Memento International has closed a raft of deals on “Fremont,” a critically acclaimed film starring Anaita Wali Zada, an Afghan refugee and first-time actor, and featuring “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White.
Directed by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali, the black-and-white movie tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie. Following its Sundance premiere, the film was acquired by Music Box for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA.
Memento International has just struck deals for the movie in Australia and New Zealand (Mushroom Studios), Eastern Europe (HBO), Spain (Madfer Films), Italy (Wanted), Greece (One From the Heart), Czech Republic (Aerofilms...
Directed by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali, the black-and-white movie tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie. Following its Sundance premiere, the film was acquired by Music Box for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA.
Memento International has just struck deals for the movie in Australia and New Zealand (Mushroom Studios), Eastern Europe (HBO), Spain (Madfer Films), Italy (Wanted), Greece (One From the Heart), Czech Republic (Aerofilms...
- 3/14/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in ‘Past Lives’ (Photo Credit: Jon Pack / Courtesy of A24)
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Another big award show took place this weekend (in addition to the SAG Awards), the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which celebrates indie film and TV. One thing about this awards show is that their idea of independent sometimes makes me scratch my head a bit, with HBO’s big-budget The Last of Us nominated a whole bunch in the TV category, along with Netflix’s Beef and several other streaming shows, which I’m not sure one could call independent. For films, there’s a $30 million budget cap. For TV, I’m honestly not sure what the benchmark is because Last of Us was notoriously an expensive show to shoot, costing at least $100 million.
Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...
Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...
- 2/26/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
The best in independent film and television were honored at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday at the traditional Santa Monica beach tent location, with Aidy Bryant hosting. “Past Lives” took home the coveted Best Feature award, with “Beef” being honored as Best New Scripted Series. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below.
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
- 2/25/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Live from a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California, it’s the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards! This year’s ceremony, which kicked off this afternoon, was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” alum Aidy Bryant and feted the best in indie film and TV.
This year’s pack of nominees included a slew of Oscar contenders and a number of indie gems, all competing for the biggest prizes in the indie sphere.
Celine Song’s “Past Lives” won Best Feature (which the filmmaker picked up just minutes after winning Best Director as well), while “The Holdovers” and “American Fiction” also enjoyed multiple wins, including a Best Performance win for “American Fiction” star Jeffrey Wright and Best Screenplay for writer Cord Jefferson, and a Best Supporting Performance win for “The Holdovers” standout Da’Vine Joy Randolph and a Breakthrough Performance win for newbie Dominic Sessa.
Thanks to the Spirits’ various TV categories,...
This year’s pack of nominees included a slew of Oscar contenders and a number of indie gems, all competing for the biggest prizes in the indie sphere.
Celine Song’s “Past Lives” won Best Feature (which the filmmaker picked up just minutes after winning Best Director as well), while “The Holdovers” and “American Fiction” also enjoyed multiple wins, including a Best Performance win for “American Fiction” star Jeffrey Wright and Best Screenplay for writer Cord Jefferson, and a Best Supporting Performance win for “The Holdovers” standout Da’Vine Joy Randolph and a Breakthrough Performance win for newbie Dominic Sessa.
Thanks to the Spirits’ various TV categories,...
- 2/25/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The 39th Independent Spirit Awards will stream live on Film Independent and IMDb’s YouTube channels on Sunday, February 25. Scroll down to see our official odds in all 12 film categories (with our predicted winners highlighted in gold) and be sure to make or update your own predictions while there’s still time.
Heading into the ceremony, which will be hosted by comic actress Aidy Bryant, “American Fiction,” “May December,” and “Past Lives” stand as the year’s nominations leaders with five apiece. They will all face off in the top category of Best Picture, along with “Passages” (four total bids), “All of Us Strangers” (three), and “We Grown Now” (three).
Last year’s Spirit Awards previewed the Oscars success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which left both ceremonies with seven wins including Best Picture. Over the years, only eight recipients of the academy’s highest honor have first clinched the corresponding Spirit Award,...
Heading into the ceremony, which will be hosted by comic actress Aidy Bryant, “American Fiction,” “May December,” and “Past Lives” stand as the year’s nominations leaders with five apiece. They will all face off in the top category of Best Picture, along with “Passages” (four total bids), “All of Us Strangers” (three), and “We Grown Now” (three).
Last year’s Spirit Awards previewed the Oscars success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which left both ceremonies with seven wins including Best Picture. Over the years, only eight recipients of the academy’s highest honor have first clinched the corresponding Spirit Award,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Cinetic Media has signed award-winning Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali for management across all media.
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
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.
Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)
A harrowing, brave account of what it’s like to defect from North Korea, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia follows a heroic pastor and the people he helps. Perhaps most unforgettable is a multigenerational family whose escape is shown through furtive, horror-movie-like handheld camera and revealing interviews. As Gavin offers a rundown of North Korean politics, we see this family slowly reckon with their own brainwashing and realize the world outside North Korea is not what their upbringing taught them to believe. – Lena W.
Where to Stream: PBS
The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
How, exactly, did Sean Baker do it? How did the director of Tangerine make this story of a mother and daughter living at a rundown...
Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)
A harrowing, brave account of what it’s like to defect from North Korea, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia follows a heroic pastor and the people he helps. Perhaps most unforgettable is a multigenerational family whose escape is shown through furtive, horror-movie-like handheld camera and revealing interviews. As Gavin offers a rundown of North Korean politics, we see this family slowly reckon with their own brainwashing and realize the world outside North Korea is not what their upbringing taught them to believe. – Lena W.
Where to Stream: PBS
The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
How, exactly, did Sean Baker do it? How did the director of Tangerine make this story of a mother and daughter living at a rundown...
- 1/12/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“American Fiction,” “May December” y “Past Lives” lideran los Spirit awards 2024.
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Spirit Awards, conocidos como “Film Independent Spirit Awards”, unospremios cinematográficos que honran los logros en la producción de películas independientes en los Estados Unidos. Los ganadores de los premios Spirit 2024 se conocerán en la ceremonia del 25 de febrero. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
May December
Passages
Past Lives
We Grown Now
Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers
Todd Haynes, May December
William Oldroyd, Eileen
Celine Song, Past Lives
Ira Sachs, Passages
Mejor ACTUACIÓN Protagonista
Jessica Chastain, Memory
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Trace Lysette, Monica
Natalie Portman, May December
Judy Reyes, Birth/Rebirth
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Teo Yoo, Past Lives...
Ayer se anunciaron los nominados a los Spirit Awards, conocidos como “Film Independent Spirit Awards”, unospremios cinematográficos que honran los logros en la producción de películas independientes en los Estados Unidos. Los ganadores de los premios Spirit 2024 se conocerán en la ceremonia del 25 de febrero. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:
Mejor PELÍCULA
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
May December
Passages
Past Lives
We Grown Now
Mejor DIRECCIÓN
Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers
Todd Haynes, May December
William Oldroyd, Eileen
Celine Song, Past Lives
Ira Sachs, Passages
Mejor ACTUACIÓN Protagonista
Jessica Chastain, Memory
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Trace Lysette, Monica
Natalie Portman, May December
Judy Reyes, Birth/Rebirth
Franz Rogowski, Passages
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Teo Yoo, Past Lives...
- 12/6/2023
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
While the likes of Oppenheimer, Barbie, and Killers of the Moon will likely battle it out at the Oscars, Film Independent Spirit Awards is putting the spotlight on the indie productions of the year, with budget ranges from $10,000 to $28 million. May December, Past Lives, and American Fiction lead the nominations for the 39th ceremony, each taking five nods.
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
- 12/5/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Erika Alexander stars as Coraline and Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in ‘American Fiction’ (Photo credit: Claire Folger © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC)
American Fiction, Past Lives, and May December lead the list of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Each of the three films picked up five nominations and will be going head-to-head in the Best Film and Best Supporting Performance categories. Films and TV shows earning four nominations included The Holdovers, I’m a Virgo, The Last of Us, and Passages.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica. Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is on board to host.
“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling – this is the beating heart of film culture today,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees...
American Fiction, Past Lives, and May December lead the list of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Each of the three films picked up five nominations and will be going head-to-head in the Best Film and Best Supporting Performance categories. Films and TV shows earning four nominations included The Holdovers, I’m a Virgo, The Last of Us, and Passages.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica. Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is on board to host.
“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling – this is the beating heart of film culture today,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees...
- 12/5/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations — see the full list below — were unveiled on Tuesday, December 5, crowning the past year’s achievements in indie film. The actual awards ceremony, taking place on February 24, 2024 in the usual tent on the beach in Santa Monica, is a little less than three months away, but the films nominated today will carry new momentum into the rest of awards season, including the Oscar race. Joel Kim Booster (“Fire Island”) and Natalie Morales (“No Hard Feelings”) were the presenters of the nominees.
“American Fiction,” “May December,” and “Past Lives” led the Indie Spirits noms with five each, including each of them getting a nod for Best Feature. Todd Haynes for “May December” and Celine Song for “Past Lives” also received Best Director nods. Natalie Portman for “May December,” Greta Lee for “Past Lives,” and Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction” also received Best Lead Performance nods.
“American Fiction,” “May December,” and “Past Lives” led the Indie Spirits noms with five each, including each of them getting a nod for Best Feature. Todd Haynes for “May December” and Celine Song for “Past Lives” also received Best Director nods. Natalie Portman for “May December,” Greta Lee for “Past Lives,” and Jeffrey Wright for “American Fiction” also received Best Lead Performance nods.
- 12/5/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
The full list of nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards has been announced!
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Film Independent announced the 2024 Spirit Award nominees in all the film and TV categories on Tuesday, Dec 5. Only American productions with budgets of less than $30 million were eligible for consideration in the film races. Winners will be revealed on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, at a ceremony hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Last year, these kudos eliminated the four gendered acting awards and replaced them with just two prizes: lead and supporting performances (each has 10 nominees). It also added a new category, Best Breakthrough Performance, which has five contenders.
See the full list of 2024 Spirit Awards nominations for film and TV below.
Film
Best Picture
“All of Us Strangers”
“American Fiction”
“May December”
“Passages”
“Past Lives”
“We Grown Now”
Best Director
Andrew Haigh, “All of Us Strangers”
Todd Haynes, “May December”
William Oldroyd, “Eileen”
Ira Sachs, “Passages”
Celine Song, “Past Lives”
Best Lead Performance
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman,...
Last year, these kudos eliminated the four gendered acting awards and replaced them with just two prizes: lead and supporting performances (each has 10 nominees). It also added a new category, Best Breakthrough Performance, which has five contenders.
See the full list of 2024 Spirit Awards nominations for film and TV below.
Film
Best Picture
“All of Us Strangers”
“American Fiction”
“May December”
“Passages”
“Past Lives”
“We Grown Now”
Best Director
Andrew Haigh, “All of Us Strangers”
Todd Haynes, “May December”
William Oldroyd, “Eileen”
Ira Sachs, “Passages”
Celine Song, “Past Lives”
Best Lead Performance
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
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.
Age of Panic (Justine Triet)
In her feature debut, recent Palme D’Or Winner Justine Triet charts a young French couple’s marital drama against the backdrop of 2012’s presidential election. Fusing fiction and vérité filmmaking tactics, it stars beloved French actors Vincent Macaigne and Laetitia Dosch, as well as Arthur Harari, Triet’s parter and co-screenwriter on her latest film Anatomy of a Fall, which took the top prize at Cannes this year and is arriving in U.S. theaters, courtesy Neon, today.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Kelly Fremon Craig)
Like Judy Blume’s treasured young adult classic, Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret begins in...
Age of Panic (Justine Triet)
In her feature debut, recent Palme D’Or Winner Justine Triet charts a young French couple’s marital drama against the backdrop of 2012’s presidential election. Fusing fiction and vérité filmmaking tactics, it stars beloved French actors Vincent Macaigne and Laetitia Dosch, as well as Arthur Harari, Triet’s parter and co-screenwriter on her latest film Anatomy of a Fall, which took the top prize at Cannes this year and is arriving in U.S. theaters, courtesy Neon, today.
Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Kelly Fremon Craig)
Like Judy Blume’s treasured young adult classic, Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret begins in...
- 10/13/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Hints of early Jim Jarmusch in Babak Jalali’s dreamy fourth feature, with fine supporting turns from The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White and Gregg Turkington
London-based Iranian film-maker Babak Jalali has crafted this droll, ruminative, engaging indie picture in luminous black-and-white featuring deadpan, dead-slow dialogue exchanges with more than a little of early Jim Jarmusch.
It’s set in Fremont, California, the town with the biggest Afghan community in the US, and real-life Afghan refugee and former TV news presenter Anaita Wali Zada plays Donya, a former translator for the US army who has now taken up residency in a dispiritingly featureless apartment block along with other expats. She’s dealing with insomnia and survivor’s guilt, thinking about the way her life choices have endangered her family back in the old country where any association with America is pure poison.
London-based Iranian film-maker Babak Jalali has crafted this droll, ruminative, engaging indie picture in luminous black-and-white featuring deadpan, dead-slow dialogue exchanges with more than a little of early Jim Jarmusch.
It’s set in Fremont, California, the town with the biggest Afghan community in the US, and real-life Afghan refugee and former TV news presenter Anaita Wali Zada plays Donya, a former translator for the US army who has now taken up residency in a dispiritingly featureless apartment block along with other expats. She’s dealing with insomnia and survivor’s guilt, thinking about the way her life choices have endangered her family back in the old country where any association with America is pure poison.
- 9/14/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Anaita Wali Zada as Donya in Fremont. Babak Jalali: 'I grew up around a lot of Afghan women and the ones I met were fiercely independent, very mighty and very powerful' Photo: Music Box Films Fremont, Babak Jalali’s latest film, written with Carolina Cavalli, comes equipped with the same sort of loose narrative framework and gentle absurdity that has served Jim Jarmusch well down the years. He focuses on the life of Donya. Unable to sleep, she is also seeing a shrink (Gregg Turkington) and, after a sudden promotion, she decides to send a message out into the world that leads to unexpected consequences and a cameo from Jeremy Allen White. The film, which closed Edinburgh International Film Festival, and we caught up with Jalali ahead of the screening to talk about his quirky, deadpan character study.
This is the first time you and Carolina Cavalli have...
This is the first time you and Carolina Cavalli have...
- 9/13/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) lives in Fremont in San Francisco’s Bay area, although she’s originally from Afghanistan, where she worked as a translator for the US Army before the Taliban returned to power. Now she works in a fortune cookie-makers alongside her co-worker Joanna (Hilda Schmelling), eating alone in a restaurant where the owner is hooked on soap operas and returning back to her flat where she fails to sleep at night. She’s not alone as it turns out and a neighbour gives her his psychiatry appointments, where she has conversations with Dr Anthony (Gregg Turkington) that often take a quiet turn for the absurd.
The film is redolent of Jim Jarmusch, not just the handsome black and white lensing from Laura Valladao but its deadpan, vignette nature, both of which recall, in particular, Coffee And Cigarettes. That’s not to say that there isn’t a narrative here,...
The film is redolent of Jim Jarmusch, not just the handsome black and white lensing from Laura Valladao but its deadpan, vignette nature, both of which recall, in particular, Coffee And Cigarettes. That’s not to say that there isn’t a narrative here,...
- 9/12/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Shane Atkinson’s “Laroy,” a crime thriller laced with dark comedy, swept three major prizes at the 49th edition of the Deauville American Film Festival.
The movie, which marks Atkinson’s feature debut and showcases Coen brothers influences, won the Grand Prize, the Audience Award and the Critics Award. It stars John Magaro as Ray, who decides to kill himself after discovering his wife has been cheating on him. But just before he pulls a trigger, a stranger takes him for a low-rent hitman. The movie was produced by the Cannes-based company Adastra Films and was acquired by a French distributor, Arp Selection, during the Deauville Film Festival. It previously opened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The Jury Prize, meanwhile was shared by two films, Sean Price Williams’ “The Sweet East” and Iranian-born director Babak Jalali’s “Fremont.” “The Sweet East” marks the feature debut of Price, a well-established cinematographer whose credits include “Good Time.
The movie, which marks Atkinson’s feature debut and showcases Coen brothers influences, won the Grand Prize, the Audience Award and the Critics Award. It stars John Magaro as Ray, who decides to kill himself after discovering his wife has been cheating on him. But just before he pulls a trigger, a stranger takes him for a low-rent hitman. The movie was produced by the Cannes-based company Adastra Films and was acquired by a French distributor, Arp Selection, during the Deauville Film Festival. It previously opened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The Jury Prize, meanwhile was shared by two films, Sean Price Williams’ “The Sweet East” and Iranian-born director Babak Jalali’s “Fremont.” “The Sweet East” marks the feature debut of Price, a well-established cinematographer whose credits include “Good Time.
- 9/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “Fremont,” a beautiful and poignant story of an Afghanistan immigrant, stuck between two cultures in America … co-written and directed by Babak Jalali. In select theaters on September 8th, see local listings.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) is an ex-translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, who just managed to get out of the war-torn country on a special visa and has found work in Fremont, California, with a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Around the same time she is promoted to write the fortunes for the cookies, she begins to see a therapist (Gregg Turkington) who connects in a profound way to her case, and she begins to open up to new possibilities, including an encounter with a lonely auto mechanic on September 8th. See local listings for other locations. Featuring Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Tarkington, Hilda Schmelling,...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) is an ex-translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, who just managed to get out of the war-torn country on a special visa and has found work in Fremont, California, with a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Around the same time she is promoted to write the fortunes for the cookies, she begins to see a therapist (Gregg Turkington) who connects in a profound way to her case, and she begins to open up to new possibilities, including an encounter with a lonely auto mechanic on September 8th. See local listings for other locations. Featuring Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Tarkington, Hilda Schmelling,...
- 9/8/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Jeremy Allen White is one of the most talented and charming actors working in the film and TV industry. The American actor started his acting career with a small role in the 2006 drama film Beautiful Ohio. Since then he has been a part of some of the most brilliant movies and TV shows ever including the smash hit comedy drama series Shameless. So, if you love Allen White’s performances here are the 10 best movies and TV shows starring Jeremy Allen White that should be on your watchlist.
Rob the Mob Credit – Millennium Entertainment
Synopsis: An enthralling and high-octane crime-thriller, Rob the Mob stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Ray Romano and Andy Garcia. Based on a true story, it chronicles two lovers whose daring heists of Mafia social clubs in New York result in a discovery that forever changed the face of organized crime in America. Now the feds, family members,...
Rob the Mob Credit – Millennium Entertainment
Synopsis: An enthralling and high-octane crime-thriller, Rob the Mob stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Ray Romano and Andy Garcia. Based on a true story, it chronicles two lovers whose daring heists of Mafia social clubs in New York result in a discovery that forever changed the face of organized crime in America. Now the feds, family members,...
- 9/4/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
A long time ago, in what might as well have been a galaxy far, far away, Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) was a translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Now, this young woman lives in the Bay Area town of Fremont, a stone’s throw from Silicon Valley and a dozen or so Bart stops from San Francisco. Every day, she commutes from an apartment complex populated by Afghan immigrants into the City by the Bay, where she works in a fortune-cookie factory in Chinatown. Every evening, she returns home...
- 9/1/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
To characters in Babak Jalali’s Fremont, memories both serve an artistic purpose and function as nuisance to be dealt with. Unresolved experiences while serving as a translator to the U.S. Army in Afghanistan prevent refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) from sleeping soundly in her new home of Fremont, California. She seeks sleeping pills from oddball psychiatrist Dr. Anthony (Gregg Turkington) who spends their sessions largely promoting the virtues of his favorite immigrant story: Jack London’s White Fang.
Later when fortune cookie factory owner Ricky (Eddie Tang) offers Donya a promotion from packaging the cookies to writing the messages that go inside, he leans on his instinct that her past pain will lend her a rich worldview from which to draw from as a writer. These plot machinations are rarely front and center in Fremont, and Donya’s seemingly-troubled past isn’t something she freely discusses with those around her.
Later when fortune cookie factory owner Ricky (Eddie Tang) offers Donya a promotion from packaging the cookies to writing the messages that go inside, he leans on his instinct that her past pain will lend her a rich worldview from which to draw from as a writer. These plot machinations are rarely front and center in Fremont, and Donya’s seemingly-troubled past isn’t something she freely discusses with those around her.
- 8/31/2023
- by Caleb Hammond
- The Film Stage
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted at Sundance long before the writer’s strike. We ran a shorter version of the interview during the festival and now that the film is opening in theatrical release, we are presenting the full, long-form interview.
One of the year’s most delightfully warm and comically offbeat films, Babak Jalali’s “Fremont” tells the story of Donya, a former Afghan translator for the U.S.
Continue reading ‘Fremont’: Director Babak Jalali & Star Anaita Wali Zada On Their Charming, Wry, Low-Key Comedy [Interview] at The Playlist.
One of the year’s most delightfully warm and comically offbeat films, Babak Jalali’s “Fremont” tells the story of Donya, a former Afghan translator for the U.S.
Continue reading ‘Fremont’: Director Babak Jalali & Star Anaita Wali Zada On Their Charming, Wry, Low-Key Comedy [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 8/25/2023
- by Isaac Feldberg
- The Playlist
The compact programme saw 71% of screenings sell out.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has wrapped its six-day 2023 edition with over 10,000 in-person attendees, and 71% of cinema screenings sold out.
A total of 10,277 guests attended the festival between August 18-23, with an overall cinema occupancy of 82%.
The festival played 75 cinema screenings, 10 outdoor screenings and five discussion events, in a compact programme concentrated on deeper engagement.
The programme included 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and five short film selections; with seven further features played on an outdoor screening weekend.
More than 75 guests attended the festival to present their films, including directors Hope Dickson Leach,...
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has wrapped its six-day 2023 edition with over 10,000 in-person attendees, and 71% of cinema screenings sold out.
A total of 10,277 guests attended the festival between August 18-23, with an overall cinema occupancy of 82%.
The festival played 75 cinema screenings, 10 outdoor screenings and five discussion events, in a compact programme concentrated on deeper engagement.
The programme included 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and five short film selections; with seven further features played on an outdoor screening weekend.
More than 75 guests attended the festival to present their films, including directors Hope Dickson Leach,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The compact programme saw 71% of screenings sell out.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has wrapped its six-day 2023 edition with over 10,000 in-person attendees, and 71% of cinema screenings sold out.
A total of 10,277 guests attended the festival between August 18-23, with an overall cinema occupancy of 82%.
The festival played 75 cinema screenings, 10 outdoor screenings and five discussion events, in a compact programme concentrated on deeper engagement.
The programme included 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and five short film selections; with seven further features played on an outdoor screening weekend.
More than 75 guests attended the festival to present their films, including directors Hope Dickson Leach,...
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has wrapped its six-day 2023 edition with over 10,000 in-person attendees, and 71% of cinema screenings sold out.
A total of 10,277 guests attended the festival between August 18-23, with an overall cinema occupancy of 82%.
The festival played 75 cinema screenings, 10 outdoor screenings and five discussion events, in a compact programme concentrated on deeper engagement.
The programme included 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and five short film selections; with seven further features played on an outdoor screening weekend.
More than 75 guests attended the festival to present their films, including directors Hope Dickson Leach,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
After working as a translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) is now staking out a new life in Fremont, California. Donya is exiled from her home and haunted by memories of those she left behind, and Babak Jalali’s wryly melancholic film watches her navigate the eponymous city as she tries to find a new place in the world.
Given Fremont’s monochrome photography and monotone punchlines, the comparisons that the film has drawn to the work of Jim Jarmusch are understandable. Jarmusch has described his 1984 sophomore feature Stranger Than Paradise as looking at America “through a foreigner’s eyes,” which is also the lens through which Jalali views the world of this film. Fremont is rendered as a strange and alienating place but one whose humdrum routines are alive with quirks and curiosities for those whose senses haven’t been dulled by familiarity.
A real-life Afghan refugee,...
Given Fremont’s monochrome photography and monotone punchlines, the comparisons that the film has drawn to the work of Jim Jarmusch are understandable. Jarmusch has described his 1984 sophomore feature Stranger Than Paradise as looking at America “through a foreigner’s eyes,” which is also the lens through which Jalali views the world of this film. Fremont is rendered as a strange and alienating place but one whose humdrum routines are alive with quirks and curiosities for those whose senses haven’t been dulled by familiarity.
A real-life Afghan refugee,...
- 8/20/2023
- by Ross McIndoe
- Slant Magazine
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSLa Práctica.The New York Film Festival has announced its Main Slate. Alongside a good showing of Cannes prizewinners, the festival will present new films from Radu Jude, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrew Haigh, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Hong Sang-soo (x2 this year), Raven Jackson, Martín Rejtman, and the feature debut from playwright Annie Baker.In an interview with Indiewire, Ira Sachs shared that he and Ben Whishaw are preparing a new film about the photographer Peter Hujar, titled Peter Hujar’s Day (and presumably inspired by Linda Rosenkrantz’s book of the same name).Recommended VIEWINGIn memory of William Friedkin, who died this week at the age of 87, revisit Christopher Small and James Corning’s video essay about his films’ deftly constructed endings. “Over the course of Friedkin's films,” they write in their introduction, “our perspective...
- 8/9/2023
- MUBI
"It's okay to feel lonely sometimes..." Music Box Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie film titled Fremont, a black & white dry comedy from writer / director Babak Jalali, co-written by Carolina Cavalli (who also directed this year's Amanda). This first premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and has stopped by lots of other festivals including SXSW, Karlovy Vary, IFFBoston, Sun Valley, Seattle, and more. Donya, a lonely Afghan immigrant in the US who works at a fortune cookie factory, is promoted to writing the fortunes inside each cookie. Seeking connection, she decides to send a message out to the world through a cookie, unsure where it will lead. "Tenderly sculpted and lyrically shot in black-and-white, Babak Jalali's Fremont is a wry, deadpan vision of the universal longing for home." Anaita Wali Zada stars as Donya, and the cast features Jeremy Allen White, Gregg Turkington, Hilda Schmelling, and Avis See-tho.
- 8/2/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A highlight at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year Babak Jalali’s Jarmuschian tale of assimilation and identity, Fremont, is now gearing up for a release later this month. Starring Anaita Wali Zada, Jeremy Allen White, and Gregg Turkington the film follows a lonely Afghan fortune cookie factory worker who is promoted to writing the fortunes inside each cookie. Seeking connection, she decides to send a message out to the world through a cookie, unsure where it will lead. Ahead of an opening on August 25 at San Francisco’s Roxie Cinema and expansion to NYC’s IFC Center and LA’s Nuart on September 1, the first trailer has arrived.
Michael Frank said in his Sundance review, “Director Babak Jalali’s fourth feature is sly, droll, finding humor in the darkness surrounding Donya. When she meets with her therapist, a curious, sad Gregg Turkington, he spends the majority of their sessions...
Michael Frank said in his Sundance review, “Director Babak Jalali’s fourth feature is sly, droll, finding humor in the darkness surrounding Donya. When she meets with her therapist, a curious, sad Gregg Turkington, he spends the majority of their sessions...
- 8/2/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
World premiering in Sundance’s Next category back in January, the trailer now arrives for director Babak Jalali’s feature debut Fremont. Co-written by Jalali and Italian filmmaker Carolina Cavalli, the Bay Area-set film stars newcomer Anaita Wali Zada, The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White and On Cinema‘s Gregg Turkington. An official synopsis reads: Each morning Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) leaves her tight-knit community of Afghan immigrants in Fremont, California. She crosses the Bay to work at a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Donya drifts through her routine, struggling to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings […]
The post Trailer Watch: Babak Jalali’s Fremont first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Babak Jalali’s Fremont first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/2/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
World premiering in Sundance’s Next category back in January, the trailer now arrives for director Babak Jalali’s feature debut Fremont. Co-written by Jalali and Italian filmmaker Carolina Cavalli, the Bay Area-set film stars newcomer Anaita Wali Zada, The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White and On Cinema‘s Gregg Turkington. An official synopsis reads: Each morning Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) leaves her tight-knit community of Afghan immigrants in Fremont, California. She crosses the Bay to work at a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Donya drifts through her routine, struggling to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings […]
The post Trailer Watch: Babak Jalali’s Fremont first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Babak Jalali’s Fremont first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/2/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Black and white, offbeat indie comedies aren’t all that new or exciting. However, you can tell there’s something special going on with “Fremont.”
Read More: ‘Fremont’ Review: An Afghan Insomniac Tries To Find Purpose In A Refreshingly Unique & Jarmuschian-Esque Indie Dramedy [Sundance]
As seen in the trailer, “Fremont” is another black and white indie comedy. But there’s clearly an underlying sweetness in the film that makes it seem like an absolute joy to watch.
Continue reading ‘Fremont’ Trailer: Anaita Wali Zada & Jeremy Allen White Star In This Delightful Indie Comedy at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Fremont’ Review: An Afghan Insomniac Tries To Find Purpose In A Refreshingly Unique & Jarmuschian-Esque Indie Dramedy [Sundance]
As seen in the trailer, “Fremont” is another black and white indie comedy. But there’s clearly an underlying sweetness in the film that makes it seem like an absolute joy to watch.
Continue reading ‘Fremont’ Trailer: Anaita Wali Zada & Jeremy Allen White Star In This Delightful Indie Comedy at The Playlist.
- 8/2/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
“Fremont” made quiet waves at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival this year, a Jim Jarmusch-esque, laconic black-and-white dramedy about an Afghan woman making her way in the San Francisco Bay Area after working as a translator for the U.S. military. Directed by Babak Jalali, “Fremont” stars real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada in a breakout, first-time role, along with the likes of comedian Gregg Turkington and “The Bear” Emmy nominee Jeremy Allen White in a small but smoldering role. IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the Music Box Films release below.
Wali Zada plays Donya, who works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory in San Francisco while living in the East Bay city of Fremont. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, the 20something struggles to put her life back in order while living in an apartment complex with other Afghan immigrants. In a moment of...
Wali Zada plays Donya, who works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory in San Francisco while living in the East Bay city of Fremont. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, the 20something struggles to put her life back in order while living in an apartment complex with other Afghan immigrants. In a moment of...
- 8/2/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Bulgarian crime story “Blaga’s Lessons” by Stephan Komandarev scored the top prize and $25,000 at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Saturday, capping a week of celebrating art film, stars and bold global work.
Calling his film a tribute to his parents’ generation, many of whom have become victims of the rough transition to capitalism, Komandarev accepted his Crystal Globe from actor Robin Wright and fest president Jiri Bartoska.
Wright, on winning the fest president’s prize moments earlier, said festgoers in the Czech spa town have shown a love for experiencing cinemas onscreen, urging them to keep up that passion as streaming platforms erode cinema audiences that have still not fully rebounded from pandemic days. “I thank all of you for supporting cinema. Let’s bring it back – Covid put a bit of downer on that.”
With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
Calling his film a tribute to his parents’ generation, many of whom have become victims of the rough transition to capitalism, Komandarev accepted his Crystal Globe from actor Robin Wright and fest president Jiri Bartoska.
Wright, on winning the fest president’s prize moments earlier, said festgoers in the Czech spa town have shown a love for experiencing cinemas onscreen, urging them to keep up that passion as streaming platforms erode cinema audiences that have still not fully rebounded from pandemic days. “I thank all of you for supporting cinema. Let’s bring it back – Covid put a bit of downer on that.”
With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
- 7/8/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Christian Petzold’s Afire and Celine Song’s Past Lives are among the titles set to screen at this year’s scaled-down Edinburgh International Film Festival (Aug 18-23), which is being mounted as part of Edinburgh’s wider cultural Festival.
The full programme announced includes 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and a five pic short film programme. Five feature films will be presented as World Premieres, including the opening film Silent Roar. The festival closes with British Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali’s well-received Sundance pic Fremont.
The festival also today announced its new venue partners. Vue Edinburgh Omni and Everyman Edinburgh at the St James Quarter will host indoor festival screenings while the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh will be the site for a weekend of outdoor screenings titled Cinema Under the Stars.
Edinburgh had previously been based out of the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema, which was sold...
The full programme announced includes 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and a five pic short film programme. Five feature films will be presented as World Premieres, including the opening film Silent Roar. The festival closes with British Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali’s well-received Sundance pic Fremont.
The festival also today announced its new venue partners. Vue Edinburgh Omni and Everyman Edinburgh at the St James Quarter will host indoor festival screenings while the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh will be the site for a weekend of outdoor screenings titled Cinema Under the Stars.
Edinburgh had previously been based out of the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema, which was sold...
- 7/6/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
After successful US screenings at Sundance and SXSW, Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary.
After world premiering at this year’s Sundance in the Next section, and also screening at SXSW, Babak Jalali’s fourth film Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary, where it it is vying for a Crystal Globe.
Born in Iran and raised in London, Jalali first came to prominence when his 2005 short film Heydar, An Afghan In Tehran garnered a Bafta nomination. His debut feature Frontier Blues premiered in Locarno’s official competition in 2009 while his sophomore effort Radio Dreams won the...
After world premiering at this year’s Sundance in the Next section, and also screening at SXSW, Babak Jalali’s fourth film Fremont has its international premiere at Karlovy Vary, where it it is vying for a Crystal Globe.
Born in Iran and raised in London, Jalali first came to prominence when his 2005 short film Heydar, An Afghan In Tehran garnered a Bafta nomination. His debut feature Frontier Blues premiered in Locarno’s official competition in 2009 while his sophomore effort Radio Dreams won the...
- 7/5/2023
- by Laurence Boyce
- ScreenDaily
Although set in a noirish Northern California, “Fremont” – which premiered at Sundance and plays in competition at Karlovy Vary this week – is a refugee story that’s firmly rooted in reality. Director Babak Jalali’s casting of real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada, a first-time actor, in the lead role gives some indication of his commitment to authenticity.
The hardboiled script, co-written with Carolina Cavalli, turns on a young woman, Donya, working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory while starved for sleep and wracked with Ptsd from her past life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The tight dialogue lends another level of stylized sheen to the film, as does the appearance of two veteran actors in wry performances – Gregg Turkington as a Jack London-obsessed therapist, and Jeremy Allen White, best known for his role as master chef in TV series “The Bear,” as a lovelorn mechanic.
The hardboiled script, co-written with Carolina Cavalli, turns on a young woman, Donya, working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory while starved for sleep and wracked with Ptsd from her past life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The tight dialogue lends another level of stylized sheen to the film, as does the appearance of two veteran actors in wry performances – Gregg Turkington as a Jack London-obsessed therapist, and Jeremy Allen White, best known for his role as master chef in TV series “The Bear,” as a lovelorn mechanic.
- 7/4/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The full programme is to be announced on July 6.
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 is to close with the UK premiere of Babak Jalali’s Fremont.
The darkly comic drama continues its festival run, with an international premiere set for Karlovy Vary, having previously been selected for Sundance and SXSW.
The film centres on troubled 20-something Donya, played in a debut performance by former TV journalist Anaita Wali Zada. Like her character in the film, Zada was forced to flee Afghanistan. Donya is an Afghan translator whose work for the US government has led to her becoming lost and adrift in the titular Californian town,...
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 is to close with the UK premiere of Babak Jalali’s Fremont.
The darkly comic drama continues its festival run, with an international premiere set for Karlovy Vary, having previously been selected for Sundance and SXSW.
The film centres on troubled 20-something Donya, played in a debut performance by former TV journalist Anaita Wali Zada. Like her character in the film, Zada was forced to flee Afghanistan. Donya is an Afghan translator whose work for the US government has led to her becoming lost and adrift in the titular Californian town,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Anaita Wali Zada in Fremont Photo: Modern Films Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has announced it will close with the UK premiere of Babak Jalali’s Fremont.
The film centres on troubled 20-something Donya, played in a breakout debut performance by former TV journalist Anaita Wali Zada, who, like her character in the film, was forced to flee Afghanistan. Donya is an Afghan translator whose work for the US Government has led to her becoming lost and adrift in the titular Californian town.
Donya takes a new job writing the fortunes at a fortune cookie factory and as her messages begin to be read by those throughout the city, her growing sense of longing drives her to send a more profound statement out to the world.
Jalali previously made Frontier Blues - which screened at Eiff in 2010 - and Radio Dreams.
Fremont marks a personal work for British Iranian...
The film centres on troubled 20-something Donya, played in a breakout debut performance by former TV journalist Anaita Wali Zada, who, like her character in the film, was forced to flee Afghanistan. Donya is an Afghan translator whose work for the US Government has led to her becoming lost and adrift in the titular Californian town.
Donya takes a new job writing the fortunes at a fortune cookie factory and as her messages begin to be read by those throughout the city, her growing sense of longing drives her to send a more profound statement out to the world.
Jalali previously made Frontier Blues - which screened at Eiff in 2010 - and Radio Dreams.
Fremont marks a personal work for British Iranian...
- 6/27/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Memento International has closed a raft of deals on “Fremont,” the critically acclaimed film by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali. The movie world premiered at Sundance and was acquired by Music Box for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA.
The black-and-white film, laced with wry humor, tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.
Following its Sundance premiere, the film played at SXSW and is slated to compete at Karlovy Vary.
Memento International was able to attract top distributors across major markets, notably France (Jhr), U.K. (Modern Films), Switzerland (Trigon), Sweden (Draken), Indonesia (Pt Falcon) and Middle East (Front Row...
The black-and-white film, laced with wry humor, tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.
Following its Sundance premiere, the film played at SXSW and is slated to compete at Karlovy Vary.
Memento International was able to attract top distributors across major markets, notably France (Jhr), U.K. (Modern Films), Switzerland (Trigon), Sweden (Draken), Indonesia (Pt Falcon) and Middle East (Front Row...
- 6/7/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Theatrical release planned for later this year.
Music Box Films has acquired North American rights to Iranian-uk filmmaker Babak Jalali’s Sundance Next and SXSW selection Fremont.
The drama about an isolated Afghan refugee in California who works at a fortune cookie factory and uses the cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Fremont stars real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada alongside Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White.
Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin and Laura Wagner served as producers.
Music Box Films plans a theatrical release for later this year with a home entertainment roll-out to follow.
Music Box Films has acquired North American rights to Iranian-uk filmmaker Babak Jalali’s Sundance Next and SXSW selection Fremont.
The drama about an isolated Afghan refugee in California who works at a fortune cookie factory and uses the cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Fremont stars real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada alongside Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White.
Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin and Laura Wagner served as producers.
Music Box Films plans a theatrical release for later this year with a home entertainment roll-out to follow.
- 5/2/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Music Box Films has acquired North American rights to Babak Jalali’a immigrant drama Fremont, which premiered to acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before moving on to SXSW, slating it for release in theaters later in the year, with a home entertainment bow to follow.
Starring real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory and her lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya struggles to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings. That is, until an unexpected revelation prompts Donya to use her cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen...
Starring real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory and her lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya struggles to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings. That is, until an unexpected revelation prompts Donya to use her cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen...
- 5/2/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Music Box Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to “Fremont,” the critically acclaimed drama from Iranian-British filmmaker Babak Jalali.
The film, which premiered to much acclaim, including from Variety, in the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section and later screened at SXSW, stars newcomer Anaita Wali Zada alongside Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White.
“Fremont” follows mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya, played by real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, who is struggling to adjust to her new surroundings in Fremont, California. Working at a fortune cookie factory and having lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya finds it challenging to connect with the culture and people around her. However, an unexpected revelation leads her to use her cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Music Box Films plans to release “Fremont” theatrically later this year, followed by a home entertainment release. The film was produced by Marjaneh Moghimi,...
The film, which premiered to much acclaim, including from Variety, in the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section and later screened at SXSW, stars newcomer Anaita Wali Zada alongside Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White.
“Fremont” follows mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya, played by real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, who is struggling to adjust to her new surroundings in Fremont, California. Working at a fortune cookie factory and having lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya finds it challenging to connect with the culture and people around her. However, an unexpected revelation leads her to use her cookies to build a bridge to the outside world.
Music Box Films plans to release “Fremont” theatrically later this year, followed by a home entertainment release. The film was produced by Marjaneh Moghimi,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Music Box Films has acquired North American distribution rights to “Fremont,” Iranian/British Filmmaker Babak Jalali’s follow-up to “Land” and “Radio Dreams.” Jalali’s film, which premiered in the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section and later screened at the SXSW Film Festival, tells the story of Donya (played by real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada), a mid-20s Afghan refugee wrestling with complicated feelings about her work as a translator for the U.S. military.
“Quiet, tender, and deeply human, ‘Fremont’ hails the arrival of a strikingly talented new performer in Anaita Wali Zada and loudly announces Jalali as a filmmaker whose ability to tell soulful stories with humor and grace demands attention,” states Music Box Films’ Brian Andreotti. “With an impressive launch out of Sundance and SXSW, we’re thrilled to continue momentum and open this film theatrically to a wider US audience later this year.”
“I’m...
“Quiet, tender, and deeply human, ‘Fremont’ hails the arrival of a strikingly talented new performer in Anaita Wali Zada and loudly announces Jalali as a filmmaker whose ability to tell soulful stories with humor and grace demands attention,” states Music Box Films’ Brian Andreotti. “With an impressive launch out of Sundance and SXSW, we’re thrilled to continue momentum and open this film theatrically to a wider US audience later this year.”
“I’m...
- 5/2/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
The last few cycles of Oscar season provided a jolt to the kind of filmmaking made on the margins of Hollywood, or outside of its boundaries altogether. If a Korean-language social thriller (“Parasite”), a poetic road-trip movie mostly populated by non-actors (“Nomadland”), and a zany comedy about an estranged Asian American (you know the one) can all win Best Picture, prior assumptions about movies with limited appeal have no foundation in reality.
Yet one stigma continues to linger. Black-and-white movies remain the aesthetic decision the market continues to reject.
I gravitated toward this issue while eying the lineup for the Museum of Moving Image’s First Look festival in Queens, which surveys a daring selection of recent sleeper hits from the festival circuit. While many of the bigger Sundance movies failed to sell because they cost too much, First Look illustrates the other end of the equation: These lower-profile selections,...
Yet one stigma continues to linger. Black-and-white movies remain the aesthetic decision the market continues to reject.
I gravitated toward this issue while eying the lineup for the Museum of Moving Image’s First Look festival in Queens, which surveys a daring selection of recent sleeper hits from the festival circuit. While many of the bigger Sundance movies failed to sell because they cost too much, First Look illustrates the other end of the equation: These lower-profile selections,...
- 3/18/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Now in its 12th edition, the Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look festival brings together a varied, eclectic lineup of cinema from all corners of the world––including a number of films still seeking distribution, making the series perhaps one of your only chances to see these works on the big screen. With the five-day festival kicking off Wednesday, March 15, we’re delighted to exclusively premiere the festival trailer and we’ve also gathered eight essential films to check out. Watch and read on below.
Fremont (Babak Jalali)
In Fremont, Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) is often alone. She lives in a small apartment in Fremont, California, commuting each day to her job in a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. She has a single friend that works there with her. Donya splits time between her apartment, the factory, and a therapist’s office, in hopes of receiving sleeping pills.
Fremont (Babak Jalali)
In Fremont, Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) is often alone. She lives in a small apartment in Fremont, California, commuting each day to her job in a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. She has a single friend that works there with her. Donya splits time between her apartment, the factory, and a therapist’s office, in hopes of receiving sleeping pills.
- 3/9/2023
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
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