Letter from the Editor

Read Umnia's previous 'Letter from the Editor' here.

Hello Aficionados, this is your captain speaking....

The Sappy Stuff

I shall start on a personal note – I may seem like a girl boss slay queen. It may look as if how this publication works is "easy" or flows with some serendipitous alignment. In truth, the last 5 months have been the most intense in my entire lifetime (and that's saying a lot). The growth we have achieved has been built by relentless, non-stop work – not just by me, but by countless others. For every success I have had, ten other plans have failed.

What has kept me going – what can keep anything going – is the love of the people around me. If I have no budget for a piece, or no responses from 1000 emails, or no hope at the end of the tunnel – I have you, Aficionados, and I have my amazing team. Truly, to keep going in this crazy crackpot industry, I don't need anything else. I can't thank you enough for your support...

...but I'm gonna give it a go anyway.

When we relaunched the publication this March (with the help of one of our first ever contributors and team members, Celeste), our plan was to create a reliable place for film and culture buffs to find informed, respectful, timely and passionate reviews of new releases and old classics, and to give you a seamless experience interacting and sharing OBSCURAE with the other culture heads in your life.

Though, yes, our audience has grown significantly, so too has our team. I've been blessed with introductions to what I believe are some of the most insightful, tuned-in thinkers in Pop Culture today, and I'm so grateful to all of them for bringing their talents to us.

As our team has grown, so too have our Paid Supporters - I want to give a huge thanks to the select group of you that help us keep OBSCURAE running. Whether it's £5 a month or £50 a year, one subscription has often meant that an unpaid assignment can actually be a paid one - so I know our contributors thank you too!

The Mission

OBSCURAE has always been about living the truth that Pop Culture is Art, and Arthouse is for the people. Where these two beautiful aspects of life collide, we will be there to appreciate, excoriate, uplift, dive deep and analyse.

Your favourite film may be hiding in an arthouse theatre, without the adequate PR campaign to find you. Your favourite blockbuster may have more to it than meets the eye. The festival circuit may feel dizzying – and we can help with that too.

So we make video for TikTok and Instagram, bring you reviews direct to your inbox, and craft long-form video essays that leave you better informed than they found you.

It's a labor of love, and I do it because I truly believe this is the work that can help make the world the way we want it to be – uplift the voices that need amplifying the most, and develop media literacy across audiences, and across the world.

I freaking love OBSCURAE - this little gem that feels like the perfect excuse to hid away in a cinema instead of, well, doing anything else. I love the ways we're growing as a creative studio too, which I won't get too deep into, but are just as vital a mission as the journalistic side. I love the people I get to work with, and I love that I get to do what I love, despite everything in the world right now.

The Future

OK, this is the fun part...

The Mailing List

You may have already noticed that "OBSCURAE Weekly" has been less than a weekly affair! Aficionados prefer to get every article to their inbox, and so the Newsletter felt a little obsolete!

Now, signing up to receive emails from us, you'll get all of our coverage to your inbox - that's 2-3 articles a week, and a Video Essay every few weeks. Paid Aficionados get early and extended access to Video Essays, so if you want even more video goodness, you can become a Paid Aficionado here.

OBSCURAE is now on Letterboxd!

The account will be run by our Editorial Co-ordinator, Shea Marshall, and it won't just be reviews! Keep an eye out for lists and recommendations.

We're going to TIFF again!

I will be going alongside Elliana, or resident Photographer, to capture the excitement on the ground. We also have a new contributor based in Ontario joining us at TIFF, Anika – look out for her reviews as the Festival heats up! Finally, we're trying to create an IRL Third Space for younger cinephiles to chill, chat about the films they've watched, buy some cool indie cinema merch, get some free food and drink and vibe. Though we may have to postpone our plans for this year (See our TikTok and Instagram for updates!), we will definitely be doing this at festivals next year - think Cannes, and TIFF 2026!

We want to find ways of giving back to younger fans of media and cinema, instead of just extracting from the audience - so keep an eye out for more details! The Mailing List will be the first to know!

Onward and upward, dear Aficionados!

All the very best,
UMNIA