Leigh-Anne has been a huge voice for the Black community, making her very own documentary ‘Race, Pop and Power’ throughout the pandemic. This makes her casting even more special, as ‘Boxing Day’ marks the very first British Christmas film focussing solely on Black relationships and culture in London. 

Speaking on being a part of the film, Leigh-Anne said;

“I am truly honoured to have been able to be apart of this film but also truly proud, to witness the arrival of a film that celebrates black culture, black talent and black love.”

Making this all possible was Aml Ameen, who consistently pushed for the film to be set around British Black culture. ‘Boxing Day’ will mark Aml’s directorial debut, with him stating;

“It’s a quintessentially British film but it’s a part of Britain we have never really focused on in cinema. I’m a big fan of Love Actually and Richard Curtis films and took inspiration from his work but I wouldn’t call it the ‘Black Love Actually’.”

The film’s plot is surrounding Ameen’s character Melvin – a British author based in America – who heads back to London for Christmas, bringing his fiancé Lisa (Aja Naomi King) to meet his family. Things don’t run so smoothly when the couple runs into Leigh-Anne’s character, Georgia, a successful singer who Lisa is a massive fan of, who also happens to be Melvin’s ex-girlfriend. 

What happens next is a mystery, which we can’t wait to find out! You can catch ‘Boxing Day’ in UK cinemas from the 3rd of December – a perfect time for festive films to be at the top of your watch list! 

Words By Nadia Clasper

_{Photo Credit: Leigh-Anne Pinnock Instagram}

The post Leigh-Anne Pinnock Makes Film Debut In UK’s First All-Black Cast, Christmas Rom-Com appeared first on Voir Fashion.

The horror genre is responsible for a lot of our October entertainment, whether it’s paranormal, gory, or suspenseful, there’s nothing like a good scary movie to get you in the Halloween spirit. Despite the genre’s immense popularity, style and horror don’t always correlate, usually due to the focus on atmosphere, and the conventions of jump scares, darkness, and special effects. This means that when a horror film manages to focus on cinematography, it tends to be brilliant. Here’s our list of films that succeed at this, including a good few you may never have heard of.

Suspiria (1977)

Suspiria is a technicolour masterpiece by Italian director Dario Argento, that tells the gory story of an American dancer starting at a German ballet school, and her discovery of the place’s dark past, as she unravels secrets of witchcraft, murder, and sacrifice within the dance company. The gorgeous sets and suspenseful direction make it a cinematic dream – or nightmare – of phantasmagoria. It’s no wonder a remaster has been released in recent years after it’s confiscation and editing in the 80s, and a cold and Berlin-Esque remake featuring Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson for Amazon Studios created in 2018. Suspiria is a stunning film that continues to influence films even outside of the genre.

SUSPIRIA – 40th Anniversary 4K Restoration Trailer (2017)

The Love Witch (2016)

A double-take at the release date is understandable for this film, as it looks like it was taken directly from a 1960’s movie theatre, and with it’s corniness and ‘sexploitation’ tropes it acts like it as well. This low budget film is an intentional cult movie, that follows a beautiful witch on a journey of seduction and desire, that eventually leads to insanity and murder. The consistency of the film’s glamour and artistic style is paired with commentary on gender roles and desire, making it iconic.

THE LOVE WITCH Trailer (2016)

Let The Right One In (2008)

Swedish film Let The Right One In is about a sensitive young boy and his friendship with a mysterious girl who could be connected to some brutal murders going on in their town. Filled with macabre suspense and mystery, the story is really one of friendship, shot with classic Scandinavian cinematic style, austere and minimalist.

Let the Right One In Official HD Trailer

The Wicker Man (1973)

The Wicker Man is a mystery horror film that epitomises the extremes of 1970s film. Playing on the concepts of sex, cults and counter-christianity, the film tells the story of a very conservative detective sent to a small scottish island to investigate the report of a missing child. The sergeant observes and explores the island’s strange pagan rituals as he gets closer to tracking down the child, and gets tangled up in their world as he continues to interfere. The film is stylishly shot and directed, and is a clear influence of A24’s Midsommar, another incredibly stylish horror film.

The Wicker Man (1973) Offical Trailer – Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento Horror Movie

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayek star in this action film about two criminals who cross the mexican border to freedom, only to find themselves in the haunt of a group of vampires. It’s a silly film, but it carries the style and aesthetic of a lot of Tarantino’s work, and it’s a brilliant watch for Halloween.

From Dusk Till Dawn Official Trailer #1 – (1996)

The Craft (1996)

Mid-90s teen film The Craft is iconic for its fashion and quotable lines. Four teenagers explore the dangerous powers of witchcraft to get what they want and end up paying the price. It’s a classic that plays well into the 2020 renaissance of our obsession with covens – and midi skirts.

The Craft (1996) – Official Trailer

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Rosemary’s Baby is a sinister and suspenseful book-adaptation directed by Roman Polanski. It’s an artful film about a young couple, Rosemary and Guy, and their satanic neighbours, who Rosemary believes are conspiring something terrible when she becomes pregnant. The psychological horror was Polanski’s debut film, and is equal parts terrifying and fashionable against the backdrop of Upper West Side New York

.Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Modern Trailer (2019)

The Birds (1963)

It would be criminal to talk about stylish horror films without mentioning Alfred Hitchcock. His 1963 film The Birds plays on confusion and fear, as it tells the story of a bizarre and terrifying attack on a town by all of the birds in the area. It’s beautifully shot and directed and remains a prominent cult classic, influencing thriller films since it’s release.

The Birds (1963)

The Neon Demon (2016)

This psychological horror starring Elle Fanning tells the age old story of dangerously being consumed by your dream. A young girl joins the LA world of modelling, and begins to change as she becomes successful, falling from innocence, while her rivals try hard to imitate her success. It’s visually stunning, and plays well to the aesthetic of its title. The film is a dark and stylised commentary on the faults of society and the world of fashion and modelling.

The Neon Demon Official Trailer #1 (2016) – Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves Horror Movie

The Shining (1980)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Stephen King, The Shining has to be one of the best films for horror and style in the genre. The isolated hotel, in which main character Jack Torrance eventually goes mad, is subtly stylish in decor and the technicolour cinematography and suspenseful directing make it outstanding, visually.

The Shining – [Official Trailer} (1980)

Words by Daisy Greetham

Graphics by Frances Scott

The post Gore and Glamour: Our list of 10 Stylish Horror Films just in time for Halloween appeared first on Voir Fashion.

It is not often we witness the works of female directors grace the cinema screens of Hollywood, so it is a marvel that actress, screenwriter and director Greta Gerwig has announced the release of not one, but two upcoming films, Little Women and Barbie fresh off her success from the critically acclaimed, coming-of-age indie Lady Bird (2017). Her imminent prolific career and fervent fanbase are attributed however, to more humble beginnings as an actress on the outskirts of fame, starring in a number of low-budget mumblecore films.

Mumblecore is the name given to the subgenre of indie films characterised by naturalistic acting and dialogue and a preoccupation with the intimate relationships of people in their 20s. Emerging from the early 2000s, it has resonated with young audiences across the world with its treatment of disillusionment, social awkwardness and miscommunication between strangers— themes all too familiar to the information-saturated minds of Generation Y. As a key figure of this stylistic movement, Gerwig has appeared in a number of films from Joe Swanberg, some of which she co-wrote and co-directed, including Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) and Nights and Weekends (2008). But it was not until the release of Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha (2012), that she started to gain mainstream recognition for her charmingly clumsy and relatable portrayal of protagonist Frances Haliday.

With witty and highly quotable lines such as ‘I’m so embarrassed, I’m not a real person yet’, and ‘I like things that look like mistakes’, Gerwig charms as the 27- year old aspiring ballet dancer, traversing through friendships, romances and career struggles. As she states in an interview, ‘Some of the independent movies that make money have a very specific thing that you can tell audiences they’ll feel about it…Frances Ha will touch your deep feelings of failure and unworthiness.’ Taking the feel-good promise of commercial indies at the time and turning it on its head, Gerwig seeks instead to touch people’s hearts through the acceptance of uncertainty in the world, and as a result, carves out an intensely realistic reflection of youthful aimlessness.

Her iconic screenwriting collaboration with Baumbach on the film (who later becomes her lifelong partner) has also allowed her to move away from the spotlight in front of the camera to the manipulation of it from behind. With the advantage of experience from both sides of acting and writing, Gerwig became ready to take the world by storm with her directorial debut, Lady Bird, a coming-of-age film set in Sacramento, California about a high schooler named Christine McPherson (played by Saoirse Ronan) who makes everyone call her by the nickname of Lady Bird. The film immediately shot to fame and critical acclaim, winning Gerwig a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in a Musical or Comedy and a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The mesmerising element of the film, however, seems not to be rooted solely in the poignant depiction of human interactions, but also in the treatment of the female subject, with Christine shining as the fiercely original teenage character bursting simultaneously with confidence and anxiety.

Gerwig’s account of Christine’s life is revealed to be semi-autobiographical, as she states in a behind-the-scenes video ‘I tend to start with things from my own life, then pretty quickly they spin out into their own orbit.’ By taking bits of inspiration from her own past growing up in Sacramento, such as the famous scene of Christine jumping out of a moving car, Gerwig infuses the film with a personal interconnectedness and improvisational quality, accentuating the importance of female subjectivity to the storyline. As we watch the conventional coming-of-age tropes play out (a character falling in and out of love, losing her virginity, discovering intellectual passions), we become aware of the film’s realist tone, constantly rejecting the urge to romanticise the often romanticised narrative of the teenage girl. Settings are stripped of any hint of gaudiness or theatricality, with a heightened emphasis on the mundane and the monotonous rounds of school and home. Characters are vulnerable to emotional impulses and desires, reinforcing the yin-and-yang idea of both good and evil existing at the same place and time, with Gerwig herself quoted as saying in an interview with Dazed Magazine, ‘I never think about female characters as being likeable or unlikeable. With all my characters—not just with female characters—but with every single character in this film. There are no villains.’

Even the outfits worn by the girls in the film have been thoroughly researched to make sure they remain faithful to the early 2000s era in which the story is set, as Gerwig reveals that ‘The costume designer April Napier and I spent a lot of time looking at old Seventeen magazines. And, there was a catalogue called Delia’s which was something everyone in the United States bought. You always wanted to look like one of the girls from Delia’s!’ Clothing is selected therefore on grounds of narrative accuracy rather than a desired beautification of the female image.

With planted seeds from the likes of Sofia Coppola and her scrutinisation into the art of female dynamics in The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Marie Antoinette (2006), Gerwig herself has transformed into a fundamental figure for the preservation of femininity in film and for the garnering of interest in the growth and maturation of the leading woman. In her upcoming film Little Women (set to release on 27 December 2019) where four sisters come of age in the aftermath of the Civil War, she once again provides a voice for the modern independent female, telling Margaret Gardiner in an interview that ‘I’ve always felt that whether you’re writing a novel or making a film, what you choose to put 30 feet tall on a screen tells the audience it’s important and for me, making lives of girls and women important and 30 feet tall and shot on celluloid—it’s worth it and you’re saying their lives have mattered.’

It has also been confirmed that Gerwig is to pair up with Baumbach on the script for her upcoming film Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as a doll who is expelled from Barbieland for not being perfect enough and sets off on an adventure into the real world. Filming is set to begin in 2020.

Words by Shir Ariya

Graphics by Araceli Alonso

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The post The Rise of Greta Gerwig: Femininity in Film appeared first on Voir Fashion.