Maïmouna Doucouré’s feature film debut has provoked a firestorm of controversy. The story of Cuties ( Mignonnes ) began favorably. The French-Senegalese director picked up the Directing Award at Sundance, landing a deal with Netflix for an amplified international release, and enjoyed a broadly acclaimed release in her home of France. Then the Netflix marketing arm spun the controversy out of proportion — they have since recorded record-high cancelation figures and the film has become a hotbed...

The Penny Black is an intriguing new documentary fresh out of the Slamdance circuit. A man has left a stamp collection from a mysterious, potentially dangerous neighbor. The collection stays with him for years as his neighbor fades out of existence at the apartment complex. In the meantime, director Joe Saunders has filmed the story of the multi-million dollar bag of stamps, tracing the new ownership of his friend, a son of a conman who seems to be constantly wrestling with an urge to sell...

Jennifer Reeder's Knives and Skin is a great victory for compassion. The director weaponizes empathy as though it were her blade and directs the hell out of this new mystery picture. What truly elevates her voice is a great sense of accessible feminism. Knives and Skin is feminism for everyone. It invites all of us to engage fully with its principles as such and succeeds fully in voicing its feminine characters. The feeling is that Jennifer knows what it is like. She works predominantly with...