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The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the full documentary slate for the 50th edition of the festival, which will take place from Sept. 4-14.

The TIFF 50 Docs program features new films from highly acclaimed filmmakers, including Academy Award winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo), Ben Proudfoot (The Last Repair Shop), and Laura Poitras (Citizenfour), and Academy Award nominee Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro).

The program will open with Proudfoot’s The Eyes of Ghana, which profiles influential Ghanian filmmaker Chris Hesse and is executive-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. World premieres coming to TIFF as sales titles include: The Balloonists, directed by John Dower, capturing adventurers who set out to circle the globe in a balloon; A Life Illuminated, directed by Tasha Van Zandt, following marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder on a stunning journey to the ocean depths; Whistle, directed by Christopher Nelius, portraying a competition of champion whistlers; Nuns vs.

The Toronto International Film Festival is nearing the completion of its 2025 lineup reveal—an always overwhelming endeavor, given the sheer volume of films featured. Today, we turn our attention to documentary programmer Thom Power’s selections for the TIFF Docs program, which includes just under two dozen films. Alongside documentaries scattered throughout the broader festival lineup, this year’s TIFF Docs boasts sixteen world premieres, many from Canadian filmmakers, as well as what we imagine are standout titles from the international festival circuit in Venice’s Below the Clouds by Gianfranco Rosi, Cover-Up from Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, Lucrecia Martel’s Nuestra Tierra, and Raoul Peck’s Cannes-premiered Orwell: 2+2=5.…...

World premieres of Free Solo co-directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s profile of photojournalist Lynsey Addario in Love+War and Tasha Van Zandt’s feature A Life Illuminated about oceanographer Edith Widder are among the TIFF Docs line-up announced on Wednesday.

The programme brings first looks of John Dower’s The Balloonists about circumnavigating adventurers, Lorena Luciano’s account of Catholic Church abuse in Nuns vs. The Vatican with Mariska Hargitay on board as executive producer, and Canadian filmmaker Nicole Bazuin’s sex industry film Modern Whore.

TIFF Docs will open with Canadian director Ben Proudfoot’s The Eyes Of Ghana,...

Twenty-three documentaries, including new works from the Oscar-winning directors Ben Proudfoot, Laura Poitras and Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, have been added to the lineup of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.

The TIFF Docs program will include 16 world premieres, beginning with “The Eyes of Ghana,” directed by Proudfoot, who has won Oscars for his short docs “The Queen of Basketball” and “The Last Repair Shop.” The film is executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Other world premieres include “Love+War” from Vasarhelyi and Chin, who won the doc-feature Oscar for 2019’s “Free Solo”; “Nuns vs. the Vatican,” an examination of new abuse allegations inside the Catholic Church that was directed by Lorena Luciano and executive produced by Mariska Hargitay; “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story,” directed by Billy Corben; and “Whistle,” a Christopher Nelius film about a whistling competition.

“Cover-Up,” a film about investigative reporter...

Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot’s The Eyes of Ghana, executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, is set to open the Toronto Film Festival’s Doc sidebar, organizers said Wednesday.

Nova Scotia-raised and L.A.-based Proudfoot won his two Academy Awards for his short documentary films The Queen of Basketball and The Last Repair Shop that impressed Oscar voters with their cinematic poetry and craft.

Now it has taken the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions and Oscar-nominated documentary maker Moses Bwayo to convince Proudfoot to bring his emotional and immersive storytelling to the feature documentary with a portrait of Chris Hesse, the personal cinematographer for Kwame Nkrumah who reveals a vast library of lost films about the legendary African leader to modern audiences.

There’s no word on whether the Obamas will be in Toronto for the world premiere of The Eyes of Ghana, which also recounts the rise and fall of Nkrumah,...

Ahead of the 63rd New York Film Festival kicking off next month, taking place September 26 through October 13, the Main Slate has now been unveiled, featuring 34 of the most acclaimed and anticipated films of the year.

Highlights include the world premieres of Ulrich Köhler’s Gavagai and the previously announced Bradly Cooper’s Is This Thing On? as Closing Night, alongside new films by Bi Gan, Kelly Reichardt, Kathryn Bigelow, Lucrecia Martel, Christian Petzold, Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Joachim Trier, Oliver Laxe, Kent Jones, Noah Baumbach, Jafar Panahi, Pietro Marcello, Laura Poitras, and more.

NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim stated: “​​Anyone who cares about film knows that it is an art in need of defending, like many of our core values today. Across all sections of the festival, the movies we have selected this year suggest that this safeguarding can take many guises: acts of rejuvenation and refusal,...

George Clooney’s “Jay Kelly,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” have been added to the New York Film Festival lineup.

This year’s main slate will showcase 34 films, including Cannes prizewinners, Sundance darlings and Venice premieres.

“​​Anyone who cares about film knows that it is an art in need of defending, like many of our core values today,” said NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim. “Across all sections of the festival, the movies we have selected this year suggest that this safeguarding can take many guises: acts of rejuvenation and refusal, expressions of unease and joy, feats of imagination and commemoration. I am particularly struck by the diversity of approaches and forms among the films in this Main Slate, which affirms that the art of cinema is more than capable of thriving, even in difficult times.”

As previously announced, New York Film Festival will open on Sept.

New York Film Festival (September 26-October 13) has announced the main slate for its 63rd edition, with Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, Kathryn Bigelow’s A House Of Dynamite, and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind on the roster.

Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25, Claire Denis’ The Fence, Kent Jones’s Late Fame, and Bi Gan’s Resurrection are also in the 34-strong line-up, alongside Ulrich Köhler’s Gavagai – a metacinema centred on a production of Medea –one of two world premieres in selection alongside Bradley Cooper’s previously announced closing night film Is This Thing On?

As also previously announced,...

New York Film Festival, has unveiled the Main Slate of its 63rd edition with prize winners from top fests led by Cannes from Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident (Palme d’Or) and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Grand Prix) to Oliver Laxe’s Sirât and Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling (joint Jury Prize winners), Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, and Bi Gan’s Resurrection (Special Award).

From Berlin, Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Silver Bear for best leading performance for Rose Byrne) and Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25 (Silver Bear for best screenplay). Eleven Main Slate films are set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival including Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, Kent Jones’s Late Fame and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice.

NYFF’s 34 Main Slate films from 26 countries feature two world premieres,...

After steadily rolling out some of its gala heavy-hitters, the New York Film Festival has today announced its full main slate lineup, including new films from Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, Noah Baumbach, Kathryn Bigelow, Kahlil Joseph, Joachim Trier, Ira Sachs, and many more.

This year’s main slate includes films from 26 countries, among them two world premieres (including Bradley Cooper’s “Is This Thing On?” and Ulrich Köhler’s “Gavagai”), plus eight North American and 13 U.S. premieres.

The festival has also programmed a number of hits from other fests, including Cannes prizewinners like Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât,” Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” and Bi Gan’s “Resurrection.” Berlin and Sundance hits are also on offer, including Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Radu Jude’s “Kontinental ’25.

New York Film Festival (September 26-October 13) has announced the main slate for its 63rd edition, with Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, Kathryn Bigelow’s A House Of Dynamite, and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind on the roster.

Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25, Claire Denis’ The Fence, Kent Jones’s Late Fame, and Bi Gan’s Resurrection are also in the 34-strong line-up, alongside Ulrich Köhler’s Gavagai – a metacinema centred on a production of Medea –one of two world premieres in selection alongside Bradley Cooper’s previously announced closing night film Is This Thing On?

As also previously announced,...

The 63rd New York Film Festival’s Main Slate will include new films from Noah Baumbach, Jafar Panahi, Kathryn Bigelow, Park Chan-wook and more. Film at Lincoln center announced the 34 Main Slate films Tuesday.

The movies come from 26 countries and include two world, eight North American and 13 U.S. premieres. Some titles will first debut at other festivals. Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Park’s “No Other Choice” and Kent Jones’ “Late Fame” are all playing the 82nd Venice Film Festival before crossing the Atlantic to New York City.

Cannes winners in the Main Slate include Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident”; Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” which took the Grand Prix; Jury Prize winners Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât” and Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling”; Best Director- and Best Actor-winning “The Secret Agent” from Kleber Mendonça Filho; and Bi Gan’s “Resurrection,...

The awards circuit is making a key stop in the Big Apple this year.

On Tuesday, the New York Film Festival announced 34 films for their main slate lineup.

The Main Slate will showcase films from 26 countries, featuring two world premieres, eight North American premieres, and 13 U.S. premieres, including award‑winning titles from Cannes and Berlin. The lineup includes Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident (winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival) and Rose Byrne, recipient of the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 2025 Berlinale for Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

Also featured is Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, which is set to premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival before releasing on Netflix

The NYFF will open with Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield,...

Producer Esther García will receive the Donostia Award of the 73rd San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 19-27), with the festival also payingtribute to late Spanish actress Marisa Paredes, dedicating this year’s official poster to her memory.

García is the long-time producer and production manager for Pedro Almodóvar, beginning with Matador (1986) and The Law Of Desire (1987), his Oscar-winning titles All About My Mother (1999) and Talk to Her (2002), and up to his most recent film The Room Next Door which won the Golden Lion at Venice last year.

García has also worked with other auteurs, including Lucrecia Martel and Oliver Laxe.

Two figures very close to Pedro Almodovar, his longtime producer Esther García and repeat star Marisa Paredes, will be honored by Spain’s most prestigious film festival, San Sebastián.

García will receive a Donostia Award for career achievement.

Paredes, who died in December, will feature on this year’s San Sebastian poster.

Working with Agustín Almódovar, García has produced all Almodovar’s films since 1986’s “Matador,” released a year after Pedro and brother Agustín founded El Deseo in Madrid to hone a production model which, often working on contained budgets, realized the potential of Almodovar’s talent, allowing him creative oversight over the whole of a film while relieving him of rushed production schedules and the need to abandon his more out-there innovation and humor in order to recoup on bigger budgeted productions.

At El Deseo, García has also produced third-party titles from Guillermo del Toro, Lucrecia Martel, Damián Szifron,...

The Match Factory has taken international sales outside North America on Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel’s hotly anticipated documentary “Nuestra Tierra” (“Landmarks”) ahead of its premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

Cinetic Media will be handling sales in North America. The Match Factory will handle all other territories on “Nuestra Tierra” that is set to launch from the Lido in an out-of-competition slot.

Lucrecia Martel is among Latin American cinema’s most prominent auteurs. Her credits include psychological thriller “The Headless Woman,” period drama “Zama,” and, more recently, Björk’s concert film “Cornucopia.” She presided over the main Venice fest jury in 2019.

Martel’s long-gestating “Nuestra Tierra” – which marks her first non-fiction film – is a creative documentary exploring the subject of land ownership and indigenous struggles in Latin America.

The doc reconstructs the 2009 murder of indigenous activist Javier Chocobar, leader of the Chuschagasta indigenous community in northern Argentina by a white landowner.

Dos presencias españolas, ‘Extraño Río’ y ‘Calle Málaga’, en la programación de la Biennale.

© Biennale

Ayer se desveló la impresionante programación de la 82 edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de Venecia, que se celebra del 27 de agosto al 6 de septiembre. Una selección potente, con claro protagonismo del cine en lengua inglesa, que busca posicionar a Venecia como la antesala decisiva de la temporada de premios. No es un gesto gratuito: Anora, ganadora en Cannes el año pasado, acabó llevándose el Óscar a la Mejor Película. Y ahora, todos miran a la Mostra como el próximo trampolín. Así, en la competición por el León de Oro hay nombres de peso como Guillermo del Toro, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jim Jarmusch, Noah Baumbach, Park Chan-wook, o Benny Safdie. La riqueza de la programación se extiende también a las secciones paralelas y fuera de competición. En ellas se presentarán, entre otros, los nuevos trabajos de...

The lineup for this year’s Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, with the likes of Giullermo del Toro, Noah Baumbach, Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Jarmusch, Park Chan-wook, and Yorgos Lanthimos all competing for the coveted Golden Lion.

Here is the full lineup of 20 films in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival:

Ballad of a Small Player, Edward Berger

Below the Clouds, Gianfranco Rosi

Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos

Duse, Pietro Marcello

Elisa Leonardo Di Costanzo

Father Mother Sister Brother, Jim Jarmusch

Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro

The Grace, Paolo Sorrentino

A House of Dynamite, Kathryn Bigelow

Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach

Mother Bhum, Chong Keat Aun

No Other Choice, Park Chan-wook

A Pied D’Oeuvre, Valerie Donzelli

Silent Friend, Ildiko Enyedi

The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie

The Stranger, François Ozon

The Sin Rises on Us All, Cai Shangjun

The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvoid

The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben...

The Venice Film Festival is back on the Lido for its 82nd edition, kicking off August 27-September 6. The packed lineup of auteur premieres heading to Italy include new films from Olivier Assayas, Guillermo del Toro, Mona Fastvold, Kathryn Bigelow, Noah Baumbach, Yorgos Lanthimos, Benny Safdie, Jim Jarmusch, Park Chan-wook, László Nemes, François Ozon, Pietro Marcello, and many more in competition.

Out of competition, we’ll see new films from Luca Guadagnino (“After the Hunt”), Werner Herzog (“Ghost Elephants”), Sofia Coppola (Marc Jacobs documentary “Marc by Sofia”), Charlie Kaufman (the short “How to Shoot a Ghost”), Julian Schnabel (“In the Hand of Dante”), Gus Van Sant (“Dead Man’s Wire”), Laura Poitras (“Cover-Up”), Lucrecia Martel (“Nuestra Tierra”), and Tsai Ming-liang (“Back Home”)

Artistic director Alberto Barbera’s programmers had already unveiled a wave of announcements before Tuesday’s lineup: Alexander Payne heads up the jury, Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” opens the festival Italian-style,...

Alberto Barbera presided over a lengthy press conference Tuesday morning, when he announced the stacked lineup for this year’s Venice Film Festival, which runs August 27-September 6.

The lineup is expansive, with big names and arthouse darlings sprinkled across the festival’s strands, even including the shorts program.

High-profile titles include Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny. Roberts leads the cast as a college professor who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star student (Edebiri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Garfield), and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come into the light. The film will screen Out of Competition on Guadagnino and Amazon MGM Studios’ request, Barbera explained during the presser.

Elsewhere, in Competition we have Jay Kelly, the latest film Noah Baumbach has made for Netflix. The...

Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” are heading to the Lido for their world premieres at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.

At a press conference in Venice on Tuesday morning, the announcement of those and other titles was made by Alberto Barbera, Director of the Cinema Department and Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of La Biennale di Venezia.

Other films in the Venice main competition include new work from Paolo Sorrentino (“La Grazia”), Jim Jarmusch (“Father Mother Sister Brother”), Laszlo Nemes (“Orphan”), Park Chan-wook

“Sermon to the Void,” Hilal Baydarov

“L’Isola di Andrea,” Antonio Capuano

“Il Maestro,” Andrea Di Stefano

“After the Hunt,” Luca Guadagnino

“Hateshinaki Scarlet,” Mamoru Hosoda

“The Last Viking,” Anders Thomas Jensen

“In the Hand of Dante,” Julian Schnabel

“Dead Man’s Wire,” Gus Van Sant

“Orfeo,” Virgilio Villoresi

Out of Competition – Non Fiction

“Kabul,...

Celebrating its 82nd edition this year, Venice Film Festival will take place August 27 through September 6. Ahead of the event, President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and Director Alberto Barbera have now unveiled the lineup.

Highlights include new films from Jim Jarmusch, Park Chan-wook, Lucrecia Martel, Laura Poitras, Benny Safdie, Werner Herzog, Kathryn Bigelow, Luca Guadagnino, Olivier Assayas, Sofia Coppola, Kent Jones, Yorgos Lanthimos, Mark Jenkin, Tsai Ming-liang, Mamoru Hosoda, Gus Van Sant, Noah Baumbach, Mona Fastvold, Pietro Marcello, Guillermo del Toro, László Nemes, and more.

See the lineup below.

Opening Film

La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino) (in competition)

Closing Film

Chien 51 (Cédric Jimenez) (out of competition)

In Competition

The Wizard of the Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)

The Voice of Hind Rajab (Kaouther Ben Hania)

A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)

The Sun Rises on Us All (Cai Shangjun)

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)

Elisa (Leonardo Di Costanzo)

À pied d’œuvre...

Kathryn Bigelow’s A House Of Dynamite, Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, and Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt are among the films selected for the 82nd Venice Film Festival (August 27 - September 6).

Scroll down for full line-up

The first two are among 21 Competition titles, with further Competition entries including Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly starring George Clooney, Olivier Assayas’ The Wizard Of The Kremlin starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin, Mona Fastvold’s The Testament Of Ann Lee, and Guillermo del Toro’sFrankenstein starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.

The selection was announced by artistic director Alberto Barbera,...

The line-up for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (August 27-September 9) is being unveiled today at 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST) by festival president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and artistic director Alberto Barbera.

Scroll down for lineup

The press conference is live-streamed above, and this page will be updated with the films as they are announced.Refresh page for latest updates.

Alexander Payne will preside over the jury, which also includes Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres, Stephane Brize, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu and Zhao Tao. Julia Ducournau will chair the Horizons jury.

The Venice Critics’ Week line-up was announced yesterday.

Competition

La Grazia

Dir.

In a Masterclass that filled a 600-seat auditorium at the Bogotá Audiovisual Market (Bam), Argentina’s Lucrecia Martel stood for an hour, despite using a cane. “I look more like a shepherd angel than a filmmaker,” she quipped, adding that she was in the middle of a shoot but couldn’t resist Bam’s invitation.

“There’s something very interesting you’re doing here in Colombia, which is placing a strong emphasis on training in the field of production and encouraging critical reflection on production itself. That’s something we failed to do, and now we Argentinians are trying to make up for it in our work. It brings up something uncomfortable when we start talking about it – this idea of ‘industry,’ because it generates jobs, because there should be – or could be – public policies to support it,” she asserted.

Checking her notes in a leather-bound book, she ticked off...

Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas and US producer and writer Joslyn Barnes of Louveture Films are among the among the jurors for the 2025 Locarno Film Festival (August 6-16).

Reygadas’ films include Cannes competition titles Silent Life and Battle In Heaven, while Barnes’ work as a producer includes Oscar-nominated documentaries Strong Island and Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Lucrecia Martel’s Zama, and she also co-wrote 2024 awards contender Nickel Boys.

Joining them on the festival’s international competition jury are Swiss actor Ursina Lardi, best known for Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon; and the Netherlands’ Renée Soutendijk, who won Locarno...

Björk has announced the physical release of her concert film Cornucopia, which will be available as a live album, DVD, or Blu-ray on October 25th.

Cornucopia: Live captures Björk’s performance at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, on September 1st, 2023, during her tour of the same name. Available formats include 3xLP vinyl, 2xCD, 2xCD + DVD, DVD, and Blu-ray. Pre-orders are ongoing.

“I am so thrilled to share the film for my concert Cornucopia with you,” Björk said in a statement. “This has been a long journey with hundreds of people helping. I am so beyond enormously grateful to every single one of them. I feel the modern concert film is a matriarchally friendly construct, welcomed in the current climate — where female musicians can share their worlds uncorrupted.”

Directed by Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel, Cornucopia features selections from throughout Björk’s extensive discography, including songs from her 2017 LP Utopia...

Now on its 16th edition, the Bogotá Audiovisual Market (Bam), taking place July 14-18 in Colombia’s capital, promises a program of over 245 activities and special events, aimed at fostering a creative exchange in music, animation, AI, documentaries, literature, film and TV.

Organized by promotional entity Proimágenes Colombia, led by Claudia Triana, and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce – with support from the Film Development Fund – Bam also opens a space for critical discussions on AI’s ethical, legal and creative impact across the industry.

In the panel Editing on Stage, Jorge Caballero, Fabián Caba (Adobe Inc.) and Camilo Restrepo will demonstrate how AI is reshaping audiovisual editing.

Aligned with this year’s tech focus, Bam also hosts a timely conversation on intellectual property in digital spaces. The talk It’s Not Magic, It’s Strategy will explore how to turn creative ideas into sustainable businesses, combining legal and industry insights.

It's no secret the theatrical experience have been on the wane for a hot minute. The Covid-19 pandemic, of course, took a heavy toll on movie theaters; per a report by the Cinema Foundation (via The Hollywood Reporter), the number of active screens in the United States shrunk from 41,172 in 2019 to 39,007 in 2022. That number has bounced back slightly in the years since then, though, while worldwide ticket sales have also been slowly increasing. At the same time, we've yet to see annual box office receipts come near to matching the massive glut of 2019 in the pandemic era. That year saw $11.23 billion in ticket sales at the domestic box office. 2020, thanks to Covid-19, only saw $2.02 billion in ticket sales stateside, with that number ticking back up to $8.96 billion in 2023 before it dropped off a bit in 2024 to $8.62 billion.

These numbers, however, only add to a general (bleak) milieu wherein feature films,...

Beirut-based Abbout Productions, led by Georges Schoucair and Myriam Sassine, will be celebrated by the Locarno Film Festival with its Raimondo Rezzonico Award dedicated to producers who epitomize the indie ethos.

Schoucair founded Abbout Productions in 2004 with Sassine joining as lead producer in 2010. They have been nurturing a network of Lebanese and Arab filmmakers amid difficult and often catastrophic circumstances, fighting to keep indie cinema alive in the region by shepherding a wide range of Arab and Lebanese feature films and launching them internationally.

Films produced by Schoucair and Sassine in recent years include “Costa Brava, Lebanon” (Venice Orizzonti, 2021); “Memory Box” (Berlinale Competition, 2021) and other works by local filmmakers such as Ahmad Ghossein, Mohamed Malas, Ghassan Salhab, Oualid Mouannes, Cyril Aris, Ely Dagher, Rana Eid and Myriam El Hajj, whose “Diaries From Lebanon” premiered in Berlinale Panorama in 2024.

Schoucair and Sassine have also co-produced several award-winning international films through their...

The independent Beirut-based production house Abbout Productions, led by Georges Schoucair and Myriam Sassine, will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Award at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival.

The production firm will also present two of its movies at Locarno, namely Costa Brava, Lebanon by Mounia Akl, and Memory Box by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige.

“In recent years, Georges Schoucair, who took over as CEO of Abbout Productions in 2004, and Myriam Sassine, who joined as lead producer in 2010, have shepherded an array of acclaimed Arab and Lebanese feature films into existence and onto the international distribution marketplace,” Locarno organizers said. “A vital production and distribution hub for the region, Abbout Productions has sustained a network of Lebanese and Arab artists and filmmakers who, despite difficult and often catastrophic circumstances, fight to create independent cinema in the region.”

The company’s movies have also included works by such local filmmakers as Ahmad Ghossein,...

Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” is finally getting a U.S. release, six years after premiering at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize under Lucrecia Martel’s jury. The film, which won four of its 12 César nominations including Best Director in 2020, is now set for a two-week limited engagement, starting August 8, at New York City’s Film Forum.

Film Forum isn’t handling the release beyond showings at its own venue, IndieWire has learned, which were booked by “An Officer and a Spy” producer Alain Goldman. News of the engagement was included deep into Film Forum’s summer programming announcement that went out Monday, June 9 (and also highlighted by World of Reel).

“An Officer and a Spy” is led by Louis Garrel, who portrays French army Captain Alfred Dreyfus after his trial. The politically scandalous Dreyfus affair took place around the turn...

This episode reflects on how Brazilian and Portuguese cinemas serve as a bridge between Latin America and Europe.Rui Poças is an acclaimed Portuguese cinematographer best known for his long-standing collaborations with two key figures of contemporary Portuguese cinema: Miguel Gomes and João Pedro Rodrigues. Since working on their respective debuts—The Face You Deserve (2004) and O Fantasma (2000)—Poças has lensed such acclaimed films as Our Beloved Month of August (2008), Tabu (2012), The Ornithologist (2016), Will-o’-the-Wisp (2022), and most recently Grand Tour (2024), which won Best Director at Cannes Film Festival.His distinctive visual style has also shaped important works by leading voices in Latin America, Europe, and the US, including Zama (2017) by Lucrecia Martel, Good Manners (2017) by Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, Frankie (2019) by Ira Sachs, and The Rye Horn (2023) by Jaione Camborda.Rachel Daisy Ellis is a producer originally from England who relocated to Brazil in 2004. For over a decade, she has...

John Wick creator Chad Stahelski explains why superhero action scenes often fail to reach their full potential in movies from Marvel and DC. Marvel and DC movies have presented dozens of action scenes ranging from run-of-the-mill fight sequences to extraordinary battles like Avengers: Endgame's packed final fight andBatman's warehouse fight from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, action scenes in the superhero genre aren't known for their consistency.

In an interview with THR, John Wick creator and director Chad Stahelski weighs in on the current state of action scenes in Hollywood. Stahelski explains that the key to creating solid action sequences lies in ensuring a balance between story, spectacle, and innovation. Stahelski specifically mentions superhero movies and points out that the genre often relies on second unit directors taking care of action scenes, which causes a clear disconnection between the action and the drama within each movie. Read...

Brazil’s Maya Da-Rin’s “Canção da Noite” (“Nightsong”), director of “Fever,” and Argentine first-time feature director Julia Rodríguez “Los Zorros Grises” have won the first screenwriting mentorship awards adjudicated in a joint initiative by Projeto Paradiso and Foundation Fondosa.

Announced at Cannes Marché du Film on Wednesday, the awards consist in screenwriting mentorship of their upcoming features from Lucrecia Martel, one of Latin America’s most highly regarded and influential writer-directors.

The awards catch the directors at slightly different stages of their careers. Bowing at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival, “The Fever” (“A Febre”), Da-Rin’s first fiction feature, won best actor (Regis Myrupu) and a Fipresci Prize at the Swiss festival, screened at Toronto, won best director at the Chicago Film Festival and Festival do Rio.

Turning on Justino, a member of the Indigenous Desana people, now security guard at Manaus port, it was hailed by Variety as a...

At the Cannes halfway mark, talk is turning to the Venice Film Festival line-up.

Benny Safdie’s A24 title The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and films from Chloe Zhao, Edward Berger, Alice Winocour and Yorgos Lanthimos are all being tipped to debut on the Lido.

After a quiet 2024 in Venice, Netflix may be back with Berger’s Macao-set The Ballad Of A Small Player starring Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton. Focus Features has two major possibilities: Zhao’s Hamnet, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal (although the Nov 27 US release date may suggest a later festival...

Pedro Pinho’s I Only Rest in the Storm unfurls over three-and-a-half hours of sunbaked landscapes and crowded barrooms, staking its claim as a polylingual co-production between Portugal, France, Brazil and Romania. Set against the shifting terrain of present-day Guinea-Bissau, the film follows Sérgio, a bearded Portuguese environmental engineer dispatched to finish an abandoned impact report on a new road slicing through rice fields. What begins as a seemingly procedural assignment soon mutates into a layered exploration of neo-colonial power plays, cultural collision and personal discovery.

Pinho leans into novelistic pacing, blurring documentary realism with scripted drama: handheld wide-angle shots linger on shimmering horizons, while candid conversations feel casually improvised. Dialogue shifts seamlessly between Portuguese, Crioulo and French, underscoring both the region’s fractured history and its vibrant, contemporary pulse. At the heart of the story lies Sérgio’s outsider status—his whiteness granting both privilege and precariousness—and the...

Up-and-coming writer-director and Hong Kong native Tiger Ji has signed with Anonymous Content for representation.

Currently, Ji is developing his first feature adaptation for “Death & Ramen” with Fit Via Vi Film Productions. Previously, Ji directed his 2023 short film “Death & Ramen,” starring comedian Bobby Lee and actor Matt Jones (“Breaking Bad”). The short premiered at the Palm Springs Shortfest, and was picked up by Canal+ for distribution worldwide. “Death & Ramen” received over 1 million views on YouTube in just over a month. It follows a ramen chef as he goes on an unintended late night odyssey with the Grim Reaper, sharing a bowl of noodles and discovering what it means to be human.

Ji first gained recognition at age 19 with his award-winning short, “Wuhan Driver,” which caught the attention of executive producer Jonathan Sanger. It follows a Chinese Uber driver in New York as he struggles to make ends meet at the onset of the pandemic.

Mubi’s May 2025 selection has arrived, featuring a Rooney Mara double-bill of perhaps her best film (Carol) and most recent effort (La cocina), Cannes-selected Latin American cinema, and a program curated by Magic Farm‘s Amalia Ulman.

As Kent M. Wllhelm said of Magic Farm in his review, “I was sold on the premise of satirizing opportunistic content creators who play dress-up as journalists, but weaving that into the storylines of the ensemble cast is no easy task for a sophomore feature. The plot gets lost; when it feels like there’s too much going on, nothing gets to shine. There’s nevertheless fun to be had in Magic Farm; importantly, Ulman’s voice and perspective are what stick with you after the credits roll. It’s encouraging to see a young director experiment, venturing into new narrative and stylistic territory.”

Check out the lineup below, and get 30 days free here.

Flóra Anna Buda, Andrea Gatopoulos, Xiwen Cong, Simon Maria Kubiena, Constance Tsang and Rodrigo Ribeyro have been named as the latest cohort of emerging directors to participate in the Cannes Film Festival’s La Résidence initiative, which is now in its 49th edition.

The six filmmakers are being hosted in the program’s residency in the Pigalle neighborhood of Paris, from March 15 to July 31, where they are benefiting from personalized screenwriting support and a collective program of meetings with film professionals.

Hungary’s Buda made waves in 2023 with her animated short film 27, which won the Cannes Palme d’or for best short, and then the Cristal Award at the Annecy Festival in 2023.

Italian and Greek director, producer and distributor Gatopoulos’s most recent work, the short film The Eggregores’ Theory, opened the 39th Venice Film Critics’ Week and made history as one of the first AI films to show in the sidebar.

Hungary’s Flora Anna Buda and Brazil’s Rodrigo Ribeyro are among the six first- and second-time filmmakers selected for La Residence du Festival de Cannes, the development programme of the Cannes Film Festival.

The three women and three men will participate in the 49th edition of the Residence, which began on March 15 and will run until July 31, 2025. Based in Paris, the participants will receive a personalised screenwriting programme and meetings with industry professionals.

An animation graduate of Hungary’s Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Buda’s graduation short film Entopia played at the 2019 Berlinale; before her short 27 won...

Björk’s concert film Cornucopia is making its way to theaters for the first time beginning on May 7th.

Documenting her “most elaborate live performance to date,” the Cornucopia film will debut in over 500 cinemas worldwide for a limited time only. Tickets for the cinematic event will go on sale on March 27th; fans can click here for ticket access and the full list of participating theaters and showtimes.

Björk crafted her “Cornucopia” run after embarking on her 2018 “Utopia” tour, debuting the new show with a residency at The Shed in New York City on 2019. She halted the tour during the pandemic, when Björk began work on her 2022 album Fossora; she resumed the “Cornucopia” run in 2023 after a short orchestral tour.

The film captures Björk’s performance at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal on September 1st, 2023. It was directed by Argentine film director Lucrecia Martel and features songs from Björk’s extensive discography,...

Björk’s concert film Cornucopia is making its way to theaters for the first time beginning on May 7th.

Documenting her “most elaborate live performance to date,” the Cornucopia film will debut in over 500 cinemas worldwide for a limited time only. Tickets for the cinematic event will go on sale on March 27th; fans can click here for ticket access and the full list of participating theaters and showtimes.

Björk crafted her “Cornucopia” run after embarking on her 2018 “Utopia” tour, debuting the new show with a residency at The Shed in New York City on 2019. She halted the tour during the pandemic, when Björk began work on her 2022 album Fossora; she resumed the “Cornucopia” run in 2023 after a short orchestral tour.

The film captures Björk’s performance at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal on September 1st, 2023. It was directed by Argentine film director Lucrecia Martel and features songs from Björk’s extensive discography,...

Camilla Belle is more than just a Hollywood actress—she’s a style icon who has graced the red carpet in some of the most elegant designer heels. Standing 5 feet 7 ½ inches (171.5 cm) tall and wearing a U.S. shoe size 8, she naturally carries off statement footwear with ease.

While she wasn’t always passionate about fashion, a trip to Paris changed her perspective.

When I was younger, I had no interest. But after I went to Paris to see the collections for the first time a few years ago, they made a huge impression on me. I realized that fashion is an art form, like acting or painting.

This newfound appreciation is reflected in her impeccable style choices. From Christian Louboutin to Stuart Weitzman, Camilla has mastered the art of pairing luxury footwear with stunning outfits, making her a true red carpet standout.

Camilla Belle keeps it casual in a SAG-AFTRA strike T-shirt,...

This is an excerpt of a piece published in Issue 6 of Notebook magazine as part of a broader exploration of the cinema of youth. The magazine is available via direct subscription or in select stores around the world.The Heartbreak KidIllustrations by Emi Ueoka.The leanest, loveliest ending. In a movie filled with good lines—“There’s no insincerity in those potatoes. There’s no deceit in the cauliflower”—Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid, written by Neil Simon, finishes honestly, undisguised and plain. Charles Grodin, who plays Lenny Cantrow, a sports equipment salesman stewing with self-starter anxieties and consequently sabotaging his life (and love life) and the lives of others, is sitting on a couch at his own wedding reception, having a conversation with a ten-year-old guest. In a room full of adults, champagne, the future, Lenny’s choice to seek refuge is unadorned and innocent, even if our anti-hero is far from innocent,...

“Probably the best co-producers in the world?” is the provocative title of one of the International Film Festival Rotterdam panels during “Pulling Focus,” IFFR Pro’s day dedicated to the global influence of Dutch cinema held on February 4.

The Dutch don’t normally boast; their lack of egotism is what can make them such excellent collaborators. Nonetheless, leading producers in the Netherlands agree they are indeed now adept at co-production - and that is partly because it has become a market necessity.

“Over the last 10 or 15 years, the Dutch have really oriented themselves toward the international market. In the past,...

It just takes a few seconds for Vero (María Onetto) to take her eyes off the road when she hits something. But what exactly did she hit? The 2008 Argentine thriller, The Headless Woman, slowly pulls you into one woman’s guilt over a crime she might have committed, and her obsession is right at home among the most essential psychological thrillers. Iconic genre movies like Vertigo and Zodiac dig into the internal lives of its characters as they get themselves caught in mysteries they can’t escape from. Most times, they don't even want to. The Headless Woman comes from Lucrecia Martel, a famous Argentine filmmaker, who puts her signature arthouse style into the psychological thriller subgenre. But while there is a mystery, don’t expect easy solutions.

Coralie Fargeat bet big on herself and won, as her decision to turn down a big MCU director gig to focus on her passion project, The Substance, led her to an Academy Award nomination. Fargeat's The Substance has become one of the ultimate underdog stories of the awards season race, as the movie's original financer, Universal Pictures, dropped the project before being picked up by a smaller distributor, Mubi. The body horror film, starring Demi Moore, seemed like a tough sell on paper, but it has since gone on to gross $76 million worldwide and defied expectations. The Substance is a full-throttle gore fest that scored a Best Picture nomination at the 97th Academy Awards, with Fargeat earning a Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nomination.

Things might have gone very differently if Fargeat had considered Marvel Studios' offer. According to Variety, Fargeat was in consideration to direct Black Widow. Despite being broke at the time,...

Oscar-nominated Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck is to be the guest of honour at the 56th edition of documentary festival Visions du Reel, taking place in Nyon, Switzerland from April 4-13.

Peck’s participation in the festival will include a masterclass and a retrospective of his non-fiction work, along with a screening of his latest film Ernest Cole: Lost and Found ahead of its release in Swiss cinemas.

Born in Haiti in 1953, and raised in Congo, New York, France and Germany, Peck’s filmography has long focused on key figures fighting for emancipation and criticising the cultural domination of history’s Eurocentric perspective.

Sandro Aguilar’s “First Person Plural,” which screens at International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Tiger Competition, has launched its trailer with Variety.

The film is produced by O Som E A Fúria, the company behind Miguel Gomes’ “Tabu” and “Arabian Nights,” Eugène Green’s “The Portuguese Nun” and Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama.”

“First Person Plural” centers on Mateus Lagoa and his wife Irene, who will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary at a luxurious resort on a tropical island, leaving their teenage son dangerously adrift. Before departure, during an unexpected night apart, vaccine side effects strike —fevers, fainting and hallucinations. A melancholic mood creeps in, fracturing their world and hinting at unforeseen dangers.

In a statement, Aguilar comments: “When Mateus and Irene wake up in their idyllic retreat and the whole landscape changes abruptly: luxury hotels, massages, cocktails, stereotypes of a reward on earth, everything takes on a ceremonial nature,...