“The more that humans share with me, the more I learn.” This is the somewhat ominous voiceover, sourced from the Microsoft AI robot Tay, that opens Shalini Kantayya’s equally ominous documentary, Coded Bias. This line is ostensibly supposed to reassure us that robots rely on human inputs in order to function and only through increased […]
film review
CR designer’s work in ‘Totally Under Control’ clarifies its uncompromising look at our government’s COVID failures

Watching a contemporary documentary about events unfolding in real time is a surreal exercise that elicits both despair and incredulity. Directors Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, and Suzanne Hillinger’s film Totally Under Control (2020), available on Hulu, explores the (mis)management of COVID-19 in the United States and deftly investigates the way American politicians and public health […]
Quirky, tender ‘The Mole Agent’ marks virtual return of Vino Vérité series

Today, Oct. 23, marks the FilmScene debut of The Mole Agent, a film that serves as the first ever Virtual Vino Vérité (“online wine and cinematic realism,” essentially, for all those who just mind-mumbled right over that). Co-sponsored by Bread Garden Market and Little Village, Vino Vérité traditionally involves a catered reception with a filmmaker […]
Fact and fiction intersect to find truth in ‘Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets’

Vino Vérité returns for 2020 this weekend with Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. Directors Bill and Turner Ross will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening. The series, presented by FilmScene, Bread Garden Market and Little Village, presents films in the vérité tradition paired with hors d’oeuvres, wine and desserts. Tickets are $20 for […]