Month: June 2021

Paris-based sales and co-production company Charades has closed deals for all major Western territories on “Belle,” the anticipated animation feature from Oscar-nominated Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”) and Studio Chizu. Following GKids’ pick up of North American rights, Charades has unveiled a raft of sales to high-profile international distributors for “Belle,” including Anime Limited in
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Barcelona production-distribution outfit Filmax has picked up international rights to director-producer Ibon Cormenzana’s “Guilt” ahead of its presentation at the Pre-Cannes Screenings, which run June 21-25. The Basque helmer directs his long-time partner Manuela Velles (“Muse,” “Kidnapped”) who co-developed the topical drama with him and was actually pregnant at the time of the shoot. Velles plays a
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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Season 4 finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” streaming now on Hulu. Writer, producer and director Liz Garbus is adamantly opposed to the death penalty, something she has explored in such documentaries as “The Execution of Wanda Jean” dating back to 2002. Yet, for her
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A Columbia U. doctoral student grapples with cultural expectations, demands and pressures while carving out her own path in “Queen of Glory,” writer-director-star Nana Mensah’s inviting and understated indie about immigrant identity anxieties. With a lived-in feel for the Bronx community in which her story takes place, the filmmaker generates endearing pathos from a story
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Anti-vaccine protesters congregated outside of Foo Fighters’ show at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Calif. on Tuesday night (June 15). What looked like several dozen protesters carried signs reading “Foo Fighters fight to bring segregation back” and “event for vaccinated only, unvaccinated not allowed,” according to several Twitter posts. One Instagram post appeared to
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Mother Nature might be predator, prey or another supernatural being altogether in “Gaia,” infiltrating her targets with unfurling shoots and roots and sudden fungal outcrops, until she’s eventually growing from within them. Or so it seems in first-time feature director Jaco Bouwer’s cool, taciturn ecological horror, which isn’t in any kind of hurry to show
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Substitute “virus” for “tornado,” as the initial external threat and slot in “mandatory self-isolation” for “fallen tree that makes escape impossible” and it would seem Sean King O’Grady’s “We Need to Do Something” has instant allegorical relevance. It hardly takes a PhD in advanced semiotics for the pandemic-battered soul to identify with the plight of
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Rita Moreno is defending Lin-Manuel Miranda and “In the Heights” following criticism over the film’s lack of Afro-Latino representation. On tonight’s episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Moreno appeared to promote her documentary, “Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It,” and later brought up the “In the Heights” controversy. “Can we
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The weathered, storied face of rapper-actor Saul Williams does the heaviest lifting in “Akilla’s Escape,” an exceedingly solemn crime drama from Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer that benefits from every ounce of his natural gravitas. As a Toronto drug trader facing the ugly roots of his underworld life in the wake of a botched deal, Williams
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Julia Butters — the young actor who stole scenes outright from Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” — will play a character inspired by Steven Spielberg’s sister in the filmmaker’s untitled semi-autobiographical film about his childhood. She’ll join Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen, who are playing characters loosely based on Spielberg’s
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Fast-rising singer-songwriter Clairo has signed with Universal Music Publishing Group, in advance of her forthcoming second full-length album, “Sling,” which was co-produced by Jack Antonoff and marks her major-label debut (on the Fader label via UMG’s Republic Records).  Now 22, Clairo’s (Claire Cottrill) success story began in 2017 when her song “Pretty Girl” went viral
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Without Brian Wilson, the world would be devoid of West Coast anthems like “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.” The musician and record producer, who founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with his brothers Dennis and Carl, as well as their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, is the subject of a new
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“I May Destroy You,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Killing Eve” were among the top winners as the Banff World Media Festival revealed the winners to this year’s Rockie Awards International Program Competition. Announced Tuesday via a live, streamed virtual event, this year’s Rockie Awards saw the United Kingdom take home the most kudos, with 11,
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When Lauren Hadaway was working on “Justice League” in the sound department, she had time to kill between arduous reshoots on the gritty superhero adventure. With years of experience finessing sound and dialogue on a range of blockbusters and indies, including the jukebox musical “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash,” Quentin Tarantino’s
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“Queen of Glory,” a new indie drama about a doctoral student whose plans are upended when her mother dies unexpectedly and leaves her the family’s Christian bookstore, is a remarkable feature film directing debut for Nana Mensah. Not only does its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Festival herald the arrival of a compelling new cinematic
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“Hacks” is as pure a two-hander as I’ve seen on television in recent years — a comedy buoyed by the prickly, slow-to-develop relationship between two characters with utterly different approaches to comedy, but similar stumbling blocks. Both Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) are carefully-written, elegantly played characters; each one fuels the
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