005 in “28 Years Later” the story introduced us to Spike and his family, well-played by young Alfie Williams. Alfie is a sweet boy and a brave one. At the end of that film, which was shot back-to-back with this new film, Spike is orphaned and falls into the clutches of Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who lost his vicar father to the infection at age 8 and now rules as the totally evil son of Satan. Or so he tells his apostles, the Fingers, claiming to be the son of Old Nick, his term for Satan.

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is a return to the screen of the character Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a doctor who has survived for 28 years alone in the wilderness of Northumbria and Newcastle, creating what he dubs a memento mori, a memorial to the dead, made of the bones of victims of this viral plague. Ralph Fiennes holds the film together. He is always reliably good. The scenes with Jimmy Crystal in conversation with Dr. Kelson are excellent.

Chi Lewis-Parry does an impressive job as Samson and makes Jason Momoa look like he needs to hit the gym.

Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) isn’t just evil; he seems to be totally without human compassion. In appearance, he is modeled on Jimmy Savile (1926-2011), a British pedophile who was Emcee of the “Top of the Pops” music show on the BBC, a program I remember from my days as a UK People-to-People exchange student. Savile, late in his career, was found to have molested more young people than perhaps any other pedophile in British history.

Shortly after being rescued by the Fingers gang, Spike is initiated into the group by being forced to fight to the death against one of the Jimmies, Jimmy Shite (Connor Newall). The opening scene is brutal, bloody and absolutely horrifying. Spike wins, but you know from this opening scene that this is going to be a stomach-churning horror film.

Sir Jimmy renames Spike “Jimmy,” in keeping with his practice of giving all Fingers variations of that name. There is Jimmy Ink, well-played by Erin Kellyman, who shows a tiny bit of compassion to the young Spike. In addition, there are Jimmy Jones (Maura Bird), Jimmy Snake (Ghazi Al Ruffai), Jimmy Jimmy (Robert Rhodes), Jimmy Fox (Sam Locke) and the sadistic Jimmima (Emma Laird.)

As the plot progresses, Dr. Kelson has success in befriending Samson and develops a theory about a cure that seems promising. Dr. Kelson’s ability to befriend Samson is a result of morphine, among other drugs of choice. The plot developments that follow Ralph Fiennes’ dance as the devil provide a unique “surprise” ending and plot twist.

SETS

The sets for the bone temple are incredibly intricate. Production designers Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh used 5,500 skulls and 100,000 bones to construct 1,000 upright columns. Bravo! There is an aerial shot that shows the bone temple amidst the forested lands. It is but one of many breathtakingly beautiful bits of cinematography from Sean Bobbitt. There is also the intricate underground lair where Dr. Kelson retreats to be safe. Wonderful attention to detail is shown in designing both spaces and the forests and sunsets of the area are breathtakingly beautiful, but to be afoot in the area is to risk one’s life. One character (Jonno, played by Gordon Alexander) finds this out the hard way.

MUSIC

When Jimmy and the Fingers stumble upon Dr. Kelson, who is red from the iodine he uses to protect against the infection, Jimmy talks Dr. Kelson into impersonating the devil. That gives us a truly great scene with Fiennes performing to Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast.” The music, throughout, is unique, with Hildur Gudnadottir (“Joker,” “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”) composing and features a song over the credits entitled “In the House in a Heartbeat.” The song was originally written for “28 Days Later.”

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

The critic for Roger Ebert, Robert Daniels, did not like Alex Garland’s script very much and said, “The hardest part to stomach about “28 Years: The Bone Temple” is its meaninglessness.” That review also said the film was “The second part of a planned trilogy, or I guess the fourth film of a quintet.” [Not helpful.]

I disagree with the ‘hardest part to stomach” remark.

The hardest part to stomach is the unremittingly bloody gore.

It’s well-done, well-acted, with good cinematography and music (although using adjusted camera angles to give the infected humans erratic motion I could have lived without.) For me, the script was fine. The plot made its point, although the gore moved into overkill. But the music, cinematography, acting, production design and overall impact have yielded $15 million at the box office since the film’s release on January 16th. It will be interesting to see if the extreme gore attracts viewers or repels them. (“Different strokes for different folks.”)

HollyShorts Concludes Second UK Edition

By Connie Wilson

On November 18, 2025

In Editorial, Pop Culture, Reviews

HollyShorts brought a dose of Hollywood to London this week as its second U.K. edition wrapped with a sold-out awards ceremony at Vue Cinemas West End, where Franz Böhm’s Rock, Paper, Scissors and Sam Davis’ The Singers emerged as the night’s top winners.

The Oscar-qualifying short film festival, now growing a sizable satellite presence in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, drew filmmakers from across three continents as it continues positioning itself as one of the world’s leading incubators for short-form talent.

The awards were hosted by Karen Bryson MBE who recently starred in The Rainmaker and is also loved for The Teacher.

Böhm & Davis Lead the 2025 Winners List

Böhm’s Rock, Paper, Scissors scored the Best Short Film Grand Prize, earning a £20,000 Panavision lens package and a prize package from Essex Bouqcakes. The film also claimed Best Student Film, cementing Böhm as one of the event’s breakout names.

Davis’ The Singers delivered a parallel sweep, taking Best Director, presented by Cotrini Skin Care with a £5,000 post-production package from The Farm, and Best International Film.

2025 HollyShorts UK Award Winners

Best Short Film Grand Prize
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Franz Böhm
Prize: £20,000 Panavision lens package, Essex Bouqcakes prize package

Best Director, Presented by Cotrini Skincare with £5,000 Post Production Package from The Farm
The Singers, Sam Davis

Best Student Film
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Franz Böhm

Best Animation
Two Black Boys in Paradise, Baz Sells

Best Comedy
Chasers, Erin Brown Thomas

Best Drama, Presented by Le Kool Champagne
A Friend of Dorothy, Lee Knight

Best Thriller
ADO, Sam Henderson

Best International, Presented by Sushi Samba
The Singers, Sam Davis

Best Music Video
Bile Bile, Rango Musau

Best Music Documentary
Hugel – The Entourage, Ludovic Genco, Hugo Lucas Pompier

Best Sports Documentary
Fighting Demons, Simon Stock

Best Shot on Film, Presented by Kodak Motion Pictures
A Death in the Family, Yasmin Hafesji

Best Cinematography, Prize Package Presented by ShotDeck
Stomach Bug, Andri Haraldsson

HollyShorts Expands Into 2026

The festival also announced its largest global expansion to date. HollyShorts UK will return for its third edition November 12–15, 2026, with submissions for the 2026 cycle opening tomorrow. HollyShorts Dubai is set to run December 12–14, 2025, extending the brand’s reach in the Middle East.

The year will conclude with the 22nd edition of the flagship HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, scheduled for August 13–23, 2026.

Founded in 2005, HollyShorts remains a key discovery platform for emerging filmmakers, with Academy Awards-qualifying and BAFTA qualifying categories and deep partnerships across production, post, and distribution sectors. Sponsors for the 2026 London event include Cotrini Skincare, IMGN, Miller Insurance, LeKool Champagne, Panavision, Alta Global, Dumont Luxury Real Estate, Essex Boucakes, Sushi Samba, The Farm, Kodak, and others.