Press reviews for „The Veiled City“ by Natalie Cubides-Brady
„Drawing connections between Winston Churchill’s shameful moment of inaction (previously depicted in The Crown) and today’s climate crisis, The Veiled City is a speculative letter that begs us to take urgent action.“
review by Redmond Bacon for directorsnotes.com
„Dare alle immagini un’altra possibilità: forse è questo che rende The Veiled City un lavoro tanto ipnotico, la capacità di immaginare un destino diverso per delle riprese che altrimenti resterebbero solo l’affascinante cronaca di un disastro. Disancorati dall’evento storico che li ha generati, riproposti in un’altra cornice narrativa, gli scorci di strade nebbiose, di volti e palazzi quasi del tutto svaniti, non sono più testimonianze del passato ma vivide da un futuro non ancora accaduto.“
article by Giulia Oglialoro for Q CODE
„Pourquoi on l’aime : Constitué d’images d’archives du Grand Smog qui a envahi Londres il y a 70 ans, The Veiled City est un étrange voyage dans une science-fiction apocalyptique. La Britannique Natalie Cubides-Brady signe un fascinant conte lointain et hanté qui vient nous parler du présent et du futur.“
review in Le Polyester
„Drawing from archive footage of the 1952 London smog, this short film encourages the audience to consider smog in the context of the current climate emergency. The short film is narrated by a character from the post apocalyptic future, blending elements of documentary and science fiction together.“
review by Emily Nicholas for Luxiders Magazine
„In he Veiled City, Natalie Cubides-Brady cleverly turns archive footage of a smog-filled London into a cautionary sci-fi tale.“
review by Laurence Boyce for cineuropa.org
„L’histoire : 1952, Londres est engloutie dans le Grand Smog. En raison de l’industrialisation, un brouillard de plomb s’est installé sur toute la ville. Les images d’archives de cette période se transforment en lettres sur un avenir désolé. Pourquoi on l’aime : Constitué d’images d’archives du Grand Smog qui a envahi Londres il y a 70 ans, The Veiled City est un étrange voyage dans une science-fiction apocalyptique. La Britannique Natalie Cubides-Brady signe un fascinant conte lointain et hanté qui vient nous parler du présent et du futur.“
review by Nicolas Bardot and Gregory Coutaut for Le Polyester
„Wie aus einem alten Gruselfilm wirken die Szenen von Menschen, die durch die von dickem Nebel verwischten Straßen Londons huschen. Doch die schwarz-weißen Aufnahmen, die Natalie Cubides-Brady in ihrem knappen filmischen Rekurs zu einer wortwörtlich düsteren Dystopie stilisiert, sind authentische Bilder des Great Smog, der sich 1952 über London senkte und die Stadt in eine künstliche Nacht der Luftverschmutzung stürzte. Ein mahnend metaphorischer Rückblick in ein geisterhaftes Gestern, das zugleich ein Morgen zu werden droht.“
review by Lida Bach for moviebreak.de
„In The Veiled City by Natalie Cubides-Brady , a time traveller from the future sets off for 1952 London, which is in danger of suffocating in the Great Smog produced by factory chimneys. In letters to her sister, she attempts to understand how one of the first man-made environmental disasters could happen, as well as the far-reaching effects that it would go on to have. The images are entirely drawn from archival footage from the period, while the letters are – presumably – fictional.“
interview with Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck for the Berlinale website
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