The unlikeliest hit film, Fisherman s Friends, has set a course for the West End, and is getting ready to sail into the sometimes choppy seas of musical theatre.
It is based on the true story of the shanty singing fishermen, from the Cornish village of Port Isaac, who found fame after being snapped up by Universal Music. Their debut album was a Top Ten hit.
Ian Brown, who signed the a capella group and now manages them, said Fisherman s Friends: The Musical is an extension of the magic of sea shanties .
His words are shored up by the success of Nathan Evans, the 26-year-old postman from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, whose TikTok videos of centuries old seafaring songs attracted millions of views and a record contract.
El Olvido Que Seremos (
Memories of My Father), Colombia’s submission, spotlights the real-life story of Dr. Héctor Abad Gómez
, a medical doctor and human rights activist who worked to revolutionize access to health care in that country before his death in 1987. The film is directed by Oscar winner Trueba (
Belle Époque), one of the most popular filmmakers in the history of Miami Film Festival, who won the Audience Award in 2001 and was given a major tribute for its 30
th anniversary.
For his powerful performance in bringing a national hero to life, the 2021 Festival will present a
Precious Gem Award to the star of
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★★★★
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN’S acclaimed novel Undtagelsen comes to the screen, courtesy of director Jesper Nielsen, in this compelling watchable thriller.
The story of a group of researchers at the Danish Centre for Genocide Information, whose lives are upended by a series of anonymous threats, it follows the rise of troll culture in recent years to provide a timely and unmissable chiller, packed full of twists, turns, and towering performances from its four female leads.
Nielsen stages a robust and rather lavish adaptation of Jungersen’s tome here, though wisely goes for subtlety over splash in allowing his cast to fully engage with the material on offer something they attack with dramatic aplomb. However, there are some disappointingly sensationalist swings in its third act, which soften the blow of an otherwise powerful and incredibly poignant thriller, packed with sterling performances.
A still from Quo Vadis Aida?
- Credit: Archant
Directed by Jasmila Zbanic. Starring Jasna Djuricic, Izudin Bajrovic, Boris Ler, Dino Bajrovic, Johan Heldenbergh, Raymond Thiry and Boris Isakovic. Subtitled. Available VOD from January 22. Running time: 101 mins. 3/5 stars
It s not El Cid, James but the amalgamation of a sword and sandals epic with a quaint, old fashioned women s name in the title is a problem.
Even if you know that this is a harrowing account of a Balkan war atrocity, you instinctively expect something light-hearted: an Alan Bennett monologue for Thora Hird, perhaps.
Aida (Djuricic) is a translator for the UN force outside Srebenica in 1995, trying to save her family as the Dutch soldiers in blue helmets wilt before the might of General Mladic. (Isakovic)