Movies

In “Leila’s Brothers,” a once proud, now pathetic Persian family teeters on the brink of ruin, held together by the assertive sister who’s tired of relying on men to decide her fortune. Taking matters into her own hands may be empowering to watch — there’s no question that “The Salesman” alum Taraneh Alidoosti, who plays

Check out Variety’s Must Attend calendar of events. May 11, Wednesday Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving, Max Greenfield and Betsy Brandt premiere their comedy “The Valet.”The Montalbán, Hollywood Kathy Hilton and Rebecca Hessel Cohen host an afternoon tea party to celebrate the launch of LoveShackFancy’s home collection.Private residence, Los Angeles May 12, Thursday “Dear White People”

The late Govindan Aravindan’s 1978 masterpiece “Thamp̄” (“The Circus Tent”) is one of two Indian films at this year’s Cannes Classics selection, alongside Satyajit Ray’s “Pratidwandi” (“The Adversary”) from 1970. “Thamp̄” was painstakingly restored by India’s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), an organization founded by filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (“Celluloid Man,” “CzechMate: In Search of Jirí

With the Cannes Film Festival abuzz ahead of the world premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” a mournful air raid siren sounded over the Croisette on Wednesday afternoon, serving as a somber reminder that the war in Ukraine has entered its fourth brutal month. In a solemn protest outside the Salle Debussy, just steps from where

Three fiction features and two documentary films were presented to an industry audience at the Cannes Film Market as part of its Thessaloniki Goes to Cannes, the Cannes Film Market’s Works-in-Progress showcase, on May 23. “Panellinion” Described as a movie about obsession, madness and loneliness, “Panellinion” is the debut documentary feature of Spyros Mantzavinos and

Returning to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard with her second feature film, Palestinian director Maha Haj tackles the dynamics of male friendship and the strain of living under occupation in “Mediterranean Fever.” The subtly tender film follows family man Waleed, whose chronic depression hinders his dreams of a writing career and leads him into the path

World premiering at the Cannes ACID showcase, “Polaris” explores the intimate relationship between two sisters, Hayat and Leila. The film, set between the isolated Northern Sea and warm, well-connected France, aims to bring a human perspective to this tale of sisterhood set against dramatic land- and seascapes. “Polaris” marks the doc feature debut of Spain’s

Setting the agenda for much top Brazilian cinema bowing over 2022-25, Globo Filmes has boarded 20 new Brazilian movies, powering up by far the biggest production slate of any company in Brazil. New titles from many of Brazil’s good and great range from Cinema Novo veteran Zelito Viana to Oscar-shortlisted Cao Hambuger. The production slate

When filmmaker Marie Kreutzer was writing “Corsage,” which chronicles a critical period in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as “Sissi,” she had in mind the experience of other women in the public eye, in particular Princess Diana and Meghan Markle. In recent weeks, she has been mulling the treatment of Amber

Deaf Crocodile Films and Gratitude Films have acquired Indian films “Lalanna’s Song” and “Dhuin” for North American distribution. The deals were completed during the Cannes Market. “Dhuin” is one of six Indian titles selected by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a market screening. Previous Deaf Crocodile and Gratitude acquisition “Boomba Ride,” by Biswajeet

The top IEFTA (Intl. Film Talent Assn.) award for docs-in-progress at the Cannes Film Market’s documentary-focused industry sidebar Cannes Docs has gone to “Twice Colonized” by Lin Alluna. The film was developed by the Circle Women Doc Accelerator, a training program for female-identifying documentary filmmakers. The win marks a hat-trick for Circle since they started

The 28th Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled the jury of its feature film competition jury. Director and screenwriter Sebastian Meise will serve as jury president and fellow jurors include director, screenwriter and producer Lucile Hadžihalilović, writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, actor Milan Marić and producer and senior consultant for international co-productions Katriel Schory. Meise debuted with

Ukraine’s Film.UA has closed a raft of deals during the Cannes Market, as the production and distribution heavyweight has defiantly continued to do business on the Croisette despite the ongoing war back home. Headlining the company’s Cannes slate is “Mavka. The Forest Song,” an animated feature about a magical spirit who’s responsible for protecting the

Prolific Italian film and stage director Mario Martone, who is a Venice aficionado, is back in competition in Cannes 27 years after his Elena Ferrante adaptation “L’amore molesto” (“Troubling Love”) launched in competition from the Croisette in 1995. And there is a close connection between these two films that delve deep into the entrails of

Matthew McConaughey has issued a statement responding to news of a mass shooting at an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. The massacre has left at least 19 students and two adults dead, with several more being treated in local hospitals for injuries sustained during the incident. The actor offered a response on

Belgian director Lukas Dhont is in rare company. His 2018 Un Certain Regard debut, “Girl,” won the Caméra d’Or and three more Cannes prizes, besting the number of first-time feature wins from the likes of Steven Soderbergh and Steve McQueen. And while his rise has come with some controversy, he earned a place in competition with the May 26 Lumière gala premiere of

In a world awash in marketing messages and entertainment options, spurring consumers to check out new movie titles at the multiplex is no easy task. And that was before pandemic conditions made everything about going to a theater that much more complicated. “Now there’s an extra step,” said Michael Moses, chief marketing officer for Universal

The Cannes Film Festival invited eight male directors for an hours-long symposium on the future of cinema on Tuesday — a session that raised uneasy questions for those working with streaming services, and paid no attention to the lack of female filmmakers on the panel. Moderated by Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux and Canal+ correspondent

There’s a quote from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi that sticks with Dakota Johnson as she navigates the early years of running her production company: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” When asked what kinds of films TeaTime Pictures is looking to produce, it’s Rumi

Hometowns forget us quickly when we leave them, even if some of the people left behind do not. Architecture, infrastructure and whole communities can change with scant warning or regard for our memories, or our bearings when we return. When you go home again — and you can, contrary to the popular adage — even

TMZ filed an emergency motion on Tuesday seeking to block Johnny Depp from calling one of its former employees to testify at his defamation trial in Virginia. In the motion, TMZ said it was seeking to protect a confidential source who had provided the outlet with a video of Depp yelling at ex-wife Amber Heard

There are no more potential-killing words of creative advice than “write what you know.” Certainly it’s a shame that when donning her screenwriter chapeau, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi — a fine actress and a director with a deft, light touch, especially with breezy character comedy — seems to have taken them so to heart. Once again

The Cannes Film Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary Tuesday evening with a group of no less than 120 stars and filmmakers from all over the world, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Paolo Sorrentino, Isabelle Huppert, Diane Kruger, Guillermo del Toro, Jacques Audiard, Melanie Laurent, Gael Garcia Bernal and Nicolas Winding Refn who made the trip for the

Neon has bought Ruben Östlund’s satire “Triangle of Sadness” in one of the biggest deals to close on a Cannes Film Festival official selection title. 30West and WME handled domestic rights to the comedy, which stars Woody Harrelson as a rabid Marxist who is the captain of a cruise for the super rich. According to

“Alex Honnold: The Soloist” and “Glimpse” were awarded at Cannes XR x VeeR Future Awards on May 22, named best VR story and best VR interactive experience respectively. The winners were announced by jurors Zhang Ziyi and Bad Robot’s Hannah Minghella, who judged 18 shortlisted VR works alongside Michel Reilhac, Vicki Dobbs Beck, Kari Skogland and Doug Chiang. The event, marking

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” actor Celeste O’Connor has been cast in “Madame Web,” an upcoming installment in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters. O’Connor’s role has not been announced. They will appear in the comic-book adventure alongside Dakota Johnson, who is playing the title character, as well as Sydney Sweeney of “Euphoria” fame. The movie will serve as

Specialty U.S. distributors Uncork’d Entertainment and Dark Star Pictures have acquired Italian director Pasquale Marrazzo’s LGBTQ drama “The Neighbor” for release in North America from Rome-based Coccinelle Film Sales. “The Neighbor” (which is titled “Hotel Milano” in Italy) is about two young men who are in love but get bullied by a gang of neo-Nazi

The cream of the current crop of young Indian documentary filmmakers were on fire during the annual Doc Day at the Cannes Film Market, discussing ways of expressing dissent within India’s current political dispensation. Since 2014, India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” is showing as

Will Smith told David Letterman on a recent episode of the former late night host’s Netflix interview series “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” that he had a terrifying vision of losing his money and career before the Oscars slap sent his professional life spiraling. Netflix noted at the start of the conversation between the

Iceland is like no other place on Earth, and the films that take place there can’t help but reflect this. In “Godland,” Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason attempts to see his homeland through outside eyes, the way it must have looked to the Danes who claimed and controlled it until World War II. Icelandic period pieces