MIRANDA SIGHTING
Lin-Manuel Miranda swung through town on Monday night as part of the Variety Artisans Awards showcase. The poly-talent behind Hamilton and In the Heights appeared as an Oscar nominee for the song “Dos Oruguitas” from the film Encanto. Also on hand was Encanto‘s score composer Germaine Franco, who happens to be the first female composer hired for a Disney animated film, thanks to Miranda’s clout.
Not surprisingly, Miranda got a hero’s welcome at the Arlington. He pointed out that “I was adamant about having an all-Latin creative team.” He also pointed out that his song-penning work happened under lockdown conditions, tying in with the film’s theme of transcending obstacles. “In writing this in the pandemic,” he said. “If you’re enduring great pain, there might be a miracle on the other side of it.” The larger metaphorical message of his statement, even referring back to SBIFF’s return to the streets this year, rang true.
WAR CRIES
Trenches, a slow but engrossing documentary shot literally “in the trenches” during the conflict in eastern Ukraine with Russian separatists, would be intriguing on its own merits as a war chronicle. Tragically, the film takes on an entirely urgency because of current events of the past few weeks, a time of dangerously ramped-up warfare in Ukraine. French war journalist Loup Bureau embedded himself in the trenches where young soldiers deal with the angst and pained ennui of waiting for battle. Shot with a conscientiously graceful visual style in black and white and blessed with a tastefully applied minimalist score, the film feels at once very specific and timeless.