documentary

London Archive Film Festival: Senna Q & A

by Ben Sheppard 8 May 2012

The inaugural London Archive Film Festival kicked off last Thursday with a screening of the extraordinary documentary Senna, attended by both the director and the archive producer, Asif Kapadia and Paul Bell. Now, hopefully, I don’t need to tell you how astounding this film is, because you should have already seen it.

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In Review: The Price of Kings: Shimon Peres

by Mairéad Roche 3 May 2012

One of two companion documentaries from directors Joanna Natasegara and Richard Symons, The Price of Kings: Shimon Peres looks at the life of current Israeli president Shimon Peres. Born into a devout Polish Jewish family, Peres immigrated to Israel before World War II and the holocaust

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Sundance London: The Queen of Versailles

by Mike Richardson 30 April 2012

A million miles, or (more precisely) several billion dollars away from the poverty of the families in Finding North we had The Queen of Versailles, a documentary about David and Jackie Siegel and their brood, a billionaire family (mega rich thanks to David’s timeshare business) who were dissatisfied with their existing mansion and decided to [...]

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Sundance London: Under African Skies

by Mike Richardson 27 April 2012

Sundance London features several documentaries, including Lauren Greenfield’s “The Queen of Versailles”, and “The House I Live In”, Eugene Jarecki’s critique of the US government’s war on drugs, but the documentary bar was set pretty high with the film about the recording and reception of Paul Simon’s 1986 album; Graceland

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In Review: Buck

by Mairéad Roche 23 April 2012

Buck is a documentary feature by first time film maker Cindy Meehl. Though Meehl is prominent in the American fashion world, after attending horse clinic with horse whisperer or ‘horse gentler’ Buck Brannaman she was so impressed by his methods and straightforward cowboy logic, she decided to make a documentary about his life.

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In Review: Marley

by Nicky Branagh 19 April 2012

Kevin MacDonald’s compelling biopic of reggae legend Bob Marley is perhaps as definitive a portrait of the legendary singer as one could hope to view on the silver screen. Opening in Nine Mile, Jamaica, where the star was born, MacDonald begins an incredibly thorough and balanced account of Marley’s fascinating existence

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Human Rights Film Festival: Family Portrait in Black and White

by Diana Thompson 5 April 2012

Family Portrait in Black and White follows the unique and turbulent story of Ukrainian super-mum, Olga Nenya. Shot by Julia Ivanova who spent three years following the story of Nenya and her unusual foster family, we are presented with a private and often chaotic study of a hectic household ran with love and a Stalinist [...]

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Human Rights Film Festival: Love Crimes of Kabul

by Janet Awe 5 April 2012

Badum Bagh Women’s Prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, houses 127 prisoners. Half of them have committed crimes such as drug smuggling, murder and attempted suicide bombing. This compelling documentary, by Tanaz Eshaghian, focuses on the other half who’ve been imprisoned for ‘moral crimes’ like running away from home, adultery and pre-marital sex.

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In Review: Into the Abyss – A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life

by Adam Vaughan 31 March 2012

Idiosyncratic director Werner Herzog is the first to admit that the title of his new documentary, Into the Abyss, could apply to any number of his films.

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Human Rights Film Festival: The Price of Sex

by Maryann O'Connor 26 March 2012

The end of the Cold War brought unthinkable consequences to the countries of the former Soviet Union; as soon as people were able to leave, they did, devastating the communities that were left behind. Photojournalist Mimi Chakarova was one of the people to leave: moving from Bulgaria to the United States. She went back to [...]

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The New Empress Magazine Year Book 2011: Available for Order

by Helen Cox 22 November 2011

What has 2011 in film meant to you? The year of the sequel? The year of the documentary? The year when Michael Bay really proved his worth as a director…? Maybe that will be 2012. To celebrate, commemorate and, admittedly in some respects, commiserate the year that has been 2011 we present to you our [...]

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