Festivals
The Academy | OBSCURAE @ Raindance 2025
This looking glass into the experiences of Art students in Munich pulls no punches.
Reviews
All of our reviews, of everything, in one place.
Sweet and Short
Sweet and Short: Marrow (Dir. Jay T. Grimes)
What makes 'Marrow' stand out is not just its subject matter (fear of ageing is rarely portrayed with this kind of visceral immediacy or violence) but its style.
Sweet and Short
Sweet and Short: Pizzaslice (Dir. Carl Johan Holmboe Dahl)
'Pizzaslice' is an excellent piece for an easy character study with a slight plot twist. It’ll make you feel pity and make you smile. It is vulnerable and genuine. It is just perfectly everything I enjoy about film.
Raindance Film Festival 2025
A Cell Phone Movie| OBSCURAE @ Raindance 2025
A Cell Phone Movie set out to be the reassuring hug and extra nudge to remind every filmmaker out there that what they want to achieve is possible, and that finding community is key to achieving it.
Plays
“Romeo and Juliet” at the Globe
"There is always a risk when going to the theatre, even if it’s at the Globe. But this summer, Romeo and Juliet is the reminder that you can never watch too much Shakespeare."
Raindance Film Festival 2025
Corina | OBSCURAE @ Raindance 2025
¡Corina es a toda madre! Apologies, couldn’t help myself. But as a Mexican, I had to proudly praise this film for what it is: a treat.
Film
B-Reel: All Hits, No Misses
In a film festival first, Umnia is blown away by not one, not two, but ALL the shorts in a given programme. Someone, write this down!
Film
Jurassic World: Rebirth is Pure Popcorn Fun
There'll never be another Jurassic Park, the film too strong, too sharply drawn to recapture. So maybe we shouldn't try. Rebirth is in that register; beautifully shot, exciting, and understanding of the appeal of a silly diversion without much thought behind it.
Festivals
Nawi: Dear Future Me | OBSCURAE @ Raindance 2025
A visually stunning film with superb writing, pacing and performances, Nawi: Dear Future Me is more than just a film about how selling underage girls into marriage is bad.
Sweet and Short
Sweet and Short: Bricked (Dir. Will Stepney)
Directed with restraint and urgency, 'Bricked' is visually engaging and emotionally unnerving.
Deep Dive
I (Finally) Saw the TV Glow: Them vs Us, and the Illusion of the "Trans Film"
Putting a pin on the debate pushed onto the work of every queer artist, where everything they create is treated as inherently political just for existing – much like the artists themselves –, I Saw the TV Glow (2024) is a visually stunning film that is purposely vague in its storytelling.
Festivals
Regina | OBSCURAE @ Raindance 2025
Regina is a weird combination of both a coming-of-age tale and a gripping, mind-bending psychological thriller.