At first glance Going for Gold (2020) by Ksawery Szczepanik has everything that any standard TV – usually American – documentary: talking heads, archival materials and a pinch of charming special effects to make the projection pleasant. But the production of the Polish director has…
Václav Havel is a legendary figure in the political and cultural history of Czech Republic. His life has been covered in several documentary films over the years, but Havel (2020) must be one of the most ambitious biopics to fictionalise the former playwright's rise as…
Everything starts with death. It doesn’t make Unidentified (Neidentificat, 2020) different from other detective movies where a lonely policeman follows the track of the crime. But is it really the goal to solve it? Bogdan George Apetri takes the viewer for what looks like a…
Almost there, but not quite – although rough around the edges, Cecília Feméri’s debut shows off her potential.
Contrary to its association-evoking name, Spiral (Spirál, 2020), the debut feature film of Cecília Feméri, is quite a straightforward downward journey into the intricacies of rural life.…
Magnezja, rez. Maciej Bochniak
While the title may be misleading, Magnesium (Magnezja, 2020), directed by Maciej Bochniak, is rather about an unavoidable malign magnetism to gold and power, set around 1920, where contracts are usually sealed in blood - this is the far far east, after…
Six Debut Films Nominated for the European Film Awards 2020
Here are the nominees for the "European Discovery 2020 – Prix FIPRESCI", an award presented annually as part of the…
Belarus is in a political, social, and economic crisis. The current government refused to recognize vote-rigging in the presidential elections on August 9, 2020. Alternative candidates were illegally imprisoned even…
Call for applications for the 15th edition of the FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project, October 9-18, 2020, at the Warsaw International Film Festival. Deadline: September 15, 2020.
FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project…
British director Ken Loach honored with the FIPRESCI Platinum Award 95 at Transatlantyk Festival 2020. See Derek Malcolm on Ken Loach
The Transatlantyk Film Festival and FIPRESCI inform
Winner of two…
The call for Berlinale Talents 2021 is open – and we'd like to extend a warm welcome to emerging critics of all backgrounds to apply.
Berlinale Talents 2021: February 13–18,…
By Derek Malcolm
The death of Ronald Bergan deprives FIPRESCI of one of its longest serving and most knowledgeable members. Born in South Africa, he came to the UK as…
Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky has resigned from his post as artistic director of the Cairo International Film Festival. In an open letter he explains the reasons and the background…