Minari

Named after the resilient Korean herb minari, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung's semi-autobiographical feature relates the American immigrant experience of a Korean family in 1980's rural Arkansas.

Augmented by Emile Mosseri's seamless eastern-western musical score and the well balanced drama and humor, are the solid performances of parents Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri Han), pre-teen Anne (Noel Cho), and seven-year-old David (Alan S. Kim). However it is grandmother Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-Jung) who steals the show. Some of the feature's best scenes involve Soon-ja and David's interactions.

Gently and methodically, the realistic screenplay quietly engages and moves, while addressing the universal theme of overcoming hardships and the value of family unity.

Sundance audience winner award.

Nomadland

Known for her interest in cinematic underrepresented subcultures, writer, director and editor Chloé Zhao's (The Rider, 2017 and Songs my Brother Taught Me, 2015) third feature Nomadland, focuses on the thousands of houseless people in their 60's and 70's leading a nomadic lifestyle, in search of seasonal work or better weather.

Inspired by Jessica Bruder's 2017 acclaimed, non-fictional narrative, Zhao adopted a melancholic, quasi-documentary approach, centering the film around the experiences of Fern (2018 Academy Award winner Frances McDormand, co-producer), driven into the temporal community in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crash. In addition to McDormand, enhancing the personal tone are the few professional supportive cast such as David Strathairn as Dave and the largely unprofessional cast of seasonal dwellers encountered along the way such as Linda May and Swankie.

Intimate and non-judgemental, Nomadland ultimately demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit, through a journey in the vast, silent and rugged midwestern landscapes, captured by cinematographer Joshua James Richard's widescreen framing, coupled with Ludovico Einaudi's soft piano score.

Nomadland won the 2020 Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion and the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award.

The Father

Screenwriter Christopher Hampton and screenwriter-director Florian Zeller's screen adaptation of Zeller's award winning play, The Father, is a psychological thriller about dementia as experienced through the vulnerable eyes of 80 years old Anthony (Sir Anthony Hopkins) as well as through his healthy family members' and caretakers' perception. However, what makes this film unique is how the viewing audience is gradually drawn into the same fragmented reality and discernible confusion experienced by Anthony.

The Father is structured around one of the most powerful renditions of Sir Anthony Hopkins, and the strong supporting ensemble of Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Olivia Williams. Further defining the austere composition is the compelling cinematography by Ben Smithard, perfectly aligned with the moving musical score, and editing by Yorgos Lamprinos. (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

On the Rocks

Director-writer Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and Bill Murray reteam in this light romantic-comedy about a father-daughter bond, an on the rocks marriage, and the courage for self-expression.

Thirty-something Laura (Rashida Jones) turns to her father Felix (Bill Murray), a charismatic, successful New York art dealer playboy, with doubts about her husband Dean's (Marlon Wayans) fidelity with his beautiful assistant Fiona (Jessica Henwick).

Highlighted by the perfectly casted Bill Murray, On the Rocks is packed with vivid performances. This simple plot, infused with sharp dialogue, keeps us guessing until the very end.

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Sing Me a Lullaby

In this powerful 29 minute documentary short, Canadian filmmaker Tiffany Hsiung embarks on a 14 year journey to search for her biological grandmother in Taiwan, from whom Tiffany's mother Ru-Wen, was separated in the 1960's at the age of 5.

Hsiung undertakes this moving, transformative journey with a hand-held camera, gradually uncovering old wounds, secrets and challenges while crafting an intimate and touching family portrait on the road to healing.

Hsiung won the 2020 Directors Guild of Canada Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Best Short Film and 2020's Toronto Film Festival's Share Her Journey Award.

 

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THE DISCIPLE

Writer-director Chaitanya Tamhane’s second feature, The Disciple, revolves around Sharad Nerulkar (Aditya Modak), a North-Indian classical Khayal vocalist under the tutelage of Guruji, Maestro Vinayak Pradhan (Dr. Arun Dravid). Sharad adheres to the stringent discipline of self control, perseverance and personal sacrifices the artform requires. His calmness is reflected in the pictoresque shots of Mumbai by Director of Photography Michal Sobocinski. However, Sharad's inner turmoil gradually comes to the forefront, challenging his music career.

With The Disciple, recipient of the 2020 Venice Film Festival Best Screenplay Award as well as the Fipresci Prize, Tamhane and executive producer Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Roma and Gravity) deliver an unfiltered, intimate and realistic quest for perfection and self-discovery.

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