First published May 14th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.
Don’t spend hours scrolling the menus at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other movie services. I point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.
Movies included here may be available on services other than those mentioned, and in other regions, too. JustWatch and Reelgood are great for finding which films are on what streamers; you can customize each site so that it shows you only those services you have access to.
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both sides of the pond
Whether any of us have actually gotten used to the idea of paying 20/£16 (or more) to stream a hot new movie at home is debatable.
Don’t spend hours scrolling the menus at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other movie services. I point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.
Movies included here may be available on services other than those mentioned, and in other regions, too. JustWatch and Reelgood are great for finding which films are on what streamers; you can customize each site so that it shows you only those services you have access to.
When you rent or purchase a film through the Amazon and Apple links here, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)
both sides of the pond
Whether any of us have actually gotten used to the idea of paying 20/£16 (or more) to stream a hot new movie at home is debatable.
- 6/14/2022
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Between 2008 and 2018, four documentary directors focused their lenses on a quartet of formidable women. Women who are remarkably similar, yet incredibly different. Who defy patriarchy and inspire change. Women whose names are Dr. Amani Ballour, Hillary Clinton, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin and Michelle Obama.
While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are better-known then Ballour and Le Guin, all four of these females have lives that contain an arsenal of dense material through which each filmmaker had to carefully sift and then whittle down in order to construct a project that succinctly and effectively told each groundbreaking story. The result is four Emmy nominated nonfiction projects: “The Cave,” “Hillary,” “American Masters” and “Becoming.”
National Geographic’s “The Cave,” nominated in the exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking category, focuses on unlikely heroine Ballour, who was Syria’s first and only female hospital administrator. Director Feras Fayyad first laid eyes on...
While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are better-known then Ballour and Le Guin, all four of these females have lives that contain an arsenal of dense material through which each filmmaker had to carefully sift and then whittle down in order to construct a project that succinctly and effectively told each groundbreaking story. The result is four Emmy nominated nonfiction projects: “The Cave,” “Hillary,” “American Masters” and “Becoming.”
National Geographic’s “The Cave,” nominated in the exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking category, focuses on unlikely heroine Ballour, who was Syria’s first and only female hospital administrator. Director Feras Fayyad first laid eyes on...
- 8/18/2020
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Filmmaker Feras Fayyad joined me for Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees all-day event to discuss his multiple-Emmy nominated The Cave, the harrowing documentary he spent 3 1/2 years making.
It chronicles the plight of hospitals trying to provide urgent medical care during the five-year Syrian civil war. His focused on one that, as many have been forced to do, became an underground operation in order to remain undetected. In particular, The Cave centered on Dr. Amani Ballour, who ran the operation at great risk to her own life.
The Cave is up for Outstanding Merit in Documentary Film as well as writing, directing and cinematography. Earlier this year, it was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Fayyad’s second after being Oscar nominated and awarded an Emmy for 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo.
Talking to me from Berlin, Fayyad, who is Syrian, explained why this was a personal story affecting...
It chronicles the plight of hospitals trying to provide urgent medical care during the five-year Syrian civil war. His focused on one that, as many have been forced to do, became an underground operation in order to remain undetected. In particular, The Cave centered on Dr. Amani Ballour, who ran the operation at great risk to her own life.
The Cave is up for Outstanding Merit in Documentary Film as well as writing, directing and cinematography. Earlier this year, it was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Fayyad’s second after being Oscar nominated and awarded an Emmy for 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo.
Talking to me from Berlin, Fayyad, who is Syrian, explained why this was a personal story affecting...
- 8/16/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
National Geographic Networks has greenlighted Consider This, a podcast focused on Emmy season hosted by veteran journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt.
The 12-episode series launched Monday and will feature longform interviews with Nat Geo personalities including Dr. Amani Ballour, Bobby Bones, Jeff Goldblum, Dr. Jane Goodall, Bear Grylls, Marcia Gay Harden, Keegan-Michael Key, Gordon Ramsay, David Thewlis and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
It also will take Emmy voters inside such shows as Cosmos: Possible Worlds, The Cave, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Life Below Zero, Barkskins and Sea of Shadows with interviews of their showrunners and producers.
“We are a network that’s built on incredible storytelling,” said Christopher Albert, EVP Marketing Strategy and Global Communications for National Geographic and National Geographic Documentary Films. “In this most untraditional of Emmy seasons, we wanted to find a way to bring our amazing talent from both in front of and behind the camera directly to the...
The 12-episode series launched Monday and will feature longform interviews with Nat Geo personalities including Dr. Amani Ballour, Bobby Bones, Jeff Goldblum, Dr. Jane Goodall, Bear Grylls, Marcia Gay Harden, Keegan-Michael Key, Gordon Ramsay, David Thewlis and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
It also will take Emmy voters inside such shows as Cosmos: Possible Worlds, The Cave, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Life Below Zero, Barkskins and Sea of Shadows with interviews of their showrunners and producers.
“We are a network that’s built on incredible storytelling,” said Christopher Albert, EVP Marketing Strategy and Global Communications for National Geographic and National Geographic Documentary Films. “In this most untraditional of Emmy seasons, we wanted to find a way to bring our amazing talent from both in front of and behind the camera directly to the...
- 6/16/2020
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
National Geographic is getting into the Emmy Fyc podcast game. The network has launched “Consider This,” a new 12-episode series that will feature stars and producers from Nat Geo’s Emmy contenders.
Guests will include Marcia Gay Harden, Dr. Amani Ballour (“The Cave”), Jeff Goldblum (“The World According to Jeff Goldblum”), Dr. Jane Goodall (“Sea of Shadows”), Bear Grylls (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Brain Games”), Gordon Ramsay (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), David Thewlis (“Barkskins”), Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”) and Sue Aikens (“Life Below Zero”). Journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt hosts the podcast.
“Consider This” will be available to download starting Monday via Apple, Spotify, Radio.com, TuneIn, Deezer, Stitcher, Google Play, Overcast and Pocketcast.The first episode features Tyson, followed by one with Key.
Other interviewees include Ann Druyan (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”), Sigrid Dyekjær (“The Cave”), Jon Kroll (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), Joseph Litzinger (“Life Below Zero”) and...
Guests will include Marcia Gay Harden, Dr. Amani Ballour (“The Cave”), Jeff Goldblum (“The World According to Jeff Goldblum”), Dr. Jane Goodall (“Sea of Shadows”), Bear Grylls (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Brain Games”), Gordon Ramsay (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), David Thewlis (“Barkskins”), Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”) and Sue Aikens (“Life Below Zero”). Journalist Stacey Wilson Hunt hosts the podcast.
“Consider This” will be available to download starting Monday via Apple, Spotify, Radio.com, TuneIn, Deezer, Stitcher, Google Play, Overcast and Pocketcast.The first episode features Tyson, followed by one with Key.
Other interviewees include Ann Druyan (“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”), Sigrid Dyekjær (“The Cave”), Jon Kroll (“Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”), Joseph Litzinger (“Life Below Zero”) and...
- 6/15/2020
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Editors’ Note: With full acknowledgment of the big-picture implications of a pandemic that already has claimed thousands of lives, cratered global economies and closed international borders, Deadline’s Coping With Covid-19 Crisis series is a forum for those in the entertainment space grappling with myriad consequences of seeing a great industry screech to a halt. The hope is for an exchange of ideas and experiences, and suggestions on how businesses and individuals can best ride out a crisis that doesn’t look like it will abate any time soon. If you have a story, email mike@deadline.com.
In the midst of conflicting reports, confusing government advice and terrifying online information comes a new podcast that aims to serve up clear and useful discussion about the virus and its surrounding issues: Making the Call from Endeavor Content launches Wednesday, hosted by bioethicists Dr. Zeke Emanuel and Dr. Jonathan Moreno.
More...
In the midst of conflicting reports, confusing government advice and terrifying online information comes a new podcast that aims to serve up clear and useful discussion about the virus and its surrounding issues: Making the Call from Endeavor Content launches Wednesday, hosted by bioethicists Dr. Zeke Emanuel and Dr. Jonathan Moreno.
More...
- 4/8/2020
- by Antonia Blyth
- Deadline Film + TV
Adam Schlesinger, an Emmy and Grammy winner and Oscar nominee, as well as a leader of the pop band Fountains of Wayne, has died after contracting the coronavirus.
The 52-year-old songwriter was Oscar-nominated for his title track on the 1996 Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do. He has three Emmys
More from DeadlineAdam Schlesinger Of Fountains Of Wayne On Ventilator Because Of CoronavirusCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical Workers'Ultimate Tag': Fox Sets Premiere Date & Unveils First Teaser Trailer
The 52-year-old pop savant had three Emmys and a Grammy in his collection, and an Oscar nomination for “That Thing That You Do,” the title track to the 1996 Tom Hanks-directed film. The three Emmys and a Grammy came for his work as a producer, engineer and songwriter.
In addition to film, his resume includes TV, theater (Cry-Baby: The Musical) and his work with Fountains of Wayne, whose hit Stacey’s Mom was No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003.
He is survived by two children.
The 52-year-old songwriter was Oscar-nominated for his title track on the 1996 Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do. He has three Emmys
More from DeadlineAdam Schlesinger Of Fountains Of Wayne On Ventilator Because Of CoronavirusCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical Workers'Ultimate Tag': Fox Sets Premiere Date & Unveils First Teaser Trailer
The 52-year-old pop savant had three Emmys and a Grammy in his collection, and an Oscar nomination for “That Thing That You Do,” the title track to the 1996 Tom Hanks-directed film. The three Emmys and a Grammy came for his work as a producer, engineer and songwriter.
In addition to film, his resume includes TV, theater (Cry-Baby: The Musical) and his work with Fountains of Wayne, whose hit Stacey’s Mom was No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003.
He is survived by two children.
- 4/1/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Editors’ Note: With full acknowledgment of the big-picture implications of a pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives, cratered global economies and closed international borders, Deadline’s Coping With Covid-19 Crisis series is a forum for those in the entertainment space grappling with myriad consequences of seeing a great industry screech to a halt. The hope is for an exchange of ideas and experiences, and suggestions on how businesses and individuals can best ride out a crisis that doesn’t look like it will abate any time soon. If you have a story, email mike@deadline.com.
Hospitals running out of basic supplies, desperately short of ventilators. Clinical staff risking their lives to treat patients. Doctors forced to make agonizing decisions between who lives and who dies.
Dr. Amani Ballour endured those grim conditions and worse, long before they became a reality for medical personnel around the world battling the novel coronavirus. The Syrian physician—subject of the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-contending documentary The Cave—spent more than five years running a subterranean hospital in besieged Eastern Ghouta, a facility deliberately targeted for bombing by forces allied with Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad. A “normal” day’s casualties might include dozens of civilians mangled in aerial bombardments and children gasping for breath after chemical attacks.
“I don’t envy the tough path that lies ahead of medical professionals in this [Covid-19] war,” says Dr. Amani (as she is commonly called). “Many doctors and nurses will watch tremendous suffering and be forced to stand by, helpless. The same circumstances that make them heroes will haunt them forever. I know firsthand what this feels like.”
Dr. Amani’s experience in the trenches in Syria gives her a unique perspective on the coronavirus emergency, the struggles confronting medical workers, and what we—and our political leaders—should be doing in response.
Deadline: What advice would you give doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight?
Dr. Amani Ballour: I always got this advice when I was in Al-Ghouta—of course I didn’t take it a lot, but it’s really serious. The medical workers and the doctors, they have to protect themselves before doing anything else, because if we lose them we can do nothing after that. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last so we have to be at our best all the time. I would advise them just to take care of themselves, to protect themselves.
Deadline: What practical steps should we all be taking to combat the emergency?
Dr. Amani: There is at least one clear way that we can help the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals as they battle this pandemic: stay home. Stay home so the spread of the virus can slow—and so doctors don’t have to face the burden of choosing who lives and who dies. It won’t always be this easy to help, but while it is, it is truly the least we can do.
Deadline: For years you had to make life-or-death triage decisions about which patients to prioritize for treatment. We are hearing of doctors in Italy facing the same dilemma in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, and there’s a potential for it happening here.
Dr. Amani: This is the most difficult thing I faced the whole time I was working [in the hospital]. After each massacre we treated a lot of injured people. Sometimes we had to decide to help one person over another because he has or she has a hope to survive more than this one… I chose to [prioritize] the children, and I chose the children who are next to me, but other children and other people died because we couldn’t help them. I can’t forget that and I will never forget that. I always think about that. I hope these [doctors] who choose now, I hope they can forget [eventually]… I really feel guilty because I had to choose, but there is nothing to do.
As doctors, we can [normally] classify the injuries, but in the chemical attack—I remember that very well, it was sarin gas—I couldn’t classify the people because all of them had the same symptoms. They were suffocating and I think it’s now the same situation with coronavirus. All the people have the same symptoms… they need ventilators. This is what happened with us. All the people have the same symptoms and they need very urgent help.
Deadline: What do you make of the U.S. response to the Covid-19 crisis? We now have more cases here than anywhere else in the world.
Dr. Amani: This is really shocking. I think that government leaders, they have to reconsider their policy. … They have enough missiles if there is a war but they don’t have enough medical supplies. … We will [overcome] this thing and we will get rid of this virus, but I hope they listen, they learn a lesson from what happened now. We don’t need more weapons in this world. We need more things to protect people, not to kill people.
Deadline: In your hospital you dealt with a constant shortage of equipment and medicine. You wrote, “Often the only anesthesia available for surgery was the soothing recording of an orchestra to distract the mind.” Here, we are facing a shortage of ventilators, as well as masks and personal protective gear for medical workers.
Dr. Amani: I’m really surprised what has happened [in the U.S.]—they don’t have enough resources, they don’t have enough ventilators. The most cases are in New York now. Can you imagine if it happened in Idlib [in northwest Syria]? This is what I think about. If a developed country couldn’t deal with this pandemic, how are [less developed] countries going to do that?
Deadline: You were forced into exile after the Assad regime crushed the last resistance in Eastern Ghouta. So far as you can tell, what is the situation like in Syria under the additional threat of the coronavirus?
Dr. Amani: The Assad regime destroyed a lot of hospitals. They killed a lot of doctors and actually most of the other doctors and medical workers left Syria. So there are not enough medical workers and doctors in Syria, no good healthcare system.
Three months ago, the Assad regime started a [bombing] campaign against Idlib and they destroyed three hospitals just in one day. Doctors there expect that about 100,000 people are going to die if the virus reaches them. The virus is now in the neighboring countries—in Turkey, in Jordan, in Lebanon. It’s everywhere around them. That’s why we’re very worried about the people there. The Syrian population could be ravaged by this disease: social distancing in refugee camps is virtually impossible, and the continued bombing of hospitals will be even more devastating as hospitals begin to overcrowd.
Deadline: You point out that the coronavirus pandemic has given others a better sense of what life has been like in Syria during the civil war.
Dr. Amani: Because now all the people have the same experience—to be afraid all the time from something. If you wanted to protect yourself, your family, your children, and you can’t find the resources. This is what all the world is experiencing now. I’m not happy because this happened. But I hope people [understand] how Syrians lived for about nine years without anything, in fear all the time. They couldn’t protect their children, couldn’t protect their families. If they flee from place to other place, the bombing follows them into the camps.
Deadline: You’re currently in Berlin, stranded there when travel restrictions hit to contain the spread of Covid-19. You were there on a fundraising tour for the Al Amal (Hope) Fund, which was created to honor your work in Syria. How difficult is it to be away from your homeland at this time of growing crisis?
Dr. Amani: I wish I can be there now but I’m in quarantine. I can’t move. Before I could do advocacy for them and fundraising for these people. This was my way to help them, but now it’s stalled. Working to help other people, that makes very, very beautiful feelings. I was happy when I was there because when you save a life, of course you’re going to feel happy in spite of all the circumstances, all the danger. I was happy because I was useful.
I see a lot of doctors and medical workers, they really risk their lives [fighting the coronavirus pandemic]. I can understand that very well, because we believe in humanity. I’m ready to risk my life anytime to help others. And this is our work as medical workers. This is what we want to do, why we study and we work in the medical field… I really respect them and appreciate what they do. And I think this is just because we are humans. If you can help someone, if you can do something to protect someone, of course you’re going to do it.
For more information on the Al Amal (Hope) Fund, click here.
Hospitals running out of basic supplies, desperately short of ventilators. Clinical staff risking their lives to treat patients. Doctors forced to make agonizing decisions between who lives and who dies.
Dr. Amani Ballour endured those grim conditions and worse, long before they became a reality for medical personnel around the world battling the novel coronavirus. The Syrian physician—subject of the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-contending documentary The Cave—spent more than five years running a subterranean hospital in besieged Eastern Ghouta, a facility deliberately targeted for bombing by forces allied with Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad. A “normal” day’s casualties might include dozens of civilians mangled in aerial bombardments and children gasping for breath after chemical attacks.
“I don’t envy the tough path that lies ahead of medical professionals in this [Covid-19] war,” says Dr. Amani (as she is commonly called). “Many doctors and nurses will watch tremendous suffering and be forced to stand by, helpless. The same circumstances that make them heroes will haunt them forever. I know firsthand what this feels like.”
Dr. Amani’s experience in the trenches in Syria gives her a unique perspective on the coronavirus emergency, the struggles confronting medical workers, and what we—and our political leaders—should be doing in response.
Deadline: What advice would you give doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight?
Dr. Amani Ballour: I always got this advice when I was in Al-Ghouta—of course I didn’t take it a lot, but it’s really serious. The medical workers and the doctors, they have to protect themselves before doing anything else, because if we lose them we can do nothing after that. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last so we have to be at our best all the time. I would advise them just to take care of themselves, to protect themselves.
Deadline: What practical steps should we all be taking to combat the emergency?
Dr. Amani: There is at least one clear way that we can help the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals as they battle this pandemic: stay home. Stay home so the spread of the virus can slow—and so doctors don’t have to face the burden of choosing who lives and who dies. It won’t always be this easy to help, but while it is, it is truly the least we can do.
Deadline: For years you had to make life-or-death triage decisions about which patients to prioritize for treatment. We are hearing of doctors in Italy facing the same dilemma in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, and there’s a potential for it happening here.
Dr. Amani: This is the most difficult thing I faced the whole time I was working [in the hospital]. After each massacre we treated a lot of injured people. Sometimes we had to decide to help one person over another because he has or she has a hope to survive more than this one… I chose to [prioritize] the children, and I chose the children who are next to me, but other children and other people died because we couldn’t help them. I can’t forget that and I will never forget that. I always think about that. I hope these [doctors] who choose now, I hope they can forget [eventually]… I really feel guilty because I had to choose, but there is nothing to do.
As doctors, we can [normally] classify the injuries, but in the chemical attack—I remember that very well, it was sarin gas—I couldn’t classify the people because all of them had the same symptoms. They were suffocating and I think it’s now the same situation with coronavirus. All the people have the same symptoms… they need ventilators. This is what happened with us. All the people have the same symptoms and they need very urgent help.
Deadline: What do you make of the U.S. response to the Covid-19 crisis? We now have more cases here than anywhere else in the world.
Dr. Amani: This is really shocking. I think that government leaders, they have to reconsider their policy. … They have enough missiles if there is a war but they don’t have enough medical supplies. … We will [overcome] this thing and we will get rid of this virus, but I hope they listen, they learn a lesson from what happened now. We don’t need more weapons in this world. We need more things to protect people, not to kill people.
Deadline: In your hospital you dealt with a constant shortage of equipment and medicine. You wrote, “Often the only anesthesia available for surgery was the soothing recording of an orchestra to distract the mind.” Here, we are facing a shortage of ventilators, as well as masks and personal protective gear for medical workers.
Dr. Amani: I’m really surprised what has happened [in the U.S.]—they don’t have enough resources, they don’t have enough ventilators. The most cases are in New York now. Can you imagine if it happened in Idlib [in northwest Syria]? This is what I think about. If a developed country couldn’t deal with this pandemic, how are [less developed] countries going to do that?
Deadline: You were forced into exile after the Assad regime crushed the last resistance in Eastern Ghouta. So far as you can tell, what is the situation like in Syria under the additional threat of the coronavirus?
Dr. Amani: The Assad regime destroyed a lot of hospitals. They killed a lot of doctors and actually most of the other doctors and medical workers left Syria. So there are not enough medical workers and doctors in Syria, no good healthcare system.
Three months ago, the Assad regime started a [bombing] campaign against Idlib and they destroyed three hospitals just in one day. Doctors there expect that about 100,000 people are going to die if the virus reaches them. The virus is now in the neighboring countries—in Turkey, in Jordan, in Lebanon. It’s everywhere around them. That’s why we’re very worried about the people there. The Syrian population could be ravaged by this disease: social distancing in refugee camps is virtually impossible, and the continued bombing of hospitals will be even more devastating as hospitals begin to overcrowd.
Deadline: You point out that the coronavirus pandemic has given others a better sense of what life has been like in Syria during the civil war.
Dr. Amani: Because now all the people have the same experience—to be afraid all the time from something. If you wanted to protect yourself, your family, your children, and you can’t find the resources. This is what all the world is experiencing now. I’m not happy because this happened. But I hope people [understand] how Syrians lived for about nine years without anything, in fear all the time. They couldn’t protect their children, couldn’t protect their families. If they flee from place to other place, the bombing follows them into the camps.
Deadline: You’re currently in Berlin, stranded there when travel restrictions hit to contain the spread of Covid-19. You were there on a fundraising tour for the Al Amal (Hope) Fund, which was created to honor your work in Syria. How difficult is it to be away from your homeland at this time of growing crisis?
Dr. Amani: I wish I can be there now but I’m in quarantine. I can’t move. Before I could do advocacy for them and fundraising for these people. This was my way to help them, but now it’s stalled. Working to help other people, that makes very, very beautiful feelings. I was happy when I was there because when you save a life, of course you’re going to feel happy in spite of all the circumstances, all the danger. I was happy because I was useful.
I see a lot of doctors and medical workers, they really risk their lives [fighting the coronavirus pandemic]. I can understand that very well, because we believe in humanity. I’m ready to risk my life anytime to help others. And this is our work as medical workers. This is what we want to do, why we study and we work in the medical field… I really respect them and appreciate what they do. And I think this is just because we are humans. If you can help someone, if you can do something to protect someone, of course you’re going to do it.
For more information on the Al Amal (Hope) Fund, click here.
- 4/1/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
NBC’s America’s Got Talent is looking to find more contestants for its upcoming season, possibly those who have honed a craft during coronavirus quarantine, after re-opening its online auditions.
The NBC show has made the move following the scheduling changes brought on by the production shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
More from DeadlineCalifornia Owes Motion Picture Home $24,000 In Forgotten Funds; In Desperate Time, Lot Of Money For The Taking Needs Only To Be Claimed By HollywoodCNN, MSNBC Cut Away From Donald Trump Coronavirus Briefing As It Focuses On Counter Narcotics OperationsCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical Workers
Given that many people are at home perfecting new skills, learning dance moves and starting family bands, there’s the hope that new challengers could decide to throw their hats in the ring and audition for the show.
The NBC show has made the move following the scheduling changes brought on by the production shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
More from DeadlineCalifornia Owes Motion Picture Home $24,000 In Forgotten Funds; In Desperate Time, Lot Of Money For The Taking Needs Only To Be Claimed By HollywoodCNN, MSNBC Cut Away From Donald Trump Coronavirus Briefing As It Focuses On Counter Narcotics OperationsCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical Workers
Given that many people are at home perfecting new skills, learning dance moves and starting family bands, there’s the hope that new challengers could decide to throw their hats in the ring and audition for the show.
- 4/1/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Last week, Illumination/Universal’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru stepped off of its global release which was previously set for late June in some offshore markets and for July 3 domestically. It has now been scheduled for July 2, 2021, taking the slot that belonged to Sing 2, which in turn is now headed to Christmas 2021 (December 22 domestically). Universal has thus pushed Wicked off of its holiday 2021 launch. That film remains undated for the moment.
These are further casualties of the coronavirus pandemic as Illumination’s Mac Guff studio in Paris has been temporarily shuttered in abidance with the current lockdown in France — and as Hollywood jockeys its schedules for the foreseeable, yet unclear, future.
More from DeadlineCNN, MSNBC Cut Away From Donald Trump Coronavirus Briefing As It Focuses On Counter Narcotics OperationsCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical WorkersCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: Three L.
These are further casualties of the coronavirus pandemic as Illumination’s Mac Guff studio in Paris has been temporarily shuttered in abidance with the current lockdown in France — and as Hollywood jockeys its schedules for the foreseeable, yet unclear, future.
More from DeadlineCNN, MSNBC Cut Away From Donald Trump Coronavirus Briefing As It Focuses On Counter Narcotics OperationsCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical WorkersCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: Three L.
- 4/1/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
American Documentary announced today that it is re-opening its Artist Emergency Fund for those in the independent documentary community affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
American Documentary is a nonprofit behind the PBS series Pov, which is public television’s showcase for nonfiction films. The adapted fund of over $100,000 will provide rapid response grants up to $500 to assist artists with basic needs including food, immediate health needs and insurance premiums.
More from DeadlineCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: 'The Cave's' Dr. Amani Ballour On "Shocking" U.S. Response To Coronavirus & Grim Challenges Facing Medical WorkersCoping With Covid-19 Crisis: Three L.A. Indie Theater Workers Talk Furloughs, Weigh "Catastrophic" Threat To Future Of MoviegoingCoronavirus In Los Angeles County: Record 11 Deaths In Past 24 Hours; 513 New Cases Reported In Region - Update
“Last year when we ran the pilot, the need for a fund of this kind was already substantial. During this pandemic, the need is critical,...
American Documentary is a nonprofit behind the PBS series Pov, which is public television’s showcase for nonfiction films. The adapted fund of over $100,000 will provide rapid response grants up to $500 to assist artists with basic needs including food, immediate health needs and insurance premiums.
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“Last year when we ran the pilot, the need for a fund of this kind was already substantial. During this pandemic, the need is critical,...
- 4/1/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Bong Joon Ho was standing inside the nascent Academy Museum, a 50,000 square-foot assemblage of cavernous rooms yet to be filled with Hollywood exhibitions, and he was contemplating the mayhem of awards season. It was two days before the Oscar ceremony, but the Korean director has been in promotional mode since “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or in May. A genial, soft-spoken creative now elevated to pop-star status, he leaned in and smiled as nominees in the Best International Film category made their way to the stage for remarks at the official Academy cocktail party.
“I get it now,” Bong said. “I get how this whole system works.” He shrugged. But was that good or bad? “I think … it’s both,” he replied, then sped off to the front of the room on cue, smiling for another set of cameras.
Forty-eight hours later, Bong’s long-term investment came to fruition in the most exciting,...
“I get it now,” Bong said. “I get how this whole system works.” He shrugged. But was that good or bad? “I think … it’s both,” he replied, then sped off to the front of the room on cue, smiling for another set of cameras.
Forty-eight hours later, Bong’s long-term investment came to fruition in the most exciting,...
- 2/10/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Putting together the documentary “The Cave” — which follows a group of mostly female doctors working at a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta during the Syrian Civil War — was so traumatizing that the filmmakers employed an on-call therapist during production.
“Some days I could only work one hour, and then I had to go home, crying,” editor Per Kirkegaard told awards editor Steve Pond during TheWrap’s Oscars Screening Series on Sunday. “But it’s a little price to pay, given what the Syrian people are experiencing.”
Pediatrician Amani Ballour is the subject of the Best Feature Documentary nominee. Viewers follow the doctor as she operates the underground hospital nicknamed “The Cave,” covering under shelling as she pulls shrapnel from children’s mouths and resuscitates victims of chemical warfare.
Also Read: 'The Cave' Film Review: Women Are Lifesaving Heroes in Syrian War Hospital Documentary
“I will never do a...
“Some days I could only work one hour, and then I had to go home, crying,” editor Per Kirkegaard told awards editor Steve Pond during TheWrap’s Oscars Screening Series on Sunday. “But it’s a little price to pay, given what the Syrian people are experiencing.”
Pediatrician Amani Ballour is the subject of the Best Feature Documentary nominee. Viewers follow the doctor as she operates the underground hospital nicknamed “The Cave,” covering under shelling as she pulls shrapnel from children’s mouths and resuscitates victims of chemical warfare.
Also Read: 'The Cave' Film Review: Women Are Lifesaving Heroes in Syrian War Hospital Documentary
“I will never do a...
- 2/4/2020
- by Daniel Toomey
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Dr. Amani Ballour, the courageous subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave, has been granted a visa to enter the United States in time for the Academy Awards, Deadline has learned.
Amani, whose efforts to run a subterranean hospital in the besieged Syrian city of Eastern Ghouta are documented in the film by Feras Fayyad, is expected to arrive in New York on Sunday, capping an extensive effort by distributor National Geographic to get her here.
“I have seen the visa with my own eyes. It was texted to me this morning,” Chris Albert, Evp Marketing Strategy and Communications at National Geographic, told Deadline exclusively. “For Dr. Amani — who is just, in our eyes, such a hero — to be able to come [here] … in person means a lot to us.”
Nat Geo previously went to bat for Fayyad, who had been denied a visa to come back to the U.
Amani, whose efforts to run a subterranean hospital in the besieged Syrian city of Eastern Ghouta are documented in the film by Feras Fayyad, is expected to arrive in New York on Sunday, capping an extensive effort by distributor National Geographic to get her here.
“I have seen the visa with my own eyes. It was texted to me this morning,” Chris Albert, Evp Marketing Strategy and Communications at National Geographic, told Deadline exclusively. “For Dr. Amani — who is just, in our eyes, such a hero — to be able to come [here] … in person means a lot to us.”
Nat Geo previously went to bat for Fayyad, who had been denied a visa to come back to the U.
- 2/1/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
When the 2020 Oscar nominations were announced, critics immediately seized upon the glaring lack of women recognized in the Best Director competition. But on the nonfiction side, it’s a completely different story.
In the Best Documentary Feature category, four of the five nominated films are directed or co-directed by women. In Best Documentary Short, it’s the same story—four of five nominees are directed or co-directed by women.
It’s also a year when Greta Gerwig was overlooked for Best Director in the fiction realm. “Narrative is so badly handling women,” comments Carol Dysinger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her short doc Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl). “But in my community, documentary, we do Ok.”
Among the women documentary filmmakers recognized with an Oscar nomination this year is Syrian-born Waad Al-Kateab, who directed For Sama with Edward Watts.
“Two days before the nominations,...
In the Best Documentary Feature category, four of the five nominated films are directed or co-directed by women. In Best Documentary Short, it’s the same story—four of five nominees are directed or co-directed by women.
It’s also a year when Greta Gerwig was overlooked for Best Director in the fiction realm. “Narrative is so badly handling women,” comments Carol Dysinger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her short doc Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl). “But in my community, documentary, we do Ok.”
Among the women documentary filmmakers recognized with an Oscar nomination this year is Syrian-born Waad Al-Kateab, who directed For Sama with Edward Watts.
“Two days before the nominations,...
- 1/30/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s one thing to hear of the chemical attacks in Syria killing thousands of civilians including children, but watching it takes it to another level in The Cave, an Academy Award-nominated documentary now airing on the Nat Geo channel. The Cave follows Doctor Amani Ballour and her hospital staff who ran an underground hospital in Ghouta, Syria as they struggle to help victims (mostly children) from Bashar al-Assad's attacks on his own people. Dr. Amani and her medical staff exposed themselves in the documentary which means the ruthless Syrian leader can target this group of people. The film’s producers update CineMovie on how the hospital staff are doing since The Cave was released.
- 1/30/2020
- by info@cinemovie.tv (Super User)
- CineMovie
Syria’s brutal civil war has cost the lives of tens of thousands of civilians—men, women and children. It would have cost even more were it not for the life-saving efforts of Dr. Amani Ballour, the heroine of Feras Fayyad’s Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave.
Dr. Amani, who trained as a pediatrician, ran a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta, an area outside Damascus that came under relentless attack from Syrian government forces and their Russian allies. For her work she was recently awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize, named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II.
“Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honor that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” the Council of Europe’s secretary general noted. “[She] risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need.
Dr. Amani, who trained as a pediatrician, ran a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta, an area outside Damascus that came under relentless attack from Syrian government forces and their Russian allies. For her work she was recently awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize, named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II.
“Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honor that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” the Council of Europe’s secretary general noted. “[She] risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need.
- 1/30/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary community has been rallying around Syrian-born filmmaker Feras Fayyad, director of Oscar-shortlisted film The Cave, after he was denied a visa to enter the United States. The situation escalated 10 days ago when Fayyad was detained on his way into Copenhagen, where he lives in exile, by immigration police and was forced to miss The Cave‘s panel at TCA. At the time, his colleagues and National Geographic, which is behind The Cave, said that the documentary-maker would be reapplying for a U.S. visa. This time, he was successful.
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” Nat Geo Documentary Films said in a lengthy statement Sunday night.
The Cave tells the story of Dr. Amani Ballour, the first woman to lead a hospital in Syria, who made heroic efforts...
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” Nat Geo Documentary Films said in a lengthy statement Sunday night.
The Cave tells the story of Dr. Amani Ballour, the first woman to lead a hospital in Syria, who made heroic efforts...
- 1/27/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cave director Feras Fayyad, who earned an Oscar nomination for 2017’s Last Men in Aleppo, had been scheduled to appear at Nat Geo’s TCA session today, but his chair was left empty.
The State Department granted Fayyad permission to enter the U.S. for three months in September, an opportunity the Syria-born filmmaker used to attend screenings of Oscar-shortlisted The Cave at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine and AFI Fest in Los Angeles. After returning to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he lives in exile, Fayyad applied for a new visa at the U.S. embassy there in December. He had hoped to attend the Ida Documentary Awards in Hollywood, where The Cave was nominated for Best Writing, but was rejected.
The documentary will have its broadcast premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday, January 25, on Nat Geo, airing commercial-free.
In the director’s absence from TCA, The Cave producer...
The State Department granted Fayyad permission to enter the U.S. for three months in September, an opportunity the Syria-born filmmaker used to attend screenings of Oscar-shortlisted The Cave at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine and AFI Fest in Los Angeles. After returning to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he lives in exile, Fayyad applied for a new visa at the U.S. embassy there in December. He had hoped to attend the Ida Documentary Awards in Hollywood, where The Cave was nominated for Best Writing, but was rejected.
The documentary will have its broadcast premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday, January 25, on Nat Geo, airing commercial-free.
In the director’s absence from TCA, The Cave producer...
- 1/17/2020
- by Peter White and Diane Gordon
- Deadline Film + TV
The Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have teamed on a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to act on journalists and documentary filmmakers who are “being denied entry into the United States despite recognition by the American television industry.”
The letter sent Tuesday was focused on Syrian-born The Cave director Feras Fayyad, who was denied a visa to enter the U.S. to support his National Geographic Documentary Films pic, which on Monday was nominated for the Documentary Feature Oscar. It is Fayyad’s second Oscar nomination after 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo, which also won the Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary award at that year’s News & Doc Emmys.
The Cave won the People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival and already has won this year at the Ida Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
The letter sent Tuesday was focused on Syrian-born The Cave director Feras Fayyad, who was denied a visa to enter the U.S. to support his National Geographic Documentary Films pic, which on Monday was nominated for the Documentary Feature Oscar. It is Fayyad’s second Oscar nomination after 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo, which also won the Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary award at that year’s News & Doc Emmys.
The Cave won the People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival and already has won this year at the Ida Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
- 1/14/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“American Factory” has been named the best documentary of 2019 at the 13th annual Cinema Eye Honors ceremony, which were presented on Monday evening in New York City.
The film, executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, and distributed by Netflix, is an examination of an Ohio glass factory that was taken over by a Chinese company in an uneasy cultural alliance. It prevailed in a category in which all six nominees — “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland,” “Midnight Family” and “One Child Nation” — are also on the Oscars shortlist for documentary features.
The “American Factory” directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, also won the award for Outstanding Direction. The Outstanding Production category resulted in a tie between two films set in Syria, “The Cave” and “For Sama.”
Also Read: 'For Sama' Is Named Top Doc at Ida Documentary Awards
“Honeyland” won for cinematography,...
The film, executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, and distributed by Netflix, is an examination of an Ohio glass factory that was taken over by a Chinese company in an uneasy cultural alliance. It prevailed in a category in which all six nominees — “American Factory,” “Apollo 11,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland,” “Midnight Family” and “One Child Nation” — are also on the Oscars shortlist for documentary features.
The “American Factory” directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, also won the award for Outstanding Direction. The Outstanding Production category resulted in a tie between two films set in Syria, “The Cave” and “For Sama.”
Also Read: 'For Sama' Is Named Top Doc at Ida Documentary Awards
“Honeyland” won for cinematography,...
- 1/7/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
‘The Cave’ Director Feras Fayyad Gains Support From Ida, Sundance After State Department Denies Visa
The documentary community is rallying around Syrian-born filmmaker Feras Fayyad, director of Oscar-shortlisted film The Cave, after he was denied a visa to enter the United States.
The International Documentary Association wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday, urging him to let Fayyad into the country to represent his film, one of 15 feature documentaries still in contention for the Academy Award.
“Feras Fayyad is a respected and accomplished documentary filmmaker, but because he is Syrian he has been denied a visa to visit the United States in support of his latest film, The Cave, distributed by National Geographic Documentary Films,” the letter said. “The film tells an urgent story of doctors saving lives while under constant bombardment in Syria.”
[Read the letter here]
The letter was signed by the Ida’s executive director, Simon Kilmurry, and other prominent figures in documentary including Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and Academy...
The International Documentary Association wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday, urging him to let Fayyad into the country to represent his film, one of 15 feature documentaries still in contention for the Academy Award.
“Feras Fayyad is a respected and accomplished documentary filmmaker, but because he is Syrian he has been denied a visa to visit the United States in support of his latest film, The Cave, distributed by National Geographic Documentary Films,” the letter said. “The film tells an urgent story of doctors saving lives while under constant bombardment in Syria.”
[Read the letter here]
The letter was signed by the Ida’s executive director, Simon Kilmurry, and other prominent figures in documentary including Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and Academy...
- 1/4/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Feras Fayyad is the award-winning director behind the new National Geographic documentary “The Cave,” about a female doctor in charge of an underground hospital in Syria. Fayyad was previously nominated for an Oscar for his previous documentary, 2017’s “Last Men in Aleppo.” “The Cave” is currently among 15 documentaries on the shortlist to potentially earn an Oscar nomination.
Fayyad spoke with Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng in November to discuss what prompted him to tell this story, the dangerous situations he found himself in, and how the film tackles sexism. Watch the exclusive video interview above and read the complete transcript below.
SEE2020 Oscar nominations shortlists for 9 Academy Awards categories
Gold Derby: Your film follows Dr. Amani Ballour, who is a pediatrician and the first female hospital manager in Syria and she’s stayed behind to work in this underground hospital called the Cave. So can you talk about how...
Fayyad spoke with Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng in November to discuss what prompted him to tell this story, the dangerous situations he found himself in, and how the film tackles sexism. Watch the exclusive video interview above and read the complete transcript below.
SEE2020 Oscar nominations shortlists for 9 Academy Awards categories
Gold Derby: Your film follows Dr. Amani Ballour, who is a pediatrician and the first female hospital manager in Syria and she’s stayed behind to work in this underground hospital called the Cave. So can you talk about how...
- 1/3/2020
- by Kevin Jacobsen and Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Sun Valley, Idaho has been a holiday haven for members of the entertainment industry since the golden era of Hollywood, when the likes of Gary Cooper and Clark Gable flocked to the affluent ski resort. Today, the area remains a favored vacation getaway for such actors and filmmakers as Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood and Chelsea Handler.
With a bounty of fir trees bedecked with twinkling lights and a blanket of pristine powdery snow, Sun Valley also marked the perfect spot for Variety and Sun Valley Film Festival’s Screening Series on Dec. 27 and 29, where more than 200 voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences gathered at the Argyros Performing Arts Center for each of the two screenings—Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” and “The Cave,” the latest documentary from Oscar-nominated Syriran filmmaker Feras Fayyad.
Teddy Grennan, founder of the Sun Valley Film Festival, and Candice Pate, the fest’s director,...
With a bounty of fir trees bedecked with twinkling lights and a blanket of pristine powdery snow, Sun Valley also marked the perfect spot for Variety and Sun Valley Film Festival’s Screening Series on Dec. 27 and 29, where more than 200 voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences gathered at the Argyros Performing Arts Center for each of the two screenings—Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” and “The Cave,” the latest documentary from Oscar-nominated Syriran filmmaker Feras Fayyad.
Teddy Grennan, founder of the Sun Valley Film Festival, and Candice Pate, the fest’s director,...
- 12/31/2019
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
This powerful, immensely moving documentary follows the courageous medical staff who must treat injured children as bombs fall around them
Feras Fayyad, the young Syrian documentary-maker who filmed Last Men in Aleppo (and was himself imprisoned and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime), returns with a chilling, shaming film made over two years inside a Syrian hospital in Ghouta, the city besieged by the Syrian government for five years until 2018.
If there is a chink of hope here it’s Amani Ballour, the hospital’s manager, a paediatrician in her late 20s. “I know this life is tough. But it’s honest,” she says. Her deep sense of purpose is humbling – it carries her through hellish days treating dozens of bloodied and badly injured children. Her gentleness with patients is desperately moving, too.
Feras Fayyad, the young Syrian documentary-maker who filmed Last Men in Aleppo (and was himself imprisoned and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime), returns with a chilling, shaming film made over two years inside a Syrian hospital in Ghouta, the city besieged by the Syrian government for five years until 2018.
If there is a chink of hope here it’s Amani Ballour, the hospital’s manager, a paediatrician in her late 20s. “I know this life is tough. But it’s honest,” she says. Her deep sense of purpose is humbling – it carries her through hellish days treating dozens of bloodied and badly injured children. Her gentleness with patients is desperately moving, too.
- 12/6/2019
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
The Producers Guild of America is out with the nominees for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures at its 31st annual Producers Guild Awards. They are:
Advocate, directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche, about Lea Tsemel, a Jewish Israeli lawyer who defends Palestinian political prisoners.
American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, which sees a Chinese billionaire open a new factory in Ohio and follows high-tech China clashing with working-class America.
Apollo 11, director Todd Douglas Miller’s deep dive into the 1969 moon mission.
The Cave, from Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad, about an underground hospital run by a woman, Dr. Amani Ballour.
For Sama, directed by Waad al-Kateab. Director: Edward Watts, the story of a young woman’s journey through love, war and motherhood across five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria.
Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska, which follows the life of the last female beekeeper in Europe,...
Advocate, directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche, about Lea Tsemel, a Jewish Israeli lawyer who defends Palestinian political prisoners.
American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, which sees a Chinese billionaire open a new factory in Ohio and follows high-tech China clashing with working-class America.
Apollo 11, director Todd Douglas Miller’s deep dive into the 1969 moon mission.
The Cave, from Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad, about an underground hospital run by a woman, Dr. Amani Ballour.
For Sama, directed by Waad al-Kateab. Director: Edward Watts, the story of a young woman’s journey through love, war and motherhood across five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria.
Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska, which follows the life of the last female beekeeper in Europe,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: CAA has signed Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad, whose 2017 feature documentary Last Men in Aleppo was Oscar-nominated and won an Emmy.
The pic, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema grand jury doc prize, follows three men as they volunteer with the White Helmets civil defense organization trying to save lives of hundreds of victims in the besieged city of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. In total, the pic received 18 international awards including a Peabody.
Fayyad’s cinematic canon typically revolves around contemporary Syrian issues and the Arab world’s political transformation. The filmmaker was imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime in 2011 because of this work.
Most recently, Fayyad directed The Cave, a documentary that chronicles the work in Syria of pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa as they contend with daily bombardments, chronic supply...
The pic, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema grand jury doc prize, follows three men as they volunteer with the White Helmets civil defense organization trying to save lives of hundreds of victims in the besieged city of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. In total, the pic received 18 international awards including a Peabody.
Fayyad’s cinematic canon typically revolves around contemporary Syrian issues and the Arab world’s political transformation. The filmmaker was imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime in 2011 because of this work.
Most recently, Fayyad directed The Cave, a documentary that chronicles the work in Syria of pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa as they contend with daily bombardments, chronic supply...
- 11/16/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Syrians living in cities besieged by the government of Bashar al-Assad exist in a sonic torture chamber.
The skies shriek with Russian jets. Buildings groan from the concussive force of distant bomb blasts. Explosions from mortar shells shatter the peace. Bursts of small arms fire suddenly erupt. Adults and children tremble when deadly ordinance whistles in their direction, wondering if the walls around them will soon collapse.
Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad wanted to capture the feeling of this aural landscape for his Oscar-contending film The Cave, about an underground hospital run by a woman, Dr. Amani Ballour.
“The sound is [the] power of cinema and story and reality,” Fayyad wrote on Facebook earlier this week. His goal was to reveal “what does [it] mean to live in an underground hospital in Syria bombed every two seconds by Russian/Assad warplanes. I have the responsibility with my team to take you there.”
A...
The skies shriek with Russian jets. Buildings groan from the concussive force of distant bomb blasts. Explosions from mortar shells shatter the peace. Bursts of small arms fire suddenly erupt. Adults and children tremble when deadly ordinance whistles in their direction, wondering if the walls around them will soon collapse.
Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad wanted to capture the feeling of this aural landscape for his Oscar-contending film The Cave, about an underground hospital run by a woman, Dr. Amani Ballour.
“The sound is [the] power of cinema and story and reality,” Fayyad wrote on Facebook earlier this week. His goal was to reveal “what does [it] mean to live in an underground hospital in Syria bombed every two seconds by Russian/Assad warplanes. I have the responsibility with my team to take you there.”
A...
- 11/15/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Beyonce’s “Homecoming” has landed three nominations to lead all films in the first round of noms for the Cinema Eye Honors, a New York-based awards ceremony established in 2007 to honor all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking.
In an announcement made at a luncheon in downtown Los Angeles, Cinema Eye Honors organizers unveiled nominations in seven categories, including new categories for broadcast editing and cinematography. “Homecoming” received nominations in both those new categories, as well as for the outstanding broadcast film of the year.
It faces off in that last category against “Apollo: Mission to the Moon,” “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal,” “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” “Leaving Neverland” and “The Sentence.”
Also Read: 'Homecoming' Film Review: Beyoncé's Powerful Documentary Captures Her Once-in-a-Lifetime Coachella Triumph
Other shows with multiple nominations were the broadcast series “Salt Fat Acid Heat” and “Tricky Dick,” which received two each.
In an announcement made at a luncheon in downtown Los Angeles, Cinema Eye Honors organizers unveiled nominations in seven categories, including new categories for broadcast editing and cinematography. “Homecoming” received nominations in both those new categories, as well as for the outstanding broadcast film of the year.
It faces off in that last category against “Apollo: Mission to the Moon,” “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal,” “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” “Leaving Neverland” and “The Sentence.”
Also Read: 'Homecoming' Film Review: Beyoncé's Powerful Documentary Captures Her Once-in-a-Lifetime Coachella Triumph
Other shows with multiple nominations were the broadcast series “Salt Fat Acid Heat” and “Tricky Dick,” which received two each.
- 10/24/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
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