Movies

Los Angeles-based pubcaster KCET has revealed its student finalists and episode line up for the 24th season of Fine Cut Festival of Films, an annual showcase and celebration of Southern California’s young filmmakers. The series of six, one-hour blocks on KCET will broadcast collections of short films from the student finalists beginning at 10 p.m.

More than one talking head in “The Issue With Tissue – A Boreal Love Story” uses the phrase “flushing away our forests,” to the point that it becomes a kind of aghast mantra for Michael Zelniker’s eco-documentary — tonally encapsulating its earnest exasperation with the world, or at least its human custodians. One can forgive

Memento International has acquired international sales rights to Nora El Hourch’s debut feature “Sisterhood” (“HLM Pussy”) ahead of its world premiere at Toronto. The timely film will play in the competitive Platform section. “Sisterhood” follows three inseparable teenagers who face a public outcry after posting a video that exposes someone who attacked them. Faced with

Jennifer Aniston is “so over cancel culture,” the “Morning Show” actor said in a new cover story for Wall Street Journal Magazine. “I probably just got canceled by saying that,” Aniston continued. “I just don’t understand what it means.… Is there no redemption? I don’t know. I don’t put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket.”

Today, TIFF announced additional honourees who will be receiving a TIFF Tribute Award at this year’s Festival. Recipients include award-winning Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz who will be honoured with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by MGM. This award is in the spirit of Torontonian Mary Pickford, the groundbreaking actor, producer, and co-founder of United

Proving that music really knows no borders, documentary “Elis and Tom” (“Elis & Tom, Só tinha de ser com você”) – about the fateful meeting of singer Elis Regina and legendary composer Antônio Carlos Jobim – has now sold to U.S. to Outsider Pictures and Portugal’s Midas.  “Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim came to

Global film distributor, production company and streamer Mubi has acquired international rights, excluding North America and Italy, for Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” which will premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Mubi will retain all rights in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America, Benelux and Turkey. Mubi will release the film theatrically in the

Principal photography has wrapped on scripted short film “Spirit of Place,” headlined by Oscar, BAFTA and Tony-winning actor Mark Rylance. The film, written and directed by Jack Cooper Stimpson (“Alex’s Dream”), is a meditation on identity and follows two young protagonists as they spend time in and around inner-city wetlands. Through chance encounters and some

While it’s still uncertain how many U.S. movie stars will be attending the upcoming Venice Film Festival, the fest has announced a series of masterclasses to be held by top directors including Wes Anderson, Edward Berger, Damien Chazelle and Nicolas Winding Refn. Several of the Venice masterclasses are dedicated to helmers being lauded by the fest such

The “Barbenheimer” juggernaut continued rolling on at the U.K. and Ireland box office, occupying the top two slots for the fifth consecutive weekend. Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” took pole position yet again with £2.6 million ($3.4 million), per numbers released by Comscore. With £84.7 million, “Barbie” is the highest grossing film of the year in the

Victor Erice, one of the greatest of Spanish filmmakers, will receive a prestigious Donostia Award, granted for career achievement, granted by the San Sebastian Film Festival.  The award will coincide with screening of Erice’s latest film, “Close Your Eyes” (Cerrar los Ojos), which world premiered at Cannes Festival this May. Few awards seem more appropriate.

CASTING Evanna Lynch, the actor best known for portraying Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise, will star in “Influenced!,” a black comedy set in the world of social media influencers that has been inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic 1891 novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Lynch will play Dora, a makeup sales assistant who

Sara Summa’s European road movie “Arthur & Diana,” which will make its world premiere in the Discovery section of Toronto Film Festival, has been picked up for world sales by Vienna-based Square Eyes. The film is debuting its trailer with Variety. The film centers on siblings Arthur and Diana. Together with Diana’s two-year-old son, they

A first clip has been unveiled from Luna Carmoon’s feature debut “Hoard,” which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival. In the film, in London, 1984, seven-year-old Maria and her mother live in their own loving world built on sorting through bins and collecting shiny rubbish. One night, their world falls apart, and the film

The ongoing renaissance in the Indonesian film industry will be celebrated at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival. Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world, is rapidly expanding with a boom in screen count

Hayley Atwell, Bill Nighy, Mark Rylance and David Harewood are among a group of 100 actors supporting a new Green Rider contract intended to improve the sustainability of the U.K. film and TV industry. Spearheaded by U.K. entertainment union Equity, the inclusion of a Green Rider is positioned as a “tool to empower artists” and

Break-ups are often protracted sagas, littered with fading sympathy, belated realizations and a lot of dead air — all irritations that define Dane Elcar’s low-budget “Brightwood,” a sci-fi tall tale that follows a couple on the downslope of a marriage that becomes mysteriously ensnared in a time loop while jogging in the woods. Inelegantly extending

Film and sound editor Garth Craven, who edited films including “Legally Blonde” and got his start in film editing with Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” died May 20 in Barcelona. He was 84. His death was only recently announced by his daughter Willow. Craven not only worked in the cutting room but

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro has nominated 27 Latino-driven films for inclusion in the National Film Registry. Among the suggestions are films that brought Oscar nominations to Latino actors and artists, including Salma Hayek, as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in “Frida” (2002); Catalina Sandino Moreno, who portrayed a desperate undocumented pregnant immigrant in “Maria Full of

Bradley Cooper caught backlash for wearing a large prosthetic nose to portray Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro,” his upcoming biographical romance film about the late conductor. The controversy sparked the latest discourse about “Jewface,” Hollywood’s stereotypical or inauthentic portrayal of Jewish people. But the Anti-Defamation League, the notable Jewish organization fighting against bias and bigotry, has

Canadian distributor LevelFilm has hired two executives from Sphere Films in leadership roles. Olivier Gauthier-Mercier joins as VP, distribution and Lainie Elton as VP, sales and acquisitions. Gauthier-Mercier was previously VP, distribution at Sphere Films where he oversaw the releases of Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun.” Lainie

Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund will be supporting 23 selected independent documentary film projects this year through grants totaling over $1 million. This initiative has previously funded notable films including Oscar-nominated features “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Minding the Gap” and “The Edge of Democracy.” In addition to shrinking budgets for commissioned docuseries and one-offs, there

The work of pioneering Black British filmmaker Horace Ové will be celebrated this fall with a BFI Southbank retrospective season titled Power to the People: Horace Ové’s Radical Vision. A 4K restored version of “Pressure” (1976), the first full-length Black British film, which is an exploration of the concerns faced by emerging second-generation West Indians

The new film “Strays” may enlist Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park to “fill in” the personality of its four canine lead characters, but it’s real-life dogs — and an army of trainers — who work hard to deliver a convincing performance on screen that matches their voice work. Director Josh Greenbaum

The first trailer has been unveiled for “Walls” (“Mur”), actor-turned-filmmaker Kasia Smutniak’s directorial debut that will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, leading to a mass exodus of refugees seeking asylum across Europe. Among the European countries offering aid and refuge, Poland was particularly generous but the country

Charles Martinet, the iconic voice of Mario for more than three decades, is “stepping back from recording character voices” for Nintendo as he transitions into a new role. Now a “Mario Ambassador,” Martinet will travel the world and interact with fans on behalf of the gaming company. Martinet started at Nintendo in 1991, and his

Bradley Cooper recently went deep into the icy canyons of the Wyoming Basin, where he opened up about his sobriety with Bear Grylls. On a Season 2 episode of National Geographic’s “Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” the British adventurer asked Cooper about his most meaningful roles. “‘The Hangover’ was pretty career changing,” Cooper said. “I was

Movie tickets across the U.S. will be heavily discounted on Aug. 27 in honor of National Cinema Day. This Sunday, all movies, all formats (yes, even Imax — if “Oppenheimer” isn’t already sold out on your local 70mm screen), all showtimes, all day will cost less than $4 at participating theaters. More than 3,000 locations

Bollywood star Sunny Deol is basking in the blockbuster success of “Gadar 2,” which is in the process of breaking Indian box office records. Written by Shaktimaan Talwar and directed by Anil Sharma, “Gadar 2” is a sequel to 2001 smash hit “Gadar,” which was set after the partition of the subcontinent into India and

“Dance First,” a portrait of Irish writer Samuel Beckett starring Gabriel Byrne and directed by Oscar winner James Marsh, will close this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, playing out of competition. Byrne, a memorable lead in “The Usual Suspects” and “Miller’s Crossing” who also won a Golden Globe for his performance in “In Treatment,” plays