November 7, 2022

THOUGHTS: WHINA // A Companion essay by scholar ‘Ihilani Lasconia //   “She is the daughter of Heremia Te Wake, chiefly leader of Ngaati Manawa, Te Rarawa and Ngaapuhi. She is from Panguru, the sacred mountain, and the guiding stars. She is of the sacred tree that leans to the west”. WHINA is a timely […]

THOUGHTS: MY SMALL LAND // A Companion essay by scholar Monisha Das Gupta //   Earlier this year, the flight of 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion captured international attention and garnered an outpouring of support. The mainstream media’s framing of the flight of Ukrainians immediately raises the question:

THOUGHTS: MIDWIVES // A Companion essay by scholar L. Ayu Saraswati //   MIDWIVES is director Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s first feature film, winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Excellence in Vérité Filmmaking award. The film follows the lives of Hla, a Buddhist midwife, and her Muslim apprentice, Nyo Nyo, in Rakhine state, Myanmar. Their

THOUGHTS: BATTLEGROUND // A Companion essay by scholar Grace Alvaro Caligtan //   If the fall of Roe v Wade has become a moment to take a closer look at politics, power, and rights to bodily autonomy, then Cynthia Lowen’s documentary BATTLEGROUND offers a clarifying lens. Lowen gives viewers access to the inner workings of

THOUGHTS / BAD AXE: A Companion essay by scholar Kim Compoc //   Director David Siev’s riveting documentary BAD AXE takes its name from his predominantly white hometown in rural Michigan. Siev began the project in March 2020 to chronicle his family’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the lockdowns and difficulties in keeping the