Amaal: Not What I Thought

Setting a break-up ballad against the bleak, beautiful landscapes of Iceland always seems to yield success. Toronto-based Amaal does so in “Not What I Thought,” to striking result. Director Sean Brown casts intimate close-ups against shots of sheer alienation. A mood is built through the visuals that complements Amaal’s vocal grace. The track is the recording artist’s first from a forthcoming EP.

Why We Fixate on the Time Artists Spend on Their Work

Collectors, viewers and members of the press have long been fascinated with how long artists spend on each piece they create. Whether related to our obsession with the myth of the artist’s struggle, how we put a monetary value on a piece, or beyond, “it’s easier to value intensive physical labor over conceptual rigor when an artist’s thought process can feel so intangible and impossible to …

Upcoming Arthouse Films

Thanks to Dazed, there’s a new list of the 11 most exciting arthouse films coming out this year. All of them are “criminally overlooked arthouse oddities” that deserve as many viewers as blockbusters. From Jia Zhangke’s Ash is The Purest White, to Simon Amstell’s semi-autobiographical Benjamin, to coming of age stories, horror-comedies, tales about sex workers, neo-fables and more, the list is delightfully diverse—in terms …