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| Maggie Cheung in Olivier Assayas’s 1996 French-American film Irma Vep. |
During this final month of 2023, I was fully committed to watching films by voices unfamiliar to me in addition to holiday classics, reserving the usual Harry Potter and Home Alone marathons for January. Yet, surprisingly a few new Christmas films weren’t half bad.
Again, Issa Rae’s Hoorae YouTube channel was an ample resource and starting point to my journey, the discovery of Bethiael Alemayoh aka B. B. Araya being a favorite. Definitely plan to write a story on her work. Currently, she debuted a new short film, Dressed at SXSW. The premise is a “former bride-to-be attempts to sell her wedding dress.”
I fell in love with great world cinema such as Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not A Burial, This Is A Resurrection, Olivier Assayas’s Irma Vep, Maryam Touzani‘s The Blue Caftan and Adam respectively, and Leyla Bouvid’s A Tale of Love and Desire. Plus, I revisited old Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, weeks after seeing his newest beautiful work, The Boy and The Heron, a must see.
Coincidentally, I ended my film list with Adamma Ebo’s Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul— a short version of the film I watched back in January.
December Film Watches
1.) “The Golden Chain” (2016) Adebukola Bodunrin and Ezra Claytan Daniels #*+ 9/10
2.) “Sweet Ruin” (2008) Elisabeth Subrin #* 7/10
3.) “T” (2019) Keisha Rae Witherspoon #*+ 8.5/10
4.) “The Blackening” (2023) Tim Story #^ 7/10
5.) “Christmas With A Kiss” (2023) Roger M. Bobb #^ 6.5/10
6.) “Secret Sunshine” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 6.8/10
7.) “Tony Takitani” (2000) Jun Ichikawa #^ 6.8/10
8.) “Vertigo” (1958) Alfred Hitchcock # 7/10
9.) “An Unknown Country” (2022) Morrisa Maltz #* 9/10
10.) “Real Women Have Curves” (2002) Patricia Cardoso *^ 10/10
11.) “Earth Mama” (2022) Savannah Leaf #*^ 9.5/10
12.) “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” (2021) Jacob Gentry # 4/10
13.) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9/10
14.) “Dress For Success” (2023) Erskine Forde #^ 8/10
15.) “Adam” (2019) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9.5/10
16.) ”A Tale of Love and Desire” (2021) Leyla Bouzid #*^ 9.5/10
17.) “The Boy and the Heron” (2023) Hayao Miyazaki #^ 9.5/10
18.) ”Christmas Belles” (2019) Terri J. Vaughan #*+ 4.7/10
19.) “Christmas Deja Vu” (2021) Christel Gibson #*+ 5.5/10
20.) ”You Hurt My Feelings” (2023) Nicole Holofcener #* 5/10
21.) “This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection” (2019) Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese #^ 10/10
22.) ”Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) Roger Spottiswoode # 5.4/10
23.) “Hot Girl Winter” (2023) Patricia Cuffie-Jones #*+ 6.8/10
24.) “The Chef’s Wife” (2014) Anne Le Ny #* 6/10
25.) “Boxing Day” (2021) Aml Ameen ^ 7.7/10
26.) ”A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) Bill Melendez 8/10
27.) “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (1964) Larry Roemer and Kizo Nagashima 7/10
28.) “Garfield Christmas Special” (1987) Phil Roman and George Singer 7.7/10
29.) “Entre Nous” (1983) Diane Furys #* 8.5/10
30.) “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) Sharon Maguire * 6.5/10
31.) “My One Christmas Wish” (2019) James Head # 7.5/10
32.) “Clockwatchers” (1997) Jill Sprecher #* 6.7/10
33.) “The Baker’s Wife” (1938) Marcel Pagnol # 0/10
34.) “Down in the Delta” (1998) Maya Angelou *+ 9.5/10
35.) “Irma Vep” (1996) Olivier Assayas # 9/10
36.) “Ovals: I Don’t Want To Love Myself” (2016) Daquan Saxton #^ 7.8/10
37.) “Gentle Boy” (2023) Caleb Grandoit #^ 9/10
38.) “Solely” (2013) Anna Nersesyan #* 9.5/10
39.) “Dating App” (2019) Maya Table #*+ 9/10
40.) “Beta” (2016) B. B. Araya #*+ 10/10
41.) “Detour” (2018) Daniel Norris Webb # 4/10
42.) “bad news” (2020) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10
43.) “yirga” (2019) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10
44.) “Spirited Away” (2009) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10
45.) “Good Morning” Yasujirō Ozu #^ 10/10
46.) “Poetry” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 8.9/10
47.) “Happy New Year’s Eve, Charlie Brown” (1986) Bill Melendez 5.6/10
48.) “Hair Love” (2019) Matthew Cherry and Bruce W. Smith #^ 8/10
49.) “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” (2019) Adamma Ebo #*+ 7.7/10
# first time watch
*woman filmmaker
*+Black woman filmmaker
^nonwhite filmmaker
Other notes: list of 49 films, 40 first time watches, 30 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 24 films made by women.
Yearly total: 358 films, seven short of my goal of watching 365; 304 first time watches, 260 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 172 films made and/or co-made by women.
Again, Issa Rae’s Hoorae YouTube channel was an ample resource and starting point to my journey, the discovery of Bethiael Alemayoh aka B. B. Araya being a favorite. Definitely plan to write a story on her work. Currently, she debuted a new short film, Dressed at SXSW. The premise is a “former bride-to-be attempts to sell her wedding dress.”
I fell in love with great world cinema such as Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not A Burial, This Is A Resurrection, Olivier Assayas’s Irma Vep, Maryam Touzani‘s The Blue Caftan and Adam respectively, and Leyla Bouvid’s A Tale of Love and Desire. Plus, I revisited old Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, weeks after seeing his newest beautiful work, The Boy and The Heron, a must see.
Coincidentally, I ended my film list with Adamma Ebo’s Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul— a short version of the film I watched back in January.
December Film Watches
1.) “The Golden Chain” (2016) Adebukola Bodunrin and Ezra Claytan Daniels #*+ 9/10
2.) “Sweet Ruin” (2008) Elisabeth Subrin #* 7/10
3.) “T” (2019) Keisha Rae Witherspoon #*+ 8.5/10
4.) “The Blackening” (2023) Tim Story #^ 7/10
5.) “Christmas With A Kiss” (2023) Roger M. Bobb #^ 6.5/10
6.) “Secret Sunshine” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 6.8/10
7.) “Tony Takitani” (2000) Jun Ichikawa #^ 6.8/10
8.) “Vertigo” (1958) Alfred Hitchcock # 7/10
9.) “An Unknown Country” (2022) Morrisa Maltz #* 9/10
10.) “Real Women Have Curves” (2002) Patricia Cardoso *^ 10/10
11.) “Earth Mama” (2022) Savannah Leaf #*^ 9.5/10
12.) “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” (2021) Jacob Gentry # 4/10
13.) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9/10
14.) “Dress For Success” (2023) Erskine Forde #^ 8/10
15.) “Adam” (2019) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9.5/10
16.) ”A Tale of Love and Desire” (2021) Leyla Bouzid #*^ 9.5/10
17.) “The Boy and the Heron” (2023) Hayao Miyazaki #^ 9.5/10
18.) ”Christmas Belles” (2019) Terri J. Vaughan #*+ 4.7/10
19.) “Christmas Deja Vu” (2021) Christel Gibson #*+ 5.5/10
20.) ”You Hurt My Feelings” (2023) Nicole Holofcener #* 5/10
21.) “This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection” (2019) Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese #^ 10/10
22.) ”Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) Roger Spottiswoode # 5.4/10
23.) “Hot Girl Winter” (2023) Patricia Cuffie-Jones #*+ 6.8/10
24.) “The Chef’s Wife” (2014) Anne Le Ny #* 6/10
25.) “Boxing Day” (2021) Aml Ameen ^ 7.7/10
26.) ”A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) Bill Melendez 8/10
27.) “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (1964) Larry Roemer and Kizo Nagashima 7/10
28.) “Garfield Christmas Special” (1987) Phil Roman and George Singer 7.7/10
29.) “Entre Nous” (1983) Diane Furys #* 8.5/10
30.) “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) Sharon Maguire * 6.5/10
31.) “My One Christmas Wish” (2019) James Head # 7.5/10
32.) “Clockwatchers” (1997) Jill Sprecher #* 6.7/10
33.) “The Baker’s Wife” (1938) Marcel Pagnol # 0/10
34.) “Down in the Delta” (1998) Maya Angelou *+ 9.5/10
35.) “Irma Vep” (1996) Olivier Assayas # 9/10
36.) “Ovals: I Don’t Want To Love Myself” (2016) Daquan Saxton #^ 7.8/10
37.) “Gentle Boy” (2023) Caleb Grandoit #^ 9/10
38.) “Solely” (2013) Anna Nersesyan #* 9.5/10
39.) “Dating App” (2019) Maya Table #*+ 9/10
40.) “Beta” (2016) B. B. Araya #*+ 10/10
41.) “Detour” (2018) Daniel Norris Webb # 4/10
42.) “bad news” (2020) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10
43.) “yirga” (2019) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10
44.) “Spirited Away” (2009) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10
45.) “Good Morning” Yasujirō Ozu #^ 10/10
46.) “Poetry” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 8.9/10
47.) “Happy New Year’s Eve, Charlie Brown” (1986) Bill Melendez 5.6/10
48.) “Hair Love” (2019) Matthew Cherry and Bruce W. Smith #^ 8/10
49.) “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” (2019) Adamma Ebo #*+ 7.7/10
# first time watch
*woman filmmaker
*+Black woman filmmaker
^nonwhite filmmaker
Other notes: list of 49 films, 40 first time watches, 30 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 24 films made by women.
Yearly total: 358 films, seven short of my goal of watching 365; 304 first time watches, 260 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 172 films made and/or co-made by women.
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