Majitu (short film) - Coming soon

Inspired by East African folklore, Majitu follows a lonely woman over a single weekend as she begins to suspect that her mysterious neighbour is a wanted killer, only to discover a much stranger truth.

Release date: Friday 28th June, Rapport Film Festival 

Movie of the Week: Us

When I first saw the trailer for Jordan Peele's Us on Boxing Day last year, I was immediately sold - the soundtrack alone set the tone for a clever, genre-bending, instant cult classic at least on par with Get Out and boy did Us deliver that and more. 

My debut short: Hunting Rabbits

Hunting Rabbits from Patricia Hetherington on Vimeo.

This month I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to direct 'Hunting Rabbits', my debut narrative short film together with Action on the Side, a short film making programme that brings together a diverse crew with mixed experience to develop, shoot, edit and screen a short film in one calendar month. Or to be more precise, in three weekends - the final weekend was the screening weekend. Yes, there were also a few evenings thrown in, but since most people involved (myself included) had full time day jobs outside of the project, the bulk of the work was done in less than 10 days.

The Top 10 Films of 2017

As the year draws to a close,  it seems as if every magazine and newspaper is replete with 'best/worst X of 2017' lists on every facet of pop culture and lifestyle. In a year of singular villainy, we've even felt the need to call out the 'best people', if only to remind ourselves of the few bright sparks in an otherwise lacking moral landscape. I, for one, love a good list and naturally the only lists I really care about have been this year's 'best movie' lists. But I have to admit that as I was reflecting on the year I actually found 2017 to be a year of slim pickings, box office bombs and critical nose-dives.

Movie of the Week: I Am Not Your Negro

I Am Not Your Negro can be best described as a manifesto for James Baldwin’s revolutionary brand of thought on American constructions of race, racism, and whiteness. Through the prism of archival footage, Baldwin’s own speeches, interviews, letters and essays (brilliantly narrated by Samuel L. Jackson) director Raoul Peck brings to life Baldwin’s blisteringly incisive insight as America’s foremost social critic, together with his cool rage as a black man living in the deep shadow of inequality and injustice.