Take a look at more footage from "Deadpool & Wolverine”, starring Hugh Jackman as ‘Wolverine’, Ryan Reynolds as 'Deadpool’, Jennifer Garner as 'Elektra' and Morena Baccarin as 'Vanessa', in 'Phase Five' of the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe', opening July 25, 2024 in theaters:
"...'Wade Wilson' / 'Deadpool' is a wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body...
"...after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation to treat a terminal illness.
"'James Logan Howlett' / 'Wolverine' is a mutant with healing abilities, ….
“…retractable claws and an 'adamantium' infused skeleton.
"'Vanessa', a prostitute, is Wilson's fiancée.
""Negasonic Teenage Warhead' is a teenage member of the 'X-Men' with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...'Wade Wilson' / 'Deadpool' is a wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body...
"...after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation to treat a terminal illness.
"'James Logan Howlett' / 'Wolverine' is a mutant with healing abilities, ….
“…retractable claws and an 'adamantium' infused skeleton.
"'Vanessa', a prostitute, is Wilson's fiancée.
""Negasonic Teenage Warhead' is a teenage member of the 'X-Men' with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 5/5/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
It’s a weird month on Netflix in February; one that will probably require you to be open-minded about the shows and movies you’re willing to consume on the service.
There are quite a few library TV series arriving this month, for example. If you’re ready to start binge-watching Monk, My Wife and Kids, or acclaimed show Warrior, you’re in luck, as those complete seasons will be available. The Blacklist season 10, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, Brooklyn Nine-Nine seasons 1-4, and Young Sheldon season 6 will also be hitting the ‘Flix.
In terms of what’s new, there’s a ton of foreign language content and true crime stuff, but original English language stuff will largely be unscripted fare like Love is Blind, which is back for a new season. There are a few bits and bobs on the way outside of that, though. Netflix’s animated movie Orion and the Dark will debut,...
There are quite a few library TV series arriving this month, for example. If you’re ready to start binge-watching Monk, My Wife and Kids, or acclaimed show Warrior, you’re in luck, as those complete seasons will be available. The Blacklist season 10, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, Brooklyn Nine-Nine seasons 1-4, and Young Sheldon season 6 will also be hitting the ‘Flix.
In terms of what’s new, there’s a ton of foreign language content and true crime stuff, but original English language stuff will largely be unscripted fare like Love is Blind, which is back for a new season. There are a few bits and bobs on the way outside of that, though. Netflix’s animated movie Orion and the Dark will debut,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is struggling, both creatively and at the box office. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels proved to be disappointments last year, with the latter standing as the lowest-grossing film in the entire MCU, but Deadpool 3 may just be able to save them.
While speaking with BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast, Matthew Vaughn said that Deadpool 3 will provide a much-needed jolt to the MCU. “The few snippets that I know about Deadpool vs. Wolverine — or Wolverine vs. Deadpool, I’m sure that argument between Ryan and Hugh is happening as we speak — are unbelievable,” Vaughn said. “That’s going to be the jolt… the Marvel universe is about to have a jolt of them and it’s going to bring that body back to life… I think Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are about to save the whole Marvel universe.
While speaking with BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast, Matthew Vaughn said that Deadpool 3 will provide a much-needed jolt to the MCU. “The few snippets that I know about Deadpool vs. Wolverine — or Wolverine vs. Deadpool, I’m sure that argument between Ryan and Hugh is happening as we speak — are unbelievable,” Vaughn said. “That’s going to be the jolt… the Marvel universe is about to have a jolt of them and it’s going to bring that body back to life… I think Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are about to save the whole Marvel universe.
- 2/1/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Amanda Davies, who portrayed the teenage version of her real-life mother Erika Slezak’s character, Victoria “Viki” Lord, on ABC’s One Life to Live, has died. She was 42.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Erika’s daughter Amanda Elizabeth Davies, who died very suddenly,” read a message posted Monday Slezak’s’s official website. “The family is heartbroken and would appreciate privacy at this time.”
More from TVLineGeneral Hospital's Tyler Christopher: Cause of Death RevealedCharles Osgood, Longtime CBS Sunday Morning Host, Dead at 91Port Charles' David Gail Dead at 58: Official...
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Erika’s daughter Amanda Elizabeth Davies, who died very suddenly,” read a message posted Monday Slezak’s’s official website. “The family is heartbroken and would appreciate privacy at this time.”
More from TVLineGeneral Hospital's Tyler Christopher: Cause of Death RevealedCharles Osgood, Longtime CBS Sunday Morning Host, Dead at 91Port Charles' David Gail Dead at 58: Official...
- 1/29/2024
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
Actor Hugh Jackman returns to the character of Marvel Comics’ 'Wolverine' in the upcoming feature “Deadpool 3”, starring Ryan Reynolds as 'Wade Wilson', Jennifer Garner as 'Elektra' and Morena Baccarin as 'Vanessa', shooting at London’s Pinewood Studios, as part of 'Phase Five' of the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe':
"...'Wade Wilson' / 'Deadpool' is a wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body...
"...after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation to treat a terminal illness.
"'James Logan Howlett' / 'Wolverine' is a mutant with healing abilities, retractable claws and an 'adamantium' infused skeleton.
"'Vanessa', a prostitute, is Wilson's fiancée.
""Negasonic Teenage Warhead' is a teenage member of the 'X-Men' with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...'Wade Wilson' / 'Deadpool' is a wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body...
"...after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation to treat a terminal illness.
"'James Logan Howlett' / 'Wolverine' is a mutant with healing abilities, retractable claws and an 'adamantium' infused skeleton.
"'Vanessa', a prostitute, is Wilson's fiancée.
""Negasonic Teenage Warhead' is a teenage member of the 'X-Men' with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 12/8/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The Academy has revealed the list of eligible films for consideration in best animated, documentary and international feature of the year, encompassing a broad range of blockbusters and critically acclaimed titles.
GKids’ “The Boy and the Heron,” Pixar’s “Elemental,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are among the 33 animated films in the running. This is up from 27 in 2023, when “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” took home the prize.
The eventual five nominees are determined by members of the shorts and animation branch, and any Academy members outside the branch who wish to participate. The number of outside members who opt in is unknown. All films submitted for animated feature also qualify for the Academy Awards in other categories, including best picture.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
There are 88 films representing their countries for the international feature Oscar,...
GKids’ “The Boy and the Heron,” Pixar’s “Elemental,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are among the 33 animated films in the running. This is up from 27 in 2023, when “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” took home the prize.
The eventual five nominees are determined by members of the shorts and animation branch, and any Academy members outside the branch who wish to participate. The number of outside members who opt in is unknown. All films submitted for animated feature also qualify for the Academy Awards in other categories, including best picture.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
There are 88 films representing their countries for the international feature Oscar,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl booth is going to get really animated on Game Day.
The Paramount Global kids-focused outlet plans to offer a simulcast of Super Bowl Lviii aimed at children and families while corporate cousin CBS broadcasts the more traditional version of the pigskin extravaganza. And while Nickelodeon will rely on sportscasters Nate Burleson and Noah Eagle to call the game, it will also tap the expertise of SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. Those two cartoon mainstays — voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively — will help relay the action to viewers during Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl event.
Others will also join in. Sandy Cheeks, voiced by Carolyn Lawrence, will hold forth from the sidelines, while Larry the Lobster, voiced by a different actor, Mr. Lawrence, will provide live commentary. Dora the Explorer, voiced by Diana Zermeño, and Boots, voiced by Asher Colton Spence, will explain penalty calls when they arise.
The Paramount Global kids-focused outlet plans to offer a simulcast of Super Bowl Lviii aimed at children and families while corporate cousin CBS broadcasts the more traditional version of the pigskin extravaganza. And while Nickelodeon will rely on sportscasters Nate Burleson and Noah Eagle to call the game, it will also tap the expertise of SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. Those two cartoon mainstays — voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively — will help relay the action to viewers during Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl event.
Others will also join in. Sandy Cheeks, voiced by Carolyn Lawrence, will hold forth from the sidelines, while Larry the Lobster, voiced by a different actor, Mr. Lawrence, will provide live commentary. Dora the Explorer, voiced by Diana Zermeño, and Boots, voiced by Asher Colton Spence, will explain penalty calls when they arise.
- 12/5/2023
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
The new “Trolls” movie is heading to theaters this weekend, but can you also watch it from home via a streaming service?
The Trolls are back! “Trolls Band Together,” the latest installment in the “Trolls” franchise is heading to movie theaters around the United States on Friday, Nov. 18. Parents desperate for a weekend activity have a brand-new film to bring the family to that they can be sure will be appropriate for all ages!
“Trolls Band Together” is an epic quest, filled with laughs, heart and friendship. When Branch’s brother, Floyd, is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.
The movie has put together a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, and features a highly talented voice cast including Anna Kendrick,...
The Trolls are back! “Trolls Band Together,” the latest installment in the “Trolls” franchise is heading to movie theaters around the United States on Friday, Nov. 18. Parents desperate for a weekend activity have a brand-new film to bring the family to that they can be sure will be appropriate for all ages!
“Trolls Band Together” is an epic quest, filled with laughs, heart and friendship. When Branch’s brother, Floyd, is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.
The movie has put together a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, and features a highly talented voice cast including Anna Kendrick,...
- 11/17/2023
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
DreamWorks Animation is going through a great period right now. Movies like "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" and "The Bad Guys" experimented with both tone and visuals and delivered two of the best and most acclaimed animated movies of the past few years. After the disappointing release of "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken," DreamWorks wanted to end 2023 back on top with the third installment in the "Trolls" series. "Trolls Band Together" brings the trilogy of animated jukebox musicals inspired by the Troll doll toys to a close with a film all about boy bands — including an actual Nsync reunion.
"Trolls Band Together" sees Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) reunite Branch's brothers — all part of a famous boy band — in order to rescue one of them from talent-stealing evil pop stars.
Though the "Trolls" movies aren't particularly known for their experimental animation or inventive visuals, "Trolls Band Together" looks...
"Trolls Band Together" sees Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) reunite Branch's brothers — all part of a famous boy band — in order to rescue one of them from talent-stealing evil pop stars.
Though the "Trolls" movies aren't particularly known for their experimental animation or inventive visuals, "Trolls Band Together" looks...
- 11/15/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are stepping out for a romantic dinner date!
The 39-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer was spotted with the 46-year-old Lord of the Rings actor arriving for dinner at Raf’s on Friday night (November 10) in New York City.
Katy and Orlando have been dating since 2016 and got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2019.
The couple held hands as they made their way to the restaurant. Katy was dressed for the chilly night, as she wore a long blue coat.
If you missed it, Katy just celebrated the launch of Dolce & Gabbana‘s new Devotion Eau De Parfum, and we have all the photos from the event!
Browse through the gallery to see more photos of Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom out and about in New York…...
The 39-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer was spotted with the 46-year-old Lord of the Rings actor arriving for dinner at Raf’s on Friday night (November 10) in New York City.
Katy and Orlando have been dating since 2016 and got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2019.
The couple held hands as they made their way to the restaurant. Katy was dressed for the chilly night, as she wore a long blue coat.
If you missed it, Katy just celebrated the launch of Dolce & Gabbana‘s new Devotion Eau De Parfum, and we have all the photos from the event!
Browse through the gallery to see more photos of Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom out and about in New York…...
- 11/11/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Katy Perry is going glam for an event in New York City!
The 39-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer attended the launch event for Dolce & Gabbana‘s new Devotion Eau De Parfum on Friday (November 10) at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.
Photos: Check out the latest pics of Katy Perry
For the event, Katy wore nude-colored plastic dress with a cream-colored coat draped over her shoulders.
Last month, Katy starred in Dolce & Gabbana‘s commercial for the new perfume. Italian actor Michele Morrone also appeared in the commercial.
Earlier this month, Katy and Orlando Bloom‘s 3-year-old daughter Daisy made her first public appearance at the final show of Katy‘s Play residency in Las Vegas.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dolce&Gabbana Beauty (@dolcegabbana_beauty)
Fyi: Katy is wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress.
Click through the gallery inside for 15+ pictures of Katy Perry at the launch event…...
The 39-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer attended the launch event for Dolce & Gabbana‘s new Devotion Eau De Parfum on Friday (November 10) at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.
Photos: Check out the latest pics of Katy Perry
For the event, Katy wore nude-colored plastic dress with a cream-colored coat draped over her shoulders.
Last month, Katy starred in Dolce & Gabbana‘s commercial for the new perfume. Italian actor Michele Morrone also appeared in the commercial.
Earlier this month, Katy and Orlando Bloom‘s 3-year-old daughter Daisy made her first public appearance at the final show of Katy‘s Play residency in Las Vegas.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dolce&Gabbana Beauty (@dolcegabbana_beauty)
Fyi: Katy is wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress.
Click through the gallery inside for 15+ pictures of Katy Perry at the launch event…...
- 11/10/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Deadpool 3 was in the midst of production when the SAG-AFTRA strike forced filming to come to a halt, but now that a deal has been reached, the Merc with a Mouth will soon be getting back to work. Now that Ryan Reynolds is able to promote Deadpool 3, the actor took to X/Twitter to drop a look at Dogpool with his very own Deadpool costume.
As for those new release dates, Marvel Studios announced that Deadpool 3 will now open on July 26, 2024 instead of May 3, 2024. That July date was previously held by Captain America: Brave New World , which has moved to February 14, 2025. Thunderbolts has moved from December 20, 2024 to July 25, 2025. Blade has also shifted, moving from February 14, 2025 to November 7, 2025.
Did Dogpool save the day? Not a chance in gremlin hell. But she Is currently causing the Disney plushy merch department nightmares. Coming with the movie, Summer 2024 L pic.
As for those new release dates, Marvel Studios announced that Deadpool 3 will now open on July 26, 2024 instead of May 3, 2024. That July date was previously held by Captain America: Brave New World , which has moved to February 14, 2025. Thunderbolts has moved from December 20, 2024 to July 25, 2025. Blade has also shifted, moving from February 14, 2025 to November 7, 2025.
Did Dogpool save the day? Not a chance in gremlin hell. But she Is currently causing the Disney plushy merch department nightmares. Coming with the movie, Summer 2024 L pic.
- 11/10/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
While picking up his “pen” for a first-person essay in Esquire magazine, Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy revealed he’d constructed an elaborate tribute to Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi for the upcoming superhero threequel. According to Levy, he’s recreated pivotal scenes from the Richard Marquand-directed classic in Deadpool 3, with an intense attention to detail.
“I vividly remember the scene in which Luke is hiding from Vader in the Emperor’s room and Vader gives the speech that ends with ‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps your sister will,'” Levy wrote in his guest feature for Esquire. “It was dead quiet [in the theater]. Pin-drop silence. Suddenly Vader has pushed the wrong button. Luke comes screaming out of the shadows and just goes to town in a light saber battle against Vader. The way that felt: The forty seconds of stillness from the audience,...
“I vividly remember the scene in which Luke is hiding from Vader in the Emperor’s room and Vader gives the speech that ends with ‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps your sister will,'” Levy wrote in his guest feature for Esquire. “It was dead quiet [in the theater]. Pin-drop silence. Suddenly Vader has pushed the wrong button. Luke comes screaming out of the shadows and just goes to town in a light saber battle against Vader. The way that felt: The forty seconds of stillness from the audience,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Fader has released Fader & Friends Vol. 1, a real star-studded covers compilation benefitting charities fighting for transgender rights.
There’s a whole lot in these 44 tracks, but here are just a few notable highlights: CoSign alums Wednesday recorded their rendition of Elliott Smith’s “Christian Brothers,” Rostam covered Lucinda Williams’ “Change the Locks,” Ratboys did The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” and NNAMDÏ did The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
While most of the performers on the compilation — including Caroline Rose and Joanna Stenberg, who covered each other — are relative newcomers, the crop of songs constitute a vast timeline. There are covers of Big Thief, Perfume Genius, and Ethel Cain mixed together with songs by Stevie Wonder, Abba, Tina Turner, and Selena. There’s even an old English folk song (courtesy of Helena Deland).
Fader & Friends Vol. 1 will be available exclusively on Bandcamp for the month of November only,...
There’s a whole lot in these 44 tracks, but here are just a few notable highlights: CoSign alums Wednesday recorded their rendition of Elliott Smith’s “Christian Brothers,” Rostam covered Lucinda Williams’ “Change the Locks,” Ratboys did The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” and NNAMDÏ did The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
While most of the performers on the compilation — including Caroline Rose and Joanna Stenberg, who covered each other — are relative newcomers, the crop of songs constitute a vast timeline. There are covers of Big Thief, Perfume Genius, and Ethel Cain mixed together with songs by Stevie Wonder, Abba, Tina Turner, and Selena. There’s even an old English folk song (courtesy of Helena Deland).
Fader & Friends Vol. 1 will be available exclusively on Bandcamp for the month of November only,...
- 11/1/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Music
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Deadpool 3 loses its May release date as the strike continues to affect the 2024 theatrical schedule
We’re hearing disappointing news concerning 20th Century Studios‘ Deadpool 3 release. According to Deadline, the highly-anticipated threequel starring Ryan Renolds and Hugh Jackman will lose its May release date because of complications related to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Deadline says that even if the strike ends in the next few weeks, it’s almost impossible for the superhero sequel to keep its original release date. In its current state, the movie is half-finished. In other words, there’s lots more work to do on the film before it can hit its target of May 3, 2024. While the Deadpool 3 delay is a bummer, it’s understandable, given the circumstances.
According to sources, there’s a chance Captain America: Brave New World could move to an earlier date, seeing as it’s finished production. Additionally, if Deadpool 3 can’t open by July 26, 2024, it could move to November, a sweet spot for MCU success.
According to sources, there’s a chance Captain America: Brave New World could move to an earlier date, seeing as it’s finished production. Additionally, if Deadpool 3 can’t open by July 26, 2024, it could move to November, a sweet spot for MCU success.
- 10/19/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
It’s not unusual for films to see a boost when they shift from PVOD rental to Est. But “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony), which had dropped off the top 10 charts after several weeks of rental success, came back as #1 on all three now that it’s available to buy at $19.99.
“Barbie” has surpassed the Marvel animated title as #1 for the summer, but the renewed interest in “Spider-Verse” is a good reminder of how strong the brand can be.
In another sign of how comic book movies elevate those associated with them, “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot’s Netflix action title “Heart of Stone” hit #1 right away at the streamer. It received a lot of review attention, mostly negative. Its value will be better determined depending on if it sustains a lengthy run high on their charts.
“Cobweb”Vlad Cioplea
“Cobweb” ($6.99), a low-budget horror film made an initial splash. The American production,...
“Barbie” has surpassed the Marvel animated title as #1 for the summer, but the renewed interest in “Spider-Verse” is a good reminder of how strong the brand can be.
In another sign of how comic book movies elevate those associated with them, “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot’s Netflix action title “Heart of Stone” hit #1 right away at the streamer. It received a lot of review attention, mostly negative. Its value will be better determined depending on if it sustains a lengthy run high on their charts.
“Cobweb”Vlad Cioplea
“Cobweb” ($6.99), a low-budget horror film made an initial splash. The American production,...
- 8/14/2023
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
When it comes to villains in any sort of superhero movie, there are two main directions the writers can take: They can have the villain be an evil, irredeemable menace, or they could make it so the villain sorta has a point. Magneto from "X-Men," Killmonger from "Black Panther," Ozymandias from "Watchmen," are all at least a little bit right, and the movies they're in take little joy in their eventual downfall. (Assuming their downfall even happens at all.)
In "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," it originally appears like the main villain would be Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph), who'd fall squarely in the mean, love-to-hate group of villains. She takes a backseat fairly quickly, however, because the terrifying Superfly (Ice Cube) is actually the film's primary antagonist. Superfly has fairly sympathetic origins -- he was turned into a mutant against his will at a young age, and he had...
In "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," it originally appears like the main villain would be Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph), who'd fall squarely in the mean, love-to-hate group of villains. She takes a backseat fairly quickly, however, because the terrifying Superfly (Ice Cube) is actually the film's primary antagonist. Superfly has fairly sympathetic origins -- he was turned into a mutant against his will at a young age, and he had...
- 8/2/2023
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Olivia Rodrigo has just spilled her guts out on the tracklist of her new album, Guts.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, the three-time Grammy winner tweeted a promotional clip for her new album, including the upcoming release’s tracklist.
In a retro-chic clip, Rodrigo uses a typewriter to reveal the album’s tracklist while donning hair curlers in a purple bedroom.
Read More: Olivia Rodrigo Discusses Her Relationship Status And What It Was Like Growing Up In The Spotlight In ‘Vogue’ Chat
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Olivia Rodrigo (@oliviarodrigo)
Cheekily featured in the swift clip are letters addressed to “258 get him back drive” and books titled Manifesting a text back, Why waiting on the phone works for him and How to always pick the wrong one.
The album’s lead single, “Vampire”, which featured a music video directed by Toronto-born Petra Collins, has already hit...
Taking to Instagram on Monday, the three-time Grammy winner tweeted a promotional clip for her new album, including the upcoming release’s tracklist.
In a retro-chic clip, Rodrigo uses a typewriter to reveal the album’s tracklist while donning hair curlers in a purple bedroom.
Read More: Olivia Rodrigo Discusses Her Relationship Status And What It Was Like Growing Up In The Spotlight In ‘Vogue’ Chat
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Olivia Rodrigo (@oliviarodrigo)
Cheekily featured in the swift clip are letters addressed to “258 get him back drive” and books titled Manifesting a text back, Why waiting on the phone works for him and How to always pick the wrong one.
The album’s lead single, “Vampire”, which featured a music video directed by Toronto-born Petra Collins, has already hit...
- 8/1/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
Plot: Follows the Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.
Review: I count myself as a massive fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whether it’s the old cartoon show, the live actions films of the 90’s, or even the original comic book. While I didn’t vibe with the Michael Bay-produced films, I’ve always loved the turtle action in them. So the fact that this one does the right thing and focuses on the titular characters versus April O’Neil, is already a massive win in my book. That’s what I want in a turtle movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has that in spades. And while there’s certainly a degree of origin story present, it mostly serves to reintroduce the public to this gang of green teens versus treading old ground.
Review: I count myself as a massive fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whether it’s the old cartoon show, the live actions films of the 90’s, or even the original comic book. While I didn’t vibe with the Michael Bay-produced films, I’ve always loved the turtle action in them. So the fact that this one does the right thing and focuses on the titular characters versus April O’Neil, is already a massive win in my book. That’s what I want in a turtle movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has that in spades. And while there’s certainly a degree of origin story present, it mostly serves to reintroduce the public to this gang of green teens versus treading old ground.
- 8/1/2023
- by Tyler Nichols
- JoBlo.com
Ahead of the film’s August 2nd theatrical release, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have unveiled the companion soundtrack to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Listen to the album below via Apple Music or Spotify.
All of the films and television shows about our favorite reptilian crime fighters have a certain childlike quality, but with a team including Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls), Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, Mutant Mayhem breathes new comic life into the Ninja Turtles franchise. Reznor and Ross’ score follows suit, giving up their refined reputation for song titles like “Dipshits on a Roof,” “Murder the Shreks!,” “Puke Girl,” “Megamind, Gru-Type Sh*T,” and “Better Than Mark Ruffalo.”
In addition to Rogen as Bebop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem features a voice cast of Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), and Brady Noon (Raphael), Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil), Giancarlo Esposito...
All of the films and television shows about our favorite reptilian crime fighters have a certain childlike quality, but with a team including Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls), Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, Mutant Mayhem breathes new comic life into the Ninja Turtles franchise. Reznor and Ross’ score follows suit, giving up their refined reputation for song titles like “Dipshits on a Roof,” “Murder the Shreks!,” “Puke Girl,” “Megamind, Gru-Type Sh*T,” and “Better Than Mark Ruffalo.”
In addition to Rogen as Bebop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem features a voice cast of Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), and Brady Noon (Raphael), Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil), Giancarlo Esposito...
- 7/29/2023
- by Carys Anderson
- Consequence - Music
"The Flash" movie, that opened June 16, 2023, quickly ran out of steam during its initial theatrical run, but after recently debuting on Digital platforms, has managed to race to the top of all three major VOD charts, including 'iTunes', 'Google Play' and 'Vudu':
iTunes
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $5.99 3. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 6. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99 7. Sisu (Lionsgate) – $5.99 8. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99 9. Asteroid City (Focus) – $19.99 10. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99
Google Play
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $5.99 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99 6. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 7. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99 8. Asteroid City (Focus) – $19.99 9. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99 10. Sisu (Lionsgate) – $5.99
Vudu
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 3. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 4. Gotg Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie...
iTunes
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $5.99 3. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 6. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99 7. Sisu (Lionsgate) – $5.99 8. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99 9. Asteroid City (Focus) – $19.99 10. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99
Google Play
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $5.99 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99 6. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 7. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99 8. Asteroid City (Focus) – $19.99 9. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99 10. Sisu (Lionsgate) – $5.99
Vudu
1. The Flash (WB) – $19.99 2. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – $19.99 3. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) – $19.99 4. Gotg Vol. 3 (Disney) – $19.99 5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie...
- 7/27/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
It seems Paramount and Nickelodeon have got a fever, and the only prescription is more "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Ahead of the August 2, 2023 theatrical release date of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," Variety reports that a sequel is already in development. This isn't surprising, considering the film ends with a big tease, and considering that it is one of the best animated movies of the year. Director Jeff Rowe and the team at Mikros Animation deliver a visually stunning film that delivers rebellious teen attitude, while a script by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, as well as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, reinvents the iconic characters by focusing on them being actual teens discovering their place in the world.
Perhaps more surprisingly (albeit equally as inevitable) is the news that a TV spin-off of "Mutant Mayhem" is now in development for Paramount+, titled "Tales of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Perhaps more surprisingly (albeit equally as inevitable) is the news that a TV spin-off of "Mutant Mayhem" is now in development for Paramount+, titled "Tales of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- 7/26/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
With a troubled history and soft box office, DC Comics’ “The Flash” ($19.99) on PVOD gives Warner Bros. its second #1 film right now. As “Barbie” comes off a $162 million domestic opening in theaters, “The Flash” takes the top spot at all three VOD charts this week, just over a month after debuting in theaters. Never mind that “Barbie” made more in its opening weekend than “The Flash” did in its under-$110 million domestic run, on a movie with twice the production cost.
In an even quicker turnaround, “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” ($19.99), consistent with Universal’s home release strategy after three weekends in theaters, also made all three lists after the animated feature grossed $15 million. Vudu, with a revenue-based chart that favors higher-priced titles, is best at #3.
At some undetermined point, those studios will have massive potential post-theater play films Based on its agreement with Christopher Nolan on “Oppenheimer,” Universal will not...
In an even quicker turnaround, “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” ($19.99), consistent with Universal’s home release strategy after three weekends in theaters, also made all three lists after the animated feature grossed $15 million. Vudu, with a revenue-based chart that favors higher-priced titles, is best at #3.
At some undetermined point, those studios will have massive potential post-theater play films Based on its agreement with Christopher Nolan on “Oppenheimer,” Universal will not...
- 7/24/2023
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Toni Collette voices Agatha Gillman in DreamWorks Animation’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, directed by Kirk DeMicco. While Disney has gone the live-action route with its adaptation of The Little Mermaid, DreamWorks is going animated with its new seafaring story — which, yes, does include a mermaid. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken tells the story of a girl who learns she’s secretly a sea monster and inadvertently wades a little too deep into a longstanding conflict between the krakens and the mermaids. Toni Collette voices the teen’s mother, and she talked to us about the reasons why she loves the film. (Click on the media bar below to hear Toni Collette) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Toni_Collette_Ruby_Gillman_Teenage_-Kraken_Love_.mp3 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken opens in theaters on Friday.
The post Toni Collette Releases Her Hidden ‘Kraken’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post Toni Collette Releases Her Hidden ‘Kraken’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 6/26/2023
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
The Big Bang Theory universe is expanding by way of a spin-off from the show’s original creator.
The news was unveiled on Wednesday (12 April) during Warner Bros Discovery press day, where the company also announced its new platform Max, a rebranded combination of HBO Max and Discovery+.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will be developing the new show for Max.
At this time, plot details are currently under wraps.
Running for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, The Big Bang Theory starred Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco playing their neighbour Penny.
The spin-off series will mark Lorre’s second collaboration with Max and Wbtv under an overall deal.
Right now, he’s in production with actor Nick Bakay (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) on a new Max Original comedy series How to Be a Bookie, starring...
The news was unveiled on Wednesday (12 April) during Warner Bros Discovery press day, where the company also announced its new platform Max, a rebranded combination of HBO Max and Discovery+.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will be developing the new show for Max.
At this time, plot details are currently under wraps.
Running for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, The Big Bang Theory starred Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco playing their neighbour Penny.
The spin-off series will mark Lorre’s second collaboration with Max and Wbtv under an overall deal.
Right now, he’s in production with actor Nick Bakay (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) on a new Max Original comedy series How to Be a Bookie, starring...
- 4/13/2023
- by Inga Parkel
- The Independent - TV
The Big Bang Theory universe is expanding by way of a spin-off from the show’s original creator.
The news was unveiled on Wednesday (12 April) during Warner Bros Discovery press day, where the company also announced its new platform Max, a rebranded combination of HBO Max and Discovery+.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will be developing the new show for Max.
At this time, plot details are currently under wraps.
Running for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, The Big Bang Theory starred Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco playing their neighbour Penny.
The spin-off series will mark Lorre’s second collaboration with Max and Wbtv under an overall deal.
Right now, he’s in production with actor Nick Bakay (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) on a new Max Original comedy series How to Be a Bookie, starring...
The news was unveiled on Wednesday (12 April) during Warner Bros Discovery press day, where the company also announced its new platform Max, a rebranded combination of HBO Max and Discovery+.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will be developing the new show for Max.
At this time, plot details are currently under wraps.
Running for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, The Big Bang Theory starred Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco playing their neighbour Penny.
The spin-off series will mark Lorre’s second collaboration with Max and Wbtv under an overall deal.
Right now, he’s in production with actor Nick Bakay (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) on a new Max Original comedy series How to Be a Bookie, starring...
- 4/12/2023
- by Inga Parkel
- The Independent - TV
It looks like Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with the Mouth and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine aren’t the only X-Men characters making the jump from the 20th Century Fox’s X-Men continuity over to the Mouse House when Deadpool 3 hits cinemas next year. As broken by Deadline, the duo is going to be joined by some other familiar faces, at least from the pocket of Deadpool films.
Monica Baccarin and Stefan Kapicic are both slated to reprise their roles as Vanessa and Colossus after playing those characters in Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The news isn’t entirely surprising, especially since Baccarin’s Vanessa was such a fan favorite in the first movie (although she got sidelined for most of the second one), and Kapicic’s vocal performance of the all-cgi Colossus stole entire sequences in both Deadpool movies. The characters’ return though indicates that continuity lines will continue to blur in the MCU.
Monica Baccarin and Stefan Kapicic are both slated to reprise their roles as Vanessa and Colossus after playing those characters in Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The news isn’t entirely surprising, especially since Baccarin’s Vanessa was such a fan favorite in the first movie (although she got sidelined for most of the second one), and Kapicic’s vocal performance of the all-cgi Colossus stole entire sequences in both Deadpool movies. The characters’ return though indicates that continuity lines will continue to blur in the MCU.
- 4/12/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Niall Horan’s existentialism jumped out during his latest sit-down on The Late Late Show with James Corden. The singer spent the night hanging with Corden and special guest Orlando Bloom before performing his newly released single “Heaven,” from his third studio album The Show, out June 9. Sitting with Katy Perry’s husband, Bloom, Horan was reminded that if she hadn’t put him through to the next round of The X Factor in 2010 – leading to his placement in One Direction – his entire life would have been different.
“Is that...
“Is that...
- 2/17/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
Melissa Joan Hart close up. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Faye Sadou/AdMedia
Melissa Joan Hart has jumped aboard the Teenage Dirtbag trend currently sweeping TikTok.
The 46-year-old actress proved she can keep up with the rest of them this week, posting a fun collage-formatted video that included some bikini action.
Melissa’s video, which has now clocked over 3 million views, came with her admitting that she didn’t quite get it right “the first time,” but it looks like she nailed it.
The blonde opened in selfie mode and from a greenery-filled backyard as she filmed herself in a dark strappy top. “Teenage dirtbag? Yes or no” appeared in text.
Fans then saw the Sabrina the Teenage Witch star in a series of throwbacks, not limited to her in a skimpy black look during a night out, plus on the beach and sticking out her tongue while in a bikini top.
Melissa Joan Hart has jumped aboard the Teenage Dirtbag trend currently sweeping TikTok.
The 46-year-old actress proved she can keep up with the rest of them this week, posting a fun collage-formatted video that included some bikini action.
Melissa’s video, which has now clocked over 3 million views, came with her admitting that she didn’t quite get it right “the first time,” but it looks like she nailed it.
The blonde opened in selfie mode and from a greenery-filled backyard as she filmed herself in a dark strappy top. “Teenage dirtbag? Yes or no” appeared in text.
Fans then saw the Sabrina the Teenage Witch star in a series of throwbacks, not limited to her in a skimpy black look during a night out, plus on the beach and sticking out her tongue while in a bikini top.
- 9/2/2022
- by Angela Perry
- Monsters and Critics
The Casagrandes will be back for a third go-round. Ahead of its season 2 debut, Nickelodeon has renewed Emmy-winning kids series The Casagrandes for a third season.
A spinoff of Nickelodeon’s top-rated animated series The Loud House, The Casagrandes has ranked as the number two animated property across television with Kids 2-11 since its October 2019 debut. Season three is currently in production by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
The Casagrandes tells the story of Ronnie Anne, who moves to the city with her mom and older brother to live with their big, loving family, the Casagrandes. The series showcases the culture, humor, and love that’s part of growing up in a multigenerational Mexican-American family. Season 3 will find Ronnie Anne and her family members on a variety of adventures while exploring different areas of the city.
“Our audience has loved the diverse characters, relatable stories and rich animation found in The Casagrandes...
A spinoff of Nickelodeon’s top-rated animated series The Loud House, The Casagrandes has ranked as the number two animated property across television with Kids 2-11 since its October 2019 debut. Season three is currently in production by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
The Casagrandes tells the story of Ronnie Anne, who moves to the city with her mom and older brother to live with their big, loving family, the Casagrandes. The series showcases the culture, humor, and love that’s part of growing up in a multigenerational Mexican-American family. Season 3 will find Ronnie Anne and her family members on a variety of adventures while exploring different areas of the city.
“Our audience has loved the diverse characters, relatable stories and rich animation found in The Casagrandes...
- 9/24/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Before Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina brought us a story of teenage witchery, sacrifices, and devil worship, the Sabrina character gained fame on ABC's Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Vastly different from the dark and disturbing Chilling Adventures, Sabrina was a lighthearted sitcom about a teenager with magical powers.
Sabrina was funny and relatable to every teenager who wished they could magic away their problems. She was a good witch with a cute boyfriend, a supportive family, and a sassy cat sidekick.
I loved Sabrina growing up, but looking back, I see some glaring issues with this seemingly innocent world. The two most notable involve the role of the cat sidekick, and the question of whether or not Sabrina and her Aunts were really good witches?
Let's start with the cat. Salem was a fan-favorite. Voiced by Nick Bakay, Salem was a talking black cat who toed the line between friend,...
Vastly different from the dark and disturbing Chilling Adventures, Sabrina was a lighthearted sitcom about a teenager with magical powers.
Sabrina was funny and relatable to every teenager who wished they could magic away their problems. She was a good witch with a cute boyfriend, a supportive family, and a sassy cat sidekick.
I loved Sabrina growing up, but looking back, I see some glaring issues with this seemingly innocent world. The two most notable involve the role of the cat sidekick, and the question of whether or not Sabrina and her Aunts were really good witches?
Let's start with the cat. Salem was a fan-favorite. Voiced by Nick Bakay, Salem was a talking black cat who toed the line between friend,...
- 7/22/2020
- by Leora W
- TVfanatic
Premiering at the Cannes Film festival earlier this year, John Cameron Mitchell’s fourth feature takes excellent source material and top talent on a wild ride in “How to Talk to Girls at Parties.” Based on a short story by Neil Gaiman, whose fantastical work has been adapted to mixed results over the years. In the first international trailer, Fanning and her co-star Alex Sharp flirt oddly and adorably, and Nicole Kidman appears to be having a lot of fun.
Read More:‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ Review: Elle Fanning Is a Free Love Alien in John Cameron Mitchell’s Bizarre Return to Form
Set in a London suburb in the 1970’s, the film follows an alien girl named Zan (Fanning) who falls in love with a punk teenage boy named Enn (Sharp). Kidman, who recently worked with Fanning in Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” plays a very...
Read More:‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ Review: Elle Fanning Is a Free Love Alien in John Cameron Mitchell’s Bizarre Return to Form
Set in a London suburb in the 1970’s, the film follows an alien girl named Zan (Fanning) who falls in love with a punk teenage boy named Enn (Sharp). Kidman, who recently worked with Fanning in Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” plays a very...
- 8/21/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Matt Spicer’s “Ingrid Goes West” doesn’t shy away from its deliciously unhinged protagonist in the slightest, opening the comedy’s action with the eponymous Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) going full-tilt bonkers on the wedding of someone who initially seems like an old pal who has done her wrong. But Ingrid isn’t getting revenge on a lost friend who has bilked her for other people, she’s actually on hand to ruin the nuptials of someone she mostly knows from social media.
Ingrid eventually moves on (sort of), heading out west to make her way in sunny Los Angeles, where she’s convinced that a highly curated life is the cure for all her ills. What she really wants is someone else to emulate and follow, and she finds that in Insta-famous lifestyle blogger Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), who makes the woeful mistake of liking one of Ingrid’s targeted posts.
Ingrid eventually moves on (sort of), heading out west to make her way in sunny Los Angeles, where she’s convinced that a highly curated life is the cure for all her ills. What she really wants is someone else to emulate and follow, and she finds that in Insta-famous lifestyle blogger Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), who makes the woeful mistake of liking one of Ingrid’s targeted posts.
- 8/9/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Every festival offers up the possibility of discovering something new — new stars, new films, new shows, new platforms — and this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is no different. Now in its sixteenth year, the New York City-set festival continues to grow and change, while constantly embracing what’s new and what’s next. The 2017 edition of the festival includes plenty of rising names to get excited about, from writers and directors to actors and actual platforms for hot content delivery. Who’s going to change the industry in the coming years? We’ve got some ideas.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
- 4/19/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
In 2014, indie writer and director Alex Ross Perry premiered his third directorial feature film, “Listen Up Phillip,” at the Sundance Film Festival. The film starred Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss and received generally positive reviews from critics. Now, Perry returns to Park City with his latest drama “Golden Exits,” which features an outstanding cast composed of, once again, Schwartzman, Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Chloë Sevigny and Analeigh Tipton.
Ahead of its Sundance debut this weekend, the first teaser trailer was released and features Browning as Naomi, a 20-something from Australia who arrives to New York to help archivist and appraiser Nick (Horovitz) for the semester.
The one-minute teaser contains no plot details or other actors, only showing the actress singing rock band Hello’s song “New York Groove.”
Read More: IndieWire’s Movie Podcast: Screen Talk (Episode 132) – Why We’re Excited About Sundance 2017
The story follows...
Ahead of its Sundance debut this weekend, the first teaser trailer was released and features Browning as Naomi, a 20-something from Australia who arrives to New York to help archivist and appraiser Nick (Horovitz) for the semester.
The one-minute teaser contains no plot details or other actors, only showing the actress singing rock band Hello’s song “New York Groove.”
Read More: IndieWire’s Movie Podcast: Screen Talk (Episode 132) – Why We’re Excited About Sundance 2017
The story follows...
- 1/20/2017
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday morning. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?” can be found at the end of this post.)
At long last, the Alamo Drafthouse is finally opening in Brooklyn this Friday, complementing a new wave of New York City cinemas that already includes the Metrograph, the Nitehawk (which will soon open another location), and the iPic chain, and is scheduled to add several more exciting venues 2017. With that exciting news in mind, we’ve put forward the following question to our panel of critics: What is the best movie theater that you have ever been to, and what made it so special?
Miriam Bale (@mimbale), Freelance
The Castro Theater in San Francisco is obviously the best. See anything there and you’ll know why.
At long last, the Alamo Drafthouse is finally opening in Brooklyn this Friday, complementing a new wave of New York City cinemas that already includes the Metrograph, the Nitehawk (which will soon open another location), and the iPic chain, and is scheduled to add several more exciting venues 2017. With that exciting news in mind, we’ve put forward the following question to our panel of critics: What is the best movie theater that you have ever been to, and what made it so special?
Miriam Bale (@mimbale), Freelance
The Castro Theater in San Francisco is obviously the best. See anything there and you’ll know why.
- 10/24/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.
For July, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for July 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 29. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Bad Moms
Director: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Cast: Christina Applegate, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Emjay Anthony, Jay Jablonski, Kesha Rose Sebert
Synopsis: A woman with a seemingly perfect life – a great marriage, overachieving kids, beautiful home, stunning looks and still holding down a career.
For July, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for July 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 29. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Bad Moms
Director: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Cast: Christina Applegate, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Emjay Anthony, Jay Jablonski, Kesha Rose Sebert
Synopsis: A woman with a seemingly perfect life – a great marriage, overachieving kids, beautiful home, stunning looks and still holding down a career.
- 7/28/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Shortly after the Sundance Institute named their January Screenwriter’s Lab roster, it’s another West coast entity that is offering some support to the next gen of producers. The San Francisco Film Society folks have bestowed the Producer Fellowships to Reena Dutt, Kyle Martin (who is know best from producing Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture and Lance Edmands’ Bluebird) and Kimberly Parker (who most recently produced Katie Says Goodbye – a title we had pegged for Sundance). Here is the press release.
This round of Sffs Producer Fellowships runs from January to June 2016, kicking off with a 5-day networking trip to the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to this excursion, over the course of the Fellowship each winner will receive:
A $25,000–$40,000 cash grant to be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components.
Placement in our...
This round of Sffs Producer Fellowships runs from January to June 2016, kicking off with a 5-day networking trip to the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to this excursion, over the course of the Fellowship each winner will receive:
A $25,000–$40,000 cash grant to be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components.
Placement in our...
- 1/15/2016
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Venice Film Festival Biennale College – Cinema sidebar is like a low-lying fruit tree that hasn’t yet been picked, and from the past two editions Sundance programmers have basketed Tim Sutton’s Memphis (2014) and Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia’s H. (2015). We’re thinking the fest might go three for three with The Fits. Anna Rose Homer fiction feature debut hasn’t yet be shown outside the Lido and it’s coming into 2016 with terrific critical buzz with THR calling it a “rough-diamond discovery” French institute Cahiers du cinéma giving the film major props. The filmmaker touched several facets of the film indie film biz over the years getting her feet wet as a camera assistant, with grip credits for Afterschool and Tiny Furniture and her most recent gigs were as a producer on Jody Lee Lipes’ Ballet 422 and still photographer on Matt Wolf’s Teenage. The Fits, which benefited...
- 11/24/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, will make its World Premiere at the 53rd New York International Film Festival, running from September 25 to October 11. The film was one of 26 announced as part of the festival’s main slate, along with one of four World Premieres.
Some of the main slate highlights include Todd Haynes’s Carol, featuring Cannes Best Actress Winner Rooney Mara alongside Cate Blanchett, Miguel Gomes’s three part saga Arabian Nights, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, the Us premiere of Michael Moore’s latest Where to Invade Next, Michel Gondry’s French film Microbe et Gasoil, and the World Premiere of the documentary Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, about the life of the fames photographer and filmmaker.
Previously announced films include the World Premiere of The Walk, Robert Zemeckis’s Philippe Petit biopic serving as the opening night film, the World Premiere of...
Some of the main slate highlights include Todd Haynes’s Carol, featuring Cannes Best Actress Winner Rooney Mara alongside Cate Blanchett, Miguel Gomes’s three part saga Arabian Nights, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, the Us premiere of Michael Moore’s latest Where to Invade Next, Michel Gondry’s French film Microbe et Gasoil, and the World Premiere of the documentary Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, about the life of the fames photographer and filmmaker.
Previously announced films include the World Premiere of The Walk, Robert Zemeckis’s Philippe Petit biopic serving as the opening night film, the World Premiere of...
- 8/13/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Following 2013’s Teenage, cinematographer Nick Bentgen reteams with director Matt Wolf for a short film about the man behind the look of one of children’s literature’s most-loved characters, Eloise. It’s Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise is a portrait of Hilary Knight, whose sharp line drawings visualized for generations the Plaza Hotel-dwelling young girl introduced in Kay Thompson’s books. Executive produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of Girls, the short film will premiere on HBO in March but receives its festival launch at Sundance on January 24. Here, Bentgen, who directed Northern Lights and shot Ballet 242 and […]...
- 1/24/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Following 2013’s Teenage, cinematographer Nick Bentgen reteams with director Matt Wolf for a short film about the man behind the look of one of children’s literature’s most-loved characters, Eloise. It’s Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise is a portrait of Hilary Knight, whose sharp line drawings visualized for generations the Plaza Hotel-dwelling young girl introduced in Kay Thompson’s books. Executive produced by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of Girls, the short film will premiere on HBO in March but receives its festival launch at Sundance on January 24. Here, Bentgen, who directed Northern Lights and shot Ballet 242 and […]...
- 1/24/2015
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In Teenage, documentarian Matt Wolf examines the origins of a term and a people that we take for granted nowadays: the teenager. The idea of a teenager did not always exist, and in this film Wolf goes back to the creation of this stage of life—a stage of life that was just as riddled with angst as it is today. The film tells the history of teenagers from the 1870s-1940s using mostly archival footage and photos. Diary entries read by Ben Whishaw, Jena Malone, and others serve as the only narration for the film.
In the 1870s child reform during the industrial revolution forces children out of the workplace and into the schoolroom. Suddenly a group of people who normally go straight from child to adult at the rough age of 12 now find themselves with more free time and fewer responsibilities. And so the teenager is born. Teenage...
In the 1870s child reform during the industrial revolution forces children out of the workplace and into the schoolroom. Suddenly a group of people who normally go straight from child to adult at the rough age of 12 now find themselves with more free time and fewer responsibilities. And so the teenager is born. Teenage...
- 1/20/2015
- by John Keith
- JustPressPlay.net
Not unlike the previous year, a whopping eight thousand plus short films were submitted to Sundance this year. Among some of the filmmaker names that we are already familiar with, we find several feature filmmakers moonlighting back to the short form; basically the short is healthier than ever. Topping the 2015 crop, we have Jake Mahaffy (whose feature, Free in Deed appears to be somewhere in post) who contributes to our understanding of 13th century rule with the year specific, A.D. 1363, The End of Chivalry. We have Cutie and the Boxer helmer working in the fiction form with Hugh the Hunter and form the same vintage 2013 year, fellow feature film helmer Shaka King (director of Newlyweeds) turns in a short in Mulignans (see pic above). Michael Mohan who has been to Sundance with features One Too Many Dates and Save the Date, returns with Pink Grapefruit.
Crossing into the international shorts,...
Crossing into the international shorts,...
- 12/9/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Top brass have announced 60 films culled from 8,061 submissions across four categories – Us and international narrative, documentary and animation.
“This year’s short film-makers have broken through their limited timeframe with a high level of artistry and story that will resonate with audiences long after each film has ended,” said senior programmer Mike Plante.
The Short Film programme is presented by YouTube.
Sundance 2015 is set to run in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, from January 22 to February 1.
All synopses provided by the festival.
Us Narrative Short Films
Actresses
Jeremy Hersh
The film follows the relationship between a young, aspiring actress and an established off-Broadway star.
A.D. 1363, The End Of Chivalry (USA-New Zealand)
Jake Mahaffy
A little-known historical catastrophe leads to the definitive end of the era of chivalry and questing.
Color Neutral
Jennifer Reeves
A color explosion sparkles, bubbles, and fractures in this handcrafted 16mm film. Jennifer Reeves utilises...
“This year’s short film-makers have broken through their limited timeframe with a high level of artistry and story that will resonate with audiences long after each film has ended,” said senior programmer Mike Plante.
The Short Film programme is presented by YouTube.
Sundance 2015 is set to run in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, from January 22 to February 1.
All synopses provided by the festival.
Us Narrative Short Films
Actresses
Jeremy Hersh
The film follows the relationship between a young, aspiring actress and an established off-Broadway star.
A.D. 1363, The End Of Chivalry (USA-New Zealand)
Jake Mahaffy
A little-known historical catastrophe leads to the definitive end of the era of chivalry and questing.
Color Neutral
Jennifer Reeves
A color explosion sparkles, bubbles, and fractures in this handcrafted 16mm film. Jennifer Reeves utilises...
- 12/9/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.
The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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- 12/6/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Paramount
In his book Teenage, Jon Savage pinpoints the exact era when the idea of mopey, angry, hormone-filled adolescents finally took root in popular culture. Before 1945, there was no such thing as a teenager, no hinterland between childhood and adulthood. You finished school, then you were a grown up. No time to tread water or get used to things, just thrown in at the deep end. It’s only in the 20th century that the “liminal state of development that is temporally finite, cut short by the onslaught of responsibility and exhilaration of adulthood” reared its ugly head. Which coincides, rather handily, with the invention of the teen movie.
The fifties saw the rise of the rebellious biker picture, all rebels without causes and wild ones. The seventies was the time for George Lucas’ nostalgic American Graffiti to take the young folks’ minds off the draft. The eighties was presided over by John Hughes,...
In his book Teenage, Jon Savage pinpoints the exact era when the idea of mopey, angry, hormone-filled adolescents finally took root in popular culture. Before 1945, there was no such thing as a teenager, no hinterland between childhood and adulthood. You finished school, then you were a grown up. No time to tread water or get used to things, just thrown in at the deep end. It’s only in the 20th century that the “liminal state of development that is temporally finite, cut short by the onslaught of responsibility and exhilaration of adulthood” reared its ugly head. Which coincides, rather handily, with the invention of the teen movie.
The fifties saw the rise of the rebellious biker picture, all rebels without causes and wild ones. The seventies was the time for George Lucas’ nostalgic American Graffiti to take the young folks’ minds off the draft. The eighties was presided over by John Hughes,...
- 9/15/2014
- by Tom Baker
- Obsessed with Film
The 8th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival is a power-packed event featuring outrageous cult films, provocative documentaries and wild short films that will run September 4-7 at its usual haunt, The Factory Theater.
Opening Night: The fest opens with Housebound, a New Zealand horror comedy by Gerard Johnstone about a woman in trouble with the law who comes to believe that her family home is haunted. The film will be preceded by a performance by Renny Kodgers and a free pizza party; and followed by an after party.
Closing Night: The fest will close with the controversial German teen sex comedy Wetlands directed by David Wendt. The film will then be followed by a late-night after party.
Highlights: Usama Alshaibi‘s must see documentary American Arab — an intimate, socially relevatory and essential film — screens at 4 p.m. on Sept. 6. Read the Underground Film Journal review of American Arab.
Jorge Torres-Torres...
Opening Night: The fest opens with Housebound, a New Zealand horror comedy by Gerard Johnstone about a woman in trouble with the law who comes to believe that her family home is haunted. The film will be preceded by a performance by Renny Kodgers and a free pizza party; and followed by an after party.
Closing Night: The fest will close with the controversial German teen sex comedy Wetlands directed by David Wendt. The film will then be followed by a late-night after party.
Highlights: Usama Alshaibi‘s must see documentary American Arab — an intimate, socially relevatory and essential film — screens at 4 p.m. on Sept. 6. Read the Underground Film Journal review of American Arab.
Jorge Torres-Torres...
- 8/7/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
About 3 months ago we made the decision to self-distribute Bluebird in North America. From the beginning, our goal was to make an intimate, quietly affecting ensemble drama. For writer/director Lance Edmands, there was a specific kind of feeling he was trying to express with the film. There was a unique sense of loneliness, solitude, and isolation that was linked directly to a region of Northern Maine and the culture that permeates the area. Lance grew up in Maine, and he felt that these melancholy emotions stood in stark contrast with the great rugged beauty of the state. We wanted to explore that conflicted feeling in way that would resonate personally with a viewer. It was important to us to maintain the subtle, quiet tone of the film both in the way we made it and the way we brought the film to an audience. With that in mind, we...
- 7/16/2014
- by Kyle Martin
- Hope for Film
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