Film
In Days of the Whale, Art Challenges Power on Colombia’s Streets
An empowering testament to the need for self-expression, Catalina Arroyave Restrepo’s feature debut captures the youthful zeal of two young graffiti artists in Medellín.
Review
Film
Nobuhiko Obayashi's Cinematic Visions of Youth and Optimism
The prolific and innovative Japanese director passed away earlier this year. Now, JAPAN CUTS is celebrating him with a series of conversations and his final film.
Books
Step Into a Mysterious Photography Studio From the 1850s
Predicting the Past—Zohar Studios: The Lost Years presents the mythical world of a Lower East Side photography studio, founded by an Eastern European Jewish immigrant in the 1850s.
Music
The Two Sides of Contemporary Hip-Hop
The question of genre is a prevalent one in hip-hop: should it stick to its bare bones or incorporate other styles?
Books
A Poet Defends the Earth
Susan Barba's poems are both environmental plea and protest, at once personal and broad.
Art
Photos That Honor the Interior Lives of Diverse Black Women
In her photographs, Katherine Simóne Reynolds suggests that vulnerability is vital to a full sense of self, but it is a luxury that Black women across age and background are perpetually denied.
Film
A Documentary’s Attempt to Protect Flannery O’Connor at All Costs
Flannery expresses the author's genius but goes to tortured lengths to excuse her racism.
Film
A Dynamic Portrait of Sex Workers Channels Suppressed Rage to Cathartic Ends
Now streaming as part of JAPAN CUTS, Kana Yamada’s Life: Untitled features a wealth of skillfully written characters attuned to Japan’s contemporary social dysfunctions.
Film
The Documentarian Who Secured Rare Footage of Helmut Newton at Work
Director Gero von Boehm discusses The Bad and the Beautiful, his new film about the “King of Kink.”
Art
Contemplating Art and Optimism at a Former Meat-processing Plant
At a moment when so many of us are missing physical touch and closeness, the richly colored, relentless tactility of Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson and Kaveri Raina’s works resonate all the more deeply.
Film
A Filmmaker Explores Relationships to Blindness
Grappling with his own loss of sight, Rodney Evans surveys the experiences of blind artists in Vision Portraits.
Books
Enter the Humorously Awkward World of a “Long-Distance Cartoonist”
Brilliantly paced, Adrian Tomine’s latest graphic novel takes readers from discomfort to laughter in just a few panels.