Mark Kermode on… Kathryn Bigelow, a stylish ruffler of feathers

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From vampire noir to Bin Laden, Point Break to Detroit, the first woman to win an Oscar for best director has never pulled her punches Watching new Jeff Nichols release The Bikeriders , starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy as 60s Chicago greasers, I was reminded of two other movies: László Benedek’s 1953 Marlon Brando vehicle The Wild One , explicitly cited as an inspiration, and The Loveless , the 1981 feature debut of Kathryn Bigelow , the American film-maker (b.1951) who would go on to become the first woman to win a best director Oscar with her 2008 war drama The Hurt Locker . A symphony of leather-clad posing (with just a touch of Kenneth Anger ), The Loveless was a staple of the late-night circuit in the 80s, often on a double bill with David Lynch’s Eraserhead . Sharing directing credits with Monty Montgomery, Bigelow playfully deconstructed masculinity and machismo in a manner that was one part wry to two parts relish. I remember seeing The Loveless at the Phoenix in East
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Tolyatti Adrift review – young Lada restorers aim to escape Russia’s post-industrial angst

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In a town built around the once-thriving AvtoVAZ vehicle plant, disenfranchised students find an outlet in restoring old Ladas

Developed in the 1960s around Russia’s famous AvtoVAZ plant, which was built by the country’s largest car manufacturing company, the town of Tolyatti was once the pride of the nation’s industry. More than half a century later, the region has now sunk into a state of economic and social decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As AvtoVAZ gradually downsizes its operations, job opportunities in the region become increasingly scarce. Countering stagnation with hope, Laura Sisteró’s dynamic documentary follows Slava, Misha and Lera, three young adults who dare to dream and rebel against all odds.

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