north bend 2021

North Bend 2021 Review: Julien Faraut’s WITCHES OF THE ORIENT

One of my favorite things about covering film festivals is getting to see the works of new-to-me writers and directors, but I also enjoy the variety of documentaries that are shown at the fests. For my coverage of North Bend Film Festival, I opted to watch one movie and two documentaries. The Witches of the Orient was about one hundred minutes long and directed by Julien Faraut. Thought most of it is in Japanese, there were English subtitles. Here is the official summary: In one of the greatest feats in all of sports history, a Japanese women’s volleyball team won a record 258 consecutive matches and captured gold at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. With astonishing archival footage of their relentless training, intense matches and colorful clips from anime series the women inspired during their glory, director Julien Faraut shows how this team of textile workers dominated their sport […]

North Bend 2021 Review: Paola Calvo’s LUCHADORAS

Christina Ortega

What movie lover doesn’t enjoy a good film festival? We here at Film Combat Syndicate were lucky enough to access some of the films shown at the recent North Bend Film Festival and I don’t know about my colleagues, but I chose a nice variety of films to view. I’ve already told you about Tailgate, but I also got to watch Luchadoras and Witches of the Orient. Luchadoras, directed by Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim, is a documentary film with a runtime of just over ninety minutes. Although it is in Spanish, there are English subtitles. So what’s it about? Here’s the official summary: Mini Sirenita, Lady Candy, and Baby Star are female wrestlers grappling with life in Ciudad Juarez, inside and outside of the ring. The threat of violence looms over their daily lives as they navigate the struggles of motherhood, immigration, and factory work. The courage they exude […]

North Bend 2021 Review: TAILGATE, A Shrill, Escapist Survival Thriller

Christina Ortega

There are many things that can go wrong when one goes on a family trip ranging from the simplest thing (forgetting to pack an item) to the most impactful like having an accident. TAILGATE, a film that was part of the 4th Annual North Bend Film Festival, takes a closer look at one of the many things that can go wrong while traveling. Traveling can be frustrating and stressful, especially when one is ready to go and everyone else is running late. TAILGATE opens with such an aggravating scenario: a family of four is trying to get on the road and no one is ready. The father is beyond upset and his irritability impacts his driving. He tailgates the wrong person though and here is where things get intense. The family is confronted by the other driver at a gas station! But it does not stop there; this guy is hell-bent […]

THE RED POST ON ESCHER ST. - North Bend 2021

North Bend 2021 Review: Sion Sono’s THE RED POST ON ESCHER ST., A Love Letter Written In Pain, Tragedy And Cinematic Jacquerie

Lee B. Golden III

More than thirty years into his career, ceremony remains on-going for acclaimed director Sion Sono’s eclectic approach to cinema. That no less includes the praise and approval among fans witnessing one of his latest film-within-a-film (within-a-film) effort, The Red Post On Escher St., a “graduation project” of sorts comprised of students from his acting workshop, and shot in a way that lends an extra layer of perceptive depth to the overall environment and setting. Dozens of women make way in The Red Post On Escher St. as aspiring screen hopefuls vying for a chance to star in the next big movie directed by Tadashi Kobayashi. Out of fifty audionees, there are about fifteen or more who become become central to the narrative, including – not limited to – a wanton theater actress in a secret affair with one of her troupe member’s exes, a Kobayashi-obssessed fan club with a member […]

North Bend 2021 Review: CODENAME: NAGASAKI, An Artist’s Rendering Of Self-Discovery And Forgiveness

Lee B. Golden III

Documentaries, the little slices of life they are… It’s always interesting to see how filmmakers approach a certain genre, and this no less concerns the work of Norwegian filmmaker Frederik S. Hana, having already wrapped up a number of shorts prior to pairing up with best friend, actor Marius K. Lunde for their latest striking endeavor, Codename: Nagasaki. Several parts dark horror fantasy, detective story, period chambara and regional drama, the remainder of Codename: Nagasaki encompasses the journey and discernible affects on Lunde as he and Hana ready themselves for a quest to find Lunde’s mother. Save for the few more personal moments, close to nothing is off the table as Lunde puts himself on the spot to prepare himself for the hopeful day he finally gets reunited with the mother he hasn’t known since she left him at age five. Codename: Nagasaki is told in seven chapters, each accounting […]

North Bend 2021 Review: NINJABABY Strikes With The Stroke Of A Pen, And Hearty Comedy And Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Yngvild Sve Flikke’s sophomore feature, Ninjababy, is not unlike maternity-driven narrative comedies you might’ve seen in your heyday, except you’ve probably never seen one so well decorated with animated interludes and characters in between scenes and segments. This was an interesting story to watch unfold with graphic visual artistry key to the progression of the story with actress Kristine Kujath Thorp leading the cast from a script by Flikke and by Johan Fasting and Inga Sætre. We meet 23-year old Rakel (Thorp), a struggling comic artist with dreams of being more than what and where she is now, whilst spending most of her days either in her cluttered room and mustering what motivation she can to get her concepts off the ground, or getting hella wasted and philandering. She doesn’t sleep around like crazy though, but just enough to possibly recall and recognize from moment to moment who she might […]

North Bend 2021: A Shortlist Of Five Titles To Check Out At The 4th Annual Film Festival

Lee B. Golden III

Fans looking to engage the fourth-annual North Bend Film Festival launching on July 15 are in for a treat this year, with events available for both in-person AND remote viewing from home. Purchasing details are available at the website, and so while you’re sifting through the deets, some of us here at FCSyndicate have already managed to look at a few of the titles so far that have taken to our liking, some with screenings and reviews pending, of course. Peep our shortlist in the gallery below and click the ℹ to read the details and see trailers for each, and get your passes today! The following includes trailers, programming notes and their cited authors.