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ReviewWhile the series offers a historical figure as an icon of resistance, it doesn’t shy away from talking about the complex history of African kingdoms, and their entanglement with the slave trade. Courtesy/JadaPinketSmithTwitterThe intrigues of a monarch’s court–the convoluted politics, treason, loyalty, and the legacies of queens and kings–are mostly reserved for European historical fiction on our screens. Streaming platforms are rife with white-centric tales like The Tudors, and The Crown among others, which reinforce a narrative that absolves powerful European dynasties of the guilt of imperialist plunder and colonial violence. Often, biopics on queens like Mary Queen of Scots or Elizabeth - I, are peddled as ‘feminist’ stories, regardless of what their regimes did to colonised people. Now, compare this to productions on Black history by Hollywood. Films by big studios with multi-million dollar budgets rarely tend to focus on much else than Black...

Watching African Queens: Njinga feels akin to the experience of bingeing a biopic and then racing to Google afterward to find out how much of it really happened — only you don’t need to wait til the end to get the facts, and you don’t need to rely on questionable search results for reliable answers. The Netflix series is a documentary that plays like an epic drama, weaving together expert interviews with lavishly produced scripted scenes.

The slight downside of this approach is that the series doesn’t dig as deeply as one might expect from either an extensive docuseries or a prestige miniseries; it’s less exhaustive analysis than intro course. But that’s kind of the point: “It’s time we all come together to know her name,” executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith declares in an opening voiceover. And on that front, African Queens: Njinga succeeds with flying colors.

Ahead of the film’s market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market, Beta Cinema has announced first deals for “Operation Napoleon” to France (Mediawan), Spain (Twelve Oaks), Poland (Hagi Film), Former Yugoslavia (MegaCom), Japan (Tohokushinsha) and Taiwan (Av-Jet).

The English-language thriller is based on the eponymous best-selling novel by Icelandic crime author Arnaldur Indriðason and stars Icelandic newcomer Vivian Ólafsdóttir (“It Hatched”) and Iain Glen, best known for his role as Dr. Alexander Isaacs in the “Resident Evil” film series and as Ser Jorah Mormont in “Game of Thrones.”

The sweeping story takes us from modern Iceland to America and Nazi Germany at the end of World War II. It centers on young Icelandic lawyer Kristin, who gets drawn into the vortex of an international conspiracy when she receives grainy footage of an old airplane wreck, recently revealed by the melting of one of Iceland’s largest glaciers.

The...

Munich-based sales agency Beta Cinema has picked up international thriller “Operation Napoleon,” and will kick off presales at the Cannes Film Market.

Shooting wrapped recently at the Langjökull glacier in Iceland, and the production has now moved to Mmc Studios in Cologne, Germany.

The Icelandic-German co-production is based on the eponymous best-selling novel by Iceland’s Arnaldur Indriðason, and features a stellar cast, led by Icelandic newcomer Vivian Ólafsdóttir (“It Hatched”), Jack Fox and Scottish actor Iain Glen, best known for his role as Dr. Alexander Isaacs in the “Resident Evil” film series and as Ser Jorah Mormont in “Game of Thrones.”

The sweeping story takes the viewer from modern Iceland to America and Nazi Germany at the end of World War II. It centers on young Icelandic lawyer Kristin, who gets drawn into the vortex of an international conspiracy when she receives grainy footage of an old airplane wreck,...

Edicius Review — Edicius (2021) Film Review, a short film directed by Uzo Oleh and starring Michael Socha, Stuart Bowman, Adesuwa Oni and Sahera Khan. Edicius is a very interesting new science fiction suspense thriller/short film about a man named Jason (Michael Socha) who must confront his life choices and either make a good or [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Edicius (2021): A Unique, Intense Look At Trust And Decision-Making...

Clare Anyiam-Osigwe’s No Shade, produced by the Festival, to open the event.

The 2018 British Urban Film Festival (June 4-9) has announced its line-up, hosts and awards today.

The festival will open with writer-director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe’s No Shade, about a British woman coming to terms with her relationships with men and her skintone, starring Adele Oni in her debut lead role. It is the first feature to be released by the Festival under its new Buff Originals slate.

The closing night film is the festival premiere of Harry Brown writer Gary Young’s directorial debut Two Graves, a revenge...