Tuesday, July 21, 2026

The Welcome Table

The latest creative endeavor in award-winning filmmaker Josh Fox’s (Gasland, How to Let Go of the World, The Edge of Nature) decades-long mission to spur climate action, The Welcome Table follows the connected tale of environmental destruction across six continents (and one very long art installation), centering the stories of those who call the frontlines home, from Paradise, CA to the paradise lost of the Peruvian Amazon. In turn, these climate refugees are brought together at a thousand-foot table along a New Orleans levee (at least those not denied Visas) to share their experiences, take inspiration from one another, and of course, enjoy some musical interludes as Fox is a fervent believer in “protests that sing.” (Among the acclaimed New Orleans musicians featured is the jazz artist John Boutté of “Treme Song” fame, who serves as both EP and primary offscreen narrator alongside the director-writer-environmental activist who likewise performs.)
To read the rest of my review visit Hammer to Nail.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

“Do You Love Me” Reassembles Lebanon’s Cultural Memory

Lana Daher’s debut feature, Do You Love Me (2026), is a kaleidoscopic exploration of Lebanon’s cultural memory. The Beirut-based multidisciplinary artist drew from 70 years of found footage and archival material to assemble this visceral 76-minute portrait of Lebanese history, which premiered at Venice Days and is now playing at Metrograph in New York. Daher stitches together clips from her country’s independent cinema, newsreels, and home movies, causing the past and the present to collide and recontextualize each other anew.
To read my interview with the exceptional director visit Filmmaker magazine.

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

‘Do You Love Me’ Review: Lana Daher’s All-Archival Cinematic Love Letter to Lebanon

“In Lebanon, contemporary history is not taught in schools,” reads the opening text of Lana Daher’s Do You Love Me. The documentary is a stunning visual and sonic excursion through Lebanon’s history comprised of material obtained from over 20,000 sources — a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that the country has no national archive. As images start to fly by too fast to read their accompanying (and not always subtitled) Arabic and French text, we’re cautioned that the narrative doesn’t follow a strict chronology as “disorientation is part of the journey...welcome to Lebanon.” Indeed.
To read the rest visit Slant Magazine.