Our much maligned Film Club finally returns courtesy of one, Quinn Graham.
If you’re unfamiliar with Quinn, he’s one of our favourite filmmakers from across the pond. His most recent piece Nevertheless, acts as a poignant portrait of powerlessness in the face of nature’s unexpected events; masquerading as an audiovisual surf diary. There’s a refreshing non-conforming style to his work, which makes sense when you look at the films that inspire him. An eclectic array of fiction, non-fiction, biopic and documentary, seamlessly sharing a common theme. Human resistance to the absurdity of social conformity.
1) Motorcycle Diaries, Walter Salles, 2004
Che Guevara’s genesis of social justice. Two men on one motorcycle traveling from Brazil to Peru in the early 1950’s, the two have a familiar chemistry that’s just as beautiful as the landscapes they travel through. The journey itself is one of humbling self discovery and witness to a world they’ve looked away from. This film feels like travel but does not tell the story of a tourist. God I fucking love it.
2) BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Kahlil Joseph, 2025
Khalil Joseph’s debut feature is a docu-fiction that could’ve only been made now, by him. A cinematic interpretation of W.E.B. Du Bois’s Africana that takes you on an archival journey through the non-fictional past of Black America while simultaneously moving forward into a fictionalized future. Joseph threads these archival images and incredible soundtrack together harmoniously, painting a world of context that bleeds into everything you see. Robin and I attended a screening of this masterpiece on black friday, in Beverly Hills. A day where mindless consumption is celebrated, in a city where materialism is praised. But this film felt as a counter weight to the whole thing.
3) Battle of Chile: The Struggle of an Unarmed People, Patricio Guzmán, 1975-79
THE documentary. Director Patricio Guzmán’s 3 part documentary follows the Chilean socialist revolution and the violent counter revolution supported by the usual suspects, U.S. In my opinion, it is the most clear and direct reflection of human passion, resistance and corruption that has lived throughout history.
4) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois, Luis Buñuel, 1972
Luis Buñuel’s beautifully surreal presentation of the Bourgeois, an entertaining entry point to the incredible life and films of Bunuel.
5) City of God, Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, 2002
All time favorite. Many writers have written better about this one than I can.
6) Y tu mamá También, Alfonso Cuarón, 2001
The best road trip film of all time. And I love road trips.
7) Sirât, Oliver Laxe, 2025
As Director Oliver Laxe put it in the post screening q&a: “I wanted to kill the audience with this film.” That’s exactly what he did, in a refreshing way, in a way that called for those rare but valuable words, “It’s just a movie.” I saw this one alone on Valentine’s Day. It took me all over, back in time, forward in time, to depths of feeling and shock that many said to be tasteless, but I say it taste like life. The journey of the score alone would’ve been enough for me to sing the film’s praises but when tethered together witha balanced composition of image and character, I found myself falling deeply in love with the experience I was having. So in love that I forgot I was alone on Valentine’s day.
8) Howl, Doug Aitken, 2023
Doug Aitken tells many stories through an American Oil town. A rhythmic documentary of sorts, this one I saw recently at the variety art’s theatre in LA. It’s extremely generative of the imagination and filled with feeling. This one has stuck with me big time.
9) A Band Called Death, Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett, 2012
Incredible story, incredible music, worth watching.
