Anonymous

Had the privilege of watching this as part of the East European Film Festival (Congrats to the team on winning Best Film!) and it was an incredible film technically all round. To hear from the director's interview in one of the sessions that it was made for under £18K and to achieve this, I was blown away! The performances by the actors are intense, the cinematography is stunning and the music is haunting.

A blockbuster, this is not, but a thinker it is for sure. Come for the paradigm shift, stay for the lesson in great film making!

90mins in real time with the most amazing of characters. I was transfixed the whole time and felt such empathy with each one of them by the end! I won't forget this film quickly and it has caused me to reflect on addiction in a new way.

Anonymous takes the viewer into an AA meeting, where the participants meet to offer each other support. One by one they reveal their inner struggles and traumas that have led them to addiction, however a new member brings something new to the meeting. Mackay's offering is a great psychological drama which will keep you glued to the screen.

This is a grisly subject and so a film dealing with will be grisly. Not for Christmas fun, but essential viewing for anyone who may know someone with addiction and wish to understand them.

This is not the place to be judgemental, as we see this could easily happen (maybe is happening) to any one of us. We're shown pleasant characters who have a demon, even when we see this demon we see it's engrained further into these people than we imagined.

The 'silent protagonist' as a metaphor for the silent, attractive, feeling of 'right' that is addiction is genius and powerfully portrayed.

An uncomfortable viewing, but essential nonethless (how many continue to watch Seaspiracy etc!) It's something about which we all benefit from being better informed.

From the opening sequence Anonymous shows thats it is not a film that allows you to sit back and be entertained at break-neck speed, but rather a work that requires your attention and engagement.

Anonymous deals with tough issues in a way that is neither judgemental nor sentimental. Instead, it shows us as we all are at times; frail.

To say it was made on a shoestring is an understatement. And how it was made in a couple of weeks in the lockdown shows a steely determination from all involved. An intriuging atmosphere is slowly built up and its the portayal of flawed but real characters, within a minimal setting that allows the story to unfold slowly and purposefully. With the Man, was there a nod to Albert Camus' La Peste (The Plague)?

Winner of the 2021 The East Europe International Film Festival.