by Sean Pratt | Apr 30, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “We haven’t hung in five years. This weekend is about us. We are here together. Today is the last day that we will ever be this young.” In 2018, I hosted a Q&A with the talent for George Tillman Jr.’s “The Hate U Give” at the Riviera Theatre. One... by Sean Pratt | Apr 28, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “What I see nobody else sees. It frightens me.” I have always found comfort in the work of great filmmakers, journeying through their vision as it unfolds in front of my eyes. For me, there’s a vicarious aspect to this because I’ve never longed to... by Sean Pratt | Apr 25, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “Thousands of years ago, Orpheus was sad and melancholic, like this little bird trapped in its cage. But one day, from the strings of his guitar that sought only one true love, a voice spoke to him of lost kisses from the lips of Eurydice.” “Black... by Sean Pratt | Apr 23, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Mel: “You got a lot of nerve. You come in here, you lick my wife’s armpit. You know… I’m going to have that image in my head for the rest of my life with your tongue in there.” Yes, there’s a famous armpit licking scene in David O.... by Sean Pratt | Apr 21, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Patricia: “Listen. The last sentence is beautiful. ‘Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.’ Which would you choose?” Michel: “…Grief’s stupid, l’d choose nothing. It’s not better, but grief’s a compromise. l want... by Sean Pratt | Apr 18, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “All my life, I’ve stayed at parties too long because I didn’t know when to go.” In David Lean’s “Summertime” (1955), there’s a moment that captures for those who’ve been there, and for those who haven’t yet experienced it, the exhilaration of the... by Sean Pratt | Apr 16, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?” Paul Brickman’s “Risky Business” (1983) plays as well today as it did the first time I saw it. Even better. When it... by Sean Pratt | Apr 14, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “You must have heard surely of movie magic. You should be a stunt man, who is an actor, who is a character in a movie, who is an enemy soldier. Who’ll look for you amongst all those? People like to believe in things, and policemen are just... by Sean Pratt | Apr 5, 2021 | General
A gorgeous coffee table showpiece, our book CINEMA IN FLUX was created as a fundraiser for SBIFF,a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization. CLICK HERE TO ORDER On March 16, 2020, we were told we were going into lockdown. That first day, reeling,... by Sean Pratt | Mar 31, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I’m always struck by the bent figures in the valley.” The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival is here. The idea of cancelling never crossed my mind. Delaying until today (our dates are usually late January) gave us a chance to succeed with... by Sean Pratt | Mar 30, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “This is no job for you. You’re always by yourself. You see a film 100 times. You’ve nothing else to do. You talk to Greta Garbo and Tyrone Power like an idiot. You work like a dog. Even holidays, Easter, Christmas.” Alfredo, the... by Sean Pratt | Mar 29, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Anthony: “You’re abandoning me. What’s going to become of me?” Seeing the spellbinding and heartbreaking “The Father” (2020), which just received six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, reminded me of a well-known film by Stanley Kubrick. In... by Sean Pratt | Mar 28, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I cry a lot too. I’m a big crier…I cry all the time. Any little thing. All my brothers, my brothers-in-law – they’re – they’re always telling me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don’t get to be good-hearted... by Sean Pratt | Mar 26, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Mrs. Pretty: “We die, and we decay and we don’t live on.” Basil: “We’re part of something continuous, so we don’t really die.” We’re in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk County in 1939, and what we’re about to see is based on a true story. Basil Brown (Ralph... by Sean Pratt | Mar 25, 2021 | General
by Sean Pratt | Mar 24, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “A lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize we’re very similar in a lot of ways.” When the Oscar nominations were announced for Best Documentary, “My Octopus Teacher” (2020)... by Sean Pratt | Mar 24, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “There are certain questions I can’t answer.” I tell my students to look out for figurative comparisons that help the filmmaker navigate deeper themes and ideas. Once uncovered, these ‘visual aids” help the viewer arrive at a greater appreciation of... by Sean Pratt | Mar 23, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “You will be sent to a home of our choosing.” Although it came out in October, I had not gotten around to writing about “His House” (2020). Two weeks ago, when the British Academy of Film Television and Arts (BAFTA) announced its influential list of... by Sean Pratt | Mar 22, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Emma: “I have been unpardonably vain, and insufferably arrogant. I have been inconsiderate, and indelicate, and irrational, and unfeeling.” For someone who is not fond of romantic comedies, I am obsessed with Jane Austen. I’ve read all of her comedy... by Sean Pratt | Mar 21, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “You’ll find that life is still worthwhile If you’ll just Smile” How many times have the lyrics of the song “Smile” gotten us through hard times? I certainly have listened to it several times over the past twelve months. Did you know that the music... by Sean Pratt | Mar 19, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Charlie : “You remember that day. Was I there? Where was I?” Raymond : “You were in the window. You waved to me, ‘Bye bye Rain Man, Bye bye.’” There’s a scene in the Oscar winning “Rain Man” (1988) that always gets to me. It takes place in a... by Sean Pratt | Mar 18, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Clare : “I’m not your nightingale, your little bird, your dove. I’m not your anything. I belong to me and no one else!” I warn you, I’m a big fan of “The Nightingale” (2018) and this write up comes from my fervor for writer/director... by Sean Pratt | Mar 17, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Jerome : “This is too much madness to explain in one text!” Talk about not judging a book by its cover. When the movie starts you’re in modern day south London in a council state (housing projects) on “Guy Fawkes” night, a shower of fireworks lighting... by Sean Pratt | Mar 16, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Dr. Erin Mears : “The average person touches their face 2- or 3000 times a day. Three to five times every waking minute. In between, we’re touching doorknobs, water fountains, elevator buttons and each other. Those things become fomites.” As a... by Sean Pratt | Mar 15, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Rocky: “I’m dumb, and you’re shy.” I hadn’t seen “Rocky” (1976) since it first came out. I saw all the sequels, including the spin-off of the series, Ryan Coogler’s “Creed” (2015). I had forgotten how tender and poignant the original film is. It has... by Sean Pratt | Mar 14, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Ticket Seller : “Something wrong with your eyes?” Roger Thornhill : “Yes, they’re sensitive to questions.” One of my favorite moments in the ever buoyant “North by Northwest” (1959) directed by the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock, takes place... by Sean Pratt | Mar 12, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “And maybe just for tonight we can escape our troubles and hear the great changes that are happening out there.” I’ve mentioned to you before, back when I recommended it, that I’m obsessed with John Ford’s “The Searchers” (1954). I have taught it now... by Sean Pratt | Mar 11, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “In this country you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.” There’s something sad that happens to you when you migrate. You’ve worked so hard as a young person to hold on to a sense of individuality and to stop feeling like you don’t belong in... by Sean Pratt | Mar 10, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, “I wanted to tell you something that’s very important to me….” “Two of Us” — written and directed in his debut by filmmaker Filippo Meneghetti — is France’s submission to the International Feature Oscar race, and it’s on the shortlist of... by Sean Pratt | Mar 10, 2021 | Film Recommendations
Dear Cinephiles, Iris: “When face to face with a policeman, I should keep my mouth shut, say nothing unless asked, answer questions with ‘yes, sir, no, sir,’ unless they violate my civil rights. Then put my hands on my head where they can clearly see them and ask for... 
