She is Part of SEVEN VEILS

 

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres this week from writer/director Atom Egoyan, XYZ Films and Variance Films comes the story entwined with the SEVEN VEILS.

Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried) has been asked to direct a theatre production of the opera Salome. Excited to be bringing her own vision to the story, she announces that there will be very small changes from her mentor Charles own production. Having a call with her young daughter and husband Paul (Mark O’Brien) to celebrate her mother’s birthday, Jeanine becomes leery of the caretaker Dimitra (Maia Jae Bastidas).

Her production plate becomes even fuller when Johann (Michael Kupfer-Radecky), who is playing John the Baptist, is becoming a headache but so are the requests made of her by management. They are questioning her ‘changes’ in the show and making it clear that she is being watched. Not allowed to have a Directors Statement in the program as well adds to her shock. Instead, she is being told to do a dairy of her thoughts of the play that can be posted on a website.

Amber (Ambur Braid) who portrays the role of Salome has personal issues with Johan that flows into Clea’s (Rebecca Liddiard) props and mask-making department. It is even more uncomfortable since Clea once had a relationship with Amber but is now currently with Rachel (Vanessa Antoine) who is Amber’s understudy. The drama has a lid on it slightly as Janine tries to get her players to truly understand the roles they are playing in thought, emotion, deed and reaches to Johann’s understudy Luke (Douglas Smith) from their younger years in theatre.

There is also a struggle with Janine as she deals with memories that come flooding in and out about her own past. From her father to her mentor Charles, it all becomes garbled as she tries to keep it from interfering with the opera. The stress is intermingled with the show, management, what is happening at home and the memories that refuse to fade yet the show must go on.

Seyfried as Jeanine is thrilled to be directing the story of Salome and to be able to showcase what she can do. The problem becomes the entwining of her past, demands from others and her own feelings about it all. Trying her best to keep things compartmentalized, it becomes difficult and overpowering at times. Seyfried handles her role brilliantly attempting to juggle it all as a woman fighting her past, her cast and what she can do for opera in the future.

Liddiard as Clea is working with Jeanine to bring the right props and tone to the opera. She finds herself in a difficult position with a past love and a present one with a connection that no one would want for either. Antoine as Rachel is a studious understudy with dreams of one day having her moment and Clea wants that for her. Smith as Luke is Johann’s understudy who has the same dream as Rachel.

Kupfer-Radecky is, well, a diva of the worst kind. Believing himself to be beyond reproach, he wreaks havoc in the sinister of ways. O’Brien as Paul is a husband who is supportive in a way that makes him feel good about himself but Jeanine begins to see through him. Bastidas as Dimitra is a caretaker but one of the worst kind.

Other cast include Lanette Ware as Beatrice, Maya Misaljevic as Lizzie, Ryan McDonald as Harold, Lynne Griffin as Margot, Tara Nicodemo as Nancy, Joey Klein as Charlie, Aliya Kanani as Kathy, Alex Halliday as Cappadocian and Michael Schade as Herod.

XYZ Films is an American independent film production and sales company founded in 2008 by Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer, and is based in Los Angeles. It focuses on international genre films, including THE RAID: Redemption, THE RAID 2, and ON THE JOB. For more on what they have to offer, please visit www.xyzfilms.com.

Variance Films is a privately held film distribution company founded in 2008 that uses an innovative model of self-distribution combined with select elements of traditional theatrical distribution to allow filmmakers to achieve quality theatrical releases for their films. Their offerings include BREATHE, ROSARIO and TAYLOR SWIFT: The Eras Tour. For more of what they have to offer, please visit www.variancefilms.com.

Atom Egoyan directed the opera, Salome, in 1996, the first opera in what would be many to come over his career. Best known as a prominent film director since the 1980s, Egoyan has proven he is a master of both mediums. Egoyan was interested in exploring what the production of Salome would mean in our current culture. This interest led Egoyan to write the script for SEVEN BEILS, about a remount of Salome that he filmed at the same time the opera was on stage, using the opera singers from Salome in the film.

Egoyan says of the opera and film,“Salome is a production I’ve done a number of times so when I knew that the Canadian Opera Company was remounting it, I thought this would be an ideal time to fuse the opera singers I knew they had booked with the script I had written. I wanted to explore how the themes of Salome could weave with the story of remounting this particular production. It’s not really an opera movie, it’s just using the world of the opera as a workplace like any workplace. We see the characters as they float in and out of scenes dealing with the preparation of the opera.”

The director has done exactly that with SEVEN VEILS. It is a stunningly beautiful film that mixes the human frailties in the story of Salome with the same human frailties as those portraying the characters. Keeping the staging simple allows us to immerse into the roles that each play and decipher for ourselves where each scene will take us. The final production presented is breathtaking with images I had never imagined in a production such as this but understand it completely.

In the end – life has its own tragedies!

It is the LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on DVD from writer/director Nicole Midori Woodford and Indiepix is the haunting tale of LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT.

Ami (Mihaya Shirata) is a young girl who is constantly thinking about her mother Satomi (Mariko Tsutsui). To keep her going daily are the recordings of her mother’s voice. At home, Ami’s grandmother is moving into her father Low Wen (Peter Yu) house yet, it is the recording that comfort her, or do they?

Her struggles at school bring about a confrontation with her father about her mother and what truly happened to her. Ami believes she is still alive somewhere. Learning she has an uncle Isamu (Masatoshi Nagase) that lives in Japan, Ami wants to go to find out why she is so consumed with her mother. Her father says he cannot go due to his mother’s illness.

Isamu meets her at the airport and Ami realizes that she doesn’t remember him at all. He also doesn’t seem very interested in getting to know his niece. Intending to send Ami by herself on the bullet train to northern Japan, Isamu changes his mind. His disposition also changes when he comes across the signs that where they are is exactly where a tsunami swept away so many lives.

Ami begins to learn more and more about the family and lets Isamu know that she has more than just recordings but letters and photographs that are a mystery to her. There is a blow out between them as Isamu begins to feel again that the world he once knew is empty, cold and just as deserted as now. Ami takes off and finds a friend who spends time with her and taking her mind off of her troubles.

Neither Ami nor Isamu can continue to run away from what is in front of them. Uncle and niece must find a way to deal with a past that continues to haunt them both. What is true and what was meant to protect young Ami comes full circle. Both are pulled by something they cannot explain!

Shirata as Ami is a young girl that has been living in a world that is full of mystery. Wanting to understand why her mother left and the message she feels she is getting; it is causing strain with her father as well. Shirata is absolutely stunning portraying this character with such intense emotion, depth of feeling and confusion that only this young girl can feel. No answers, no one to talk to and extended family she’s doesn’t remember having contact with, Ami takes it upon herself to get the answers and her journey is heartfelt.

Nagase as Isamu is a man who has his own grief to deal with and having Ami show up in his life, he builds a bit of an emotional wall. Trying to stay clear of her, there are moments where he knows that Ami can not do this alone but there is also something else pulling at him. Going toward his own grief, the stress drives him to do and say things that push him to his saddest point. Nagase is wonderful in this role and playing opposite Shirata proves to be a winning combination.

Other cast include Michiyo Yokoyama as Asako, Kwan Sau Yuet as Grandmother and Yong Ser Pin as Grandfather.

IndiePix Films, Inc is an independent film distribution and online streaming service based in New York City. IndiePix Unlimited, the company's subscription-streaming service, uses Streamhoster to deliver the desktop version for the service, and Ireland-based DMD Max for its mobile content. For more information, please visit https://indiepixfilms.com.

Director Woodford says of her film, “This film explores scars left on individuals who wrestle with different forms of escape from the same traumatic past. We shot on location in Rikuzentakata, one of the worst hit cities of the 2011 tsunami disaster. Although the debris had been cleared, the coaster part of Rikuzentakata, remained as undeveloped brown earth. Being there, I felt a profound existentialism which led me to making a film that captures the emotion of arriving at a faraway destination containing the memory of a personal tragedy, but also asking us “what is the future?”

LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT is such a stunning story between a young girl stuck in a place she doesn’t understand and an uncle who has lived with grief by hiding. Filmed at the actual tsunami site of Rikuzentakata, the location adds a level of mystery and grief to characters that are already filled to the brim with both. I was moved by the entire film from beginning to end and, without saying much more, is a tale to be experienced. Have Kleenex on hand, absolutely.

In the end – remembering is better than forgetting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Life of NADIA

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on DVD and Digital from writer/director Anissa Bonnefont along with Edith Chapin and Indiepix Films comes the extraordinary story of NADIA.

It begins with the memories of Nadia Nadim and the death of her father when the family lived in Afghanistan. Her mother, Hamida, found a way to take 8-year-old Nadia and siblings away from their home country. As the years passed, Nadia became a professional football (soccer) player and a need arose in her to revisit her homeland.

Speaking with her mother, the fears of the Taliban are still real but there is a slim chance that Nadia can recover something of her fathers, his military medals. Her idea is a difficult one as most of those she could talk to have passed in the twenty years since leaving Afghanistan. Remembering the night they escaped; their first stop was Pakistan and spending time in Karachi with nothing but the bare essentials.

They found there way to Italy and then settled in Denmark. The family tells Nadia that her father had 48 medals that were hidden for fear that the Taliban would find them leading to the death of who ever held onto them. The details that a few family members could share gives a sketchy idea of where they could possibly be if, in fact, they were still there but Nadia must also focus on her athletic career. An ambassador to the Danish Refugee Council, Football Foundation and UNESCO, Nadim wants to be part of the changing world.

Nadim’s mother worries about the trip to Afghanistan but the player is focused on football, her charitable works and fan who love her as the season begins to wind down. Even with all of that, Nadim thinks about her father and how, as a child, she dealt with the grief. Hamida worries about her security and that’s when a plan is created as to what she would need to make the homeward trip. She realizes also that she will have to purchase the traditional garb to fit in.

All the while Nadim is focusing on the upcoming final games. What is after football is a medical career. She meets with the French Ambassador who lets her know of the dangers happening in Afghanistan. They fear that knowing who she is in that country makes her a bigger target. More and more people who love her come forward telling Nadim that it is not a good time to return to Afghanistan.

She meets with sister Muskan and Nadim believe that she and all of her sisters get their strength from the parents of course, but feel something more for their father. Having five daughters, Nadim’s father raised them to be tough girls. So, Nadim feels going to Afghanistan is a way of saying a proper goodbye to a father she misses so much.

Nadim remembers when football became her obsession. That obsession leads her team to win the Paris Saint-Germain French Championship in 2021. Still waiting to go to Afghanistan, Nadim cannot believe how her life at 33 years old has been a mixture of so much emotion, change, challenge, memories, family, countries, friendship and a story that needed to be told.

IndiePix Films, Inc is an independent film distribution and online streaming service based in New York City. IndiePix Unlimited, the company's subscription-streaming service, uses Streamhoster to deliver the desktop version for the service, and Ireland-based DMD Max for its mobile content. For more information, please visit https://indiepixfilms.com.

From Tribeca Film Festival, Award-Winner Anissa Bonnefort, this film was nominated for an International Emmy for Best Sports Documentary. The film was also nominated for an International Emmy Award and in the Highlights section of CPH: DOX and winner of the Jury Ward for the 11mm Football Film Festival in Berlin.

NADIA is an uplifting story that comes from a woman who had seen and experienced the terror of the Taliban on her family. That also brings a harrowing journey hiding and being shuffled from one place to another and ending up somewhere they could never have imagined. Yet, the young Nadia was able to find her place in the word by simply seeing kids playing football one day. That turned into international recognition that enabled her to see the world but still, she never forgot where she came from and what that meant.

Listening to Nadia tell the story, it is as if it was yesterday as she provides such intricate detail. I found myself intrigued by everything she had to say. I journeyed to find my father and although the situations are not the same, the emotion of wanting to have a piece of a father explains her desire to find medals that, perhaps, no longer existed yet she wants to try. I understand that completely.

This is definitely a sports film but more than that, it is the heart of an athlete that loves where she is but must make peace with the past.

In the end – she began as a refugee but became an international star!

 

 

On DVD is ELMO’S WORLD: Elmo Loves to Giggle

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from Sesame Street and Shout! Kids is a really fantastic time with one of the most loveable creatures with ELMO’S WORLD: Elmo Loves to Giggle.

Elmo begins with arts and crafts wanting to learn all about it. Grover decides he wants to learn as well. Paper animals and sock puppets are only the beginning of what they can make. Ms. Noodle shows them hot to make a puppet out of a sock. Next, Elmo is thinking about sharing with his friend Smarty. Learning about the things that we can share with one another, Elmo knows this can be a happy thing. He plays the game of sharing so everyone can learn what it means to be a good sharer. Mr. Noodles dog Schmoodle shows how even animals can share.

Wondering, Elmo takes time to think about fairy tales. Smarty joins wearing a suit of knight’s armor to talk about dwarfs, giants and how they can end happily ever after. Planning the Jack and the Beanstalk game is fun for Elmo. Ms. Noodle shows how Jack reached the giant. Elmo’s next wonder is about cooking. Smarty joins Elmo to learn about cooking using recipes. The recipes guide the cook into making pizza which Elmo loves. He tries himself to make a quesadilla. Elmo asks Mr. Noodle if he likes to cook and what he enjoys.

Smarty joins Elmo as he wonders about songs. Learning there are so many ways to sing songs and so many different songs. Playing a game of tempo with instruments, Elmo shows how to play together with others. Mr. Noodles dog, Schmoodle shows his own way of singing. The thought of horses is on Elmo’s mind now. Grover thinks he is an expert on horses but is surprised to learn that real horses come in any colors, shapes and sizes. Elmo and Grover play the game of what to feed horses. Mr. Noodles dog, Schmoodle, gets a chance to be a horse.

The next wonder on Elmo’s mind are birthdays, Smarty wants to pretend its Elmo’s birthday and they learn more about it. Celebrating birthdays comes with parties, games and cake plus more. Playing the birthday game makes Elmo happy. Mr. Noodles brother Mr. Noodle shows how to wrap a birthday present. Elmo wonders about turtles. Smarty helps Elmo look up fact about turtles learning there are different shapes and sizes of turtles. Turtles also live in so many different environments and places. Elmo plays the game of baby turtles getting back to the ocean. Mr. Noodles dog, Schmoodle shows what a turtle house looks like.

Elmo is wondering about friends and Smarty shows how there are so many different kinds of friends. He and Smarty play tic-tac-toe together because they are friends. Elmo asks Mr. Noodles brother Mr. Noodle how he plays with Schmoodle. In Elmo’s world he wonders about school. Cookie Monster joins in to learn about school and letters, numbers, music, dancing and even cooking. They play the clean up game with knowing where things go. Mr. Noodle and Schmoodle show what they do in school.

There is more wondering about colors, spiders, dancing, clouds, shoes, painting, rocks, celebrations, winter holidays, dress-up, bubbles and food!

SHOUT! Studios has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. Also, their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT! Studios has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street and the amazing television show. Teaching children since 1969, Sesame Workshop is a force for change and a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger and kinder. Reaching over 150 countries, Sesame Workshop tailors to the needs of the culture and communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

Bonus Specials include Compilation of Elmo’s Best Share-the-Laughter Moments. Also, Share with Laughter and Jokes and Kindness, Kate McKinnon Sharing a Joke, Cookie Monsters Joke, Josh Groban, Big Bird and Sheep, Padma Lakshmi, Grover and Chicken, Elmo and Ms. Alana, and so many more!

ELMO’S WORLD: Elmo Loves to Giggle is so much fun to watch. Each thought he has is an opportunity for the kids who are watching to wonder as well. I just love how each wonder goes step by step in how to find the answers to questions we all might have. Smarty gives kids the opportunity to find the answers because when they do, the world opens up for them so much more than they can imagine.

The songs and dancing are so much fun as well. The one thing you can always count on with Sesame Street is that their characters will always be memorable. Without telling my age, trust me when I say I know them all to this day and loved watching them when I was a kid. That followed with me encouraging my children to watch Sesame Street and now, my grandchildren have grown up with these characters. Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster – the list is long and wonderful.

Elmo is a character filled with innocence, charm, wonderment and a great giggle. Each wonder is filled with color, information, imagination and all the things that kids are drawn too. This DVD is a wonderful way to spend time with children and be a part of the world as they see it. So, cuddle up with your own favorite muppet to have fun, learn and giggle along with Elmo!

In the end – we love when Elmo wonders because it’s his world!

It is the PANDA PLAN

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from director Luan Zhang and Well Go USA is the story of an action star and the mayhem that comes with the PANDA PLAN.

Jackie (Jackie Chan) is a film star who pics and chooses the projects or events he wants to attend. Going down the list with assistant David (Xiang Wei), one of the events is to go to the Noah Zoo and see the pandas. That is one event Jackie actually thinks he will have some fun doing. Showing up he is greeted by fans and gets to be part of adopting a baby panda. Doing her job, Su Xiaozhu (Ce Shi) takes care of the cute and chubby baby panda Hu-Hu who is a bit stubborn but she adores the little ball of fur.

Taking a break, Su goes to get some ice cream and asks everyone how was Jackie’s visit to the zoo. To her surprise, Jackie is right in front of her! Sitting down to talk, he mentions the pandas and Su offers to take him to visit the Hu-Hu. Jackie gets to spend time with the baby. That’s all great but off-shore, a mercenary ship is being sent on a mission, a large sum of money is being offered if they kidnap the Hu-Hu. As Jackie is giving a speech in the panda exhibit, mercenaries are making their way to their goal. Imagine their surprise when they get inside the exhibit and see the action hero!

Su managed to get the baby panda away and hide while Jackie fights the mohawk wearing bad guy James (Temur Mamisashvili). Attempting to keep things going inside the zoo, the Director (Andy Friend) takes a Rambo stance against the bad guys. Jackie and Su manage to meet up and they have one goal, find a way around the mercenaries and keep the furry baby out of the clutches of the bad guys. When the big boss lands, the danger has heightened.

Now the chase is really on!

Chan as, well, Jackie Chan gets the chance to not only be the action hero but also add comedy to his character. There are so many twists and turns in a fun antic way and Chan honestly looks like he is having fun doing it. His marital arts fit with a gentleman of his age and I still enjoyed what he can do. Shi as Su is thrilled to meet Chan but when things go crazy, she knows that her goal is the panda. She is in the middle of the antics whether she wants to be or not. I think she is actually the clever one of the bunch.

Wei as David has a lot of quirks but will do anything for his friend. If anything, as much as Chan is comedy, Wei is the literal comic relief with his funny moments that bring giggles whether you realize you’re doing it or not. I’ll admit he had me laughing for sure. Mamisashvili as James is the literal bad guy comic to Wei’s good guy comic. He does get the chance to take on Chan’s martial arts and he gets as good as he gives. Friend as the Director is doing his best to be a zoo hero and a few mistakes shouldn’t be a problem…right?

Other cast include Danny Ray as Harry, Ivan Ponomarenko as Farih, Bing Jia as the Ice Cream Shop owner, andSean Kohnke as the MMA fighter.

Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.

Bonus Features include English Language Available and Trailer.

PANDA PLAN is definitely a comedy-cute animal-action film that the whole family can enjoy. There are very funny scenes that the kids who love pandas will love. Okay, so adults who love pandas too will smile a lot. The special effect “panda” is charming, cute and squeaky as we would expect a baby to be.

Chan leads the way for the film and the cast choices fit right in seamlessly. The scene where Jackie talks about why he continues to make movies, I thought was lovely. The cinematography is wonderful and colorful from start to finish.

The filmi s in Mandarin but easily switched to English for the kids. So, sit back and watch as a family to see how Jackie Chan handles the Panda stealing bad guys or is there more to the story?

In the end – never mess with a baby panda!