Movies

Julia Reichert, the veteran documentarian who won an Oscar in 2020 for her feature “American Factory,” died on Dec. 1 due to cancer, Variety has confirmed. She was 76. Across her more than 50 years as a filmmaker, Reichert received four Academy Award nominations and one win, two Primetime Emmys, a Director’s Guild Award and

Turin’s Talents and Short Film Market held the inaugural edition of training and pitching program A Long Way Home this week, showcasing five feature-length projects based on or inspired by a previously released short movie. The program wrapped on Wednesday, with the TorinoFilmLab Award going to “Inbetween Worlds,” directed by Diana Cam Van Nguyen. The

Pedro Almodóvar revealed that “Strange Way of Life,” his Western short film starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, will premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival. The director broke the news on Dua Lipa’s “At Your Service” podcast. Almodóvar described the half-hour film as a “queer Western, in the sense that there are two

If Brazil is now back as a serious player at the climate emergency table following Lula da Silva’s stunning presidential election win in October, film and production investmentmay not be far behind. Launched in 2021, São Paulo city’s 20%-30% cash rebate for foreign shoots and international co-productions, the first of its kind in Brazil, is

Speaking from the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Guy Ritchie revealed Friday that his thriller “The Interpreter” is now titled “The Covenant.” “Names, as it transpires, is about the most challenging aspect of filmmaking,” Ritchie told Variety. “The last few films I’ve done, the trickiest decision to make has been the name of

When architects designed São Paulo’s Octavio Ferreiras de Oliveira Bridge, which opened in 2008, they didn’t set out to connect the two sides of Pinheiros River but rather to create a global symbol. The city’s citizenry largely approved. Its stunning, unique locations, which also prove part of the city’s narrative, are a big draw for

Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has snagged comedy “The Unexpected Joker” (“El Metodo Tangalanga”) by Mateo Bendesky, a buzzy comedy produced by prominent Argentine producer Diego Dubcovsky under his production banner, Varsovia Films. Disney’s new theatrical distribution banner, Star Distribution, will release the film in Latin America in January 2023. Comedy had its world premiere at Argentina’s

Producers Rohit Shetty Productionz, T-Series Films and Reliance Entertainment have released the first trailer for keenly-anticipated comedy film “Cirkus.” Featuring Ranveer Singh and Varun Sharma in dual roles, the film also stars Pooja Hegde, Jacqueline Fernandez, Johnny Lever, Siddhartha Jadhav, Sanjay Mishra, Tiku Talsania, Vrajesh Hirjee and Ashwini Kalsekar. The film also has cameos by

The Unhappy Holiday Movie has become almost a genre unto itself, this year’s new additions running a now-familiar gamut from the sour seasonal rebound rom-com to wreathed-in-gore Yuletide horrors (including this weekend’s “Violent Night” and “Christmas Bloody Christmas”). No matter how dyspeptic in spirit, all tend to hang onto a certain cuteness, reassuring viewers they

Top Middle East exhibitor Vox Cinemas, which is also active in distribution and production, is ramping up its investment in producing Arabic feature films and unveiling its first full-fledged slate of local original movies at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival. Vox’s Arabic line-up caters to local market demands by providing commercially viable works in

A documentary about Oscar-winning Korean film director Bong Joon Ho is underway and will launch on Netflix next year. Titled “Yellow Door: Looking for Director Bong’s Unreleased Short Film,” the doc is being directed by Lee Hyuk-rae and produced through Broccoli Pictures. The film will trace the quest for Bong’s unreleased first short film “Looking

Will Smith’s press tour for “Emancipation” continued on Wednesday night as the actor made his first red carpet appearance following the 2022 Oscars. Smith arrived at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood with his family — wife Jada Pinkett Smith and children Trey, Willow and Jaden — by his side. As photographers called for him

Harvey Weinstein’s defense urged a jury on Thursday to acquit the former Hollywood titan of rape and sexual assault, arguing that all four accusers were untruthful. Alan Jackson, one of Weinstein’s attorneys, argued that two of the women were simply “making it up,” and that the other two engaged in “transactional sex” because they wanted

Auctioning off artwork from Leonardo DiCaprio’s personal collection, Wyclef Jean’s guitar and a trip to Rio for a private concert with singer Anitta helped Sean Penn’s disaster relief organization, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), raise over $1 million in just a few hours on Wednesday night in Miami. Held at Soho House Beach and timed

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicked off its second edition on Friday with a splashy gala that alongside Egyptian icon Yousra and a plethora of Arab talent also saw Guy Ritchie, Sharon Stone, and Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan on the red carpet.  Held in the auditorium of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Jeddah,

The Guardians of the Galaxy have returned for one last mission. Marvel unveiled the first trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” showcasing the final installment in James Gunn’s franchise. The film will explore Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) origins and the return of Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora In the trailer, viewers finally got to see

Indiana Jones is officially back. Disney revealed the first trailer for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which is the official title for the fifth installment of Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking, adventure franchise. On top of that, the trailer showcases a de-aged Harrison Ford as Indy back in his glory days of archaeology and adventures.

“Green Book” actor Frank Vallelonga Jr. has died at the age of 60, Variety has confirmed. The NYPD responded to a call early Monday morning just before 4 a.m. in the Bronx and found Vallelonga Jr. laying unconscious and unresponsive on the ground. Following the arrival of EMS to the location, the actor was pronounced

As the Saudi market continues to take shape, cultural activity finds surer footing once more in Beirut and innovative young voices cast new trails across the international landscape, the Arab film industry finds itself at an auspicious moment. As it showcases recent gems from the Middle East and North Africa, this year’s Red Sea Film

Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” is set to receive the Vanguard Award at this year’s Palm Springs International Film Awards. The award will be presented to Spielberg and cast members Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle and Judd Hirsch. “’The Fabelmans’ is an achievement not only as a deeply personal portrait of Steven Spielberg’s

Angela Bassett will be honored with the Montecito Award at the 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She will receive the award on Thursday, Feb. 9 during an in-person conversation about her career leading up to her performance in director Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “Ms. Bassett has had an illustrious career as

The prosecutor in the Harvey Weinstein trial urged a jury on Thursday to find him guilty on seven counts of rape and sexual assault. “We know the despicable conduct the defendant engaged in,” said Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez. “We know he thought he was so powerful that people would excuse his behavior. ‘That’s just

Madelaine Petsch, the star of The CW’s hit teen drama “Riverdale,” and Mena Massoud, who brought Aladdin to life in Disney’s blockbuster remake, instantly clicked when they met first time as guests on the talk show “A Little Late With Lilly Singh.” So, it felt like a natural fit to play (eventual) love interests in

The Museum of the Moving Image’s will receive $5 million in state funding to advance the non-profit’s educational work in film, television, and digital media. The grant was secured by Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris who will be on hand at the organization’s annual Moving Image Awards Gala. This year’s honorees include acclaimed filmmaker Sarah Polley,

Autobots, roll out! Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” the seventh installment of the Hasbro film franchise set to release June 9, 2023. The latest movie introduces the animal-themed Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback star in the upcoming action film from director Steven Caple

L.A.-based Outsider Pictures has boarded Jonás Trueba’s “You Have to Come and See It” and “The Romantic Exiles.” Both films – produced by Madrid-based Los Ilusos Films – will be released in the U.S. in late Spring 2023.   “Outsider Pictures has already released [Trueba’s previous film] ‘The August Virgin’ in the U.S. in 2020,” points out

The Cannes Festival will have for the first time ever a Fantastic Pavilion, a significant booth and exhibition space located at the Cannes Marché du Film in the Palais des Festivals.   Conceived by Pablo Guisa, Grupo Mórbido CEO, Bernardo Bergeret, Ventana Sur co-director, and Daniel de la Vega, co-ordinator of Ventana Sur’s Maquinitas video game

U.S.-based People of Culture Studios (PoC Studios) has entered into a co-production and co-financing venture with major Japanese talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo that will see the two companies produce “Among the Dead,” a zombie mockumentary film. “Among The Dead” is a found footage title written by comic book creator, film producer, and screenwriter Andrew Cosby (“Hellboy,” “2

The main competition of the 2nd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival – the Red Sea: Features Competition – underlines the fest’s ambition to celebrate pioneering works from filmmakers in the Arab region, Asia and Africa. Oliver Stone presides the jury, whose other members include Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman (“Paradise Now”), Egyptian star Nelly

Before donning the red suit, David Harbour was hesitant to play the not-so-jolly Santa Claus in “Violent Night.” “My initial thoughts were like, ‘What the hell is this? I don’t know what you guys are talking about,’” Harbour told Variety at the red carpet premiere of “Violent Night” on Tuesday. “It was pitched to me