There are evenings when a place you think you already know suddenly reveals a new side of itself. For me, the ‘Leafies’ Short Film Competition was one of those evenings, the kind that reminds you why stories matter, and why communities built around them feel so alive. On Friday 14 September, in School V, my friend Victoria and I screened our documentary ‘Divine Summits’ as part of the Leafies, the short-film competition within the St Andrews Green Film Festival. The festival, founded in 2013...

When it comes to literary classics, film adaptations are always a risky endeavour. Some succeed, handling the source material with care and respect, updating and revitalising it for a broad, modern audience. Others, however, prioritise the director over the story, fundamentally altering the original work and leaving viewers asking, “What have I just watched?” Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein  clearly falls into this second category. Spoilers ahead. Starting with the positives, the...

A few days ago, back in Italy for reading week, I was at the supermarket when I bumped into a lady. The first thing that came out of my mouth was “sorry,” in English, instead of Italian, and she gave me a rather puzzled look. She probably thought it was some sort of affectation. I was a little surprised myself. I was born and raised in Italy, always living in the same place, and until I moved to St Andrews, my language had been exclusively Italian. Yet now, every time I come home, English...