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Vanessa Martinez's posts

Film

Strikingly-Lensed Brazilian Coming-of-Age Drama 'August Winds' Now Streaming on Netflix

It's the kind of film best seen on the big screen, but it was never released theatrically in the USA (2016). However, some good news is that it's now available on various home platforms, including streaming on Netflix. Kino Lorber is the US distributor for Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro's "August Winds" ("Ventos de Agosto"), a coming-of-age drama set in Brazil that follows a...

Festivals,Film

Review: Guadeloupe-Set 'Elza' Tackles Colorism, Identity, Family Abandonment & Forgiveness (At PAFF)

Screening at the Pan African Film Festival this Saturday, February 11 at 7pm, and again on Monday February 13 at 6:10pm is "ELZA" ("Le Bonheur d’Elza" or “Elza’s Happiness”), the first narrative film by Mariette Montpierre, and the first feature film directing effort ever by a Guadeloupean, which was inspired by Montpierre’s personal accounts of searching for her biological father...

Film

Review: Must-Watch, Poignant 'Sugar' Explores Struggles Faced By Dominican Ball Player w/ Subtlety & Realism

Here’s a film I should’ve watched years ago during its limited theatrical release; although it was indeed limited to only NY and LA. Sony Film Classics' 2009’s Indie drama "Sugar" is not your average sports flick; it avoids the usual "for the love of the game" and the "glorious champion" clichés so common among films in this genre. Unsurprisingly, "Sugar" was deemed one of the...

Film

Watch Now: Byron Hurt's Entertaining, Thoroughly Researched and Revealing 'Soul Food Junkies' Documentary

In "Soul Food Junkies" Byron Hurt created a vastly entertaining, hilarious, passionate, revelatory and thoroughly researched documentary which examines Soul Food’s significance in Black American culture. Hurt narrates the project, edited by Sonia Gonzalez-Martinez, via his personal journey. His family members have been avid Soul Food lovers; his mother’s soul food, long been the...

Film

Review: 'La Gradua' Is a Clever, Dark Comedy on Life After College

Written and directed by Adrian Manzano, whose first film “Sex, Love, Salsa” won several awards in the film festival circuit, “La Gradua” centers on Miosotis (Sofia Rodriguez), a Dominican 23-year old Liberal Arts college graduate who comes back to the Bronx to live with her overbearing and brassy grandmother to pursue an acting career. Miosotis is welcomed by her big Dominican...

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