Welcome back to the Cause Cinema Spotlight.
This week, we have two great films that explore the nature of memory, both big festival award winners, one doc and one scripted. And a comedy that challenges our cultural fascination with stereotypes.
We’ll start there with…
American Fiction
A likely Oscar nominee in the best Adapted Screenplay category, American Fiction is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
American Fiction is currently in theaters.
Memory
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past. Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard star in this Volpi Cup recipient at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
Memory was just released in New York and Los Angeles prior to a nationwide rollout on January 5th.
Four Daughters
This riveting exploration of rebellion, memory, and sisterhood reconstructs the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, unpacking a complex family history through intimate interviews and performance to examine how the Tunisian woman’s two eldest were radicalized.
Casting professional actresses as the missing daughters, the film restages pivotal moments in the family’s life. These scenes are interwoven with confessions and reflections from Olfa and her younger daughters, offering the women agency to tell their own story and capturing moments of joy, loss, violence, and heartache. Winner of four prizes including (Best Documentary) when it screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction storytelling that explores the nature of memory, the weight of inherited trauma, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.
You can see Four Daughters on AppleTV, Amazon or Vudu.
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That’s a wrap for the Cause Cinema Spotlight. We’ll be back next week with our top movie picks of 2024!
Until then, Happy Holidays.
American Fiction, Memory & Four Daughters