Authors: Ali Shimkus
East Meets West: Wallace Mecham’s Hybrid Banjos
By challenging the notion of what a traditional banjo should sound like by Western standards, Wallace Mecham hopes to create a hybrid of the Eastern and Western styles of music. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Supergirl
Naomi Kutin is a fairly normal, Orthodox Jewish, preteen girl growing in New Jersey. The only catch: She is also a world-record-breaking powerlifter, who, at one point in the movie Supergirl, deadlifts almost three times her body weight. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: On The Sly: In Search of the...
Starting innocently enough as a documentary of a fan trying to score an interview with their favorite musical artist, On the Sly turns into a decade-long search for Sly Stone, the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone and composer of hit classics like “Everyday People” and “Thank You.” … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Bogalusa Charm
Bogalusa Charm chronicles the people of Bogalusa, who narrate their own interwoven histories as part of the collective lore of the town. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Cortez
Cinematically, Cortez is a beautiful film and focuses on the wild, unpredictable nature of the Southwest. It follows the story of struggling musician Jesse as he is aimlessly drifts from town to town, trying to make it as a solo musician after the breakup of his band. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Weather House
“Weather House” depicts a post-apocalyptic world where humans are driven to the brink of extinction via extreme and sudden temperature shifts. While the film does not give us many clues as to how the world came to be this way, it does show what a certain, cult-like group does in order to ensure its survival. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: The Modern Jungle
“The Modern Jungle,” directed by Charles Fairbanks and Saul Kak, depicts life in an area of Oaxaca, Mexico, known as La Selva Negra (The Black Jungle), and follows local Zoque shaman, Juan Juarez Rodriguez and his neighbor and friend, Carmen Echavarría Gomez. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Kate Can’t Swim
“Kate Can’t Swim,” directed by Josh Helman, can almost be described as a post-coming of age film as Kate (Celeste Arias) starts to feel unsettled right as her life is seemingly falling into place. Artistically, all of the elements are in place for a visually stunning cinematic experience. “Kate Can’t Swim” shows on Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom and Jan. 24 at 10:30 a.m. in the Gallery. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Dave Made a Maze
Slamdance Film Festival’s “Dave Made a Maze,” directed by Bill Watterson, is a quirky, absurd comedy with a touch of horror-movie antics, starting with Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) learning that her boyfriend Dave (Nick Thune) is inside of a cardboard mass. “Dave Made a Maze” plays Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 23 at 10:30 a.m. in the Ballroom. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Beat Beat Heart
Slamdance Film Festival’s “Beat Beat Heart,” directed by Luise Brinkmann, creatively portrays how a person heals from a heartbreak—especially in a closed-off, small-town setting. … read more