Movies

Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky doesn’t keep things off the record, he said during his masterclass at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Festival. Celebrated with a tribute section featuring “Under the Sun,” “Putin’s Witnesses” and his latest doc “Gorbachev. Heaven,” Mansky has already outlined his methods in his 2005 manifesto “Real Cinema,” including the fact that directors

Barbora Sliepková’s “Lines,” about the everyday urban bustle of Bratislava, has already brought her the Opus Bonum award at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Festival and the Karlovy Vary Docs in Progress award. But the helmer is looking forward to taking a “little break” from the city, developing a film about dreams, and teaming up with Lucia

Alessandro Melazzini approaches the subject of 80s pop dance music from a particular perspective. Born in Sondrio, Lombardy, the Italian documentarian, who has filmed both nuns and porn stars, is based in Germany and was trained as an economist and philosopher, and also worked as a cultural journalist and translator. “My previous documentary was about

Marco Orsini, president of the not-for-profit International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), is firmly in favor of a back to basics distribution approach for independent films from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Horn of Africa and some parts of South Asia. Orsini says that quality independent films would most likely be

Bérénice Bejo, Oscar nominated for “The Artist,” and two-time Goya winner Antonio de la Torre are to star in “The Movie Teller,” which is to be directed by Lone Scherfig, a BAFTA nominee with “An Education.” Embankment is launching worldwide sales on the Spanish-language film at the virtual AFM. Walter Salles, a BAFTA winner with

It has been claimed that women who forget the worst of the pain of childbirth are programmed to do so by evolutionary necessity: The selective editing of the body’s memory of trauma helps ensure the species continues to propagate itself. However true that is, a similar theory might account for why so many of us

“High Ground,” a 1930s-set drama film, picked up eight nominations for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. It narrowly led the field of contenders that included controversial drama “Nitram” with seven nominations, “The Dry” with six and “Penguin Bloom” with five. Nominations were announced over the weekend ahead of a week of

South Korean cinemas are anticipating a boost from Monday (Nov. 1, 2021) as the country moves to a policy of living with the COVID-19 coronavirus. In the last weekend before the policy’s implementation “Dune” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” swapped positions at the top of the Korean box office. “Dune” rose to first place

Michael Laughlin, a filmmaker and producer whose credits included the likes of 1971’s “Two-Lane Blacktop” and 1981’s “Strange Behavior,” died on Oct. 20 from complications related to COVID-19. He was 82 years old. Laughlin’s death was confirmed to Variety by his friend Brooke Nasser. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, where had been living for many years. Laughlin

Japanese film sellers are once again out in force at TIFFCOM, which is completely online for the second year in a row. Buyers will find much familiar from the Busan market, but new titles are on offer as well. NIKKATSU Japan’s oldest continuously operated studio, Nikkatsu is bringing Matsui Daigo’s “Just Remembering,” a romantic drama

Bangladeshi filmmaker Nuhash Humayun’s “Moving Bangladesh” has received NT$2.5 million ($89,800) from the Taipei Film Fund. With this, the TIFFCOM selected project has achieved 60% of its $659,000 budget and aims to raise the rest in Tokyo. In “Moving Bangladesh,” sick of being stuck in traffic — and in life — a struggling middle-class Bangladeshi entrepreneur

Kal Penn, the actor best known for his lead role in the “Harold & Kumar” comedy series, has come out, revealing that he is engaged to his partner of eleven years. Penn gave his story during an interview on this week’s CBS Sunday Morning while promoting his new tell-all memoir “You Can’t Be Serious,” touching

Disney has announced eleven new cast members that will join returning stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in “Hocus Pocus 2,” its upcoming Disney Plus sequel to the 1993 family fantasy film. Disney made the announcement through its official Disney Plus Twitter, alongside a video featuring the sequel’s logo. The black flame

For the first time in modern history, October is the highest-grossing month of the year at the domestic box office. Thanks to Sony’s comic book adventure “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” MGM’s James Bond sequel “No Time to Die,” Universal’s “Halloween Kills” and the Warner Bros. and Legendary tentpole “Dune,” the season that celebrates all

Quick, which of the following describes Timothée Chalamet? He’s the brightest male star of his generation. He’s an actor who has been in a handful of independent hits (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Lady Bird”) but has never, on his own, in the classic sense, truly opened a movie. He’s a clothes horse with a

Kumail Nanjiani did something most people would never think of — he turned down a party invitation from Angelina Jolie. And not just any party. Jolie hosted a Halloween bash while they were filming “Eternals” in the Canary Islands. “I did get an invite but I actually didn’t go because we were shooting on location

Unfortunately for “No Time to Die’s” China debut, government authorities have decided that it’s currently no time for citizens to risk dying of COVID-19 at the movies and are taking extra precautions to suspend cinema operations across the country this weekend as new outbreaks occur. Hollywood is catching a tough break in China this month.

The domestic box office was lighter on the treats and heavier on the tricks during Halloween weekend, capping an otherwise busy October at the movies on a muted note. Horror movies “Antlers” and “Last Night in Soho” opened nationwide and struggled to scare up strong ticket sales, leaving last weekend’s champion “Dune” to rule over

Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky brings a basket brimming with projects to this year’s AFM as he looks forward to easier international conditions as the COVID pandemic begins to recede. Deals with two of Russia’s biggest platforms — Kinopoisk HD on local search engine giant Yandex, and Okko, part of leading bank Sber (which has a

“Flabbergasted” is Georges Chamchoum’s choice word to use when thinking of Asia’s disappointingly low Oscar representation, especially given all the masterpieces that have come from the region. Two years after South Korea’s Parasite won best picture, Chamchoum believes events such as the Asian World Film Festival, of which he serves as executive and program director, are

Stories of urban life under pressure dominated the 25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival as the event wrapped Saturday with top honors going to Slovak director Barbora Sliepkova for “Lines,” called by the jury an “exceptional” approach to showing how “beauty, intimacy and space are intertwined” amid social and economic contradictions and connections. “Lines” also

James Ivory has offered an account on his exit from co-directorial duties on the 2017 drama “Call Me by Your Name,” explaining his creative differences with director Luca Guadagnino. In an excerpt from Ivory’s new memoir, “Solid Ivory,” published by GQ, the seasoned film director and writer goes into detail about being dropped from the

Alec Baldwin has given his first comments on-camera regarding the tragedy on the set of “Rust,” in which a prop gun held by the actor and producer accidentally discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In an intense but polite conversation with paps on a roadside in Vermont, Baldwin addressed the fatal incident and explained his relationship

George Tyssen Butler, a documentary filmmaker best known for co-directing the 1977 feature “Pumping Iron,” died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in New Hampshire. He was 78 years old. Butler’s death was confirmed to Variety by his longtime companion Caroline Alexander. Butler was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Somalia and

Phyllis Nagy’s screenplays have brought her many accolades, including an Oscar nom for “Carol.” The writer, who also teaches at UCLA, brings her second directorial effort, “Call Jane,” to AFM. The film, which stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina, is set in the 1960s and follows Joy (Banks) whose pregnancy is

Halloween weekend is proving unfruitful for a pair of new horror movies, as “Dune” repeats its top performance at the domestic box office this weekend. Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” and Scott Cooper’s “Antlers” both had muted debuts, leaving the No. 1 spot open for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s fabled sci-fi novel.

Documentary features and docuseries have become some of the most popular and profitable content around — especially for streamers — but what makes a project rise above the sheer volume of nonfiction fare now flooding the marketplace? That’s the question on the minds of top doc producers, directors, dealmakers and distributors who, on the eve

Japan’s newly-instaled Prime Minister Kishida Fumio sent a video message on Saturday to the opening ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival. “I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your ingenuity and dedication in organizing this new type of film festival, a hybrid of the real and online,” Kishida said.

The Writers Guild of America has told members not to work for Germany’s Constantin Film, which the union maintains is not a signatory to the 2020 Minimum Basic Agreement. The WGA instructed members in a message sent Friday afternoon that it is invoking its Working Rule 8 to bar members from working for Constantin Film

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