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Review: Modern Gladiators Dominate the World’s Oldest Horse Race in Palio
Winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, Cosima Spender’s documentary Palio profiles the Palio di Siena. The Palio is the world’s oldest horse race that takes place in July and August every year in Siena, Italy. For over 800 years, spectators have packed the Piazza del Compo to witness the parades of medieval revelry and the infamous 90 seconds where horses furiously race around the square for both pride and glory. The film also offers a never before seen look at the legendary, modern jockeys (fantini) that have redefined the race. But in Siena, the Palio is so much more than just a horse race. To…
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India’s Daughter: The Banned Rape Documentary
BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK On March 4th 2015, the Indian government banned the planned release of India’s Daughter, a documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, which graphically depicts and discusses the rape epidemic in India through a profile of the gruesome Delhi gang rape of Jyoti Singh. The initial film release in India was scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8th), however a court order quickly managed to deter those plans. It would appear that the Indian government believes releasing this documentary would only increase fear, tension and further incidents of violence. On the evening of December 16th 2012, Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old university medical student joined a male…
