Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
All of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh)
There are many films about the devastating effects of the AIDS crisis, but very few that grapple with the loneliness of those left behind or came of age as it began to make headlines. Through supernatural metaphor, Andrew Haigh’s latest––and best––film tackles the existential displacement of a gay man (Andrew Scott) fast approaching middle age, his isolation only underlined by the near-abandoned tower block in which he lives. His friends have long moved out of the city, he has to maneuver a generational divide with a new, younger romantic partner (Paul Mescal) whose adolescence was far different to his, and he feels a longing to return to his childhood and come out to...
All of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh)
There are many films about the devastating effects of the AIDS crisis, but very few that grapple with the loneliness of those left behind or came of age as it began to make headlines. Through supernatural metaphor, Andrew Haigh’s latest––and best––film tackles the existential displacement of a gay man (Andrew Scott) fast approaching middle age, his isolation only underlined by the near-abandoned tower block in which he lives. His friends have long moved out of the city, he has to maneuver a generational divide with a new, younger romantic partner (Paul Mescal) whose adolescence was far different to his, and he feels a longing to return to his childhood and come out to...
- 2/23/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Urban parkland can bring both solace and anonymity. For someone who is new to a place, connecting with their environment can be at once daunting and daring - the constructed landscape being one against which an immigrant is often antagonized, given how they can stand out. But the natural space might offer someone a moment of respite, to be themselves in a commonality of nature, even as you might struggle to find the necessary rhythm to your new life. Antoine Bourges, a French filmmaker transplanted to Canada, looks at immigrants trying to find their rhythm in his new film Concrete Valley. Part documentary, part drama, he enlists non-professional actors to move and examine that in-between life of the newly arrived, the people who are trying...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/20/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Straddling the hazy line between documentary and fiction, the work of Canadian filmmaker Antoine Bourges is intensely concerned with the plights of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. In his latest and most quietly impactful effort to date, Concrete Valley, Bourges turns his gaze toward the North American immigration struggle, further examining the sense of dislocation that often defines his films’ subjects/characters.
The film is set in Thorncliffe Park, a high-immigrant, low-income neighborhood of Toronto whose titular nickname stems from its geographical position nestled up against a lush hillside forest, and it begins with Rashid (Hussam Douhna), a Syrian immigrant, taking a solitary nighttime walk through these tranquil woods. The curiously hushed environment at first suggests a dream, lending Concrete Valley a sense of magical realism that corresponds to mythical tales of strangers traversing strange lands. When Rashid’s impromptu sylvan meanderings are discussed a short time later, he’s warned...
The film is set in Thorncliffe Park, a high-immigrant, low-income neighborhood of Toronto whose titular nickname stems from its geographical position nestled up against a lush hillside forest, and it begins with Rashid (Hussam Douhna), a Syrian immigrant, taking a solitary nighttime walk through these tranquil woods. The curiously hushed environment at first suggests a dream, lending Concrete Valley a sense of magical realism that corresponds to mythical tales of strangers traversing strange lands. When Rashid’s impromptu sylvan meanderings are discussed a short time later, he’s warned...
- 2/16/2024
- by Mark Hanson
- Slant Magazine
A growing list of 300 film professionals, including Martin Scorsese, Olivier Assayas, Joanna Hogg, and Radu Jude, have signed an open letter calling for the contract of outgoing Berlinale Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian to be reinstated and extended beyond 2024.
Late last week, Chatrian released a statement via the Berlinale website announcing his intention to step down following next year’s edition of the German festival. In his statement, Chatrian pointed to the German Ministry for Culture and Media’s decision to scrap the Berlinale’s dual management structure as the main catalyst for his departure.
Last month, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth announced that she wants the Berlinale to be placed back under the control of a single director. Roth is reported to have told a meeting on Thursday of the supervisory board of federal cultural events in Berlin (Kbb), which oversees the festival, that her conclusion was the film should be led by one person.
Late last week, Chatrian released a statement via the Berlinale website announcing his intention to step down following next year’s edition of the German festival. In his statement, Chatrian pointed to the German Ministry for Culture and Media’s decision to scrap the Berlinale’s dual management structure as the main catalyst for his departure.
Last month, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth announced that she wants the Berlinale to be placed back under the control of a single director. Roth is reported to have told a meeting on Thursday of the supervisory board of federal cultural events in Berlin (Kbb), which oversees the festival, that her conclusion was the film should be led by one person.
- 9/6/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
More than 200 international filmmakers have rallied in support of ousted Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian, pledging their names to an open letter imploring the cultural organization to keep the artist director in place. Among the first signatories were Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Joanna Hogg, “Corsage” director Marie Kreutzer, Andrew Ross Perry, and Olivier Assayas. Over the course of the day on Wednesday, another 130 directors joined them, the list swelling to include M. Night Shyamalan, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Tilda Swinton, and Claire Denis. 260 filmmakers have now signed the open letter.
“We, a diverse group of filmmakers from all over the world, who have deep respect for Berlin International Film Festival as a place for great cinema of all kinds, protest the harmful, unprofessional, and immoral behavior of state minister Claudia Roth in forcing the esteemed Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian to step down despite promises to prolong his contract,” says the letter.
Chatrian...
“We, a diverse group of filmmakers from all over the world, who have deep respect for Berlin International Film Festival as a place for great cinema of all kinds, protest the harmful, unprofessional, and immoral behavior of state minister Claudia Roth in forcing the esteemed Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian to step down despite promises to prolong his contract,” says the letter.
Chatrian...
- 9/6/2023
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Martin Scorsese, Radu Jude, Joanna Hogg, Claire Denis, Bertrand Bonello, M. Night Shyamalan, Kristen Stewart, Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Margarethe von Trotta are among the international filmmakers and talents who have signed an open letter in support of Carlo Chatrian whose mandate as artistic director of the Berlinale will come to an end next year. The number of signatories has now exceeded 400 names and keeps growing.
As we reported last week, Chatrian had been expected to stay on beyond 2024, and was surprised to learn that the German body which oversees the festival, Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (Kbb), announced that it would no extend his contract. The org had previously said it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director and return instead to having a single director, following the next edition. The festival’s executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek will also be leaving her post after the next edition.
As we reported last week, Chatrian had been expected to stay on beyond 2024, and was surprised to learn that the German body which oversees the festival, Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (Kbb), announced that it would no extend his contract. The org had previously said it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director and return instead to having a single director, following the next edition. The festival’s executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek will also be leaving her post after the next edition.
- 9/6/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Mad Solutions has acquired the distribution rights to “Concrete Valley” for multiple territories. The film focuses on a Syrian family living in Toronto.
The film, from Canadian-French filmmaker Antoine Bourges, premiered at Toronto Film Festival, before travelling to Berlinale, and it just screened at Jeonju.
The deal covers the following territories: UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South of Sudan and Comoro Island.
The writers are Bourges and Teyama Alkamli. The producer is Shehrezade Mian at Markhor Pictures.
“Concrete Valley,” which mixes fact and fiction, focuses on a Syrian family in an immigrant refugee neighborhood in Toronto, with people from the community cast in the film. It continues Bourges’ exploration of the intersection of fiction and documentary and his focus thematically on the many ways people fall through the gaps in society and its institutions.
The film, from Canadian-French filmmaker Antoine Bourges, premiered at Toronto Film Festival, before travelling to Berlinale, and it just screened at Jeonju.
The deal covers the following territories: UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South of Sudan and Comoro Island.
The writers are Bourges and Teyama Alkamli. The producer is Shehrezade Mian at Markhor Pictures.
“Concrete Valley,” which mixes fact and fiction, focuses on a Syrian family in an immigrant refugee neighborhood in Toronto, with people from the community cast in the film. It continues Bourges’ exploration of the intersection of fiction and documentary and his focus thematically on the many ways people fall through the gaps in society and its institutions.
- 5/12/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Piotr Pawlus, Tomasz Wolski’s ‘In Ukraine’ and Vlad Petri’s ‘Between Revolutions’ both selected.
Documentaries about the Iranian and Romanian revolutions of the 1970s and 80s, and the ongoing war in Ukraine are among the final 20 titles selected for the Berlinale’s Forum strand.
Vlad Petri’s Between Revolutions shows a semi-fictional correspondence between two women: one going to Iran in 1979, the other experiencing the years of Ceausescu’s Romania.
Scroll down for the full list of Forum titles
The Romania-Croatia-Qatar-Iran co-production is produced by Monica Lazurean-Gorgan for Romania’s Activ Docs.
Piotr Pawlus and Tomasz Wolski’s In...
Documentaries about the Iranian and Romanian revolutions of the 1970s and 80s, and the ongoing war in Ukraine are among the final 20 titles selected for the Berlinale’s Forum strand.
Vlad Petri’s Between Revolutions shows a semi-fictional correspondence between two women: one going to Iran in 1979, the other experiencing the years of Ceausescu’s Romania.
Scroll down for the full list of Forum titles
The Romania-Croatia-Qatar-Iran co-production is produced by Monica Lazurean-Gorgan for Romania’s Activ Docs.
Piotr Pawlus and Tomasz Wolski’s In...
- 1/16/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
German director Robert Schwentke’s drama “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes,” starring John Malkovich as the Roman-era Stoic philosopher, Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker doc, and high-end European TV series “The Swarm” are set for Berlin Film Festival world premiers.
The Berlinale on Tuesday announced several titles that will screen out-of-competition across various sections, most of them as Berlinale Special galas.
Besides “Seneca” and the Becker doc the galas also comprise the European premiere of Canadian chiller “Infinity Pool,” directed by Brandon Cronenberg and starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård; Todd Field’s “Tár” which premiered in Venice – and for which Field, Cate Blanchett and co-star Nina Hoss will hold an onstage concersation – Japanese thriller “#Mannhole” by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and Peter Geyer’s animation feature “Loriot’s Great Cartoon Revue” about German multihyphenate Vicco von Bülow, aka Loriot.
“The Swarm,” which is the first title announced for the Berlinale Series section,...
The Berlinale on Tuesday announced several titles that will screen out-of-competition across various sections, most of them as Berlinale Special galas.
Besides “Seneca” and the Becker doc the galas also comprise the European premiere of Canadian chiller “Infinity Pool,” directed by Brandon Cronenberg and starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård; Todd Field’s “Tár” which premiered in Venice – and for which Field, Cate Blanchett and co-star Nina Hoss will hold an onstage concersation – Japanese thriller “#Mannhole” by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and Peter Geyer’s animation feature “Loriot’s Great Cartoon Revue” about German multihyphenate Vicco von Bülow, aka Loriot.
“The Swarm,” which is the first title announced for the Berlinale Series section,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary are set to have their world premieres at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival next year. The projects are among the six titles which will play in the fest’s Berlinale Special Gala section, which also includes Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman and Todd Field’s Tár.
Infinity Pool will get its European premiere at the festival while Field and Tár stars Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir will attend the festival to give a public talk as part of the Berlinale Talents section.
The festival also announced its first project from its Berlinale Series section: Zdf’s eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm), based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing. The project follows an international group of scientists who do research...
Infinity Pool will get its European premiere at the festival while Field and Tár stars Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir will attend the festival to give a public talk as part of the Berlinale Talents section.
The festival also announced its first project from its Berlinale Series section: Zdf’s eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm), based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing. The project follows an international group of scientists who do research...
- 12/20/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Ahead of the Christmas holidays, the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled a number of films, and one series, that will screen out of competition at next year’s Berlinale.
Among the highlights are the world premieres of Infinity Pool, the latest horror feature from Canadian director Brandon Cronenberg, starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård; the Roman-era drama Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes from German director Robert Schwentke (Red, The Captain), starring John Malkovich as the famed Stoic philosopher; and Alex Gibney’s as-yet-untitled documentary on disgraced former tennis champion Boris Becker. Seneca and the Becker documentary will have their world premieres in Berlin in the festival’s Berlinale Special sidebar. Infinity Pool‘s Berlinale bow will be a European premiere.
Berlin will also roll out the red carpet for Todd Field’s awards-season favorite Tár, which premiered in Venice, where it...
Ahead of the Christmas holidays, the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled a number of films, and one series, that will screen out of competition at next year’s Berlinale.
Among the highlights are the world premieres of Infinity Pool, the latest horror feature from Canadian director Brandon Cronenberg, starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård; the Roman-era drama Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes from German director Robert Schwentke (Red, The Captain), starring John Malkovich as the famed Stoic philosopher; and Alex Gibney’s as-yet-untitled documentary on disgraced former tennis champion Boris Becker. Seneca and the Becker documentary will have their world premieres in Berlin in the festival’s Berlinale Special sidebar. Infinity Pool‘s Berlinale bow will be a European premiere.
Berlin will also roll out the red carpet for Todd Field’s awards-season favorite Tár, which premiered in Venice, where it...
- 12/20/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The full programme will be revealed in January 2023.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.
The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.
In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.
Robert Schwentke...
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.
The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.
In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.
Robert Schwentke...
- 12/20/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
TÁR (Todd Field).VENICEAwardsTop 10: Leonardo Goi1. Trenque Lauquen (Laura Citarella)2. No Bears (Jafar Panahi)3. The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)4. Saint Omer (Alice Diop)5. The Kiev Trial (Sergei Loznitsa)6. Master Gardener (Paul Schrader)7. Blonde (Andrew Dominik)8. A Couple (Frederick Wiseman)9. Athena (Romain Gavras)10. TÁR (Todd Field)Coverageby Leonardo GoiDispatch 1: White Noise (Noah Baumbach), Bardo (or a False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths) (Alejandro González Iñárritu), TÁR (Todd Field)Dispatch 2: A Couple (Frederick Wiseman), Athena (Romain Gavras), Argentina, 1985 (Santiago Mitre)Dispatch 3: Master Gardener (Paul Schrader), The Whale (Darren Aronofsky), The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)Dispatch 4: The Kiev Trial (Sergei Loznitsa), Saint Omer (Alice Diop), Blonde (Andrew Dominik)Dispatch 5: No Bears (Jafar Panahi), Trenque Lauquen (Laura Citarella)TORONTOTop 10: Daniel Kasman (Unranked)All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)Eventide (Sharon Lockhart)The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg)F1ghting Looks Different 2 Me Now (Fox Maxy)How...
- 9/30/2022
- MUBI
Concrete Valley.Hopefully you’ve been following along, but over the last decade there’s been a wonderful surge of young Canadian directors making exceptional short- and feature-length movies, all on a small, independent scale that should be invigorating to makers and audiences alike. While no one would (nor should) ascribe any kind of movement label to them, being eclectic in origins and approaches, it has been notable how many of the films hinge upon explorations of mental health, the search for well-being, and the weaknesses and strengths of community. Films as disparate as the substance abuse and social work documentary The Stairs (2016), the immersive impressionism of mental anguish of Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), and this year's Queens of the Qing Dynasty (2022), a striking story of social difference, hospitalization, and friendship filmed in Cape Breton, are among these adroit new Canadian films fueled by human inquiry and empathy.This note is...
- 9/17/2022
- MUBI
The WhaleWAVELENGTHS - FEATURESConcrete Valley (Antoine Bourges)De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor)Dry Ground BurningHorse Opera (Moyra Davey)Pacifiction (Albert Serra)Queens of the Qing Dynasty (Ashley McKenzie)Unrest (Cyril Schäublin)Will-o’-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues)Wavelenghths - SHORTSAfter Work (Céline Condorelli, Ben Rivers)Bigger on the Inside (Angelo Madsen Minax)Eventide (Sharon Lockhart)F1ghting Looks Different 2 Me Now (Fox Maxy)Fata Morgana (Tacita Dean)Hors-titre (Wiame Haddad)I Thought the World of You (Kurt Walker)Moonrise (Vincent Grenier)The Newest Olds (Pablo Mazzolo)Puerta a Puerta (Jessica Sarah Rinland, Luis Arnías )The Time That Separates Us (Parastoo Anoushahpour)What Rules the Invisible (Tiffany Sia)Gala PRESENTATIONSAlice, Darling (Mary Nighy)Black Ice (Hubert Davis)The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Peter Farrelly)Butcher’s Crossing (Gabe Polsky)The Hummingbird (Francesca Archibugi)Hunt (Jung-jae Lee)A Jazzman’s Blues (Tyler Perry)Kacchey Limbu (Shubham Yogi)Moving On (Paul Weitz)Paris Memories...
- 8/4/2022
- MUBI
The Toronto International Film Festival lineup continues to unfold, with TIFF announcing the programs for its Midnight Madness, Discovery, and Wavelengths programs on Thursday. The festival runs September 8 through 18.
“For TIFF audiences in the know, the Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths programmes are where you’re rewarded for taking risks and being adventurous,” offered Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer. “Whether it’s the discovery of an audacious new auteur, a brilliant visionary work that reimagines storytelling or the most wicked cinematic experience you will ever have, this is where you will find it.”
Discovery
“TIFF’s Discovery program is a showcase of cinema and talent from around the world — a place to unearth work that is bold, distinctive, and, above all, passionate,” said Dorota Lech, Discovery lead and international programmer, TIFF. “This year’s robust program offers 24 films that shook us to the core, filled us with joy,...
“For TIFF audiences in the know, the Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths programmes are where you’re rewarded for taking risks and being adventurous,” offered Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer. “Whether it’s the discovery of an audacious new auteur, a brilliant visionary work that reimagines storytelling or the most wicked cinematic experience you will ever have, this is where you will find it.”
Discovery
“TIFF’s Discovery program is a showcase of cinema and talent from around the world — a place to unearth work that is bold, distinctive, and, above all, passionate,” said Dorota Lech, Discovery lead and international programmer, TIFF. “This year’s robust program offers 24 films that shook us to the core, filled us with joy,...
- 8/4/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
“Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story” will make its world premiere at TIFF, leading the Midnight Madness program’s 10-film lineup.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic, the film chronicles the career of the music and comedy icon. Directed by Eric Appel, who co-wrote with Yankovic himself, the cast of the Roku biopic also includes Evan Rachel Wood, Quinta Brunson and Rainn Wilson.
As Midnight Madness’ opening night film, “Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story” will premiere on Sept. 8 at 11:59 Est.
Also Read:
Daniel Radcliffe Was Cast as Weird Al Thanks to a Graham Norton Appearance (Video)
“For TIFF audiences in the know, the Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths programmes are where you’re rewarded for taking risks and being adventurous,” offered Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Whether it’s the discovery of an audacious new auteur, a brilliant visionary work that reimagines storytelling or the most...
Starring Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic, the film chronicles the career of the music and comedy icon. Directed by Eric Appel, who co-wrote with Yankovic himself, the cast of the Roku biopic also includes Evan Rachel Wood, Quinta Brunson and Rainn Wilson.
As Midnight Madness’ opening night film, “Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story” will premiere on Sept. 8 at 11:59 Est.
Also Read:
Daniel Radcliffe Was Cast as Weird Al Thanks to a Graham Norton Appearance (Video)
“For TIFF audiences in the know, the Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths programmes are where you’re rewarded for taking risks and being adventurous,” offered Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Whether it’s the discovery of an audacious new auteur, a brilliant visionary work that reimagines storytelling or the most...
- 8/4/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
New work from Benjamin Millepied, Kim Hongsun, Tim Story populate latest selections.
The Toronto International FiLm Festival has unveiled its Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths strands.
Midnight Madness returns to its 10-film format and will screen at new venue the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The section opens with Eric Appel’s US biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story featuring Daniel Radcliffe in the title role.
The section presents Finecut’s Project Wolf Hunting (South Korea) by Kim Hongsun, whose genre oeuvre includes Metamorphosis and The Chase. Finland has been stepping up its festival presence of late and Jalmari Helander will premiere...
The Toronto International FiLm Festival has unveiled its Discovery, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths strands.
Midnight Madness returns to its 10-film format and will screen at new venue the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The section opens with Eric Appel’s US biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story featuring Daniel Radcliffe in the title role.
The section presents Finecut’s Project Wolf Hunting (South Korea) by Kim Hongsun, whose genre oeuvre includes Metamorphosis and The Chase. Finland has been stepping up its festival presence of late and Jalmari Helander will premiere...
- 8/4/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
TapewormSince its inception by critic-programmer Adam Cook in 2016, the Future//Present program of the Vancouver International Film Festival has provided an eight-feature snapshot of the year in independent Canadian cinema. The initial program description placed an emphasis on “emerging” directors—though that term has since been dropped, which perhaps highlights a lateral shift in programming mandate: This year’s slate showcases filmmakers that are by some measures established, having presented multiple films at festivals with far more international cachet than Viff, to name but one possible criterion. While it’s too soon to comment on the value of this change, it does alter the ways a prospective audience might approach the films in question. As ever, the focus remains on younger independent Canadian filmmakers. But if there’s no longer the question of some directors “graduating” out of the program, then there’s a redoubled emphasis on the program's curatorial sensibility.
- 11/4/2019
- MUBI
2015 Tiff Rising Star Deragh Campbell plays lead.
On the eve of Toronto, sales company Cercamon has added Platform world premiere Anne At 13,000 Ft to its Toronto roster.
New York-based Film Maudit represents Us and Canadian sales on Kazik Radwanski’s drama about a volatile young woman, which receives its world premiere on Monday (9).
2015 Tiff Rising Star Deragh Campbell stars as a single daycare worker in Toronto who undergoes a life-changing experience when she goes skydiving for her best friend’s bachelorette party, and finds herself pushing the limits of what is socially acceptable. Matt Johnson, Dorothea Paas, and Lawrene Denkers also star.
On the eve of Toronto, sales company Cercamon has added Platform world premiere Anne At 13,000 Ft to its Toronto roster.
New York-based Film Maudit represents Us and Canadian sales on Kazik Radwanski’s drama about a volatile young woman, which receives its world premiere on Monday (9).
2015 Tiff Rising Star Deragh Campbell stars as a single daycare worker in Toronto who undergoes a life-changing experience when she goes skydiving for her best friend’s bachelorette party, and finds herself pushing the limits of what is socially acceptable. Matt Johnson, Dorothea Paas, and Lawrene Denkers also star.
- 9/4/2019
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe great post-war Italian auteur Ermanno Olmi had died at the age of 86. Winner of the Palme d'Or in 1978 for The Tree of the Wooden Clogs, Olmi was making great cinema up until the end. Sam Roberts of the The New York Times remembers.And another mourning that also hits us personally: Pierre Rissient, the ultimate cinephile (and filmmaker in his own right!), has left us. Scott Foundas has penned a most thorough remembrance for IndieWire.Recommended VIEWINGWe're covering the Cannes Film Festival this week and next, and are ever-more excited for the latest film from South Korean director Lee Chang-dong (Poetry), which so happens to be his first film in 8 (!) years.Two of the minds behind the brilliant television series Atlanta, Donald Glover (in his musical alias Childish Gambino) and director Hiro Murai,...
- 5/9/2018
- MUBI
Mubi is exclusively showing Antoine Bourges' Fail to Appear (2017) as part of a collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center for their Art of the Real showcase of innovative voices in nonfiction and hybrid filmmaking. The film is playing May 7 - June 6, 2018 in most countries around the world.I became interested in the relationship between caseworkers and their "clients" after spending several years in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Vancouver. I often saw these pairs talking in cafes or walking together in the street, and I did not understand at first what the nature of their relationship was. There was an act of confiding—discussing very private subjects like personal finances and mental health—but at the same time, there was something controlled in their ways of being.I wanted to explore the distance that can exist between these people, how it can seem insurmountable because their roles are...
- 5/7/2018
- MUBI
After making a series of films set in or around Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (an area that blatantly externalizes the city's socioeconomic disparities), Paris-born, (now) Toronto-based filmmaker Antoine Bourges' turned his eye towards Canadian social institutions and support networks, particularly for those struggling with mental health issues or addiction. More specifically, he looked at their fundamental inadequacy—not through a feature-length exposé, but by observing the individuals that often bear the brunt of the cost. The film, Fail to Appear, charts the meeting of two such individuals: Isolde (Deragh Campbell), a well-meaning, but inexperienced social worker, and her client Eric (Nathan Roder), a man charged with theft and awaiting a court hearing, first introduced solely by a case file. Pointedly bifurcated to follow each character individually, the film structures itself around negative spaces, various gaps—in personal attention, social interaction, and institutional bureaucracy—and the incremental weight of what gets lost therein.
- 11/2/2017
- MUBI
Prototype (Blake Williams)The 36th Vancouver Film Festival recently wrapped, and with it, the second year of the Future//Present program, a selection of eight features (and a number of shorts) dedicated to emerging Canadian filmmakers. If the inaugural edition had the task of distinguishing itself from the rest of the festival's True North “stream,” this year's offered the opportunity to cement its relevancy and expand its vision. That's something for which the admirably varied program proved more or less able, albeit with higher highs and lower lows than in 2016, which speaks, at least, to chances being taken (something that can't necessarily be said of the festival's programming in general). Taken on the whole, there are—beyond the uniting sensibility of critic and programmer Adam Cook—filmmaking trends that one could identify, and patterns that one could connect, for better and for worse, to the larger contemporary arthouse scene. But the most successful selections,...
- 10/20/2017
- MUBI
The Ann Arbor Film Festival celebrates its epic 53rd annual edition on March 24-29 with a colossal selection of experimental short films and features.
Feature film highlights include the documentary Speculation Nation by regular collaborators Bill Brown and Sabine Gruffat, which examines the recent Spanish housing crisis; a new ethnographic doc by Ben Russell, Greetings to the Ancestors, which plunges deep into the culture of South Africa; and Jenni Olson’s grand California study The Royal Road.
Short film highlights include the much anticipated new film by Jennifer Reeder, Blood Below the Skin, a narrative following a week in the dramatic and romantic lives of three teenage girls; a new music video by Mike Olenick called Beautiful Things with music by The Wet Things; new animations by Don Hertzfeldt, World of Tomorrow, and Lewis Klahr, Mars Garden; plus new experimental work by Vanessa Renwick, Peggy Ahwesh and Zachary Epcar.
Special...
Feature film highlights include the documentary Speculation Nation by regular collaborators Bill Brown and Sabine Gruffat, which examines the recent Spanish housing crisis; a new ethnographic doc by Ben Russell, Greetings to the Ancestors, which plunges deep into the culture of South Africa; and Jenni Olson’s grand California study The Royal Road.
Short film highlights include the much anticipated new film by Jennifer Reeder, Blood Below the Skin, a narrative following a week in the dramatic and romantic lives of three teenage girls; a new music video by Mike Olenick called Beautiful Things with music by The Wet Things; new animations by Don Hertzfeldt, World of Tomorrow, and Lewis Klahr, Mars Garden; plus new experimental work by Vanessa Renwick, Peggy Ahwesh and Zachary Epcar.
Special...
- 3/24/2015
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Bradford International Film Festival is typically an underground-friendly fest. This year appears to be no exception with two very special experimental film retrospectives, as well as a few modern underground-type flicks.
The 19th annual Biff will roll on April 11-21 at several locations around Bradford and Leeds in England, including the National Media Museum, Hebden Bridge Picture House, Hyde Park Picture House and other venues.
Biff is hosting a tribute to Stan Brakhage this year by screening the prolific filmmaker’s magnum opus, Dog Star Man, as well as a selection of his short films, from 1963′s legendary Mothlight to 1994′s Black Ice. There’s also going to be an epic-sized tribute/retrospective of experimental films from Austria, a country with a proud avant-garde filmmaking tradition that’s typically overlooked.
From Austria, Biff is, of course, screening two works from one of the experimental film world’s biggest masters,...
The 19th annual Biff will roll on April 11-21 at several locations around Bradford and Leeds in England, including the National Media Museum, Hebden Bridge Picture House, Hyde Park Picture House and other venues.
Biff is hosting a tribute to Stan Brakhage this year by screening the prolific filmmaker’s magnum opus, Dog Star Man, as well as a selection of his short films, from 1963′s legendary Mothlight to 1994′s Black Ice. There’s also going to be an epic-sized tribute/retrospective of experimental films from Austria, a country with a proud avant-garde filmmaking tradition that’s typically overlooked.
From Austria, Biff is, of course, screening two works from one of the experimental film world’s biggest masters,...
- 3/11/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
News.
One of the greatest Japanese directors, Nagisa Oshima, has passed away at the age of 80. Criterion remembers him in words and images. The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled more details of its Panorama section and has announced some "Special" screenings. It looks like John McTiernan, one of our favorite Vulgar Auteurs, is, um, heading to jail. Senses of Cinema has published their massive 2012 World Poll in three parts (1, 2, 3). Our own Daniel Kasman, David Phelps, Gina Telaroli and Celluloid Liberation Front (who, if the Poll were a competition, would win—hands-down) are among the participants. Finds.
Above: David Bordwell on the "thirteen years that changed cinema": 1908-1920. For Cinema Scope, Michael Vass interviews Antoine Bourges about his documentary East Hastings Pharmacy.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded Holy Motors as the "Best Foreign-Language Film". Leos Carax wasn't present but provided them with a speech. Listen here, or read below:
"Hello,...
One of the greatest Japanese directors, Nagisa Oshima, has passed away at the age of 80. Criterion remembers him in words and images. The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled more details of its Panorama section and has announced some "Special" screenings. It looks like John McTiernan, one of our favorite Vulgar Auteurs, is, um, heading to jail. Senses of Cinema has published their massive 2012 World Poll in three parts (1, 2, 3). Our own Daniel Kasman, David Phelps, Gina Telaroli and Celluloid Liberation Front (who, if the Poll were a competition, would win—hands-down) are among the participants. Finds.
Above: David Bordwell on the "thirteen years that changed cinema": 1908-1920. For Cinema Scope, Michael Vass interviews Antoine Bourges about his documentary East Hastings Pharmacy.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded Holy Motors as the "Best Foreign-Language Film". Leos Carax wasn't present but provided them with a speech. Listen here, or read below:
"Hello,...
- 1/16/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
For the duration of the 25th anniversary edition of the Images Festival (site), Toronto's second oldest film festival and the largest festival in North America for experimental and independent moving image culture, we're presenting three films from the program worldwide — and for free!
At the Av Club, John Semley writes that Antoine Bourges's medium-length film East Hastings Pharmacy
goes behind the tempered plastic partition of a pharmacy in Vancouver's notorious Downtown East Side. There, a demure pharmacist (Shauna Hansen) hands out carefully measured doses of liquid methadone to recovering addicts, who must down it front of her daily, as an attempt to curb abuse of the drug.
Produced by the Toronto-based Medium Density Fibreboard Films, East Hastings Pharmacy continues the studio's aesthetic tradition of using nonprofessionals (in this case, residents of the Downtown East Side) in the service of some neo-neo-realist drama that doesn't so much blur the line...
At the Av Club, John Semley writes that Antoine Bourges's medium-length film East Hastings Pharmacy
goes behind the tempered plastic partition of a pharmacy in Vancouver's notorious Downtown East Side. There, a demure pharmacist (Shauna Hansen) hands out carefully measured doses of liquid methadone to recovering addicts, who must down it front of her daily, as an attempt to curb abuse of the drug.
Produced by the Toronto-based Medium Density Fibreboard Films, East Hastings Pharmacy continues the studio's aesthetic tradition of using nonprofessionals (in this case, residents of the Downtown East Side) in the service of some neo-neo-realist drama that doesn't so much blur the line...
- 4/14/2012
- MUBI
Toronto’s Images Festival celebrates it’s 25th anniversary on April 12-21 at theaters, galleries and other venues all over the city. They are celebrating with a massive event with films and videos, live performances, installations, artist talks and other events.
Below is the lineup for Images’ specific film screening events and some live performances. The fest’s Opening Night film is John Akomfrah’s The Nine Muses, which takes a poetic look at the immigrant experience, particularly through using images of Caribbean and African migrants in the 1950s and ’60s.
The fest will close with a live score by alt-rock band Yo La Tengo accompanying the avant-garde scientific underwater films by French documentary filmmaker Jean Painlevé. Yo La Tengo has been performing “Sounds of Science” since they were commissioned for the project by the San Francisco Film Festival in 2001.
In between these two events is a lineup of feature-length experimental works,...
Below is the lineup for Images’ specific film screening events and some live performances. The fest’s Opening Night film is John Akomfrah’s The Nine Muses, which takes a poetic look at the immigrant experience, particularly through using images of Caribbean and African migrants in the 1950s and ’60s.
The fest will close with a live score by alt-rock band Yo La Tengo accompanying the avant-garde scientific underwater films by French documentary filmmaker Jean Painlevé. Yo La Tengo has been performing “Sounds of Science” since they were commissioned for the project by the San Francisco Film Festival in 2001.
In between these two events is a lineup of feature-length experimental works,...
- 4/9/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 49th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival is an epic celebration of experimental media that runs for six days on March 22-27. There’s so much great stuff screening this year, it makes one wonder what they’ll have left for their 50th anniversary next year!
A couple of the highlights include the highly anticipated feature-length documentary The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye by Marie Losier, which chronicles the pandrogynous love story between industrial music pioneer Genesis P-Orridge and his late wife. The film already made a big splash at the Berlinale earlier in the year and looks to be a major hit on the festival circuit this year.
Also not to be missed is a special retrospective of one of this year’s festival jury members, Vanessa Renwick, a longtime favorite on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film. Renwick will screen 10 of her quirky and artistic documentary portraits,...
A couple of the highlights include the highly anticipated feature-length documentary The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye by Marie Losier, which chronicles the pandrogynous love story between industrial music pioneer Genesis P-Orridge and his late wife. The film already made a big splash at the Berlinale earlier in the year and looks to be a major hit on the festival circuit this year.
Also not to be missed is a special retrospective of one of this year’s festival jury members, Vanessa Renwick, a longtime favorite on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film. Renwick will screen 10 of her quirky and artistic documentary portraits,...
- 3/7/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
SXSW Film Festival Announces Midnight Features & Shorts
Austin, TX – Today the SXSW Film Festival revealed their Midnight Features & Shorts program.
The Midnighters section of SXSW is known for premiering the work future stars of the horror genre. Filmmakers Eli Roth, and Ti West, are a few notable directors who have had their films screened during the Midnight Features.
”Our midnight programs are the bloody, beating heart of SXSW,” said SXSW Film Conference & Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “Since the beginning, midnight films have been an essential ingredient to what makes SXSW so exciting and fun, and this year’s selections are no exception.”
Out of over 3000 short films submitted, only 150 were chosen, and will screen as part of twelve overall shorts programs.
“After months of reviewing a record number of submissions, we’re tremendously happy to share the final program,” said Shorts Programmers Claudette Godfrey and Stephanie Noone, “The short films...
Austin, TX – Today the SXSW Film Festival revealed their Midnight Features & Shorts program.
The Midnighters section of SXSW is known for premiering the work future stars of the horror genre. Filmmakers Eli Roth, and Ti West, are a few notable directors who have had their films screened during the Midnight Features.
”Our midnight programs are the bloody, beating heart of SXSW,” said SXSW Film Conference & Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “Since the beginning, midnight films have been an essential ingredient to what makes SXSW so exciting and fun, and this year’s selections are no exception.”
Out of over 3000 short films submitted, only 150 were chosen, and will screen as part of twelve overall shorts programs.
“After months of reviewing a record number of submissions, we’re tremendously happy to share the final program,” said Shorts Programmers Claudette Godfrey and Stephanie Noone, “The short films...
- 2/11/2011
- by Albert Art
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Following the unveiling of the fantastic 2011 feature line-up last week, the South by Southwest Film Festival has announced the films selected to play at midnight throughout the nine-day event, as well as the complete list of short films.
Insidious, a haunted house flick from Saw director James Wan, is among the midnight program, along with Xavier Gen’s sci-fi thriller The Divide, Sundance favorite Hobo With a Shotgun, Argentinean entry Phase 7, and Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block. In previous years, the midnight and SXFantastic programs has helped launch the careers of Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and Eli Roth (Hostel).
Spike Jonze returns to the festival with another short film titled Scenes from the Suburbs, his second collaboration with (and about) the band Arcade Fire after his moving feature Where the Wild Things Are.
For those of you attending the festival, the schedule will be released on February 15 along with details about film-related panels.
Insidious, a haunted house flick from Saw director James Wan, is among the midnight program, along with Xavier Gen’s sci-fi thriller The Divide, Sundance favorite Hobo With a Shotgun, Argentinean entry Phase 7, and Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block. In previous years, the midnight and SXFantastic programs has helped launch the careers of Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and Eli Roth (Hostel).
Spike Jonze returns to the festival with another short film titled Scenes from the Suburbs, his second collaboration with (and about) the band Arcade Fire after his moving feature Where the Wild Things Are.
For those of you attending the festival, the schedule will be released on February 15 along with details about film-related panels.
- 2/10/2011
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Today the midnight features and short sections were announced for SXSW 2011.
This year the midnight features section has some awesome films, including Hobo With A Shotgun, James Wan’s Insidious, Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block, Xavier Gens’ The Divide, and Ben Wheatley’s Kill List. This years shorts include 150 films including, Spike Jonze’s Scenes from the Suburbs and a doc short from Jay Duplass.
Here's the full list of SXSW 2011 midnights and shorts:
Midnight Features
Midnighters
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.
Films screening in Midnighters are:
Attack The Block (UK-England)
Director & Writer: Joe Cornish
A funny, frightening action adventure movie that pits a teen gang against an invasion of alien monsters. It turns a tower block into a sci-fi playground. It’s inner city versus outer space. Cast: Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard,...
This year the midnight features section has some awesome films, including Hobo With A Shotgun, James Wan’s Insidious, Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block, Xavier Gens’ The Divide, and Ben Wheatley’s Kill List. This years shorts include 150 films including, Spike Jonze’s Scenes from the Suburbs and a doc short from Jay Duplass.
Here's the full list of SXSW 2011 midnights and shorts:
Midnight Features
Midnighters
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.
Films screening in Midnighters are:
Attack The Block (UK-England)
Director & Writer: Joe Cornish
A funny, frightening action adventure movie that pits a teen gang against an invasion of alien monsters. It turns a tower block into a sci-fi playground. It’s inner city versus outer space. Cast: Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard,...
- 2/10/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
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