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The former leader of theater-owner’s group NATO has a new way to get your independent film into movie theaters — one intended to cut out the middleman.

John Fithian is launching an online marketplace to connect filmmakers directly with exhibitors. The platform is called “Attend,” and it puts the “intelligence” into its artificial intelligence. Attend’s tech, powered by the Vista Group, pairs filmmakers with the specific theaters best suited to their movie. For exhibitors, Attend is a portal to a broader range of content. This way, filmmakers retain the rights to their movie, and exhibitors keep control over their screens.

Sorry about all of that, distributors.

A filmmaker uploads details about (and assets from) their films directly into Attend, including metadata and other specifics. The platform’s AI will match the movie with theaters based on their customer data, local demographics, and affinity groups.

Attend will launch an alpha phase in the U.

After months of taking bids, the Sundance Film Festival has narrowed its search for a possible new home beginning in 2027 to to six contenders.

One of five far-flung cities across the nation could be the new setting for the Robert Redford-founded indie festival, or Sundance could stay in its long-time home in Utah under a new deal, it was revealed Friday. Along with the united Utah bid of Park City and Salt Lake City, the final contenders for a revitalized Sundance are Atlanta, Ga, Boulder, Co, Cincinnati, Oh, Louisville, Ky, and Santa Fe, Nm.

A civic leader in one of the possible new homes for the festival told Deadline today that his city intends to “blow Sundance’s mind with what we have here, and why they should move here.” As various jurisdictions in a divided America enact restrictive laws and regulations during this election year, Sundance brass are...

Exclusive: The snowy streets of Minneapolis are seeking to snatch Sundance from the snowy slopes of Park City.

Leading with a tagline of “You Couldn’t Cast A Better Location,” Minnesota’s most populous metropolis is among the select cities and jurisdictions that has submitted a detailed bid for the Robert Redford-founded indie film festival.

With CEOs from Target, Best Buy and the parent company of U.S. Bank backing Minneapolis’ proposal, the host committee is promising at least $2 million annually “to sustain and grow the festival,” says Film North executive director Andrew Peterson.

“With our thriving arts and entertainment scene, diverse cultural heritage, and passionate film community, Minneapolis is the ideal backdrop for the Sundance Film Festival,” Mayor Jacob Frey tells Deadline.

Pitching itself in a slick coffee table overview presentation as “home to one of the largest urban Native American communities” and having a “long history of inclusion,...

When the Sundance Institute revealed back in April that it was thinking about relocating the Sundance Film Festival from its longtime home in Park City, Utah, where it has been held since 1981, it sparked interest and excitement from numerous other cities across America. After all, the fest annually attracts more than 20,000 visitors to Utah, creating hundreds of well-paying jobs for locals and generating more than $100 million for the state.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, the search — which is being presided over by a task force that includes Amy Redford, a daughter of Sundance godfather and namesake Robert Redford — is coming to a head. Requests for proposals are due on Friday, and apparently a month after that, three finalists — potentially including Park City — will be revealed, with a decision expected by September. If the fest does wind up moving, it would not happen until its 2027 edition, given the terms of its current contract.

Exclusive: The Sundance Film Festival is looking South for a potential new home, as well as in its backyard.

Along with Park City, Ut, Atlanta and fellow Georgia cities Athens and Savannah are among the 15 cities that have made the cut to put in serious bids for the Robert Redford-founded indie gathering.

First reported exclusively by Deadline last year as a player to snag Sundance, New Mexico’s Santa Fe is also in the running in the Request for Proposal process. Across the rest of the nation, San Francisco is a contender to be the new home of the Sff come 2027 as are jurisdictions in upstate New York and North Carolina, I hear.

Representatives for Sundance did not respond to request for comment from Deadline on the final 15 and where things stand now. If and when they do, this post will be update. However, one festival insider did tell...

Exclusive: Like an applause filled debut at Park City’s Eccles Theatre, the Sundance Film Festival’s potential move in 2027 to a new location is attracting a lot of big bidders, as well as a significant swing from the hometown crowd.

San Francisco, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, and Atlanta, the home of Hollywood South, are among the jurisdictions that have notified Sff organizers they are raising their paddles for a chance to have the festival based in their town. Chicago has also allegedly made a move to bring Sundance to the already film festival rich Windy City, I hear. A couple of locations in Upstate New York as well as Savannah, Ga are in play too.

Last year, with Santa Fe champing at the bit, Deadline exclusively reported that Sundance was considering a move as its current over a decade old contract with Park City winds down. Bursting with infrastructure, production,...

Exclusive: The new docuseries Not Part of the Plan exploring the lives of four queer Mormon teens from executive producers Wilson Cruz (Visible: Out on Television), Amy Redford (The Lincoln Project), Xan Parker (Ron Howard’s Rebuilding Paradise) and Hadleigh Arnst, is currently being shopped. The six-episode project (plus one bonus episode) was directed by Stephen Frandsen (Duck Beach to Eternity).

The first season was filmed over two years following the lives of four queer teens in Utah’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Producers focused on spending extensive time getting to know them, to able to showcase their challenges, victories and the support they receive from Utah-based, non-profit organization Encircle.

“The personal stories of these young queer people, telling us who they are, will give us an opportunity to hopefully change minds and hearts while educating others so they are more informed, more open, and more caring,...

The Sundance Film Festival may kick the snow off its boots once and for all.

The annual celebration of independent film announced on Wednesday that it is open for pitches from cities across the United States on becoming the new permanent home of the festival starting in 2027.

Sundance has taken place in the luxury mountain haven of Park City, Utah since 1981 (except for two virtual years during the pandemic). It started off as the Utah/U.S. Film Festival in Salt Lake City in 1978. It will remain the host and headquarters of Sundance for two more years, at which point Park City’s contract with the Sundance Institute is up for renewal. Utah will remain in the mix as a continued home for Sundance.

“We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to...

After nearly 40 years in Park City, the Sundance Film Festival may be pulling up stakes.

With its current contract expiring after the 2026 festival, organizers of the iconic Robert Redford-founded indie film shindig in the Utah mountain town said Wednesday that they have opened a bid process for a possible move to a new city. As Deadline exclusively reported last summer, Sundance has quietly been considering a change for a while.

At the same time, with the 2025 and 2026 festivals still set for Park City, we hear the incumbent location remains in the mix. To that end, Sundance is also exploring a renewal of its latest 13-year-old deal with the pricey resort town if a strong enough local offer is placed on the table.

The verdict to open the process now, with more than six months to go before any renewal with Park City had to be decided upon, was signed...

Sundance Institute has begun the process of exploring potential host locations in the United States for its flagship festival starting in 2027, after residing in Park City, Utah, for nearly 40 years.

While the 2025 (January 23-February 2) and 2026 iterations of Sundance Film Festival will remain in Park City and Salt Lake City, Institute executives are moving to address concerns before the current 13-year contract expires in 2027.

The high cost of travelling to and staying in or around Park City has been cited on numerous occasions by Sundance filmmakers as a drawback, with prohibitive hotel rates often forcing them to say further out of town.

Exclusive: Brooklyn-based filmmaker Ged Dickersin (Coda) is launching True Indy, a production company intent on making films that can and should be made independently, with filmmakers telling acutely relevant stories for the world market.

True Indy sees the opportunity to attract financing for films that can be made in the $1 million-$5 million range, reducing the financial risk to investors and increasing the chances for a return on the investment. The company is introducing its slate of original U.S.-born indies at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, as well as looking to partner with filmmakers from around the world in international co-productions.

“Independent filmmaking has developed so much, with budgets that exceed what the new world market can return, making it difficult for private equity to support the independents,” Dickersin said. “Coming out of the pandemic and the strikes, the cost of making a film has inflated drastically,...

The Sundance Film Festival wrapped Sunday with some big sales in a challenging indie film landscape with distributors in need of content. New at the 40th edition, the second post-Covid and led for the first time by director Eugene Hernandez: a kickoff event with Jason Blum, 19 films on opening day, a narrower digital footprint, and fewer features as Hernandez focuses on “first impressions” and “giving each of our invited films and filmmakers the celebratory, unforgettable introduction they deserve.” Cost and staffing considerations were also at play.

Meanwhile, Sundance is about to start renewal talks with longtime host Park City, a conversation that comes around every seven years. Hernandez, the longtime New York Film Festival director and IndieWire co-founder, who also heads year-round public programming for the Sundance Institute, talked with Deadline about his inaugural run in snowy Utah.

(The Q&a was edited and condensed for clarity.)

Deadline: Can...

The Sundance Institute has two new fellowship winners.

On Saturday, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the institute revealed the recipients of the Merata Mita Fellowship and the inaugural Graton Fellowship for Artists from California-based tribes.

The Merata Mita Fellowship — an annual initiative named in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Merata Mita as a way to support Indigenous women-identified artists on the path towards making their first film — has been awarded to Libby Hakaraia. The Graton Fellowship, launched to support Indigenous artists from California-based tribes, will go to Tazbah Rose Chavez. Both were singled out during the Sundance Film Festival Native Forum Celebration presented by NBCUniversal Launch and Nia Tero at The Park venue on Saturday.

The event featured an opening blessing by Bart Powakee and the Red Spirit Singers from the Ute Tribal Nation and remarks from Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute board member Amy Redford,...

Actress Tessa Thompson has officially joined the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees.

The “Creed” actress and producer, along with documentarian Pete Nicks and producers Nina Fialkow and Kimberly Steward, comprise the new additions to the Board. Per an official press release, the foursome are now among the “leaders who guide and steer the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity.”

Thompson said in a statement, “Both the Sundance Film Festival and the Institute have served as an artistic home for me throughout my career. I’m proud to expand this journey by joining the board to eagerly serve a community that has been so incredibly impactful to me and countless others.”

The new trustees will closely work with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente to usher in the next wave of rising filmmakers.

“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists,...

The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced four newly appointed additions to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Tessa Thompson, Pete Nicks, Nina Fialkow, and Kimberly Steward have joined the leaders who guide the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity. They add to the Institute’s Board of values-based leaders, building an enduring, evolving community for storytellers. The distinguished new Trustees will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente and bring invaluable experience.

“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists, we welcome these new members of our Board, each of whom has an incredible commitment to independent film and a long history with the Institute,” said Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough. “Together, the Board is poised to identify new and strengthened ways to uplift independent storytellers.”

“We are so pleased to have Tessa, Pete, Nina, and Kimberly join...

What Comes Around is a drama-thriller film directed by Amy Redford from a screenplay by Scott Organ. Based on the novel The Thing With Feathers written by Scott Organ, the film follows a teenager and her family after she is seduced by an older man online. What Comes Around stars Summer Phoenix, Grace Van Dien, Jesse Garcia, and Kyle Gallner. So, if you loved What Comes Around here are some similar movies you could check out next.

Trust (Prime Video & Peacock) Credit – Millennium Films

Synopsis: When a young girl is assaulted by an older man she meets on the internet, her family’s bonds are ripped apart as her father searches across the country in an effort to track down her attacker and exact revenge.

Disconnect (Prime Video) Credit – Ld Entertainment

Synopsis: A hard-working lawyer, attached to his cell phone, can’t find the time to communicate with his family.

At the risk of diving into the annoying and frankly nonsensical discourse surrounding nepotism in the film industry, Amy Redford’s sophomore feature “What Comes Around” represents a curious object. Directed by Robert Redford’s daughter, starring Joaquin Phoenix’s sister Summer Phoenix and Casper Van Dien’s daughter Grace Van Dien (not to mention a cameo appearance by Phoenix and Casey Affleck’s son Indiana), this little IFC Films thriller has more than enough tangential associations.

Continue reading ‘What Comes Around’ Review: This Stagey Thriller Sacrifices Nuance for Half-Baked Twists at The Playlist.

CatVideoFest, which is just what it sounds like, joined notable indie debuts and festival favorites Shortcomings and Passages, the re-release of Shiva Baby and juggernaut Talk To Me in another weekend of varied specialty fare, both new and holding over. Indies are helping drive a buoyant box office. They’re also waiting for the Barbenheimer tsunami to recede as bit as these unusual blockbusters vacuum up the arthouse/adult audiences.

Sony Pictures Classics said Sundance favorite Shortcomings by Randall Park grossed an estimated $316.4k at a 404 locations. Written by Adrian Tomine, the comedy stars Justin Min as Ben, a struggling filmmaker in Berkeley, California, along with Ally Maki and Sherry Cola. Spe co-president Michael Barker said the edgy romcom is attracting a young and diverse audience and word of mouth is strong.

Hollywood strikes, which prohibit promotion by actors, have made opening films more complicated, although Barker said the thesps...

In her new exclusive uInterview, Amy Redford explained her role as director in her new film What Comes Around and how she approached delicate subjects of consent and online relationships.

The movie follows the life of Anna (Grace Van Dien) starting on the night of her 17th birthday. Redford shared with uInterview founder Erik Meers how the plot is centered on how Anna “is talking to somebody online about poetry and it is pretty clear that that person is not 17. And we find her connecting with her mom, and they have a very close relationship, and yet the way that this relationship unfolds with this gentleman is more complicated than it seems.”

It focuses on lessons about the “connective issue between mother and daughter, between ourselves online, between our own behavior and the fallout from our own behavior.”

The film contains different layers but a key part of Redford’s...

While the fall movie lineup continues to shift due to studios adamantly deciding not to fairly pay the writers and actors responsible for them being in business in the first place, not much has changed when it comes to August. Aside from A24 yanking Julio Torres’ Problemista from its August 4 opening, the rest of the calendar has stayed intact and here are the films that should be on your radar.

13. What Comes Around (Amy Redford; Aug. 4)

One of the most divisive films to premiere at TIFF last year was Amy Redford’s What Comes Around (formerly titled Roost). Led by Grace Van Dien, Summer Phoenix, Jesse Garcia, and Kyle Gallner, the thriller tracked a young love affair that becomes a menacing game of cat-and-mouse where nothing is what it seems. Jared Mobarak said in his review, “What Comes Around is a tricky film to talk about without massive spoilers unless,...

One of the most divisive films to premiere at TIFF last year was Amy Redford’s What Comes Around (formerly titled Roost). Led by Grace Van Dien, Summer Phoenix, Jesse Garcia, an Kyle Gallner, the thriller tracked a young love affair that becomes a menacing game of cat and mouse where nothing is what it seems. While it’s best to go in cold, IFC Films have now released a new trailer ahead of an August 4 theatrical debut.

Jared Mobarak said in his review, “What Comes Around is a tricky film to talk about without massive spoilers unless, of course, the eventual marketing campaign decides divulging its secrets will help them sell it. I’m hoping they ultimately choose to keep its twists and turns under wraps because going in blind adds a dimension that I’m sure playwright Scott Organ (who adapts his own “The Thing with Feathers”) intended and director Amy Redford matches.

"I never want to see that man again." IFC Films has revealed the trailer for an indie thriller titled What Comes Around, which initially premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival last year. This originally went under the title Roost, but it has been given a new name for its official release in theaters this summer. In this immersive thriller directed by Amy Redford, a young love affair becomes a menacing game of cat and mouse. Nothing and no one are as they seem... "One moment we think we know where these characters are going; the next, all we know for sure is that the intricacies of family often lie just out of reach." The film stars Grace Van Dien as Anna, Summer Phoenix as Beth, Reina Hardesty, Jesse Garcia, and Kyle Gallner as Eric, the boyfriend. It seems to have quite a few twists and turns, not just a story...

In 2023, it’s fairly commonplace to speak to couples who met online. A lot of the time, people meet partners through dating apps and chat quite a bit before meeting in person. However, just because it happens all of the time, that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. There are still predators out there, as seen in the new thriller, “What Comes Around.”

Read More: Summer 2023 Movie Preview: 52 Must-See Films To Watch

The trailer for “What Comes Around” paints the picture of the film.

Continue reading ‘What Comes Around’ Trailer: Grace Van Dien Stars In Amy Redford’s Thriller About A Scary Online Relationship at The Playlist.

Mother May I?: "Mother, May I?, a psychological thriller from writer-director Laurence Vannicelli and featuring stars Kyle Gallner (Smile, Dinner In America) and Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) comes to theaters and on VOD on July 21st.

The spine-chilling film is the debut feature from writer-director Laurence Vannicelli, and it marks a breakthrough in mind-bending horror. Emmett (Kyle Gallner) and Anya (Holland Roden) unexpectedly inherit his estranged mother’s house after her passing. As they sift through her estate, Anya begins acting more and more like Emmett’s mother – forcing him to question if she’s pushing him to confront his traumatic past or if she’s actually been possessed by his mother’s spirit. The cast also includes Chris Mulkey (Twin Peaks).

Kyle Gallner currently stars opposite Sosie Bacon in the surprise hit Smile, which spent two weeks atop the box office and is nearing a global tally of $150 million.

The Sundance Institute has officially announced the recipient of the 2023 Merata Mita fellowship.

Filmmaker Caroline Monnet (Anishinaabe/French) was selected by the non-profit to receive the annual fellowship in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Mita, who died in 2010. Created for Indigenous women-identified artists, the year-round grant supports filmmakers’ first feature films.

Monnet was recognized at the Native Forum Celebration at The Park in Park City, Utah, during the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The event featured an opening blessing by Bart Powakee and the Red Spirit Singers from the Ute Tribal Nation and remarks from Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute Board member Amy Redford, Nia Tero (represented by Tracy Rector), and Indigenous Program Director Adam Piron (Kiowa and Mohawk). Piron also announced the five 2022 Native Lab Fellows, three 2022 Full Circle Fellowship Fellows, and acknowledged the 11 Indigenous-made projects from around the world premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival January 19-...

The Sundance Institute has announced the addition of Shripriya Mahesh, Lulu Wang and Patrick Gaspard to its Board of Trustees. The trio will now help steer and act in an advisory capacity for the organization, working closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente.

Mahesh is the founding partner of Spero Ventures, as well as an investor, experienced technology executive and filmmaker. Wang is an award-winning writer, director and producer best known for helming the A24 dramedy The Farewell, which won two Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, upon its 2019 release. A leader in government, philanthropy, labor and global diplomacy, Gaspard serves as President and CEO of the Center for American Progress.

“The new trustees bring an invaluable depth of experience in government and civic engagement, technology and digital product development, and deep knowledge of the media, entertainment, and storytelling landscape,” said Burnough. “As Sundance’s programs continue...

The Sundance Institute has added three newly appointed members to the Board of Trustees. Lulu Wang (director of “The Farewell”), Patrick Gaspard (current CEO for the Center for American Progress) and Shripriya Mahesh (a founding partner at Spero Ventures) have joined the business, cultural and philanthropic leaders who steer the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity.

They will expand the Institute’s Board of “values-based leaders,” building an “evolving community for storytellers.” The Trustees will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente.

“We are honored to have Lulu, Patrick and Shripriya join us as Trustees on the Board of Sundance Institute,” said Vicente in a statment. “Their vision and expertise offer us innovative leadership to continue to evolve as a cultural organization and deepen our commitment to the work.”

Also Read:

IFC Films Acquires North American Rights to ‘Biosphere,’ Starring Sterling K. Brown...

Click here to read the full article.

The Sundance Institute has added three new names to its board of trustees: Lulu Wang, Patrick Gaspard and Shripriya Mahesh. The trio will help guide and advise the nonprofit on its endeavors, including the prolific filmmaker labs and annual film festival.

Wang is an award winning director, producer, and writer behind titles like The Farewell. Gaspard is president and CEO of the think tank Center for American Progress. Mahesh is a filmmaker and the founding partner of venture capital firm Spero Ventures, a technology executive.

“The new trustees bring an invaluable depth of experience in government and civic engagement, technology and digital product development, and deep knowledge of the media, entertainment, and storytelling landscape,” said Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough.

“We are honored to have Lulu, Patrick and Shripriya join us as Trustees on the Board of Sundance Institute. Their vision and...

A whole lot of people recently saw Grace Van Dien play the role of ill-fated cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham in season 4 of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. Thanks to IFC Films, we’ll soon have the chance to see her play another beleaguered teen in the thriller What Comes Around (formerly known as Roost). Deadline reports that IFC Films has picked up the North American distribution rights to What Comes Around and are planning to give the film a VOD and limited theatrical release in February. That will be followed by an AMC+ streaming release in May.

Directed by Amy Redford (The Guitar) from a script by Scott Organ (based on his play), What Comes Around sees Van Dien taking on the role of

Anna, who befriends an online stranger. Her mom Beth struggles to defend their new life as past is made present. It’s a cat and mouse...

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that IFC Films has snapped up the North American rights to Amy Redford’s What Comes Around, which made its world premiere at TIFF under the title Roost. The movie will hit select theatres and VOD in February and stream exclusively on AMC+ in May 2023.

The pic played to a packed house last week at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where we caught the title.

IFC Films

Grace Van Dien stars as a teenager, Anna, who befriends an online stranger (Kyle Gallner). Her mom Beth (Summer Phoenix) struggles to defend their new life as past is made present. It’s a cat and mouse thriller with a twist you don’t see coming.

Redford directed off of Scott Organ’s screenplay. What Comes Around also stars Jesse Garcia (Flamin’ Hot) and Kyle Gallner. Eden Wurmfeld, Redford and Lynda Weinman produced,...

In addition to New Mexico being a serious place for filmmaking and TV series –the state reaping a record 855.4M from Hollywood’s motion picture & TV industry’s spending– Santa Fe itself counts a fervent moviegoing community, especially for arthouse and experimental product.

Audiences packed venues around town for the Santa Fe International Film Festival from Oct. 19-23 for films of all shapes and sizes at such venues as the George R.R. Martin owned Jean Cocteau Cinema; the Moorish, Spanish Renaissance 1931 built Lensic Theater; and the two-story, bistro cinema the Violet Crown in the swanky railroad district among others. In regards to the moviegoing spirit, think Toronto, but on a much smaller scale.

Amy Redford, director of Roost, right. Courtesy SFiFF

However, at a time when the industry sweats as to when the 40-plus demographic will return to the cinema after the pandemic, especially with LA’s arthouse scene hobbled...

Exclusive: Dark Sky Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Mother, May I?, the psychological thriller starring Kyle Gallner (Smile) and Holland Roden (Teen Wolf).

Laurence Vannicelli’s debut feature is due to be released in spring 2023. Below is a first look.

In the movie, a man’s fiancée starts behaving like his recently deceased mother, leading him to confront his deepest traumas to free her from the bewildering possession.

The distribution deal was negotiated by Greg Newman, EVP of Dark Sky Films, and producer Daniel Brandt alongside Verve Ventures.

Pic is produced by Dane Eckerle, Daniel Brandt and Daisy Long. Roden is also a producer on the film along with Cole Eckerle. Executive producers include Sam Slater, Paul Bernon and Phil Keefe of Burn Later Productions, as well as Raj Trivedi and Alex Whitney.

Gallner currently stars opposite Sosie Bacon in the breakout horror hit Smile, which spent...

An inside chronicle of the formation, actions and fracture of The Lincoln Project comes to Showtime next month in the form of a five-part docuseries, the trailer for which has now been released.

Directed by Fisher Stevens (“Dirty Money”) and Karim Amer (“The Great Hack”), “The Lincoln Project” follows a veteran group of former GOP operatives and strategists known publicly as The Lincoln Project, the fastest-growing super Pac in America, as they take on the task of “saving democracy” and defeating their own party’s sitting president.

Also Read:

Fallon Says the Window for a Bernie Sanders Presidency Has Closed: ‘How Many Times Do We Have to Decide This? No.’ (Video)

But while the documentary provides a closer look at the cutting-edge strategies and operations of The Lincoln Project leading up to the 2020 election, cameras are also present when the group is shaken by internal upheaval and scandal after co-founder...

Middle East, Germany, Latin America line up for Amy Redford thriller.

Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company (Fsc) has licensed key territories on Amy Redford’s Roost which has drawn sustained buyer interest following the TIFF world premiere earlier this month.

Front Row has acquired rights for the Middle East, while Ascot Elite has picked up the film for Germany and German-speaking Europe, and California Filmes will distribute in Latin America.

Herwitz expects to announce further international sales shortly as buyers continue to circle Roost and a US sale is understood to be nearing completion.

Grace Van Dien, who...

While we’re in the middle of the fall festival season, with Telluride, Venice, and TIFF in the rearview, and NYFF, BFI London, and AFI Fest on the horizon, it’s time to round up some of our early favorites. We’ve polled our contributors from Venice and TIFF to share their top picks, which one can see below along with our ongoing coverage here.

David Katz (@davidfabiankatz)

1. Saint Omer (Alice Diop)

2. Trenque Lauquen (Laura Citarella)

3. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)

4. Master Gardener (Paul Schrader)

5. The Whale (Darren Aronofsky)

6. Love Life (Kôji Fukada)

7. Blonde (Andrew Dominik)

8. A Couple (Frederick Wiseman)

9. In Viaggio (Gianfranco Rosi)

10. The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)

Luke Hicks (@lou_kicks)

1. Bones and All (Luca Guadagnino)

2. Other People’s Children (Rebecca Zlotowski)

3. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)

4. The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)

5. Athena (Romain Gavras)

6. White Noise (Noah Baumbach)

7. The Banshees of Inisherin...

Roost TIFF Gala Presentations Section Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Amy Redford Writer: Scott Organ Cast: Summer Phoenix, Grace Van Dien, Kyle Gallner, Jesse Garcia Screened at: Scotiabank Theatre, Ontario, 9/9/22 Opens: September 15th, 2022 (Toronto International Film Festival) The world can seem much smaller than it is to a young impressionable mind […]

The post TIFF 2022: Roost Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Roost is a tricky film to talk about without massive spoilers unless, of course, the eventual marketing campaign decides divulging its secrets will help them sell it. I’m hoping they ultimately choose to keep its twists and turns under wraps because going in blind adds a dimension that I’m sure playwright Scott Organ (who adapts his own “The Thing with Feathers”) intended and director Amy Redford matches. As she mentions in the press notes, Roost is about provocation. It’s about telling us one thing only to transform it into another thing and spark a conversation that many of us still might not want to engage in. It’s about exploiting one’s power over another and falling prey to theirs. It’s about double standards. It’s about control and debilitating shame.

You may not anticipate all that upon reading the premise: soon-to-be seventeen-year-old Anna (Grace Van Dien...

A humdrum thriller that clumsily digs into themes of sexual and emotional trauma, Amy Redford’s sophomore feature “What Comes Around” follows Anna (Grace Van Dien), an archetypal perceptive teenage girl on the cusp of maturity. Because she’s the observant kind who yearns for big ideas and possibilities outside of her small suburban world, it’s no surprise that it isn’t a square teenage boy from her school that romantically sweeps Anna off her feet, but a man of nearly 30 years of age she’s met online.

He’s the creepily mysterious Eric, someone who ignites Anna’s all-consuming emotions, shares her love of Emily Dickinson and notices (at least on the surface) the complexities of this young girl who wants to cross over to adulthood fast. But when he shows up at Anna’s doorstep uninvited all too abruptly after traveling hundreds of miles, he rattles the disturbed Anna,...

The idea of a grown man having sex with a teenage girl is disturbing. This is — sort of — the point of "Roost." I think? It's never really clear what the thriller is trying to say. To be honest, I may have just missed the memo: partway through this film, my urge to crawl out of my skin was so strong that I think my soul left my body. When it was all over, I stumbled out of the theater in a haze, mumbling apologies to those I bumped into, desperately searching for a dark quiet corner to silently scream in private.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, "Roost" is a drama about a young 16-year-old girl who falls in love with a much older man via FaceTime. Why she didn't clue in that he was older by the glaringly obvious signs is a mystery. Maybe she was blinded by his flattery of her poetry.

Showtime has announced “The Lincoln Project,” a forthcoming documentary following the members of the super Pac amid the 2020 election and after.

Directed by Fisher Stevens (“Dirty Money”) and Karim Amer (“The Vow”), the five-part docuseries explores how the Lincoln Project, the fastest-growing super Pac in America made up of a veteran group of former GOP operatives and strategists, accepted the duty of “saving democracy” in their plot to defeat their own party’s sitting president.

“Celebrated for their scathing ads and biting social media commentary, the series discovers that their operation is a lot more than what meets the eye, with sophisticated data analytics and voter targeting operations churning away behind the scenes,” reads the series’ logline. “While working to accomplish their stated goal of ‘defeating Trumpism,’ the group is shaken by internal upheaval, a sexual harassment scandal and a tidal wave of negative press. As one fight ends, another...

Click here to read the full article.

Showtime will profile the people behind the anti-Trump Pac The Lincoln Project in a documentary series.

The five-episode series, also titled The Lincoln Project, is set to premiere Oct. 7. Fisher Stevens (Tiger King, Dirty Money) and Karim Amer (The Vow) are directing. It will follow the group of former Republican operatives and strategists who made it their mission to defeat their party’s sitting president, Donald Trump, in the 2020 election.

“There has never been a super Pac that has captured the imagination of the general public like The Lincoln Project. They showed us that you could use storytelling and the power of the internet to punch back, and that you could fight a bully by bringing the fight right to their doorstep,” Stevens and Amer said in a statement. “Like the best verité documentary journeys, we had no idea where this story would take us,...

Thriller to premiere on September 15.

Andrew Herwitz’s The Film Sales Company (Fsc) has acquired worldwide sales rights to Amy Redford TIFF thriller Roost.

The film gets its public world premiere on September 15 after press & industry screenings on September 9 and 11 and centres on a teenager who meets a man online masquerading as someone younger than his years. Scott Organ wrote the screenplay.

Grace Van Dien, who plays Chrissy in Season 4 of Stranger Things and is the great-granddaughter of Robert Mitchum, stars alongside Summer Phoenix, another actor from a distinguished cinema family.

Redford, the daughter of Robert Redford who made her...

The WhaleWAVELENGTHS - FEATURESConcrete Valley (Antoine Bourges)De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor)Dry Ground BurningHorse Opera (Moyra Davey)Pacifiction (Albert Serra)Queens of the Qing Dynasty (Ashley McKenzie)Unrest (Cyril Schäublin)Will-o’-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues)Wavelenghths - SHORTSAfter Work (Céline Condorelli, Ben Rivers)Bigger on the Inside (Angelo Madsen Minax)Eventide (Sharon Lockhart)F1ghting Looks Different 2 Me Now (Fox Maxy)Fata Morgana (Tacita Dean)Hors-titre (Wiame Haddad)I Thought the World of You (Kurt Walker)Moonrise (Vincent Grenier)The Newest Olds (Pablo Mazzolo)Puerta a Puerta (Jessica Sarah Rinland, Luis Arnías )The Time That Separates Us (Parastoo Anoushahpour)What Rules the Invisible (Tiffany Sia)Gala PRESENTATIONSAlice, Darling (Mary Nighy)Black Ice (Hubert Davis)The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Peter Farrelly)Butcher’s Crossing (Gabe Polsky)The Hummingbird (Francesca Archibugi)Hunt (Jung-jae Lee)A Jazzman’s Blues (Tyler Perry)Kacchey Limbu (Shubham Yogi)Moving On (Paul Weitz)Paris Memories...

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The 2022 Toronto Film Festival has added world premieres for Tyler Perry’s new Netflix film, A Jazzman’s Blues; Peter Farrelly’s Vietnam War movie The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which stars Russell Crowe and Zac Efron; and the Catherine Hardwicke dramatic thriller Prisoner’s Daughter, starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox.

As TIFF unveiled 18 Gala program titles to screen in Roy Thomson Hall, the festival booked red carpet launches for Hubert Davis’s Black Ice, a documentary about Black hockey players executive produced by Drake; Alice, Darling, director Mary Nighy’s psychological thriller led by Anna Kendrick; Gabe Polsky’s frontier epic Butcher’s Crossing, which stars Nicolas Cage; and Francesca Archibugi’s The Hummingbird, toplined by Nanni Moretti, Berenice Bejo and Pierfrancesco Favino.

Toronto is returning for a 47th edition to run Sept. 8 to 18 that will be in-person, with Hollywood stars on red carpets...

Eighteen galas, 45 special presentations unveiled for 47th edition of Toronto festival.

Stephen Frears’ drama The Lost King starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, Shekhar Kapur’s comedy What’s Love Got to Do With It? with Lily James and Emma Thompson and Apple’s Jennifer Lawrence drama Causeway from Lila Neugebauer are among this year’s gala and special presentations for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Further previously unannounced world premiere selections include Richard Eyre’s hospital drama Allelujah (pictured) from Pathé with Jennifer Saunders and Judi Dench, Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain in Tobias Lindholm’s Netflix true-life crime drama The Good Nurse,...

The 2022 TIFF lineup features new films from Tyler Perry, Peter Farrelly, Sam Mendes, Catherine Hardwicke, Martin McDonagh, Sarah Polley, Henry Selick, Stephen Frears and many more.

In all, 18 Galas and 45 Special Presentations were unveiled as part of the 47th Annual Toronto International Film Festival lineup, with 38 of the total films announced on Thursday slated to world premiere at the festival.

Among the Gala presentations are Farrelly’s “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” his follow-up film after winning the audience prize at TIFF for “Green Book.” There’s also Tyler Perry’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” Paul Weitz’s “Moving On” with Jane Fonda, and “Sidney” from Reginald Hudlin.

Those join previously announced titles such as “The Woman King” starring Viola Davis and the opening night film “The Swimmers” from Sally El Hosaini. Lee Jung-jae’s “Hunt,” which first premiered at Cannes, will also receive a Gala presentation, as will “The Son” from Florian Zeller,...

Filmmaker’s first feature Watertight travels between communities and follows people who create their own realities.

Sundance Institute has announced Fox Maxy as the recipient of the 2022 Merata Mita Fellowship for Indigenous women-identified feature film directors.

Maxy (Payómkawichum and Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians) was honoured at the festival’s Native Forum Celebration on The Spaceship on the festival’s online platform on Monday (24).

The San Diego-based filmmaker and artist has screened work at Bam CinemaFest, International Film Festival Rotterdam, imagineNATIVE Festival, MoMAs Doc Fortnight and AFI Docs, among others.

Her first feature, Watertight, is an experimental work...

Sundance Institute today announced the latest additions to the programming slate of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday, January 28th at Festival.Sundance.org and via a network of Satellite Screens across the U.S.

Thursday evening’s Opening Night Welcome on the Festival platform, at 6pm Mt, will feature remarks from Institute CEO Keri Putnam, Festival Director Tabitha Jackson, musical performances from Red Spirit and Rhiannon Giddens, and messages from Festival alumni. February 2’s Awards Night, whose juries were announced last week, will be hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, and feature special appearances from Alison Brie, Shira Haas and Diego Luna alongside the jurors.

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“What makes Sundance, Sundance is of course more than simply the films,” said Jackson. “We are excited that the conversations, provocations, performances, and celebration of this community are even richer this...

The Sundance Institute on Monday appointed seven new members to its Board of Trustees, bringing it to a 32-person board that is evenly split between men and women and features 10 who identify as people of color, including six who identify as Black.

The newest members are Kimberlé Crenshaw, Ann Lewnes and Wonya Lucas, who join the board alongside Uzodinma Iweala, Amanda Kelso, William Plapinger and Junaid Sarieddeen, all of whom joined over the last year. While the Sundance Institute board typically includes 24-28 members, it expanded this year to add new members and to replace three members whose terms had expired.

The new trustees will work closely with Board chair Pat Mitchell and executive director Keri Putnam in shaping the business, cultural and philanthropic goals of the organization in an advisory capacity.

They join current members on the Institute’s Board: Robert Redford, president & founder; Pat Mitchell, chair; Jeanne Donovan Fisher,...

Sundance Institute has added prominent Civil Rights attorney Kimberlé Crenshaw, Crown Media Family Networks executive Wonya Lucas and Adobe executive Ann Lewnes to its board of trustees.

The institute also announced Monday that Uzodinma Iweala, Amanda Kelso, William Plapinger and Junaid Sarieddeen have joined the board over the last year.

“We are so grateful to welcome the expertise and unique perspectives of Kimberlé, Uzodinma, Amanda, Ann, Bill and Junaid to Sundance as we move forward in this challenging time,” said chair Pat Mitchell. “Our board possesses the right skills, a broad range of talents and a high level of commitment to our founding values and ethics to guide the organization’s mission oriented work in supporting emerging artists around the world and connecting audiences to their stories.”

The trustees announced in August that the 2021 Sundance Film Festival would be shortened from 11 to seven days, running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3.

Crenshaw...