September has been a crazy month. I started the month in Toronto for TIFF, then I was in Austin for Fantastic Fest, and finally I’ve been in NYC for NYFF. I didn’t really get to see many films during these festivals (fun fact: when you work in the industry, you don’t get to see as many films cuz you’re working during the screenings!). I did, however, manage to get a few films watched during the month, so, as always, after the cut please find everything I watched this month plus some favorites.

1. The Limey
2. Rafiki
3. Grizzly Man
4. Tall Girl
5. The Souvenir
6. Hustlers
7. Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards
8. Not Wanted
9. The Million Dollar Hotel
10. Charlie Says
11. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
12. Between Two Ferns: The Movie
13. El hoyo (The Platform)
14. Dolemite
15. Teen Spirit
16. Notte d’estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil)
17. In the Shadow of the Moon
18. Judy

1880s: 0
1890s: 0
1900s: 0
1910s: 0
1920s: 0
1930s: 0
1940s: 1
1950s: 0
1960s: 0
1970s: 1
1980s: 1
1990s: 1
2000s: 2
2010s: 12

I was traveling for much of September, so I didn’t watch many films as I would have liked. That said, I did see several a few that really blew me away.

Rafiki, 2019 (dir. Wanuri Kahiu)

This is such a beautiful film. The director also has a great Afrofuturist short called Pumzi that I recommend seeking out. In Rafiki, we follow two girls who find themselves drawn to each other as their fathers run for office against each other. The chemistry between the leads (Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva) is is fiery hot. Just lovely, vibrant, queer coming of age film.

Hustlers, 2019 (dir. Lorene Scafaria)

In the first publication of this post I totally forgot I saw this in September! The last few weeks have been a real whirlwind. Correcting that slight now, I definitely recommend checking out Scafaria’s recession-era con drama. I’ve been a fan of her’s since Seeking A Friend At The End of The World and I’m so glad she’s gotten to really show us her directing prowess. The character entrance of J. Lo in this film will go down in history as one of the greats. The chemistry between Lopez and Constance Wu is also something quite marvelous to behold.

El Hoyo (The Platform), 2019 (dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia)

I saw this at Fantastic Fest and really all I want to say is go in this knowing as little as you can. Absolutely astounding.

Notte d’estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil), 1986 (dir. Lina Wertmüller)

It’s not a Lina Wertmüller without a giant title! I loved the styling of this film and I really enjoyed Mariangela Melato’s performance. I wish she had re-teamed with Giancarlo Giannini because they have such great chemistry and she just didn’t have the same kind of chemistry with the male lead in this film (Michele Placido).

Judy, 2019 (dir. Rupert Goold)

I love both Judy Garland and Renée Zellweger, and I think she nails the essence of Judy. Garland had a fragility about her that I really dig in most of her adult performances and Zellweger has a similar vibe, so I thought this casting was brilliant and it did not disappoint. This film also does a great job of showing just how abused she was by the studio system.

As we head into October, I’ll be returning to the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, so you can expect many silent films to be on my list next month.