October 2023 Film Watches

 

Kerry Washington as Niecy in Lift. DP: David Phillips.

We’re at my favorite month of the year— birthday times, cozy sweaters, and nothing but warm beverages and scary films, well, sometimes. I started off watching a hip hop classic before it left the Criterion Channel, ending it the same way with A. V. Rockwell’s dearly departing gritty New York City short films. Good things come and go and it’s best to get it in while you can. I also free trialed MUBI again, but only had time for three films. Two contained absolutely horrendous depictions of young women preyed by older men (James Ivory’s Quartet and Alberto Lattuada’s Stay As You Are) while the other— Kit Zauhar’s actual people— almost had a place on my top films of 2023 list. Overall, I enjoyed most of the short films seen on the HOORAE channel, especially Steven Caple Jr.’s A Different Tree, Winter Dunn’s Junebug, and B. B. Araya’s We Are series. Excellent stuff.  

October Film Watches


1.) “Beat Street” (1984) Stan Lathan #^ 7/10

2.) “Krush Grove” (1985) Michael Schultz #^ 6.8/10

3.) “Knock At The Cabin” (2023) M. Night Shyamalan #^ 2/10

4.) “Stella With The Weight Of The World On Her Shoulders” (2015) Christopher Cole # 8/10 

5.) “How To Win” (2016) Rhasaan Nichols #^ 5/10

6.) “The Canterville Ghost” (1996) Sid Macartney # 6.8/10 

7.) “Lift” (2001) Demane Davis and Khari Streeter #*+ 8/10

8.) “We Are— Sisters” (2017) B. B. Araya #*+ 9.5/10 

9.) “The Halloween Tree” (1993) Mario Piluso 8/10

10.) “actual people” (2023) Kit Zauhar #*^ 9/10

11.) “Junebug” (2020) Winter Dunn #*+ 10/10

12.) “We Are— Friends” (2017) B.B. Araya #*+ 8.5/10 

13.) “Quartet” (1981) James Ivory # 1/10

14.) “Stay As You Are” (1978) Alberto Lattuada # 0.5/10

15.) “Room Tone” (2018) Morgan Cooper #^ 8/10

16.) “Sunshine Cleaning” (2008) Christine Jeffs #* 6.8/10

17.) “Our Father, The Devil” (2021) Ellie Foumbi #*+ 8.5/10

18.) “Lavender” (2017) Ed Gass-Donnelly # 4/10

19.) “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10

20.) “Ladylike” (2014) Tiffany Johnson #*+ 10/10

21.) “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2019) Barry Jenkins ^ 10/10

22.) “Medicine For Melancholy” (2008) Barry Jenkins #^ 7/10

23.) “The Resort” (2015) Shadae Lamar Smith #^ 8/10

24.) “Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) Henry Selick 8/10

25.) “dawn.” (2016) Ya’ke Smith #^ 10/10

26.) “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” (1949) Clyde Geronimi and Jack Kinney 6/10

27.) “Hocus Pocus” (1993) Kenny Ortega 7/10

28.) “Simply Irresistible” (1999) Mark Torlov 6/10

29.) “Too Much Cendi (Skit)” (2013) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9/10

30.) “Indigo’s Smile (Interlude)” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 10/10

31.) “Trey (Interlude)” (2012) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9.5/10

32.) “Heist” (2012) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8.5/10

33.) “El Train” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 10/10

34.) “A City Of Children” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8/10

35.) “G. F. C.” (2013) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8/10

36.) “A Different Tree” (2013) Steven Caple Jr. #^ 10/10

# first time watch

*woman filmmaker

*+Black woman filmmaker

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker

^nonwhite filmmaker

Other notes: list of 35 films: 29 first time watches, 25 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 16 films made and/or co-made by women.