Exclusive: ScreenCraft has finalized the lineup for its annual Virtual Writers Summit.
The summit, which is expected to span the entire month of June this year, will feature creatives including Richard Linklater, Issa Lopez, Lulu Wang, Quinta Brunson, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, and Sean Wang.
Typically, the summit has occurred over one weekend. However, this year boasts the largest lineup ever, thus resulting in panels over the course of the month on June 8, 15, 22, and 29.
“This marks the fifth year we have organized our annual writers summit virtually and, undeniably, the strongest lineup we have ever put together,” Thomas Dever, VP of Business Development for Industry Arts, ScreenCraft’s parent company, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to hear from these incredible speakers and bring them together with our audience to educate and inspire.”
See the full schedule below.
June 8
Headline Speaker – Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) Letting Authenticity Guide Your Story,...
The summit, which is expected to span the entire month of June this year, will feature creatives including Richard Linklater, Issa Lopez, Lulu Wang, Quinta Brunson, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, and Sean Wang.
Typically, the summit has occurred over one weekend. However, this year boasts the largest lineup ever, thus resulting in panels over the course of the month on June 8, 15, 22, and 29.
“This marks the fifth year we have organized our annual writers summit virtually and, undeniably, the strongest lineup we have ever put together,” Thomas Dever, VP of Business Development for Industry Arts, ScreenCraft’s parent company, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to hear from these incredible speakers and bring them together with our audience to educate and inspire.”
See the full schedule below.
June 8
Headline Speaker – Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) Letting Authenticity Guide Your Story,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
Mexican-us filmmaker Carlos López Estrada will deliver Sundance Film Festival: London’s keynote address at the festival’s third annual industry programme, with further speakers confirmed from Studiocanal, BFI, BBC Film, Film4, Bafta and Sky.
The festival runs at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9.
López Estrada’s director credits include his feature debut Blindpostting which opened Sundance in 2018, and animation Raya And The Last Dragon, which he co-directed with Don Hall.
As a producer, he is founder of Antigravity Academy, a production company specialising in creating opportunities for emerging talent. Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang,...
The festival runs at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9.
López Estrada’s director credits include his feature debut Blindpostting which opened Sundance in 2018, and animation Raya And The Last Dragon, which he co-directed with Don Hall.
As a producer, he is founder of Antigravity Academy, a production company specialising in creating opportunities for emerging talent. Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang,...
- 5/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Like many coming-of-age directorial feature debuts, Dìdi (弟弟) is semiautobiographical, but Sean Wang’s personal background played as much of a role in literally making the movie as it did in inspiring its narrative.
The film, which was acquired by Focus after winning the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance in January, is the opening night feature tonight at Sffilm, Wang’s hometown festival. Both fests played a role in the development of the movie, with Wang having picked up multiple grants and fellowship awards, including a 2022 Sffilm Rainin Grant, in his journey to the screen. His tenure at the Google Creative Lab before becoming a professional filmmaker also equipped him with a unique cinematic toolkit for telling a hyper-specific story about being an adolescent during social media’s adolescence.
And finally, Wang not only depicts a fictionalized version of his family unit in the movie, with Joan Chen...
The film, which was acquired by Focus after winning the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance in January, is the opening night feature tonight at Sffilm, Wang’s hometown festival. Both fests played a role in the development of the movie, with Wang having picked up multiple grants and fellowship awards, including a 2022 Sffilm Rainin Grant, in his journey to the screen. His tenure at the Google Creative Lab before becoming a professional filmmaker also equipped him with a unique cinematic toolkit for telling a hyper-specific story about being an adolescent during social media’s adolescence.
And finally, Wang not only depicts a fictionalized version of his family unit in the movie, with Joan Chen...
- 4/25/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Who says this summer is light on blockbuster fare, despite the strikes holding productions and release dates up?
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
Big movies coming to theaters in the next hot few months include favorite IP getting a 2024 burnish, from “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” to “Alien: Romulus” and “Twisters”. Oh, and a little movie called “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24), which George Miller will first bring to the Cannes Film Festival before opening it in theaters later that month. Plus, poised to be a Netflix hit this summer is Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” (May 24 in theaters), playing for a couple of weeks in select cities before the crime comedy starring Glen Powell hits the streaming platform.
But those bigger-ticket titles aside, summer 2024 is a time for indies to shine, from Annie Baker’s long-awaited festival hit “Janet Planet” (June 14) to India Donaldson’s wonderful Sundance premiere “Good One” (August...
- 4/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Sundance Institute has released the lineup for the 11th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London.
The Festival, which will run from June 6-9, will open with the UK premiere of writer and director Rich Peppiatt’s boisterous Irish-language film Kneecap and close with the UK premiere of Dìdi (弟弟) written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sean Wang.
Other titles in the program include the Zellner brothers’ Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough-starrer Sasquatch Sunset, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s adaptation of Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling biography Rob Peace, and Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls, which won the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. The documentaries include Skywalkers: A Love Story by multi-Emmy award-winning filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist and Never Look Away by Lucy Lawless in her directorial debut.
There will also be a short film program dedicated to films either produced in the UK or made by filmmakers based in the UK.
The Festival, which will run from June 6-9, will open with the UK premiere of writer and director Rich Peppiatt’s boisterous Irish-language film Kneecap and close with the UK premiere of Dìdi (弟弟) written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sean Wang.
Other titles in the program include the Zellner brothers’ Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough-starrer Sasquatch Sunset, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s adaptation of Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling biography Rob Peace, and Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls, which won the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. The documentaries include Skywalkers: A Love Story by multi-Emmy award-winning filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist and Never Look Away by Lucy Lawless in her directorial debut.
There will also be a short film program dedicated to films either produced in the UK or made by filmmakers based in the UK.
- 4/23/2024
- by Hannah Abraham
- Deadline Film + TV
The Nantucket Film Festival has set the lineup for its 2024 edition and will honor Emmy-nominated writer-producer Kerry Ehrin, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Girls5Eva showrunner Meredith Scardino.
The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.
The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...
The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.
The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Film Festival is heading to London again this summer and the programme is full of cinematic goodies. More below.
The days are getting lighter, the sun is shining ever so slightly more now and we’ve packed away our thickest wool jumpers, although we still need some thick socks. That must mean one thing and one thing only.
Sundance Film Festival: London is almost upon us.
Some might say summer is coming too, but we’re mostly excited for Sundance London, which has just revealed their full programme for this year’s festival. The festival brings a fine selection of films which originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, in Park City, Utah. The crème de la crème, so to speak.
The festival will open on 6 June with a screening of Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language film and draw to a close on 9 June with Sean Wang...
The days are getting lighter, the sun is shining ever so slightly more now and we’ve packed away our thickest wool jumpers, although we still need some thick socks. That must mean one thing and one thing only.
Sundance Film Festival: London is almost upon us.
Some might say summer is coming too, but we’re mostly excited for Sundance London, which has just revealed their full programme for this year’s festival. The festival brings a fine selection of films which originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, in Park City, Utah. The crème de la crème, so to speak.
The festival will open on 6 June with a screening of Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language film and draw to a close on 9 June with Sean Wang...
- 4/23/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
The line-up for the Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 edition includes surreal comedy Sasquatch Sunset, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Rob Peace and A24 horror I Saw The TV Glow.
The festival takes place at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9, and will present 11 feature films that premiered at the US edition of Sundance in January.
Sasquatch Sunset is directed by David and Nathan Zellner and stars Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg. It follows a family of sasquatch - hairy, human-like mythical creatures from the northwestern US - over a year. Ejiofor also stars in biographical drama Rob Peace, which is based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling book.
The festival takes place at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9, and will present 11 feature films that premiered at the US edition of Sundance in January.
Sasquatch Sunset is directed by David and Nathan Zellner and stars Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg. It follows a family of sasquatch - hairy, human-like mythical creatures from the northwestern US - over a year. Ejiofor also stars in biographical drama Rob Peace, which is based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling book.
- 4/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
Vashon Film Institute has set the date for the third annual Vashon Island Film Festival, which is slated to take place Aug. 8-11. The announcement comes with the launch of two new divisions of the Vashon Film Institute and a new donation arm, which accepts restricted funds to be used solely to fund improvements at the Vashon Theatre.
Vfi’s new divisions are the Quartermaster Lab, a collective of filmmaking programs, and VFIpresents, its sales, distribution and release division, which will also focus on organizing community events outside Viff.
“The quintessential goal in founding Vfi was to support independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Mathias Sayre, founder of Vashon Film Institute. “To that end, Viff has already brought compelling indie features and documentaries to local audiences and will continue to do so. But that’s only part of the game plan: We’re equally committed to engendering the...
Vfi’s new divisions are the Quartermaster Lab, a collective of filmmaking programs, and VFIpresents, its sales, distribution and release division, which will also focus on organizing community events outside Viff.
“The quintessential goal in founding Vfi was to support independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mark Mathias Sayre, founder of Vashon Film Institute. “To that end, Viff has already brought compelling indie features and documentaries to local audiences and will continue to do so. But that’s only part of the game plan: We’re equally committed to engendering the...
- 4/19/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov and Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski teased exclusive first-looks on Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Edward Berger’s Conclave at the studio’s CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday.
The audience at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace also saw trailers for Sam-Taylor Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black, and footage from Jeff Nichols’ crime drama The Bikeriders, which premiered in Telluride last year.
“At the core of what we do is the belief that bringing people together makes their lives better by sharing an experience,” Kujawski said by way of introduction.
Below are the titles featured in the session:
Back To Black...
The audience at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace also saw trailers for Sam-Taylor Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black, and footage from Jeff Nichols’ crime drama The Bikeriders, which premiered in Telluride last year.
“At the core of what we do is the belief that bringing people together makes their lives better by sharing an experience,” Kujawski said by way of introduction.
Below are the titles featured in the session:
Back To Black...
- 4/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
The U.K. premieres of Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” and Sean Wang’s “Dìdi” will open and close the 11th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London. Both films won awards at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January.
Rambunctious Irish-language film “Kneecap” is the real-life story of how an anarchic Belfast rap trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save and reinvigorate their mother tongue. “Bursting with unruly energy that practically escapes the confines of the screen, ‘Kneecap’ is a riotous, drug-laced triumph in the name of freedom that bridges political substance and crowd-pleasing entertainment,” reads Variety‘s review of the film. “Kneecap” won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: Next in January.
“Kneecap” was produced by Mother Tongues Films and Fine Point Films. The U.K.-Ireland co-production is financed by BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, TG4 and Northern Ireland Screen,...
Rambunctious Irish-language film “Kneecap” is the real-life story of how an anarchic Belfast rap trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save and reinvigorate their mother tongue. “Bursting with unruly energy that practically escapes the confines of the screen, ‘Kneecap’ is a riotous, drug-laced triumph in the name of freedom that bridges political substance and crowd-pleasing entertainment,” reads Variety‘s review of the film. “Kneecap” won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: Next in January.
“Kneecap” was produced by Mother Tongues Films and Fine Point Films. The U.K.-Ireland co-production is financed by BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, TG4 and Northern Ireland Screen,...
- 4/4/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The annual SFFIlM Festival has officially unveiled its 2024 lineup, with two first-time feature filmmakers bookending the fest.
Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical feature “Dìdi (弟弟)” opens the festival April 24 after premiering at Sundance 2024. Wang was also recently Oscar-nominated for his short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” which had been supported by Sffilm grants.
The 67th annual festival closes out with Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, and late actor Richard Roundtree in his final role. The feature screens April 28.
Programming highlights include “The Idea of You,” “Sing Sing,” “Janet Planet,” and Sundance award-winning documentary “Porcelain War.” A private screening of opening night film “Dìdi (弟弟)” in Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos will be held at the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market exclusively for cast and crew, Sffilm Festival filmmakers, and Sffilm fellows and grantees. A Sffilm members’ screening of “Mother, Couch” will also take place after the film debuted...
Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical feature “Dìdi (弟弟)” opens the festival April 24 after premiering at Sundance 2024. Wang was also recently Oscar-nominated for his short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” which had been supported by Sffilm grants.
The 67th annual festival closes out with Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, and late actor Richard Roundtree in his final role. The feature screens April 28.
Programming highlights include “The Idea of You,” “Sing Sing,” “Janet Planet,” and Sundance award-winning documentary “Porcelain War.” A private screening of opening night film “Dìdi (弟弟)” in Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos will be held at the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market exclusively for cast and crew, Sffilm Festival filmmakers, and Sffilm fellows and grantees. A Sffilm members’ screening of “Mother, Couch” will also take place after the film debuted...
- 3/27/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Refresh for updates: The votes are in, the tuxes are pressed, and the envelopes are sealed: It’s time for the 96th Academy Awards. Deadline is updating the winners list live as they are announced, so check it out below.
Christopher Nolan’s near-billion-dollar juggernaut Oppenheimer has been collecting trophies at nearly every stop this awards season and comes into the ceremony as the odds-on favorite for Best Picture, among other nods. It’s vying for the Big Prize on Hollywood’s Big Night against the No. 1 movie of 2023, Barbie, along with American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest.
Here are the winners announced so far at the Oscars, followed by the remaining nominees:
Winners
Tba
Nominees
Best Picture
American Fiction
Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
Anatomy of a Fall...
Christopher Nolan’s near-billion-dollar juggernaut Oppenheimer has been collecting trophies at nearly every stop this awards season and comes into the ceremony as the odds-on favorite for Best Picture, among other nods. It’s vying for the Big Prize on Hollywood’s Big Night against the No. 1 movie of 2023, Barbie, along with American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest.
Here are the winners announced so far at the Oscars, followed by the remaining nominees:
Winners
Tba
Nominees
Best Picture
American Fiction
Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
Anatomy of a Fall...
- 3/10/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
In a strange reversal of a long-standing trend with the Academy, this year’s documentary short ballot is almost entirely domestic, while the feature doc category — where subtitles aren’t so common — is entirely international. Judging by the overall quality of the films in the 141-minute “2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary” lineup, that’s no sign of compromise. In fact, for Oscar completists, ShortsTV’s annual roundup is one of the most rewarding theatrical experiences audiences could hope for this year.
Director Sean Wang premiered his debut feature, “Dìdi,” at the Sundance Film Festival just four days before learning that his short, “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó,” had been Oscar nominated. Both projects feature his paternal grandmother, octogenarian Chang Li Hua, who shares a house with his mother’s mother, 94-year-old Yi Yau Fuei (the title combines the two women’s nicknames). At times, Wang’s delightful, slightly freeform...
Director Sean Wang premiered his debut feature, “Dìdi,” at the Sundance Film Festival just four days before learning that his short, “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó,” had been Oscar nominated. Both projects feature his paternal grandmother, octogenarian Chang Li Hua, who shares a house with his mother’s mother, 94-year-old Yi Yau Fuei (the title combines the two women’s nicknames). At times, Wang’s delightful, slightly freeform...
- 3/10/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Focus Features has firmed up release plans for Conclave, the papal thriller marking filmmaker Edward Berger’s follow-up to his 2022 Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front. An adaptation of Robert Harris’ same-name bestseller, penned by Peter Straughan, the film releases in theaters in New York and L.A. on November 1st, before expanding on the 8th.
Currently, the 1st is only occupied by an unknown title from Universal Pictures. Titles set to open on the 8th include Sony’s Venom 3 and 20th’s action thriller The Amateur starring Rami Malek.
Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events — selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence finds...
Currently, the 1st is only occupied by an unknown title from Universal Pictures. Titles set to open on the 8th include Sony’s Venom 3 and 20th’s action thriller The Amateur starring Rami Malek.
Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events — selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence finds...
- 3/8/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Image Source: Getty / Alberto E. Rodriguez
Where I'm From: Now and Gen features in-conversation pieces between generations - like a younger woman and her grandmother - discussing a topic like beauty rituals, finances, or marriage. We sat down with filmmaker Sean Wang and his grandmothers, Yi Yan Fuei and Chang Li Hua, the subjects of Wang's Oscar-nominated documentary short, "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó." Read their heartwarming chat about friendship below.
In 2021, in the wake of increased anti-Asian violence and the ongoing pandemic, filmmaker Sean Wang moved back home to San Francisco. There, he started observing - then filming - Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, his 94-year-old paternal grandmother and 83-year-old maternal grandmother, respectively, who happen to be inseparable friends and roommates. As he captured the mundane moments and joys of their daily lives, he created "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó," an Oscar-nominated documentary short that recently landed on Disney+.
"As...
Where I'm From: Now and Gen features in-conversation pieces between generations - like a younger woman and her grandmother - discussing a topic like beauty rituals, finances, or marriage. We sat down with filmmaker Sean Wang and his grandmothers, Yi Yan Fuei and Chang Li Hua, the subjects of Wang's Oscar-nominated documentary short, "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó." Read their heartwarming chat about friendship below.
In 2021, in the wake of increased anti-Asian violence and the ongoing pandemic, filmmaker Sean Wang moved back home to San Francisco. There, he started observing - then filming - Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, his 94-year-old paternal grandmother and 83-year-old maternal grandmother, respectively, who happen to be inseparable friends and roommates. As he captured the mundane moments and joys of their daily lives, he created "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó," an Oscar-nominated documentary short that recently landed on Disney+.
"As...
- 3/6/2024
- by Yerin Kim
- Popsugar.com
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Nai Nai & Wai Po, (aka Nai Nai And Wai Po), Zhang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei, 2023. © Disney+ / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: In the documentary short category, the competition is notably fierce, featuring a lineup of powerful and thought-provoking contenders, and the best of the three shorts categories.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Nai Nai & Wai Po, (aka Nai Nai And Wai Po), Zhang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei, 2023. © Disney+ / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: In the documentary short category, the competition is notably fierce, featuring a lineup of powerful and thought-provoking contenders, and the best of the three shorts categories.
- 3/5/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
If you are aiming to win your Oscar pool you may feel relatively safe right about now predicting, as most are, a sweep by Oppenheimer — especially after its overwhelming showing last week winning seven BAFTA Awards, the DGA honor for Christopher Nolan the week before that, and on Saturday sweeping three of the five movie awards at SAG and winning the top prize last night at the PGA Awards.
However, key to actually winning your pool will not be those marquee feature film categories but rather the three shorts races that run under the radar, but can spell the difference in triumphing over all others in whatever pool you enter. So who could — or should, for these purposes — prevail in the Documentary Shorts, Animated Shorts and Live Action Shorts contests this year? Shorts TV in association with distributor Magnolia Pictures has, as usual, put all of them in theatrical release across the country,...
However, key to actually winning your pool will not be those marquee feature film categories but rather the three shorts races that run under the radar, but can spell the difference in triumphing over all others in whatever pool you enter. So who could — or should, for these purposes — prevail in the Documentary Shorts, Animated Shorts and Live Action Shorts contests this year? Shorts TV in association with distributor Magnolia Pictures has, as usual, put all of them in theatrical release across the country,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Berlin’s European Film Market was the first big test of the post-strike indie film market. Executives were cautiously optimistic ahead of the EFM, reporting a “flood” of big, star-stocked projects that came together just ahead of the market, including A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Margot Robbie’s first film post-Barbie), The Materialists (Celine Song’s first film post-Past Lives, which has Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal circling) and action packages featuring box office draws Will Smith, Dave Bautista, Channing Tatum and Bob Odenkirk.
Coming out of Berlin, the mood has shifted from “cautiously” to just plain optimistic.
“It was good, really good,” says Palisades Park CEO Tamara Birkemoe, noting several international sales for The Magic Faraway Tree, an adaptation of the beloved Enid Blyton children’s book by British director Ben Gregor, which Wonka writer Simon Farnaby is adapting for the screen. “I felt people...
Coming out of Berlin, the mood has shifted from “cautiously” to just plain optimistic.
“It was good, really good,” says Palisades Park CEO Tamara Birkemoe, noting several international sales for The Magic Faraway Tree, an adaptation of the beloved Enid Blyton children’s book by British director Ben Gregor, which Wonka writer Simon Farnaby is adapting for the screen. “I felt people...
- 2/26/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Disney+ Hotstar announced today that the 96th Oscars® will be live-streamed in India on Monday, March 11 at 4 Am Ist. Emmy Award-winning late-night talk show host and producer Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the live show for the fourth time.
Actor In A Leading Role (Nominees)
Bradley Cooper
Maestro
Colman Domingo
Rustin
Paul Giamatti
The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy
Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright
American Fiction
Actor In A Supporting Role (Nominees)
Sterling K. Brown
American Fiction
Robert De Niro
Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr.
Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling
Barbie
Mark Ruffalo
Poor Things
Actress In A Leading Role (Nominees)
Annette Bening
Nyad
Lily Gladstone
Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra HÜLLER
Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan
Maestro
Emma Stone
Poor Things
Actress In A Supporting Role (Nominees)
Emily Blunt
Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks
The Color Purple
America Ferrera
Barbie
Jodie Foster
Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
The Holdovers
Animated Feature Film...
Actor In A Leading Role (Nominees)
Bradley Cooper
Maestro
Colman Domingo
Rustin
Paul Giamatti
The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy
Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright
American Fiction
Actor In A Supporting Role (Nominees)
Sterling K. Brown
American Fiction
Robert De Niro
Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr.
Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling
Barbie
Mark Ruffalo
Poor Things
Actress In A Leading Role (Nominees)
Annette Bening
Nyad
Lily Gladstone
Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra HÜLLER
Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan
Maestro
Emma Stone
Poor Things
Actress In A Supporting Role (Nominees)
Emily Blunt
Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks
The Color Purple
America Ferrera
Barbie
Jodie Foster
Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
The Holdovers
Animated Feature Film...
- 2/26/2024
- by Editorial Desk
- GlamSham
Sean Wang and his grandmas have had quite the month. On Jan. 19, the filmmaker’s debut feature, Dìdi (弟弟), had its world premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and then four days later he became an Oscar nominee for Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó. He shot the Disney+ documentary short in 2021 during the pandemic, about the daily life of his paternal and maternal grandmothers, Yi Yan Fuei and Chang Li Hua, who after being widowed about a decade ago became roommates and then, as Wang puts it, “sisters” and “soulmates.”
“We thought it would be special to fly back to Fremont and surprise the grandmas and watch the nominations with them,” Wang says of he and producer/cinematographer Sam A. Davis’ quick jaunt back to his Bay Area hometown in the middle of their Park City engagement. “Even if we didn’t get nominated, [we could] put an end to this surreal,...
“We thought it would be special to fly back to Fremont and surprise the grandmas and watch the nominations with them,” Wang says of he and producer/cinematographer Sam A. Davis’ quick jaunt back to his Bay Area hometown in the middle of their Park City engagement. “Even if we didn’t get nominated, [we could] put an end to this surreal,...
- 2/24/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deadline has launched the streaming site for Contenders Film: The Nominees, the Oscar nominees panel showcase that took place Saturday.
Click here to launch the Contenders Film: The Nominees streaming site.
Cast and creatives from eight Oscar-nominated films sat down for wide-ranging discussions about the craft that went into the making of the movies now in final stretch to the Academy Awards on March 10.
The diverse panels ran the gamut, from Best Picture nominees Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers and Anatomy of a Fall to documentaries like Bobi Wine: The People’s President, To Kill a Tiger and Năi Nai & Wài Pó, the historical epic Napoleon and the animated Elemental.
Panelists included Napoleon costume designers Janty Yates and David Crossman and production designer Arthur Max; Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, director Alexander Payne, writer-producer David Hemingson and producer Mark Johnson; Flower Moon cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, production designer Jack Fisk,...
Click here to launch the Contenders Film: The Nominees streaming site.
Cast and creatives from eight Oscar-nominated films sat down for wide-ranging discussions about the craft that went into the making of the movies now in final stretch to the Academy Awards on March 10.
The diverse panels ran the gamut, from Best Picture nominees Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers and Anatomy of a Fall to documentaries like Bobi Wine: The People’s President, To Kill a Tiger and Năi Nai & Wài Pó, the historical epic Napoleon and the animated Elemental.
Panelists included Napoleon costume designers Janty Yates and David Crossman and production designer Arthur Max; Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, director Alexander Payne, writer-producer David Hemingson and producer Mark Johnson; Flower Moon cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, production designer Jack Fisk,...
- 2/19/2024
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Sean Wang’s endearing live-action short Năi Nai & Wài Pó might seem to be perhaps the lightest of all the Oscar nominees in the category, but he had more on his mind in chronicling the lives of his inseparable grandmothers, the 94-year-old Năi Nai (Yi Yan Fuei) and 83-year-old Wài Pó (Zhang Li Hua) as they go about their daily lives, even sleeping in the same bed in their Bay Area home.
The recent spate of violence against innocent people in the Asian community in America was also on Wang’s mind as he joined us for Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees.
“I mean, the idea of it is right there, you know, my two grandmas. The movie is full of life, and joy, and humor, and farts, and all the things that it encapsulates because they are full of joy and humor and sometimes gas,” he said.
The recent spate of violence against innocent people in the Asian community in America was also on Wang’s mind as he joined us for Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees.
“I mean, the idea of it is right there, you know, my two grandmas. The movie is full of life, and joy, and humor, and farts, and all the things that it encapsulates because they are full of joy and humor and sometimes gas,” he said.
- 2/17/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
As we race to the Oscar finish line, it has certainly been a year to remember. The movie business all but shook off the last vestiges of the Covid era with the phenomenon that was Barbenheimer — collectively, Barbie and Oppenheimer earned more than $2 billion globally at the box office. Not only is cinema alive and kicking, but both of those box office behemoths are Oscar-nominated for Best Picture.
It sets the stage for Contenders Film: The Nominees, Deadline’s annual awards-season showcase. Today, we sit down with casts and creatives from eight of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, representing hopefuls spanning categories from the crafts to Best Picture. The virtual livestream begins at 9 a.m. Pt.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
The Best Picture competition is still very much on, and Focus Features’ The Holdovers is in the running. Joining us today for a Q&a conversation are director Alexander Payne,...
It sets the stage for Contenders Film: The Nominees, Deadline’s annual awards-season showcase. Today, we sit down with casts and creatives from eight of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, representing hopefuls spanning categories from the crafts to Best Picture. The virtual livestream begins at 9 a.m. Pt.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
The Best Picture competition is still very much on, and Focus Features’ The Holdovers is in the running. Joining us today for a Q&a conversation are director Alexander Payne,...
- 2/17/2024
- by David Morgan
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a busy weekend for nominees and wannabes alike. A handful of Oscar darlings are newly available on streaming platforms, and a few worthwhile also-rans are out there for the taking, too.
What to watch this week: “Oppenheimer“
The Best Picture front-runner gets another boost thanks to its long-awaited streaming debut. Christopher Nolan recently nabbed the Directors Guild of America award, making his colossal biopic about the creation of the atomic bomb almost unbeatable. The movie first hit VOD in November, but “Oppenheimer” is now available on Peacock, which is owned by Universal, the movie’s distributor. Now it become death, destroyer of Oscar competition.
Other contenders:
“The Color Purple“: The newest adaptation of Alice Walker‘s Pulitzer-winning novel didn’t fare as well with the Oscars as Warner Bros. hoped it would, but Danielle Brooks still made off with a nomination for the same role that earned...
What to watch this week: “Oppenheimer“
The Best Picture front-runner gets another boost thanks to its long-awaited streaming debut. Christopher Nolan recently nabbed the Directors Guild of America award, making his colossal biopic about the creation of the atomic bomb almost unbeatable. The movie first hit VOD in November, but “Oppenheimer” is now available on Peacock, which is owned by Universal, the movie’s distributor. Now it become death, destroyer of Oscar competition.
Other contenders:
“The Color Purple“: The newest adaptation of Alice Walker‘s Pulitzer-winning novel didn’t fare as well with the Oscars as Warner Bros. hoped it would, but Danielle Brooks still made off with a nomination for the same role that earned...
- 2/17/2024
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
There exist three Oscar categories where it’s possible to watch all nominated films in one shot – that’s shorts, Animated, Live Action and Documentary. Packaged into three feature length films presented by ShortsTV, the Oscar Nominated Short Films open in theaters today for a four-week run on about 650 screens in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s 19-year tradition popular with audiences and theaters. Each film is also “an event. Then you can go argue about who you think should win,” says ShortsTV founder and CEO Carter Pilcher.
Theater owners can screen any or all of the three compilations however and whenever they want from a traditional run to a one-week marathon before the Academy Awards on March 10.
Pilcher says the animated bundle tends to do the best historically, although the 2023 short called My Year Of Dicks nudged out some of the family audiences that love animation, giving Live Action the win.
It’s 19-year tradition popular with audiences and theaters. Each film is also “an event. Then you can go argue about who you think should win,” says ShortsTV founder and CEO Carter Pilcher.
Theater owners can screen any or all of the three compilations however and whenever they want from a traditional run to a one-week marathon before the Academy Awards on March 10.
Pilcher says the animated bundle tends to do the best historically, although the 2023 short called My Year Of Dicks nudged out some of the family audiences that love animation, giving Live Action the win.
- 2/16/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
“The word I keep coming back to to describe that moment is an extreme burst of chaotic energy,” shares filmmaker Sean Wang about the moment he received his first Oscar nomination for his documentary short film “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó.” The director watched the announcement live with the film’s stars — his grandmothers Yi Yan Fuei (Nǎi Nai) and Chang Li Hua (Wài Pó) — and filmed their reactions, sharing the utterly joyous moment of their celebration online. The nomination serves as a lovely grace note on the “extremely unexpected and surreal and special journey” that the family went on together. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” is a 17-minute snapshot of the life that Wang’s two grandmothers have made for themselves in their old age; his Nǎi Nai is now 96, his Wài Pó 86. The two share a home and even a bed, take care of one another,...
“Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” is a 17-minute snapshot of the life that Wang’s two grandmothers have made for themselves in their old age; his Nǎi Nai is now 96, his Wài Pó 86. The two share a home and even a bed, take care of one another,...
- 2/15/2024
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Focus Features will open its Sundance Film Festival acquisition Dìdi on July 26.
The movie from Oscar nominee Sean Wang premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim, winning both the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
Inspired by Wang’s youth, the pic follows a 13-year old Taiwanese-American in the last month of summer 2008 before high school begins. The boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Wang also wrote in addition to directing.
Producers are Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush and Wang. Didi stars Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hua.
Wang’s latest film, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma), premiered at SXSW 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award and is...
The movie from Oscar nominee Sean Wang premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim, winning both the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
Inspired by Wang’s youth, the pic follows a 13-year old Taiwanese-American in the last month of summer 2008 before high school begins. The boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Wang also wrote in addition to directing.
Producers are Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush and Wang. Didi stars Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hua.
Wang’s latest film, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma), premiered at SXSW 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award and is...
- 2/14/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Ahead of the Academy Awards, we’ve reviewed every short film in each category: Animation, Documentary, and Live Action. Here are the Best Documentary Short nominees:
Island in Between | Taiwan | 20 minutes
Located just a few miles from mainland China is a series of islands known as Kinmen––islands under the jurisdiction of Taiwan. This is where Taiwanese men spend their mandatory military service, as it’s the frontline of any impending conflict that might arise from China’s decades-long refusal to acknowledge the country’s sovereignty. Putting a Taiwanese face to the tensions, S. Leo Chiang traveled to Kinmen to capture its life in-motion.
That’s pretty much what Island in Between delivers: snapshots of residents with connections to both countries and voiceover narration describing Chiang’s own relationship with them (as well as the US). We see army drills. Listen to the “psychological warfare” of pumping Taiwan’s most...
Island in Between | Taiwan | 20 minutes
Located just a few miles from mainland China is a series of islands known as Kinmen––islands under the jurisdiction of Taiwan. This is where Taiwanese men spend their mandatory military service, as it’s the frontline of any impending conflict that might arise from China’s decades-long refusal to acknowledge the country’s sovereignty. Putting a Taiwanese face to the tensions, S. Leo Chiang traveled to Kinmen to capture its life in-motion.
That’s pretty much what Island in Between delivers: snapshots of residents with connections to both countries and voiceover narration describing Chiang’s own relationship with them (as well as the US). We see army drills. Listen to the “psychological warfare” of pumping Taiwan’s most...
- 2/14/2024
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
It is hard to fully capture into words the electrifying excitement of the room during the world premiere of Sean Wang's debut feature, “Dìdi (弟弟)”. Part of this might have been because of the audience; it seemed like half the crowd had been associated with Wang in some way, as cast, family, or friends. Part of it may have been because the film was the only Asian American entry this year in the US Dramatic Competition, which markedly departs from last year (which saw at least 3 selections). And, perhaps, part of it may be because of Sean Wang's own star on the rise. As a previous Sundance Institute Ignite Fellow and as a current Academy Award-nominated director (with short “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” in the running for this year's Oscars), Sean Wang has been at the forefront of attention of Asian American cinema as of late.
Accordingly, the audience was incredibly reactive.
Accordingly, the audience was incredibly reactive.
- 2/14/2024
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Over 60 films came into this year’s Sundance Film Festival looking for buyers, but many of the key players on the indie film market already had movies premiering in the festival, with many of those among the most commercial and star-studded movies making their debuts.
Last year’s market was slow, especially for documentaries, but this year’s festival market was nothing but robust in 2024. We’re tracking everything that already has a home and will update this space throughout the month with every sale that comes in.
“Good One”
Section: U.S. Dramatic
Director: India Donaldson
Buyer: Metrograph Pictures
Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
Release Plans: Theatrical in Summer 2024
Buzz: India Donaldson’s “Good One” will be the first title acquired by Metrograph Pictures, as the company known for its film restorations and SVOD platform is now getting into theatrical distribution. And they picked a good one too.
Last year’s market was slow, especially for documentaries, but this year’s festival market was nothing but robust in 2024. We’re tracking everything that already has a home and will update this space throughout the month with every sale that comes in.
“Good One”
Section: U.S. Dramatic
Director: India Donaldson
Buyer: Metrograph Pictures
Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
Release Plans: Theatrical in Summer 2024
Buzz: India Donaldson’s “Good One” will be the first title acquired by Metrograph Pictures, as the company known for its film restorations and SVOD platform is now getting into theatrical distribution. And they picked a good one too.
- 2/13/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Best Actor
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
The actor received public praise from Walter Naegle, the life partner of the late Bayard Rustin: “You’ve brought Bayard’s spirit to a world audience — the intelligence, integrity, compassion and commitment, all driven by a joy for living.”
Best Actress
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
The 37-year-old breakout, who, for her turn as Mollie in Martin Scorsese’s drama, became the first Indigenous American to be nominated for an acting Oscar, was profiled by The New Yorker on Feb. 4.
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)
The actors’ actor and fan favorite who is nominated for an Oscar for the fourth time (his previous noms were for The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher and Spotlight) will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 8.
Best Original Score
Oppenheimer
Ludwig Göransson’s score was awarded best score soundtrack album...
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
The actor received public praise from Walter Naegle, the life partner of the late Bayard Rustin: “You’ve brought Bayard’s spirit to a world audience — the intelligence, integrity, compassion and commitment, all driven by a joy for living.”
Best Actress
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
The 37-year-old breakout, who, for her turn as Mollie in Martin Scorsese’s drama, became the first Indigenous American to be nominated for an acting Oscar, was profiled by The New Yorker on Feb. 4.
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)
The actors’ actor and fan favorite who is nominated for an Oscar for the fourth time (his previous noms were for The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher and Spotlight) will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 8.
Best Original Score
Oppenheimer
Ludwig Göransson’s score was awarded best score soundtrack album...
- 2/12/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SXSW top brass have announced an additional 50 titles in the remaining line-up for next month, with world premieres of Alice Lowe’s Timestalker, Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, and Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate among the selection.
Playing in Headliner are Monkey Man, Patel’s feature directorial debut revenge story; Michael Mohan’s Immaculate, which Neon will distribute in the US and stars Sweeney as a nun; and A24’s New Year’s Eve comedy sci-fi Y2K starring Rachel Zegler.
Among Narrative Spotlight selections are Lowe’s UK reincarnation rom-com Timestalker (pictured) sold by HanWay Films and starring herself and...
Playing in Headliner are Monkey Man, Patel’s feature directorial debut revenge story; Michael Mohan’s Immaculate, which Neon will distribute in the US and stars Sweeney as a nun; and A24’s New Year’s Eve comedy sci-fi Y2K starring Rachel Zegler.
Among Narrative Spotlight selections are Lowe’s UK reincarnation rom-com Timestalker (pictured) sold by HanWay Films and starring herself and...
- 2/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Focus Features had landed the worldwide rights to Sean Wang’s feature directorial debut Dídi, which won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film is set in 2008 in the San Francisco Bay Area and, according to the film’s logline, follows an “impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.”
Izaac Wang (Good Boys) stars in the film, alongside Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hu. The film was also awarded the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
THR‘s Sundance review of the film reads: “The film is a very solid entry in the annals of coming-of-age films, reminiscent of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade in both its affection for its young characters and its willingness to meet them on their own terms.
The film is set in 2008 in the San Francisco Bay Area and, according to the film’s logline, follows an “impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.”
Izaac Wang (Good Boys) stars in the film, alongside Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hu. The film was also awarded the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
THR‘s Sundance review of the film reads: “The film is a very solid entry in the annals of coming-of-age films, reminiscent of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade in both its affection for its young characters and its willingness to meet them on their own terms.
- 1/31/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Sean Wang’s popular Sundance coming-of-age tale Didi, winner of the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic special jury award for best ensemble cast.
Didi is set in California’s Bay Area in 2008 and follows a group of first-generation teens seen through the eyes of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy.
Izaac Wang stars alongside Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Chang Li Hua.
Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, and Wang served as producers on the Antigravity Academy and Spark Features production, with Chris Quintos Cathcart, Tyler Boehm, Robina Riccitiello,...
Didi is set in California’s Bay Area in 2008 and follows a group of first-generation teens seen through the eyes of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy.
Izaac Wang stars alongside Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Chang Li Hua.
Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, and Wang served as producers on the Antigravity Academy and Spark Features production, with Chris Quintos Cathcart, Tyler Boehm, Robina Riccitiello,...
- 1/31/2024
- ScreenDaily
“Dìdi,” a coming-of-age drama that won the U.S. dramatic audience award at Sundance, has sold to Focus Features. The semi-autobiographical film was written, produced and directed by Sean Wang in his feature debut.
The film follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy in the throes of an awkward adolescence, as he enjoys the last month of summer before high school begins. He experiences the pangs of first love, becomes friends with some skaters (after promising to make videos of them), fights with his older sister and gets a hard-earned understanding of his mom. It is set in 2008, when MySpace was still a thing and TikTok had yet to explode.
Wang says he hopes that audiences will be able to see a version of themselves in the film, which stars Izaac Wang as the filmmaker’s cinematic alter-ego and Joan Chen (“The Last Emperor”) as his onscreen mother.
“’Dìdi (弟弟)’ is...
The film follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy in the throes of an awkward adolescence, as he enjoys the last month of summer before high school begins. He experiences the pangs of first love, becomes friends with some skaters (after promising to make videos of them), fights with his older sister and gets a hard-earned understanding of his mom. It is set in 2008, when MySpace was still a thing and TikTok had yet to explode.
Wang says he hopes that audiences will be able to see a version of themselves in the film, which stars Izaac Wang as the filmmaker’s cinematic alter-ego and Joan Chen (“The Last Emperor”) as his onscreen mother.
“’Dìdi (弟弟)’ is...
- 1/31/2024
- by Brent Lang and Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Focus Features said Wednesday that it has acquired global rights on Sean Wang’s Dìdi, which won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the just-concluded Sundance Film Festival.
Last week, Wang was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary short Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, which premiered at SXSW last year and won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. That movie hits Disney+ and Hulu on February 9.
Dìdi is set in 2008 in the Bay Area, and a portrait of early millennial first-generation teenagers as seen through the lens of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, played by Izaac Wang. Pic is produced by Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush and Wang. It stars Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hua.
Dìdi is an Antigravity Academy and...
Last week, Wang was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary short Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, which premiered at SXSW last year and won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. That movie hits Disney+ and Hulu on February 9.
Dìdi is set in 2008 in the Bay Area, and a portrait of early millennial first-generation teenagers as seen through the lens of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, played by Izaac Wang. Pic is produced by Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush and Wang. It stars Joan Chen, Shirley Chen and Chang Li Hua.
Dìdi is an Antigravity Academy and...
- 1/31/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“It’s not lost on me that I am probably having the most insane week in a filmmaker’s life,” said 29-year-old Sean Wang, speaking to IndieWire from atop a ski slope right before his producers began to pelt him with snowballs.
Days earlier, fresh off premiering his narrative feature debut (and eventual Audience Award winner) “Dìdi (弟弟)” to a sold out crowd at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” helmer took a quick detour to his hometown of Fremont, California to be alongside his grandmothers at five in the morning, as it was announced that his film that they starred in was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. “[Afterward] we had to get back on a plane to Park City for a screening. So, it was a very hectic and amazing and chaotic morning,” said Wang.
Focusing on the Academy Award-nominated “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó,...
Days earlier, fresh off premiering his narrative feature debut (and eventual Audience Award winner) “Dìdi (弟弟)” to a sold out crowd at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” helmer took a quick detour to his hometown of Fremont, California to be alongside his grandmothers at five in the morning, as it was announced that his film that they starred in was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. “[Afterward] we had to get back on a plane to Park City for a screening. So, it was a very hectic and amazing and chaotic morning,” said Wang.
Focusing on the Academy Award-nominated “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Last year may have been the official return of the Sundance Film Festival to an in-person experience, but the just-concluded 2024 edition felt even more lively: This wasn’t just back to business, this was a full-on coming-out party, with A-list talent on-hand even beyond what you could have expected from the festival in its last couple pre-covid years.
The best movies of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, as determined by IndieWire’s annual critics survey, are an eclectic mix, full of starpower and starmaking turns. And undoubtedly, having all the competition titles screen virtually in the last five days of the fest buoyed the visibility of some — if the celebrities all descended on Park City, Utah, this year, some journalists who used to be in-person regulars opted instead for just the online experience.
If the journalists who responded to IndieWire’s survey, 166 in total, are fewer in number than the past,...
The best movies of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, as determined by IndieWire’s annual critics survey, are an eclectic mix, full of starpower and starmaking turns. And undoubtedly, having all the competition titles screen virtually in the last five days of the fest buoyed the visibility of some — if the celebrities all descended on Park City, Utah, this year, some journalists who used to be in-person regulars opted instead for just the online experience.
If the journalists who responded to IndieWire’s survey, 166 in total, are fewer in number than the past,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Back at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Celine Song’s debut feature, “Past Lives,” premiered to rave reviews and early speculation about its awards chances. That turned out to be prescient. One year later, “Past Lives” is a 2024 Oscars Best Picture nominee, while Song is a nominee for Best Original Screenplay. So with the 2024 Sundance Film Festival at its end, what better time than now to speculate about what next year’s “Past Lives” will be? Whether anything on 2024’s Sundance roster can scale those heights is up for debate, but plenty of promising titles could compete for acting and screenplay prizes. The documentary lineup was robust this year, which makes sense: Six of the last 10 Best Documentary Feature Film winners got their start at Sundance.
Below is a sample of Sundance highlights that could be award contenders this time next year.
Narrative features
“Between the Temples”: It’s hard to fathom,...
Below is a sample of Sundance highlights that could be award contenders this time next year.
Narrative features
“Between the Temples”: It’s hard to fathom,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
Updated throughout with new buys. Despite some initial trepidation, big sales were not in short supply at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, with Netflix spending big on everything from “It’s What’s Inside” to “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” Searchlight Pictures going for “A Real Pain,” Amazon MGM getting in on the “My Old Ass” action, Neon wisely snapping up “Presence,” and Sony Pictures Classics getting down with “Kneecap”, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of superior films still looking for homes.
Of the still-for-sale titles that premiered at this year’s festival, there’s plenty to intrigue all sorts of buyers, from those looking for films with excellent performances that could inspire major awards pushes (like Saoirse Ronan in “The Outrun”), those in search of the next big director, or documentary lovers looking for films with incredible real world impact and fascinating true stories.
And while it’s still early days,...
Of the still-for-sale titles that premiered at this year’s festival, there’s plenty to intrigue all sorts of buyers, from those looking for films with excellent performances that could inspire major awards pushes (like Saoirse Ronan in “The Outrun”), those in search of the next big director, or documentary lovers looking for films with incredible real world impact and fascinating true stories.
And while it’s still early days,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
A still from ‘Didi’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Oscar nominee Sean Wang originally wrote Didi as a love letter to his friends, pulling memories from his childhood as inspiration for his feature film directorial debut. But along the way, Wang discovered Didi isn’t just a love letter for his friends, it’s also for his family, his hometown, and for anyone who feels they don’t belong.
Izaac Wang leads the cast as Chris Wang, also known as Wang-Wang to his friends and Didi to his mom Chungsing (Joan Chen), grandmother Nai Nai, and sister Vivian (Shirley Chen). Chris is 13 and preparing to enter the alien world of high school. Is he ready? No. Is anyone?
Sean Wang’s coming-of-age dramedy is set in 2008, which means Chris’s transformative summer comes at a time when Myspace is still a thing. Facebook and Dm’ing are busy attempting to push Myspace to the curb,...
Oscar nominee Sean Wang originally wrote Didi as a love letter to his friends, pulling memories from his childhood as inspiration for his feature film directorial debut. But along the way, Wang discovered Didi isn’t just a love letter for his friends, it’s also for his family, his hometown, and for anyone who feels they don’t belong.
Izaac Wang leads the cast as Chris Wang, also known as Wang-Wang to his friends and Didi to his mom Chungsing (Joan Chen), grandmother Nai Nai, and sister Vivian (Shirley Chen). Chris is 13 and preparing to enter the alien world of high school. Is he ready? No. Is anyone?
Sean Wang’s coming-of-age dramedy is set in 2008, which means Chris’s transformative summer comes at a time when Myspace is still a thing. Facebook and Dm’ing are busy attempting to push Myspace to the curb,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
This is one of best discoveries of Sundance 2024. A knock out - loved every second of it. 2024 is a big year for the talented Taiwanese-American filmmaker Sean Wang, who is originally from Fremont, CA. Not only does he have this feature debut movie premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and it's getting rave reviews (and it won the Audience Award), he's also probably going to win an Academy Award in March for his short film Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó about his grannies (it's also streaming on Disney+ in February). Sundance has a memorably rich tradition of premiering many of the best coming-of-age films of all-time, ranging from 500 Days of Summer to Napoleon Dynamite to Little Miss Sunshine to The Spectacular Now to Clerks to Eighth Grade to Boyhood, and so many others over the years. Sean Wang's Dìdi (弟弟) instantly joins the ranks as yet another outstanding coming-of-age...
- 1/29/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The Sundance Film Festival 2024 coverage continues with two entries involving youth and navigating social circles at a vulnerable age.
The first is a sequel to the documentary Boys State titled Girls State, where the girls run mock elections in a massive group.
The second film is a coming-of-age story called Didi, about an Asian American teenager learning to be true to himself in an awkward phase of life.
Both movies are derived from different genres but equally, have something to say about finding oneself in a large social gathering.
Should viewers see these movies?
Here are our capsule reviews of Didi and Girls State from Sundance 2024.
Girls State
Girls State is a documentary of a different flavor than its predecessor. The first entry was a captivating spotlight on how cutthroat politics can be, even among children. Boys State felt similar to the Stanford Prison Experiment, where personalities change when thrown inside a simulation.
The first is a sequel to the documentary Boys State titled Girls State, where the girls run mock elections in a massive group.
The second film is a coming-of-age story called Didi, about an Asian American teenager learning to be true to himself in an awkward phase of life.
Both movies are derived from different genres but equally, have something to say about finding oneself in a large social gathering.
Should viewers see these movies?
Here are our capsule reviews of Didi and Girls State from Sundance 2024.
Girls State
Girls State is a documentary of a different flavor than its predecessor. The first entry was a captivating spotlight on how cutthroat politics can be, even among children. Boys State felt similar to the Stanford Prison Experiment, where personalities change when thrown inside a simulation.
- 1/28/2024
- by John Dotson
- Monsters and Critics
There’s something magical that happens to most people around the age of 13. For many, that’s when you might have your first real romantic love. Maybe that’s when your friend group transitions from the kids you grew up with to the new people you meet. And it’s a time when you make many mistakes—the kind that feel cataclysmic at the time but aren’t all that important in the grand scheme of things. For some, it’s all of the above.
Continue reading ‘Dìdi’ Review: Sean Wang Bares His Heart & Soul In A Crowd-Pleasing Coming-Of-Age Tale [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Dìdi’ Review: Sean Wang Bares His Heart & Soul In A Crowd-Pleasing Coming-Of-Age Tale [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/27/2024
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
The Sundance Film Festival announced its 2024 winners on January 26, two days before the festival’s end date. The Awards Ceremony took place at The Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. This year marks its 40th annual festival run taking place from January 18 to January 28.
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
The official awards for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, held in Park City, Utah every January, were announced this morning with a small ceremony held in person in Utah. This always marks the end of the fest, with a few days of screenings left. The festival played on this week with an at-home online series of viewings in addition to all the in-person premieres. It was a fairly impressive year, with a handful of terrific films, along with plenty of duds as well – and a smaller line-up with only around 92 new films premiering (compared to over 100 last year). The main winners for 2024 include In the Summers, taking home Grand Jury Prize & Directing Award; along with Sean Wang's Dìdi (弟弟) winning the coveted Audience Award and a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble. In addition, the festival favorite is the documentary titled Daughters, playing in the U.S. Doc competition section.
- 1/26/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"Today we dance!" Disney has unveiled the official trailer for an acclaimed short doc film titled Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó, made by filmmaker Sean Wang. This is a huge month for Wang, who not only received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short for this film, he also just premiered his feature debut Didi at Sundance, where it also won the prestigious Audience Award. He's breaking out in a big way! Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó is a personal love letter from director Sean Wang to his Nai Nai and Wài Pó, a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away. It originally premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. "Introducing: my Nǎi Nai (奶奶) & Wài Pó (外婆). I hope you love them as much as I love them." Starring Chang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei. This will be streaming on Disney+ next month right before the...
- 1/26/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
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