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SXSW: A Safe Distance

Alex (Bethany Brown) has been abandoned in the woods by her boyfriend Joey (Chris McNally). After his cliffside proposal ended with rejection, Joey quietly packs up his things and drives off. A disoriented and now injured Alex is found by a couple camping nearby. Known as the newlywed bank robbers, Kianna (Tandia Mercedes) and Matt (Cody Kearsley) are on the run from authorities. Eschewing a life of responsibility, they amass millions from their crimes and hide out in the Canadian wilderness to escape the trappings of capitalism. Alex is instantly drawn to the couple, especially Kianna with whom she develops a romantic bond. When Matt’s abuse escalates, Alex and Kianna plot an escape. 

“A Safe Distance is a feminist reframing of the classic ‘lovers on the run’ story that asks as many questions as it answers. It’s about a woman’s decision to shirk society’s expectations in favour of a life of crime and sexual liberation, and how that decision sets off a chain reaction of events that will change her life forever.”

— Gloria Mercer, Director’s Statement

A sexy psychological thriller with a hypnotic slow burn, A Safe Distance will have you hooked from the very beginning. Directed by Gloria Mercer and written by Aidan West, this film is an expansion on the short film by the same name released in 2021. In a feature length format, it can take its time conveying the resiliency of women when faced with the trappings of patriarchy. I appreciated the film’s focus on the female characters and how the two male protagonists were almost interchangeable in their appearance. This will be of particular interest in anyone looking for sapphic stories. It also fits into the subgenre of “be gay, do crime” and in the ongoing conversations about alpine divorce. Catch this one if you can!

A Safe Distance had its world premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film & Television Festival.

Posted Film Reviews

SXSW: The Snake

“Jamie… I thought you were going to stop being an idiot.”

After a stint in jail, 40-something wild child Jamie (Susan Kent) returns home only to find herself locked out of her own house. Facing a battle with her equally irresponsible mom Anne (Robin Duke) over her beloved grandmother’s estate, Jamie is determined to get the house back. She enlists her loser boyfriend Davey Danger (Dan Petronijevic) to help her break into the house. But he’s too busy thinking about getting laid to actually help. Her self-absorbed best friend Laura (Emma Hunter) lets her stay at her penthouse loft much to the chagrin of her husband Steve (Jonathan Torrens). When the neglected Steve gets a bit too involved in Jamie’s life, her world starts to spiral. Can Jamie get back on her feet and reclaim what’s rightfully hers?

Directed by Jenna MacMillan and written by Susan Kent, The Snake is a quirky coming-of-middle-age story with a satisfying redemption arc. Kent plays just the sort of flawed protagonist we’re seeing more of in cinema: self-destructive women in an emotional battle for survival. Jamie’s crazy antics are balanced out with the heartwarming message about chosen family and the healing power of dogs. Robin Duke (Schitt’s Creek) who is delightfully deranged as the problematic mother and she steals the show whenever she’s on screen.

The eccentric cast of characters add spice to Jamie’s story but there are too many of them. Characters like the best friend’s son and the twin duo Captain Stink could have easily been cut. I also would have liked to have seen more scenes with prison guard Theresa (Kim Roberts) and drag queen/bar owner Jimbo (Bon Bon Scott) as they add more emotional weight to Jamie’s story.

The Snake had its world premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film & Television Festival. It’s a Canadian production filmed on Prince Edward Island and with support from Telefilm Canada and the Prince Edward Island Film Fund. It was recently picked up for distribution by Game Theory Films.

Posted Film Reviews

SXSW: Same Same But Different

Rana (Medalion Rahimi) is working as a caretaker for a wealthy family in Cape Cod when she impulsively agrees to get married for a green card. She’s been hooking up with her boss Rebecca’s (Joey Lauren Adams) son Adam (Logan Miller) and they both agree to throw a small wedding at the home. Rana invites her two best friends, who are the closest she has to family as her mother still resides in Iran, to the event. Setareh (Laya Mohammadi) is a lawyer who is struggling to come to terms with her boyfriend Pat’s (Richie Moriarty) change in career. Nadia (Dalia Rooni) is a fitness coach who is in a loving relationship with Ryan (Michael Bazsler) but is too strong-willed to take the next step with him. The trio come together to both celebrate and commiserate. Alternately speaking in English and Persian, they discuss Rana’s big decision while also grappling with their own romantic futures.

Among the cast of characters at the beach house is Malena (Lauren Noll ), Adam’s attractive lesbian half-sister who has Setareh questioning her sexuality. Siddartha (Kevin Neal), a kooky spiritual guide and personal advisor to Rana, is as eager to officiate the ceremony as he is to collect the Venmo payment for his services.

Credit: Nathaniel Krause

Directed by Lauren Noll and written by  Dalia Rooni, Same Same But Different is a modern day romantic comedy that has all the charm of its mainstream counterparts with more dynamic and realistic characters. At the heart of this movie is a story about a friendship, one that is tightly bonded in culture and that thrives on mutual love and understanding. The movie does take a bit too long to establish the characters and loses momentum in the beginning. But stick with it because once it picks up and proceeds at delightful pace with a satisfying payout.

Same Same But Different is based on a true story. In a Q&A screenwriter Dalia Rooni (who also plays Nadia in the film) says, 

“this story was inspired by a real weekend that I now see as the turning point of my life. I was invited to a spontaneous wedding on Cape Cod, where my free-spirited foreign friend married a man she had only been dating for a short time…Alongside the joy, there was something else, something that felt almost like grief. For the first time, I understood what it meant to lose my innocence. I felt the quiet, painful threshold of becoming a woman.”

Movies like Same Same But Different demonstrate what the world of indie filmmaking has to offer: vibrant and unique stories that audiences have been craving.

Same Same But Different had its world premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film and Television Festival.

Still from The End of Quiet
Posted Film Reviews

The End of Quiet

In a remote part of West Virginia lies Green Bank, a small town of just under 150 residents. Since the 1950s, Green Bank has been the home to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory which detects even the faintest of transmissions from space. In order for the observatory and its employees to do their job, there must be a “Quiet Zone” of 35k square kilometers. That means that anyone living in this zone is prohibited from using cellular services or WiFi. As the years go by, this self-imposed restriction is becoming harder and harder to enforce. With so much of our social infrastructure relying on some level of connectivity, it’s becoming impossible to live without it. Can Green Bank stay as it is or is this the end of quiet?

Directed by Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski, The End of Quiet is a contemplative documentary that follows the stories of a handful of Green Bank residents living and working in the Quiet Zone. Instead of talking head interviews, the film captures snippets of the lives of the residents. Subjects include employees of the observatory, a gun enthusiast and his granddaughter, a young couple growing their family, a lonely Vietnam vet and a chronically ill woman and her dog. We observe the subjects as they display varying degrees of calm and unease living in this unique part of the world. There is a sense of paranoia throughout the film. Discussions of alien life seem to point to an underlying fear of authority and forces on the outside.

I was particularly interested in the idea of technological remoteness as a form of control or isolation. I would have liked more information about the observatory and a greater focus on the particulars of the Quiet Zone. However, this documentary seems to be more of a time capsule of the last days of this community’s particular way of life. The End of Quiet will get audiences thinking about their reliance on connectivity and the ramifications of modern life.

The End of Quiet is an official selection of the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival Documentary Competition.

Posted BIPOC

Remaining Native

“I want to hurt for him and all my other ancestors. I want to remember where I come from and to not forget the community that raised me.” — Ku Stevens

Trauma carries on through generations with the ripple effects lasting long after the ancestor’s pain is forgotten. One young man is keeping the memory of his great-grandfather alive. It’s not something he has to do but rather something he feels compelled to do.

Directed by Paige Bethmann (Haudenosaunee), Remaining Native is a documentary that follows the story of Ku Stevens, an Indigenous teen and track star who dreams of becoming a college-level athlete. He runs on the open dirt roads of his native rural Nevada. It’s the same path that his great-grandfather ran when he escaped the Stewart School, a reformatory boarding school that forced Native American children to assimilate into white culture.

As Ku, whose full name Kutoven means “the eagle who brings light from the darkness”, trains towards a sub 9 minute 2-mile run, he contemplates the times his great-grandfather had to run and the suffering he must have endured to escape a cruel system that tried to strip him of his Native identity. Ku is wise beyond his years. To honor his ancestor and to help his community honor theirs, he helps lead a Remembrance Run; a 2-day, 50 mile race that follows the path that his great-grandfather would have taken to escape the Stewart School and return to his homeland.

Remaining Native beautifully balances the duality of the story in which Ku’s journey to become a college athlete mirrors his great-grandfather’s pursuit of freedom. It also works as a sports documentary with much time spent on Ku’s athletic journey. Ku is a fascinating subject and it’s clear he’ll go on to do great things. I do wish there was a bit more information about the history behind the Stewart School and how it affected Ku’s community. But overall this is Ku’s story and it’s an honor to witness it.

Remaining Native is part of 2025 SIFF’s cINeDIGENOUS festival program.

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