For once, the global film festival circuit is in perilous waters while Los Angeles — the city that Hollywood built, but can’t seem to retain a film festival — is hosting a vital resurgence of year-round screening series and niche festivals created in pursuit of love, not money.
This weekend (April 4-7) brings the inaugural Los Angeles Festival of Movies (Lafm), operating in three venues far east of the 405: Eagle Rock’s Vidiots, Filipinotown’s 2220 Arts + Archives, and Chinatown’s Now Instant Image Hall.
The LA cinephile scene is meanwhile thriving elsewhere, too. American Cinematheque returned to its gorgeously refurbished Egyptian Theatre in November and just announced a new documentary film festival, This Is Not a Fiction, to usher in its 40th anniversary. Plus, Quentin Tarantino’s emblematic, century-old, single-screen Vista Theater reopened, playing new releases like “The Zone of Interest” and “Dune: Part Two” as well as 35mm and...
This weekend (April 4-7) brings the inaugural Los Angeles Festival of Movies (Lafm), operating in three venues far east of the 405: Eagle Rock’s Vidiots, Filipinotown’s 2220 Arts + Archives, and Chinatown’s Now Instant Image Hall.
The LA cinephile scene is meanwhile thriving elsewhere, too. American Cinematheque returned to its gorgeously refurbished Egyptian Theatre in November and just announced a new documentary film festival, This Is Not a Fiction, to usher in its 40th anniversary. Plus, Quentin Tarantino’s emblematic, century-old, single-screen Vista Theater reopened, playing new releases like “The Zone of Interest” and “Dune: Part Two” as well as 35mm and...
- 4/4/2024
- by Ritesh Mehta
- Indiewire
Following on the heels of a successful post-pandemic reboot one year ago, the Joburg Film Festival kicks off its sixth edition on Feb. 27, with the glitzy capital of South Africa’s media and entertainment industry showcasing a selection of top talents from the host country and across the African continent.
The event opens with the world premiere of Gordon Main’s apartheid-era documentary “London Recruits,” a film that sheds light on a pivotal moment in the South African liberation struggle, and wraps March 3 with the premiere of “Snake,” a psychological thriller from veteran filmmaker Meg Rickards.
After returning to Johannesburg cinemas last year for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, this year’s edition looks to grow the event’s footprint, increasing the number of festival venues as well as the amount of films on offer, with a program that includes more than 60 titles from 30-plus countries.
The event opens with the world premiere of Gordon Main’s apartheid-era documentary “London Recruits,” a film that sheds light on a pivotal moment in the South African liberation struggle, and wraps March 3 with the premiere of “Snake,” a psychological thriller from veteran filmmaker Meg Rickards.
After returning to Johannesburg cinemas last year for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, this year’s edition looks to grow the event’s footprint, increasing the number of festival venues as well as the amount of films on offer, with a program that includes more than 60 titles from 30-plus countries.
- 2/26/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in ‘Past Lives’ (Photo Credit: Jon Pack / Courtesy of A24)
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Past Lives was named best feature at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were handed out Sunday afternoon in Santa Monica.
In addition, Celine Song was named best director for her work on the film.
Elsewhere, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Spirit Award for best supporting performance, for her role in The Holdovers, repeating her win from Saturday night’s SAG Awards and other shows this awards season. Her co-star, Dominic Sessa, won the Spirit Award for best breakthrough performance.
American Fiction also collected two trophies: Cord Jefferson won the award for best screenplay, while Jeffrey Wright won for best lead performance.
May December won the award for best first screenplay for Samy Burch (story by Burch and Alex Mechanik). Four Daughters was named best documentary.
On the TV side, Beef was named best new scripted series, while Ali Wong won best lead performance for her role in the show,...
In addition, Celine Song was named best director for her work on the film.
Elsewhere, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Spirit Award for best supporting performance, for her role in The Holdovers, repeating her win from Saturday night’s SAG Awards and other shows this awards season. Her co-star, Dominic Sessa, won the Spirit Award for best breakthrough performance.
American Fiction also collected two trophies: Cord Jefferson won the award for best screenplay, while Jeffrey Wright won for best lead performance.
May December won the award for best first screenplay for Samy Burch (story by Burch and Alex Mechanik). Four Daughters was named best documentary.
On the TV side, Beef was named best new scripted series, while Ali Wong won best lead performance for her role in the show,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The best in independent film and television were honored at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday at the traditional Santa Monica beach tent location, with Aidy Bryant hosting. “Past Lives” took home the coveted Best Feature award, with “Beef” being honored as Best New Scripted Series. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below.
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
- 2/25/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Featured prominently among the coverage from our media outlet, eight filmmakers in Raven Jackson (All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt), Savanah Leaf (Earth Mama), Sing J. Lee (The Accidental Getaway Driver), Laura Moss (birth/rebirth), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand and One), D. Smith (Kokomo City), Aitch Alberto (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe), and Erica Tremblay (Fancy Dance) have been selected for the 2024 Momentum Fellowship – the Sundance Institute’s incubator of sorts that helps mostly filmmakers who’ve previously delivered their feature debuts at the fest and are now gunning for the critical support for their next feature.…...
- 2/22/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Gordon Main’s apartheid-era documentary “London Recruits” has been tapped as the opening film at the sixth Joburg Film Festival, which takes place Feb. 27 – March 3 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The film sheds light on a pivotal moment in South Africa‘s history, when the struggle against the apartheid government in South Africa developed a new secret weapon. Oliver Tambo hatched a plan to infiltrate young British activists into the country, posing as tourists. Their mission, in the face of brutal lockdown by the racist regime, was to help inspire ordinary South Africans to join a liberation movement that would never give up till freedom was won.
The film is produced by Jacintha de Nobrega (“Deep End”), Robyn Slovo, Geoff Arbourne, Colin Charles (“The Surveyor”), James Barrett (“A Change in the Weather”) and Felix Gill (“78/52″). As Variety previously reported, XYZ Films is repping the doc’s North American sales.
Earlier this week,...
The film sheds light on a pivotal moment in South Africa‘s history, when the struggle against the apartheid government in South Africa developed a new secret weapon. Oliver Tambo hatched a plan to infiltrate young British activists into the country, posing as tourists. Their mission, in the face of brutal lockdown by the racist regime, was to help inspire ordinary South Africans to join a liberation movement that would never give up till freedom was won.
The film is produced by Jacintha de Nobrega (“Deep End”), Robyn Slovo, Geoff Arbourne, Colin Charles (“The Surveyor”), James Barrett (“A Change in the Weather”) and Felix Gill (“78/52″). As Variety previously reported, XYZ Films is repping the doc’s North American sales.
Earlier this week,...
- 2/14/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Following a turbulent year marked by dueling industry strikes and the violent contraction–if not yet full pop–of the streaming bubble, 2024 has thus far been pretty good to Hollywood. It certainly helps that we’re in the middle of awards season, which for cineastes amounts to a three-month holiday largely characterized by voluminous binge-watching. And not just binge-watching of the year’s top films. For the curious, the season also offers up a smuggler’s bounty full of talking special post-screening Q&As, roundtables, filmmaker panels, celebratory cocktail receptions and more.
Traditionally Film Independent’s Directors Close-Up series has been a little bit of all of the above, presenting behind-the-scenes insight into the year’s most important works of cinema, straight from the mouths and brains of filmmakers themselves. As the virtual portion of this year’s programming winds down (see below), we’re looking ahead now to our...
Traditionally Film Independent’s Directors Close-Up series has been a little bit of all of the above, presenting behind-the-scenes insight into the year’s most important works of cinema, straight from the mouths and brains of filmmakers themselves. As the virtual portion of this year’s programming winds down (see below), we’re looking ahead now to our...
- 2/7/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
It’s difficult to think of a director as young as Barry Jenkins who seems so clearly destined to be remembered as one of the greats. After dropping his moving, romantic debut feature “Medicine for the Melancholy” in 2008, Jenkins further honed his craft and became a household name (at least among any cinephiles worth their salt) with the release of his sophomore feature “Moonlight.” The tender, beautiful film was the subject of rapturous acclaim, and its groundbreaking and dramatic Best Picture win at the Oscars cemented it as an all-time great work of art.
Since then, Jenkins has only gone from strength to strength. His 2018 follow-up “If Beale Street Could Talk” was a similar critical darling. And his epic limited series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad,” which sadly went under the radar for much of the general public in 2021, was nothing short of stunning. Critics, including IndieWire’s Ben Travers,...
Since then, Jenkins has only gone from strength to strength. His 2018 follow-up “If Beale Street Could Talk” was a similar critical darling. And his epic limited series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad,” which sadly went under the radar for much of the general public in 2021, was nothing short of stunning. Critics, including IndieWire’s Ben Travers,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSGuy Maddin’s next film, Rumours, recently wrapped production in Hungary. The ensemble piece is led by Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander, who play world leaders who end up stranded in a forest during the annual G7 summit. Maddin has shared a breathless, spoof press release (below) announcing the film, describing the project as “an elevated dramedy and erotico-political threnody cum sylvan moodbank.”Paul Thomas Anderson is also at work on something new. So far, all we know is that his project is set in the present day and will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Regina Hall. Production begins in California later this year.Recommended VIEWINGOne of the most exciting rediscoveries of the 2023 Il Cinema Ritrovato festival was the restoration of David Schickele’s Bushman...
- 1/17/2024
- MUBI
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Raven Jackson)
A film that feels uprooted from deep beneath the earth, Raven Jackson’s poetic, patient debut is a distillation of cinema to its purest form, a stunning patchwork of experience and memory. Tethered around the life of Mack, a Black woman from Mississippi, as we witness glimpses of her childhood, teenage years, and beyond, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt becomes a sensory experience unlike anything else this year. Shot in beautiful 35mm by Jomo Fray and edited by Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s collaborator Lee Chatametikool, there’s a reverence for nature and joy for human connection that seems all too rarified in today’s landscape of American filmmaking. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: VOD...
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Raven Jackson)
A film that feels uprooted from deep beneath the earth, Raven Jackson’s poetic, patient debut is a distillation of cinema to its purest form, a stunning patchwork of experience and memory. Tethered around the life of Mack, a Black woman from Mississippi, as we witness glimpses of her childhood, teenage years, and beyond, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt becomes a sensory experience unlike anything else this year. Shot in beautiful 35mm by Jomo Fray and edited by Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s collaborator Lee Chatametikool, there’s a reverence for nature and joy for human connection that seems all too rarified in today’s landscape of American filmmaking. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: VOD...
- 1/5/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Any year in which an unlikely summer double bill became a global moviegoing event — with one film soaring toward $1.5 billion in worldwide grosses and the other closing in on $1 billion — can’t be considered bad news for Hollywood. But the Barbenheimer phenomenon aside, bad news plagued the film industry for much of 2023.
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
- 12/13/2023
- by David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Lovia Gyarkye and Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For many of the 158 critics and journalists who voted in IndieWire’s 2023 critics survey to determine the best movies and performances of the year, the wait was worth it. Six years since Martin Scorsese was first attached to “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and four years after it went into active development, the film topped our poll — in fact, even more decisively than Todd Field’s “TÁR” did in last year’s survey.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” appeared on 94 of the 158 ballots, a little over 59 percent. The critics who voted last year only mentioned “TÁR” on 45 percent of their ballots, and we declared that a landslide at the time. Scorsese’s film also received 25 first-place votes naming it the best film of the year, the most first-place votes in addition to the most overall mentions. Scorsese himself also topped Best Director voting. “Killers of the Flower Moon” previously had...
“Killers of the Flower Moon” appeared on 94 of the 158 ballots, a little over 59 percent. The critics who voted last year only mentioned “TÁR” on 45 percent of their ballots, and we declared that a landslide at the time. Scorsese’s film also received 25 first-place votes naming it the best film of the year, the most first-place votes in addition to the most overall mentions. Scorsese himself also topped Best Director voting. “Killers of the Flower Moon” previously had...
- 12/11/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As our year-end coverage continues, we must pay dues. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Jomo Fray)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt slows down the cycle of life. The camera rests on hands, on backs, on people connected through touch, sound, and smell. There isn’t any rush, any intention to leave these moments. Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray find beauty, grace, and life in two people holding hands, dancing, skinning a fish, and the trees passing while a family drives down the road. The film doesn’t just feel like a...
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Jomo Fray)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt slows down the cycle of life. The camera rests on hands, on backs, on people connected through touch, sound, and smell. There isn’t any rush, any intention to leave these moments. Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray find beauty, grace, and life in two people holding hands, dancing, skinning a fish, and the trees passing while a family drives down the road. The film doesn’t just feel like a...
- 12/6/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Rideback Rise, the nonprofit content accelerator announced last summer by Rideback producer Dan Lin to help level the playing field for Bipoc creators, has revealed its inaugural cohort.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
- 12/5/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rideback Rise, the 501c3 non-profit Bipoc content accelerator launched by producer Dan Lin to advance racial equity, has selected its inaugural cohort of 16 writers and filmmakers who will be financially and creatively supported as they seek to develop their own market-ready mainstream TV and film projects.
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
- 12/5/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
While the likes of Oppenheimer, Barbie, and Killers of the Moon will likely battle it out at the Oscars, Film Independent Spirit Awards is putting the spotlight on the indie productions of the year, with budget ranges from $10,000 to $28 million. May December, Past Lives, and American Fiction lead the nominations for the 39th ceremony, each taking five nods.
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
- 12/5/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Erika Alexander stars as Coraline and Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in ‘American Fiction’ (Photo credit: Claire Folger © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC)
American Fiction, Past Lives, and May December lead the list of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Each of the three films picked up five nominations and will be going head-to-head in the Best Film and Best Supporting Performance categories. Films and TV shows earning four nominations included The Holdovers, I’m a Virgo, The Last of Us, and Passages.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica. Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is on board to host.
“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling – this is the beating heart of film culture today,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees...
American Fiction, Past Lives, and May December lead the list of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Each of the three films picked up five nominations and will be going head-to-head in the Best Film and Best Supporting Performance categories. Films and TV shows earning four nominations included The Holdovers, I’m a Virgo, The Last of Us, and Passages.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica. Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is on board to host.
“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling – this is the beating heart of film culture today,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees...
- 12/5/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
The full list of nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards has been announced!
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
American Fiction, May December and Past Lives lead the nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were were announced Tuesday morning.
Each film garnered five noms, including best feature. Also nominated in that category are All of Us Strangers, Passages and We Grown Now.
The Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, will be presented to Showing Up, directed by Kelly Reichardt. The casting director is Gayle Keller, and the ensemble cast includes André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez and Michelle Williams.
On the TV side, Jury Duty was tapped for the award of best ensemble in a new scripted series, an honor bestowed on one show (there are no nominees). The cast includes Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball,...
Each film garnered five noms, including best feature. Also nominated in that category are All of Us Strangers, Passages and We Grown Now.
The Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, will be presented to Showing Up, directed by Kelly Reichardt. The casting director is Gayle Keller, and the ensemble cast includes André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez and Michelle Williams.
On the TV side, Jury Duty was tapped for the award of best ensemble in a new scripted series, an honor bestowed on one show (there are no nominees). The cast includes Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The final month of the year has arrived, and with it an early Festivus bounty of news (very exciting!) about the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which are happening once again on February 25, back on the beach in Santa Monica. Last week brought tell of our incomparable new Spirit Awards host: SNL funnywoman and Emmy-nominated streaming series auteur Aidy Bryant. Now, the nondenominational secular-humanist Holiday Gnomes have brought us something potentially even more exciting… the nominees!
For the third consecutive year, the Spirit Awards will recognize outstanding achievement in uniqueness of vision, innovation and boldness in TV and streaming in addition to feature film. And for the second year, all acting categories are gender-neutral.
Noms were revealed in a livestream earlier today on Film Independent’s YouTube channel (like and subscribe!) by special guest presenters Joel Kim Booster and Natalie Morales:
Spirit Awards winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members.
For the third consecutive year, the Spirit Awards will recognize outstanding achievement in uniqueness of vision, innovation and boldness in TV and streaming in addition to feature film. And for the second year, all acting categories are gender-neutral.
Noms were revealed in a livestream earlier today on Film Independent’s YouTube channel (like and subscribe!) by special guest presenters Joel Kim Booster and Natalie Morales:
Spirit Awards winners are voted on exclusively by Film Independent Members.
- 12/5/2023
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
“American Fiction,” “May December” and “Past Lives” dominated the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards nominations on Tuesday, picking up five nods apiece. The three movies are all up for best feature, where they will battle it out against “All of Us Strangers,” “Passages” and “We Grown Now.”
The annual honors recognize the best of television, as well as film. “The Last of Us,” a sci-fi epic that was a ratings hit for HBO, and “I’m a Virgo,” an absurdist miniseries from Boots Riley that was produced by Amazon, led the small screen crop, with four nominations each. Only new TV shows that have run for one season and were released between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of this year are eligible for awards. That’s why some big-budgeted fare was deemed eligible or, in the parlance of the show, independent.
That’s not the case on the feature front, where films have to be...
The annual honors recognize the best of television, as well as film. “The Last of Us,” a sci-fi epic that was a ratings hit for HBO, and “I’m a Virgo,” an absurdist miniseries from Boots Riley that was produced by Amazon, led the small screen crop, with four nominations each. Only new TV shows that have run for one season and were released between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of this year are eligible for awards. That’s why some big-budgeted fare was deemed eligible or, in the parlance of the show, independent.
That’s not the case on the feature front, where films have to be...
- 12/5/2023
- by Brent Lang and Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Director James Gunn has been named PETA’s 2023 Person of the Year. Per the animal rights organization, Gunn has been selected “for using impressive and stunningly well-crafted CGI animals to inspire tens of millions of moviegoers—who flocked to theaters to see ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’—to have compassion for the millions of animals killed by experimenters in laboratories.”
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
- 12/4/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay, Valerie Wu, Clayton Davis, Jaden Thompson and Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Though we aim to discuss a wide breadth of films each year, few things give us more pleasure than the arrival of bold, new voices. It’s why we venture to festivals and pore over a variety of different features that might bring to light some emerging talent. This year was an especially notable time for new directors making their stamp, and we’re highlighting the handful of 2023 debuts that most impressed us.
Below one can check out a list spanning a variety of different genres, and many are available to stream here. In years to come, take note as these helmers (hopefully) ascend.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Raven Jackson)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a distillation of cinema to its purest form, a stunning patchwork of experience and memory. Daring in its formal gambits but universal for how it explores humanity’s connection with nature,...
Below one can check out a list spanning a variety of different genres, and many are available to stream here. In years to come, take note as these helmers (hopefully) ascend.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (Raven Jackson)
Raven Jackson’s directorial debut All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a distillation of cinema to its purest form, a stunning patchwork of experience and memory. Daring in its formal gambits but universal for how it explores humanity’s connection with nature,...
- 11/29/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The Gotham Awards traditionally mark the unofficial beginning of Oscar season, giving the best and brightest of the independent film community the chance to descend upon New York City to celebrate the year’s best works. And while the ceremony once again kicks off the awards calendar with its Monday after Thanksgiving slot, new changes to the eligibility rules means that a wider range of films will be allowed to compete this year
In the past, only films that cost $35 million or less were eligible for the awards, which inevitably shut out some of the biggest Oscar contenders in order to highlight smaller films. But that cap was eliminated in 2023, allowing major productions such as “Barbie” and “Ferrari” to get in on the action. A total of 20 films, 11 series, and 30 performances were nominated for this year’s awards.
Keep reading for a complete list of nominees at the 2023 Gotham Awards.
In the past, only films that cost $35 million or less were eligible for the awards, which inevitably shut out some of the biggest Oscar contenders in order to highlight smaller films. But that cap was eliminated in 2023, allowing major productions such as “Barbie” and “Ferrari” to get in on the action. A total of 20 films, 11 series, and 30 performances were nominated for this year’s awards.
Keep reading for a complete list of nominees at the 2023 Gotham Awards.
- 11/28/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The best in film and television was honored tonight at the 2023 Gotham Awards, which kicked off awards season with a bang!
Some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world were in attendance on Monday night (November 27) at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
In the past, the Gothams only celebrated independent films, but they have removed the requirement that all projects are made for under $35 million. Now, some of the contenders this year include big budget movies like Barbie.
The awards show also took away gendered acting categories, opting for an Outstanding Lead Performance category and an Outstanding Supporting Performance category with 10 nominees in each one.
Make sure to see all of the celebs who walked the red carpet!
Head inside to check out the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature
“Passages”
“Past Lives” – Winner
“Reality”
“Showing Up”
“A Thousand and One...
Some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world were in attendance on Monday night (November 27) at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
In the past, the Gothams only celebrated independent films, but they have removed the requirement that all projects are made for under $35 million. Now, some of the contenders this year include big budget movies like Barbie.
The awards show also took away gendered acting categories, opting for an Outstanding Lead Performance category and an Outstanding Supporting Performance category with 10 nominees in each one.
Make sure to see all of the celebs who walked the red carpet!
Head inside to check out the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature
“Passages”
“Past Lives” – Winner
“Reality”
“Showing Up”
“A Thousand and One...
- 11/28/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
“Past Lives” was the big winner at the Gotham Awards on Monday evening, taking home the top prize for best feature. “Anatomy of a Fall” won best international feature and best screenplay — both of the categories it was nominated in. Meanwhile, acting honors were won by Charles Melton for his supporting performance in Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Lily Gladstone for her lead performance in “The Unknown Country.”
“Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It’s such an honor. It really means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love deeply,” writer-director Celine Song began, taking the stage to accept the best feature award. Song thanked her producers at A24, along with her cast and crew. She was joined on stage by two of the film’s stars, Greta Lee and John Magaro.
Director Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical...
“Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It’s such an honor. It really means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love deeply,” writer-director Celine Song began, taking the stage to accept the best feature award. Song thanked her producers at A24, along with her cast and crew. She was joined on stage by two of the film’s stars, Greta Lee and John Magaro.
Director Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical...
- 11/28/2023
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
On Monday night, November 27, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the Gotham Awards presented the winners at their 33rd annual event. “All of Us Strangers” went in with a leading four bids, followed by “Past Lives,” “The Zone of Interest” and the TV limited series “Beef” with three apiece. But who prevailed? Scroll down for the full list, updated throughout the night.
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
The nominations were decided by panels of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. The winners were then selected by juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in filmmaking. That makes these awards unique and often results in surprising winners like “The Rider” for Best Feature in 2018 over the higher-profile “The Favourite,” or Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) for Best Lead Performance in 2022 over eventual Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). So a...
- 11/28/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Lily Gladstone, Charles Melton, Ali Wong take acting honours.
Celine Song’s Past Lives at A24 was named best feature while Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon collected two honours at the 33rd Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night.
In the first major awards ceremony of the season – with actors in attendance since the end of the 118-day strike –Triet’s crime mystery Anatomy Of A Fall was crowned best international feature, and Triet and Arthur Harari took home the award for best screenplay.
Lily Gladstone won the prize in the...
Celine Song’s Past Lives at A24 was named best feature while Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon collected two honours at the 33rd Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night.
In the first major awards ceremony of the season – with actors in attendance since the end of the 118-day strike –Triet’s crime mystery Anatomy Of A Fall was crowned best international feature, and Triet and Arthur Harari took home the award for best screenplay.
Lily Gladstone won the prize in the...
- 11/28/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Awards handed out in New York on Monday night.
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures leads the 33rd Gotham Awards nominations with four nods and is among the best feature contenders alongside A24’s Past Lives by Celine Song and The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives vies for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures leads the 33rd Gotham Awards nominations with four nods and is among the best feature contenders alongside A24’s Past Lives by Celine Song and The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives vies for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
- 11/28/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“Past Lives” is the overwhelming favorite to win Best Feature at the 2023 Gotham Awards, which will be presented tonight at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. That’s according to the predictions of more than 1,000 Gold Derby users who have placed their bets here in our predictions center. Those predictions were combined to generate our official racetrack odds in all 10 competitive categories. Scroll down to see those odds with our projected winners highlighted in gold.
SEEGotham Awards will present ‘Ferrari’ with Icon and Creator Tribute for Innovation
A romantic drama about childhood friends separated for years, “Past Lives” is the front-runner for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director for its first-time filmmaker Celine Song. Could it achieve a clean sweep by winning its third nomination for lead performer Greta Lee? It’s possible, but she’s in a tight race with front-runner Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction“) for that award.
Elsewhere,...
SEEGotham Awards will present ‘Ferrari’ with Icon and Creator Tribute for Innovation
A romantic drama about childhood friends separated for years, “Past Lives” is the front-runner for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director for its first-time filmmaker Celine Song. Could it achieve a clean sweep by winning its third nomination for lead performer Greta Lee? It’s possible, but she’s in a tight race with front-runner Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction“) for that award.
Elsewhere,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Sheila Atim in All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt. Photo Credit: Jaclyn Martinez. Courtesy of A24
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt offers a visually beautiful mediation on childhood, family and love, that begins with sisters growing in a lushly green rural Mississippi landscape, and then reaches into adulthood. The film is more a lyrical poem to a time and place, than a plot-driven drama, so it is best enjoyed when you can just embrace it’s dreamy memories of childhood friendship, warm family moments and young bittersweet romance, and let the lovely imagery and dreamy feeling float you downstream.
This lovely, dreamy piece of cinema art was written and directed by award-winning poet, photographer and filmmaker Raven Jackson, making her feature film debut. It is a lyrical film that powerfully evokes its place and time, and the people in that landscape.
Shot on 35mm film, All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt...
All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt offers a visually beautiful mediation on childhood, family and love, that begins with sisters growing in a lushly green rural Mississippi landscape, and then reaches into adulthood. The film is more a lyrical poem to a time and place, than a plot-driven drama, so it is best enjoyed when you can just embrace it’s dreamy memories of childhood friendship, warm family moments and young bittersweet romance, and let the lovely imagery and dreamy feeling float you downstream.
This lovely, dreamy piece of cinema art was written and directed by award-winning poet, photographer and filmmaker Raven Jackson, making her feature film debut. It is a lyrical film that powerfully evokes its place and time, and the people in that landscape.
Shot on 35mm film, All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt...
- 11/17/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As part of Indie Film Site Network (Ifsn), we’re thrilled to announce D. Smith’s vibrant directorial debut Kokomo City as the recipient of the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award. The recipient of the award, established to highlight one indie film each year that illuminates a humanitarian or environmental issue with a singular artistic vision, is awarded one million (1M) media impressions across the Indie Film Site Network, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, Ioncinema.com, RogerEbert.com, and Screen Anarchy. Letterboxd, the popular social network for cinephiles, is also contributing to the award.
Finalists for the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award are Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun, Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies, and Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice, which will each be awarded 100K media impressions across Ifsn.
In the wildly...
Finalists for the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award are Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun, Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies, and Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice, which will each be awarded 100K media impressions across Ifsn.
In the wildly...
- 11/16/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Festival ran November 2-12.
Sofia Exarchou’s Animal has won the €10,000 Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for best film at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the first time in 30 years a Greek production has won the top prize.
The film’s lead actress Dimitra Vlagopoulou also won the best actress award ex aequo with Joanna Arnow for US production The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed, which she also directed.
Vlagopoulou had previously won best actress at Locarno where the film had its world premiere.
The Greek, Austrian, Romanian, Cypriot, Bulgarian co-production follows a group of women...
Sofia Exarchou’s Animal has won the €10,000 Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for best film at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the first time in 30 years a Greek production has won the top prize.
The film’s lead actress Dimitra Vlagopoulou also won the best actress award ex aequo with Joanna Arnow for US production The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed, which she also directed.
Vlagopoulou had previously won best actress at Locarno where the film had its world premiere.
The Greek, Austrian, Romanian, Cypriot, Bulgarian co-production follows a group of women...
- 11/15/2023
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” won the Golden Alexander at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, marking the first time in 30 years that a Greek film took home the top honors at the country’s longest-running film event.
Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.
Lead actor Dimitra Vlagopoulou, who won the acting award at the prestigious Swiss fest for what Kiang called a “riveting” performance, also shared the award for best actress in Thessaloniki. The awards were handed out by a jury comprised of producer Diana Elbaum,...
Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.
Lead actor Dimitra Vlagopoulou, who won the acting award at the prestigious Swiss fest for what Kiang called a “riveting” performance, also shared the award for best actress in Thessaloniki. The awards were handed out by a jury comprised of producer Diana Elbaum,...
- 11/12/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – Reflective and observational films … as if the audience is inside looking out along with the the characters … are very rare and takes a quality creator to pull off. One such film is “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” and it is written and directed by a quality creator, the poet-turned-filmmaker Raven Jackson.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is a visual tone poem, as a woman named Mack (Charleen McClure) goes from her childhood to adulthood learning her life lessons – with its growth, loves, heartache and memories – as a black woman in Mississippi, with her sister ally Josie (Moses Ingram) and various friends, lovers and family.
’All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,’ Written & Directed by Raven Jackson (inset)
Photo credit: A24
The film harkens back to an obvious influence, Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” (1991), but with a different story and a current generational point of view. Filmmaker Raven Jackson is contemplative in her energies,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film is a visual tone poem, as a woman named Mack (Charleen McClure) goes from her childhood to adulthood learning her life lessons – with its growth, loves, heartache and memories – as a black woman in Mississippi, with her sister ally Josie (Moses Ingram) and various friends, lovers and family.
’All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,’ Written & Directed by Raven Jackson (inset)
Photo credit: A24
The film harkens back to an obvious influence, Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” (1991), but with a different story and a current generational point of view. Filmmaker Raven Jackson is contemplative in her energies,...
- 11/9/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
“Lyrical” is often used to describe poet-turned-filmmaker Raven Jackson’s first feature film, “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.” Inspired by Terence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s collaboration on “Tree of Life,” Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray wanted to make a film that had a unified aesthetic that came through process and principles rather than rehearsal and refining of the camera work.
“Jomo and I started off talking about the emotionality of the film before we were thinking visually,” Jackson told IndieWire. “What feelings we were aiming to evoke with the images. And eventually Jomo had a suggestion to do a manifesto.”
Before shooting every day of production on the decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in the South, Jackson and Fray read aloud their 12-point manifesto. Although the collaborators had a shot list and a visual language for the film, the manifesto served as a way of...
“Jomo and I started off talking about the emotionality of the film before we were thinking visually,” Jackson told IndieWire. “What feelings we were aiming to evoke with the images. And eventually Jomo had a suggestion to do a manifesto.”
Before shooting every day of production on the decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in the South, Jackson and Fray read aloud their 12-point manifesto. Although the collaborators had a shot list and a visual language for the film, the manifesto served as a way of...
- 11/9/2023
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a small miracle. A feature debut from the Tennessee-born writer and director, the A24-backed film acts as a meditation on life, a poetic retelling of moments that wash and wade, tug and pull, and shape and break one’s heart. Jackson composes her drama as a collection of experiences for Mack, played by Kaylee Nicole Johnson in childhood and Charleen McClure in adulthood, snapshots of a Black woman’s life in Mississippi. Both actors imbue reality into this character, a sense that Mack is so much more than just a character in a movie. Jackson tells Mack’s story without a need for linear consistency, instead deciding to focus on the people, places, sounds, and feelings that molded her.
Never hurried, the 92-minute film takes its time in sadness and sweetness in equal measure, balancing between 10-minute hugs and...
Never hurried, the 92-minute film takes its time in sadness and sweetness in equal measure, balancing between 10-minute hugs and...
- 11/3/2023
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
The sound of chirping cicadas, calling to their mates. The feel of the scales on a freshly caught fish. The way the late afternoon light reflects off a backwoods creek, as a fishing bobber floats idly on the surface. You hear thunder crack in the distance; you can practically smell the ozone in the air that lingers before a lightning strike. A hand dips into the brackish water near the shore, the dark silt run between fingers causing it to muddy and cloud before slowly ebbing away …
It is admittedly...
It is admittedly...
- 11/3/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
There’s no shortage of new shows and films to watch and enjoy this November, from Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and a new Meg Ryan-directed romcom, to the long-anticipated A Murder at the End of the World.
This month’s TV slate also sees familiar favorites making their return, including For All Mankind, The Crown (beginning its final season), and even Fargo (whose cast this season includes Juno Temple and Jon Hamm).
Similarly, you could have a pretty good November at the movies simply by catching up with some...
This month’s TV slate also sees familiar favorites making their return, including For All Mankind, The Crown (beginning its final season), and even Fargo (whose cast this season includes Juno Temple and Jon Hamm).
Similarly, you could have a pretty good November at the movies simply by catching up with some...
- 11/1/2023
- by Keith Phipps
- Rollingstone.com
Do you see her? The Black mother wiping her son’s inner eye on a Harlem corner? It’s the late ’90s and she’s piecing her life back together after a prison stint. What about the mother positioning an infant for a photo? She works at a studio, tucked in a Bay Area mall, trying to make ends meet before the birth of her third child. Or the Black mother lounging in her living room during a party? Guests, drunk on liquor and a good time, buzz around her as a young girl plays at her feet.
These women are the central figures of three revelatory dramas released this year. In A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Savanah Leaf’s Earth Mama and Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, which opens in limited release Nov. 3, Black mothers assume more complex roles than the ones Hollywood usually affords them.
These women are the central figures of three revelatory dramas released this year. In A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Savanah Leaf’s Earth Mama and Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, which opens in limited release Nov. 3, Black mothers assume more complex roles than the ones Hollywood usually affords them.
- 11/1/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Immersive and poetically expressive, Raven Jackson’s confident debut feature All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt chronicles the life of Mack, a Black Mississippi woman portrayed at different ages by four different performers, with a lived-in attentiveness and affection. Throughout Jackson’s non-linear ecosystem of portraits, quiet sequences, dewy visuals and sensual soundscapes, the filmmaker breaks the conventions of storytelling so naturally that you instantly recognize the confidence of someone well-versed enough in her art and craft to make her own set of rules. The seeds of Jackson’s approach and exactness of imagination were already planted in her short film, Nettles (2018), […]
The post “The More Unapologetic We Became, The More Interest We Got”: Raven Jackson on All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The More Unapologetic We Became, The More Interest We Got”: Raven Jackson on All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/1/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Immersive and poetically expressive, Raven Jackson’s confident debut feature All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt chronicles the life of Mack, a Black Mississippi woman portrayed at different ages by four different performers, with a lived-in attentiveness and affection. Throughout Jackson’s non-linear ecosystem of portraits, quiet sequences, dewy visuals and sensual soundscapes, the filmmaker breaks the conventions of storytelling so naturally that you instantly recognize the confidence of someone well-versed enough in her art and craft to make her own set of rules. The seeds of Jackson’s approach and exactness of imagination were already planted in her short film, Nettles (2018), […]
The post “The More Unapologetic We Became, The More Interest We Got”: Raven Jackson on All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The More Unapologetic We Became, The More Interest We Got”: Raven Jackson on All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/1/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“All of Us Strangers”, del director Andrew Haigh, encabeza las nominaciones a los premios Gotham.
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Gotham Awards, marcando así el comienzo de la temporada de premios. Los Premios Gotham son un conjunto de premios cinematográficos que honran lo mejor del cine independiente estadounidense. La 33ª edición anual de los Gotham Awards tendrá lugar el 27 de noviembre de 2023. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
Past Lives, Celine Song
Passages, Ira Sachs
Reality, Tina Satter
Showing up, Kelly Reichardt
A Thousand and One, A.V. Rockwell
Mejor PELÍCULA Internacional
All of us strangers, Andrew Haigh, Reino Unido
Anatomía de una caída, Justine Triet
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
Tótem, Lila Avilés
La zona de interés, Jonathan Glazer
Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Principal
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin
Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Babetida Sadjo, Our Father,...
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Gotham Awards, marcando así el comienzo de la temporada de premios. Los Premios Gotham son un conjunto de premios cinematográficos que honran lo mejor del cine independiente estadounidense. La 33ª edición anual de los Gotham Awards tendrá lugar el 27 de noviembre de 2023. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
Past Lives, Celine Song
Passages, Ira Sachs
Reality, Tina Satter
Showing up, Kelly Reichardt
A Thousand and One, A.V. Rockwell
Mejor PELÍCULA Internacional
All of us strangers, Andrew Haigh, Reino Unido
Anatomía de una caída, Justine Triet
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
Tótem, Lila Avilés
La zona de interés, Jonathan Glazer
Mejor INTERPRETACIÓN Principal
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin
Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Babetida Sadjo, Our Father,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
The 2023 Gotham Awards have marked a significant shift in the landscape of film recognition, embracing a diverse range of films and performances that challenge the traditional boundaries of indie cinema. With the removal of a longstanding budget cap, the awards have opened their doors to big-budget studio and streamer fare, while still maintaining a strong indie flavor.
Related: 75th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations List 2023
Andrew Haigh‘s “All Of Us Strangers” has emerged as a frontrunner, leading the nominations with nods in several major categories including Best International Feature, Best Screenplay, and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances. This metaphysical drama delves into the complex journey of a gay man coming to terms with his past, showcasing the power of introspective storytelling.
The indie spirit of the Gotham Awards is further highlighted by Celine Song’s “Past Lives” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” both of which have received...
Related: 75th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations List 2023
Andrew Haigh‘s “All Of Us Strangers” has emerged as a frontrunner, leading the nominations with nods in several major categories including Best International Feature, Best Screenplay, and Outstanding Lead and Supporting Performances. This metaphysical drama delves into the complex journey of a gay man coming to terms with his past, showcasing the power of introspective storytelling.
The indie spirit of the Gotham Awards is further highlighted by Celine Song’s “Past Lives” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” both of which have received...
- 10/24/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
The 2023 Gotham Awards nominations are here!
The nominees for the awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, were revealed on Tuesday (October 24).
All Of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh leads the nominees, as well as Celine Song’s Past Lives and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest.
The ceremony removed a longstanding budget cap on eligibility, allowing big-budget studio and streamers to submit for consideration.
The 33rd annual event is set for November 27 at Cipriani New York, and will be honoring Maestro by Bradley Cooper, Air by Ben Affleck and Rustin, the upcoming film by George C. Wolfe, produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground with tributes for the films and the individuals they portray.
Keep reading to see the nominees…
Best Feature
Passages
Past Lives
Reality
Showing Up
A Thousand and One
Best International Feature...
The nominees for the awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, were revealed on Tuesday (October 24).
All Of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh leads the nominees, as well as Celine Song’s Past Lives and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest.
The ceremony removed a longstanding budget cap on eligibility, allowing big-budget studio and streamers to submit for consideration.
The 33rd annual event is set for November 27 at Cipriani New York, and will be honoring Maestro by Bradley Cooper, Air by Ben Affleck and Rustin, the upcoming film by George C. Wolfe, produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground with tributes for the films and the individuals they portray.
Keep reading to see the nominees…
Best Feature
Passages
Past Lives
Reality
Showing Up
A Thousand and One
Best International Feature...
- 10/24/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Ryan Gosling as Ken in ‘Barbie’ (Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)
Barbie‘s Ryan Gosling picked up an acting nomination, but the film’s star, Margot Robbie, did not make the cut for the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards. Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Gotham Awards nominees include 20 feature films, 11 series, and 30 actors (in gender-neutral categories).
“We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to find new audiences across the globe,” said Jeffrey Sharp, award-winning film producer and the Executive Director of The Gotham.
Winners will be announced on Monday, November 27, 2023.
2023 Gotham Award Nominees
Best Feature
Passages
Past Lives
Reality
Showing Up
A Thousand and One
Best International...
Barbie‘s Ryan Gosling picked up an acting nomination, but the film’s star, Margot Robbie, did not make the cut for the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards. Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Gotham Awards nominees include 20 feature films, 11 series, and 30 actors (in gender-neutral categories).
“We are proud to announce this year’s Gotham Award nominees and look forward to celebrating these amazing storytellers in a few weeks. The Gotham Awards in many ways reflects the industry and community we serve. Seen by this year’s nominees, storytelling knows no boundaries as our industry continues to find new audiences across the globe,” said Jeffrey Sharp, award-winning film producer and the Executive Director of The Gotham.
Winners will be announced on Monday, November 27, 2023.
2023 Gotham Award Nominees
Best Feature
Passages
Past Lives
Reality
Showing Up
A Thousand and One
Best International...
- 10/24/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Ryan Gosling among supporting acting nominees for ‘Barbie’.
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures leads the 33rd Gotham Awards nominations with four nods and is among the best feature contenders alongside A24’s Past Lives by Celine Song and The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives will vie for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures leads the 33rd Gotham Awards nominations with four nods and is among the best feature contenders alongside A24’s Past Lives by Celine Song and The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives will vie for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ryan Gosling among supporting acting nominees for ‘Barbie’.
Celine Song’s Past Lives is among the 33rd Gotham Awards best feature nominees while A24 stablemate The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer and Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures will contend for best international feature.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives will vie for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
Celine Song’s Past Lives is among the 33rd Gotham Awards best feature nominees while A24 stablemate The Zone Of Interest from Jonathan Glazer and Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers at Searchlight Pictures will contend for best international feature.
Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall at Neon, Lila Aviles’ Mexican drama Totem at Sideshow/Janus Films, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things from Searchlight are also nominated for international feature.
Past Lives will vie for best feature with Ira Sach’s Passages (Mubi), Tina Satter...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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