Lisa Fontaine picks out some of the most innovative shorts from the collection of surrealist Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. Grotesque and absurd are probably the first words that spring to mind when thinking of Jan Švankmajer’s films. Niche is another. As a self-proclaimed “militant surrealist”, Švankmajer’s unapologetically bizarre films have long fallen victim to the Western European […]

Lisa Fontaine charges into battle with Macbeth, Justin Kurzel’s stylish update of the classic Shakespearian tale. Ultraviolence, fantasy, kings, and reimaginings of the Middle Ages have been capturing the public imagination lately. So it comes with little surprise that the bloody epic that perfects all these things, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, has gotten another adaptation in these […]

Guest writer Lisa Fontaine discusses gender stereotypes in the film industry, looking at the way actresses such as Angelina Jolie and Rose McGowan are breaking down barriers by working behind the camera. Anti-gender stereotype campaigns have created a storm in the media since the arrival of the ‘this is what an engineer looks like’ hashtag. […]

Guest writer Lisa Fontaine explores how some female filmmakers are subverting the inequality of the film industry by taking to the Internet and creating hit web shows. “Nobody gives you power, you just take it” - Roseanne Barr With the ratio of men to women working in films being 6:1, this month’s hot topic of women in […]