TIFF Review: ‘Memory House’ fails to illuminate, keeping its Brazilian folklore out of reach
Plot: An Indigenrous-Black man from Brazil’s rural north struggles to earn acceptance in his community. When he is informed that he must take a wage... Read More
Mina Takla
Mina Takla is a foreign correspondent for AwardsWatch and the co-founder of The Syndicate, an online news agency that offers original content services to several film brands including Empire Magazine’s Middle East edition and the Dubai Film Festival. Takla has attended, covered and written for multiple film festivals online including the Dubai International Film Festival, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Annecy Film Festivals. He has been following the Oscar race since 2000 with accurate, office-pool winning predictions year after year. He writes monthly in Empire Arabia, the Arabic version of the world’s top cinema magazine and conducts press junkets with Hollywood stars in the UK and the US. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing from Australia’s Wollongong University and is currently based in Dubai, UAE.
TIFF Review: Despite strong performances from its leads, ‘Wildfire’ is doused by lackluster storytelling
Plot: After having suddenly and mysteriously disappeared for almost a year, a women returns to her hometown in Ireland and tries to blend in despite... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘The Truffle Hunters’ digs up one of the year’s most moving films
Plot: In Italy, where truffle hunting is a culinary obsession, a number of elderly hunters continue to practice what they believe is a true passion... Read More
TIFF Review: The deeply earnest ‘Good Joe Bell’ is a story of self-redemption
Plot: The true story of an Oregon father, Joe Bell, who sets out on a walk across America in honor of his son. Review: Reinaldo... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘Notturno’ doc highlights the aftermath of war told through the eyes of those who lived it
Plot: Filmed in several parts of the war-torn Middle East, NOTTURNO documents the aftermath of war through the eyes of civilians whose lives have been... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘New Order’ is a harrowing, edge-of-your-seat experience
Plot: In one of Mexico’s richest neighborhoods, high-society guests flock to a lavish mansion to celebrate a wedding. But things soon take a tragic turn,... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘180 Degree Rule’ speaks for countless women whose only language is silence
Plot: Tehran, present day. A school teacher and a mother to a 5-year old daughter is preparing to attend a family wedding in northern Iran.... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘Nomadland’ is a miracle of a film
Plot: A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a modern-day nomad in a van that carries all... Read More
TIFF Review: Darkly comic refugee story ‘Limbo’ is a haunting high wire act that pays off
Plot: A Syrian refugee ends up in a remote area in Scotland. Waiting for his asylum request to be approved, he is transferred to a... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘Pieces of a Woman’
Plot: A woman grapples with losing her child shortly after birth. Review: A successful character study and an immersive drama that’s not without its flaws,... Read More
Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads with Record-Tying 14 
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 318 – The First Week of Awards Season with Critics Choice, Spirit Awards Nominations; NYFF, NBR, Gotham Winners 
Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations: ‘Adolescence’ Leads, Followed by ‘Nobody Wants This’ 
Michigan Movie Critics Guild Nominations: ‘One Battle After Another’ Leads with 12