2026 Challanges
Movies. How do movies fit into this? I mean, what do films have to do with internationality or intentionality? And in the era of the streaming wars, what’s the point of writing posts about films at all? Especially from someone who, let’s be honest, doesn’t really know much about film.
Well — that’s exactly why this column exists.
Ever since the streaming platforms flooded the world — and started making films, series, remakes, and god-knows-what-else about absolutely everything — I’ve barely been watching films. Series even less.
And I have to admit, I have a terrible habit. I watch films, and especially series, on fast-forward. First, I watch the first episode. If it grabs me, I jump straight to the last one (yes, I genuinely watch the ending first, because I am simply obsessed with the Happily Ever After). Then, if I like the way it ends, I’ll fast-forward through at least one full season in a single evening.
So the question is: what’s the point of any of this? Obviously, none. Which is exactly why I stopped doing it. The only “point” was that I get easily hooked on stories (no surprise, then, that storytelling became my actual job as a marketer and brand builder), and at least this way I wasn’t up until dawn — just until 2am.
Between three kids and work, I’ve had basically zero time to watch films in recent years. The trendy series I’ve been speed-watching for a while now (mostly so I’m not the one missing every dinner party reference). And on the rare occasions I did make it to the TV, I’d usually find my husband already there — and his taste in films, how shall I put it, doesn’t quite line up with mine. So over the years, I quietly migrated to reading.
But! I used to love films. I watched a lot of them. And there’s always been this list in my head — the great classics, the films I’d always meant to watch — but of course, by the time I finally had a free hour or two, that hour was eaten up by scrolling through streaming catalogues. (Somehow the algorithm has gotten really stuck on my profile. It can’t quite handle the fact that everything from Lego Ninjago to teen Disney’s Violetta to Die Hard lives in there.)
So that’s how the decision came: every month, I will finally watch a film I’ve actually wanted to see. The list is, at this point, so long that I probably won’t get through it in years. The goal here isn’t to become a film aesthete by year’s end — it’s just that I had a long mental list of films I always wanted to watch and never did. So now I’m making myself.
Heads up — if you’re here for film criticism or aesthetic analysis, you can stop reading now. This column is simply about the fact that one evening a month, I watch the film I want to watch. Alone if alone, with company if company. The point is that on that evening, I CHOOSE.
Intentionally. Internationally. Me.
Intentionally Internationally Me 