Contributions from Esmé Holden | Little White Lies

Contributor Esmé Holden

A person sitting on the floor in a cluttered room, with another person visible in the background through a doorway.

Making Sense of Life Without Her: On Chantal Akerman

by Esmé Holden

A reflec­tion on try­ing to make sense of the sense­less, through the work of a Bel­gian master.
Four angry, cartoon-style faces with speech bubbles containing rude language. Geometric shapes, bold black lines, and expressive facial features. Football player and spectators depicted.
In Heaven Everything Is Fine

A trip down to DumbLand

by Esmé Holden

David Lynch’s lit­tle-seen car­toon series about an angry man named Randy could­n’t be more pertinent.
Man in hooded jacket playing acoustic guitar on crowded bus.
Festivals

Out of Place at the Locarno Film Festival

by Esmé Holden

Esmé Hold­en offers a heart­felt reflec­tion on the highs and lows of her first time attend­ing the Locarno Film Festival.
Two individuals, a man wearing sunglasses and a boy with a ruffled collar, in an indoor setting.
Review

Orlando, My Political Biography review – a dive into the collective trans consciousness

by Esmé Holden

Span­ish philoso­pher Paul B Pre­ci­a­do makes his fea­ture doc­u­men­tary debut with an inno­v­a­tive homage to Vir­ginia Woolf’s sem­i­nal 1928 novel.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A neon-lit illustration of a young man with curly hair, glasses, and a serious expression, against a vibrant pink background.
Interviews

Jane Schoenbrun: ‘I think of film as a medium that is going to disappear eventually’

by Esmé Holden

The film­mak­er reflects on her sopho­more fea­ture film, I Saw the TV Glow, in which two teenage out­siders find com­fort in a mys­te­ri­ous tele­vi­sion series.
A man with curly hair and a beard, wearing a light-coloured jacket, sitting on a bench and holding a small white dog.
Review

La Chimera review – shows new ways a movie can be

by Esmé Holden

Alice Rohrwach­er cre­ates a mag­i­cal fairy­tale about a group of tomb raiders, anchored by a soul­ful per­for­mance from Josh O’Connor.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Figurine of construction worker in orange hard hat, holding a book, surrounded by toy construction materials.

Another Brick in the Wall: The Lego Movie at 10

by Esmé Holden

A decade on from its lucra­tive release, Lord and Miller’s ani­mat­ed com­e­dy reveals an endur­ing obses­sion with a nar­row view of artis­tic and per­son­al indi­vid­u­al­i­ty and freedom.
A black and white portrait of a man playing a harp, surrounded by large pink flowers.
Club LWLies Exclusive

The Beautiful and the Pointless

by Esmé Holden

If sex scenes, or any oth­er type of scene, don’t need to serve the plot, do they need to serve any­thing at all?
A large outdoor cinema screen displaying a film poster. In the foreground, a crowd of people are gathered to watch the film screening. In the background, historic buildings and a domed structure can be seen, suggesting an urban setting.
Festivals

A journey through the past at Il Cinema Ritrovato

by Esmé Holden

What can a film fes­ti­val ded­i­cat­ed to the screen­ing of old­er cin­e­ma tell us about the present state of audi­ence engage­ment with movie watching?
Two young faces in close, intimate embrace, surrounded by vibrant blue tones.

The problem with Blue is the Warmest Colour

by Esmé Holden

A decade since Abdel­latif Kechiche’s film made his­to­ry at the Cannes Film Fes­ti­val, its lega­cy is a trou­bling one.
Stylised pink cat-like creature with wings perched on a decorative frame against a blue and turquoise background.
Why I Love...

Why I love the queerness of Bugs Bunny

by Esmé Holden

Looney Tunes’ icon­ic rab­bit hero might not have been con­sid­ered a queer icon dur­ing his hey day, but with hind­sight he takes on a new meaning.