Wednesday 9th July 2025
Blog Page 197

Italiamo: Oxford’s Italian outpost

Oliver Hall
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Italiamo: Oxford’s Italian outpost

Every Oxford student knows Italiamo. Their calzones on Broad Street have been a go-to lunch option for years and now they have diversified even further. A new store on the High Street opened last year and uses the extra space to stock specialist deli items and the sheer variety of pasta and pizza options means one can never become bored sitting in the tranquil oasis of their garden.

Everything about Italiamo is Italian. The queue, the order in the apparent chaos, but above all the flavours and products. Everything is brought in especially, from cheeses to spreads to prosciutto to coffee. That authenticity really reaps its rewards and the continued value proposition in the face of spiralling import prices is truly remarkable.

High Street Store

We kicked the trip off by meeting the charming owner Medina at the High Street store, picking up the items that are only on offer here. If you have favourites from Mediterranean summers gone by then chances are you can grab them. It’s my go-to for Pan di Stelle spread and biscuits (I’m yet to find them anywhere else in the UK other than London’s Eataly) but you can also find cheeses, meats and specialist pasta such as the Sardinian gnochetti.

Schiacciata and Pizza al Taglio

In terms of exclusive food, here we picked up the traditional Sardinian schiacciata with ricotta and potato and the vegetarian Roman variety, pizza al taglio. It’s no secret that I’m not the biggest potato lover but the thin slices here work beautifully with the light ricotta and crispy thin base that characterises schiacciata to make the perfect bite. The taglio is a much crispy and fluffier option and the aubergine stood out from the rest of the vegetables.

Genovese

Next up was the circular Genovese. The goat’s cheese here is glorious but not overpowering and the pesto, peppers, and tomatoes combine superbly.

Arancini, Parmigiana, Pesto Chicken Salad

Other savoury options were arancini, parmigiana, and the pesto chicken salad. Arancini are often far too bland in the UK but this one is different. A glorious mess, the vegetables and tomato within make it a great sharing side if you are feeling hungry. What stood out to me about the parmigiana was the genuine quality of the cheese and tomatoes. Again, I’m a big believer in the fact that almost everything is ‘over-cheesed’ in our country but when the ingredients are high quality that doesn’t matter. The aubergine slices are thick and chunky, soaking up the tomato sauce well. And then the salad, oh the salad! This is the best value takeaway salad in Oxford, no doubt. The sheer quantity of leaves and vegetables, as well as the light dressing, is in stark contrast to most places and the chicken itself is moist and lightly drizzled in pesto.

Sweet options inc

Then onto those sweet options that always look so tempting in the window. The double espresso is brilliantly bitter and in a different league from the regular overpriced high street options that students often turn to. The coffee is sourced from a small company in Milan that the owners keep secret so no one else catches on. 

I’ve always been tempted by the tiramisu so was very excited to try it. If you like it boozy you are in luck! There are too many fingers for me but there is certainly enough dessert here for two or three. All the pastries and biscuits are homemade in Sicily and they really did take me back to my favourite island for a summer escape. The cornetti (croissant) are the sugared variety usually preserved for when sitting on an Italian bar stool and the apricot jam in ours was fruity and clearly not artificially flavoured. The cantucci are slightly different from any I’ve had before with a firmer, pastry-like texture but the chocolate crema within makes them an ideal coffee dunk. The filling in both the aragostini and cantucci is similarly rich and you should opt for the pistachio if looking for something lighter. These cannoli too are noticeably different from those that you usually find in England. The coating is thin, crispy, and crumbly, allowing the crema to dominate.

Everything at Italiamo is done with care, love, and authenticity. There is a simple reason that people continue to visit despite the queues and waits — quality. Calzone dough proved for 24 hours, specialist importers from across Italy, focaccia sandwiches made every day by hand. These are the things that make the difference and being able to get access to that in Oxford at such a reasonable price point is remarkable. The Sardinian family team here of Stefano, Madina, Alessandro and Emanuela, are always up for a chat and a smile.

So, all I can do is apologise. With this review my aim was to identify which of the vast menu items you should opt for. Quite frankly, the answer is all of them. So, all I can say is keep on visiting, keep on filling that stamp card, and branch out from your calzone order!

“I was told that I need to better manage my time”: Living with endometriosis at Oxford

Iseult de Mallet Burgess
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“I was told that I need to better manage my time”: Living with endometriosis at Oxford

CW: suicide

Underdiagnosed and understudied, endometriosis has long existed largely in the shadows. For one Oxford student who responded to our survey, this meant 15 years of profound suffering and neglect by medical professionals before receiving a diagnosis. For another, years spent living on a legal high while receiving a string of misdiagnoses borne of medical ignorance. For all, an Oxford degree complicates the impossible balancing act of managing an invisible illness. 

Invisible it may be, but endometriosis is far from rare: it affects an estimated one in 10 people assigned female at birth. In people with endometriosis, tissue resembling the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body — most commonly on the pelvic organs, but in rare cases, the lungs, eyes, spine, and brain — causing inflammation. The buildup of abnormal tissue outside the uterus can lead to painful cysts and scarring, and adhesions may form as part of an inflammatory process, particularly in late-stage cases, causing internal organs to stick together. Despite broad prevalence, the condition receives only a fraction of the research funding of other conditions with comparable numbers, such as asthma and diabetes.  

The disease can cause “severe pelvic pain” including with periods and sexual intercourse, “and is also associated with infertility,” says Dr Krina Zondervan, a professor of reproductive and genomic epidemiology at the University of Oxford and co-Director of the Endometriosis CaRe Centre. “Endometriosis is chronic, and treatments are limited to repeated surgeries and hormonal therapies.”

Like other inflammatory conditions, endometriosis is exacerbated by stress — perhaps the one constant in the life of an Oxford student. A Metro article in 2017 labelled Oxford students as the “hardest working” and “most miserable” in the UK. In an environment where students feel they can’t ‘miss’ a day, let alone a week, managing a chronic illness and its unpredictable and often debilitating flare-ups becomes infinitely more complicated. 

“Since coming to Oxford, stress has impacted my pain management methods, which meant I had to see multiple specialists to find a new way of treating my endometriosis,” one student shared. “I was in immense pain whilst still managing to keep up with university demands. I was in so much pain that when [a surgical] procedure was offered to me during term time, I had to accept. This meant I had to travel home during term, have my procedure, and come back and be expected to continue with Oxford life.” 

Other students echoed the difficulties of “having to take time out for pain management” and “being expected by society to carry on despite the pain”. 

Though some students report having “lenient” and “understanding” tutors, experiences of asking for and receiving university support were mixed. Some found it difficult to know what kind of help to ask for, who to ask, or what the University would do. Others emphasised the difficulty in explaining circumstances “when symptoms fluctuate daily”. One student who applied for an extension following surgery even reports being told by her college academic support officer that she needed to better manage her time. This, she believes, is down to general ignorance surrounding the disease: “if university staff understood that endometriosis is not just period pain, but is actually regarded by the NHS as one of the top ten most painful conditions, there’d be a bit more sympathy regarding how much it can affect your life.”

In fact, most students cited this general ignorance — not only among ordinary people, but also medical professionals — to be the biggest challenge of living with endometriosis. “I have had both the average person and most healthcare professionals act quite dismissively regarding my endometriosis, and it can become very frustrating,” one student said. “I’ve had other menstruating people tell me that everyone gets period pains, or try to equate their period pains to mine, and I find that extremely difficult… A lot of doctors have said that there is nothing they can do, and that is also a big challenge.”

A lack of research funding, public education, and medical training, as well as ubiquitous misinformation saturating the healthcare and public sectors, speak to the prevalence of medical misogyny and its impact on patients with endometriosis. While many lesser-known health conditions are similarly underfunded and insufficiently discussed, few are as common as endometriosis. The societal normalisation of women’s pain is pervasive, as is stigma around menstrual issues. 63% of people who responded to our Instagram poll believed there to be stigma surrounding the disease. 83% thought that endometriosis was not discussed enough.

Chillingly, VICE revealed in December that women in the UK were being denied transvaginal ultrasounds (a pelvic ultrasound used as part of the diagnostic process for endometriosis) because they were ‘virgins’, going against ultrasound guidelines in the UK. This is the latest in a long history of misogyny in healthcare, which impacts the care and diagnosis of people who identify as women. A seminal 2001 study found that women are far more likely than men to have their pain reported as “psychogenic” and “not real”. When in pain, women are more likely to be given sedatives or antidepressants, while men are more likely to be given painkillers. Women are subject to higher rates of misdiagnosis and delayed care than men.   

As a result, endometriosis remains under-diagnosed and inadequately treated. Dr Zondervan tells me that for endometriosis, “the average diagnostic delay from first onset of symptoms is 7 years, however there is a huge range, with some women not being diagnosed for decades. We know from many studies, including the Global Women’s Health Study (Nnoaham et al., 2011) that this impacts significantly on the quality of life of women and their families.”

Every student who responded to our survey acknowledged that their quality of life had been adversely affected by medical misogyny and ignorance: from being dismissed and pathologised “for 15 years” prior to a diagnosis, to being prescribed birth control without informed consent, to being made to think that “having cramps that made me want to vomit for days on end and bleeding through extra thick pads in a matter of a few hours” was not only normal, but some intrinsic and essential part of having a uterus. Some recounted being treated “very aggressively” by male doctors when they suggested that they might have endometriosis; some were told their symptoms weren’t worth investigating. 

If people with endometriosis struggle to be heard and understood by medical professionals, how are they meant to explain unpredictable circumstances beget by the complex disease to university staff or their peers? 

For many, the lack of knowledge surrounding endometriosis has led to feelings of “isolation” and “frustration” at university, further compounding mental health issues already connected to the disease. Endometriosis is associated with several psychiatric comorbidities, including depression and anxiety. All students surveyed agreed that endometriosis has affected their mental health, causing “depression”, “low mood”, “anxiety about symptoms, anxiety about the future, anxiety about operations”, and feelings of isolation. What’s more, people with endometriosis are often put on birth control with little to no informed consent, nor forewarning of the mental health issues birth control can effect or exacerbate. One student shared that, heartbreakingly, due to endometriosis, she developed severe social anxiety and most days would struggle to leave the house. “Once I started birth control, the depression became worse, and I was extremely suicidal. Had it not been for the fact that I am a practising Muslim, I would have taken my life.”

These responses underscore the need for major changes to how we discuss and view endometriosis. “Attitudes to menstruation in general need to change, and what is ‘normal’ and what is ‘not normal’ in terms of menstrual experiences including pelvic pain needs to be understood by everyone,” says Dr Zondervan, who hopes that attitudes towards what have long been dismissed as ‘women’s troubles’ will continue to evolve. “Education at secondary schools is vital there. Talking about endometriosis or other menstruation related conditions should never be a taboo.”

Awareness of endometriosis has, however, increased over the past few decades. There are treatments available and specialists who can help. “Talk to the people around you,” urges Dr Zondervan. “Many therapies are effective in treating symptoms, so seeking early medical advice when you have symptoms is important. Talk to your course director and/or supervisor — and importantly your college adviser. They are there to support you, and will help you work around flare-ups.” Living with endometriosis complicates life at Oxford — and indeed is complicated by life at Oxford — but no one with the disease should suffer in silence.

Support information:

For student counselling services please email: [email protected]

Nightline: 01865 270 270

Deuteronomy Review: Breath-taking, Heart-stopping, Terrifying

Andrew Raynes
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Deuteronomy Review: Breath-taking, Heart-stopping, Terrifying

There are times in one’s life – breath-taking, heart-stopping, terrifying times – when one feels as though one is witnessing genius. Watching Deuteronomy is one of those times. Charlie Thurston’s script is an intelligent and moving piece of writing in Beckett’s tradition, but, whilst it necessarily grapples with the question of meaning in one’s life, it seems, also, to provide an answer.   

The succinct play sits at about forty-five minutes and is a Platonic-dialectical conversation between two characters: the Man (Jo Rich) and the Beggar (Freddie Houlahan). Neither dragging nor rushing, it is exactly as long as it needs to be – a tough balance to achieve with any new writing, let alone something so philosophical. And, despite its lack of explicit plot, it does not feel devoid of action. Thurston’s direction, and Rich and Houlahan’s compelling performances have imbued every line of the script with genuine meaning – both philosophical and emotional – so each conflict is a credible, enthralling piece of action. Rich and Houlahan move with grace and skill from pitch to pitch, balancing moments of horrifying anger with still, subtle, sadness; the fun of conversation with the tragedy of conflict; the intense and the casual and the tragic side by side.  

These changes in emotional register are reflected in Thurston’s script, whose subtle shifts and juxtapositions are some of the most affecting elements of the play. Much of the dialogue is explicitly philosophical: the characters discuss death, religion, language, the essence of objects. Is a rotten apple still an apple? Is a damaged thing no longer what it was undamaged? Does this matter, as long as happiness can still be derived from it? Part of Deuteronomy’s genius is in the importance of little things: we may not know why we are alive, we may not know why or when we will die; but we know “about trees and toadstools and the smell of a forest before it rains” – and this matters. Deuteronomy finds beauty in the experience of having lived, however terrible the world we have lived in: the joy of life embodied in the eating of a rotten apple. The play itself is a thing ephemeral, but it is a thing of beauty, and it matters that one has watched it. Its language, too, is beautiful; the Beggar and the Man speak in an odd dialect, a mixture of dropped aitches and abbreviations and idiolectic word order juxtaposed with dignified, expansive vocabulary, and it is musical to listen to.  

The sound design itself is subtle and dignified, suggesting setting and time in the simplest possible ways. Gentle sea-waves merge into birdsong. Every so often, distant shell-fire shakes the room. The lights fade from bright white, to pink, to soft blue. The technology in Deuteronomy is lifelike in its ambience and gentleness, adding multitudes to the play and detracting nothing. The constant soft noise becomes comforting, too: there are a few significant moments of silence, and they are distressing and maddening; the lack of life, of nature, is unsettling. It – like the set – is expertly crafted to the needs of the play, which are few. The set consists merely of a few flats, a box, a coffin, all impactful in their sparseness.  

What is significant about Deuteronomy, too, is that it is a play about someone nearing the end of a journey, in a way that brings finality and completion. It is deeply satisfying as a meditation on mortality, striking a credible and moving balance between the fear of the unknown and the reassurance of a life well-lived. Named after the final book of the Pentateuch, it begins with the Beggar, the one who asks, searching for a verse in that book: though he gets to the very end, he does not find the knowledge he seeks. A moment of near-fatal tension, later, is dispelled by him realising that the verse may indeed be in Leviticus; he takes us back to the middle of things. The Man, on the other hand, has no time for the book, and does not seek knowledge or answers; for him, it is enough to know where he has been and what he has experienced along the way.  

This is Thurston’s answer to absurdism: in Deuteronomy, Godot arrives, and the journey and wait have been worth it. The play is both heavy and uplifting, but, as it draws to a close, at its core sings a song of innocence and hope – as the Man sings; “hurrah, my boys, for freedom, ‘tis the rising of the moon.” I will be back tomorrow, and the day after; because if I never see Deuteronomy again it will be the tragedy of my life.   

Opera funding cuts: What is the future of the art form?

Stephanie Nourse
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Opera funding cuts: What is the future of the art form?

Opera in the UK is in crisis. In the latest round of government funding allocated by The Arts Council England (ACE), many of the country’s largest opera institutions have had their budgets slashed. Receiving sufficient funding is crucial to the running of arts institutions in the UK, and ACE has faced immediate backlash since a pattern was identified in the most recent allocations towards the end of last year.

Sir Nick Serota, chair of Arts Council England, announced on a livestream: “The position was made relatively clear when the Secretary of State instructed us to take money out of London… and encouraged us to take money from central London to some parts of the city that haven’t previously had funding. It was almost inevitable that we would have to take some money away from some of the main theatres in London. We’ve simply had to make some very invidious choices.”

Following advice to prioritise financial backing to organisations outside the capital, ACE has begun to provide more funding to opera institutions in the North. While it is no secret that the UK’s capital dominates the cultural sector by a long shot, the redistribution has failed to strike a sensible balance. This has left several London-based organisations suddenly depleted of monetary support, among them many of the country’s major opera organisations.

One of the most prestigious UK opera companies is Glyndebourne, reaching around 150,000 people every year with over 120 live opera performances. In 1968 it founded the Glyndebourne Tour to take its operatic productions around the country at affordable prices, helping to make world-class opera accessible to people across the UK. “Glyndebourne has been offered annual funding of £800,000 per year between 2023 and 2026. Our annual funding from the Arts Council during the previous funding period was £1.6million per year,” the organisation explained in a press statement. 

Having lost over half of its regular funding, Glyndebourne announced in January that it would have to cancel its 2023 tour to Liverpool, Norwich, Canterbury and Milton Keynes. The programme would have included various activities for families, singing workshops in schools, and music recitals in local care homes.

Welsh National Opera (WNO), based at the Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff, has also suffered a 35% cut to its ACE grant. The company had already made its financial difficulties known in previous years. In 2020, it announced that it would be reducing its workforce by 16%, and in 2021 only three productions could be staged instead of the usual five or six due to financial constraints. 

In the same year, WNO launched the fundraising campaign ‘Raise the Curtain’ to help mitigate the impact of funding cuts, and the company’s co-operation with the Birmingham Hippodrome aimed to reduce costs. Now, Welsh National Opera has already reduced its 2023 tour, cutting Liverpool from the list of destinations outside of Wales. Productions in Bristol, Birmingham, Southampton and Oxford now also hang in the balance. 

The English National Opera (ENO), which is based at the London Coliseum near Covent Garden, faced an even more drastic situation after ACE threatened to axe its £12.6 million grant unless the company agreed to relocate. The ENO has now been given £11.5 million for the next financial year, which it says will give it “one year’s reprieve”, but “still leaves a huge amount of uncertainty regarding the ENO’s future”. The company has already had to postpone several of its upcoming productions, including part of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. 

Opera companies appear to have been targeted in particular following accusations from ACE that opera is an “elitist” art form. Yet the work done by Glyndebourne and the English-language performances at ENO as well as its offering of free tickets for under 21s, heavily discounted tickets for under 35s and a base price of £10 for all seats suggests that a significant effort is continually being made to make opera available to everyone. 

The ENO website also features a “Your first opera” page with information on what to expect, helpful introductions and plot outlines for their operas, and an underscoring that there is no set dress code. In a statement rejecting ACE’s claims of elitism and a lack of public engagement in opera, ENO revealed that last season’s audiences at the opera house were 51 percent first-time bookers.

Opera is also increasingly adopting new, more modern initiatives to tackle these allegations of elitism while also helping to raise vital funds. The Royal Opera House offers streaming subscriptions from £9.99 a month, starting with a 14-day free trial and offering unlimited access to a library of over 45 ballets and operas including behind-the-scenes features, interviews with the artists and creative insights. The company Rogue Opera aims to improve accessibility to operatic theatre by bringing performances to audiences to unexpected places – namely to pub gardens across the UK.

Opera organisations are also changing how they advertise, namely through taking advantage of the exposure offered by social media platforms. ENO now has a profile on TikTok as well as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and the hashtag #operaisopen features heavily across social media to entice new audiences. 

In Oxford, there are several ways for students to engage with and support the local opera scene. New Theatre Oxford, located on George Street, offers locals the chance to see top-class opera productions. The theatre will put on performances of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on the 3rd of March 2023, and of Verdi’s Aida on the 4th of March. Both shows are produced by Ellen Kent and feature international soloists, highly-praised choruses and a full orchestra. The operas will be sung in Italian with English subtitles and tickets are available from £13.00.

Opera can also be accessed through cinema screenings, with Oxford’s picturehouses regularly showing recorded performances from the Royal Opera House. Both ODEON on George Street and CURZON, located in the Westgate Shopping Centre, will include performances of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Verdi’s Il Trovatore in April alongside their regular film schedules. 

The award-winning Oxford Opera Company also offers locals the chance to become more directly involved with opera and places Oxfordshire residents at the heart of its vision. Recent productions include The Magic Flute, La Boheme, Carmen and Tosca, which were all staged at the Oxford Playhouse Theatre. The company delivers high-quality performances, showcasing the skills of the best professionals from the UK, while also providing opportunities for local young people to work in a professional setting in addition to its main-stage work. 

The company offers educational and outreach workshops to people across the county, and their ‘restoration’ program in partnership with the Oxford Health NHS demonstrates their dedication to using music, theatre, and other creative disciplines to enhance the quality of life for all Oxford residents.

There are also several organisations and societies operating within the University. The New Chamber Opera specialises in baroque pieces, while The Oxford Contemporary Opera Society gives opportunity to budding composers by putting on student productions. The Young Oxford Opera Company carries out admirable outreach work, bringing together professional soloists together with local schools and student choirs.

Established in 1952, the Oxford Opera Society is a student-led organisation which encourages newcomer student audiences to operatic theatre, while also nurturing emerging talent across the student body and providing opportunities for students to get involved in all aspects of production in fully staged operas and opera scenes. The society also collaborates with professionals from the wider opera industry, providing members with valuable networking and career development opportunities. 

Speaking to Cherwell, the society described how it acts “as a central hub with the aim of bringing all opera-related activity together.” From running trips to see operas at the Royal Opera House to organising talks and social events, the society is dedicated to promoting and producing opera within the university and beyond. This year, Oxford Opera Society is putting on a production of The Marriage of Figaro and is still looking for people to join the production crew.

The society is run by volunteers from across the University and City of Oxford, and makes an effort to make opera accessible to everyone. “We do our best to ensure that we include everyone who wants to be involved in our productions, and where possible keep ticket prices low to enable everyone to attend who wants to do so,” they said. “Last year, we ran a very successful series of Opera at the Pub in partnership with The Oxford Blue, which allowed people who have never seen any opera before to experience it at close quarters.”

However, the committee noted that “grassroots organisations like ours are limited in what we can do without donations and sponsorship, and struggle to cover the running costs despite occasional grants form various university bodies and depending on volunteers to run them.” Despite this hurdle, the society has been working to raise its profile and build relationships within the industry. This year, as part of the Student Union (SU) Arts week which will run from February 27th – March 5th, Oxford Opera Society will collaborate with the SU, New Theatre Oxford and the Oxford Italian Society. The support of the Italian Society has also enabled Oxford Opera Society to put on a free talk on Puccini with Oxford Brookes Professor Alexandra Wilson, together with a concert of arias at the New Theatre Piano Bar on Tuesday 28th February 2023. 

When asked about the future of opera in Oxford, the society said that it looks “exciting, with new and innovative projects popping up all the time.” It attributed this to “the continuing hard work that we and our colleagues in other societies have been doing”, but underscored that “it is still not enough”. “Opera needs space, whereas Oxford does not have a purpose-built opera house and all of the local venues have their limitations, not least that hiring a big venue is a massive financial risk for a small society. We hope that the University, and every College with a music venue, consider relaxing their policies on room hire by students and not-for-profit societies to enable us to bring even more and better productions to the public”, it added.

Moreover, it seems that the impact of the Arts Council cuts has been felt across the city, too. “Despite our positive outlook for Oxford, we are devastated in solidarity with the English National Opera and other major companies who have suffered in the recent round of Arts Council cuts. We believe that it is an extremely short-sighted approach, because without their high-quality productions, smaller groups like ours have nothing to look up to,” the society said. “The new generations of artists are fleeing the UK, and the decision only serves to entrench the misguided stereotype that opera is only for the rich”. 

The society’s advice for the bigger opera companies in the UK is “to resist the temptation to follow a policy of austerity, and focus on a few quality productions, rather than trying to churn out the same number of shows while stripping them down to their bare bones. “As an industry we need to double down on persuading the public and the government that opera is an art form worth saving”, it said. 

While the future of opera in the UK remains uncertain, what is nonetheless clear is the nationwide dedication to creative initiatives for the development of operatic theatre, and to driving up engagement with new audiences. It is vital that government funding providers such as ACE realise that in defunding opera, the art form will only become more and more inaccessible and, in turn, “elitist”. If the continual work carried out by both major opera companies like ENO and Glyndebourne as well as smaller, grassroots organisations such as Oxford Opera Society can be better recognised and supported, then there is hope that opera might be able to overcome its current crisis.

“Strengths, successes and solidarity”: Oxford International Women’s Festival announces 2023 programme

Stephanie Nourse
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The Oxford International Women’s Festival is set to return for another year of celebrating and uplifting women’s voices from all over the world. It will be held from 25th February to 12th March, encapsulating International Women’s Day on 8th March, and will offer a wide range of events around the city to celebrate women’s strengths, successes and solidarity. 

Since the annual celebration began in 1989, the festival has covered a range of topics from the arts to the sciences, as well as creative projects by women and campaigns for women’s rights. The theme for 2023 is “Celebrating Women’s Lives”, which will focus on contributions by women to local, national and international communities. 

Various discussions and debates will take place at this year’s festival, with one of the main events being the Dorothy Hodgkins Memorial Lecture in partnership with the Oxford Association for Women in Science & Engineering. The annual talk celebrates the achievements of Hodgkin (1910-1994), who is the UK’s only woman Nobel Laureate, having won the prize in 1964 for Chemistry. The speaker for 2023 is Professor of Physics Julia Yeomans, who will give a talk entitled “Nature’s engines: powering life” which will focus on emerging physical theories surrounding living systems. It will be held on 9th March at 5:30pm in the Flora Anderson Hall at Somerville College, where Hodgkin was a student and tutor.

An exhibition entitled “Pathfinders, Enablers & Matriarchs: Untold Histories of Ordinary Women in Postcolonial Ghana” will also be shown at St. Antony’s College on 4th and 5th March. The exhibition is part of A History of Ordinary People in Africa (HOPIA), a cultural heritage project undertaken by the Oxford University Africa Society in partnership with Fusion Arts Oxford and is curated by Oxford students. Following histories of Ghanaian women who have not only managed to find a space for themselves in challenging circumstances but have also created a supportive and nurturing environment in which future generations can flourish, the exhibition’s focus on the lived experiences of women and the multiple roles they have assumed paints a touching portrait of personal sacrifice, resilience and hope.

The North Wall is also hosting an art exhibition by Seeun Kim, a South Korean metal craftswoman and visual artist based in Oxford. Seeun will be showcasing a new social art project and a new collection of jewellery and visual art which illustrate various global issues. Alongside, Seeun conveys her thinking through photography and film and uses a combination of text, British sign language and English braille. Visitors can also see Seeun’s 100 handmade brooches project, The Oxford Collection 100, for the first time. The exhibition will run from 22nd February to 11th March.

Iraqi Women Art and War (IWAW), a project set up to capture the stories of women before, during and after the conflict in Iraq, will also run a Facebook live event throughout the festival. Attendees will have the chance to engage with the stories and culture of Iraqi/Arab women and artists through Dardasha (chat) and art, alongside a Q&A, Arabic calligraphy and cooking. Further information is available on the IWAW Facebook page.

The festival’s goal to celebrate the lives of women will also be illustrated through a collaboration with the Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) in Cowley to curate a “mini-season of modern classics directed by women filmmakers”. The team at UPP and the festival organisers will host post-screening discussion after each film. The films include the three biopics Harriet (2019), Coco Before Chanel (2009) and Frida (2002). Harriet traces the extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman, while Coco Before Chanel is a lavish and uplifting portrayal of the famous fashion designer, and Oscar-winning Frida focuses on the Mexican artist and political figure Frida Kahlo. 

Completing the line-up is The Perfect Candidate (2019) by cutting-edge filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, which tells a passionate and determined tale of a Saudi woman who advocates for herself to be elected as the first female councillor in her town. The cinema will also be putting on a special Q&A screening of the documentary Women Behind the Wheel on 5th March, with directors Hannah Congdon and Catherine Haigh in attendance. Further information and screening times can be found on the UPP website.

Micaela Tuckwell, Director of the Ultimate Picture Palace, told Cherwell: “We’ve partnered many times with the Oxford International Women’s Festival, so it is always a pleasure to welcome them back. The festival provides us with an opportunity to show works by brilliant women filmmakers throughout the history of cinema.

“You only need to look at the total lack of women filmmakers represented in the Best Director category at this year’s Oscars to realise that the wider industry is still behind the curve, so it’s our pleasure to shine a light on fantastic women directors making such brilliant films.”

There will also be a performance by Feisty Choir, Oxford’s new women’s singing group, at 4:30pm on 4th March. The benefit gig “Coming Up Roses” will take place at the Friends’ Meeting House on St Giles and promises “untamed acapella” in celebration of International Women’s Day. It will feature celebratory songs by and about women in aid of Oxford Against Cutting, a local charity who work together to help protect women and girls from harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and honour-based abuse. 

Ele Chrichton, a member of the choir, said: “We’re really excited about our gig, “Coming Up Roses”, on 4th March. We sing strong, empowering songs, usually written by women, and so the work that Oxford Against Cutting does to support women in our community really resonates with us all. We’re looking forward to singing some beautiful songs and at the same time raising money for this valuable cause.” Tickets for the gig can be purchased on the Emily’s Choirs website.

With a wide variety of events, Oxford International Women’s Festival promises to be a vibrant celebration of women’s voices, influence and achievements across the world. Details of the full programme can be found on the 2023 Festival page on owif.org.

Oxford-Ukraine Peace Rally shows university’s continued resistance of Putin’s war

Olivia Boyle
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Oxford-Ukraine Peace Rally shows university’s continued resistance of Putin’s war

Hundreds gathered in Radcliffe Square this afternoon for the Oxford-Ukraine Peace Rally, marking one year since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The rally included an hour of testimonies from Ukrainian scholars, local authorities, and university staff, stamped by rallying chants of ‘Slava Ukraini!’ (glory to Ukraine).

Organised by the Oxford University Ukrainian Society (OUUS), the rally had an abundance of support from cross the university. The Radcliffe Camera’s railings were coated with memorial plaques organised by Feminist Anti-War Resistance for those who have lost their lives during the invasion. 

The rally began with Ukraine’s national anthem followed by Chancellor Patten’s address read by OUUS VP, Tomas Tokovyl. The centre of the rally was the University’s role in supporting Ukranian refugees and as was made clear in Patten’s speech, “Oxford stands with Ukraine very strongly”. Those united against the invasion heard from the Ukranian Graduate Scholarship Founder, Lionel Tarassenko, who reasserted Oxford’s action in supporting Ukranian students.

The graduate scholarship has successfully enabled 26 Masters programmes and will continue with 18 scholarships next year, on which Cherwell reported in January. One scholar told Cherwell that she had found out about the Oxford scholarship on LinkedIn. With over 900 applications to the scheme, it is clear that the scholarship, and others like it, show that universities are central to efforts to oppose Putin’s advances. The scholar underlined, however, that action in support of Ukraine must not end; her mother is still living in war-torn Lviv and millions of others remain in similar situations.

The University of Oxford has played a significant role in providing educational support for Ukraine. Working in close partnership with Kharkiv University, the efforts to support Ukranian refugees comes from a collective intellectual resistance to Putin’s terrorism. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholar, Denys Karlovsky spoke about the continuation of education in the early stages of the invasion last year commending those who worked on doctoral theses in bunkers and professors who taught over Zoom. The support offered by the university has been invaluable to many though, as Tarassenko highlighted, there is always more to be done to help Ukranian refugees and to show that “Oxford stands in solidarity” with them. 

Oxfordshire’s local authorities also attended. It is the fourth highest local authority in the UK in the extent of its effort to aid Ukrainian refugees. Out of the 200,000 Homes for Ukraine offered by the UK, over 2000 were in Oxford including those of University staff. Lord Mayor James Fry also spoke of completely severing ties with Russian twin city, Perm. Oxford hopes, instead, to work more closely with the Ukrainian university town, Kharkiv; the Oxford Kharvkiv Association has now fully formed following the Mayor of Kharkiv’s address to Oxford City Council.

As the rally ended, activists and scholars held up signs of Ukranian blue and yellow, colours symbolising freedom and democracy. The afternoon acknowledged the tragedy and horror of the crimes against humanity committed by Putin’s regime but also celebrated the power of united intellectual resistance. Closing his address, Karlovsky said that with hope and action we will soon be chanting “the war is over and Ukraine is standing free!” 

Review: Chickpea

Oliver Hall
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Review: Chickpea

There is no shortage of falafel in Oxford. Everywhere from kebab vans to Pret a Manger will happily give you their take on the Middle Eastern staple. What Chickpea serve though is different — authentic, cared for, and well thought out, owner Will is determined to do things the right way. That approach might start with the falafel but it is central to every aspect of the menu here at Oxford’s newest opening.

Will knows the Oxford food scene better than almost anyone. He runs the extremely successful Alpha bar, Vaults and Gardens cafe and Will’s Deli as well as preparing to open Salsas on the High Street. He manages to carve out a new niche, a new identity, and attract new customers with each of these different outlets. The one unifying factor is that they are all always packed. Open for just five days, the same is true here at Chickpea. Just after midday, the queue was already building and by the time we left, it was out the door. This owner is the ultimate foodie who knows how to make a success of the business. It seems to me though that his secrets are simple — care and authenticity.

This time around he has been inspired by his travels to the Middle East. In conversation (listen to the podcast below), he talks passionately about the sustainability of the chickpea and its unique qualities as a foodstuff. From its flexibility to its flavour, he has all bases covered and every way that he prepares it here, whether that be in the tagine or falafel, is thought through with ultimate authenticity and flavour in mind. From soaking times to fresh frying style, he knows it all inside out.

Will himself isn’t vegetarian but everything here is. That is what makes it different and with diets constantly changing and evolving in that direction, this site is poised to capitalise on the young, eco-conscious market.

On offer here are bowls — playing into the increasingly popular lunchtime option that is sweeping across the country. Inspired by similar street food he has found in London and Bristol, Chickpea offers fully customisable pitta bowls, salad bowls, hot stuff, and more. The items on the salad bar are ever-changing alongside the tagine and hot options and as the weeks and months pass the menu will adapt and adjust to the most popular and in-season items.

In terms of standouts for me, the tagine stole the show. The flavours were stunning and the aubergine brings the fibre with flavour. From the salad bar, the falafel are notably light and the tabbouleh is properly seasoned to ensure that it isn’t just the boring, easy accompaniment that many outlets make it.

The sauces also bring that unique authenticity squarely into the centre view. From the standard options (here made in-house) of hummus and guacamole, to the specialist lemon curds and chilli chutneys, every single one has a story and getting a taste of as many as possible in your bowl is highly recommended!

Coffee and sweet treats are of course on offer too. Make no mistake, there’s a story there as well. The beans for the coffee are sourced from a sustainable farm in Colombia that Will and his wife have visited and it is their continued business that gives the company the confidence to continue their imports to the UK. All cakes are sourced locally and the chocolate banana bread was good. If you have a gluten-free friend though, bring them especially for the orange polenta cake. It is beautifully moist in a way that so many gluten-free options neglect.

Better than all of this is the price point. Bowls start at £5.50 and the most you can pay for any single item is £7.50 (‘The Works’ is essentially unlimited additions and is £11). Cakes are all super cheap and the coffee is no different. Americanos are less than £2.50 and a matcha is even more striking at £2.80. (The matcha is, of course, a ceremonial grade and I’m told even rivalled the one from my last review at Maya’s ). Will is clear, where the margins are good, he sees no reason to overcharge the customer.

As far as slow food goes, this restaurant owner basically has the Oxford scene covered. Yet again he has scored a home run with Chickpea. The authenticity of flavours combines with his care and dedication to make it a no-brainer of a lunch and dinner option in central Oxford. Great value, good vibes, and stunning flavours. Quite frankly, what more could you want?

Image: Oliver Hall

In defense of Buckfast

Joey Ricciardiello
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In defense of Buckfast

A spectre is haunting Britain – the spectre of Buckfast. “Bucky”, ”fuckfast”, “commotion lotion” or “wreck-the-hoose juice” is a highly controversial, but unfairly maligned drink. Brewed in Buckfast abbey in Devon by one of the last remaining communities of Benedictine monks in the UK, Buckfast has inexplicably become the national drink of Scotland. North of Hadrian’s wall, Buckfast has taken off like nowhere else. There, it is invariably associated with Glaswegian hooligan ‘ned’ culture where it is enjoyed by anti-social violent youths like the protagonists from Trainspotting (if you look closely, bottles of Buckfast can be seen in the background of various scenes in the film, including Mother Superior’s heroin den – a ringing endorsement if nothing else.) 

Buckfast is a fortified tonic wine which although not particularly alcoholic, at only 15%, contains the same quantities of caffeine as roughly 5 cans of Coca Cola. It has become so associated with delinquency and violence that it has been the subject of numerous political crusades against binge drinking. In 2011, Scottish Labour MEP Catherine Stihler called for a European-wide ban on the fortified tonic wine, citing it “has caused untold misery to millions of communities”. Sheriff Alastair Brown of Dundee said in 2016: “There is in my professional experience a very definite association between Buckfast and violence,” while a Dunfermline man was told in the same year by a court judge at his assault trial – in possibly the biggest understatement in history – that drinking four bottles of Buckfast a day is “not conducive to a very long life”. According to the BBC, Buckfast was mentioned in 2500 Strathclyde police crime reports in 2011-12 where the defence “the Bucky made me do it” was a common utterance in magistrates courts.

It is unfair that the onus of British youth violence should fall solely on Buckfast, however, which seems like a rather lazy scapegoat against the institutional failings of Scottish politicians and the police to tackle crime. A very small minority of Buckfast’s customers need not tarnish the entire reputation of the drink, and I find that many Buckfast enthusiasts are among the most genial and agreeable folks out there. Indeed, if the issue lies, as its detractors claim, in the dangerous combination of alcohol and caffeine, where are the campaigns against Jäger Bombs, Cuba Libres, not to mention the Clockwork Orange-esque gang violence associated with drinkers of Espresso Martinis? It is rank hypocrisy and nothing else – another example of the dead hand of the nanny state interfering in the lives of punters and monks alike. Some of my best nights have been spent in the company of fellow bacchanals indulging in the monastic juice, and although the label states that Buckfast contains “no medicinal qualities”, I am inclined to disagree. The monastic origins of Buckfast imbue it with the qualities of a kind of secular transubstantiation. A bottle of Buckfast deep, even an atheist can find God.

The syrupy sweet notes of Buckfast are certainly an acquired taste, and it is hard to forget that what you’re drinking essentially tastes like concentrated grape juice with added ethanol, or as an American reviewer of the drink described it on Reddit, “like drinking liquefied methamphetamine through a dirty rag, whilst simultaneously on your knees under a bridge orally pleasing a vagrant”. But it is a flavour which, once you have become acquainted, cannot be shaken off. Like many drinks, Buckfast can be enjoyed in small doses – perhaps as an after-dinner apéritif or even as a substitution for communion wine – but like many drinks, it is best enjoyed in substantial quantities. The French author Emmanuel Carrère, in his biography of Russian political dissident Eduard Limonov wrote of an episode known as a “Zapoi”, which roughly translates to “binge”. However, the term also involves aspects of a total surrender to alcohol, where one puts their body through the greatest possible strain in order to reach some form of enlightenment, finding the meaning of the human condition. He writes: “Zapoi is serious business, not a one-night bender of the kind we partake in, the kind you pay for with a hangover the next day. Zapoi means going several days without sobering up, roaming from one place to another, getting on trains without knowing where they’re headed, telling your most intimate secrets to people you meet by chance, forgetting everything you’ve said and done: a sort of voyage.”

A ‘Bucky zapoi’ is a truly transcendent experience, and it can be achieved at the price of £7 a bottle from any number of vendors in Britain and beyond. When you push through the initial sickliness of the first few gulps, and find that the liquid in the bottle has reached below the iconic orange label, there is no turning back – the Zapoi has begun. In fact, finding enlightenment through this monastic elixir has become far easier in recent years. The app ‘Find Me Bucky’ available on the App Store and Google Play provides a useful map detailing the locations for all vendors who sell it [pictured below].

Though Edinburgh, Glasgow and London would be your best bets for finding a bottle of Bucky, Oxford is by no means deserted. One can pick up a bottle from at least two corner shops on St Clements, as well as the ubiquitous Deli on Cowley Road.

If your tastes are not suited to this, and you would scoff at the sight of a man on his 4th day of a Buckfast zapoi, then there are alternative ways to enjoy the beverage. There has been a string of trendy bars in cities like Glasgow and in some parts of East London which have incorporated Buckfast into more well-established food items, with one venue in Shoreditch selling Buckfast ice cream. Even closer for Oxford readers, The Library pub on Cowley Road actually sells a Buckfast Negroni on their menu, substituting red Vermouth for Buckfast which works surprisingly well, giving a sweet counterbalance to the bitterness of the gin and Campari. Though a negroni is ostensibly a sensible drink, enjoyed by Don Draper types who embody the notion of sprezzatura – a sophisticated, nonchalant, urbane excellence – the addition of Buckfast is a welcome take on this classic cocktail, which does just service to the original, whilst providing a unique tongue-in-cheek spin. 

The eighteenth-century French aristocrat and freethinking libertine, the Marquis de Sade, said that “in order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice,” and this is certainly true of the experience of indulging in Bucky. Though it’s an unhealthy and immoderate decision to consume an entire bottle of Buckfast in one evening, it is also a joyful, transcendent, life-affirming one which I shall continue to do until my last days. Floreat Buckfast.

Review: Better Yesterday

Catherine Scoon
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Review: Better Yesterday

Opening on a convincingly era-respecting late ‘70s set, the play ‘Better Yesterday’ begins with the troubled couple Sylvia & Harold, walking back into their minimalistic multi-functioning front-room following their evening show of ‘Macbeth’ together. The lighting is minimal and mellow, just like the set, but this brings across an ambience and intimacy suitable for such a play. Prop usage is impressive—especially the rifle which features later in the play—the viewer really gets a sense of the stereotypically idyllic home-setting for the era. But the first element that undoubtedly strikes the viewer beyond set, as the characters walk in, is their strangely ambiguous clothing. Whilst generally conforming to the garb of the times; something about Sylvia’s (Katie Peachey’s) shoes is peculiarly jarring. 

However, costumes and slightly dissonant footwear aside, the chemistry between the actors is undeniable—most especially during the few intimate scenes which take place. Whilst, perhaps, Murray Whitaker’s performance at times lacks the realistic depth one would imagine his character demands, his performance is generally convincing. Still, it has to be observed that there is something peculiarly wooden (or excessively performative) about his portrayal of Harold, for some parts—or perhaps this is intended (playing into the Olivier-esque performative aspect of his character). But, as the play winds on and Whitaker descends into Harold’s dwindling state of insanity the viewer must applaud his later performance. The reminiscing scene at the kitchen table in particular highlights Whitaker’s skill very effectively: the viewer must surely allow themselves to be impressed by that blank, emotionally distant stare into the audience as Harold recounts all the nitty gritty details of what he dislikes about his wife, Sylvia. Conversely, but equally titillating, Whitaker’s portrayals of various scenes from the Golden Age of Cinema (including his Bogart portrayal) are rather amusingly well done. These comical impressions, as well as frequent reference to contemporary events (such as Elvis’ death, and the hippie subculture) really help ground the play in its intended setting. The superb Katie Peachey playing Sylvia is truly dynamite. Her execution of the strong-willed, but inwardly troubled actress and wife in the spotlight is very commendable. From facial expressions to body language, to voice intonation—one can really believe her to be what she non-verbally claims: a love-lorn, searching and confused woman desperate to speak out, yet also to keep the silence on her turmoil.  

The viewer must assent that the director and playwright Anna Stephen does a fantastic job of blending various sensitive issues such as those of domestic violence, suicide, abortion, infidelity, drug-use alongside the jarringly jovial, light-hearted tone vaguely reminiscent of something like Victoria Wood. The play really does deserve the cute moniker ‘tragicomedy’, for this reason. Alongside this, Stephen must be praised for the clever way in which she uses Macbeth as a focal reference between the couple. The two plays seem to run on a dynamic parallel, wherein the viewer can make subtle links between the Lady Macbeth-esque characterisation of Sylvia; and the ultimately vulnerable, though outwardly hard-faced and standoffish characterisation of Harold (as a Macbeth parallel). The brilliant dynamic is just subtle enough not to be too brazen and obnoxious in the face of Better Yesterday—an asset which is never very easily attained in a play which covers such intense subject-matter in this style. The Macbeth dynamic also brings to mind a Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier-styled complex (who ironically both starred in an unfinished version of Macbeth) which does come through a lot within the characters of Sylvia and Harold. Credit ultimately has to be given to the actors , and to Stephen, for creating and bringing to life such a nuanced play and sustaining the plot despite there being only two characters.  

The most important takeaway of Better Yesterday though, is ultimately the idea of how the voyeuristic public eye can be damaging to a relationship. It is a tale of how such an intensely invigorating spark can often tighten like a vice, transforming into a suffocating hold, before unraveling into a descent of disorderly chaos and heartbreak. The turn of tables towards the end as Harold’s illness is revealed, and Sylvia’s infidelity is brought to light, is an unexpected touch to the play that the viewer may not have envisioned until the very last moment. Sequestered beneath this heavy-barrelled message, is all in all also the very simplistic (but exceptionally poignant) idea that sometimes in life, one finds that everything was ‘better yesterday’. Harold is the one to eventually use this titular phrase for the first time throughout the play, just before the lights go out on a touching but wistful scene of the couple entwined in an embrace.

Get Your Scream On: The best scares of 2022!

Rahul Jakati
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Get Your Scream On: The best scares of 2022!

It doesn’t have to be Halloween to enjoy a night in with your favourite scary movie, and this last year was a great one for horror fans! From homicidal robotic dolls to surreal nightmare dreamscapes, there’s something here for everyone. Whether it’s to share some scares for a date, have some fun and frights with friends, or even just corral a creep by yourself, here are some of the best horror movies from 2022.

  1. Bodies Bodies Bodies is hilarious. Everything about it screams Gen Z. A group of lovably insufferable teenagers get together to party during a hurricane. What could go wrong? Someone dies, fingers are pointed, and all hell breaks loose. It’s a horror movie manifestation of ‘Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss’. This movie is a product of its time and knows it. The dialogue is razor sharp, teetering every so carefully between cringe and camp, and the actors hit every beat on the ‘angsty rich screenager’ bingo board. There’s also a feature song written for it by Charli XCX that absolutely slaps. What’s not to like?
  2. The Menu is a biting satire on elitism of all kinds—from the ivory tower of wealth to the snobbery of gastrophiles, nobody is spared (literally). Ralph Fiennes plays an haute chef who invites a smorgasbord of clientele from all walks of opulence to a dinner they’ll never forget. All except Anya Taylor Joy, who is a delight as the straight man in a movie that progressively gets more and more insane. It’s light on scares, and heavy on (black) comedy, but make no mistake—The Menu isn’t afraid to get bloody. This is the perfect movie to watch with friends and then argue about afterwards at your favorite restaurant.
  3. M3GAN is this generation’s attempt at a techno-Chucky. I am ignoring 2019’s Child Play because let’s face it, it wasn’t that good. In M3GAN, a tech inventor gifts her adopted niece a robot that can play parent—and killer. What makes M3GAN so great aren’t any profound literary themes to ponder over on your drive home, or terrifying scenes that give you nightmares; no, what makes M3GAN great is that it’s fun. It’s your standard popcorn fare infused with a certain sense of flare that lets you just sit back and enjoy yourself. Having a robotic doll do TikTok dances before killing someone gives M3GAN just the right amount of camp to let yourself curl up with your favorite people and enjoy.
  4. Bones and All is like Call Me By Your Name but with more than one cannibal. I joke, but director Luca Guadagnino knows exactly how to create an atmosphere of forbidden romance. The movie follows Maren Yearly, a reluctant cannibal who can’t help but gorge on human flesh. She forms an unlikely bond with Lee, a fellow cannibal played by Timothée Chalamet, and the audience follows their journey across the United States as they reckon with their monstrous nature and desire to exist all the same, all under the lens of familiar themes of loss, family, and poverty. Where the movie most shines, however, is in its visuals. More poignant exploration of the human condition than a movie designed to incite fear, the frames are infused with a sense of grainy macabre that gives a real humanity to these characters, even the truly monstrous Sully, played wonderfully by Mark Rylance.
  5. Prey is historical horror done right. It’s a movie about a humanoid alien hunter killing French trappers and Comanche warriors in the early 18th century, but there’s an adherence to historical accuracy that makes this movie a treat to watch. There’s a deep appreciation for native American culture in this movie, and a swath of destruction and mayhem that makes this a more than worthy creature feature. There’s an exploration of gender roles and coloniser relations that adds depth to this action-horror flick, and it’s more than worth a watch on the biggest screen you have available.
  6. Black Phone has heart. A kid gets abducted by the aptly named ‘Grabber’ and must use the titular device to talk to the ghosts of previous victims to help him escape. Throw in a psychic sister and you’ve got a King-esque romp that’s equal parts coming of age and horror thriller. There’s one scene involving the abuse of the main character’s sister that is especially disquieting. Ethan Hawke plays the villain all too well for a typecast protagonist, and the most horrifying moments are the ones that are all too real. The movie isn’t out to make you depressed however, as it’s a ‘feel-good’ horror movie if there ever was one, making this the perfect “scary movie” for a date night or night in with friends.
  7. X is about a group of young adults who go to a secluded farmhouse in Texas to film a porno, which is of course occupied by a couple of geriatric serial killers. It’s a loving homage to the age of slashers, to classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Mia Goth is absolutely brilliant as both the lead protagonist and the villain, with Jenna Ortega (so hot right now) and Kid Cudi helping to round out a fantastic supporting cast. Director Ti West ratchets up the tension and renders some genuinely gruesome kills in this neo-slasher. A prequel film, Pearl, was also released in 2022, which is also great.
  8. Mad God creates the kind of surrealist dreamscapes that occupy your darkest nightmares. Shot in a herky-jerky stop-motion, this animated film makes full use of its medium to tell the story of a man (only referred to as the “Assassin”) and his journey into a dystopic hell where dying is the least of your problems. There is a pervading sense of dread in this movie, a constant feeling that things aren’t ever going to get better. The conjured world of suffering created by Phil Tippett is a brutal one, and watching it fills you with a sense of unease that lasts long after the 80 minute runtime.
  9. Smile is scary, full stop. The movie follows a therapist who uncovers a killer curse whose manifestation is, you guessed, a smile. If you want nothing else than a balls-to-the-walls-lights-out-blankets-covering-your-eyes type experience, then Smile fits your bill. And although the premise might seem rote, and to some extent it is, Smile actually manages to weave in themes of the trauma of burnout and depression that raise this just beyond your typical jumpscare-fest. But let’s be clear—this is a deeply dark, grim, and oppressive tale. It is a horror movie.

Soft & Quiet is a grim reminder that it’s often reality which is scariest of all. As a person of colour, it’s easy to feel nervous reading stories about hate crimes and prejudiced aggression. And Soft & Quiet gives voice to all those fears in a scarily topical movie about a group of white supremacist women whose views lead to a terrifying conclusion after a run-in with two Asian-American sisters. There’s a haunting intimacy to the camerawork that seems to erase the psychological intimacy often inherent in watching a movie. The climax is gut-wrenching and almost unwatchable just due to the corporeality of the events taking place. Soft & Quiet doesn’t take place in some alternate reality, some fantasy land like some of the other movies on this list. It’s in the world we live in right now, which makes every scene all the more terrifying.

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