Therapy is heralded by millions as a way to work through the tangle of our innermost feelings and air grievances without judgement, making it a bountiful foundation for Daniel Sinclair’s tonal mash-up The Breakthrough. Greta Lee and Ben Sinclair play a fractured couple who are the embodiment of an unbalanced modern day relationship, but with Sinclair deftly flipping expected gender roles, placing the male partner in the role of domesticity suffocating his creativity whilst his female counterpart, earning all of the money, continues to come home late from work. The Breakthrough is set over Christmas, a supposed time of time of goodwill and joy but here serves as a shining reminder of the couple’s simmering distaste for one another. The Breakthrough is deviously funny and sharp at every turn and also serves as a pertinent reminder of the benefits of composting. Ahead of the film’s online premiere...
- 2/22/2024
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Exclusive: Showtime is developing Blocks, a half-hour comedy from filmmaker-actor Bridget Moloney, producer Matt Tolmach (Venom), High Maintenance co-creator Ben Sinclair and Sony Pictures Television. Moloney will write, direct and executive produces the potential pilot.
Blocks is a half hour existential comedy that is a metaphorical, heightened take on domestic life. It centers on Ashley and her husband Eric, new-ish parents, navigating the transformations brought about by parenthood and marriage after kids. Their struggles manifest into episodes of magical realism that force them to confront who they really are and what they really want.
The series is based on Moloney’s short film of the same name, which Sinclair executive produced. It premiered at Sundance in 2020 and has been programmed at SXSW and other festivals, receiving a Special Mention for direction at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. The short revolvs around the mother of two young children who begins to spontaneously vomit plastic toy blocks.
Blocks is a half hour existential comedy that is a metaphorical, heightened take on domestic life. It centers on Ashley and her husband Eric, new-ish parents, navigating the transformations brought about by parenthood and marriage after kids. Their struggles manifest into episodes of magical realism that force them to confront who they really are and what they really want.
The series is based on Moloney’s short film of the same name, which Sinclair executive produced. It premiered at Sundance in 2020 and has been programmed at SXSW and other festivals, receiving a Special Mention for direction at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. The short revolvs around the mother of two young children who begins to spontaneously vomit plastic toy blocks.
- 1/10/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.
At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.
At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.
- 6/21/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.
At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.
At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.
- 6/21/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
“Matriochkas,” a French and Belgian short-film directed by Bérangère Mc Neese, has been named the best film of the 2020 Palm Springs International Shortfest, which announced its winners on Sunday. The film, about the sexual awakening of a 16-year-old girl over the course of a summer, is one of five films that can qualify for the Academy Awards in the short-film categories because of jury awards in Palm Springs.
The other Oscar-qualifying winners are Josephine Lohoar Self’s “The Fabric of You,” which was named best animated short; Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell’s “The Heart Still Hums,” best documentary short; Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right,” best live-action short over 15 minutes; and Laurynas Bareisa’s “Dummy,” best live-action short 15 minutes and under.
A total of 332 short films were part of the official selection at the festival, which did not physically take place this year because of the coronavirus. A number of...
The other Oscar-qualifying winners are Josephine Lohoar Self’s “The Fabric of You,” which was named best animated short; Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell’s “The Heart Still Hums,” best documentary short; Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right,” best live-action short over 15 minutes; and Laurynas Bareisa’s “Dummy,” best live-action short 15 minutes and under.
A total of 332 short films were part of the official selection at the festival, which did not physically take place this year because of the coronavirus. A number of...
- 6/21/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
An educational rainbow colored building toy that has been making victims out of unsuspecting adults (stepping on one is up there with Bruce Willis’ barefooted John McClane) becomes a reactionary and involuntary substance and serves as a protective line in the sand response to the gender dynamic within the couple and an all encompassing provocative tale on the virtues of motherhood. A perfect companion piece to feature Swallow, filmmaker Bridget Moloney came to Sundance with the comedic short Blocks (also an official SXSW selection). I sat down with the filmmaker to discuss her creative collaboration with actress Claire Coffee (she plays the matriarch named Ashleigh), the dressing of the film in terms of production and sound design and being consumed by the elements that surround us.…...
- 4/2/2020
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Eight filmmakers have been selected to take part in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. They are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts.
Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...
Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...
- 1/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Eight filmmakers have been selected to take part in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. They are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts.
Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...
Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...
- 1/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In today’s film news roundup, Glenn Close gets an honor, AFI names its Directing Workshop for Women participants and Teri Polo gets cast in a Christmas drama.
Close Honor
Glenn Close will be honored on Feb. 21 by the Us-Ireland Alliance at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards, held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in Santa Monica, Calif.
Melissa McCarthy, the recipient of an Oscar Wilde Award in 2012, will present Close with her award. Abrams, a previous honoree, will emcee.
A six-time Academy Award nominee, Glenn Close stars in the title role of the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling novel, “The Wife,” with Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater for Swedish director Bjorn Runge. Close has won a Golden Globe Award and a Critics Choice Award for in a tie with Lady Gaga. Close received her sixth Academy Award nomination in 2012 for “Albert Nobbs.”
Close has also been nominated for Oscars for “Fatal Attraction,...
Close Honor
Glenn Close will be honored on Feb. 21 by the Us-Ireland Alliance at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards, held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in Santa Monica, Calif.
Melissa McCarthy, the recipient of an Oscar Wilde Award in 2012, will present Close with her award. Abrams, a previous honoree, will emcee.
A six-time Academy Award nominee, Glenn Close stars in the title role of the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling novel, “The Wife,” with Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater for Swedish director Bjorn Runge. Close has won a Golden Globe Award and a Critics Choice Award for in a tie with Lady Gaga. Close received her sixth Academy Award nomination in 2012 for “Albert Nobbs.”
Close has also been nominated for Oscars for “Fatal Attraction,...
- 1/16/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The American Film Institute revealed its list of eight women selected for this year’s Directing Workshop for Women on Tuesday. The participants will take part in a year-long, tuition-free film production course, culminating with each of them directing a short film that will premiere in Los Angeles in 2020.
The eight participants are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts. Their bios can be read here.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” said Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww. “The rising filmmakers in this program embody the Institute’s active, enduring steps to create change, and we are excited to see the stories from this year’s class come alive on the screen.”
Also Read: AFI's Top 10 List Ranges From 'Black Panther...
The eight participants are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts. Their bios can be read here.
“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” said Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww. “The rising filmmakers in this program embody the Institute’s active, enduring steps to create change, and we are excited to see the stories from this year’s class come alive on the screen.”
Also Read: AFI's Top 10 List Ranges From 'Black Panther...
- 1/15/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
There wasn’t much competition for quality among web series when “High Maintenance” launched on Vimeo in 2012, but the show went beyond raising the bar to invent a whole new set of expectations. The self-distributed effort by couple Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair provided a freewheeling mirror into the ironies and contradictions of modern New York, with a beautiful command of several tones that it juggled with ease. The appeal of this sprawling urban portrait, in which an amiable bearded weed dealer known only as The Guy (Sinclair) provided the only connective tissue, stemmed from the sense that anything and anyone could become a part of its ever-expanding universe.
Blichfeld, Sinclair and their army of close-knit collaborators developed a tapestry of small moments that spoke to a larger vision — a city that was funny, ridiculous, sweet and sometimes a little bit sad. Like the drug sold to new clientele in each episode,...
Blichfeld, Sinclair and their army of close-knit collaborators developed a tapestry of small moments that spoke to a larger vision — a city that was funny, ridiculous, sweet and sometimes a little bit sad. Like the drug sold to new clientele in each episode,...
- 9/16/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Take a deep breath. HBO has released episode descriptions for the entire first season of the upcoming High Maintenance TV show. The new pot delivery comedy is another hit of the Vimeo web series of the same name, from married writer/director couple Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, who executive produce with Russell Gregory.Sinclair also stars as "The Guy." Also featured in season one of the High Maintenance TV series are: Max Jenkins, Heléne Yorke, Shazi Raja, Lee Tergesen, Amy Ryan, Ryan Woodle, Yael Stone, Kristen Hung, Clem Cheung, Stephen Lin, Peter Friedman, Bridget Moloney, Paul Thureen, Ismenia Mendes, Greta Lee, and Michael Cyril Creighton. High Maintenance premieres Friday, September 16, 2016 at 11:00pm Et/Pt.Read More…...
- 8/9/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Why Watch? Rob and Anna are looking to add some seasoning to their sex life, and they’ve actually been doing a good job if their need to clean the kitchen counters is any indication, but when their friend Holly comes to dinner this short film from Josh Crockett and Daniel Sinclair gets hit with Office-level dashes of uncomfortable propositioning. There are really two keys to the brilliance of Dinner With Holly. The first is the shared chemistry between its actors — Kristin Slaysman, Bob Turton and Bridget Moloney — that creates a realistic base of comfortable characters shoving well past their comfort zone while allowing for all the overwhelming emotions that naturally tag along. These are our friends and neighbors. Every decision seems rooted in figuring out what a dull suburbanite would do when faced with uncomfortable situations that are largely self-desired and self-created. They realize in the middle of their quest that letting loose has consequences beyond...
- 8/4/2014
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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.