Best Feature Length & Short Films of 2022

 

List of Best Films Seen In 2022.

Last year alone was a personal record in my film viewership. From being a screener for the second year at the 17th Annual Dayton LGBT Film Festival to virtually attending Sundance and Blackstar Film Festival, to working at an independent movie theater (where our greatest perk is watching films for free), and to supporting various streaming platforms, I can honestly say that my number is around two-hundred, maybe two-hundred fifty films— features and shorts.

Unfortunately, my Letterboxd does not reflect that. 

Nedjma (Lina El Arabi), the tough leader of a girl gang falls for Zina (Esther Bernet-Rollande), a newcomer/ cousin of Nedjma’s rival in Marion Desseigne-Ravel’s modern Shakespearean tale Besties set in gritty part of France. DP: Lucile Mercier.

Some films on top lists I had not personally seen such as Alice Diop’s Saint Omer, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Broker and Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost (currently streaming on both Criterion Channel and kanopy). Others I outright refuse— Baz Luhrman’s gaudy biopic on known pedophile Elvis Presley, a Top Gun sequel (surely not meant for my taste), Damien Chazelle’s lengthy Babylon co-starring a problematic Brad Pitt, or James Cameron’s return to colonized Avatar which had white people infiltrate blue people society (primarily played by Black actors). Things can be depicted so beautifully due to high budgets, but these stories certain white filmmakers continue telling reveal such a great lack of respect and sincerity to every person existing in society. 

Cate Blanchett put on a phenomenal performance as the cold, menacing composer Tár, but the film is a challenging bridge to cross. DP: Florian Hoffmeister.

For example, in Todd Field’s Tár, celebrated fictional EGOT winning composer Lydia rants on a biracial pangender college student who refuses to listen to Bach (much like how many of us cancel Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, etc.). This scene has been posted online; the public mostly agreeing with Lydia’s crushing humiliation; saying that just because someone behaves vilely in their personal life does not lessen their talents. Yet, however, the reality is that most problematic white people have the luxury of abusing power; with colonialism setting up the impossible, near unreachable standards, especially in every field of art, film included. After her own public meltdown, Lydia retreats to South Asia, which many wrongfully perceived as punishment, not realizing she still has monetary access, a passport, and a job— signifying that this privileged, resourceful woman has already bounced back. 

Thus, I remember the 2022 films that stood out in a more compelling light, painting the most eclectic pictures staying vividly in mind. Some (primarily Everything, Everywhere All At Once and Danielle Deadwyler’s Till performance) are on the awards radar. Most are not up for big awards, filtering quietly from notice. I think about visual artist Diamond Stingily’s towering presence as Palace in Martine Syms’s stark feature debut taking place in twenty-four hours. The African Desperate conveys the Black person in the typical sea of white in art school. The strong, emotional affair that happens in Busan between murder suspect Seo-rae and police detective Han-joon as Hae-joon’s wife Ahn has these unseen moments with her mysterious co-worker June quietly intensifies the screen in Park Chan-wook’s addictive Decision to Leave. The mourning Black women strongly led Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sequel, a benefitting tribute to honor the late Chadwick Bozeman felt throughout the entire film. 

My following list highlights films exceptionally captured by an excellent cinematographer and scored by a brilliant composer. They contain impeccable direction, powerful, inclusive stories of resonating human experiences, and starring actors/actresses so good (and grossly ignored), you look up their whole filmography just to see them light up the screen in a different context.

Murder suspect Seo-rae (Tang Wei) puts a dignified, married police officer Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) in Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave. DP: KIM Ji-yong/MUBI.

Best Feature-Length Films

Decision To Leave directed by Park Chan-wook and written by Park Chan-wook and Seo-kyeong Jeong

Nanny directed and written by Nikyatu Jusu

Till directed by Chinonye Chukwu and written by Keith Beauchamp, Michael Reilly, and Chinonye Chukwu

The African Desperate directed and written by Martine Syms 

Everything, Everywhere All At Once directed and written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (The Daniels) 

Mars One directed and written by Gabriel Martins

Besties directed and written by Marion Desseigne-Ravel

Petite Maman directed and written by Céline Sciamma

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy directed and written by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Black Panther:Wakanda Forever directed by Ryan Coogler and written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole

Hazel Gurland-Pooler’s Storming Caesar’s Palace tells the story of activist Ruby Duncan who led the fight against the corruptive welfare system in Las Vegas. 

Best Documentaries 

Black As U R directed and written by Micheal Rice

Storming Caesar’s Palace directed by Hazel Gurland-Pooler

Nelly & Nadine directed by Magnus Gertten and written by Magnus Gertten and Jesper Osmund

Sirens directed and written by Rita Baghdadi

Olivia (Shanay Neusum-James) helps her ex-lover Joy (Deji Tiwo) grieve the one-year anniversary of her sister’s death in Juliana Kusamu’s Losing Joy. DP: Morgan K. Spencer.  

Best Short Films

Code Switch directed and written by Mx. Roti and Davis Alexander Jones

Clones directed and written by Letia Solomon

Losing Joy directed by Juliana Kasumu and written by Nana Duncan 

Glitter Ain’t Gold directed and written by Christian Nolan Jones

Work directed and written by April Maxey

F*** Em’ Right Back directed by Harris Doran and written by Harris Doran and Ddm Ddm