(Because I like to FINISH WHAT I START, even if it's exactly a month late.) Bye #MIFF2026, see you next year!

WICKER: Somehow both prestige picture-lovely and grindhouse flick-unhinged... like all the best fairytales? Bless Wilson-Fischer for taking a story that, superficially, is so well-worn and making it feel fresh, propulsive, disarmingly emotional and horny as hell. Perfect film to close my #MIFF2026.

ALL OF A SUDDEN: A beautiful, staggering work that quietly deals with friendship, ageing, disability, empathy, whether hope is possible in our compromised world (& more), in a way so human, funny and warm that it's hard not to be enveloped by. Somehow my first Hamaguchi! Won't be my last. #MIFF2026

VICTORIAN PSYCHO: Really wanted to love this, and Maika Monroe gives it her best amongst a fun cast, but it just felt like a one joke premise repeated over & over again for 90 increasingly tiresome minutes. Keen to read the book, which seems much more psychologically compelling (& funny). #MIFF2026

NOSTALGIA FOR THE FUTURE: Think I wanted more out of this as a primer on Marker's career (as that, it's fine), but despite Charlotte Rampling's narration and the odd playful flourish, I wanted it to be more playful, more beautiful, more free-flowing. Instead, felt more like a dry monotone. #MIFF2026

An evening celebrating cinema, culture and storytelling at the third annual Manila International Film Festival Closing Night Awards Gala.

Thank you, Nicole Muj, for including me in such a memorable evening. ✨

💄 @makeup.by.lida
📸 Dan Kennedy and Viktoria Sirakova

#EveRichards #MIFF2026