Tina Kakadelis 6/17/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/17/26

DC/DOX: “School for Defectors” Teaches a Way Forward

School for Defectors is an act of love for the kids who finally have the opportunity to fall in love with life and their parents who risked death for a chance at a brighter future. Perhaps it’s best to let one of the students sum up the film: “Love has a way of turning fear into courage.”

Tina Kakadelis 6/17/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/17/26

DC/DOX: “Oh Whale” Blows Up the Idea of Legacy

Oh Whale is a loving ode to the strangeness of life on Earth and the way twenty cases of dynamite can make the winds of change.

Tina Kakadelis 6/16/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/16/26

DC/DOX: “The Second Life of Freddie Nole” is a Life-Changing Ride

The Second Life of Freddie Nole is much like the man himself. No frills, empathetic, and light-hearted. A verité look at one man’s mission to use his newfound freedom to encourage others to use their lives for similar pursuits.

Tina Kakadelis 6/16/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/16/26

deadCenter: “What Will I Become?” is Vital for Our Times

What Will I Become? tells the viewer that there’s a future waiting for them and that it will be better with them there. Here. Thank you for being here.

Tina Kakadelis 6/15/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/15/26

DC/DOX: “baby/girls” is an Empathetic Look at Teen Pregnancy

baby/girls is profoundly vulnerable. It’s an act of bravery to share such deeply personal moments with the rest of the world in the hope of capturing their reality to ask for change.

Tina Kakadelis 6/14/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/14/26

DC/DOX: “Hell’s Army” Captures Investigative Journalism’s Power

Hell’s Army is difficult to watch, but it needs to be recognized and amplified.

Tina Kakadelis 6/14/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/14/26

DC/DOX: “The Siege of Paradise” Asks What Kind of Tourist We Should Be

The Siege of Paradise may only focus on Cinque Terre, but this is happening all over the world. The documentary is not only a carefully constructed critique of what it means to be a tourist, but also a deeply compelling character study of humans in the summertime.

Tina Kakadelis 6/13/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/13/26

“Backrooms” is Lost in its Own Lore

It’s exciting that a film based on an internet story could make it to the big screen helmed by a teenager, but Backrooms needed to plot its path in a more honed-in fashion.

Tina Kakadelis 6/12/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/12/26

“The Saviors” Finds Discomfort in Suburbia

The Saviors is a Twilight Zone episode for the age of paranoid xenophobia we live in today and maybe, unfortunately, always have.

Tina Kakadelis 6/10/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/10/26

Tribeca: “4000 Days” Finds Resilience and Lasting Change in Loss

4000 Days is a vital piece of filmmaking that highlights resilience in the time of a profound loss that no one should ever experience.

Tina Kakadelis 6/9/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/9/26

Tribeca: “Death Boom” Empathetically Reflects on Mortality

Death Boom has an empathetic and sometimes gently comedic look at death, which is perhaps how all of us should start thinking about the end of the road.

Tina Kakadelis 6/9/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/9/26

Tribeca: “Summer War” Meticulously Plots its Moves

There’s style here to Scherson’s vision, and the collection of characters milling about the hotel is an interesting group, but Summer War’s weak spot keeps the film more muted than it should be.

Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26

Tribeca: “Deepfake” Gets to the Heart of the Matter

Deepfake is absurd and mimics the downward spiral of an existential crisis, but its humor and darkness create something transcendent and honest.

Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26

Tribeca: “Harvest” Reaps and Sows Love

Harvest is perseverance, rebirth, and for the dreamers.

Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/7/26

Tribeca: “Memorizu” Creates Nostalgia for the Moment it’s In

In its gentle, wholehearted approach to the fallacy of memories, Memorizu has constructed a film that celebrates humans for their insatiable desire to remember everything.

Tina Kakadelis 6/6/26 Tina Kakadelis 6/6/26

Tribeca: “Rare Birds” is in Rare Form

Jerry and Candice are kindred spirits, if you want a simple explanation. Rare Birds transcends that by reveling in its two main characters who, like the antique store much of the film takes place in, are hidden gems.