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It’s interesting to think about some things that remain prescient in the public consciousness, especially regarding cinema. Some films become a part of a greater canon of pop-culture history, while others fade into obscurity.

On another level, the costumes and clothing that certain characters wear in legendary films can take on an iconic life of their own, a testament to the level of detail that the wardrobe supervisors of Hollywood hold themselves to.

Jump to a Look:

1. The Leopard Jacket from The Graduate 2. James Dean’s Red Harrington in Rebel Without a Cause 3. Taxi Driver’s Army Jacket 4. The Scorpion Jacket in Drive 5. The Matrix’s Black Trench Coats 6. The Breakfast Club’s Denim Jacket 7. Clueless Yellow Plaid Jacket 8. Candyman’s Shearling Trench 9. Trainspotting’s Black Bomber Jacket 10. Casablanca’s Camel Trench Coat 11. Top Gun Jacket: Maverick’s Pilot Style 12. Fight Club’s Red Leather Jacket 13. Indiana Jones’ Leather...

Berlin-based Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired international rights to Weronika Mliczewska’s “Child of Dust,” a documentary produced by “The Stringer” director Bao Nguyen which has its world premiere in the main international competition of the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival.

Mliczewska’s sophomore feature follows Sang, one of countless children left behind by American soldiers after the Vietnam War. Stigmatized and abandoned, he spends a lifetime longing for the father he never had. When he unexpectedly locates his gravely ill father in the U.S., he’s determined to meet him, even at the heavy cost of leaving his own family behind in Vietnam.

In an unfamiliar land, Sang’s dream of belonging clashes with an unexpected reality, as he finds himself an outsider both in American society and within a family that never knew he existed. But in the search for his father, he discovers something even...

A long time ago, back when Lucasfilm first shared plans to expand the “Star Wars” universe via live-action streaming television, the most exciting part was its limitless potential. While each movie traveled to new worlds, utilizing new doodads and revealing new creatures, there’s still a cap to how much of the galaxy you can see in a two-hour film. And that time limit only grew tighter when so much screentime was taken up by nostalgia: revisiting old worlds, reintroducing old creatures, and wielding old doodads. But unlike the big-screen franchise, not everything on the small-screen had to bend back to the Skywalker trilogy — or so it seemed, before “The Mandalorian” reintroduced Luke himself and set plans to become a movie of its own.

“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” is the closest the Disney+ era has come to revisiting the franchise’s galaxy-sized creative potential. Working from a story about a...

This piece was originally posted in 2022. We have updated the “Where to Watch” section for each film.

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Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. To celebrate, we got to thinking about some of our favorite Indies from the Hispanic world. These stories are narrative and documentary, drama and comedy, and are both harrowing and heartfelt. A little of everything, and plenty to add to your watchlist.

Prayers For The Stolen (2021)

Writer/Director: Tatiana Huezo

Producers: Nicolás Celis, Jim Stark

Starring: Guillermo Villegas, Mayra Batalla, Eileen Yañez, Alejandra Camacho

Synopsis: In a solitary town nestled in the Mexican mountains, the girls wear boyish haircuts and have hiding places underground. Ana and her two best friends take over the houses of those who have fled,...

Some sitcom actors only ever get one really great role, but Jim Backus had several. The actor, who played wealthy Wall Street regular Thurston Howell III on the popular castaway series "Gilligan's Island," had already made a name for himself by the show's premiere in 1964. He'd appeared regularly on the radio before TV was the dominant media of the time, and voiced the nearly blind cartoon character Mr. Magoo beginning in 1949. Backus also played a key role in Nicholas Ray's 1955 teen movie "Rebel Without A Cause," portraying the father who falls short when James Dean's angsty antihero Jim Stark needs him.

A few years before "Gilligan's Island," Backus even got his own show, aptly named "The Jim Backus Show" in the style of the time. In the Backus-led series, which was also called "Hot Off the Wire," the actor played a man named Mike O'Toole, who was attempting...

Unspooling May 18 as part of an overall Swiss Focus at the Marché du Film, Solothurn Film Festival Goes to Cannes marks the first collaboration between the long-standing Swiss festival and the Cannes market, but also a first for many of the talents and producers carefully picked for the event.

Two of Switzerland’s top documentary filmmakers Jacqueline Zünd, winner of a 2019 Crystal Bear nominated for “Where We Belong,” and Nicholas Steiner, director of “Above & Below”, ranked among Variety reviewer Peter Debruge’s Top 10 films of 2015, are set to attract buyers, sales agents and programmers’ attention with their star-stubbed fiction debuts.

In “Do You Believe in Angels, Mr Drowak,” Steiner has hired Karl Markovics, star of the 2008 Oscar winner “The Counterfeiters”, rising acting talent Lune Wedler, Lars Eidinger and Dominique Pinon.

“After two cinematic documentaries that ran worldwide and an original Netflix series [“Dig Deeper-The Disappearance of Birgit Meier”], I was excited to create this technically demanding,...

For as long as “teenager” has been a demographic, there have been stories about teens breaking free from the status quo. While a lot of the modern great teen rebellion media is confined to the world of TV — where shows like “Euphoria” attract constant buzz — the archetypal troubled teen story remains 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause.” Starring James Dean in unquestionably his defining role, a rebellious teen struggling with his demons in L.A., Nicholas Ray’s film spoke to young people at the time with its story of high schoolers struggling with, and going against, the social pressures that bring them down. Over the years it became a touchstone because its themes and its honesty transcends generations.

As the teen film has evolved and morphed as a genre, there’s always been room for stories of iconoclastic youth who don’t fit in with the status quo. Oftentimes, these...

Mexican directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s Sujo won the Grand Prix at this year’s Sofia International Film Festival (March 13-24).

The Mexican-French-us co-production about a boy who must fight against the temptation of local gangs premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and is being handled internationally by Alpha Violet.

The festival’s top prize has gone to a film from Mexico for the second year running after Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser’s Red Shoes won last year.

The international jury, presided over by Hungarian actor-writer-director Szabolcs Hadju and including outgoing EFM director Dennis Ruh,...

Rebel Without a Cause offers a raw look at teenage rebellion & societal pressures, urging viewers to reflect on the struggles faced by young people. The film's tragic ending highlights the consequences of fear, misunderstanding, and the need for a compassionate understanding of youth. James Dean's portrayal of Jim Stark, marked by vulnerability & emotion, resonates with the film's themes of youthful disillusionment & fragility.

Directed by Nicholas Ray and released in 1955, Rebel Without a Cause captures the essence of teenage angst and disillusionment in post-war America. Starring the iconic James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo, it tells the story of Jim Stark (Dean), a troubled youth struggling to find his place in a society he sees as hypocritical and devoid of meaning. The film delves deep into themes of identity, familial dysfunction, and the desperate search for belonging, making it resonate with audiences then and now.

Its portrayal of teenage rebellion and angst was groundbreaking,...

The moment Elvis Presley stepped in front of the camera for his second appearance on "The Milton Berle Show" in 1956, there was no doubt that this young man was destined for more than pop music superstardom. Much more.

Conversationally, he was downright adorable with his boyish good looks and aw-shucks Southern shyness, but once the music kicked in he was transformed into a hunk of burning lust. That gyrating pelvis and run-riot voice spurred sexual awakenings in living rooms across the country (in full view of outraged parents). To teenagers, Elvis belted out a call to rebellion. To parents, he was a pompadoured incubus. To Hollywood, he was singing, swaggering box-office gold.

Between 1956 and 1972, Elvis starred in 31 features and two concert films. There were lulls (particularly when his popularity faded prior to his 1968 comeback special), but for the most part Elvis reliably packed 'em in. According to producer Hal B. Wallis...

Festival completes its 2023 programme.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has unveiled the juries for its 27th edition, with jurors including Danish star Trine Dyrholm, and John Altman, who has worked on the music for Titanic, Life Of Brian and No Time To Die.

Jury head Dyrholm and English composer Altman are on the official selection competition jury, alongside filmmakers Xie Fei from China, Hilmar Oddson from Iceland, and Inna Sahakyan from Armenia.

The first feature competition jury consists of Mexican producer Nicolas Celis of Pimienta Films, who heads that jury, alongside Diana Ilijine, former Filmfest Munchen director; Chinese filmmaker Ran Huang...

Aimee Lou Wood and Matt Dillon have signed on to play Anna and Fyodor Dostoevsky in Małgorzata Szumowska’s ‘The Gambler Wife.’

Written by Szumowska and Kasper Bajon adapted from Andrew D. Kaufman’s book The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, is a dark comedy about one of literature’s most towering figures.

The project follows Fyodor, or Fyedya to his intimates, and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates Fyedya’s gambling addiction as this will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyedya’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.

Also in news – First look image revealed for Sky original film ‘Arthur’s Whisky’

Szumowska describes the feature as...

BAFTA-winning “Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood and Oscar-nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) have been tapped to star as Anna and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in “The Gambler Wife,” a dark comedy about one of world literature’s most towering figures, by two-time Berlinale prize winner Małgorzata Szumowska.

“The Gambler Wife” follows the Russian novelist and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates her husband’s gambling addiction, which will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyodor’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.

“This dark comedy explores the patriarchal, nationalistic Russian identity which keeps on waging war between the West and the East, which is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago,” said Szumowska.

Pic is produced...

Ragna Nordhus joins as producer and co-owner, and Gary Cranner as executive producer and advisor.

Elisa Fernanda Pirir’s new Norwegian production company Staer, which launched in January, is already expanding with two new hires.

Both are producers who Pirir formerly worked with at Mer Film. Ragna Nordhus, who had been head of production at Mer Film, is joining Staer as producer and co-owner. Nordhus also co-produced Cannes 2022 Un Certain Regard feature More Than Ever by Emily Atef.

Gary Cranner, a former Screen Future Leaders producer, who also recently worked at Mer and previously ran his own company Chezville, joins Staer as executive producer.

Indie filmmaker Gregg Araki’s wild, violent, and erotic “The Doom Generation” has been mostly available on middling DVD releases and occasional repertory prints since its radical release in 1995. Araki’s fifth feature film and the second in his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy — bookended by “Totally Fucked Up” and “Nowhere” — “The Doom Generation” will soon re-open in 4K thanks to a new restoration. Watch the new trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.

In Araki’s chaotic road trip nightmare, headed home after a wild night at a Los Angeles club, young lovers Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) pick up a dangerously handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). Jordan doesn’t see a problem with offering Xavier a quick ride, but his acid-tongued girlfriend thinks he’s a creep. When Xavier inadvertently kills a convenience store clerk, they are forced to go on the run, traversing a bizarre and ultra-violent America.

Collaborators include documentary specialist Kristine Ann Skaret, US producer Jim Stark.

Producer Elisa Fernanda Pirir is leaving Norway’s Mer Film to set up her production company Staer based in Tromso in northern Norway.

Collaborators in the new venture include co-owner Kristine Ann Skaret, a documentary expert from Stray Dogs whose credits include Villagers And Vagabonds and Aswang; and executive producer Jim Stark, the US producer who has credits including co-producing Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law and serving as one of the executive producers of Triangle Of Sadness.

Staer will work with a mix of Scandinavian and international filmmakers.

Establishing herself as one of the world’s few Arctic Circle feature film producers, having set up shop in Norway’s Tromsø, former Mer Films production exec Elisa Fernanda Pirir is launching her own production company, Staer, which is backing productions by Morocco’s Nabil Ayouch and Colombia’s Juan Carlos Arango, among others, as she also develops her first titles by Sami talent.

Born in Guatemala, Pirir is joined at Staer by KriStine Ann Skaret, behind the award-winning film “Villagers and Vagabonds” (2020), the co-production “Aswang” (2019) and the premiere-ready “Not That Kind of Guy” (2022).

Born in Guatemala but moving to northern Norway in 2007, Pirir joined Mer Film, the company behind Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s “Disco” Eskil Vogt’s “The Innocents” and Ole Giæver’s “Ellos eatnu – Let the River Flow,” which plays in Nordic Competition at this year’s Goteborg Film Festival. Mer also co-produced Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Oscar-nominated documentary “Flee.

Back in November, Focus Features released three odd teaser posters for their upcoming psychological thriller Inside, posters that showed things like canned food, moldy fruit, and a pigeon instead of the film’s star Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home). Now the company has unveiled a new poster for Inside, and this one actually has Dafoe on it! You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

Focus Features will be giving Inside a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada on March 10, 2023.

Directed by Vasilis Katsoupis, who previously made the 2016 documentary My Friend Larry Gus (about an engineering student who ditches his studies to record a music album), from a screenplay by Ben Hopkins (The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz), Inside tells the story of Nemo, an art thief trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned. Locked inside with...

‘Triangle of Sadness’ Directed by Ruben Östlund;Ruben Östlund, Cannes Competition, Palme d’Or WinnerWhat a production! I have not seen ‘Triangle of Sadness’ yet. I want to, though it was not on the top of my list during Cannes this year. Looking at the credits, I am wondering what it took to get this produced.

IMDb synopsis of this film: A cruise for the super-rich sinks thus leaving survivors, including a fashion model celebrity couple, trapped on an island.

I could ask a few of my friends about their involvement in its production, e.g., Jim Stark, Micah Green, Philippe Bober, Lizzie Francke, Mike Goodridge…I wonder what they would tell me. Or I could guess…which is what I am doing here as a subject of this blog.

Philippe Bober: Coproduction Office is the international sales agent for the film. But the company is also, as the name suggests, a coproducer and Philippe usually takes a strong part in the development of the project as well as representing it for licensing to territories. In this case (I have to repeat that have not seen the film, but based upon what I have only heard said), I would guess that he did not do much with the development because when he does, the project is in no way formulaic; I have heard this film has traces of Ostland’s previous film, The Square, which then makes it more prosaic. Bober’s hand in film always makes the film unique.

And Philippe usually works with younger budding talent or else hardcore art house filmmakers. However, as international sales agent, perhaps some presales by him to territories helped finance the film. I am unsure that was necessary because the director Ruben Ostlund is so well known and accoladed already that I would think the money might come from other more well established sources. You can see the companies involved and get an idea of funding.

That’s where I would guess Micah Greene would enter the picture. At 30Westhe is not only producing and is best friends with the US distributor, Neon, one of the top U.S. films distributors today, but he comes from the most prestigious CAA where he was in charge of international financing for their films. He was and is still on top and deserves every good thing that comes his way. A mensch. Lizzie Francke is a true producer, has done horror and comes from the roots of arthouse films from U.K. She is now Editor-at-Large at the BFI Film Fund now. There certainly is a need for such a UK partner. Is there a need for more? Mike Goodridge, founder of the brand new production company Good Chaos, is also there. Aside from producing, Mike has worn many hats, beginning as a journalist and heading up the L.A. office at Screen International, heading up Protagonist a top U.K. international sales agency as well as a production company, heading up Beijing (?) Film Festival, all around professional and all around good guy.

Olivier Père, former head along with (now Tribeca’s Frederic Boyer) looks like he is involved in every current production these days… Check out his credits in IMDb:

La grande magie (co-producer) (post-production)

2022Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (producer)

2022Pacifiction (co-producer)

2022More Than Ever (co-producer)

2022Triangle of Sadness (co-producer)

2022Brother and Sister (co-producer)

2022Corsage (co-producer)

2022One Fine Morning (co-producer)

2022Les Harkis (co-producer)

And last but not least, Jim Stark, another with an eye, like Philippe Bober, for cutting edge talent and stories, has made 17 films as exec producer, producer, associate producer or co-producer just since 2018. That is almost four films a year! For those who might remember, he also discovered and produced for Jim Jarmusch on his first five films starting with Down by Law in 1986, done just after we all witnessed ourselves transported by Stranger Than Paradise at the New York Film Festival, the year Jim and I met and I began buying his films for Lorimar and Republic.

The Owner (executive producer) (filming)

Inside (executive producer) (post-production)

2022Triangle of Sadness (executive producer)

2021El camino de Sol (associate producer)

2021The Middle Man (executive producer)

2021/IVAlma (co-producer)

2021Prayers for the Stolen (producer)

2020Treasure City (producer)

2020The 11th Green (executive producer)

2019Not Not Jazz (Documentary) (producer)

2019Echo (co-producer)

2019The Whistlers (associate producer)

2019One Taxi Ride (Documentary) (executive producer)

2019The Operative (associate producer)

2018Our Time (associate producer)

2018Birds of Passage (co-producer)

2018/IIAdam (producer)

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Five is not a bad number of women represented on a list of 31 producers, coproducers, associate produces, executive producers and line producers…that’s almost 20 . But the list still sounds to me like an old boys’ list and I wonder if they all got back a good share of the budget. We all know movies never make money, but the above and below the line members do. What was the budget? Was this everyone’s reward for all the times they do not get paid because they are making art built into the budget?

Or am I just being cynical? Hollywood stunts don’t surprise me but what does surprise me is that it also won the top prize in Cannes. These producers are all-round good guys who are also good business men, and networking is crucial to this business. It’s nice to see them all together; this roster is very impressive.

Writing for young talent, I would say: This is a list of acquaintances you should aspire to have, study their credits, speak to them about their projects when you meet them. But, also remember to network yourself within your own circle. This list is of people who have all known each other many years, wearing many different coats and hats. So will you if you heed these words: Network and know who you are meeting and why you are meeting them as you go through your festival circuit(s) with your dreams of making the films that will change the world, then when you reach their age, you will also be poised to profit from all your work.

‘Triangle of Sadness’ produced by:

Brina Elizabeta Blaz…executive producer

Philippe Bober…producer

Julio Chavezmontes…co-producer

Alessandro Del Vigna…executive producer

Lizzie Francke…executive producer

Dan Friedkin…executive producer

Ryan Friedkin…executive producer

Rose Garnett…executive producer

Mike Goodridge…co-producer

Micah Green…executive producer

Faruk Guven…co-producer

Per Damgaard Hansen…co-producer

Erik Hemmendorff…producer

Giorgos Karnavas…co-producer

Konstantinos Kontovrakis…co-producer

Clemens Köstlin…co-producer

Jovan Marjanovic…associate producer

Mouns Overgaard…pre-production: line producer

Marina Perales Marhuenda…co-producer

Mirsad Purivatra…associate producer

Olivier Père…co-producer

Andreas Roald…executive producer

James Benjamin Shannon…executive producer

Danae Spathara…line producer: Greece

Jim Stark…executive producer

Daniel Steinman…executive producer

Bradley Thomas…executive producer

Zahra Waldeck…line producer: Sweden

Pierre Wallon…line producer: Greece

Dan Wechsler…executive producer

Jamal Zeinal Zade…executive producer

And, just for the record, if you look at the IMDb list of production companies (rather than people) involved, you will see this is a giant of a coproduction involving private and public companies, TV stations and international film funds:

Production CompaniesImperative Entertainment (presents)Film i Väst (in association with)BBC Films (in association with)30West (in association with)Plattform Produktion (production)Essential Filmproduktion GmbH (co-production)Coproduction Office (co-production)Sveriges Television (Svt) (co-production)Zdf/Arte (co-production)Arte France Cinéma (co-production)Trt (co-production)Svenska Filminstitutet (Sfi) (support)Eurimages (support)Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (support)Det Danske Filminstitut (support)Moin — Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (support)British Film Institute (BFI) (support)Nordisk Film (participation)Arte France (participation)Canal+ (participation)Ciné+ (participation)Heretic (in association with)Bord Cadre Films (in association with)Sovereign Films (II) (in association with)Piano (in association)

And finally, since the return on the investment, theoretically, comes from the final sources of revenues, the consumer, it is worth knowing what streamers receive, that that information is the hardest to get. Second to that is the monies paid to the Isa (international sales agents) though sales to distributors. Here are the distributors as listed in IMDb and Cinando, two sources of such information which do not always list the same information:

Distributors as listed on IMDb:Sf Studios (2022) (Sweden) (theatrical)Vertigo Média Kft. (2022) (Hungary) (theatrical)Bac Films (2022) (France) (theatrical)Avalon (2022) (Spain) (all media)Elastica (2022) (Spain) (all media)Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2022) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East, North Africa and Iran)Neon (USA) (all media)Vertigo Média Kft. (2022) (Hungary) (all media)

Distributors as listed on Cinando and not on IMDb:

Benelux, Surinam, Dutch Antilles — September Film Distribution Belgium, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, Airline

Baltics — Filmstop Ou, Theatrical, TV, VOD

Italy — Teodora Film, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, Airline

South Korea — Green Narae Media Co., Ltd., Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD

Lithuania — A-one Films Baltic, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, Airline

Poland — Gutek Film Ltd, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD

Romania — Independenta Film, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD

Serbia — Five Stars Film Distribution

Singapore — Anticipate Pictures, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD

Slovenia, territories of former Yugoslavia — Demiurg — Cvetka Flakus, S.P., Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD

Switzerland — Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD, Airline

Turkey — Filmarti Film, Theatrical, TV, DVD-video, VOD...

Yesterday, Focus Features unveiled a trio of strange teaser posters for their upcoming psychological thriller Inside, posters that showed things like canned food, moldy fruit, and a pigeon instead of the film’s star Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home). Those posters seemed to imply that Inside is going to be an odd, quirky film – but now that a trailer for Inside has arrived online, it doesn’t appear to be as off-the-wall as the posters were. Instead, it looks like this thriller is going to be quite intense, carried by another terrific performance from Dafoe. You can watch the trailer in the embed above.

Focus Feature will be giving Inside a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada on March 10, 2023.

Directed by Vasilis Katsoupis, who previously made the 2016 documentary My Friend Larry Gus, from a screenplay by Ben Hopkins (The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz), Inside tells the story of Nemo,...

No one does crazed isolation like Willem Dafoe.

The “Lighthouse” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” star leads upcoming Focus Features film “Inside,” directed by Vasilis Katsoupis (“My Friend Larry Gus”).

“Inside” tells the story of Nemo (Dafoe), an art thief trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and invention to survive.

Gene Bervoets, Eliza Stuyck, and Josia Krug also star, but “Inside” is billed as mostly a standalone Dafoe-led feature.

The film is written by Ben Hopkins, and produced by Giorgos Karnavas, Marcos Kantis, and Dries Phlypo. Karnavas’ Heretic production company most recently funded Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness.”

“It’s a dream to have made this film, the way we wanted to, having the privilege to work with Willem and all these amazing filmmakers that supported us,...

Focus Features will be giving the psychological thriller Inside a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada on March 10, 2023, and today they have unveiled a trio of very strange teaser posters for the film. You can check those out at the bottom of this article.

Directed by Vasilis Katsoupis, who previously made the 2016 documentary My Friend Larry Gus, from a screenplay by Ben Hopkins (The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz), Inside tells the story of Nemo, an art thief trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and invention to survive.

The film stars Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Gene Bervoets (The Vanishing), Josia Krug (Commitment Phobia), and Eliza Stuyck (Vincent).

Giorgos Karnavas, Marcos Kantis, and Dries Phlypo produced Inside, with Katsoupis serving as executive producer alongside Jim Stark,...

Focus Features has picked up the Willem Dafoe psychological thriller Inside and set a theatrical release of March 10, 2023. Focus is handling Inside in the U.S. and Canada while Universal International will distribute overseas.

The movie, which reps the feature directorial debut of Vasilis Katsoupis, tells the story of Nemo, an art thief trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and invention to survive. Ben Hopkins wrote the screenplay based on an original idea by Katsoupis.

The film is produced by Giorgos Karnavas of Greek production and sales outfit Heretic, which is behind this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness and Critics Week winner Feathers. Also producing are Marcos Kantis, and Dries Phlypo and executive produced by Katsoupis, Jim Stark, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Charles E. Breitkreuz,...

Bankside represented filmmakers in the deal.

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights from Bankside to the psychological thriller Inside starring Willem Dafoe and has set a March 10 2023 US release date.

Vasilis Katsoupis makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Ben Hopkins based on an original idea by Katsoupis. Focus will distribute in the US and Universal Pictures International will release across the rest of the world.

Inside follows Nemo, an art thief who gets trapped in a New York penthouse after the heist doesn’t go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, Nemo...

Latin America has submitted 15 contenders in the Academy Awards’ international feature category this time, not quite as big a haul as last year’s tally of 18.

Leading the hopefuls is Mexico’s “Prayers for the Stolen,” the fiction debut of Tatiana Huezo, one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2022. Her tale follows three girls as they come of age in a remote village afflicted by the drug trade and human trafficking. The Cannes Un Certain Regard winner is now streaming on Netflix, which is putting all its promotional heft behind it. The film’s producers are Jim Stark (“Coffee and Cigarettes”) and Nicolas Celis, the latter a key producer of Mexico’s first-ever international feature Oscar winner, “Roma,” by Alfonso Cuarón.

Huezo’s 2016 documentary, “Tempestad,” represented Mexico at the 90th Academy Awards. Since 1957, when Mexico started participating in the Oscars, 10 of its entries have been nominated, culminating in “Roma’s” win in 2019.

Chile,...

As the year winds down, November brings a packed slate of new releases––including festival favorites we can already recommend and others that hold a great deal of promise. From some of the greatest auteurs working today to breakthrough voices, there’s much to check out. See our picks below.

16. The Humans (Stephen Karam; Nov. 14 in theaters and on Showtime)

One of the notable premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival was writer-director Stephen Karam’s debut feature The Humans, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play. Coming from A24, the film follows Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun, and June Squibb in a story of a family who gathers in Manhattan for a Thanksgiving meal as their fears are laid bare. As C.J. Prince said in his TIFF review, “Everything is wrong in The Humans, Stephen Karam’s adaptation of his Tony-winning play. Set entirely...

The trailer for Prayers for the Stolen has just been released. The film is Mexico’s official submission for International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. You can check out the film’s new trailer above and the poster for the film below.

In a solitary town nestled in the Mexican mountains, the girls wear boyish haircuts and have hiding places underground. Ana and her two best friends take over the houses of those who have fled and dress up as women when no one is watching. In their own impenetrable universe, magic and joy abound; meanwhile, their mothers train them to flee from those who turn them into slaves or ghosts. But one day, one of the girls doesn’t make it to her hideout in time. Liberally adapted from Jennifer Clement’s eponymous 2014 novel.

About The Film Genre: Drama Running Time: 110 minutes MPAA Rating: R (for some...

After winning the Best International Feature Film Oscar a few years ago with Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, Mexico has another notable contender this year. Tatiana Huezo’s Prayers for the Stolen, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival this summer and recently played at NYFF and BFI London, was picked up by Netflix and will now arrive next month. Ahead of the release, the new trailer has arrived.

Backed by Roma producer Nicolás Celis along with Jim Stark, the film is set in a mountain town in Mexico where three young girls take over the houses of those who have fled. Led by Ana Cristina Ordóñez González, Marya Membreño, Mayra Batalla, Norma Pablo, Eileen Yáñez, and Memo Villegas, see the trailer below.

Prayers for the Stolen comes to theaters in November and hits Netflix on November 17.

The post U.S. Trailer for Mexico's Oscar Entry Prayers for the Stolen first appeared on The Film Stage.

Mexico has become the latest country to make its submission to this year’s International Oscar race, selecting Tatiana Huezo’s Prayers For The Stolen.

The pic debuted at Cannes this year, receiving a special mention in the Un Certain Regard program. The film was also a multi-award-winner at the San Sebastian and Athens film festivals. Netflix picked up rights and will release in select theaters and online in November.

Vaguely based on Jennifer Clement’s 2014 novel, the film is set In a solitary town nestled in the Mexican mountains, where the girls wear boyish haircuts and have hiding places underground. Ana and her two best friends take over the houses of those who have fled and dress up as women when no one is watching. In their own impenetrable universe, magic and joy abound; meanwhile, their mothers train them to flee from those who turn them into slaves or ghosts.

Athens International Film Festival ran September 22-October 3.

Tatiana Huezo’s fiction debut Prayers For The Stolen won the top prizes at Athens International Film Festival (September 22-October 3), including best film and best direction (Silver Athena).

The screenplay by Huezo and Jennifer Clement is based on the latter’s novel and follows the life of three adolescent girls in a remote Mexican small city plagued by the narco-cartels.

Produced by Nicola Celis (Pimienta Film) who also produced Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, and Jim Stark, the film premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes film festival, where it earned a special mention.

The Guadalajara Film Festival (Ficg) will close this October’s rescheduled in-person festival with the first two episodes of Netflix’s animated event series “Maya and the Three” from daytime Emmy-winning director Jorge Gutierrez.

“Having ‘Maya’ premier at my beloved Ficg, in the capital of Mexican animation, is a dream come true!” Gutierrez told Variety after the announcement was made.

Ficg released details outlining the full program for this year’s 36th edition, which also includes a special screening of Dennis Villeneuve’s “Dune” at the festival’s opening ceremony. Other major takeaways include the awarding of this year’s El Mayahuel de Plata to Mexican Cinema, the highest award given out by the festival, to the illustrious Mexican actor Elsa Aguirre, a figurehead of the country’s golden age of cinema.

Other announced honors include the Golden Mayahuel for contribution Ibero-American cinema to Spanish director Julio Medem, who will...

Exclusive: Indie distributor and SVOD service Mubi is continuing its remarkable buying spree at Cannes 2021. The growing player has now taken rights from The Match Factory to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cannes Competition drama Memoria for Germany, Italy, Latin America and India.

Palme d’Or winner Weerasethakul is debuting his latest drama on the Croisette today. Tilda Swinton stars in the movie as Jessica a woman who travels from Scotland to Bogotá to visit her sister. Ever since being startled by a loud ‘bang’ at daybreak, she is unable to sleep. However, during her journey she befriends Agnes (Jeanne Balibar), an archaeologist studying human remains discovered within a tunnel under construction, and a fish scaler, Hernan (Elkin Diaz). As the day comes to a close, she is awakened to a sense of clarity.

Weerasethakul’s ninth feature is his first shoot outside his native Thailand.

Adapted from Jennifer Clement’s “Noche de Fuego,” “Prayers for the Stolen” marks Tatiana Huezo jump into feature fiction. The film follows the lives of three girls in a town secluded in the Mexican mountains near a poppy field and a mining area.

The girls grow protected and hidden from the constant violence that silently takes over the town. Although the movie is permeated with the dread the inhabitant live with, not knowing what can happen to their lives and especially those of the girls coming to adulthood, it is also brimmed with tenderness and human care.

As Huezo delivers a delicate portrait of a childhood friendship, ephemeral but profoundly intense and hopeful, contrasted by the sordid cruelty of the reality that surrounds them highlighting the paradoxical nature of the Latin American country where human sweetness can be followed by the most absurd brutality.

Produced by Nicolas Celis’ Pimienta Film...

Vasilis Katsoupis’ fiction feature directorial debut is Heretic’s first English-language production.

Greek producers Heretic have just wrapped their first English-language production, Inside, starring Willem Dafoe.

Vasilis Katsoupis makes his fiction feature directorial debut, from a script written by Ben Hopkins based on an original idea by Katsoupis.

Bankside has boarded international sales and Square One Entertainment will distribute in German-speaking territories.

The under-the-radar project wrapped principal photography on June 1 after a Covid-safe seven-week shoot at Cologne’s Mmc TV & Film Studios. The film will be delivered in spring 2022.

The high-concept psychological suspense drama is about a high-end art thief,...

Hungarian drama from award-winning filmmaker previously screened at Film Festival Cottbus and Russia’s Sofia International Film Festival.

Sovereign Film Distribution has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Szabolcs Hajdu’s Hungarian drama Treasure City in a direct deal with the filmmakers.

The film received its international premiere at Germany’s Film Festival Cottbus in December and was also selected for Russia’s Sofia International Film Festival.

Sovereign is scheduling a theatrical release in the UK on June 18 and is also making the title available for virtual cinema release, currently closing agreements with several sites.

Treasure City explores the darker side of human relationships,...

Jon Jost's All the Vermeers in New York is exclusively showing on Mubi starting December 28, 2020 in the series Rediscovered.

I lived in New York for a year before shooting this film, observing, nosing around, and researching. While much of the research is present in the film, fortunately it is nearly invisible—the tulip proffered by Mark on meeting Anna at a café, the mere conjunction of choosing Vermeer as a topic in a city once called, in his time, New Amsterdam—each carries a submerged bit of information utterly unnecessary for the viewer.But the research was needed for me as a kind of invisible spine on which to place a totally improvised film, which from its formalistic appearance, and the seeming exactitude of its talk, its images and its structure, would seem to have been highly calculated. But there was never a word of dialog on paper, nor...

Principal shooting is set to begin next month on the latest feature from critically acclaimed Russian director Yury Bykov, whose sophomore film “The Major” played in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, Variety has learned.

“The Owner” is produced by Ilya Stewart, Pavel Buria, and Murad Osmann of Moscow-based Hype Film, in their first collaboration with Kinopoisk, Russia’s leading streaming platform. Olga Filipuk is producing for Kinopoisk, which is owned by search engine Yandex.

Also co-producing are Dan Wechsler and Jamal Zeinal Zade of Switzerland’s Bord Cadre Films and Andreas Roald of the U.K.’s Sovereign Films, who are both co-producers on Cannes Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund’s upcoming feature “Triangle of Sadness.” Mexico’s Pimienta Films headed by Nicolas Celis (“Roma”), and Jim Stark are on board as executive producers.

Handling world sales and boarding the film as co-producers are Carole Baraton, Yohann Comte, and Pierre Mazars of Paris-based Charades.

Films from Belgium, Hungary and Romania were also among the winners at the Bulgarian gathering. After being postponed indefinitely only days before it was supposed to kick off in March, Bulgaria’s biggest film event, the Sofia International Film Festival, came back at the end of June with a summer edition (see the news). The event ended yesterday with an outdoor gala, where Sister (Bulgaria/Qatar), the second feature by Bulgarian director Svetla Tsotsorkova, received the festival’s top prize, the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix. The jury, led by British director Peter Webber and consisting of American producer Jim Stark, Bulgarian actress Irmena Chichkova and Mexican producer Nicolás Celis, handed the Special Jury Award to Nathalie Biancheri’s Nocturnal (UK). The summer edition of the festival presented a total of 111 films from 48 countries. Fifty-five titles were screened in one indoor venue and several open-air venues over the course of ten.

The networking and workshop event, which unspools from 10-14 March in Bratislava, will welcome Costa-Gavras, Eddy Joseph, Paweł Edelman, Jim Stark and Molly Malene Stensgaard as guest lecturers. The Visegrad Film Forum (Vff) in Bratislava is one of those glocal – focused on local production but boasting a global perspective and ambition – events that entice guests with their exciting atmosphere and rock-solid programme. The organisers invite seasoned and distinguished filmmakers from all over the world so that they can pass on their expertise, and maybe also their life experience, to younger colleagues. The five-day gathering, the ninth edition of which starts on 10 March, this year offers a diverse array of lecturers – ranging from a director and an editor to a DoP. They are: helmer Costa-Gavras; sound editor Eddy Joseph, who has worked on Bond films (Casino Royale) as well as musicals (Pink Floyd: The...

“Why did you shoot those puppies, John?”

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th. The series continues Saturday, January 4th at 7pm with Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

Admission is:

$7 for the general public

$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools

$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

The theme of teen-age alienation received brilliant treatment in 1955 at the hands of director Nicholas Ray and stars James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. Rebel Without A Cause was a poignant melodrama that made James Dean a household word. Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s I saw Rebel Without A Cause...

“ A man can lie, steal… and even kill. But as long as he hangs on to his pride, he’s still a man. All a woman has to do is slip – once. And she’s a “tramp!” Must be a great comfort to you to be a man. “

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th. The series continues Friday night, January 3rd at 7pm with Johnny Guitar (1954). A Facebook invite for the film can be found Here

A revisionist Western made at a time when a large section of the population didn’t recognize that the Western genre could use some revising, Nick Ray’s Johnny Guitar focuses on female...

” The city can be lonely too. Sometimes people who are never alone are the loneliest. “

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th. The series continues tonight, December 29th at 7pm with On Dangerous Ground (1951)

A film noir more often compared to the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer than its American contemporaries, On Dangerous Ground concerns the hot-headed detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), who partners up with Walter Brent (Ward Bond), the father of a murdered young girl, in the solving of the crime. Along the way they encounter a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who may offer a key to the case. Featuring a memorable score from master Bernard Herrmann.

” This boy… and this girl… were never properly introduced to the world we live in… To tell their story… They Live by Night. “

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pmthe weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th.The series kicks off tonight, December 27th at 7pm with They Live By Night – 1948

After seven years in prison, 23-year-old Bowie (Farley Granger) escapes alongside some bank robbers. Once out, he runs into new love Keechie (Cathy O’Donnell), and makes it a priority to prove his innocence, or at least escape to the mountains with Keechie in tow. With this, his film debut, Nicholas Ray already exhibits future preoccupations with young underdogs and offers a fine contribution to the film noir canon.

” I’ve got the bullets! “

Webster University has announced “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th.

Jean-Luc Godard once famously wrote that “Cinema is Nicholas Ray.” Champion of the underdog, one of the earliest masters of Cinemascope, forward thinking in depictions of the aligned and marginalized, Mr. Ray’s contributions to film continue to resonate with modern filmmakers and audiences. Sure, you can spend the holiday season with an old man in a red suit, but Nicholas Ray is the one giving the gifts that keep on giving.

Here’s the lineup:

They Live By Night (1948) Friday, December 27 at 7:00pm

After seven years in prison, 23-year-old Bowie (Farley Granger) escapes alongside some bank robbers.

Industry professionals get first look at new work.

Works in progress from Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Greece and Russia have won awards for the best pitches at the second edition of European Work in Progress during Film Festival Cologne.

The five winners were chosen on Tuesday (15) by an international jury consisting of Locarno Film Festival’s new artistic director Lili Hinstin, Zdf Enterprises’ director of acquisitions for feature films Margrit Stärk, Albanian producer Sabina Kodra, whose Erafilm was behind Robert Budina’s A Shelter Among The Clouds), and Yohann Comte, co-founder of French sales company Charades.

The awards were presented at...

When independent film producer Marie-Louise Khondji founded Le Cinéma Club in July of 2015 in her bedroom, she had a singular vision for the curated streaming site. “The initial idea was really to create a platform where we can present one filmmaker and one film at a time,” she said in a recent interview, “while, at the same time, creating an easy guide for the audience to discover films and filmmakers they wouldn’t on their own.”

Each week, the site showcases a single film for free, helping guide its audience to an international array of established and up-and-coming talent. For Khondji, the one-week window was designed to “give better visibility” to the individual films and to create a sense of event around each pick. “We’re still in a relatively new era of digital distribution and I wanted to try this new model,” she said. “I was trying to imagine...

When Katriel Schory took over as topper of the Israel Film Fund some 20 years ago, its domestic cinema was at a low point.

“The late ’90s were the worst in terms of audiences in Israel for Israeli films and they had mostly disappeared from festivals,” he says. “There were zero co-productions.”

Schory came in with a three-point plan: to help the Israeli film community regain their self-confidence; for the fund to completely revamp the way they read and select projects, i.e., to look for stories, projects and filmmakers from all walks of life and from all the regions and cultures comprising the country; and to divert a certain part of the budget for the marketing, distribution and release of films in Israel.

At that time, Israel had only a small number of co-production treaties. Over the years, Schory negotiated numerous others; now Israel has agreements with 20 countries. He takes...

Leading arthouse sales agent The Match Factory, which has four films in the Cannes Film Festival official selection, has added “Noche de Fuego” by Mexican-El Salvadoran director Tatiana Huezo to its slate. The film is produced by Nicolas Celis, producer of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” and Jim Stark, who has produced several films by Jim Jarmusch.

“Noche de Fuego,” which is based on Jennifer Clement’s novel “Prayers for the Stolen,” is Huezo’s third film following “The Tiniest Place” (2011) — winner of the Ariel Award for best Mexican documentary, best international feature at Visions Du Reel and the Fipresci Award at Mar del Plata — and “Tempestad” (2016), which premiered at Berlinale Forum, and won the documentary award at Camerimage plus four Ariel Awards, including for direction and documentary. “Tempestad” was also nominated at the Goya Awards for best Ibero-American Film.

“Noche de Fuego” tells the story of three girls living in...

Exclusive: The Operative is heading for U.S. movie screens after Vertical Entertainment acquired North American rights to the spy thriller toplined by Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman and Cas Anvar. A third-quarter 2019 release is being eyed for the pic, which world premiered in February out of competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Written and directed by Yuval Adler based on the novel The English Teacher by Yiftach Reicher Atir, the plot centers on Rachel (Kruger), a rogue spy from Israel’s Mossad, who vanishes without a trace. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic phone call she places to her former handler, Thomas (Freeman). Thomas must retrace her steps to determine what threats her knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program may pose to their operation, while also working to protect her.

Endeavor Content, which is handling international distribution rights, negotiated the deal for the filmmakers with Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector at Vertical.

Kicking off its 5th year, the Careyes Creation Lab, an offshoot of the Arte Careyes Film Festival, is set to run March 18-22, providing an immersive workshop experience in which a select group of rising Mexican filmmakers are guided by renowned mentors in exercises designed to hone and shape their craft.

This year’s mentors, Oscar-nominated director Jean-Marc Vallee (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Emmy-winning director Joan Darling (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”), will tutor a slate of participants including directors Joaquín del Paso (“Maquinaria Panamericana”), Marcelo Tobar (“Oso Polar”) and Cristina Gallego (“Birds of Passage”) and actors Hoze Meléndez, Verónica Toussaint, Osvaldo Benavides and Johanna Murillo. All directors have films screening in Arte Careyes, which dovetails with the lab, taking place March 20-24. Past mentors of the lab have included John Cooper, Jim Stark, Darling and Pavel Pawlikowski.

Taking place in a private home in Careyes, Mexico, the lab is...