Modern Technology Meets Archaically Pointless Deaths In the Devastating Frontline Documentary ‘People of the Wasteland,’ dir. Heba Khaled, 2019

By Katya Kazbek|December 8th, 2019|Country: Germany, Kurdistan, Syria|

GoPro footage filmed by militants on the frontline of the Syrian War is arranged into an essay on deadly masculinity by female film director, who has lost her home and family members to the conflict

Music: Senyawa, Sujud, 2018

By Katya Kazbek|November 26th, 2019|Country: Indonesia|

Dark experimental doom folk duo from the center of Javanese culture makes bringing music back to nature a visceral, earthy experience with handmade instruments and radical approach to vocals

Film: Mogu and Perol, dir. Tsuneo Goda, 2018

By Katya Kazbek|November 11th, 2019|Country: Japan|

A furry chef discovers that dinner doesn't taste as good when there's no one to share it with, in this adorable short with some of the best-looking stop-motion food from the creator of Domo-kun

Film: The Wandering Chef, dir. Hye-Ryeong Park, 2018

By Katya Kazbek|November 8th, 2019|Country: South Korea|

Chef Jiho Im doesn't discriminate against his ingredients, preparing elaborate dishes from scavenged, rare plants with healing power. But can the medicinal foods heal his soul?

Music: Davlatmand Kholov and Abdoussatar Abdoullaev, Tadjikistan. Davlatmand, Art and Folk Music, 1992

By Katya Kazbek|November 5th, 2019|Country: Tajikistan|

Music from the mountains of Pamir infused with Sufi mysticism as performed by its master: a testament to the power of Tajik-Persian culture that will entice lovers of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Film: Last Sunrise, dir. Wen Ren, 2019

By Katya Kazbek|October 20th, 2019|Country: China|

When the sun goes out in the world reliant on solar power, an unlikely team of loner astronomer and bubbly student with hidden issues have to try to survive in this very human debut sci-fi feature

Film: Funan, dir. Denis Do, 2018

By Katya Kazbek|October 18th, 2019|Country: Belgium, Cambodia, France, Luxembourg|

Cambodian genocide as experienced by the members of one family in an animation based on the director's mother's memories of the Khmer Rouge—with voice acting from Louis Garrell and Bérénice Bejo

10 Artists From Brunei: A Rare Glimpse Into the Art Scene of the Small, Rich and Conservative Nation

By Katya Kazbek|October 17th, 2019|Country: Brunei|

A selection of works that showcase the contemporary culture of the South Asian nation where lack of coverage and omnipresent portraits of the Sultan remain the biggest obstacles to visual expression

Film: Parasite, dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2019

By Katya Kazbek|October 9th, 2019|Country: South Korea|

The Palme d'Or winner about a family's rebel plot to secure gainful employment: wild fun with a staunch anti-capitalist agenda that should appeal to a broader audience as much as it did to the critics

Food: Achichuk, Tashkent and the Rest at Nargis, Brooklyn

By Katya Kazbek|September 25th, 2019|Country: USA, Uzbekistan|

Uzbek food, which combines all the best from East Asian, Mediterranean and Turkic cuisines, juxtaposes fiery vegetable salads with heavy lamb fat: try it for yourself in Brooklyn's Sheepshead bay