African Festival

Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi

Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
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Works as film critic and journalist who covers stories about culture and sustainability. With a degree in Political Sciences, a Master’s in Screenwriting & Film Production, and studies at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Chiara has been working in the press since 2003. Italian by blood, British by upbringing, fond of Japanese culture since the age of 7, once a New Yorker always a New Yorker, and an avid traveller, Chiara collaborates with international magazines and radio-television networks. She is also a visual artist, whose eco-works connect to her use of language: the title of each painting is inspired by the materials she upcycles on canvas. Her ‘Material Puns’ have so far been exhibited in four continents, across ten countries. She is a dedicated ARTivist, donating her works to the causes and humanitarians she supports, and is Professor of Phenomenology of Contemporary Arts at Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan.
Works as film critic and journalist who covers stories about culture and sustainability. With a degree in Political Sciences, a Master’s in Screenwriting & Film Production, and studies at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Chiara has been working in the press since 2003. Italian by blood, British by upbringing, fond of Japanese culture since the age of 7, once a New Yorker always a New Yorker, and an avid traveller, Chiara collaborates with international magazines and radio-television networks. She is also a visual artist, whose eco-works connect to her use of language: the title of each painting is inspired by the materials she upcycles on canvas. Her ‘Material Puns’ have so far been exhibited in four continents, across ten countries. She is a dedicated ARTivist, donating her works to the causes and humanitarians she supports, and is Professor of Phenomenology of Contemporary Arts at Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan.

Black Widow, Her Dysfunctional Backstory Is Finally Revealed

Marvel Studios returns with an installment entirely dedicated to Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow — based on the beloved Marvel comic series first published in 1964. The film, directed by Cate Shortland, is set between Captain America Civil War and Avengers Infinity War, and shows how the titular character will have to come to terms…

The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52, A Story About The Quest For Connection

The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 is a documentary written and directed by Joshua Zeman, where the award-winning filmmaker becomes a contemporary Captain Ahab, seeking his own whale. His Moby Dick is the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent his entire life in solitude, calling out at a frequency that is different…

Mary J. Blige’s My Life, A Filmic Anthem Of Fortitude

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, conquers the silver screen through the documentary directed by Vanessa Roth, Mary J. Blige’s My Life. Blige is credited with influencing the musical marriage of hip hop and R&B, having won an array of the most prestigious music accolades. Nine-time Grammy-winning recording artist and Academy Award nominated singer and actress…

Luca, An Ode To Friendship, Inclusion & Italy’s Region Of Liguria

Pixar movies have brought Disney classics to an evolution, in terms of themes and empathy. Disney has always had the power to evoke dreamlike scenarios, through fairytale narratives that would primarily focus on romance, and Pixar expanded this uplifting skill, by creating stories and characters that would focus on self-affirmation. Those who populate these films…

Spirit Untamed Addresses Ecofeminist Themes

Almost two decades after the first film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and the Netflix series Spirit Riding Free, that is heading to its ninth season, the free-spirited Mustang returned on the silver screen with the feature Spirit Untamed. If Jonathan Swift celebrated the equine species through Gulliver’s visit to the Land of the Houyhnhnms…

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation, A Lyrical Memoir Of Two Masters

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation is a poetic dual-bio documentary by filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland, about two milestones of American literature. The chronicle of the two great writers blends, virtuously, original footage of their interviews, with a fictional dialogue where Jim Parsons is Truman Capote and Zachary Quinto is Tennessee Williams. Also extracts from the film…

Netflix’s ‘Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet’ : A Call To Action To Save Our Earth

The Netflix Original Documentary Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet is a forthright and mind-boggling call to action to save our Earth. The film will be available on the platform from June 4th. This is not the first time Sir David Attenborough has used his expertise as broadcaster and natural historian to spread awareness…

The Manga Master, An Insightful Biopic About The Forefather Of The Nipponic Art

The Manga Master is a 2019 biopic about the life of Rakuten Kitazawa, the pioneer of modern manga in Japan. The film was screened at the British Museum and is currently part of the line-up of the Chicago Japan Film Collective. Today, manga is part of global cultural, as an example of how Eastern influence…

Cruella, Sumptuous In Style But Hesitant In Evilness

Another Walt Disney villain conquers its place in the sun. After the success of the Sleeping Beauty live action prequels centred around the fairy tale antagonist Maleficent, Disney delves into the origins of another one of its evil characters: Cruella de Vil. The 1961 animated classic One Hundred and One Dalmatians, had the voice of…

Ahead Of The Curve, Shines A Light On The Importance Of Representation In An Anachronistic Way

“If you can see it, you can be it.” This adage applies to all minorities who have waited for a historical turn to see themselves represented in mainstream positions. This is what Ahead Of The Curve focuses on. The documentary directed and co-produced by Jen Rainin, who is the wife of Curve magazine founder Franco…