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.
Africans with Mainframes (Kima Hibbert)
What if electronic music was invented in the 1920s by Black sharecroppers in the American South? That’s the premise of Kima Hibbert’s debut short, in which a reclusive blogger uncovers a major conspiracy surrounding the origins of electronic music.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Bottoms (Emma Seligman)
It’s beginning to feel like South By Southwest is the Rachel Sennott Festival. After breaking out there three years ago with Shiva Baby (the movie premiered as a short in 2018 and would have again as a feature in 2020 if not for the pandemic), she made waves last year in Austin with sleeper horror hit Bodies Bodies Bodies. Now Sennott’s back with Bottoms, one of two...
Africans with Mainframes (Kima Hibbert)
What if electronic music was invented in the 1920s by Black sharecroppers in the American South? That’s the premise of Kima Hibbert’s debut short, in which a reclusive blogger uncovers a major conspiracy surrounding the origins of electronic music.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Bottoms (Emma Seligman)
It’s beginning to feel like South By Southwest is the Rachel Sennott Festival. After breaking out there three years ago with Shiva Baby (the movie premiered as a short in 2018 and would have again as a feature in 2020 if not for the pandemic), she made waves last year in Austin with sleeper horror hit Bodies Bodies Bodies. Now Sennott’s back with Bottoms, one of two...
- 2/16/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Top award comes with a $96,500 prize.
Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s first feature, Banel & Adama, has won the $96,500 Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) Bright Horizons Award, it was announced at Forum Theatre at the closing night gala today (August 19).
Banel & Adama, which is in the Pulaar language and features a cast of non-professionals, was the only debut in competition in Cannes this year. Only first and second time directors are eligible for the Bright Horizons Award.
The director was born and raised in Paris but draws on her Senegalese ancestry to tell this story about Banel and Adama, who are passionately in love,...
Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s first feature, Banel & Adama, has won the $96,500 Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) Bright Horizons Award, it was announced at Forum Theatre at the closing night gala today (August 19).
Banel & Adama, which is in the Pulaar language and features a cast of non-professionals, was the only debut in competition in Cannes this year. Only first and second time directors are eligible for the Bright Horizons Award.
The director was born and raised in Paris but draws on her Senegalese ancestry to tell this story about Banel and Adama, who are passionately in love,...
- 8/19/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
On the final weekend of a bustling 18-day event, the in-person edition of this year’s Melbourne Film Festival has drawn to a close with an awards ceremony that saw a whopping $300,000 Aud in prize money handed out across six categories. The biggest individual award of $140,000 Aud was presented to the winner of the fest’s international Bright Horizons competition: “Banel & Adama,” an arresting debut feature by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy.
It’s a notable coup for a small-scale rural love story that turned heads — but won no prizes — when it premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is still seeking distribution in the U.S. and other major territories. Reviewing the film out of Cannes, Variety critic Jessica Kiang commended the “subtly seductive power” of a “striking debut [that] revolves with graceful poetry around the inner experiences of a curious, unknowable woman.”
Its win came...
It’s a notable coup for a small-scale rural love story that turned heads — but won no prizes — when it premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is still seeking distribution in the U.S. and other major territories. Reviewing the film out of Cannes, Variety critic Jessica Kiang commended the “subtly seductive power” of a “striking debut [that] revolves with graceful poetry around the inner experiences of a curious, unknowable woman.”
Its win came...
- 8/19/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
The Melbourne International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, with “Shayda,” by Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari, set as the opening title.
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Hasan Minhaj, took place on Saturday, live from the beach in Santa Monica, California. The annual awards ceremony was live-streamed on IMDb’s YouTube page, plus additional social platforms, including Film Independent’s YouTube channel.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” led this year’s nominations with a total of eight and swept up seven awards. Following close behind was Cate Blanchett’s “Tár” with seven nods and “Aftersun” with five. Meanwhile, “The Bear” topped the television categories.
Read More: Before Oscars, ‘Everything Everywhere’ Sweeps Spirit Awards
The 2023 Spirit Awards marks the show’s first time highlighting gender-neutral categories. In other words, Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh were up against Paul Mescal for lead performance. This year’s recipient of the Robert Altman award went to “Women Talking”, in which the award was given to the film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” led this year’s nominations with a total of eight and swept up seven awards. Following close behind was Cate Blanchett’s “Tár” with seven nods and “Aftersun” with five. Meanwhile, “The Bear” topped the television categories.
Read More: Before Oscars, ‘Everything Everywhere’ Sweeps Spirit Awards
The 2023 Spirit Awards marks the show’s first time highlighting gender-neutral categories. In other words, Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh were up against Paul Mescal for lead performance. This year’s recipient of the Robert Altman award went to “Women Talking”, in which the award was given to the film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
- 3/5/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
The 2023 Independent Spirit Awards were dominated by the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which led all films this year with eight nominations and a won a total of seven prizes, including best feature. Close behind were Todd Field’s “Tár” with seven noms (it won for best cinematography) and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” with five (it won for best first feature). All three movies picked up Oscar nominations this year, with “Everything Everywhere” also leading the Academy Awards pack with a total of 11 nominations.
While last year’s Spirit Award winner for best feature, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” did not go on to land an Oscar nomination in the same category, the 2021 winner, Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” repeated at the Oscars and took home the best picture prize.
This year’s Spirit Award nominees were highlighted by gender neutral categories, meaning Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh faced off...
While last year’s Spirit Award winner for best feature, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” did not go on to land an Oscar nomination in the same category, the 2021 winner, Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” repeated at the Oscars and took home the best picture prize.
This year’s Spirit Award nominees were highlighted by gender neutral categories, meaning Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh faced off...
- 3/4/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
The 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards are being handed out Saturday, March 4, from Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA in a show hosted by comedian Hasan Minhaj. Much as it paced the Oscar nominations, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” leads the way among all film nominees with eight Independent Spirit noms, including Best Feature and honors for director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), lead performance (Michelle Yeoh), supporting performance (Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan) and breakthrough performance (Stephanie Hsu). Todd Field’s “TÁR” earned seven nominations, including director and screenplay (Field), lead performance (Cate Blanchett) and supporting (Nina Hoss). “Aftersun” scored five bids.
Scroll down to see the Indie Spirit Awards winners list live as it happens today. We’ve also included the complete roster of nominees in every category.
Besides “Everything Everywhere” and “TÁR,” the film competing for top feature are “Our Father, the Devil,” “”Bones and All” and “Women Talking.
Scroll down to see the Indie Spirit Awards winners list live as it happens today. We’ve also included the complete roster of nominees in every category.
Besides “Everything Everywhere” and “TÁR,” the film competing for top feature are “Our Father, the Devil,” “”Bones and All” and “Women Talking.
- 3/4/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Cyrielle Raingou’s documentary “Le Spectre de Boko Haram” won the Tiger Award, the top prize of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Friday. The film follows a group of children in the north of Cameroon, an area dominated by the terrorist organization Boko Haram. Raingou is from the area herself.
“When I received this unforgettable call, I started crying. I couldn’t believe it. This recognition means the world to me and my people,” Raingou said on a video message played during the awards ceremony.
The jury deemed Raingou’s feature debut “a story that centers on its filmmakers’ patient and honest gaze on the hovering presence of violence, seen through the eyes of innocents.”
The Tiger Award, which aims to “raise the profile of and reward up-and-coming international film talent,” is accompanied by a €40,000 cash prize, to be shared between the film’s director and producer. This year’s...
“When I received this unforgettable call, I started crying. I couldn’t believe it. This recognition means the world to me and my people,” Raingou said on a video message played during the awards ceremony.
The jury deemed Raingou’s feature debut “a story that centers on its filmmakers’ patient and honest gaze on the hovering presence of violence, seen through the eyes of innocents.”
The Tiger Award, which aims to “raise the profile of and reward up-and-coming international film talent,” is accompanied by a €40,000 cash prize, to be shared between the film’s director and producer. This year’s...
- 2/3/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s ’Munnel’ and Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan’s ‘New Strains’ also won awards.
Cyrielle Raingou’s Le Spectre De Boko Haram has triumphed at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), taking home the main prize, the €40,000 Tiger award, at the ceremony which unfolded tonight (February 3), held in-person for the first time since 2020.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Raingou’s debut feature is a documentary following a group of children living under the threat of terrorist organisation Boko Haram in the far north region of Cameroon – the region Raingou herself is from.
The winner was...
Cyrielle Raingou’s Le Spectre De Boko Haram has triumphed at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), taking home the main prize, the €40,000 Tiger award, at the ceremony which unfolded tonight (February 3), held in-person for the first time since 2020.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Raingou’s debut feature is a documentary following a group of children living under the threat of terrorist organisation Boko Haram in the far north region of Cameroon – the region Raingou herself is from.
The winner was...
- 2/3/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
This year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 16 films selected for its flagship Tiger Competition. Scroll down for the full list.
As always, the competition selection is a global affair, with features from Sweeden to Sri Lanka. The 2023 jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, plus two special jury awards. On the jury are: Alonso Díaz de la Vega, Anisia Uzeyman, Christine Vachon, Lav Diaz, and Sabrina Baracetti.
Running from January 25 to February 5, the fest is set to return for its first full-scale physical edition since the pandemic. The event will open with Munch, an experimental feature biopic of the Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken (Returning Home).
The honorary Robby Müller Award will go to French cinematographer Hélène Louvart. Louvart is best known for her work with Claire Denis, including the 1999 classic Beau Travail. Louvart has also worked with directors such as Wim Wenders,...
As always, the competition selection is a global affair, with features from Sweeden to Sri Lanka. The 2023 jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, plus two special jury awards. On the jury are: Alonso Díaz de la Vega, Anisia Uzeyman, Christine Vachon, Lav Diaz, and Sabrina Baracetti.
Running from January 25 to February 5, the fest is set to return for its first full-scale physical edition since the pandemic. The event will open with Munch, an experimental feature biopic of the Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken (Returning Home).
The honorary Robby Müller Award will go to French cinematographer Hélène Louvart. Louvart is best known for her work with Claire Denis, including the 1999 classic Beau Travail. Louvart has also worked with directors such as Wim Wenders,...
- 12/19/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will open on Jan. 25 with “Munch,” Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken’s take on the Norwegian artist behind “The Scream.”
“Bringing to life the inner world of such a complex character has been a very rewarding experience. We are thrilled to show audiences what inspired [Edvard] Munch and what kept his inner flame alive,” noted the helmer.
Produced by The Film Company and sold internationally by Viaplay Content Distribution, it will premiere in Norwegian cinemas on Jan. 27 and on Viaplay on March 24.
IFFR, set to return for its first full-scale physical edition since the pandemic, will present 16 films in its flagship Tiger Competition. Jurors Sabrina Baracetti, Lav Diaz, Anisia Uzeyman, Christine Vachon and Alonso Díaz de la Vega will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, worth €40,000, and two Special Jury Awards, worth €10,000 each.
Ukraine’s Philip Sotnychenko “La Palisiada,” “New Strains” by Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan, and...
“Bringing to life the inner world of such a complex character has been a very rewarding experience. We are thrilled to show audiences what inspired [Edvard] Munch and what kept his inner flame alive,” noted the helmer.
Produced by The Film Company and sold internationally by Viaplay Content Distribution, it will premiere in Norwegian cinemas on Jan. 27 and on Viaplay on March 24.
IFFR, set to return for its first full-scale physical edition since the pandemic, will present 16 films in its flagship Tiger Competition. Jurors Sabrina Baracetti, Lav Diaz, Anisia Uzeyman, Christine Vachon and Alonso Díaz de la Vega will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, worth €40,000, and two Special Jury Awards, worth €10,000 each.
Ukraine’s Philip Sotnychenko “La Palisiada,” “New Strains” by Artemis Shaw and Prashanth Kamalakanthan, and...
- 12/19/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Black Reel Awards has revealed its nominations for their 23rd Annual ceremony.
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, about the warrior women of the country of Dahomey, and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, about a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda and a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, are tied at 14 nominations.
Two other films joined the ranks of double-digit nominations: MGM’s Till and A24’s The Inspection.
Independent studio A24 garnered 11 nominations across all categories. However, Amazon Studios landed a record three nominations in the Outstanding Independent Film category for Master, Nanny, and Emergency. Perennial powerhouse, Disney Studios nabbed the most nominations for a studio with 15.
Viola Davis landed her sixth Outstanding Actress nomination for her work in The Woman King, becoming the most recognized individual in the Actress category in Black Reel Award (Bolts) history. At the same time, director Elegance Bratton received...
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, about the warrior women of the country of Dahomey, and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, about a superhero from the fictional African nation of Wakanda and a memorial to Chadwick Boseman, are tied at 14 nominations.
Two other films joined the ranks of double-digit nominations: MGM’s Till and A24’s The Inspection.
Independent studio A24 garnered 11 nominations across all categories. However, Amazon Studios landed a record three nominations in the Outstanding Independent Film category for Master, Nanny, and Emergency. Perennial powerhouse, Disney Studios nabbed the most nominations for a studio with 15.
Viola Davis landed her sixth Outstanding Actress nomination for her work in The Woman King, becoming the most recognized individual in the Actress category in Black Reel Award (Bolts) history. At the same time, director Elegance Bratton received...
- 12/16/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The India programme explores the socio-political development of the country over the past 30 years.
US producer Christine Vachon and Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz are among the competition jury members for the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Joining Vachon and Diaz is the director of Udine Far East Film Festival Sabrina Baracetti, Neptune Frost director Anisia Uzeyman and Mexican film critic Alonso Díaz de la Vega.
The jury are responsible for choosing the winner of the Tiger Award worth €40,000 as well as the Special Jury Awards worth €10,000. The competition line-up will be announced later this month.
India in...
US producer Christine Vachon and Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz are among the competition jury members for the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Joining Vachon and Diaz is the director of Udine Far East Film Festival Sabrina Baracetti, Neptune Frost director Anisia Uzeyman and Mexican film critic Alonso Díaz de la Vega.
The jury are responsible for choosing the winner of the Tiger Award worth €40,000 as well as the Special Jury Awards worth €10,000. The competition line-up will be announced later this month.
India in...
- 12/8/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has unveiled its competition juries for its 52nd edition. U.S. producer Christine Vachon, whose credits include “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Far From Heaven” and “Carol,” and Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz, who won Venice’s Golden Lion for “The Woman Who Left,” are among the Tiger Competition jurors. The first titles in the Short and Mid-Length strand have been revealed as well as a program that looks at the socio-political development of India over the past 30 years.
Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic said the announcements are “testament of the broadening and deepening of our program, from the delights of the Short and Mid-Length program, to a vital delve into contemporary India – surprising our audiences with great films that underline relevant and pressing issues.”
In the non-competitive short and mid-length work lineup is “Goodbye Words,” in which Finnish filmmaker Laura Rantanen reflects on the end of life through...
Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic said the announcements are “testament of the broadening and deepening of our program, from the delights of the Short and Mid-Length program, to a vital delve into contemporary India – surprising our audiences with great films that underline relevant and pressing issues.”
In the non-competitive short and mid-length work lineup is “Goodbye Words,” in which Finnish filmmaker Laura Rantanen reflects on the end of life through...
- 12/8/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
In an uncertain world, cinema has chosen to look inwards. Perhaps there’s a dose of narcissism there. But so many of this year’s films have been propelled by natural, vulnerable impulses: to return home, to think back on youth, to reconsider art’s purpose. They’re present in James Gray’s autobiographical Armageddon Time, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s self-reflective Bardo, the dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin, and Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise. Even the biggest blockbusters, Top Gun: Maverick and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, seem weighted with self-reflection. My own favourite 15 films, all released in the UK over the past year, have each themselves proven that the medium still has the power to heal the soul.
15. Happening
Audrey Diwan’s Happening tore into cinemas this April on the back of an oracle’s cry. The film follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a student...
15. Happening
Audrey Diwan’s Happening tore into cinemas this April on the back of an oracle’s cry. The film follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a student...
- 12/5/2022
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Harry Shum Jr. and Michelle Yeoh in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (Photo credit: Allyson Riggs)
Everything Everywhere All At Once tops the list of 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees, earning eight nominations including Best Feature, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Lead Performance (Michelle Yeo), Best Breakthrough Performance (Stephanie Hsu), and two in the Best Supporting Performance category. Director Todd Field’s Tár, starring Cate Blanchett as a world-renowned composer whose life is falling apart, followed with seven nominations including ones for Field and Blanchett.
The 2023 awards will mark the first time Film Independent has switched the performance categories to gender-neutral. The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards also introduces a new category: Best Breakthrough Performance.
“We couldn’t be more honored to celebrate this year’s exciting film nominees,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “As the Film Independent Spirit Awards evolve with our changing industry,...
Everything Everywhere All At Once tops the list of 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees, earning eight nominations including Best Feature, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Lead Performance (Michelle Yeo), Best Breakthrough Performance (Stephanie Hsu), and two in the Best Supporting Performance category. Director Todd Field’s Tár, starring Cate Blanchett as a world-renowned composer whose life is falling apart, followed with seven nominations including ones for Field and Blanchett.
The 2023 awards will mark the first time Film Independent has switched the performance categories to gender-neutral. The 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards also introduces a new category: Best Breakthrough Performance.
“We couldn’t be more honored to celebrate this year’s exciting film nominees,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “As the Film Independent Spirit Awards evolve with our changing industry,...
- 11/23/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Celebrating its 38th edition, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have unveiled their 2023 nominations, with the Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once leading the pack with eight nominations while Todd Field’s TÁR secured seven. Along with those two, rounding out the Best Feature nominations were Bones and All, Our Father, the Devil, and Women Talking. Elsewhere, some of our favorites of the year––including Aftersun, Murina, The African Desperate, The Cathedral, After Yang, All That Breathes, Saint Omer, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed––were recognized.
Check out the nominations below ahead of the March 4 ceremony.
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
Bones and All
Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
Our Father, the Devil
Producers: Ellie Foumbi,...
Check out the nominations below ahead of the March 4 ceremony.
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
Bones and All
Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Luca Guadagnino, David Kajganich, Lorenzo Mieli, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti, Theresa Park, Peter Spears
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Producers: Daniel Kwan, Mike Larocca, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang
Our Father, the Devil
Producers: Ellie Foumbi,...
- 11/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
This year's Film Independent Spirit Awards – the 38th — announced their nominations. And it's shaping up to potentially be a very good ceremony for Everything Everywhere All At Once, TÁR, Women Talking and more.
The awards will be handed out on 4 March, though other details are in flux: broadcast for the last few years on us cable channel IFC, the ceremony's organisers are currently looking for a new TV home. Still, the celebration of indie movies will go ahead as planned.
And while the Indie Spirits don't tend to be a huge Oscar indicator, we'd expect at least a few of the nominees to also show up on the Academy Awards nominations list, to be announced on 24 January.
Check out the full Indie Spirit nomination list below…
Best Feature
Bones And All
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Our Father, The Devil
TÁR
Women Talking
Best First Feature
Aftersun
Emily The Criminal...
The awards will be handed out on 4 March, though other details are in flux: broadcast for the last few years on us cable channel IFC, the ceremony's organisers are currently looking for a new TV home. Still, the celebration of indie movies will go ahead as planned.
And while the Indie Spirits don't tend to be a huge Oscar indicator, we'd expect at least a few of the nominees to also show up on the Academy Awards nominations list, to be announced on 24 January.
Check out the full Indie Spirit nomination list below…
Best Feature
Bones And All
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Our Father, The Devil
TÁR
Women Talking
Best First Feature
Aftersun
Emily The Criminal...
- 11/22/2022
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
The revolutionary vision of “Neptune Frost” – a politically charged Afrofuturist musical odyssey where Neptune, an intersex runaway, becomes part of an insurgent collective – plays like a social justice dream. For its intrepid filmmakers, hip-hop artist Saul Williams and Rwandan playwright Anisia Uzeyman, the journey to bring their alternative world into reality took nearly a decade and required a band of like-minded artisans capable of translating the narrative’s activist roots into cinematic wonder. “Neptune Frost” isn’t merely a film. It’s an aesthetic statement of intent.
That declaration draws from more than your usual science fiction fare. The Arab spring, African Diaspora movements, centuries of music, and the present blossoming of the continent’s art all influence “Neptue Frost,” a film that fights against exploitation, colonialism, and anti-gay laws.
Following the death of their aunt, Neptune (Elvis “Bobo” Ngabo/Cheryl Isheja) flees from their Rwandan village, crossing bodies of...
That declaration draws from more than your usual science fiction fare. The Arab spring, African Diaspora movements, centuries of music, and the present blossoming of the continent’s art all influence “Neptue Frost,” a film that fights against exploitation, colonialism, and anti-gay laws.
Following the death of their aunt, Neptune (Elvis “Bobo” Ngabo/Cheryl Isheja) flees from their Rwandan village, crossing bodies of...
- 11/11/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
The married directing duo fought tooth and nail to bring their dazzling film Neptune Frost to the screen. They explain why all the hardship was worth it
How best to describe the multi-hyphenate talents that are Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman? Between them, the married pair have worked as actors, musicians, visual artists, poets – and are now co-directors of the Afrofuturist fantasia Neptune Frost. In a total dereliction of journalistic duty, I ask them to solve this riddle for me. How do you normally describe yourselves?
“Well, I recently bumped into a guy I know from a store in LA, walking in Paris,” says Williams. “And he said: ‘What are you doing here? Are you a designer?’ And I said: ‘I’m a poet.’”...
How best to describe the multi-hyphenate talents that are Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman? Between them, the married pair have worked as actors, musicians, visual artists, poets – and are now co-directors of the Afrofuturist fantasia Neptune Frost. In a total dereliction of journalistic duty, I ask them to solve this riddle for me. How do you normally describe yourselves?
“Well, I recently bumped into a guy I know from a store in LA, walking in Paris,” says Williams. “And he said: ‘What are you doing here? Are you a designer?’ And I said: ‘I’m a poet.’”...
- 11/2/2022
- by Catherine Bray
- The Guardian - Film News
Transgressive revolutionaries in a dazzlingly inventive drama from Anisia Uzeyman and musician Saul Williams, set in an alternate Burundi
Black Panther 2 is imminent, but in many ways the extraordinary Neptune Frost is the real Afrofuturist deal: a transgressive socialist Wakanda with an exoskeleton of punk geopolitics bolted on. As well as a denunciation of the western techno-centric order, it’s a musical lesson in conscious collaboration between the developed and developing world that Hollywood could learn from – instead of just piggybacking on African aesthetics. Filmed in Rwanda but set in Burundi, the story was developed by US musician Saul Williams – drawing on material from his recent albums – and his Rwandan wife Anisia Uzeyman; they share the directorial credit.
A near-future alt.Burundi gets its own Ziggy Stardust: Neptune (Elvis Ngabo), a gaunt outcast who likes wearing high heels and wanders the countryside in search of “fourth dimensional libations”. Shepherded...
Black Panther 2 is imminent, but in many ways the extraordinary Neptune Frost is the real Afrofuturist deal: a transgressive socialist Wakanda with an exoskeleton of punk geopolitics bolted on. As well as a denunciation of the western techno-centric order, it’s a musical lesson in conscious collaboration between the developed and developing world that Hollywood could learn from – instead of just piggybacking on African aesthetics. Filmed in Rwanda but set in Burundi, the story was developed by US musician Saul Williams – drawing on material from his recent albums – and his Rwandan wife Anisia Uzeyman; they share the directorial credit.
A near-future alt.Burundi gets its own Ziggy Stardust: Neptune (Elvis Ngabo), a gaunt outcast who likes wearing high heels and wanders the countryside in search of “fourth dimensional libations”. Shepherded...
- 10/31/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
After two years of being forced online by the pandemic, the 11th edition of India’s Dharamshala Film Festival is back with a physical edition.
Highlights include the India premieres of Cannes jury prize winner and Pakistan’s Oscar entry, Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland,” and Gianfranco Rosi’s Pope Francis documentary “In Viaggio.”
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition including 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and San Sebastian.
Indian program highlights include Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Venice and El Gouna title “Once Upon a...
Highlights include the India premieres of Cannes jury prize winner and Pakistan’s Oscar entry, Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland,” and Gianfranco Rosi’s Pope Francis documentary “In Viaggio.”
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition including 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and San Sebastian.
Indian program highlights include Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Venice and El Gouna title “Once Upon a...
- 10/26/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Eighty films from 32 countries, including 21 feature narratives and 43 short films, will be be showcased at the 11th Dharamshala International Film Festival (Diff) in Dharamsala next month, as announced on Thursday.
The highlights include the India premieres of Cannes Jury Prize Winner and 2022 Oscar Nominee, Joyland by Saim Sadiq; Once Upon A Time in Calcutta by Aditya Vikram Sengupta; the Anurag Kashyap-presented debut feature by Parth Saurabh, Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar (On Either Sides of the Pond); 2022 Oscar Nominee, Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Sen; and Fire in the Mountains (India 2021) by Ajitpal Singh.
The India premieres of these acclaimed international features will also take place at Diff 2022: Eternal Spring by Jason Loftus; In Viaggio by Gianfranco Rosi; Lullaby by Alauda Ruiz de AzAa; Mother Lode by Matteo Tortone; Navalny by Daniel Roher; Neptune Frost by Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams; They Carry Death by Helena GirAn...
The highlights include the India premieres of Cannes Jury Prize Winner and 2022 Oscar Nominee, Joyland by Saim Sadiq; Once Upon A Time in Calcutta by Aditya Vikram Sengupta; the Anurag Kashyap-presented debut feature by Parth Saurabh, Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar (On Either Sides of the Pond); 2022 Oscar Nominee, Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Sen; and Fire in the Mountains (India 2021) by Ajitpal Singh.
The India premieres of these acclaimed international features will also take place at Diff 2022: Eternal Spring by Jason Loftus; In Viaggio by Gianfranco Rosi; Lullaby by Alauda Ruiz de AzAa; Mother Lode by Matteo Tortone; Navalny by Daniel Roher; Neptune Frost by Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams; They Carry Death by Helena GirAn...
- 10/20/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Filmmaker is hosting four conversations next week at The Gotham’s Gotham Week Conference, all with filmmakers who have recent films we love and have covered extensively at Filmmaker. And, these talks are free to public. Three are in person at Brooklyn Navy Yards, and the fourth is on Zoom. RSVP by clicking on the links below. On Monday at 10:30 Am, I’ll be speaking with Dedza founder Kate Gondwe, one of our 25 New Faces last year, about the distribution of Saul Williams’s and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost, and particularly about the specialized techniques used to broaden the reach of this […]
The post Filmmaker Hosts Conversations During Gotham Week Conference first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Filmmaker Hosts Conversations During Gotham Week Conference first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/16/2022
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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.
Breaking (Abi Damaris Corbin)
Following on the heels of his impressive turn in Steve McQueen’s Red, White and Blue, John Boyega does noble work in Breaking, directed by Abi Damaris Corbin. Boyega stars as Brian Brown-Easley, the 33-year-old Marine veteran who held a bank hostage in order to get a disability check from the Department of Veterans Affairs he was owed. The amount was eight-hundred and ninety-two dollars. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Destello Bravío (Ainhoa Rodríguez)
In the arid, lunar landscape of Ainhoa Rodríguez’s Destello Bravío, a whole village waits for things to fall apart. We’re in the rural outskirts of Spain’s Extremadura region, a few miles from the border with Portugal, but the...
Breaking (Abi Damaris Corbin)
Following on the heels of his impressive turn in Steve McQueen’s Red, White and Blue, John Boyega does noble work in Breaking, directed by Abi Damaris Corbin. Boyega stars as Brian Brown-Easley, the 33-year-old Marine veteran who held a bank hostage in order to get a disability check from the Department of Veterans Affairs he was owed. The amount was eight-hundred and ninety-two dollars. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Destello Bravío (Ainhoa Rodríguez)
In the arid, lunar landscape of Ainhoa Rodríguez’s Destello Bravío, a whole village waits for things to fall apart. We’re in the rural outskirts of Spain’s Extremadura region, a few miles from the border with Portugal, but the...
- 9/16/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Prizes handed out at 70th anniversary edition of the Australian festival.
Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, won the inaugural 96,500 Bright Horizons Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) on Saturday (August 20).
Jub Clerc’s direction in her ovation-inducing coming-of-age debut drama Sweet As took home the 48,000 Innovation Award, open only to Australians.
US-Rwanda co-production Neptune Frost premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and went on to screen at TIFF, Sundance and the New York Film Festival. Kino Lorber has international rights.
The jury, led by Australian actor/director Shareena Clanton, said the feature...
Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, won the inaugural 96,500 Bright Horizons Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) on Saturday (August 20).
Jub Clerc’s direction in her ovation-inducing coming-of-age debut drama Sweet As took home the 48,000 Innovation Award, open only to Australians.
US-Rwanda co-production Neptune Frost premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and went on to screen at TIFF, Sundance and the New York Film Festival. Kino Lorber has international rights.
The jury, led by Australian actor/director Shareena Clanton, said the feature...
- 8/22/2022
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
After 18 days of in-person screenings, over 370 movies and the allocation of a new prize fund totaling 210,000 Aud the Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has to be one of the lengthiest, liveliest and now most lucrative film festivals in the world. The winning films were announced at Saturday evening’s closing gala, with Afrofuturist sci-fi musical “Neptune Frost,” a U.S.-Rwandan co-production directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, taking the Bright Horizons top prize of 140,000 Aud. Jub Clerc, the Indigenous Australian director of coming-of-age road movie “Sweet As,” scooped the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award of 70,000 Aud.
This is the first year of the Bright Horizons competition. After being selected from an exceptionally strong 11-film lineup, which included festival favourites like Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Laura Wandel’s “Playground” and Natalia López Gallardo’s “Robe of Gems,” Williams and Uzeyman were clearly moved while accepting the award via Zoom.
“It...
This is the first year of the Bright Horizons competition. After being selected from an exceptionally strong 11-film lineup, which included festival favourites like Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Laura Wandel’s “Playground” and Natalia López Gallardo’s “Robe of Gems,” Williams and Uzeyman were clearly moved while accepting the award via Zoom.
“It...
- 8/20/2022
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
The Afrofuturist musical is exec produced by Lin-Mauel Miranda.
UK distributor Anti-Worlds has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost from Kino Lorber. The film premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and was nominated for the Queer Palm award.
Set in a Rwandan village made of computer parts, the sci-fi musical follows an intersex African hacker and a coltan miner who, along with their love child, trigger a revolution against the authoritarian regime. The cast is made up of newcomers Elvis Ngabo, Cheryl Isheja and Kaya Free.
The film will be...
UK distributor Anti-Worlds has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost from Kino Lorber. The film premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2021 and was nominated for the Queer Palm award.
Set in a Rwandan village made of computer parts, the sci-fi musical follows an intersex African hacker and a coltan miner who, along with their love child, trigger a revolution against the authoritarian regime. The cast is made up of newcomers Elvis Ngabo, Cheryl Isheja and Kaya Free.
The film will be...
- 8/3/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
New Release Wall
David Cronenberg plays the hits in “Crimes of the Future” (Neon), but there’s no other filmmaker today with hits like his. Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux are a pair of surgery-based performance artists whose interests intersect with a sect of plastic-eaters, while bureaucrats Kristen Stewart (giving the screen’s most divisive performance since Jared Leto in “House of Gucci”) and Don McKellar look on in fannish amazement. If you enjoy the auteur’s brand of surgical implements that look like insect exoskeletons and furniture that looks like tumors, this is your kind of movie.
Also available:
“Charm City Kings” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment): Denied a proper release during the pandemic lockdown, this saga of a young Baltimorean getting involved in the city’s motorbike culture is a powerful drama not to be missed.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (Marvel Studios): Audiences differed...
David Cronenberg plays the hits in “Crimes of the Future” (Neon), but there’s no other filmmaker today with hits like his. Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux are a pair of surgery-based performance artists whose interests intersect with a sect of plastic-eaters, while bureaucrats Kristen Stewart (giving the screen’s most divisive performance since Jared Leto in “House of Gucci”) and Don McKellar look on in fannish amazement. If you enjoy the auteur’s brand of surgical implements that look like insect exoskeletons and furniture that looks like tumors, this is your kind of movie.
Also available:
“Charm City Kings” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment): Denied a proper release during the pandemic lockdown, this saga of a young Baltimorean getting involved in the city’s motorbike culture is a powerful drama not to be missed.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (Marvel Studios): Audiences differed...
- 8/2/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Fall season buzz is alive with celebrations of movie magic, from Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical “The Fabelmans” to “Empire of Light,” Sam Mendes’ romantic ode to old cinemas. But the most trenchant statement about the state of movies is here already.
It comes from Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” which confirms the filmmaker’s ability to generate suspense and awe from some seriously unpredictable places — but this Western sci-fi showdown also doubles as a meditation on the way film history marginalizes key figures and more crucially, assesses how the industry continues to alienate key voices. And, intentional or not, it’s also a window into the need to diversify arthouse audiences.
I won’t get into “Nope” spoilers, but it’s a brilliant conceit for Peele to envision the Hollywood horse-wranglers who are at the center of the movie as grandchildren of the Black jockey who sat astride the horse in...
It comes from Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” which confirms the filmmaker’s ability to generate suspense and awe from some seriously unpredictable places — but this Western sci-fi showdown also doubles as a meditation on the way film history marginalizes key figures and more crucially, assesses how the industry continues to alienate key voices. And, intentional or not, it’s also a window into the need to diversify arthouse audiences.
I won’t get into “Nope” spoilers, but it’s a brilliant conceit for Peele to envision the Hollywood horse-wranglers who are at the center of the movie as grandchildren of the Black jockey who sat astride the horse in...
- 7/30/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Neptune Frost, the celebrated science-fiction film from musician, poet, actor and artist Saul Williams (Slam) and filmmaker, actor and Dp Anisia Uzeyman (Tey), is a fever dream of revolution and an attempt to change today’s cultural algorithm, set in an otherworldly e-waste camp made of recycled computer parts with Williams’ original music as a soundtrack — offering much more than white noise. Executive produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Stephen Hendel (Finding Fela), The Hollywood Reporter’s review described Neptune Frost as “an unapologetically queer film…utilizing everything the medium of film has to offer — visually, sonically, emotionally.”
The film, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and also screened TIFF, NYFF and BFI London in 2021 and Sundance in 2022 before being rolled out in select theaters across the country earlier this summer, was released to home platforms Tuesday. In celebration of a larger audience, Williams...
Neptune Frost, the celebrated science-fiction film from musician, poet, actor and artist Saul Williams (Slam) and filmmaker, actor and Dp Anisia Uzeyman (Tey), is a fever dream of revolution and an attempt to change today’s cultural algorithm, set in an otherworldly e-waste camp made of recycled computer parts with Williams’ original music as a soundtrack — offering much more than white noise. Executive produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Stephen Hendel (Finding Fela), The Hollywood Reporter’s review described Neptune Frost as “an unapologetically queer film…utilizing everything the medium of film has to offer — visually, sonically, emotionally.”
The film, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and also screened TIFF, NYFF and BFI London in 2021 and Sundance in 2022 before being rolled out in select theaters across the country earlier this summer, was released to home platforms Tuesday. In celebration of a larger audience, Williams...
- 7/27/2022
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A total of 11 titles to compete at 70th anniversary edition of festival.
The 70th Melbourne International Film Festival (August 4-28) has unveiled the 11 titles set to compete in its first ever international competition.
The Miff Bright Horizons competition has a focus on first and second features, and a prize of A140,000 – the biggest film prize in Australia.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Miff artistic director Al Cossar’s line-up includes several debut features from female directors including Aftersun from UK director Charlotte Wells and magical realist eco drama The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future from Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría.
The 70th Melbourne International Film Festival (August 4-28) has unveiled the 11 titles set to compete in its first ever international competition.
The Miff Bright Horizons competition has a focus on first and second features, and a prize of A140,000 – the biggest film prize in Australia.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Miff artistic director Al Cossar’s line-up includes several debut features from female directors including Aftersun from UK director Charlotte Wells and magical realist eco drama The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future from Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría.
- 7/12/2022
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
For its 70th edition, the Melbourne International Film Festival has announced its most ambitious ever program. After multiple Covid-19 lockdowns, it will be the festival’s first in-cinema Melbourne schedule since 2019, and run Aug. 4-21, 2022.
The 2022 line up will showcase 257 feature films, 177 Australian premiers, 18 world premieres including opening night film “Of an Age,” from Macedonian born, Melbourne-based writer-director, Goran Stolevski (“Won’t Be Alone”), as well as a record 61 titles fresh from Cannes.
“This is our first full-scale in-cinema return,” Miff artistic director, Al Cossar told Variety. The festival is expanding its footprint with a concurrent regional program and an online streaming platform through Miff Play, which will digitally screen 105 shorts and features that will be available Australia wide from 11- 28 August.
“This is a wonderful way to keep outreaching and meeting audiences where they are and is an opportunity for us to expand nationally,” said Cossar.
Also new to...
The 2022 line up will showcase 257 feature films, 177 Australian premiers, 18 world premieres including opening night film “Of an Age,” from Macedonian born, Melbourne-based writer-director, Goran Stolevski (“Won’t Be Alone”), as well as a record 61 titles fresh from Cannes.
“This is our first full-scale in-cinema return,” Miff artistic director, Al Cossar told Variety. The festival is expanding its footprint with a concurrent regional program and an online streaming platform through Miff Play, which will digitally screen 105 shorts and features that will be available Australia wide from 11- 28 August.
“This is a wonderful way to keep outreaching and meeting audiences where they are and is an opportunity for us to expand nationally,” said Cossar.
Also new to...
- 7/12/2022
- by Katherine Tulich
- Variety Film + TV
I’m very happy to be welcoming to Filmmaker‘s staff this week Natalia Keogan, who is our full-time Web Editor. Readers will be familiar with Natalia’s byline, as she’s written for the website and print magazine since 2019. Among her recent pieces for us are interviews with Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman about their Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, Leslie Harris about her seminal independent Just Another Girl on the Irt, and Jane Schoenbrun and Alex G about We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. A graduate of New York’s Craig Newmark School of Journalism, Natalia’s work has also been published at […]
The post Welcoming Natalia Keogan as Filmmaker‘s new Web Editor first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Welcoming Natalia Keogan as Filmmaker‘s new Web Editor first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/8/2022
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
I’m very happy to be welcoming to Filmmaker‘s staff this week Natalia Keogan, who is our full-time Web Editor. Readers will be familiar with Natalia’s byline, as she’s written for the website and print magazine since 2019. Among her recent pieces for us are interviews with Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman about their Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, Leslie Harris about her seminal independent Just Another Girl on the Irt, and Jane Schoenbrun and Alex G about We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. A graduate of New York’s Craig Newmark School of Journalism, Natalia’s work has also been published at […]
The post Welcoming Natalia Keogan as Filmmaker‘s new Web Editor first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Welcoming Natalia Keogan as Filmmaker‘s new Web Editor first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/8/2022
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
One of the first songs we hear in Neptune Frost, Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s perceptive and unusual take on a musical, is a work song. It’s during an early scene set among a group of miners who are busy harvesting the raw materials that will make the technologies of other people from other countries possible. Soon, one of those miners dies — rather, he is killed using the butt of an overseer’s gun. That’s when the mourning starts, particularly from the dead man’s brother Matalusa...
- 6/15/2022
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome to another episode of the Scene 2 Seen Podcast! It’s your host Valerie Complex and I am back with another exciting episode.
This week, I talk to Neptune Frost co-directors American poet, musician, and actor Saul Williams, and actress, playwright Anisia Uzeyman. Frost had its world premiere last summer in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, before screening at Toronto and NYFF during fall of last year.
The film takes place amid the hilltops of Burundi, where a collective of computer hackers emerges from a mining community, the result of a romance between a miner and an intersex runaway. Set between states of being—past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience—Neptune Frost is a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends. The film offers an amalgamation of many of the themes, ideas and songs...
This week, I talk to Neptune Frost co-directors American poet, musician, and actor Saul Williams, and actress, playwright Anisia Uzeyman. Frost had its world premiere last summer in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, before screening at Toronto and NYFF during fall of last year.
The film takes place amid the hilltops of Burundi, where a collective of computer hackers emerges from a mining community, the result of a romance between a miner and an intersex runaway. Set between states of being—past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience—Neptune Frost is a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends. The film offers an amalgamation of many of the themes, ideas and songs...
- 6/14/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
This review of “Neptune Frost” was first published on Jun 2, 2022, before it opened in New York City.
Behold one of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year: Pulsing with a revolutionary heart, “Neptune Frost,” from co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman (credited on screen as Swan), indicts the advent of technological advancements that thrive on ignoring the people whose suffering and displacement make those advancements possible.
Grounded on ancestral wisdom while innovative in its imagery, this Afrofuturistic musical flips off neocolonialism, manifested as labor exploitation and the extraction of resources to supply the world with digital communication; miners of coltan, a metal used in the creation of modern technology, are expendable for the capitalist powers of the world.
In this temporally undefined future, Burundi, an East African nation, exists under the rule of the Authority, a tyrannical government that suppresses student protests and manipulates the media to maintain...
Behold one of the most extraordinarily original cinema experiences of the year: Pulsing with a revolutionary heart, “Neptune Frost,” from co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman (credited on screen as Swan), indicts the advent of technological advancements that thrive on ignoring the people whose suffering and displacement make those advancements possible.
Grounded on ancestral wisdom while innovative in its imagery, this Afrofuturistic musical flips off neocolonialism, manifested as labor exploitation and the extraction of resources to supply the world with digital communication; miners of coltan, a metal used in the creation of modern technology, are expendable for the capitalist powers of the world.
In this temporally undefined future, Burundi, an East African nation, exists under the rule of the Authority, a tyrannical government that suppresses student protests and manipulates the media to maintain...
- 6/9/2022
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Indie distributors, grabbing a frame between Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion, are out with a handful of decently wide releases for the specialty space including Neon’s Cannes title Crimes of the Future (127 screes), IFC Midnight thriller Watcher (764) and Roadside Attractions’ WWI period piece Benediction (87). Sony Pictures Classics launches Phantom of the Open in four theaters in NY and LA.
Netflix is taking Hustle to 275 screens as the industry looks for signs that big streamers are warming to theatrical.
Yash Raj Films opens historical Bollywood epic Prithviraj in over 400 theaters as the steady flow of Indian fare remains a bulwark for U.S. cinemas.
The David Cronenberg written and directed dystopian sci-fi body-parts drama Crimes of the Future with Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart debuts fresh off a six-minute standing ovation in Cannes, As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, bodies undergoes transformations and mutation.
Netflix is taking Hustle to 275 screens as the industry looks for signs that big streamers are warming to theatrical.
Yash Raj Films opens historical Bollywood epic Prithviraj in over 400 theaters as the steady flow of Indian fare remains a bulwark for U.S. cinemas.
The David Cronenberg written and directed dystopian sci-fi body-parts drama Crimes of the Future with Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart debuts fresh off a six-minute standing ovation in Cannes, As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, bodies undergoes transformations and mutation.
- 6/3/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The long-awaited return of beloved auteurs, new discoveries, decades-in-the-works passion projects, festival winners, and beyond are among June’s major offerings. Check out our picks for what to see below.
15. Watcher (Chloe Okuno; June 3)
Slipping back into a genre she knows well, Maika Monroe leads Chloe Okuno’s Watcher, a slow-burn thriller with a sense of paranoia seeping into every frame. Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his Sundance review, “Ever since It Follows, the 2014 horror movie about a spectral grim reaper stalking a teenage girl, Maika Monroe has become her generation’s avatar of fear and paranoia. Throughout her filmography, she boasts an inner world of melancholy that begins in a delicate register and then multiplies into a feverish anguish the farther her characters tumble down their own rabbit holes. It’s the kind of psychological spiraling that gives oxygen to director Chloe Okuno’s feature debut, Watcher, a chamber piece...
15. Watcher (Chloe Okuno; June 3)
Slipping back into a genre she knows well, Maika Monroe leads Chloe Okuno’s Watcher, a slow-burn thriller with a sense of paranoia seeping into every frame. Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his Sundance review, “Ever since It Follows, the 2014 horror movie about a spectral grim reaper stalking a teenage girl, Maika Monroe has become her generation’s avatar of fear and paranoia. Throughout her filmography, she boasts an inner world of melancholy that begins in a delicate register and then multiplies into a feverish anguish the farther her characters tumble down their own rabbit holes. It’s the kind of psychological spiraling that gives oxygen to director Chloe Okuno’s feature debut, Watcher, a chamber piece...
- 6/1/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Neptune Frost, an Afrofuturist musical directed by multidisciplinary American artist Saul Williams and Rwandan visual artist Anisia Uzeyman, is a stunning film that defies conventions in both content and form. When I saw it in a packed theater at the New York Film Festival last year, I was enraptured by its sheer beauty: the DIY aesthetic, from the costume design to production, and its languid visual language. Then I was impressed by its very progressive politics, a non-binary superhero emerging amidst a resistance movement against neo-colonialism. I am very happy to see the film getting a theatrical release, thanks to the good folks at KinoLorber, because Neptune Frost needs to be experienced visually and aurally on the big screen and talked about in the years...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/1/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Even as Netflix stock struggles, the streamer proved that it can still put on a good show. Except for the guy who jumped Dave Chappelle, last weekend’s Netflix is a Joke Festival was a win: Multiple standups satisfied LA audiences over 11 nights, and that catalyzed a promotional cycle that will drive Netflix subscribers to watch those performances nationwide.
As the international film industry prepares for Cannes — which takes place over roughly the same amount of time — the implications are clear: a physical event, one that teases future content more people want to see! Yes, the Netflix Is a Joke Fest hints at a model that could address one of the biggest challenges in the arthouse distribution landscape.
This column seeks big swings and this one hides in plain sight. Festivals have flirted with taking more active roles in film distribution, but few have cracked the potential to leverage the hype they create.
As the international film industry prepares for Cannes — which takes place over roughly the same amount of time — the implications are clear: a physical event, one that teases future content more people want to see! Yes, the Netflix Is a Joke Fest hints at a model that could address one of the biggest challenges in the arthouse distribution landscape.
This column seeks big swings and this one hides in plain sight. Festivals have flirted with taking more active roles in film distribution, but few have cracked the potential to leverage the hype they create.
- 5/14/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe Mother and the Whore (1972).The lineup for this year's Cannes Classics boasts a 4k digital restoration of Jean Eustache's The Mother and the Whore, a rare screening of Satyajit Ray’s newly restored Pratidwandi, films by Vittorio de Sica, Orson Welles, Mike De Leon, and much more. After recently making Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going! available for free online, Martin Scorsese is set to narrate and executive produce a documentary about the filmmaking duo. Directed by David Hinton, the documentary follows Scorsese's personal journey with and relationship to Powell & Pressburger's films. David Cronenberg has announced his follow-up to Crimes of the Future: Starring Vincent Cassel and produced by Saïd Ben Saïd, Shrouds is about grieving widower whose technologically innovative (and controversial) cemetery is vandalized. Recommended VIEWINGThe trailer...
- 5/11/2022
- MUBI
Following a major festival tour that included Cannes, TIFF, NYFF, BFI London, and Sundance, Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost is finally arriving in theaters next month and we named it one of the summer’s must-see films. A sci-fi punk musical that introduces an Afrofuturist world of wonder, the story centers on an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective that attempts to take over an authoritarian regime. Ahead of a June 3 release via Kino Lorber, a new trailer has now arrived.
Michael Frank said in his NYFF review, “Neptune Frost uses music as energy, drifting in and out of its melodic elements as easily as its composer drifts between spoken word, hip-hop, rap, and electronica. These hackers sing about ignorance, binary crime theory, social media popularity, and the currency of all items. Williams and Uzeyman construct a world where people greet one another with the phrase “unanimous goldmine” in...
Michael Frank said in his NYFF review, “Neptune Frost uses music as energy, drifting in and out of its melodic elements as easily as its composer drifts between spoken word, hip-hop, rap, and electronica. These hackers sing about ignorance, binary crime theory, social media popularity, and the currency of all items. Williams and Uzeyman construct a world where people greet one another with the phrase “unanimous goldmine” in...
- 5/4/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
A fantastic new sci-fi musical is on the horizon from Saul Williams, who co-directs alongside cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman and brings an Afrofuturist vision to the big screen with the sci-fi musical “Neptune Frost.” It will be executive produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda (“In The Heights“) and Stephen Hendel (“Finding Fela“) and features all-original music from Williams.
Continue reading ‘Neptune Frost’ Trailer: Saul Williams’ Acclaimed Visually Striking Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Musical Is Coming This Summer at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Neptune Frost’ Trailer: Saul Williams’ Acclaimed Visually Striking Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Musical Is Coming This Summer at The Playlist.
- 5/4/2022
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Summer is around the corner, which means Rooftop Films is almost back. New York cinephiles can look forward to another season of film screenings from the longtime nonprofit, which screens independent films in a variety of outdoor locations throughout New York City. Over time, Rooftop Films has become an essential institution in the indie film world, helping top directors get their work seen while connecting undiscovered artists to the resources that they need.
Notable films on the year’s lineup include Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher,” a Sundance horror hit in the tradition of paranoid classics like “Rosemary’s Baby;” James Morosini’s “I Love My Dad,” a comedy that took the top prizes in the Narrative category at SXSW; and Andrew Semans’ “Resurrection,” a psychological thriller that earned high marks from critics and fans alike at Sundance this year.
Tickets for select upcoming screenings are on sale now via the Rooftop Films website,...
Notable films on the year’s lineup include Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher,” a Sundance horror hit in the tradition of paranoid classics like “Rosemary’s Baby;” James Morosini’s “I Love My Dad,” a comedy that took the top prizes in the Narrative category at SXSW; and Andrew Semans’ “Resurrection,” a psychological thriller that earned high marks from critics and fans alike at Sundance this year.
Tickets for select upcoming screenings are on sale now via the Rooftop Films website,...
- 5/2/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
There's no denying there's plenty of imagination running riot in this Afrofuturist musical from sometime rapper, poet and actor (to name but three of the multiple strings to his bow) Saul Williams, directed alongside his partner, Rwandan star Anisia Uzeyman, who also takes on cinematography duties. Visually arresting, politically geared and achieving quite a lot with good old fashioned fluorescent paint and make-up, it is nevertheless so overcomplicated when it comes to plot that it quickly threatens to become exhausting.
Set in a futuristic Rwanda, the themes are as old as the hills - with colonialism, identity and self-determination chief among them. If you've come for the plot then you - like around a dozen people at the Vilnius Film Festival screening I attended - are likely to soon vote with your feet. The crux of it revolves around two main characters. Neptune, whose voice-over tells us they were "born.
Set in a futuristic Rwanda, the themes are as old as the hills - with colonialism, identity and self-determination chief among them. If you've come for the plot then you - like around a dozen people at the Vilnius Film Festival screening I attended - are likely to soon vote with your feet. The crux of it revolves around two main characters. Neptune, whose voice-over tells us they were "born.
- 4/4/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.