SPACE CADET (2026) NYICFF 2026

There are spoilers ahead....

This is the story of a young woman who graduates from the space academy and heads off into the stars, while the robot parent who raised her after her mother passed away on a similar mission waits on earth for her return.

This film crushed the life out of me.

This film is not for kids. Kids will not get it.  Adults will get it but may find its tale of fading memory in ourselves and loved ones heartbreaking on a level they may not want to deal with. This is an allegory about growing old, getting ill and the death of parents.  Told largely as a memory play,  most of the film follows the robot as it goes through its day remembering her human child. Memory is everything in this film and when that fades, even for a robot, what is left?  

The film came into my life at not the best time as several friends and family have begun the slow slide into forgetfulness. The climax of the story where the robot essentially gives its happiest memories to her daughter in the only way she was capable before expiring broke me in ways that few pieces of art ever had. I desperately needed not to be in a theater full of children right before going to lunch with a friend. I needed to be in a room alone with a box of tissues where I could scream out the pain.(Writing this damn near broke me again).

At the same time, I need to say that the tale of the young girl is not up to the robot. Yes, it reveals how we go off and live our live and not fully engage with our parents while trying to cover the same ground, but the story of her stranding on a far-off world is just okay. Its not quite as well thought out as the stuff at home. But then again it isn’t what you are going to remember.

This is a film about ourselves and our parents asnd our memories. As a representation of life this film is as fine a film as has ever been made… it just may break your heart.

On the Line (2026) plays March 19 at Pérez Art Museum in Miami

This film is ten years in the lives of boxers Will 'Power' Rosinsky, Danny 'The Miracle Man' Jacobs, and Patrick 'All' Day during which time we watch as they ride the waves of success and tragedy. It's possibly the first look at boxing that honestly shows what it takes to be a professional boxer and the cost.

As long-time readers of Unseen Films know I am a fan of boxing. I've gone to numerous boxing cards, from Golden Gloves to World Champion levels.  I've actually seen the men profiled fight, and I live near Freeport New York. I mention this because I feel connected to the stories.

This is one of the best boxing films I've ever run across. The strength and power is not simply in the story rather it is in the fact that the film covers ten years in the lives of multiple men. Normally we get arcs of a single life so we don't fully understand the toll the sport takes on people. The ten-year arc is important because when late in the game promoter Lou DiBella expresses regret at making a career watching people get damaged it hits home.

If you love boxing, or even sports like MMA you must see this film because you need to fully understand what is happening to the people we ask to beat each other up for our entertainment.

This is highly recommended.

Young Female Playwright (2026) Cinequest 2026

A young female playwright gets a dream commission with the National Theater of Canada and then runs into problems since her first play, which has a plot described as being too complicated to explain without spoilers, is being billed as based on personal experience. This freaks out her friends and family who wonder what secrets she knows and what is she going to reveal.

Don't go into this film expecting a raucous comedy, instead you have to go into it expecting a film that is more about the ideas it is trying to explore, specifically who gets to tell what story and someone too young to write a wise work. The issue here is that the story is well written and entirely made up. It isn't based on anything that happened to her despite the theater trying to sell the film.

I'm not certain this film works. It's not the theatrical style the film is presented (the film has sections marked like "Overture" and as moment best described as theatrical interludes) rather the script doesn't really work. More specifically the conversations are from natural with every piece of dialog aimed at getting to some greater truth. We get repeated statements as if the film was written by someone from Netflix who insists we are told what is going on every so many minutes. I kept wondering why everything was being stated as it was since no one speaks like that.

I disconnected early and I never reconnected.

While I admire what the film is trying to do, I don't like how it is doing it.

MIROIRS NO. 3 (2025) Opens Friday

Christian Perzold returns  with a film that feels unfinished

The film is the story of Laura, a girl unconnected to, her life. After a fatal car accident where her boyfriend is killed she ends up staying with Betty a woman living alone who lives down the road from the crash site. Betty is mourning the loss of her daughter.

Requiring the audience to believe a wild string of events (Laura leaves her bag at a river for the hell of, she behaves badly, is in a car accident that is physically impossible, is allowed to stay with a strange woman just because she doesn't want to leave, never does anything about her dead boyfriend and behaves as if nothing happens, and on and on) the film spins out as if it was stripped down version of a longer script. Problems aside there are volumes of things unsaid to the point there are times we are left adrift. It's not bad but there is a sense of a better long film somewhere out there. (preferably one without a shocking revelation that we deduced twenty minutes in)

This is not a bad film. The cast is great, the script has some great moments, but too much is unsaid and missing. I like the film on it's own terms but it is ultimately a minor film from an important director 

Birita (2026) CPH: DOX 2026

Bui Dam decides to return his mother, Birita Mohr,  to the stage in the role of King Lear despite the fact that she is suffering from Alzhiemers and has little ability to speak.

This is a wonderful film. It's a very bittersweet tale that will leave you misty. 

What makes the film work is that the film is operating on several levels, We have Biritia's story and how it parallels Lears, but we also have the story of Biritia's family and the theater on the Faroe Islands. This is a film full of life at its beginning and end. Its also a film full of views of the importance of theater and how we view how we live. 

You will forgive me if I don't say a great deal about the film. About the time I saw the I had several friends slip further in to Alzhiemers and into dementia. The result was a film that played out  the lives of the people around me. 

What you need to know is that this film is one to see. It will move you.

Brief thoughts on ROAD TO L’ÉTAPE DU TOUR (2026) Cinequest 2026

A young woman who wants to ride in the Tour duFrance has to contend with life and a medical condition.

You will forgive me but I don't have a great deal to say about ROAD... It's a solid little drama that is well acted and well told.  I enjoyed the film agreat deal. But at the same time it didn't stick with me as well as some of the other films I was watching for CInequest. That should not be taken as a knock against the film, only that its charms are something that should best be experienced away from a festival crush.  I want and need to see the film again down the road when I am not mainlining it as part of a festival.

If the film sounds interesting buy a ticket and go.

The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much (2025) SXSW 2026

A blind violinist is put in danger by a killer.

This  is an over the top of English dubbed giallo films, that is intentionally badly dubbed. It's a film that looks and feels like a giallo from the 1970's. It's a film that doesn't let go of the conceit at any point, even through the credits.

I was amused.  I was particularly amused by how the film nails the genre... and the bad dubbing, perfectly.  This film truly gets it.

I particularly appreciate that the film is only about 15 minutes. This is a joke that is funny, but what makes it funny is not something that would survive then played longer what's here.

Because I like giallo films, I do have to say that not all film in the genre are this over the top. Actually a lot of them are not, they just seem that way because they are badly dubbed. I also think that if you don't know the genre  this film may not work for you.

Worth a look for giallo fans

Mermaid (2026) Cinequest 2026

Despite what you think, you have not seen this story before.

This is the story of young trans Cassie who wants to be a mermaid. Unfortunately her father doesn't understand. After attempting to walk into the ocean with a backpack full of rocks, Cass is rescued by Pepper a drag queen lost in her own problems. The pair begin to find a way back in each other.

You haven't seen this story before. This is not a typical Hollywood feel good film. Its a film that doesn't begin on an upbeat note but with a 10 year old walking into the ocean to end their life.  The turns do not provide easy answers. Things go wrong and people get bruised. Its a story that feels like it was lived rather than created out of thin air and the result is a film that is infinitely better than you would suspect it is by the log line.

I really liked this film. I love the raw emotion and the realistic edge the film has. The film feels like we are seeing real people because things are not instantly fixed, even at the end.

I can't recommend this film enough, especially for anyone who is like Cass or her father and need to know they aren't alone.

And Her Body Was Never Found (2026) SXSW 2026

A husband and wife go into the forest to camp and after a day of fighting the decide they may have to kill each other.

Made almost entirely just by Polaris Banks and Mor Cohen, this is a frustrating film. The film was inspired by the battles that the pair actually had, except instead of homicide the pairn turned it into a film. Its a film that wants to be several different things, a portrait of a relationship in trouble, a thriller and a knowing comedy. The trouble is that the film never gets the shifting tones right.

For me the film's early arguments are best. The argument between Banks and Cohen were emotionally difficult for me to watch. I say that because the arguments echoed arguments I had with my exes. I had used some of the same words and ended up doing the same thing, fracturing my relationship.

The problem is after awhile the film kind of loses its footing.  The argument goes on too long, at least cinematically, and the tone changes into something more humorous. Also changing is the way the film was shot as we see the footage shot by both parties as they try to make sure that their side of the battle is saved and told. Some of it works and some it doesn't. Because its hit or miss there isn't a great deal of suspense, we are simply watching and waiting to how how it all plays out.

The best part of the film is the script. The dialog is spot on. As I said I had the same arguments in my life. Unfortunately the need to keep this a (largely) two person film results in thenot really working. The two filmmakers are not enough to overcome the limitations and a couple of unfortunate choices (I'm looking at you sting in the tail ending)

This is an interesting footnote nothing more. However I would love to see what Banks and Cohen write next and shoot if they are not limited to a two person crew.

Forbidden City (2025) hits VOD Tuesday

A young woman from China allows herself to be trafficked to Italy so that she can find her sister. When her sister is not where she thought she would be,  she begins her search. Eventually she ends up hooking up with the son of the man  who is supposed to have gone off with the sister.

Atypical mix of Hong Kong martial arts and Euro crime films is something to make you sit up and take notice. The mix of action and crime drama makes for a film that isn’t like anything else out there, and which probably shouldn’t work, yet some how it does. This film hooks you early with an amazing action set piece and then just drags you along.

The reason the film works is the endless drive forward that the search for the siter brings. There is an urgency. We know early on that the bad guys are bad. And some ot the good guys are not so good either. I love that we don't have cookie cutter characters.

Certainly, the martial arts help. They are going to sit up and make you say “hello’ because there is brutality to them that is severely lacking in modern action films, especially those from China. The action is such that I was emailing friends to tell them that they had to see this because the action was going to blow their minds.

I really liked this film a great deal. I like the mix of genres and cultures. I love that some one was thinking outside of the box and was skilled enough to pull it off. Too often mixes like this crash and burn. This one doesn't. Just go with it's seemingly uneven pacing.

Forgive my lack of words  but I need to see this again to really find the words to express how much I liked this film.

A must see.

Adam's Apple (2026) CPH:DOX 2026

Ten years in the life arc of Adam, a young man who knew early on he was trans and the course his life took.

This is a you are there documentary shot by Adam and his mother over a decade. Adam was given a camera at an early age and he used it document his life from his point of view while his mother shot events from hers and the families.

At the risk of upsetting some people I'm going to say that this is a lovely film that charts everything that happens to Adam over the time frame of the film. Its warts and all portrait that makes us less an objective observer and instead a subjective member of the family. We almost instantly become attached to everyone on screen and we just go with it.  Truthfully the absolute strength of the the film is that despite things happening, the film never stops feeling as anything but a portrait of a young man growing up and becoming himself. That may not sound like much, but in an age where anyone who is trans is under fire, we need respresentations that simply say that just present it as normal (because it is).

Recommended.

Brief thoughts on DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST CPH:DOX & SXSW

A look at two mushroom specialists and the relationship between people and mushrooms.

You will forgive me if I keep my thoughts on this film brief. I really liked this fim, but having recently spent a couple oif hours with my niece who loves mushrooms I feel like she should have been the one to be reviewing it so that you could get  a real sense of the wonderful  things that are in this film.

For me this is a great look at mushrooms and people, in particular the indigenious people of Mexico. Its a film that reveals how important mushrooms are. Its a film that connected me to the love my niece has forms them. 

Do yourself and take a trip.

Recommended.

A MAGNIFICENT LIFE closes this year's NYICFF

Sylvain Chomet makes a biography of Marcel Pagnol.

I am feeling so lost regarding this film. Chomet's animation is wonderful. There are some eye popping bits that delight us with the turns as characters shift forms and we see things from impossible angles. If you are an animation junkie then you must see this.

On the other hand if you want to see a film that actually moves and isn't dramatically inert, then look elsewhere.  While the film covers the life of Pagnol, it tells it  in an imobile mode. Since Pagnol started writing plays the earlier part of the film has all the scenes as if they are plays. Later scenes when Pagnol moved to the films the shots are similar to early cinema. The result is a film that despite being animated is just a bunch of characters sitting around talking. I'm not certain why Chomet decided to do this for an animated film since the use of art would seem to imply that he was going to do something more fanciful other  than an odd moment.

While the film isn't bad, it is kind of boring.

Brief thoughts on Dead Or Dying (2026) Cinequest 2026

I need to apologize to writer director John Percell because I'm not certain how to explain the plot of this film simply. The truth of the matter is this is not a single story but several connected tales set in a future where people are dying and its not such a big deal. The tales involve a faded TV star trying to get back on top, her assistant, a shrink who refuses to listen to patients and a tech guy whose life is turned upside down when the billionaire he wants to pitch to dies. Where it goes and how it goes is the film.

I'm also not sure how to write this up. The stories are interconnected and I'm tempted to say too much and reveal some of the turns. 

What I will say is that for the most part Purcell's writing and direction are right on target.  With one or two exceptions he has crafted some great characters. Personally, I loved everyone except Sam, the needy TV star (she's too much a cartoon). The writing here is good enough that I want to see what Purcell does next.

Worth a look.

In Spite of Ourselves (2026) Cinequest 2026

Archie and Hannah meetat the bakery where she works. She is a baker, he is a comedian. Will they get together?

I don't have a great deal to say about this film - other than it surprised the hell out of me.  What is this thing called a romantic comedy where we have real people? How did they not go for schtick? More simply put this is a beautifully written, wonderfully acted film where we care from the first frame to the last. 

I am so flooded with requests to cover romances and I frequently turn them down. They are so by the book or jokey that I can walk out of the room ten minutes in and come back with ten minutes to go and still know everything that happens. I couldn't do that here... more importantly I did not want to do that here because I cared about the people on the screen. I wanted to see what happened in their lives and I wanted to see if they stayed together because it isn't clear what will happen until it does.

This is an absolute gem of a film. Its the reason I take swaths of films at a festival to see instead of picking and choosing, because it forces me to find this joyous little discoveries.

See this film- and then see it again- because its just as wonderful the second time (My seeing it twice is a rave ladies and gentlemen)

Coming to terms with Alex Cox's wonderfully weird DEAD SOULS (2025)

Alex Cox's alleged last film is an off kilter western based on a Golgo novella refashioned into a warning about the current state of America- specifically the way ICE is taking over the streets.

Cox plays a man named Strindler. He's come to a backwater spaghetti western sort of town, looking to buy the names of dead  Mexican laborers. However his plans go sideways, as his weirdness collides with the behavior and greed of those atround him.

Cox, often seeming to channel John Huston in his performance, creates a character that will make you wonder why he didn't take the lead in more films. Cox is hypnotic in a way that few actors ever are. That he can take a character that would have been a supporting player in any other film speaks volumes about how good he is.

Never having read the source novella, I can't speak as to how faithful it is. On the other hand it really doesn't matter since this film is really off kilter. Sure the notion of trying to find out the names of Mexican's in America echoes what ICE is doing, in real life, but that's kind of unintentional since the surreal nature of it all only would have kicked in when Trump was just getting back into office and the was being filmed  At the same time this film takes some odd turns with animation and musical numbers appearing seemingly out of nowhere.  You would think it shouldn't work, and the truth is it probably shouldn't have, but this is the work of Alex Cox who has made a career out of making things that shouldn't work work (to some degree.)

I really liked this film a great deal, though I'm going to be completely up front and say I still don't know what the hell is going on all along the way. Written by Cox and spaghetti western legend Gianni Garko the film has the weird sense that some of the Euro-westerns have, basically a sort of dream logic that comes when you dream with your face in the pillow. It's a strangeness that makes me want to go again sooner than later. 

This is a great film on its own terms and will remind you of of just how the movies can truly make you rethink the world you are in.

Recommended.

Beyond The Duplex Planet (2026) SXSW 2026

 

When I finished Beyond the Duplex Planet I texted my friend Nate Hood. There was something in the film that I thought was going to resonate with him on a personal level. It was something about the humanity of the story that I felt he needed to see.

The film is a portrait of David Greenberger who in his 20’s began to publish The Duplex Planet a zine that ran from 1979-2010 chronicling the the lives and words of the people who lived in the nursing home where he worked. Greenberger really got to know the seniors, and he strove to get their words and feelings out into the world.  The zine grew into a comic book series, multiple albums of songs, related books, a radio show and spoken word performances and recordings.

As much as I would love to wax poetic about the wonders of this film, but I don’t know if I have the words. The problem is that much like Greenberger’s life this film is not one thing. Outside of being a portrait of the man at the center of the film the film simply keeps evolving and building upon itself into something glorious, warm, and human. This is a film that reveals life to us in ways we never expected. How the hell can I even try to explain what a glorious experience seeing this film is.

What I really need to do is to take each one of you by the hand and bring you to the theater to see this film. I need to plop you down in your seat with a big bowl of popcorn, your drink of choice and perhaps, some tissues and let you be moved.

There is a battle in the community of film writers between those who say that we should simply say if a film is good or bad and those that say we should take the film apart and go for something deeper.  With Beyond the Duplex Planet, I am left simply saying that you must see this film because it is somewhere beyond good because the film forces us to engage with it on a deeper, very personal level. I can not say how you will react to the film, and I’m not going to force you to think or feel anything.  I  am simply going to say see this film and take the ride and then let me know how it made you feel and what it made you think since that is infinitely more important than what I think.

Highly recommended

Brief thoughts on Your Attention Please (2026) SXSW 2026

This is a look at how social media is changing our lives and our brains.

This is a very good look at the damage social media is doing to us, and changing our perspective from real interactions to the fake ones measured by clicks and likes. It's a film that clearly lays out what is going on and how we should be handing the devil we all turn to for comfort and likes. Its also a film that shows us how the universe is turning so that all that matters is if  we are paying attention to whatever or whomever is on our screens

As good as this film is as a one stop shop, it' suffers from the feeling that we've been here before. I say that because the film brings together every thought questioning social media and the drive for likes that you would have to be criminally unaware to find all of this shocking.  That is not a big knock against the film, more a warning that as a lover of documentaries on social issues not all of this is new.

My quibbles aside, if you want to scare the uninformed about the problems of likes and social media, this film  is going to be the thing to have them watch.

Capturing Bigfoot (2026) SXSW 2026

When I was talking to Marq Evans about his previous film THE DIAMOND KING, he said that his next film was going to be on Bigfoot and specifically the Patterson/Gimlin film. He told me a reel of film had come to light that was going to change everything. I asked him not to say anymore because I didn't want to have any preconceived notions when I saw the film.  We left it there until the film was listed as part of this year's SXSW when I reached out and asked to see the film.

CAPTURING BIGFOOT is the story of the best-known film footage of Bigfoot, the Patterson/Gimlin film that was shot in 1967 when the pair was out looking for the creature when one showed up and Patterson was thrown from his horse but held on to his camera. It's the tale of what happened as told by Patterson's son, Clint, and the other people involved with it, as well as the people who believed and those that didn't. It's a very bittersweet and melancholy film not just for its revelations but because it's the story of lives broken apart by the a few feet of film.

Shot in a style that at times mirrors the "true life" documentaries of the 60's and 70's. The film recalls a bygone era when you had to go to the movies to see real life monsters on the big screen. The film then hooks us with Clint Patterson watching the newly discovered film for the first time and his saying that it was going to change everything.

The selling point of the film is that recent discovered reel of 16mm film that had been locked in a vault for decades. We know the film exists at the start and it is hinted that the revelation, borne out later in the film, that it reveals the film we all know is a hoax.

Most of the film is a look at the life and times of Roger Patterson told by his son and some of the people who knew him. The film explains the whole story of the film of bigfoot that we've seen for almost 60 years, how it was supposedly shot, how it was marketed and how it tore families and friendships apart. I was not expecting the melancholy that the film creates in the viewer. There is a great sadness not only in seeing the lives of people whose whole existence is a short piece of film, but the way that piece of film wrecked lives as friendships were broken, money was stolen, and families were destroyed as family members said things to each other that should never be said. (And that is before the sadness that occurs when you realized how this film is going to break hearts and destroy the worlds of people invested in Bigfoot.)

When we finally get to the final half hour things are not as we expect. There is no grand "ah ha" moment, and the result is a film that leaves us unsettled for a variety of reasons.  The first being that the revelations shift the bigfoot board largely irrevocably. There is no going back now. What does this mean for our thoughts on the Patterson film? What does that mean for those whose lives kind of depend upon it? What of the destruction that the film has laid out? Interestingly there is no grand triumph. Other than writer Greg Long, who feel triumphant, no one is particularly happy or delighted. Damage is done.  You can't really be a feeling person and walk out of the film and feel good. Even if you felt the film was a hoax, you can't feel happy at what transpires, too many people have been hurt. The huge strength of the film is that Evans doesn't paint the ending as something glorious but allows the moment to be colored by sadness as everyone realizes that the last 6 decades were ultimately empty. Patterson's nephew's declaration of it being cool to be part of the hoax rings hollow and the efforts of a man to try in find something good in spoiled goods.

As an emotional ride this film is something special. The film packs an incredibly strong emotional punch; unlike anything Evans has done before and I absolutely love that.

If there is any flaw in the film is that there may be one or two niggling points that can be picked at, and which will be picked at, by the bigfoot true believers who will not want to accept the truth, despite Patterson's widow and others saying it was faked. Some people are not going to accept the truth, for example special effects man Bill Munn is seen refusing to accept it as a fake even after being given all the evidence. It is something many people are going to choose to do because they simply can't let go.

CAPTURING BIGFOOT is ultimately a great film. It's literally a game changer. If you have any interest in bigfoot or popular culture, the film is a must see.

Celebrating Black Stories at NYICFF 2026 gets its only screening on Saturday

SPOOKY
A lovely film about a young girl who rescues a bat.
This is the sort of film I go to NYICFF to discover

EMERGENCY CONTACT'
A niece and her aunt have to ride out storm together.
This one is going to make you smile. Its a wonderful tale of an aunt who loves her niece and her niece who loves her and the mischief they get into to pass the time during a storm.

FANTAS
Tania takes her house home to meet her friends. 
This is a lovely tale which I wish had a less contrived ending. Its not bad, its just too out of left field.

FORT BUKU
Three friends decide to go look for Fort Buku, which is the fort used by slsaves to hide out from the plantation owners. It was deep in the marsh lands in a secret location.
Wonderful long long short is absolutely not what I expected. Full of great characters , this is the sort of film you want to disappear into so you can hang out with the people on screen.  It's perfectly told from start to finish and certain to put a smile on you face.  
I wish this was getting more than a single showing at this year's NYICFF