Film Bookazine Total Film Annual Volume 4 Back Issue

There’s no getting around it: the last 18 months (and counting) have been a dumpster fire for cinema. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced picture houses across the planet to shutter, and saw major movies sent to streaming or trapped in a pre-release limbo, the film industry remains a shadow of its pre-pandemic self. The viral nightmare still isn’t over, but thankfully the situation has improved, with cinemas now largely open for business, and new practices in place to make production possible for everything from intimate indies to blockbuster behemoths. Quantity may have taken a nosedive, but what hasn’t suffered is quality. Despite all the trials and tribulations involved in simply ensuring basic health and safety in the Covid era, filmmakers have continued to release inspirational, joyous, life-affirming works of art. The Woman In The Window came out too, but we can’t hold a film shot in 2019 against Covid. For a magazine like Total Film, the pandemic posed a unique challenge in our near-30-year history: what do you write about when fewer films than ever are being released to the public?
What you hold in your hands represents the very best of nearly two years worth of work during a historic moment for cinema. We’ve spared you the Covid think-pieces and collected the finest in-depth features and the most insightful deep dive interviews with the filmmakers who kept us entertained before, during and after historic lockdowns. The last year hasn’t been easy for anyone, but movies were always there to open our eyes to new experiences, and keep us all from going a little mad. And that, at least, isn’t going to change anytime soon.