Movies

The Guadalajara Film Festival’s industry centerpiece, its Encuentro de Co-produccion, a springboard for Latin American feature film projects, unspools this week online, as directors and producers look to catch the eye of the international marketplace and secure key sales, distribution and production partners. Guadalajara has long rejected the idea that gender-based quotas are needed when

According to his Twitter page, Bo McGuire has been “putting the queer in country since 1984ever.” Now, with his feature debut “Socks on Fire,” he’s putting some much overdue queer into the documentary landscape, with an anarchic, poetic and sometimes mind-blowingly surreal memoir that rakes over the coals of a very personal family feud. At

In his latest documentary “Crazy, Not Insane”—screening at documentary film festival IDFA—Alex Gibney gives the floor to Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis, a renowned American psychiatrist who has examined numerous serial killers. Specializing in the study of people with dissociative identity disorder (DID), Lewis has concluded that many of the 20th century’s most notorious murderers—including Joel

“People don’t really think about striptease these days,” says director Yoichiro Okutani, “it’s seen as old-fashioned. They don’t care. Normally, you wouldn’t even go there.” So with his debut film “Odoriko,” which takes its name from the Japanese word for exotic dancers and has its premiere in IDFA’s Feature-Length Documentary Competition, Okutani’s has decided to

Colombian documentary feature “Alis,” from directors Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf, has won the Forum Award for best project at IDFA, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals, which is running as a virtual event until Dec. 6. IDFA’s Forum section is a co-financing and co-production market for “creative” documentaries. “Alis” follows eight

Like many of its counterparts worldwide, the Guadalajara Int’l Film Festival (FICG), Mexico’s largest film festival, faced the quandary of whether to go online, reschedule or cancel altogether because of the pandemic. It opted for a rescheduled hybrid 35th edition which would serve those either unable or afraid to travel and those without an internet

There have been a number of recent documentaries—Netflix’s “Knock Down the House,” featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and “Time for Ilhan,” looking at Ilhan Omar—that are about female politicians of color who have challenged the status quo on gender and race as they vie for political office in America. But these representational battles are not just the

The diaries of the late actor Alan Rickman — best known for playing Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” movies — will be published as a book in fall 2022. As reported by The Guardian, Rickman’s journals covered everything from his thoughts on acting to insights on friendships and politics. The avid theater-goer also reviewed

Camera crews can be very heteronormative and there is a lot of toxic masculinity, argued DP Michael Filocamo during the online IMAGO and Digital Orchard Foundation Diversity and Inclusion Roundtable at Camerimage. Also noting the current situation in Poland and even calling out the festival itself. “As a queer cinematographer, I have experienced homophobia from

Even in his dotage, stooped and tissue-skinned and walker-dependent, the former (and final) Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev is an imposing, even intimidating figure — formidable enough to have stymied the venerable Werner Herzog two years ago. The German auteur’s oddly cautious 2018 doc “Meeting Gorbachev” was a missed opportunity, colored by the filmmaker’s obvious

During a seminar at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival dedicated to their drama “Pieces of a Woman,” acquired by Netflix following its premiere in Venice, cinematographer Benjamin Loeb and Kornél Mundruczó praised their cast, led by Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf playing a couple dealing with the tragic loss of their newborn child. Kirby, who left Italy

Indie ethos, costume drama and rich fantasy won the day at the world’s top cinematography event, EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, on Saturday, with Joshua James Richards’ naturalistic filming in Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” taking the Golden Frog plus FIPRESCI jury honors. The chronicle of life on the rough edges of America’s society among retirees living on the

The attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old gunman accused of killing two protesters in August in Kenosha, Wis., said actor Ricky Schroder was among those who helped the teen post $2 million bail for his release on Friday. Attorney Lin Wood took to Twitter on Friday to announce Rittenhouse’s release, giving a shoutout to Schroder

“My Missing Valentine,” a fantasy comedy drama directed by Chen Yu-hsun, won the top prize at the 57th edition of Golden Horse Awards. It collected four further prizes, including best director and best screenplay on Saturday at an in-person ceremony in Taipei. Best actress and best supporting actress awards both went to the 81-year-old veteran

Sia has not let accusations that she was “ableist” in the making of her upcoming movie, “Music,” go by without comment, and the pop star-turned-filmmaker spent the early hours of Friday tangling with disability activists who took issue with her on several points. Among the grievances she addressed, sometimes with palpable anger: her use of

If last week was a big one for Netflix (what with “Mank” and “Hillbilly Elegy” out in theaters), then this one belongs to Amazon, who have a pair of big projects launching via their Prime Video subscription service. The first is “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen’s anthology “Small Axe,” an epic and altogether

“Mangrove,” now streaming on Amazon Prime, is the first in the five-part anthology, “Small Axe” by director Steve McQueen. Spanning two decades, the films are standalones tracing the West Indian experience with reggae music and costume tying all five films together. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran oversaw all five films, while individual designers worked on each

“Our work here is to change people’s vision,” says Jean-Marie Barbe, with a particularly French balance of passion and nonchalance, as if the mission he’s describing is both the simplest and most important thing in the world. A leading light of the documentary association Ardèche Images, based in his rural home village of Lussas in

Disney’s 20th Century Studios is developing a fifth “Predator” movie with “10 Cloverfield Lane” director Dan Trachtenberg. Patrick Aison, whose television credits include the series “Kingdom,” “Jack Ryan” and “Treadstone,” has been hired to write the script. The four “Predator” movies earned $443 million worldwide, with John Davis producing each. The original “Predator” was released

London-based Taskovski Films has acquired worldwide rights outside Italy to Jacopo Quadri’s “Ultimina,” which world premieres on Saturday Nov. 21 at Amsterdam’s IDFA documentary festival.“Ultimina” is co-produced by Quadri’s Rome-based outfit Ubulibri with Rai Cinema and the deal takes in streaming rights on the Taskovski Films Vimeo VOD platform. The documentary follows a 86-year-old woman

“Wonder Woman 1984” will hit theaters in China on Dec. 18, a week before the Warner Bros. tentpole launches in North America simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max. It will debut in cinemas in other international territories on Dec. 16. The sequel, starring Gal Gadot, will be the first major Hollywood

Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Man Who Sold His Skin” will represent Tunisia in the Oscar race for best international feature film. The movie world premiered at Venice where it won the best actor award for Yahya Mahayni. The film went on to have its Middle East premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, where it

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, known for his versatile array of visual styles, from Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” to James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari,” says he knew going into Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” that he would need to do some reading between the lines. Sorkin’s Netflix original film, which recounts the notorious political prosecution

Paramount Players has hired former Overbrook Entertainment executive Clarence Hammond as senior vice president of production. Hammond will report to Paramount Players President Jeremy Kramer and begin his new position effective Nov. 30. In his new role, Hammond will help oversee the development and production of films made under the Paramount Players label, which is

“Happiest Season” is a home-for-the-holidays movie that serves up what you expect, along with something you don’t. The second feature directed by the actress-turned-filmmaker Clea DuVall (“The Intervention”), who shows a singular flair for shaping performances as well as a lush new visual confidence, the film is cheeky and blithe and situational, suffused with enough

Appropriately blessed by sunshine in Spain, though the whole event went online, the Malaga Film Festival’s Spanish Screenings wrapped Friday, though films will continue to screen another week given the demand for screenings. The equivalent of France’s UniFrance Rendez-vous with French cinema in Paris, the Screenings were a bellwether for far larger trends coursing the

Actor Kirby Morrow, known for his voice credits on the English version of “Dragon Ball Z” and LEGO’s “Ninjago,” has died at 47, his representative confirmed to Variety. Morrow’s voice acting credits also included roles in the English dub of “Inuyasha” as the character Miroku, as well as voicing Cyclops in the series “X-Men: Evolution.”

Emmy-winning writers Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin and Wendy Molyneux have been tapped to write “Deadpool 3”, with Ryan Reynolds set to return as the foul-mouthed mercenary. The Molyneux sisters are longtime writing partners, known for their Emmy Award-winning work on Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers.” The pair have also been nominated for three WGA Awards and won an Annie

International buyers were shown another preview of director Marta Lallana’s sophomore feature, “Muyeres,” at the Malaga Spanish Screenings this week. Set to go into production next year, the black and white documentary that explores song preservation in the northern Asturian region of Spain, the work-in-progress received its first festival outing this spring, taking part in

London-basted genre outfit Shogun Films has commenced a creative partnership with prolific U.S. director/producer Daniel Zirilli (“Acceleration,” “Invincible”). The first film to secure funding under the partnership is “Renegades.” Financing has been secured from Insight Media Fund, negotiated by Samahoma Media Advisors, with Bob Clarke and Gareth Jones executive producing, as well as from private