Liza Mandelup's sophomore feature explores the notion of beauty as a commodity and delicately captures how trauma is expressed outwardly. Focusing on disheartened individuals who look to improve their lives by changing the colour of their eyes, she reveals a suspicious industry that readily provides this type of optical surgery. The ornate cinematic style highlights the strangeness of the procedure but never loses track of the emotional journey of those on the operating table.
The camera mainly follows Raymond David Taylor, a middle-aged, gay man living in Florida. Struggling with self-esteem and body-image issues, he decides a change is due. He discovers a company called BrightOcular, which offers a procedure that changes the colour of the patient’s eyes. Determined to have this operation he consults with his mother.
His relationship with his mum acts as the emotional core of the narrative. Forthright framing departs from the overall dynamic visual style to record.
The camera mainly follows Raymond David Taylor, a middle-aged, gay man living in Florida. Struggling with self-esteem and body-image issues, he decides a change is due. He discovers a company called BrightOcular, which offers a procedure that changes the colour of the patient’s eyes. Determined to have this operation he consults with his mother.
His relationship with his mum acts as the emotional core of the narrative. Forthright framing departs from the overall dynamic visual style to record.
- 12/16/2023
- by Sergiu Inizian
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Categorized as a documentary by the filmmakers and programmers of SXSW, Liza Mandelup’s Caterpillar has a lucid structure that feels like a loose, improvised sci-fi narrative exploring the extremes that subject Raymond “David” Taylor will go to stand out just as he’s about to turn 50. Going in cold, one might believe it to be a lo-fi mumblecore movie with occasional moments of cringe and perverse humor, but it supposedly happened. Rather than framing the film as a cautionary medical tale, it remains a grounded, sympathetic portrait of David and his quest for beauty.
Queer and without a partner, he’s dancing in the dark, wishing for something more out of life, telling us “people don’t understand the struggle out here––I’m my own worst enemy.” Despite being a handsome guy who looks ten years younger than he is, David still longs to be light-skinned. While this...
Queer and without a partner, he’s dancing in the dark, wishing for something more out of life, telling us “people don’t understand the struggle out here––I’m my own worst enemy.” Despite being a handsome guy who looks ten years younger than he is, David still longs to be light-skinned. While this...
- 3/23/2023
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Filmmaker Liza Mandelup can make the promise of social media feel like a dream. In her feature debut, “Jawline,” she toggled back and forth between an established social media content farmhouse and a 14-year-old Tennessee upstart who struggles valiantly at breaking onto the live stream scene, both narratives reflecting and refracting each other. Mandelup is patently aware of the dazzling prize of our new and ever-changing social media economy, not only how it’s shaping our conceptions of self but also of labor.
Continue reading ‘Caterpillar’ Review: Liza Mandelup’s Engaging New Doc Opens Our Eyes To The Endless Struggle To Be Seen [SXSW] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Caterpillar’ Review: Liza Mandelup’s Engaging New Doc Opens Our Eyes To The Endless Struggle To Be Seen [SXSW] at The Playlist.
- 3/17/2023
- by Kyle Turner
- The Playlist
David desperately wishes to change the color of his eyes. Thanks to an experimental procedure peddled by an Indian company called BrightOcular, his fantasy of physical transformation might actually manifest. Documentary filmmaker Liza Mandelup (who made our 25 New Faces of Film list in 2017) follows David on this journey in her sophomore feature Caterpillar, as he meets other BrightOcular patients in India and grapples with the not-so-subtle side effects of these implants. Unsurprisingly, many of these patients are Western people of color who’ve been overwhelmed with images of European features (which ostensibly represent the pinnacle of physical perfection) for […]
The post “Sometimes You Just Get Incredible Access”: Liza Mandelup on Caterpillar first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Sometimes You Just Get Incredible Access”: Liza Mandelup on Caterpillar first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/16/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
David desperately wishes to change the color of his eyes. Thanks to an experimental procedure peddled by an Indian company called BrightOcular, his fantasy of physical transformation might actually manifest. Documentary filmmaker Liza Mandelup (who made our 25 New Faces of Film list in 2017) follows David on this journey in her sophomore feature Caterpillar, as he meets other BrightOcular patients in India and grapples with the not-so-subtle side effects of these implants. Unsurprisingly, many of these patients are Western people of color who’ve been overwhelmed with images of European features (which ostensibly represent the pinnacle of physical perfection) for […]
The post “Sometimes You Just Get Incredible Access”: Liza Mandelup on Caterpillar first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Sometimes You Just Get Incredible Access”: Liza Mandelup on Caterpillar first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/16/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The filmmaker Liza Mandelup, whose 2019 documentary “Jawline” explored the rise and fall of a teen social media star, has a fascination with how people see themselves. That’s a valuable skill for any filmmaker, but it makes Mandelup’s particular brand of disquieting non-fiction film feel especially penetrating in the internet era. Her sophomore feature, “Caterpillar,” about a mysterious company offering experimental cosmetic procedures. As in “Jawline,” “Caterpillar” holds a cunning mirror up to technology’s effect on everyday life, where we are bombarded with images of ourselves whether we like it or not.
Anchored by a single compelling figure, “Caterpillar” follows David Taylor, a middle-aged gay man in desperate pursuit of a risky treatment to change his eye color from brown to blue-gray. David exudes vulnerability onscreen, despite his best efforts to mask his sweet sensitivity with masculine bravado. He lights up with childlike excitement at the thought of having fresh eyes,...
Anchored by a single compelling figure, “Caterpillar” follows David Taylor, a middle-aged gay man in desperate pursuit of a risky treatment to change his eye color from brown to blue-gray. David exudes vulnerability onscreen, despite his best efforts to mask his sweet sensitivity with masculine bravado. He lights up with childlike excitement at the thought of having fresh eyes,...
- 3/11/2023
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
No matter how many they’ve been through, there’s no feeling for a television or film creator like a premiere. Putting months if not years of hard work in front of an audience is the ultimate reward — and litmus test — for how that work will be received and remembered, as well as the unquantifiable validation of sharing all that blood, sweat, tears, and imagination.
March 10 marks the start of South by Southwest 2023, with another packed week of TV and film premieres that already have major momentum leading into the conference. Donald Glover’s latest incisively weird series “Swarm” will make its debut, A24 will present “Problemista,” Liza Mandelup toys with documentary format in “Caterpillar,” and the leads of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” reunite for Kelvin Yu’s “American Born Chinese” — to name but a few from a sorely enticing and packed schedule.
There are awards and panels throughout...
March 10 marks the start of South by Southwest 2023, with another packed week of TV and film premieres that already have major momentum leading into the conference. Donald Glover’s latest incisively weird series “Swarm” will make its debut, A24 will present “Problemista,” Liza Mandelup toys with documentary format in “Caterpillar,” and the leads of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” reunite for Kelvin Yu’s “American Born Chinese” — to name but a few from a sorely enticing and packed schedule.
There are awards and panels throughout...
- 3/9/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Festival runs in Austin, Texas, from March 10-19.
Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring Taron Egerton are among the second wave of SXSW unveiled on Wednesday.
Festival organisers announced all selections in Visions, Global presented by Mubi, 24 Beats, and Festival Favorites as well as additions to Headliners, TV Premieres, Narrative and Documentary Spotlight.
New to Headliners are world premieres of Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms which follows two unpopular queer high school students who start a fight club to have sex before graduation; and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring...
Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring Taron Egerton are among the second wave of SXSW unveiled on Wednesday.
Festival organisers announced all selections in Visions, Global presented by Mubi, 24 Beats, and Festival Favorites as well as additions to Headliners, TV Premieres, Narrative and Documentary Spotlight.
New to Headliners are world premieres of Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms which follows two unpopular queer high school students who start a fight club to have sex before graduation; and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring...
- 2/1/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Amazon is exploring the world of teenage girls and shoplifting in its latest comedy pilot.
The streamer has ordered and shot half-hour comedy pilot Lifted starring Ivy Wolk, Veronica Taylor, Kate Godfrey and Annie Marie Elliot.
The project comes from Jawline director Liza Mandelup and Yeast director Mary Bronstein, who have co-created it and write and exec produce. Mandelup will also direct with Heidi Schreck, a Nurse Jackie writer whose Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me aired on Amazon, exec producing.
A24 is producing with Amazon Studios.
The pilot explores the lives of four geographically, socio-economically, and racially diverse American teenage girls united by an online community built around shoplifting. A commentary on identity and how we communicate now, Lifted follows these young, awkwardly funny characters as they attempt to find themselves, form relationships, and discover their power and purpose.
Wolk is best known for her role...
The streamer has ordered and shot half-hour comedy pilot Lifted starring Ivy Wolk, Veronica Taylor, Kate Godfrey and Annie Marie Elliot.
The project comes from Jawline director Liza Mandelup and Yeast director Mary Bronstein, who have co-created it and write and exec produce. Mandelup will also direct with Heidi Schreck, a Nurse Jackie writer whose Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me aired on Amazon, exec producing.
A24 is producing with Amazon Studios.
The pilot explores the lives of four geographically, socio-economically, and racially diverse American teenage girls united by an online community built around shoplifting. A commentary on identity and how we communicate now, Lifted follows these young, awkwardly funny characters as they attempt to find themselves, form relationships, and discover their power and purpose.
Wolk is best known for her role...
- 12/7/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: 7M Films, a management company that represents social media stars and TikTok dancers and is at the center of a controversy accusing it of being cult-like, is set to be the subject of a new documentary series.
Rolling Stone magazine dove deep into the company for a long feature in March centered on two dancers Miranda and James Derrick and this story is now being used as the basis for a docuseries that is in the works at HBO Max.
The streamer is working with the team behind its recent hit docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin on the project. Ross Dinerstein’s Campfire Studios, Huntley Productions, which is run by Chrissy Teigen, who has over 37M followers on Instagram herself, 3Arts’ Luke Dillon and investigative writer and producer Nile Cappello have teamed up with the Pmc-owned brand to develop the project.
Rolling Stone magazine dove deep into the company for a long feature in March centered on two dancers Miranda and James Derrick and this story is now being used as the basis for a docuseries that is in the works at HBO Max.
The streamer is working with the team behind its recent hit docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin on the project. Ross Dinerstein’s Campfire Studios, Huntley Productions, which is run by Chrissy Teigen, who has over 37M followers on Instagram herself, 3Arts’ Luke Dillon and investigative writer and producer Nile Cappello have teamed up with the Pmc-owned brand to develop the project.
- 5/12/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sffilm Documentary Film Fund (Dff) officially has deemed the 2021 winners.
Now in its 10th year, Dff awarded a total of $60,000 in grant funding to four documentary projects, in $15,000 increments each. The funding will support feature-length documentaries in post-production.
Per the official Sffilm announcement, the Dff supports “non-fiction films that are distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters, and an innovative visual approach.” The 2021 winners include “Against the Tide,” “Driver,” “Hummingbirds,” and “Weed Dreams.”
“In an incredibly competitive slate of submissions, we are thrilled with the winning selections,” Masashi Niwano, Sffilm Director of Artist Development, said. “All of these films explore the human experience in new and powerful ways that truly moved our jury to tears.”
Since its founding in 2011, the Sffilm Documentary Film Fund has distributed nearly $1 million to filmmakers across the nation. The 2021 Dff is made possible by support from Jennifer Hymes Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
The 2021 panelists...
Now in its 10th year, Dff awarded a total of $60,000 in grant funding to four documentary projects, in $15,000 increments each. The funding will support feature-length documentaries in post-production.
Per the official Sffilm announcement, the Dff supports “non-fiction films that are distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters, and an innovative visual approach.” The 2021 winners include “Against the Tide,” “Driver,” “Hummingbirds,” and “Weed Dreams.”
“In an incredibly competitive slate of submissions, we are thrilled with the winning selections,” Masashi Niwano, Sffilm Director of Artist Development, said. “All of these films explore the human experience in new and powerful ways that truly moved our jury to tears.”
Since its founding in 2011, the Sffilm Documentary Film Fund has distributed nearly $1 million to filmmakers across the nation. The 2021 Dff is made possible by support from Jennifer Hymes Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
The 2021 panelists...
- 1/27/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
On a hot July afternoon, a massive dance circle overtook the street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Since April, the St. James Joy block party materializes three days a week promptly at 7 p.m. For an hour straight, speakers tremble from an adjacent brownstone and a diverse crowd converges to sweat and gyrate in close proximity. St. James Joy embodies inspiration and danger at once: Masks are widespread; social distancing, not so much.
This gathering was different from previous ones in one key fashion. A camera snaked through the crowd, craning above the scene as it tracked a man who spun right into the center of the circle. This was the latest production from Liza Mandelup, a documentary filmmaker whose debut “Jawline” premiered at Sundance 2019. Since last fall, Mandelup has been tracking three stories about people using beauty industry technology to change their lives. One of her subjects...
This gathering was different from previous ones in one key fashion. A camera snaked through the crowd, craning above the scene as it tracked a man who spun right into the center of the circle. This was the latest production from Liza Mandelup, a documentary filmmaker whose debut “Jawline” premiered at Sundance 2019. Since last fall, Mandelup has been tracking three stories about people using beauty industry technology to change their lives. One of her subjects...
- 8/7/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Documentary group Cinema Eye on Thursday unveiled nominations for the 2020 Cinema Eye Honors, with Netflix’s American Factory and Neon’s Apollo 11 leading the way with five nominations each. Netflix tops all distributors with 17 noms, the most ever in a single year.
Winners will be revealed at a ceremony January 6 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.
American Factory, which counts Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground among its executive producers, and Todd Douglas Miller’s deep dive into the 1969 moon mission Apollo 11 were nominated in the marquee Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category. They are joined there by For Sama, the PBS/Frontline Syrian drama from Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watt; Neon’s Honeyland, the Sundance-winning Macedonian beekeeper tale from Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevsk; 1901 Media’s Mexico City ambulance industry pic Midnight Family; and Amazon Studios’ Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize-winning One Child Nation.
Last year,...
Winners will be revealed at a ceremony January 6 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.
American Factory, which counts Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground among its executive producers, and Todd Douglas Miller’s deep dive into the 1969 moon mission Apollo 11 were nominated in the marquee Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category. They are joined there by For Sama, the PBS/Frontline Syrian drama from Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watt; Neon’s Honeyland, the Sundance-winning Macedonian beekeeper tale from Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevsk; 1901 Media’s Mexico City ambulance industry pic Midnight Family; and Amazon Studios’ Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize-winning One Child Nation.
Last year,...
- 11/7/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“American Factory” and “Apollo 11” led all films in nominations for the 13th annual Cinema Eye Honors, a New York-based awards show created to pay tribute to all facets of nonfiction filmmaking.
The two films each received five nominations, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, from the Cinema Eye jury of festival programmers, as well as votes from this year’s eligible filmmakers.
The full slate of nominees in that category is a solid lineup of the year’s most acclaimed docs. In addition to Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s “American Factory” and Todd Douglas Miller’s “Apollo 11,” it includes Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts’ “For Sama,” Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s “Honeyland,” Luke Lorentzen’s “Midnight Family” and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation.”
Also Read: 12 Documentaries to Check Out This Fall, Including Films by Bruce Springsteen and Agnès Varda (Photos)
“American Factory,” “Apollo 11...
The two films each received five nominations, including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, from the Cinema Eye jury of festival programmers, as well as votes from this year’s eligible filmmakers.
The full slate of nominees in that category is a solid lineup of the year’s most acclaimed docs. In addition to Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s “American Factory” and Todd Douglas Miller’s “Apollo 11,” it includes Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts’ “For Sama,” Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s “Honeyland,” Luke Lorentzen’s “Midnight Family” and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation.”
Also Read: 12 Documentaries to Check Out This Fall, Including Films by Bruce Springsteen and Agnès Varda (Photos)
“American Factory,” “Apollo 11...
- 11/7/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
For anyone over a certain age, the job of social media influencer exists purely in quotation marks, and anyone aspiring to be one is contemptible at best. But the new documentary “Jawline” offers a surprisingly compassionate look not just at one rural Tennessee kid’s bid for virtual stardom, but also at the digital celebrity-industrial complex that perpetuates itself by dehumanizing people into content-generating commodities.
Tracing delicate lines back to the heartthrob mall tours of the 1980s, director Liza Mandelup unobtrusively follows her subject, Kingsport, Tenn., native Austyn Tester, as he stakes his claim in the online space. Using platforms like Instagram and YouCast to interact with fans, Tester’s irrepressible enthusiasm and fresh-scrubbed sincerity comes across immediately, making him an ideal focus for the film — particularly given the skepticism and outright distaste many have for this growing community.
But what the film quickly reveals is that despite these technological advances,...
Tracing delicate lines back to the heartthrob mall tours of the 1980s, director Liza Mandelup unobtrusively follows her subject, Kingsport, Tenn., native Austyn Tester, as he stakes his claim in the online space. Using platforms like Instagram and YouCast to interact with fans, Tester’s irrepressible enthusiasm and fresh-scrubbed sincerity comes across immediately, making him an ideal focus for the film — particularly given the skepticism and outright distaste many have for this growing community.
But what the film quickly reveals is that despite these technological advances,...
- 8/23/2019
- by Todd Gilchrist
- The Wrap
“I’m telling you guys,” says 16-year-old Austyn Tester, sitting in a leather computer chair and speaking into his Macbook’s webcam. The otherwise bleak, wood-panelled room he sits in is completely taken over by soft lighting equipment; the camera pans from his perfectly coiffed hair down to his dirty socks and stained carpet. “If you’ve got a dream, you’ve got to chase it. Don’t let anyone’s opinions affect you.” In director Liza Mandelup’s feature doc debut, Jawline, Austyn speaks to himself as much as he does to the gaggle of teen girls that are watching him live-stream his motivational speech. He […]...
- 8/23/2019
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“I’m telling you guys,” says 16-year-old Austyn Tester, sitting in a leather computer chair and speaking into his Macbook’s webcam. The otherwise bleak, wood-panelled room he sits in is completely taken over by soft lighting equipment; the camera pans from his perfectly coiffed hair down to his dirty socks and stained carpet. “If you’ve got a dream, you’ve got to chase it. Don’t let anyone’s opinions affect you.” In director Liza Mandelup’s feature doc debut, Jawline, Austyn speaks to himself as much as he does to the gaggle of teen girls that are watching him live-stream his motivational speech. He […]...
- 8/23/2019
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Jawline Hulu Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Liza Mandelup Cast: Mikey Barone, Bryce Hall, Jovani Jara, Julian Jara, Austyn Tester, Donovan Tester, Michael Weist Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, 7/18/19 Opens: August 23, 2019 In at least one sense, the social media—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—have not changed teen-aged […]
The post Jawline Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Jawline Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/18/2019
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"They're like those friends that I'd never had and I wish I had." Hulu has debuted an official trailer for the award-winning documentary Jawline, the feature directorial debut of Liza Mandelup. This won Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival where it first premiered earlier this year. It also just won a Youth Jury Award "Special Mention" at the Sheffield Documentary Festival. The film follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who built his following on wide-eyed optimism and teen girl lust, as he tries to escape a dead-end life in rural Tennessee. "A film that captures a complex emerging subculture and truthfully reflecting the online world and what lies behind it." Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Liza Mandelup's documentary Jawline, direct from Hulu's YouTube: Liza Mandelup's feature debut, Jawline, follows the 16-year-old Austyn Tester, a rising star in the...
- 7/9/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Everyone loves to rag on social media celebrities, but what about the people who see online fame as their only route to a better life? That’s the question at the heart of “Jawline,” the feature debut from filmmaker Liza Mandelup, who won a Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. A new trailer released today by Hulu, which will release the movie in theaters and online, offers a sense of Mandelup’s singular vision.
“Jawline” made its New York debut at the 2019 BAMcinemaFest, where the festival provided this synopsis: “16-year-old Austyn Tester has not had an easy life, growing up poor in an industrial Tennessee town, but what he does have—teen idol good looks, an outgoing personality, and an internet connection—are enough to make him an object of adoration for the thousands of teen girls who tune in to his social media livestreams.
“Jawline” made its New York debut at the 2019 BAMcinemaFest, where the festival provided this synopsis: “16-year-old Austyn Tester has not had an easy life, growing up poor in an industrial Tennessee town, but what he does have—teen idol good looks, an outgoing personality, and an internet connection—are enough to make him an object of adoration for the thousands of teen girls who tune in to his social media livestreams.
- 7/9/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Further winners included Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Earth and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s One Child Nation.
Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family won the grand jury award (with a £2000 prize) at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, which held its closing ceremony last night (June 11).
Full list of winners below
The film tells the story of a family scraping a living operating a private ambulance in Mexico city, and was praised by the jury for acting “as a timely warning to the dangers of privatised healthcare.”
The jury, made up of artist Jeremy Deller, producer Charlotte Cook and artist-filmmaker Jenn Nkiru...
Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family won the grand jury award (with a £2000 prize) at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, which held its closing ceremony last night (June 11).
Full list of winners below
The film tells the story of a family scraping a living operating a private ambulance in Mexico city, and was praised by the jury for acting “as a timely warning to the dangers of privatised healthcare.”
The jury, made up of artist Jeremy Deller, producer Charlotte Cook and artist-filmmaker Jenn Nkiru...
- 6/12/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Hulu has snagged the U.S. rights to “Untouchable,” the feature doc about disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein, in a seven-figure deal, Variety has learned.
The film, directed by Ursula Macfarlane, had its premiere at Sundance. It offers the inside track on the rise of Weinstein and his subsequent fall, amid allegations in the U.S. and Europe of abuse, harassment, and rape. Weinstein denies the charges that have been brought against him.
Embankment Films is handling sales and sealed the Hulu deal. Lightbox, the shingle that made “Whitney” and is behind the upcoming “Tina Turner,” produced the film.
The title plays on Weinstein’s elevated status in the movie business. “In her powerhouse documentary of the same name, director Ursula Macfarlane turns that word against Weinstein, empowering his accusers while also holding those who’d been complicit in his crimes accountable,” Variety said in its Sundance review.
For Hulu,...
The film, directed by Ursula Macfarlane, had its premiere at Sundance. It offers the inside track on the rise of Weinstein and his subsequent fall, amid allegations in the U.S. and Europe of abuse, harassment, and rape. Weinstein denies the charges that have been brought against him.
Embankment Films is handling sales and sealed the Hulu deal. Lightbox, the shingle that made “Whitney” and is behind the upcoming “Tina Turner,” produced the film.
The title plays on Weinstein’s elevated status in the movie business. “In her powerhouse documentary of the same name, director Ursula Macfarlane turns that word against Weinstein, empowering his accusers while also holding those who’d been complicit in his crimes accountable,” Variety said in its Sundance review.
For Hulu,...
- 5/19/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – The 2019 CineYouth Festival launched on Friday, April 26th, and the kickoff featured a Sundance Film Fest award winner, “Jawline.” The documentary, directed by Liza Mandelup, is a ripped-from-the-now overview on the impact of teenage life through the creation of social connections online rather than in reality. The 15th edition of the CineYouth Fest will feature 64 films from 18 different countries, all produced by filmmakers who are 22 years old or younger. All the screenings, workshops and other happenings are Free and open to the public. For more information, click here. The CineYouth Festival runs through Sunday, April 28th.
Austyn Tester in ‘Jawline,’ Directed by Liza Mandelup
Photo credit: Cinema/Chicago
The recent winner of the “Breakthrough Filmmaker” award at the Sundance Film Festival in January, “Jawline” is the story of Austyn Tester, a 16-year-old rural Tennessee newcomer to the live-broadcast ecosystem, where teen girls all over the world tune into “boy broadcasts” like Tester’s,...
Austyn Tester in ‘Jawline,’ Directed by Liza Mandelup
Photo credit: Cinema/Chicago
The recent winner of the “Breakthrough Filmmaker” award at the Sundance Film Festival in January, “Jawline” is the story of Austyn Tester, a 16-year-old rural Tennessee newcomer to the live-broadcast ecosystem, where teen girls all over the world tune into “boy broadcasts” like Tester’s,...
- 4/27/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Director Peter Strickland’s “In Fabric” starring “Game of Thrones” star Gwendoline Christie is set to open the fifth Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, the organization has announced today along with their film lineup.
The festival in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will take place May 22-26 and feature several films’ U.S. debuts. In addition to the narrative feature categories, a short films program will include 50 narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and episodic shorts.Strickland’s horror comedy from A24 follows the life of a cursed dress as it travels to different owners, all with devastating consequences.
“We’re excited to bring such an amazing and eclectic lineup of films to this milestone year of our festival,” said festival director Shira Dubrovner. “We’re also thrilled to be hosting over 100 filmmakers this year, who will get to experience all the scenic wonder that the Eastern Sierras has to offer.”
A panel of jurors,...
The festival in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will take place May 22-26 and feature several films’ U.S. debuts. In addition to the narrative feature categories, a short films program will include 50 narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and episodic shorts.Strickland’s horror comedy from A24 follows the life of a cursed dress as it travels to different owners, all with devastating consequences.
“We’re excited to bring such an amazing and eclectic lineup of films to this milestone year of our festival,” said festival director Shira Dubrovner. “We’re also thrilled to be hosting over 100 filmmakers this year, who will get to experience all the scenic wonder that the Eastern Sierras has to offer.”
A panel of jurors,...
- 4/25/2019
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – The future of filmmaking will be on full display this weekend as Cinema/Chicago – the facilitators of the annual Chicago International Film Festival – presents the 2019 CineYouth Festival. The 15th edition of the Fest will feature 64 films from 18 different countries, all produced by filmmakers who are 22 years old or younger. The Opening Film on Friday, April 26th, is ‘Jawline,’ and director Liza Mandelup will appear on behalf of the film. The screening is Free and open to the public at the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago, register for tickets by clicking here. The CineYouth Festival runs through Sunday, April 28th.
’Jawline’ Opens the CineYouth Festival on Friday, April 26th, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago
Photo credit: Cinema/Chicago
“Jawline” is the story of Austyn Tester, a 16-year-old rural Tennessee newcomer to the live-broadcast ecosystem, where teen girls all over the world tune into “boy broadcasts” like Tester’s,...
’Jawline’ Opens the CineYouth Festival on Friday, April 26th, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago
Photo credit: Cinema/Chicago
“Jawline” is the story of Austyn Tester, a 16-year-old rural Tennessee newcomer to the live-broadcast ecosystem, where teen girls all over the world tune into “boy broadcasts” like Tester’s,...
- 4/25/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Hulu, which recently made waves with its Fyre Festival documentary, is adding to its programming arsenal with an award-winning film chronicling the ascent of an emerging digital creator.
Hulu has purchased the Liza Mandelup-directed documentary Jawline for a price that Deadline initially quoted as being in the “low seven figures” range -- though that figure has since been scrapped from the publication's post. Jawline, which won the Special Jury Prize in the 'Emerging Filmmaker' category at Sundance, explores the social influencer phenomenon through the lens of 16-year-old Austyn Tester, who has a relatively small following -- including 20,000 Instagram followers and roughly half that on Tik Tok -- but has become something of a heartthrob within his own burgeoning community.
The film -- whose title is a nod to Tester’s facial features -- will follow the teenager as he is discovered by a manager and embarks, like many influencers before him,...
Hulu has purchased the Liza Mandelup-directed documentary Jawline for a price that Deadline initially quoted as being in the “low seven figures” range -- though that figure has since been scrapped from the publication's post. Jawline, which won the Special Jury Prize in the 'Emerging Filmmaker' category at Sundance, explores the social influencer phenomenon through the lens of 16-year-old Austyn Tester, who has a relatively small following -- including 20,000 Instagram followers and roughly half that on Tik Tok -- but has become something of a heartthrob within his own burgeoning community.
The film -- whose title is a nod to Tester’s facial features -- will follow the teenager as he is discovered by a manager and embarks, like many influencers before him,...
- 2/14/2019
- by Geoff Weiss
- Tubefilter.com
Who influences the influencers? Who’s really on the other side of the screen? Is there any hope for the wistful ideals of live-streaming culture? Jawline is one of those rare documentaries where the topic is too interesting to fail.
On top of that, Jawline’s director Liza Mandelup delivers a smart, engrossing first feature, earning a Special Jury Award for “Emerging Filmmaker” at Sundance ’19. Previously, Mandelup emerged as a talented commercial and short director, then received a grant from the prestigious Sundance Doc Fund to make this year’s award-winner. Now, she’s deep in production on her second feature. The most illuminating aspect of Mandelup’s backstory, however, is her film industry debut as a casting scout—which explains her keen sense of where to turn her lens.…...
On top of that, Jawline’s director Liza Mandelup delivers a smart, engrossing first feature, earning a Special Jury Award for “Emerging Filmmaker” at Sundance ’19. Previously, Mandelup emerged as a talented commercial and short director, then received a grant from the prestigious Sundance Doc Fund to make this year’s award-winner. Now, she’s deep in production on her second feature. The most illuminating aspect of Mandelup’s backstory, however, is her film industry debut as a casting scout—which explains her keen sense of where to turn her lens.…...
- 2/13/2019
- by Dylan Kai Dempsey
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Everyone has been back from Sundance long enough that sinuses are returning to normal and the high-altitude respiratory distress is a distant memory. But deals keep dropping for festival films. Hulu has just acquired U.S. rights to the Liza Mandelup-directed documentary Jawline, which won the Special Jury Prize for Emerging Filmmaker at Sundance. The film premiered there in the U.S. Documentary competition.
It becomes the second Sundance docu deal for Hulu, which paid $2 million for The Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary.
Austyn Tester is a handsome 16-year-old from Tennessee who is rescued from the confines of his small hometown by the online-streaming world. There, he’s adored by thousands of young girls, all eager for his “likes,” his attention, or just to hear him say their names. For Austyn and many like him, a big enough fan base could mean a ticket out of rural America and...
It becomes the second Sundance docu deal for Hulu, which paid $2 million for The Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary.
Austyn Tester is a handsome 16-year-old from Tennessee who is rescued from the confines of his small hometown by the online-streaming world. There, he’s adored by thousands of young girls, all eager for his “likes,” his attention, or just to hear him say their names. For Austyn and many like him, a big enough fan base could mean a ticket out of rural America and...
- 2/12/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwo)U.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeClemency (Chinonye Chukwo)Directing AwardThe Last Black Man in San Francisco (Joe Talbot)Special Jury Award for Vision and CraftHoneyboy (Alma Har’el)Special Jury Award for Creative CollaborationThe Last Black Man in San Francisco (Joe Talbot)Special Jury Award for Breakthrough PerformanceRhianne Barreto (Share)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardShare (Pippa Bianco)Audience AwardBrittany Runs a Marathon (Paul Downs Colaizzo)
Next Next Audience AwardThe Infiltrators (Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera)Next Innovator AwardThe Infiltrators (Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera)
U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury PrizeOne Child NationDirecting AwardAmerican Factory (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert)Special Jury Award for an Emerging FilmmakerJawline (Liza Mandelup)Special Jury Award for Moral UrgencyAlways in Season (Jacqueline Olive)Special Jury Award for EditingApollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller)Special Jury Award for CinematographyMidnight Family (Luke Lorentzen)Audience AwardKnock Down the House (Rachel Lears)
World Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeThe Souvenir (Joanna Hogg)Directing AwardThe Sharks (Lucia...
Next Next Audience AwardThe Infiltrators (Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera)Next Innovator AwardThe Infiltrators (Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera)
U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury PrizeOne Child NationDirecting AwardAmerican Factory (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert)Special Jury Award for an Emerging FilmmakerJawline (Liza Mandelup)Special Jury Award for Moral UrgencyAlways in Season (Jacqueline Olive)Special Jury Award for EditingApollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller)Special Jury Award for CinematographyMidnight Family (Luke Lorentzen)Audience AwardKnock Down the House (Rachel Lears)
World Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeThe Souvenir (Joanna Hogg)Directing AwardThe Sharks (Lucia...
- 2/3/2019
- MUBI
Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency,” a drama starring Alfre Woodard as a prison warden agonizing over capital punishment, has won the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic films at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, which handed out its awards at a ceremony in Park City on Saturday evening.
Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation” won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries.
The directing awards in the U.S. dramatic and documentary competitions went to Joe Talbot for “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for “American Factory,” respectively.
Also Read: Sundance's Haves and Have Nots: Can Traditional Indie Distributors Still Compete?
The Grand Jury Prizes in the World Cinema Dramatic competition went to Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir,” while in the World Cinema Documentary competition it went to “Honeyland” by Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska.
Audience awards went to “Paul Downs Colaizzo’s “Brittany Runs a Marathon...
Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation” won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries.
The directing awards in the U.S. dramatic and documentary competitions went to Joe Talbot for “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for “American Factory,” respectively.
Also Read: Sundance's Haves and Have Nots: Can Traditional Indie Distributors Still Compete?
The Grand Jury Prizes in the World Cinema Dramatic competition went to Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir,” while in the World Cinema Documentary competition it went to “Honeyland” by Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska.
Audience awards went to “Paul Downs Colaizzo’s “Brittany Runs a Marathon...
- 2/3/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival drew to a close this evening with the annual awards ceremony, which was hosted by filmmaker and actress Marianna Palka at the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse in Park City, Utah.
Of the four Grand Jury Prizes given to competition films — the festival’s highest honors — each was directed or co-directed by a female filmmaker, reflecting last year’s Directing winners, who were all women. This year’s Grand Jury Prize winners include Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” (U.S. Dramatic), Nanfu Wang’s “One Child Nation” (U.S. Documentary), Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” (World Dramatic), and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s “Honeyland” (World Documentary).
Both of the U.S. winners are still without U.S. distribution, so here’s hoping a big win at tonight’s show might loosen up some purse strings for these essential — and now award-winning — features.
At this year’s festival, women...
Of the four Grand Jury Prizes given to competition films — the festival’s highest honors — each was directed or co-directed by a female filmmaker, reflecting last year’s Directing winners, who were all women. This year’s Grand Jury Prize winners include Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” (U.S. Dramatic), Nanfu Wang’s “One Child Nation” (U.S. Documentary), Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” (World Dramatic), and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s “Honeyland” (World Documentary).
Both of the U.S. winners are still without U.S. distribution, so here’s hoping a big win at tonight’s show might loosen up some purse strings for these essential — and now award-winning — features.
At this year’s festival, women...
- 2/3/2019
- by Kate Erbland and Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The Sundance Film Festival concluded with five female directors — and one man — sharing the grand jury prizes in the four main competition categories.
In U.S. dramatic competition, African-American writer-director Chinonye Chukwu won for “Clemency,” in which Alfre Woodard plays a prison warden who connects with a death-row inmate. Meanwhile, in the world dramatic category, Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” specifically looks at the challenges and setbacks facing a young female filmmaker, who puts her directing ambitions on hold in order to deal with the drug-addicted man who monopolizes her attention.
Top U.S. documentary honors went to Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation,” a personal exploration of the suffering and aftermath of China’s infamous population-control policy through co-director Wang’s family. In the world documentary competition, “Honeyland” — an artful portrait of a Macedonian beekeeper struggling to protect her livelihood — was a clear favorite with the jury,...
In U.S. dramatic competition, African-American writer-director Chinonye Chukwu won for “Clemency,” in which Alfre Woodard plays a prison warden who connects with a death-row inmate. Meanwhile, in the world dramatic category, Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” specifically looks at the challenges and setbacks facing a young female filmmaker, who puts her directing ambitions on hold in order to deal with the drug-addicted man who monopolizes her attention.
Top U.S. documentary honors went to Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation,” a personal exploration of the suffering and aftermath of China’s infamous population-control policy through co-director Wang’s family. In the world documentary competition, “Honeyland” — an artful portrait of a Macedonian beekeeper struggling to protect her livelihood — was a clear favorite with the jury,...
- 2/3/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
IndieWire’s First-Time Filmmakers Dinner at the Sundance Film Festival, presented by Rimowa, took place on January 28 and introduced a new crop of talent you can expect to see more of in the years to come. “We know that being a first-time filmmaker is something very personal to you, and you’re in the middle of this journey,” IndieWire’s Eric Kohn said at the event. “We get excited to tell the world about it, so we expect to hear more from you down the line. One of the most gratifying things about going to Sundance is coming back and seeing people back here and seeing what you do next.”
Countless filmmakers have gotten their start at the festival, from Quentin Tarantino and Nicole Holofcener to Ryan Coogler and Steven Soderbergh, making it an especially fitting venue for such an occasion.
This year’s dinner began a new tradition in...
Countless filmmakers have gotten their start at the festival, from Quentin Tarantino and Nicole Holofcener to Ryan Coogler and Steven Soderbergh, making it an especially fitting venue for such an occasion.
This year’s dinner began a new tradition in...
- 2/1/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Before bedtime in Kingsport, Tenn., 16-year-old Austyn Tester shoots an inspirational selfie video just for himself. “It is 10:06 pm, and I am not famous right now,” admits Austyn. Yet, the aspiring social media star plans to be — soon — via filming daily live streams telling young girls to believe in themselves and chase their dreams, all delivered with sincerity and a batting of eyelashes underneath his banana soft-serve bangs. Shy teens gobble up his adamant positivity, and by the end of Liza Mandelup’s documentary “Jawline,” this naive boy who’s never been on a plane, had his eyebrows threaded, or hugged a paying stranger will accomplish all three.
Success? Not to Mandelup, whose portrait of would-be influencers and their young female disciples is #nofilter, especially when she introduces us to 21-year-old manager Michael Weist, the fast-talking, desk-pounding reincarnation of Louis B. Mayer who lives in a fast-food-strewn mansion in...
Success? Not to Mandelup, whose portrait of would-be influencers and their young female disciples is #nofilter, especially when she introduces us to 21-year-old manager Michael Weist, the fast-talking, desk-pounding reincarnation of Louis B. Mayer who lives in a fast-food-strewn mansion in...
- 1/29/2019
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
Featured as one of Filmmaker Mag’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2017, it’s the close proximity with her subjects (perhaps in the same philosophy or approach as Crystal Moselle) that should make Jawline an incredibly personal docu to watch out for. Liza Mandelup saw her project get backed by the Cinereach folks and was recently encouraged by support from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund and Sf Film Fund Grant for the final stretch.
Gist: This intimate story about teenage connection in the digital age, follows Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who had built his following with grassroots and big dreams.…...
Gist: This intimate story about teenage connection in the digital age, follows Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who had built his following with grassroots and big dreams.…...
- 11/21/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
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