This yearâs Sundance Film Festival going virtual has no doubt been a godsend for accessibility. Countless world class films, previously confined to snowy Park City, are temporarily made available to anyone in the country, anywhere, including my cramped apartment in Ridgewood, Queens. Despite the lack of a centralized on-site venue for New Frontier, the festivalâs annual virtual reality and new media showcase, the Sundance Institute overhauled their interface in order to support a platform perfectly suited for innovative works at the intersection of moving image and burgeoning technology. One of the perks of being awarded this yearâs Press Inclusion Initiative fellowshipâaside from a standard press pass and bragging rights (of which I am eternally grateful!)âis receiving a complimentary Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. A week before the festival started, I received a brand-new Oculus in the mail like it was a tipsy late-night online shopping purchase. When the initi
Rich Kids
A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran
By Carole Di Tosti
Except for economically socialized countries like Sweden, Norway and others, the chasm between the rich and poor is increasing globally. This is particularly felt in Iran where the sanctions by the West and the resulting black-market wealth of the Revolutionary Guard have exacerbated culture clashes between the wealthy, middle class, and lower class.
In Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran, one of the online offerings of the Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival 2021, playwright Javaad Alipoor posits a profound historical and philosophical perspective of the dynamics of the Iranian society’s wealth gap through the lens of the past. He does this combining streaming digital theater and a live Instagram feed. The production is being livestreamed through 17 January 2021. Following each performance is a talkback on Zoom.