ILLUMINAZIONI (LOGO.EC 20.11.12)

Artist Chinonyeelu Uchechi Amobi has just dropped a brand new short film, ‘Illuminazioni’, a transcendental modern-day meditation that fuses contemporary technology and visuals with classical music – and it’s hosted exclusively by LOGO. We speak to the man himself to find out more.

THE MASTER REVIEW (DON’T PANIC 06.11.12)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new cult masterpiece is one of the most powerful films to come out this year – miss it at your peril.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest offering paints a strange, disquieting and deeply sad picture of searching and loss, with actors Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams giving some of the finest performances of their careers, and a resoundingly poignant score composed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.

THE KUT COLLECTIVE (DON’T PANIC 27.09.12)

Ever wanted to make it snow in summer? The Kut collective made it happen in the Latvian capital – and this is only the beginning.

Latvian guerrilla collective Kut made headlines this summer when they made it ‘snow’ in Riga. Unleashing sacks of fluffy cattail seeds from a roof, the city was soon covered, with the film documenting the event, Oh Joy, simultaneously transforming Kut into a worldwide online sensation. We tracked down the mysterious group for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the stunt, and to gain a better perspective on their underground world.

SAMSARA (DON’T PANIC 21.08.12)

One of the most aesthetically breathtaking cinema releases of the year – and quite possibly, the decade. You NEED to see SAMSARA.

Following up on 1992’s award-winning BARAKA, SAMSARA is a nonverbal odyssey into the spiritual themes of birth, death and rebirth, sweeping the viewer along on a stunning visual journey over 100 locations in 25 countries across the globe. We spoke to director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson to find out more.

FILM: THE RAID (DON’T PANIC MAY 2012)

Brutally violent Indonesian-language action thriller The Raid is set to be one of the best action films of 2012. Don’t watch after eating…

FILM: CAFE DE FLORE (DON’T PANIC MAY 2012)

Juxtaposing two heartsick families in Montreal and Paris, Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée is back with Cafe de Flore: an intense, emotional journey into the idea of obsessive love.

FILM: THIS MUST BE THE PLACE REVIEW (DON’T PANIC APRIL 2012)

Don’t be fooled by the hair and makeup – this isn’t a Robert Smith biopic.   Eccentric, funny and moving, Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film follows an aging goth on the journey of a lifetime.

Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, This Must Be The Place follows the story of Cheyenne (Sean Penn), a 50-year-old American rock star who has left the glamour and excesses of fame behind to live the quiet life in Dublin. Bored and unfulfilled with retirement, and secretly gnawed by the demons of his past, his days pass with a blur of insipid Jamie Oliver programmes and staring passers-by in shopping centres.

FILM: IN A BETTER WORLD (DON’T PANIC AUGUST 2011)

Still glittering from its golden Oscar and Golden Globe wins for Best Foreign Language Film 2010, In A Better World is a gripping Danish drama exploring the themes of justice, forgiveness and masculine violence within suburban Denmark and an African refugee camp. We talk to director Susanne Bier to find out more.

I understand that you and [writer] Anders Thomas Jensen wanted to make a film challenging the common perception of Denmark as a peaceful, harmonious country – is that the case?

That’s correct, yes. There’s this notion that we’re extremely peaceful, and removed from anything bad happening in the world – that we can pretend it’s of no concern to us. We wanted to address that. As human beings, we are much more similar than we are different.

FILM: ‘HOLY ROLLERS’ DIRECTOR INTERVIEW (Don’t Panic – July 2011)

It’s fair to say that ‘Hasidic Jews’ and ‘drug smugglers’ are two ideas that you generally don’t see together in, well, anything. However, new director Kevin Asch has crafted an award-winning film based around this unusual premise with his independent drama Holy Rollers. Based on true events in ’90s New York, the film sees a young rabbi-in-training becoming drawn into the seedy world of Ecstasy smuggling. Starring Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Adventureland) and Justin Bartha (The Hangover), it’s certainly not one to miss.

Holy Rollers has a pretty unconventional plotline. What was it that attracted you to the project?

Our producer, Danny Abeckaser [who also plays Israeli drug dealer Jackie] brought us the story. As he was telling it I saw the image of a young Jew in a nightclub, and the juxtaposition of those two worlds, the Hasidim world and the world of Ecstasy smuggling, within that one image. It was so unique and specific – something that I haven’t seen on film before. The fact that it all really happened grounded it, and made it feel real.