Many works take disruption and repetition as their themes, and many artists resurface in different sections, creating multiple affinities.
Ela Bittencourt
Ela Bittencourt is a critic and cultural journalist, currently based in São Paulo. She writes on art, film and literature, often in the context of social issues and politics.
Posted inFilm
Don’t Miss These Experimental Works at the New York Film Festival
With films touching on protest in France, China’s one-child policy, and Indigenous life in Canada, the 2021 Currents program stays both culturally and politically forward-thinking.
Posted inArt
Huguette Caland’s Vivacious Takes on the Female Form
Robust, voluptuous, and sexually frank, the works in Tête-à-Tête showcase Caland’s outré sense of humor and vivacity.
Posted inFilm
A Mystical Masseuse Sends a Gated Community Into Upheaval
Director Malgorzata Szumowska uses fantasy to satirize the lives of the affluent in Poland’s official Oscar submission.
Posted inArt
Frank, Greek, and Gay: Modernist Painter Yannis Tsarouchis Is Finally Getting His Due
Dancing in Real Life makes a strong case for recognizing the Greek painter as a pioneer of queer art.
Posted inFilm
Experimental Animation Gems by Suzan Pitt, Walerian Borowczyk, and More
Here are some cartoons outside the mainstream, from a mischievously psychosexual short to an allegory for post-WWII Europe.
Posted inFilm
Romance Turns Deadly in Three Movies About Love Triangles
These indie thrillers revive classic noir tropes with fresh, distinct approaches.
Posted inFilm
The Post-Communist Cinematic Landscape of Eastern Europe
Sergei Loznitsa’s expansive filmography is a great entryway to films from Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and more which grapple with the legacy of the Warsaw Pact.
Posted inArt
Hannah Wilke’s and Eva Hesse’s Irreverent Experiments in Abstraction
Erotic Abstraction revels in the subversive absurdity shared by both artists.
Posted inFilm
The Cinematic Gems of the Czechoslovak New Wave
These classics were produced during Czechoslovakia’s brief political thaw in the 1960s.
Posted inBooks
The Salacious and Scholarly Poems of Yusef Komunyakaa
The poet suggests his art’s highest calling isn’t truth-telling but stirring our empathic imagination.
Posted inFilm
A Mesmerizing Yet Frustrating Portrayal of Film Industry Exploitation
In its desire to avoid cliches, Nina Wu skips over some of the more complex fallout of sexual trauma.