Modern Times Review

15/08/2025

In a U.S. Senate hearing, grieving parents held up photos of their children—victims of an algorithm that never stops running. For example, in the U.S, the number of teens who die from fentanyl pills sold on Snapchat could fill an entire classroom every week.

'Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media' shows why «sorry» isn’t enough.

TECHNOLOGY: Grieving parents, whistleblowers, and lawyers expose a predatory industry rewarded for harm.

15/08/2025

SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL kicks off today and runs through 22 August.

Find all MTR coverage -> https://www.moderntimes.review/tag/sarajevo-film-festival/

14/08/2025

In 'Click the Link Below,' a filmmaker steps into the online «success» universe—courses, funnels, mindset hacks—just to finish a project. The deeper he goes, the more exhausted he feels, until he discovers the thing that actually helps isn’t a tactic at all, but people, fresh air, and finishing the work.

SELF-HELP: Filmmaker Audun Amundsen navigates the self-help industry’s promises, uncovering exploitation, insecurity, and the mechanics of digital persuasion.

13/08/2025

Zhana has done everything «right» in a system stacked against her: night shifts, odd jobs, moving from homelessness to a tiny room where her daughter can finally study. Still not enough. So she signs a 9-month contract—$14,000 to carry someone else’s child. Again. And again.

This isn’t a morality tale, it’s the modern economy. Who gets a future? Whose body pays for it? From SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL Documentary Competition, 9-Month Contract' seeks the answer.

CAPITALISM: It’s not just Georgia where are women trying to find a way out of social misery through surrogacy.

13/08/2025

Aside from key forums, Docu Rough Cut Boutique and Docu Talents From the East will be the panel «Decoding the Documentary Industry: What Decision Makers Are Looking For?»

Sarajevo Film Festival has renewed its focus on documentary cinema with a revitalised concept for its industry strand at CineLink Industry Days, running 17–18 August. Designed to address the evolv…

12/08/2025

You’ve just seen something raw, something that gets under your skin. You want to help. Then, you walk out into the street, buy a coffee, check your phone.... The feeling slips away.

ShareDoc exists for that moment. One scan, right there in the credits, takes you to the people you’ve just met onscreen, where you can donate, volunteer, sign, and act while the feeling is still alive.

We spoke with ShareDoc founder Anne Marie Borsboom on the powerful new platform.

SHAREDOC: ShareDoc turns post-film empathy into real support for documentary protagonists.

11/08/2025

At first, Дівія/Divia. Документальний фільм про вплив війни на природу feels like a love letter to the living world. But, the sound changes. A deep boom rolls in from somewhere far away.

By the time the camera moves to scorched trees, ruined cities, and animal carcasses left where they fell, you know you’re watching a war with no front line, no ceasefire, and no survivors untouched.

Screening at the upcoming SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL, read Dieter Wieczorek's perspective on 'Divia' ⬇️

UKRAINE: Nature is rarely discussed in the current war effort, but Divia is not silent.

11/08/2025

Over nine days, Dokufest presented over 200 films alongside performances, discussions, masterclasses, and workshops spread across cinemas and improvised venues throughout Prizren.

The 24th edition of wrapped on Saturday night, where juries, partners, and guests gathered to honour standout films from across the festival’s competitions. Over nine days, DokuFest pres…

07/08/2025

Selected by Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, the 21st edition of Docu Talents from the East will take place on 17 August at the SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL.

The 21st edition of Docu Talents from the East will take place on 17 August at the Sarajevo Film Festival, spotlighting seven documentary projects currently in post-production. Selected by the Ji.…

06/08/2025

«There’s something wrong, and I want to understand what it is»

Vitaly Mansky talks with Modern Times Review on his Manifesto for Real Cinema.

INTERVIEW: Vitaly Mansky talks with Modern Times Review on his Manifesto for Real Cinema.

06/08/2025

Held from 28 July to 3 August in the northern Portuguese border town, the 11th MDOC - Festival Internacional de Documentário de Melgaço welcomed over 4,500 spectators and more than 15 filmmakers and producers.

The 11th edition of – Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival concluded on 3 August with the announcement of this year’s winners. Held from 28 July to 3 August in the northern Portug…

05/08/2025

Lost For Words explores what it means when children no longer know the names for the world around them—No more «acorn.» No more «bramble.» No more «otter.»

Through poetry, music, and sweeping landscapes, this Dokufest-screening film asks: What happens when we can’t name what we’ve lost?

NATURE: A gentle appeal for reconnecting to nature through the language we have so long used to describe.