Afeni Shakur and the Trial of the Panther 21 - Review

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A single voice can become a roar when it carries the revolution within itself.

Afeni Shakur and the Trial of the Panther 21,  documentary directed by  the multi-award-winning community LGBTQ+ Civil Rights - Social Justice & Community Activist Ray Barron- Woolford FRSA,  is an exciting journey to discover the incredible figure of Afeni Shakur, but also a multifaceted essay on the hard fight for civil rights of African Americans.

“Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place” sang Tupac Shakur in his famous song  “Dear Mama”.

And he was right. Afeni Shakur can neither be replaced nor forgotten.
She was a courageous warrior who embodied the fiery spirit of Black Power and the Black Panther Party, of which she was one of the strongest and most intelligent voices. An active member of the revolutionary group in the late 60s, Afeni was not just a presence: she was a mind. She wrote, she organized, she educated. She contributed to the construction of schools, food programs for children and self-defense campaigns in black communities, aware that the real revolution starts from the people and from taking care of them.

Accused of conspiracy against the State, in 1971 Afeni, pregnant and without a lawyer, defended herself in court. And she won.

She won against ignorance, against a racist judicial system, against hatred.
Demonstrating that activism is not only a fight against oppression, but a construction of freedom; and thus becoming a symbol of tenacity, courage and rebellion.

Woman, fighter, mother, revolutionary: Afeni represents the most powerful root of black feminism.

This documentary is a tribute but also a powerful message of Love.

"Lady, don't you know we love you? (Dear Mama)
Sweet lady, place no one above you (you are appreciated)
Sweet lady, don't you know we love you? (Dear Mama)"

A war between two worlds, a destiny already written, a seemingly impossible love. 

Child of Dawn is the gripping screenplay written by the talented Leslie A Lee, who  manages to catapult us into a magical world far away, where nothing is impossible. 

Anda and Dagsbrun: she's the light, he's the darkness.

She is half-elf, half-human, and considers him a narcissistic monster; he is half-elf, half-vampire and treats her like an inferior prisoner that he could kill any moment.

Their meeting is more of a clash, where aggressiveness and hostility take over, giving rise to a fight between two charming creatures  who repel each other but  tha, together, seem destined to prevent the world from facing a complete destruction.

Anda - thanks to her mother -  got powers that she must learn to control and to use.

Dagsbrun -  cold and detached as his vampire half imposes on him -  will have to learn to listen to his heart and to the wis words of the Elf Gammel - master of magic and loving reference figure for both the protagonists - who will patiently help them understand how the two "enemies" are instead meant to be together to bring peace between two worlds that have been at war for too long.

The script is not only a fantastic story where animals talk, portals open and magic stones can save your life; it is also a journey in search of one’s own strength, courage and essence.  An adventure where self-confidence is the strongest shield, and where even the most unlikely love wins over hate.

The perfect description of the characters combined with the flowing narration culminates in a satisfying happy ending that leaves the reader  moved and full of hope.

The True, the Good, and the Beautiful in the Script of the New Feature Film „Keep Your Secret!“ (Warning: Spoilers Ahead!)  

Kristina Schippling and Ezra Tsegaye are currently producing not just an entertaining vampire feature film full of suspense; in the script’s narrative and character development, Kristina explores various definitions of what can be considered Good or Evil within a moral code. Is goodness tied to morally correct actions, or is it a specific goal to be achieved? Is goodness something inherent, or does it have to be constantly redefined? Or perhaps goodness is the feeling of empathy for others that prevents us from doing harm, while moral and rational categories are culturally constructed and interchangeable?  

Kristina skillfully raises these questions by letting her characters experience them firsthand: Lilith, in her pursuit of redemption from her existence as a vampire, seeks out holy babies to kill for her salvation. While her goal is righteous, her methods are not just immoral but the most gruesome imaginable. Elias, on the other hand, tries to do everything right but struggles to comprehend that his best friend and his girlfriend are harboring dark secrets. Yet, his empathy—even for the baby-murdering vampire—alone has the power to save him, his girlfriend, and the child. Moral correctness and ethical actions evolve into a new understanding of goodness—one that is now tied to compassion. This empathy prevents individuals from harming others and appears to be the very origin of goodness.  

Kristina also questions the nature of evil. Linus, for example, is caught in a web of love and jealousy. Unable to be Mary’s true partner and reduced to being part of an affair, he entangles himself with Lilith to provoke Mary’s jealousy. Though he ultimately wins her love, it is only for a fleeting moment before he must pay for his mistakes. But is he truly evil, or is he simply someone who has loved too deeply in a painful and unfulfilling situation—passing that pain onto other women? And how morally righteous was Elias when his younger brother fell from the roof? Is a person inherently evil, or is evil something they are shaped into by experience? The script’s answer is clear: people are made into what they become.  

Even Lilith was once a pregnant woman carrying sacred signs. When she lost her child, the ritual that could have freed the vampires was no longer possible. Just like Lucifer as the fallen angel, Lilith was once among the holy before she was turned into a vampire.  

Through the main characters, their actions and experiences, their beliefs, and their emotional worlds, Kristina spells out different understandings of good and evil, as well as varying value systems. This is visually reflected in a scene where two pictures hang in the bathroom of the vacation apartment—one showing a child with angelic features, the other having demonic traits. But it is the same child. The directors suggest that good and evil are variable concepts. What may seem good from one perspective can be seen as an evil act from another. They also emphasize that every human being carries both light and darkness within them, capable of both good and evil in equal measure. The question remains: which side do we let win? Can we always clearly distinguish between what is good and what is evil?  

Kristina and Ezra want to provoke thoughts and remind us that judgments about others should be made with care. Even the title „Keep Your Secret!“ hints at dark secrets and lies. Each of the main characters harbors secrets that are gradually revealed, touching on one of the most fundamental philosophical concepts: truth. The search for truth, the act of concealing and revealing it, and the moral philosophical questions that arise in connection with it are central to the film. The overarching theme is truth, which is closely linked to the question of goodness.  

Kristina’s themes directly connect to Plato’s classical triad of the True, the Beautiful, and the Good. The distinction between holy and demonic figures in the film serves to elevate and emphasize good and evil, but also to question them. This is evident not only in character development and plot but also in the casting choices. Kristina and Ezra deliberately cast the role of the saintly Mary with Indian actress Anamika Datta, while the traditional blonde angel (Isabel Dornheim), who would have been a more conventional fit for the image of the Christian Virgin Mary, plays the vampire. This casting choice deliberately subverts expectations and challenges stereotypes, inviting reflection and warning against premature judgments.  

The theme of truth is already hinted at in the title. Dark secrets, mirrored in the artwork on the walls of the vacation home, accompany the unfolding events. The truth is always present—not necessarily hidden but there for those willing to see and decipher it. In the characters’ lives, however, it is obscured by lies, only to be unintentionally brought to light. The revelation of each character’s secrets serves as crucial plot points, deeply woven into the core narrative. The exposure and concealment of truth drive the entire story—from the hidden affair and the secret child to the concealed magical powers of the vampire. The question of truth is ever-present.  

And what about beauty? The aesthetic dimension is, of course, embedded in the very art form of film itself. But beauty is also explored through desire, unfulfilled love, and longing. The allure of the over-300-year-old vampire, veiled in a nightgown before the young Linus, the revealed beauty of the young man—these elements captivate us. There is also beauty in language, in the poetic scenes of Lilith’s hunt, and in the meticulously composed cinematography. The question of beauty arises everywhere.  

A crucial moment in the script underscores this: Lilith prepares herself for bed, transforming her entire appearance—makeup and hairstyle—into the style of the 1920s and 1930s for her new lover. Her centuries-old existence and Linus’s youth are starkly contrasted in their intimate encounter. She is dominant, untamable; he is subordinate. Her sexuality, shaped by another era, is revealed through her choice of traditional nightwear, her act of beautification, while her vampiric nature manifests in her strength, dominance, and superiority.  

In this way, Plato’s triad of the True, the Beautiful, and the Good is explored in the script with incredible depth and complexity. From the overall plot and character arcs to the film’s set design, makeup, costumes, and title—every element consistently points back to these three fundamental philosophical categories.  

However, Kristina and Ezra do not simply reinforce clichés. Instead, they break stereotypes and challenge their validity. This questioning is deeply philosophical in nature. The directors successfully craft a genre film with high entertainment value that, on the surface, seems effortless and engaging, yet is interwoven with profound philosophical depth.  

One of the most fascinating aspects is seeing how philosophical categories are translated into cinematic art. This coding of philosophy into art is a recurring theme in Kristina’s work. Likewise, Ezra’s strong influence from classic genre cinema, structured storytelling, humor, and high-quality aesthetics are evident in both the film’s poster (designed by Ezra) and the script.  

We eagerly anticipate this film! The script alone is already a masterpiece!

Poster: Ezra Tsegaye / Photos from the movie shoot: Nicolai Froundjia

From Hong Kong with love!

There is a large group of brave people that the director Vivian Tsang calls the new Immigrants: people who have left Hong Kong to move to Manchester. And one of those people is her.

Having moved 3 years ago, Tsang talks about this drastic life change, leaving one of the most densely populated cities in the world for a decidedly smaller and more private town.

Certainly not a small decision but  - looking at The New Immigrants - Hong Kongers - definitely the right choice.

A documentary that takes us on a walk with the real Hong Kongers, making us understand and discover their new life up close, and their initial and current approach to the British city they have chosen to call home, and its citizens.

An intimate, interesting and sincere film that shines a light on a reality unknown to many.

Third and final chapter of the trilogy “Storm” directed by Yoram Marcus, Alarmland is a kaleidoscopic film where the rhythm of the music and the alternation of images accompany us through the streets.

A meeting between a man and a woman, shocking news, an attempt at seduction, a marriage proposal, a dramatic phone call.

Negative and positive feelings inhabit this film that reveals all the complexity of the human soul.

Good, evil, love, anger, distrust, dream, reality, nostalgia, joy and pain.

Everything happen in this  Alarm land (the State of Israel) that day by day stays in a survival war against terrorists..

Premonitory messages, comparisons, repeated dialogues; an experimental but interesting editing by Marcus – also an interpreter of the film – that denotes creativity and passion.

Sometimes you think you're in love with a person only to discover that you  met her/him to understand what you don't want and where you belong.

An eccentric young woman and a middle aged man meet by chance.

She - Dylan Brody (played by Michele Martin) -  wants to make it in Hollywood as a conceptual artist even though she doesn't know exactly how to put her many bizarre ideas in order; He (played by the multitalented Paul Provenza) is a quiet music editor that  - bewitched by the  woman's enthusiasm and her total creative madness - decides to support her "art" offering  her his guest house.

She's broke, unresolved, chaotic and she needs a place in the world; he's  reserved, calm, composed ... but also lonely and in need of a little quake.

Randomness? Destiny? Or maybe just a meeting of souls looking for something?

Brilliant, ironic and ruthlessly true, YOU ARE HERE - a Dylan Brody project is a comedy that shows us how absurd the world of Hollywood - that pays millions of dollars for a simple illusion - can be; but also how often we run after the wrong people because of our idealisation.

A perfect cast directed by the real Dylan Brody - Award-winning author, comedian and filmmaker - who in a certain way give us his female alter ego so full of passion, verve... and so capable of turning the lives of those he meets upside down.

“I am not the body: I ​​am the mind” proudly declared. the Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi Montalcini.

The human mind is indeed our great source of strength capable of commanding our thoughts, our beliefs, our fears too - just think about the ferocity of panic attackst  - but at the same time it is also an unknown and boundless universe.

But how can we know that hidden universe and navigate into it? 

Espen Jan Folmo and Nini Caroline Skarpaas Myhrvold present us LOOK UP—The Science of Cultural Evolution, a documentary that offers us the opportunity to fully explore the inner complexity of human beings laid bare in front  of the help of psychotherapy, an increasingly important and exploited means to fight not only the demons capable of compromising daily life but also of freeing  unimaginable sides.

Spiritual, scientific and social themes mix in this film, showing us how time and evolution have brought positive and negative changes to human beings.

For sure owadays  men got  much more psychological help available, but it is also true that the inconveniences caused by modernity and technology are increasingly responsible of a big part of anxieties and mental illnesses that affect a large part of the world's population.

An incredibly detailed and exhaustive work to try to understand even the incomprehensible that inhabits our unconscious.

Who's that girl?

Focused on the mystery that a beautiful woman (Ingrid Feldman) manages to provoke with her presence, A Mystery Woman: The Message - The main one, in the STORM Trilogy is an interesting film directed  by the award winning screenwriter and director Yoram Marcus.

Who is this woman?

Perhaps a sort of modern Cassandra or a mysterious messenger who manages to shock everyone she meets....or open their eyes.

What's her message? Her purpose?

Is she human or does she come from another dimension?

Filled with emotions and gentleness, everything about this movie is made to surprise, to wonder about the meaning of life, destiny and how a perfect stranger on the street can upset an entire existence.

A film that for sure  won't leave the viewer indifferent.

“And if you look in the face of evil, evil will look back at you...”

Katabasis,  fascinating and ambitious feature film directed and starring Samantha Casella, could be defined as a modern art movie where symbolism and a meticulous attention to details are incredibly poignant.

Endless days, slow movements, long silences;  all the characters appear tormented, ambiguous, almost muffled by a perpetual doze.

But pervaded by boredom and apathy, Nora (Samantha Casella) is the lost protagonist, of the story, the anguished vagrant who wanders between dream and reality; among monstrous sounds and whispers.

She crosses the threshold that separates her from another dimension, another world, to descend into the underground of her mind, of her memories, of her unconscious.

Desolation, melancholy, and secrets fill the void of the walls as much as the extremely expressive face the performers, fundamental pieces of a puzzle that perhaps got no solution.

Visions, hallucinations, ghosts? What is real and what is just a projection of  the destabilizing and restless Nora?

Sourranded by disturbing atmospheres saturated with colour, drama and mystery  - which pleasantly recall the cinematography of David Lynch - 

Nora bring us on this fascinating descent towards delirium and the enigma of existence itself.