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Ava Dettling

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Arts

Reframing history at ‘Women Take the Reel’ film festival

By Ava Dettling | March 26

Since Feb. 27, the 14th annual Women Take the Reel film festival has brought female voices to the screen through a series of films and workshops hosted across universities and institutions in the Boston area. Tufts has the privilege of hosting the final event on Thursday evening, which will feature two short films directed by women. The festival, which was founded by MIT’s Women’s and Gender Studies department, investigates issues pertaining to gender, race, sexuality, class and feminism. The films featured are directed entirely by women, highlighting their unique perspectives within the industry and world they occupy.

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Columns

Coffee with Creatives: Mofe Akinyanmi takes control of her sound

By Ava Dettling | February 7

Have you ever been to the sweaty basement of a house show, a chic gallery opening or a movie screening packed with film bros and been too intimidated to speak to the artist themselves? If so, then welcome to Coffee with Creatives, a column dedicated to exploring the on-campus and local arts scene, all while platforming the artists’ voices.

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Arts

Blood, guts and butts galore: ‘The Substance’ attempts feminist horror

By Ava Dettling | October 16

Much to the disappointment of women and movie-lovers around the globe, recent feminist films have seldom been able to deliver in their nouveau-age, fight-the-man doctrines.“Barbie” (2023), “Poor Things” (2023) and “Blink Twice” (2024) come to mind; while highly stylized and daring, they also lacked in their message of female empowerment. Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” teeters precariously on the precipice, dangerously close to joining the leagues of its fallen sistren.

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Arts

‘MaXXXine’ is not quite the ‘Star’ it should be

By Ava Dettling | September 24

It’s been nearly two years since my review of “Pearl” (2022) was published, in which I explored the intricacies of Ti West’s second installment of his horror trilogy. Two years later, I am once again drawn to the keyboard to discuss West’s third installment, “MaXXXine.”

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Arts

‘Blink Twice’: A raucous, chilling, but desperate endeavor

By Ava Dettling | September 11

The name change from “Pussy Island” to “Blink Twice” might have been the film’s first mistake. What could have been a bold and subversive thought piece on sexual trauma and women’s revenge, with “Pussy Island” became the rather trite and familiar play of power dynamics seen in “Blink Twice” (2024).

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Arts

Declan McKenna’s long-awaited ‘Big Return’

By Ava Dettling | April 18

English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna shocked producers and listeners alike with his overnight YouTube sensation “Brazil” — a hit single released ages ago now in 2014. The self-released song gained wide recognition for its criticism of FIFA and the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil. Ever since then, it marked McKenna as a voice of his generation. 

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