Some apotheosis of film culture has been reached with Freddy Got Fingered‘s addition to the Criterion Channel. Three years after we interviewed Tom Green about his consummate film maudit, it’s appearing on the service’s Razzie-centered program that also includes the now-admired likes of Cruising, Heaven’s Gate, Querelle, and Ishtar; the still-due likes of Under the Cherry Moon; and the more-contested Gigli, Swept Away, and Nicolas Cage-led Wicker Man. In all cases it’s an opportunity to reconsider one of the lamest, thin-gruel entities in modern culture.
A Jane Russell retro features von Sternberg’s Macao, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Raoul Walsh’s The Tall Men and The Revolt of Mamie Stover; streaming premieres will be held for Yuen Woo-ping’s Dreadnaught, Claire Simon’s Our Body, Ellie Foumbi’s Our Father, the Devil, the recently restored Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles, and The Passion of Rememberance.
A Jane Russell retro features von Sternberg’s Macao, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Raoul Walsh’s The Tall Men and The Revolt of Mamie Stover; streaming premieres will be held for Yuen Woo-ping’s Dreadnaught, Claire Simon’s Our Body, Ellie Foumbi’s Our Father, the Devil, the recently restored Sepa: Our Lord of Miracles, and The Passion of Rememberance.
- 2/14/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Cannes darling “May December” has unveiled its first trailer starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. Directed by filmmaker Todd Haynes, the film first premiered back in May and is set for a limited theatrical release before hitting Netflix.
“May December” is based loosely on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, an American teacher charged with having a sexual relationship with one of her 12-year-old students. The film follows Hollywood actor Elizabeth Berry (Portman) who is tasked with portraying Letourneau stand-in Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore) on screen.
Elizabeth gets the chance to spend time with Gracie to better research her role, and delves into her convoluted family ties, a family that consists of Gracie, her young husband Joe Yoo (Melton) and the baby they conceived when was Joe was only 13 years old and Gracie gave birth to behind bars.
“May December” was written by screenwriter Samy Burch and also stars D.W. Moffett,...
“May December” is based loosely on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, an American teacher charged with having a sexual relationship with one of her 12-year-old students. The film follows Hollywood actor Elizabeth Berry (Portman) who is tasked with portraying Letourneau stand-in Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore) on screen.
Elizabeth gets the chance to spend time with Gracie to better research her role, and delves into her convoluted family ties, a family that consists of Gracie, her young husband Joe Yoo (Melton) and the baby they conceived when was Joe was only 13 years old and Gracie gave birth to behind bars.
“May December” was written by screenwriter Samy Burch and also stars D.W. Moffett,...
- 9/26/2023
- by Sophia Scorziello
- Variety Film + TV
In the experimental montage that opens “Persona,” a bare-chested teenage boy caresses a screen upon which the faces of two women slowly morph back and forth. It’s easy to imagine Todd Haynes being tempted to start his deep-as-you-want-to-go rabbit-hole drama “May December” the same way, seeing as how this endlessly fascinating movie focuses on the blurring of the lines between a Hollywood star (Natalie Portman) and her true-crime character (Julianne Moore), who was caught in a sexual relationship with a 7th grader at the age of 36. The movie wants to know: Can playing this Mary Kay Letourneau-like tabloid sensation really answer what makes such a woman tick?
A heady director whose entire oeuvre feels ripe for film-studies dissertations, Haynes makes movies not merely to be watched, but to be analyzed and deconstructed after the fact. From the rich Douglas Sirkian pastiche of “Far From Heaven” to the queer...
A heady director whose entire oeuvre feels ripe for film-studies dissertations, Haynes makes movies not merely to be watched, but to be analyzed and deconstructed after the fact. From the rich Douglas Sirkian pastiche of “Far From Heaven” to the queer...
- 5/20/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Natalie Portman plays Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes’ deliciously shapeshifting, saucily witty psychodrama “May December,” a mysterious “Russian Doll” of a film on identity and performance that reveals itself in mischievous doses. Or rather, Elizabeth Berry—a famous actress portrayed by Portman—plays Gracie Atherton-Yoo, Moore’s seemingly happily married character who was mixed up in a sex scandal back in the ‘90s.
And what a tabloid scandal it was… In her 30s at the time, Gracie—already married with children—had an illegal affair with a minor, the then 13-year-old Joe Yoo. The two were caught, let’s say, in a compromising situation in a stock room of a pet shop, an incident that rocked the nation, and led to Gracie’s arrest and registration as a sex offender.
Two decades later, the couple seems happily married, with Gracie running a small-scaled baking business at home, leading a quiet life with three kids.
And what a tabloid scandal it was… In her 30s at the time, Gracie—already married with children—had an illegal affair with a minor, the then 13-year-old Joe Yoo. The two were caught, let’s say, in a compromising situation in a stock room of a pet shop, an incident that rocked the nation, and led to Gracie’s arrest and registration as a sex offender.
Two decades later, the couple seems happily married, with Gracie running a small-scaled baking business at home, leading a quiet life with three kids.
- 5/20/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
Reconstruction in documentary filmmaking is an eternally divisive technique: What some deem vivid and immediate, others find distancing and artificial, cloaking and blurring reality in the language of fiction cinema. Yet what if the reconstructions don’t just feature the documentary’s real-life subjects, but are expressly conceived and realized by them — not recreating reality so much as their lingering, haunted memories thereof? That’s a different proposition entirely, as is “Procession,” a risky, wrenching film in which celebrated docmaker Robert Greene frequently surrenders the directorial reins to his subjects and collaborators: six middle-aged, middle-American men living with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic Church priests and clergymen.
With each of these survivors given the means and support to make an interpretive short film rooted in their decades-old experience, “Procession” is intricately woven from the amateur filmmakers’ original work, alongside Greene’s patient, empathetic observation of their creative process.
With each of these survivors given the means and support to make an interpretive short film rooted in their decades-old experience, “Procession” is intricately woven from the amateur filmmakers’ original work, alongside Greene’s patient, empathetic observation of their creative process.
- 2/8/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Greene had an idea. The filmmaker behind such blurred-line experimental documentaries as Kate Plays Christine (2016) and Bisbee ’17 (2018) had seen a Kansas City press conference, in which an attorney named Rebecca Randles and her clients — four men who’d been abused by Catholic priests as kids — were demanding that the authorities in Kansas and Missouri begin criminal investigations into the incidents. Never mind the statute of limitations; after discovering that more than 230 priests “that we know of” in the area who’d been actively abusive over several decades, it was...
- 11/19/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
There have been many movies about victims telling their stories for the first time, but “Procession” is one of the few to put survivors in control of the narrative itself. Filmmaker Robert Greene’s boundary-pushing documentary explores the experiences of six adult men who suffered sexual abuse from Catholic priests and clergy, but rather than simply asking them to recall their harrowing experiences, the movie finds them collaborating on reenactments as a form of drama therapy.
This risky gamble tracks with Greene’s other experimental approaches to teasing out the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction, but it also introduces a more holistic qualify to the approach. The six victims at the center of “Procession” — Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Ed Gavagan, Dan Laurine, Michael Sandridge, and Tom Viviano — work together throughout the movie to develop scenes that capture the power dynamic behind the abuse they suffered. They also revisit locations where...
This risky gamble tracks with Greene’s other experimental approaches to teasing out the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction, but it also introduces a more holistic qualify to the approach. The six victims at the center of “Procession” — Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Ed Gavagan, Dan Laurine, Michael Sandridge, and Tom Viviano — work together throughout the movie to develop scenes that capture the power dynamic behind the abuse they suffered. They also revisit locations where...
- 11/15/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Netflix’s awards hopefuls Robert Greene’s “Procession” and Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “A Cop Movie” are heading to Manhattan’s Paris Theater as part of its “New Directions in Documentary” series.
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
- 10/5/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The Criterion Channel’s September 2020 Lineup Includes Sátántangó, Agnès Varda, Albert Brooks & More
As the coronavirus pandemic still rages on, precious few remain skeptical about going to the movies. But while your AMCs and others claim some godlike safety from Covid, there remains a chunk of people still uncomfortable hitting up theaters. To them, we bring you the September 2020 Criterion Channel lineup.
It starts off with quite the swath of content too. Béla Tarr’s Sátántangó hits the service on September 1, and its seven-plus hours should take up a large chunk of your day. Coming soon after is a collection of more than a dozen Joan Blondell starrers from the pre-Code era, including Howard Hawks’ The Crowd Roars, three collaborations with Mervyn LeRoy, and Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley’s Dames.
For some stuff released almost a century later, the service also sees the addition of documentary bender Robert Greene. His Actress, Kate Plays Christine, and Bisbee ’17 join soon after. Janicza Bravo, director of Lemon,...
It starts off with quite the swath of content too. Béla Tarr’s Sátántangó hits the service on September 1, and its seven-plus hours should take up a large chunk of your day. Coming soon after is a collection of more than a dozen Joan Blondell starrers from the pre-Code era, including Howard Hawks’ The Crowd Roars, three collaborations with Mervyn LeRoy, and Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley’s Dames.
For some stuff released almost a century later, the service also sees the addition of documentary bender Robert Greene. His Actress, Kate Plays Christine, and Bisbee ’17 join soon after. Janicza Bravo, director of Lemon,...
- 8/25/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
It’s altogether fitting that “She Dies Tomorrow” was scheduled to have its world premiere at a film festival that was canceled, South by Southwest, because Amy Seimetz’s indie drama is definitely a movie for this particular, strange and scary time. Seimetz didn’t know it when she made the film, of course, but a movie based on a pervasive sense of all-encompassing dread that spreads from person to person is pretty much right in tune with the prevailing mood of 2020.
It’s a movie about existential panic that happens to be coming out at a time of, well, existential panic. That might make it the last thing some people want to see at this point, or it might make it a disquieting indie thrill ride through a dysfunctional world that isn’t really ours but kind of feels like it.
The lead character, probably not coincidentally named Amy,...
It’s a movie about existential panic that happens to be coming out at a time of, well, existential panic. That might make it the last thing some people want to see at this point, or it might make it a disquieting indie thrill ride through a dysfunctional world that isn’t really ours but kind of feels like it.
The lead character, probably not coincidentally named Amy,...
- 8/2/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Even if you haven’t experienced one, you might be familiar with the sensation of a panic attack or a supposedly irrational fear like claustrophobia, both of which can suffocate their victims with a feeling of impending death. Once triggered, those internal alarms present a lonely state of being — an alternate plane of existence with its own set of survival rules, hard to describe, even harder to reason with. In the lean, lurid and slow-burning psychodrama “She Dies Tomorrow,” filmmaker Amy Seimetz ingeniously expresses the feeling of being stuck in such a fugue, inexplicable to anyone other than those clutched by its claws in a given moment.
Indeed, a type of existential dread akin to that of “Mulholland Drive” and “It Follows” lies at the root of “She Dies Tomorrow,” which was set to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, before the event became a casualty of the contagion. Seimetz...
Indeed, a type of existential dread akin to that of “Mulholland Drive” and “It Follows” lies at the root of “She Dies Tomorrow,” which was set to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, before the event became a casualty of the contagion. Seimetz...
- 7/29/2020
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Greene is a documentary filmmaker whose credits include the Sundance-acclaimed “Bisbee ‘17” and “Kate Plays Christine.” He teaches at the Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism.
The first word that comes to mind while watching D.A. Pennebaker’s 1953 debut film “Daybreak Express” is love – love of light, love of movement, love of music, love of ideas. In five wildly inventive minutes, the great filmmaker, who died earlier this week in his home at the age of 94, uses various cinematic techniques to capture and recreate the rush of a New York City subway commute. Edited to an exuberant score by Duke Ellington, “Daybreak Express” was part of a groundbreaking group of films that revealed the abstract and musical potential of the observational camera. It was created by a man who loved the act of making things and loved pushing the documentary form forward.
A few years later,...
The first word that comes to mind while watching D.A. Pennebaker’s 1953 debut film “Daybreak Express” is love – love of light, love of movement, love of music, love of ideas. In five wildly inventive minutes, the great filmmaker, who died earlier this week in his home at the age of 94, uses various cinematic techniques to capture and recreate the rush of a New York City subway commute. Edited to an exuberant score by Duke Ellington, “Daybreak Express” was part of a groundbreaking group of films that revealed the abstract and musical potential of the observational camera. It was created by a man who loved the act of making things and loved pushing the documentary form forward.
A few years later,...
- 8/4/2019
- by Robert Greene
- Indiewire
Netflix has decided to submit Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story” for documentary awards including the Oscars, a spokesperson for the streaming service told TheWrap on Monday.
And that decision, which came after Netflix and Scorsese spent some time figuring out how best to position the film, will likely pose at least a small conundrum for the Academy’s Documentary Branch and for other awards bodies devoted to nonfiction film.
“Rolling Thunder Revue,” after all, uses the documentary form to tell the story of Dylan’s 1975 concert tour in a way that is partly factual and partly fictional. “It seems like a stretch for the doc branch, despite enormous respect for Scorsese,” suggested one person close to the branch.
But a branch official disagreed. “I would imagine we’d accept the submission and leave it up to the voting members to decide,” the person said, cognizant...
And that decision, which came after Netflix and Scorsese spent some time figuring out how best to position the film, will likely pose at least a small conundrum for the Academy’s Documentary Branch and for other awards bodies devoted to nonfiction film.
“Rolling Thunder Revue,” after all, uses the documentary form to tell the story of Dylan’s 1975 concert tour in a way that is partly factual and partly fictional. “It seems like a stretch for the doc branch, despite enormous respect for Scorsese,” suggested one person close to the branch.
But a branch official disagreed. “I would imagine we’d accept the submission and leave it up to the voting members to decide,” the person said, cognizant...
- 6/25/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Nowadays, one can’t open a film festival line-up without seeing the words “documentary/narrative hybrid.” Though the documentary community is touchy about the nomenclature — (is it docu-ficton? docu-drama? Aren’t all documentaries narrative in some way?) — there’s no disputing that films that challenge the conventions of traditional documentary storytelling are lately in vogue. Robert Greene has built a career on provocative genre agnostic films such as “Bisbee ’17” and “Kate Plays Christine;” Errol Morris’ “Wormwood” pushed the form to new artistic heights; even Martin Scorsese recently toyed with audiences with the tongue-in-cheek Bob Dylan tribute “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
Blending fact and fiction is old hat for Jack Hazan, the filmmaker behind “A Bigger Splash,” a beguiling meditation on love and art forged from the real life of English painter David Hockney. Borrowing its title from one of Hockney’s most famous paintings, the film follows Hockney as he struggles...
Blending fact and fiction is old hat for Jack Hazan, the filmmaker behind “A Bigger Splash,” a beguiling meditation on love and art forged from the real life of English painter David Hockney. Borrowing its title from one of Hockney’s most famous paintings, the film follows Hockney as he struggles...
- 6/21/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The final months of 2019 will see an onslaught of lists naming the best movies and performances of the decade, but World of the Reel got a jump on the bandwagon by publishing this week the first massive critics’ poll devoted to figuring out the most beloved titles released since January 1, 2010. The publication asked 250 critics, programmers, academics, and filmmakers to list their five favorite movies of the decade. Any film released between January 2010 and April 2019 was eligible. Pollers included IndieWire’s own Eric Kohn, Christian Blauvelt, Michael Nordine, and Tom Brueggemann.
Topping the list in first place was George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The universally beloved “Mad Max” film was the rare studio blockbuster to make a killing at the Academy Awards, winning six Oscars and scoring major nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. IndieWire recently named “Fury Road” the greatest action film of the 21st century.
Topping the list in first place was George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The universally beloved “Mad Max” film was the rare studio blockbuster to make a killing at the Academy Awards, winning six Oscars and scoring major nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. IndieWire recently named “Fury Road” the greatest action film of the 21st century.
- 5/1/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The end of the year is often seen as a time when awards season gains momentum and critics produce their top 10 lists, but for much of the film industry, it’s also the first big preview of 2018 movies. Thanks to the Sundance Film Festival lineup, which in January will include 110 movies from 29 countries, a fresh crop of films to talk about have just been announced, many of which are certain to continue generating conversations throughout the year.
However, the Sundance program takes its time to gather buzz, and it’s not always obvious which movies deserve the most attention right off the bat. So here’s our annual attempt to take a first crack at some of the surprises and hidden gems in the lineup, with some input from Sundance director John Cooper and director of programming Trevor Groth. We’re as excited as anyone to see Paul Dano’s...
However, the Sundance program takes its time to gather buzz, and it’s not always obvious which movies deserve the most attention right off the bat. So here’s our annual attempt to take a first crack at some of the surprises and hidden gems in the lineup, with some input from Sundance director John Cooper and director of programming Trevor Groth. We’re as excited as anyone to see Paul Dano’s...
- 11/29/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The fall is often perceived as the launch pad for awards season, as numerous prestige films compete for attention in the final weeks of the year. For much of the film community, however, it’s also the first major window into movies worth talking about next year. That’s because the Sundance Film Festival lineup typically drops in the middle of November, shaking up the holiday season with a mixture of familiar faces and newcomers who could make an impact in Park City this January. With programmers working in overdrive to complete the lineup in the coming weeks, and filmmakers praying to break through as the deadlines loom, we’ve cobbled together as much intel as we can for this extensive preview featuring dozens of promising titles that stand a good chance at making their way to Sundance this year. As usual, we’ve tried to avoid projects that are...
- 11/20/2017
- by Eric Kohn, Jude Dry, Chris O'Falt, Kate Erbland, Jenna Marotta, David Ehrlich and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Now in its eighth year, the American Film Festival offers a unique perspective on recent developments in U.S. indie filmmaking. That’s because it happens in Poland, staged at the stylish Kino Nowe Horyzonty film center in Wroclaw, also home to the summer New Horizons festival, which has more of a European tilt.
Although the festival, which recently concluded, surveys many favorites from Sundance and South by Southwest, the curation doesn’t merely transpose selections to a new setting. It imports a lively assortment of filmmakers, as well, and creates a cozy, engaged atmosphere more akin to the communal vibe of the Maryland Film Festival. Indeed, to rub shoulders in a crowd that included Jody Lee Lipes, Noel Wells, Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, producer Mike Ryan, Jessica Oreck and Mike Ott is to experience a deep dive into the creative bustle of current indie ferment.
That spirit is...
Although the festival, which recently concluded, surveys many favorites from Sundance and South by Southwest, the curation doesn’t merely transpose selections to a new setting. It imports a lively assortment of filmmakers, as well, and creates a cozy, engaged atmosphere more akin to the communal vibe of the Maryland Film Festival. Indeed, to rub shoulders in a crowd that included Jody Lee Lipes, Noel Wells, Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, producer Mike Ryan, Jessica Oreck and Mike Ott is to experience a deep dive into the creative bustle of current indie ferment.
That spirit is...
- 11/14/2017
- by Steve Dollar
- Indiewire
Never heard of “Within the Wires” before? The podcast’s latest episode will have you hooked in no more than 10 words: “Welcome to the Tate Modern, of the former United Kingdom.” Presented plainly, with a hint of warmth and a dollop of intrigue, “Within the Wires” is an audio fiction series that draws its power from phrases like “former United Kingdom.” To us, they feel like jarring glitches in reality, but within the world of the show they’re treated as mere fact.
The thrilling first season of “Within the Wires” (a production of the “Night Vale Presents” network) was told through a single narrator, taking the form of a series of relaxation tapes that, over time, revealed a world much more complex than a disembodied voice instructing you to pay attention to your breathing. Roping in themes of family and mental health, showing an otherworldly sense of memory loss,...
The thrilling first season of “Within the Wires” (a production of the “Night Vale Presents” network) was told through a single narrator, taking the form of a series of relaxation tapes that, over time, revealed a world much more complex than a disembodied voice instructing you to pay attention to your breathing. Roping in themes of family and mental health, showing an otherworldly sense of memory loss,...
- 9/6/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
One of the most unexpected breakouts at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Danielle MacDonald for playing Patricia Dombroski — aka Patti Cake$ — a 23-year-old, heavy-set Jersey girl with dreams of rap stardom. MacDonald carries the film not only with her acting, but her hip hop performances. There was just one problem that the Australian actress faced: She had never rapped before in her life.
Read More:‘Patti Cake$’ Review: Here’s the Best Hip-Hop Movie Since ‘Hustle & Flow’ – Sundance 2017
“I just wanted an actress first,” said writer-director Jasper in an interview for IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast this week. “We decided to cast an actress over a musician just because there are so many heavy scenes, there’s comedic scenes, there’s dramatic scenes, she had to do some much – she had to carry the film, she’s in every single scene.”
Jasper, who was musician before he was a filmmaker,...
Read More:‘Patti Cake$’ Review: Here’s the Best Hip-Hop Movie Since ‘Hustle & Flow’ – Sundance 2017
“I just wanted an actress first,” said writer-director Jasper in an interview for IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast this week. “We decided to cast an actress over a musician just because there are so many heavy scenes, there’s comedic scenes, there’s dramatic scenes, she had to do some much – she had to carry the film, she’s in every single scene.”
Jasper, who was musician before he was a filmmaker,...
- 8/17/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The idea of a Hollywood star getting some indie street cred by taking a massive pay cut to support the work of an edgy, up-and-coming auteur is hardly a new concept, but describes at least half the films at Sundance. However, the films of Josh and Benny Safdie are more than their somewhat simplified reputation as gritty New York filmmakers, and the decision by Robert Pattinson to star in the pair’s new film isn’t your run-of-the-mill case of an actor looking for street cred.
The Safdies’ distinctive guerilla-style approach to filmmaking on busy streets, often with amateur performers – who embody the underbelly of the city – is a cinematic world based on complete authenticity and the product of an immersive creative process that requires, as Benny described it, “being put through the ringer.”
Read More:Robert Pattinson Gives a Career-Best Performance in the Safdie Brothers’ ‘Good Time’ — Cannes 2017 Review...
The Safdies’ distinctive guerilla-style approach to filmmaking on busy streets, often with amateur performers – who embody the underbelly of the city – is a cinematic world based on complete authenticity and the product of an immersive creative process that requires, as Benny described it, “being put through the ringer.”
Read More:Robert Pattinson Gives a Career-Best Performance in the Safdie Brothers’ ‘Good Time’ — Cannes 2017 Review...
- 8/11/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
There’s one thing that connects some of my favorite American independent films of the last few years: cinematography of Sean Price Williams. Following Listen Up Philip, Kate Plays Christine, Heaven Knows What, Golden Exits, Marjorie Prime, Queen of Earth, and Good Time, his latest project is Thirst Street, from director Nathan Silver. Ahead of a September release, the first trailer has landed for the film following an American flight attendant who tries to make a romantic connection in Paris and things don’t go as planned.
“Sean [Price Williams] and I were talking and one key image was that crazy image from Fassbinder’s Lola (1981) where she’s sitting in bed and there are a million different colours on her,” Silver tells The Seventh Art. “We talked about always looking for ways to heighten the lighting and we used anamorphic lenses in Paris and then when we were in the U.
“Sean [Price Williams] and I were talking and one key image was that crazy image from Fassbinder’s Lola (1981) where she’s sitting in bed and there are a million different colours on her,” Silver tells The Seventh Art. “We talked about always looking for ways to heighten the lighting and we used anamorphic lenses in Paris and then when we were in the U.
- 8/9/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Before writer-director Kogonada’s “Columbus” was a critically acclaimed breakout at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, he first made a name for himself in the film world by creating popular video essays about great auteurs ranging from Stanley Kubrick to Wes Anderson. As a recent guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, he discussed how these online videos were key to his transition from the academic world – where he was writing a dissertation about the films of Yasujiro Ozu – to becoming a filmmaker himself.
“I feel like I’ve always been an accidental academic,” said Kogonada (who does not use his last name and has never revealed it publicly). “I had a set of questions that started one way and was very philosophical and a bit existential, but it ultimately led me to Ozu.”
Read More‘Columbus’ Review: Kogonada’s Directorial Debut Is a Feast for the Eyes and...
“I feel like I’ve always been an accidental academic,” said Kogonada (who does not use his last name and has never revealed it publicly). “I had a set of questions that started one way and was very philosophical and a bit existential, but it ultimately led me to Ozu.”
Read More‘Columbus’ Review: Kogonada’s Directorial Debut Is a Feast for the Eyes and...
- 8/7/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
At its heart, “A Ghost Story” is a meditation on the enormity of time. It’s a topic writer and director David Lowery has on his mind quite a bit, so much that he can turn simple matters in his personal life into an existential crisis.
“I remember wanting to buy a vintage movie poster on eBay,” said Lowery, when he was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “[T]hen thinking, well, I shouldn’t spend the money on this because in 200 years I’m going to be dead and a million years after that the poster’s not going to exist anymore, so what’s the point.”
Read More: The 17 Best Indie Movies of 2017 (So Far)
The jumping off point for “A Ghost Story” stemmed from an argument Lowery and his wife were having about moving out of their small rental house in Dallas. Just like with the poster,...
“I remember wanting to buy a vintage movie poster on eBay,” said Lowery, when he was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “[T]hen thinking, well, I shouldn’t spend the money on this because in 200 years I’m going to be dead and a million years after that the poster’s not going to exist anymore, so what’s the point.”
Read More: The 17 Best Indie Movies of 2017 (So Far)
The jumping off point for “A Ghost Story” stemmed from an argument Lowery and his wife were having about moving out of their small rental house in Dallas. Just like with the poster,...
- 7/14/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
When Trey Edward Shults was 18 years old, he went to Hawaii for the summer to stay with his aunt Krisha – yes, the same Krisha who starred in his 2016 breakout “Krisha.” His aunt was connected to small filmmaking community on the island and got her nephew jobs working on commercials and other productions.
Read More: ‘It Comes at Night’: Why A24 Took a Gamble on a New Filmmaker’s Ambitious Horror Vision
“I lucked out and got on this Terrence Malick movie,” said Shults when he was guest on IndeWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. The small crew, sans Malick, was shooting footage of a volcano for the documentary “Voyage of Time.”
“It was five guys with an IMAX camera,” said Shults. “I loved movies, but I didn’t know how they were made, really. I didn’t even get what the guy [the film loader] in the changing bag with the film was...
Read More: ‘It Comes at Night’: Why A24 Took a Gamble on a New Filmmaker’s Ambitious Horror Vision
“I lucked out and got on this Terrence Malick movie,” said Shults when he was guest on IndeWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. The small crew, sans Malick, was shooting footage of a volcano for the documentary “Voyage of Time.”
“It was five guys with an IMAX camera,” said Shults. “I loved movies, but I didn’t know how they were made, really. I didn’t even get what the guy [the film loader] in the changing bag with the film was...
- 6/16/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Sam Esmail’s paranoid fictional world of hackers, the FBI and one all too powerful corporation has struck a cord with the devoted fans of “Mr. Robot,” but the show has also become known for being oddly prescient since it first premiered two summers ago. It’s therefore natural to speculate whether Season 3 (currently in production) will be impacted by the election of President Trump – and the idea that Russia “hacked” the United States election – especially considering that Esmail hasn’t been shy about sharing his opinions about the 45th President.
Read More: The ‘Mr. Robot’ Experiment: Can a TV Show Be Shot Like an Indie Film?
“I don’t think it’s political to dislike Trump,” said Esmail, during an interview for this week’s Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast. “I don’t think it’s controversial to say he’s a bad president. He’s clearly a bad president. He...
Read More: The ‘Mr. Robot’ Experiment: Can a TV Show Be Shot Like an Indie Film?
“I don’t think it’s political to dislike Trump,” said Esmail, during an interview for this week’s Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast. “I don’t think it’s controversial to say he’s a bad president. He’s clearly a bad president. He...
- 6/2/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
When Netflix announced it would finance the third season of the British sci-fi anthology “Black Mirror,” series creator Charlie Brooker knew he’d be accused of selling out. And then, the much-regarded, much-discussed “San Junipero” episode seemed to confirm his critics’ worst fears. For a show that revolved around dark stories of the future in which technology wreaks havoc, here was a fairly optimistic story about two women failing in love in the virtual-reality world of a sunny California beach town in the ’80s.
“‘San Junipero’ was the first script I wrote for season three, and it was partly I thought I’m going to blow up my idea of what a ‘Black Mirror’ episode is, so it has a very different tone,” said Brooker, who joined IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast with executive producer Annabel Jones. “And partly, I’d read people moaning, ‘Oh, I see Black Mirror’s gone to Netflix,...
“‘San Junipero’ was the first script I wrote for season three, and it was partly I thought I’m going to blow up my idea of what a ‘Black Mirror’ episode is, so it has a very different tone,” said Brooker, who joined IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast with executive producer Annabel Jones. “And partly, I’d read people moaning, ‘Oh, I see Black Mirror’s gone to Netflix,...
- 5/26/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
“Where is the hope?”
That was the question was posed last week at one of the world’s most prominent launch pads for nonfiction films in development — Hot Docs Pitch Forum — and it reflected the general mood in the room.
As 20 filmmaking teams pitched their projects to dozens of top decision-makers, funders, and broadcasters sitting around the long wooden table in the Gothic-designed Hart House at the University of Toronto, there was a particular excitement for new documentaries that were “fresh,” “optimistic” and “fun”—to use some of the words spoken publically over the two-day pitch-a-thon.
See MoreHow Hot Docs, North America’s Smartest Festival, Could Anoint an Oscar Winner
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could see those same powerbrokers struggling over what to do with still essential, but tough issue-driven films having to do with post-revolutionary countries in the Middle East or the global refugee crisis.
That was the question was posed last week at one of the world’s most prominent launch pads for nonfiction films in development — Hot Docs Pitch Forum — and it reflected the general mood in the room.
As 20 filmmaking teams pitched their projects to dozens of top decision-makers, funders, and broadcasters sitting around the long wooden table in the Gothic-designed Hart House at the University of Toronto, there was a particular excitement for new documentaries that were “fresh,” “optimistic” and “fun”—to use some of the words spoken publically over the two-day pitch-a-thon.
See MoreHow Hot Docs, North America’s Smartest Festival, Could Anoint an Oscar Winner
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could see those same powerbrokers struggling over what to do with still essential, but tough issue-driven films having to do with post-revolutionary countries in the Middle East or the global refugee crisis.
- 5/10/2017
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
When it comes to documentary filmmaking, the issue of perspective is often of paramount importance. A great deal of sensitivity and tact is required in telling any true story, especially one as fraught and horrifying as the unsolved murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the six-year-old pageant queen who was murdered in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado. Kitty Green opts for a peculiar and altogether unsettling approach in her new documentary Casting JonBenet, one that utilizes a wide canvas of perspectives to approach some measure of understanding. Like a great deal of worthwhile documentaries, it offers numerous suggestions without ever providing any concrete answers, and leaves the viewer to sift through the evidence, so to speak.
Said evidence is provided by various actors — mostly consisting of Boulder residents — who are ostensibly auditioning for a filmed reproduction of the murder and unsolved investigation. This ersatz movie is, as may be surmised, a mere pretense to...
Said evidence is provided by various actors — mostly consisting of Boulder residents — who are ostensibly auditioning for a filmed reproduction of the murder and unsolved investigation. This ersatz movie is, as may be surmised, a mere pretense to...
- 4/28/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Every festival offers up the possibility of discovering something new — new stars, new films, new shows, new platforms — and this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is no different. Now in its sixteenth year, the New York City-set festival continues to grow and change, while constantly embracing what’s new and what’s next. The 2017 edition of the festival includes plenty of rising names to get excited about, from writers and directors to actors and actual platforms for hot content delivery. Who’s going to change the industry in the coming years? We’ve got some ideas.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 19 – 30. Check out some of the hottest breakouts to watch out for at the fest.
Read More: Tribeca 2017: 14 Must-See Films From This Year’s Festival
Brian Shoaf, writer and director, “Aardvark”
Not much is known about Brian Shoaf, whose IMDb page is currently topped...
- 4/19/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Now in its sixteenth year, New York City’s own Tribeca Film Festival kicks off every spring with a wide variety of programming on offer, from an ever-expanding Vr installation to an enviable television lineup, but the bread and butter of the annual festival is still in its film slate. This year’s festival offers up plenty of returning favorites with new projects, alongside fresh faces itching to break out. From insightful documentaries to fanciful features, with a heavy dose of Gotham-centric films (hey, it is Tribeca after all), there’s plenty to dive into here, so we’ve culled the schedule for a few surefire hits.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 20 – 30. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
Read More: Why ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is the Most Anticipated Screening of the Tribeca Film Festival
“A Gray State”
It might be the craziest story...
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 20 – 30. Check out some of our must-see picks below.
Read More: Why ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is the Most Anticipated Screening of the Tribeca Film Festival
“A Gray State”
It might be the craziest story...
- 4/17/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
After James Gray finished reading David Grann’s book “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon” – a nonfiction chronicle of British explorer Percy Fawcett’s obsessive quest to find a lost civilization buried deep in the Amazonian jungle – he was confused why Brad Pitt had sent it to him.
“I have absolutely no idea what they want me to do this,” said Gray when he was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “There had been nothing in my career as a director that had shown I could do anything like this.”
Paramount had bought the book for Pitt , whose production company Plan B (“Moonlight,” “12 Years a Slave”) ultimately produced the film. Pitt had always wanted to work with Gray, and while it didn’t happen this time, Pitt will star in Gray’s Sci Fi film “Ad Astra,” which is shooting this summer.
“I have absolutely no idea what they want me to do this,” said Gray when he was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “There had been nothing in my career as a director that had shown I could do anything like this.”
Paramount had bought the book for Pitt , whose production company Plan B (“Moonlight,” “12 Years a Slave”) ultimately produced the film. Pitt had always wanted to work with Gray, and while it didn’t happen this time, Pitt will star in Gray’s Sci Fi film “Ad Astra,” which is shooting this summer.
- 4/14/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Walter Hill is one of the great action and genre directors of the last 40 years, having made classics like “The Driver,” “The Warriors,” directed the pilot of HBO’s “Deadwood,” and produced, guided and rewrote the first three “Alien” films. With his latest film, “The Assignment” (originally titled “REAssignment” when it premiered at Tiff last fall), Hill finds himself in the unusual position of receiving sharp criticism for being transphobic.
Read More: ‘Rogue One’ Director Gareth Edwards on Avoiding Hollywood’s Addiction to Numbing Visual Effects
“Want to know the truth, I don’t think it is very controversial,” said director Walter Hill, when he was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “It’s been attacked mainly by people that haven’t seen the movie.”
In “The Assignment,” Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez) is a hitman, who one day wakes up in a seedy hotel room stunned to discover...
Read More: ‘Rogue One’ Director Gareth Edwards on Avoiding Hollywood’s Addiction to Numbing Visual Effects
“Want to know the truth, I don’t think it is very controversial,” said director Walter Hill, when he was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “It’s been attacked mainly by people that haven’t seen the movie.”
In “The Assignment,” Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez) is a hitman, who one day wakes up in a seedy hotel room stunned to discover...
- 4/7/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Gareth Edwards grew up dreaming he would follow in the footsteps of his hero Steven Spielberg: He’d go to film school and make a short that would gain him entry into Hollywood.
“That never happened because my short film was rubbish,” said Edwards, who was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit.
Beyond his film being bad, Edwards realized the competition to be a director had multiplied since Spielberg had started out and it took more than a good short to get a foot in the door in Hollywood. Edwards’ first short, which he made with a his computer animator roommate, was one of the first student works ever to mix CGI with live action. The experience opened Edwards’ eyes to the computer as being the future of filmmaking and he now saw his path to Hollywood could be to make his own films from home, doing the editing and effects himself.
“That never happened because my short film was rubbish,” said Edwards, who was guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit.
Beyond his film being bad, Edwards realized the competition to be a director had multiplied since Spielberg had started out and it took more than a good short to get a foot in the door in Hollywood. Edwards’ first short, which he made with a his computer animator roommate, was one of the first student works ever to mix CGI with live action. The experience opened Edwards’ eyes to the computer as being the future of filmmaking and he now saw his path to Hollywood could be to make his own films from home, doing the editing and effects himself.
- 4/5/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
"Do You know who killed JonBenet Ramsey?" Netflix has debuted a trailer for the highly acclaimed, totally unique documentary Casting JonBenet, from director Kitty Green. The film originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it has also played at the Berlin Film Festival and True/False Film Festival. Casting JonBenet examines the infamous JonBenet Ramsey murder in Colorado in 1996, by having local actors from Colorado audition for the various characters involved in the story. This includes JonBenet herself, as well as her mother, brother, father, and local police. This is a fascinating documentary unlike any other (except maybe Kate Plays Christine) that stirs up quite a unique discussion without ever actually interviewing the real people. It's fascinating, and worth checking out when it premieres on Netflix. Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Kitty Green's documentary Casting JonBenet, via Netflix's YouTube: In 1996, Boulder, Colorado was rocked...
- 3/26/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
David Byrne leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling of his charmingly cluttered Soho office: “I like to keep trying new things — it keeps me on my toes.”
Um, yeah. In the last decade alone, the 64-year-old art-rock legend has authored two books, released a pair of collaborative albums (one with Brian Eno, the other with Annie Clark), written a musical about Joan of Arc, turned a building into an instrument, scored a Shia Labeouf movie, and teamed up with Fatboy Slim to create a disco opera about the life and times of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines.
For Byrne, a restless iconoclast who founded Talking Heads with some Risd chums in 1975 and has been expanding his horizons ever since, such unbridled creativity is just par for the course. He’s completely at the mercy of his muse — no matter where it...
Um, yeah. In the last decade alone, the 64-year-old art-rock legend has authored two books, released a pair of collaborative albums (one with Brian Eno, the other with Annie Clark), written a musical about Joan of Arc, turned a building into an instrument, scored a Shia Labeouf movie, and teamed up with Fatboy Slim to create a disco opera about the life and times of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines.
For Byrne, a restless iconoclast who founded Talking Heads with some Risd chums in 1975 and has been expanding his horizons ever since, such unbridled creativity is just par for the course. He’s completely at the mercy of his muse — no matter where it...
- 3/3/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Recommended Discs & Deals: ‘Before’ Trilogy, ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Kate Plays Christine,’ ‘Allied,’ and More
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
Allied (Robert Zemeckis)
That thing we can’t take for granted: a film whose many parts – period piece, war picture, blood-spattered actioner, deception-fueled espionage thriller, sexy romance, and, at certain turns, comedy – can gracefully move in conjunction and separate from each other, just as its labyrinthine-but-not-quite plot jumps from one setpiece to the next with little trouble in maintaining a consistency of overall pleasure. Another late-career triumph for Robert Zemeckis, and one of the year’s few truly great American movies.
Allied (Robert Zemeckis)
That thing we can’t take for granted: a film whose many parts – period piece, war picture, blood-spattered actioner, deception-fueled espionage thriller, sexy romance, and, at certain turns, comedy – can gracefully move in conjunction and separate from each other, just as its labyrinthine-but-not-quite plot jumps from one setpiece to the next with little trouble in maintaining a consistency of overall pleasure. Another late-career triumph for Robert Zemeckis, and one of the year’s few truly great American movies.
- 2/28/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is an exploration of how good movies get made through in-depth conversations with filmmakers about their artistic process. This fall and winter we were fortunate to host guests whose films are favorited to take home Academy Awards this weekend. As we get ready for the Oscars, here’s a look back at some of what we learned from the writers, directors and editors behind this year’s best films.
The Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play Music.
“Arrival” Screenwriter Eric Heisserer
Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life” is a beloved sci-fi short story, but no one thought it was natural fit for the big screen. Well, nobody besides Eric Heisserer, who was emotionally devastated the first time he read Chiang’s 32 page story. He wanted to find a way to capture that feeling in a movie, but...
The Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play Music.
“Arrival” Screenwriter Eric Heisserer
Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life” is a beloved sci-fi short story, but no one thought it was natural fit for the big screen. Well, nobody besides Eric Heisserer, who was emotionally devastated the first time he read Chiang’s 32 page story. He wanted to find a way to capture that feeling in a movie, but...
- 2/25/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
From an editing perspective, there couldn’t be two films more different than Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash” and his “La La Land.” While both feature musical performances, “La La Land” is anchored by gliding, well-choreographed musical numbers, while “Whiplash” is driven by hard-pounding percussive cutting, for which editor Tom Cross won the Oscar for Best Editing.
“The thing with ‘Whiplash’ is we could always point to needing to keep up a certain amount of brutality and tension and suspense and velocity,” said editor Tom Cross who, along with Damien Chazelle, was recently a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast. “We didn’t really have that to fall back on with ‘La La Land.'”
Read More: Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast: ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins Reveals the Unconventional Way He Cast His Three Leads (Episode 10)
Although “Whiplash” features more cutting, according to Chazelle editing the film was a fairly straightforward process.
“The thing with ‘Whiplash’ is we could always point to needing to keep up a certain amount of brutality and tension and suspense and velocity,” said editor Tom Cross who, along with Damien Chazelle, was recently a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast. “We didn’t really have that to fall back on with ‘La La Land.'”
Read More: Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast: ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins Reveals the Unconventional Way He Cast His Three Leads (Episode 10)
Although “Whiplash” features more cutting, according to Chazelle editing the film was a fairly straightforward process.
- 2/21/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
“Krisha” was the big winner at the inaugural American Independent Film Awards, taking home the prizes for Best Film, Director (Trey Edward Shults), Original Screenplay (Shults) and Lead Performance (Krisha Fairchild). Anna Rose Holmer’s “The Fits” was the Best Film runner-up and was nominated in 12 different categories, while Robert Greene won two different awards for “Kate Plays Christine.”
The Aifa’s voting body consists of festival programmers and film critics, who cast their ballots in 14 different categories online. Full results below.
Read More: ‘It Comes at Night’ Teaser Trailer: The Director of ‘Krisha’ Returns with More Psychological Madness
Best Film
10) “White Girl” (Elizabeth Wood)
09) “Always Shine” (Sophia Takal)
08) “The Other Side” (Roberto Minervini)
07) “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party” (Stephen Cone)
06) “The Eyes of My Mother” (Nicolas Pesce)
05) “Little Sister” (Zach Clark)
04) “The Invitation” (Karyn Kusama)
03) “Kate Plays Christine” (Robert Greene)
02) “The Fits” (Anna Rose Holmer)
01) “Krisha” (Trey Edward Shults)
Best Director
Trey Edward Shults,...
The Aifa’s voting body consists of festival programmers and film critics, who cast their ballots in 14 different categories online. Full results below.
Read More: ‘It Comes at Night’ Teaser Trailer: The Director of ‘Krisha’ Returns with More Psychological Madness
Best Film
10) “White Girl” (Elizabeth Wood)
09) “Always Shine” (Sophia Takal)
08) “The Other Side” (Roberto Minervini)
07) “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party” (Stephen Cone)
06) “The Eyes of My Mother” (Nicolas Pesce)
05) “Little Sister” (Zach Clark)
04) “The Invitation” (Karyn Kusama)
03) “Kate Plays Christine” (Robert Greene)
02) “The Fits” (Anna Rose Holmer)
01) “Krisha” (Trey Edward Shults)
Best Director
Trey Edward Shults,...
- 2/20/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
As the definition of an independent film has shifted with the ever-expanding budget divide in American filmmaking — particularly Hollywood cutting back on its mid-range projects — when it comes time for awards season, it’s often only the highest profile of “indie films” that get recognized. While we do our best to recognize the films that often get unfortunately, a new awards has launched that honors the best of truly independent American cinema, featuring films all under a $1 million budget.
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
- 2/20/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Netflix announced today that it will release “Casting JonBenet,” Kitty Green’s innovative hybrid documentary inspired by the infamous murder of six-year-old pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey, on April 28. The film played the Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Documentary Competition this January to rave reviews, currently boasting a 100% fresh approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Read More: ‘Casting JonBenet’ Review: When a Murder Fuels a Fascinating Documentary Experiment — Sundance 2017
20 years after the murder, Green stages a casting call for young actresses to play the late child beauty pageant queen, interviewing the fresh hopefuls and their parents about the murder and its relevance today. In the vein of “Kate Plays Christine,” another inventive documentary about an infamous death which recreates real life events, the film uses new methods to explore its subject.
Reviewing “Casting JonBenet” for IndieWire, Eric Kohn wrote, “The movie doggedly avoids conventions of the non-fiction genre… When the concept really clicks,...
Read More: ‘Casting JonBenet’ Review: When a Murder Fuels a Fascinating Documentary Experiment — Sundance 2017
20 years after the murder, Green stages a casting call for young actresses to play the late child beauty pageant queen, interviewing the fresh hopefuls and their parents about the murder and its relevance today. In the vein of “Kate Plays Christine,” another inventive documentary about an infamous death which recreates real life events, the film uses new methods to explore its subject.
Reviewing “Casting JonBenet” for IndieWire, Eric Kohn wrote, “The movie doggedly avoids conventions of the non-fiction genre… When the concept really clicks,...
- 2/8/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Antonio Campos gives the true story of the American TV news reporter who killed herself on air its second, superior big-screen telling
Two films made last year explored the wrenching, real-life story of the Florida-based local news reporter Christine Chubbuck who in 1974 took her own life on live television. Robert Greene’s Kate Plays Christine was a tricksy moral maze of a movie that explored the ethical dilemma of being a parasite of tragedy. By comparison, Antonio Campos’s Christine is less experimental in its approach, but this elegant, achingly sad study of debilitating depression is by no means a conventional piece of film-making. Deftly sidestepping any of the obvious narrative choices, this film confirms Campos (Afterschool, Simon Killer) as one of the most intelligent and consistently surprising film-makers working in Us indie cinema.
Related: Rebecca Hall on starring in Christine: 'It’s about her life – not her death'
Continue reading.
Two films made last year explored the wrenching, real-life story of the Florida-based local news reporter Christine Chubbuck who in 1974 took her own life on live television. Robert Greene’s Kate Plays Christine was a tricksy moral maze of a movie that explored the ethical dilemma of being a parasite of tragedy. By comparison, Antonio Campos’s Christine is less experimental in its approach, but this elegant, achingly sad study of debilitating depression is by no means a conventional piece of film-making. Deftly sidestepping any of the obvious narrative choices, this film confirms Campos (Afterschool, Simon Killer) as one of the most intelligent and consistently surprising film-makers working in Us indie cinema.
Related: Rebecca Hall on starring in Christine: 'It’s about her life – not her death'
Continue reading.
- 1/29/2017
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
This year’s Sundance Film Festival capped off this evening with the fest’s annual awards show, held at Park City, Utah’s own Basin Recreation Field House. The ceremony opened at 7:00Pm Mt, featuring host (and Sundance premiere “The Incredible Jessica James” star) Jessica Williams shepherding along the festivities in predictably amusing fashion.
Macon Blair’s playful suspense film “I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.” won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, while the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize went to “Dina.”
“I don’t feel at home in the world anymore.” marks the directorial debut of Blair, previously best known for his acting collaborations with director Jeremy Saulnier (“Blue Ruin”). The movie stars Melanie Lynskey as a woman who embarks on a darkly comic adventure as she seeks out the identity of the person who robbed her apartment, joining forces with...
Macon Blair’s playful suspense film “I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.” won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, while the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize went to “Dina.”
“I don’t feel at home in the world anymore.” marks the directorial debut of Blair, previously best known for his acting collaborations with director Jeremy Saulnier (“Blue Ruin”). The movie stars Melanie Lynskey as a woman who embarks on a darkly comic adventure as she seeks out the identity of the person who robbed her apartment, joining forces with...
- 1/29/2017
- by Eric Kohn and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A partial list of things you will see in the meta-documentary Casting JonBenet:
-Some of the most awkward actor introductions and testimonials you have ever witnessed.
-A host of nine-year-olds attempting, and occasionally succeeding, in smashing watermelons with a Maglite flashlight.
-Various men in Santa Claus outfits, including one who explains the "white glove rule" (makes it easier to see where a professional Kris Kringle's hands are in kids' photos).
-Several Lifetime-like re-enactments that run the gamut from camp-lurid to purposefully banal, and all make you feel like you've been mildly dosed.
-Some of the most awkward actor introductions and testimonials you have ever witnessed.
-A host of nine-year-olds attempting, and occasionally succeeding, in smashing watermelons with a Maglite flashlight.
-Various men in Santa Claus outfits, including one who explains the "white glove rule" (makes it easier to see where a professional Kris Kringle's hands are in kids' photos).
-Several Lifetime-like re-enactments that run the gamut from camp-lurid to purposefully banal, and all make you feel like you've been mildly dosed.
- 1/28/2017
- Rollingstone.com
“It Felt Like Love” was a no-to-low budget film that announced the arrival of major filmmaking talent. Premiering in the Next category at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Hittman shot it using available light and a skeleton crew (often just cinematographer Sean Porter) and delivered a film filled with visual poetry grounded in a working-class Brooklyn rarely seen onscreen.
Read More: How These 20 Sundance Festival Films Got Their Start in the Sundance Labs
Recognized as a directing talent to watch, it might be assumed Hittman would have little difficulty making another independent feature on a slightly bigger canvas.
“The murky period between films is very challenging,” said Hittman when she was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit. “On one hand, I made a film that was a festival success, but it wasn’t a box-office success and it didn’t have [name] cast, so I wasn’t attracting a certain level...
Read More: How These 20 Sundance Festival Films Got Their Start in the Sundance Labs
Recognized as a directing talent to watch, it might be assumed Hittman would have little difficulty making another independent feature on a slightly bigger canvas.
“The murky period between films is very challenging,” said Hittman when she was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit. “On one hand, I made a film that was a festival success, but it wasn’t a box-office success and it didn’t have [name] cast, so I wasn’t attracting a certain level...
- 1/27/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
On December 26, 1996, six-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in her Boulder home, strangled and her skull crushed. The case has never been solved, but plenty of theories emerged, and Kitty Green’s compelling documentary experiment “Casting JonBenet” hovers in the thick of them. The movie takes the form of auditions by dozens of Colorado locals, as they alternate between offering their thoughts on the tragedy and portraying the characters at its center.
Sharing some DNA with 2016’s “Kate Plays Christine” — another inventive documentary about an infamous death that relies on contemporary performances — the movie doggedly avoids conventions of the non-fiction genre. There are no explanatory title cards or archival footage; Green invests in a bolder approach that plays off viewers’ imaginations. Documentarians increasingly seek new methods to explore their subjects, and “Casting JonBenet” epitomizes the degree of innovation afforded by this movement.
Green takes her time establishing...
Sharing some DNA with 2016’s “Kate Plays Christine” — another inventive documentary about an infamous death that relies on contemporary performances — the movie doggedly avoids conventions of the non-fiction genre. There are no explanatory title cards or archival footage; Green invests in a bolder approach that plays off viewers’ imaginations. Documentarians increasingly seek new methods to explore their subjects, and “Casting JonBenet” epitomizes the degree of innovation afforded by this movement.
Green takes her time establishing...
- 1/27/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Rebecca Hall is magnetic as a Florida news anchor who killed herself on air in this haunting tale of depression, loneliness and misogyny that offers no easy get-outs
Rebecca Hall gives a career-best performance in this deeply strange real-life story, written for the screen by Craig Shilowich and directed by Antonio Campos. (It is also the subject of an offbeat drama-doc, Kate Plays Christine.) This can be read as a woman’s career-crisis and humiliation created by casual misogynists, or a modern tragedy of bipolar disorder, or a chaotic, unedifying personal tale of narcissism and self-harm from which nothing can be learned. It is a measure of Hall’s intelligence and sensitivity that her performance gives you access to all of these interpretations.
Hall plays Christine Chubbuck, a Florida TV news journalist who in 1974 took her own life with a gunshot, live on air; she was apparently unhappy in her love life,...
Rebecca Hall gives a career-best performance in this deeply strange real-life story, written for the screen by Craig Shilowich and directed by Antonio Campos. (It is also the subject of an offbeat drama-doc, Kate Plays Christine.) This can be read as a woman’s career-crisis and humiliation created by casual misogynists, or a modern tragedy of bipolar disorder, or a chaotic, unedifying personal tale of narcissism and self-harm from which nothing can be learned. It is a measure of Hall’s intelligence and sensitivity that her performance gives you access to all of these interpretations.
Hall plays Christine Chubbuck, a Florida TV news journalist who in 1974 took her own life with a gunshot, live on air; she was apparently unhappy in her love life,...
- 1/26/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Sean Price Williams has become an indomitable force in American independent cinema. Filming regularly on Super 16mm, Williams has served as Dp on the films of Alex Ross Perry (Queen of Earth, Listen Up Philip), Robert Greene (Kate Plays Christine, Actress), Albert Maysles (Iris) and the Safdie brothers (Heaven Knows What). Williams sought to shoot something unlike any of his previous work for his latest feature, Marjorie Prime. With a cast that includes John Hamm, Geena Davis and Tim Robbins, Marjorie Prime is the latest film from writer/director Michael Almereyda. The film will have its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: How and […]...
- 1/23/2017
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
‘Golden Exits’ Exclusive Soundtrack: Listen to Keegan DeWitt’s Score From Alex Ross Perry’s New Film
The Sundance Film Festival has already begun, which means that Alex Ross Perry’s latest film “Golden Exits” will soon make its world premiere. The film follows two families in Brooklyn and the unraveling of their lives when a young girl from Australia spending time abroad upsets the delicate balance of their relationships. It stars Emily Browning (“God Help the Girl”), Adam Horovitz (“While We’re Young”), Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”), Lily Rabe (“American Horror Story”), Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore”) and Chloë Sevigny (“The Brown Bunny”). Listen to an exclusive track from Keegan DeWitt’s score from the film below.
Read More: ‘Golden Exits’ Teaser Trailer: Emily Browning Charms in Alex Ross Perry’s Sundance-Bound Drama
DeWitt has composed the scores for many films, including Perry’s two previous features “Queen of Earth” and “Listen Up Philip,” as well as Chad Hartigan’s “Morris From America,” Robert Greene’s “Kate Plays Christine...
Read More: ‘Golden Exits’ Teaser Trailer: Emily Browning Charms in Alex Ross Perry’s Sundance-Bound Drama
DeWitt has composed the scores for many films, including Perry’s two previous features “Queen of Earth” and “Listen Up Philip,” as well as Chad Hartigan’s “Morris From America,” Robert Greene’s “Kate Plays Christine...
- 1/22/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
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