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"Independent to the bone..." Kino Lorber has revealed a new trailer for the 4K restoration of the American indie cinema classic Killer of Sheep, made by filmmaker Charles Burnett as his feature debut in 1978. Filmed in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles during the 70s, Burnett wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited Killer of Sheep as his UCLA thesis film. Since then, the film went on to receive the Critics’ Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1981, the U.S. Library of Congress selected the film as one of the first fifty films on the National Film Registry in 1990, and the National Society of Film Critics selected it as one of the "100 Essential Films" of all time in 2002. It's only now getting a proper release. The film depicts the culture of urban African-Americans in Los Angeles' Watts district in a style often likened to Italian neorealism, with a series of vignettes.

The Annihilation of Fish.The cinematic event of the year so far is the rerelease of Charles Burnett’s long-unavailable romantic masterpiece, The Annihilation of Fish (1999). It has weathered Todd McCarthy’s snide, vicious Variety review that sealed its obscurity until now. McCarthy falsely claimed it was “a drear moment in the careers of all concerned” and even had the temerity to suggest that “theatrical release other than via self-distribution is out of the question.” Whatever reputation it’s had up until this point has been due to the burning-candle cinephiles on Letterboxd and online film boards who have claimed it an unjustly forgotten work. We now know how right the burners were: Fish is a sophisticated, beautifully acted, and innovative romantic comedy for grown-ups. Unfortunately, because of that disastrous McCarthy review, Fish did not get the wide distribution it so obviously merited until now. It’s too late for its stars,...

A trailer for Charles Burnett‘s 1977 film “Killer of Sheep” has made it’s way to us ahead of the film’s 4K restoriation for the 48th anniversary as Milestone Films and Kino Lorber are proud to announce the theatrical release in April.

Largely considered a landmark independent cinematic masterpiece and previously named as one of the first fifty films to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1990 among other substantial aaccolades.”Killer of Sheep,” will be magnificently restored in 4K with sparkling picture and sound.

Continue reading ‘Killer Of Sheep’ Trailer: Charles Burnett’s Poetic Street Classic Returns In New 4K Restoration For 48th Anniversary at The Playlist.

It was just last week we published an interview with the great Charles Burnett, whose 1999 drama The Annihilation of Fish was finally resurrected and is now rolling out in theaters. This spring, Kino Lorber will now give another one of his newly restored films a theatrical roll-out, teaming with Milestone Films. Burnett’s 1977 landmark masterpiece Killer of Sheep, which was his UCLA thesis film, has been newly restored in 4K and will now open on April 18 beginning at NYC’s Film Forum. The new 4K restoration also restores the original soundtrack in its entirety, including the original closing song, Dinah Washington’s performance of “Unforgettable.”

Here’s the synopsis: “The story centers on Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a slaughterhouse worker battling exhaustion and disconnected from his wife, his children, and himself. Stan and his neighbors struggle just to get by, let alone get ahead. Only the kids, leaping from roof to roof,...

Charles Burnett’s legacy is being restored — staring with the literal restoration with his most iconic film.

The acclaimed writer/director/producer/editor, who recently turned 80, has seen a lot — including his lost comedy “The Annihilation of Fish” earn a 4K restoration and theatrical release for the first time in the almost 30 years since its 1999 debut. And now, Burnett’s acclaimed feature “Killer of Sheep” is also landing a 4K re-release from Kino Lorber and Milestone Films, plus a Criterion premiere.

“Killer of Sheep” was deemed one of the 50 greatest films of all time by the Sight and Sound critics’ poll in 2022. The 1977 indie was additionally among the first 50 films named to Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1990.

“Killer of Sheep” centers on Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders), a slaughterhouse worker who becomes disconnected from his wife, his children, and himself due to his grueling work.

The official synopsis reads:...

It’s not coming from a major studio, but there actually is a new romantic comedy getting a U.S. theatrical release this Valentine’s Day weekend — never mind that it was shot more than 25 years ago. The late James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave star as aging neighbors turned tender lovers in “The Annihilation of Fish,” newly restored in 4K from Kino Lorber and Milestone Films.

Playing New York now before expanding to Los Angeles and select cities, the film not only finds two terrific actors — three, including Margot Kidder — working at the top of their games, but also sees them united with director Charles Burnett. Once limited to laurels within the independent film community, Burnett’s name has been canonized in recent years, after the re-premiere of his UCLA thesis film “Killer of Sheep” — a funny, haunting and altogether ineffable slice of neorealism set in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood.

Film enthusiasts have much to anticipate in May with a captivating lineup of releases that span various genres and eras for the estimable Criterion Collection.

This bespoke DVD/Blu-Ray label’s eclectic selection for May includes three new films never part of the collection before Charles Burnett’s classic black-slice-of-life street poetry film, “Killer of Sheep,”—often described as very Terry Malick in tone— Abbas Kiarostami’s “The Wind Will Carry Us,” and Richard Lester’s “The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers.”

Read More: Criterion’s April Releases Include ‘Anora,’ ‘Chungking Express,’ ‘Some Like It Hot’ & More

Previously released titles either long out of print or upgraded into new editions include Bruce Robinson’s “Withnail and I” and “How to Get Ahead in Advertising,” Jacques Demy’s “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” and Norman Jewison’s “In the Heat of the Night.” These films offer a unique glimpse into the artistry...

Marking one of their biggest upgrade months yet, the Criterion Collection is consecrating May 2025 with new 4K editions for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, In the Heat of the Night, and (reaching well back into the library) Withnail and I, running a gamut from opulent, fantastical color to solid 60s-studio sheen to the outright gnarly.

Meanwhile, Charles Burnett‘s legendary Killer of Sheep is given a major upgrade as Richard Lester’s Three Musketeers / Four Musketeers duet also earns full honors. Which should not distract from Abbas Kiarostami’s epochal The Wind Will Carry Us coming to Blu-ray, nor the same for another Bruce Robinson-Richard E. Grant collaboration, How to Get Ahead in Advertising.

See artwork below and more at Criterion:

The post The Criterion Collection’s May Lineup Features The Umbrellas of Cherbourg on 4K, The Wind Will Carry Us & More first appeared on The Film Stage.

Essentially a lost film, legendary director Charles Burnett’s 1999 feature The Annihilation of Fish mostly lived on the festival circuit (and in bootlegs) for a quarter-century until a recent miraculous restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation. Despite featuring recognizable leads in James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave, one bad review from an influential critic (who seemed strangely wary of the film’s tonal risk-taking) was enough to sink its commercial prospects for potential distributors.

A mental-illness romantic comedy of sorts, the film has a strangeness that may be potentially alienating to some, but it seems inexplicable, years later, that a work which so movingly wears its heart on its sleeve would be denied the audience it deserved. Burnett, a straight shooter, joined us over Zoom to discuss the film’s new path as well as the state of cinema and, frankly, American society today.

The Critics Choice Association (Cca) has announced the lineup of presenters for the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards. The likes of Jackie Chan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Kathryn Hahn will all present, in addition to Jesse Eisenberg, star of “A Real Pain,” which nabbed three Critics Choice nominations at this year’s awards.

The full list of presenters includes: Aldis Hodge, Allison Tolman, Chase Stokes, Craig Robinson, David Alan Grier, David Harbour, Ewan McGregor, Jackie Chan, Jesse Eisenberg, Jimmy O. Yang, Josh Groban, Justine Lupe, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Keri Russell, Kristen Bell, Lupita Nyong’o, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Matt Bomer, Melissa Rauch, Meredith Hagner, Michelle Yeoh, Natasha Lyonne, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Brosnahan, Randall Park, Rufus Sewell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shanola Hampton and Wendi McLendon-Covey.

The awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler, will broadcast live from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.

Legendary filmmaker Zeinabu irene Davis now has her romance “Compensation” cemented as a piece of historical art.

IndieWire debuts the new 4K restoration of Davis’ 1999 film, which was recently added to the National Film Registry for Preservation in 2024. Davis was famously one of the youngest members of the L.A. Rebellion, a filmmaking movement led in part by Charles Burnett and Julie Dash. The L.A. Rebellion refers to the first African and African-American students who studied film at UCLA.

“Compensation,” which was Davis’ narrative feature directorial debut, has now received a restoration and theatrical distribution from Janus Films 25 years later. Davis was inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s a poem of the same name to make the film. Despite “Compensation” screening at festivals throughout 1999 and 2000, the film was previously unreleased.

“Compensation” stars Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks in dual roles, with the duo playing two different couples separated by an 80-year span.

When Lucky lets himself lean ever so slightly into the groove of a soul classic playing on the radio of his newly purchased old ride, it is a moment of understated beauty the understated gem “Color Book.” The same holds for writer-director David Fortune’s debut. He slides into a precise yet gentle groove in telling the story of Lucky (William Catlett) and his 11-year-old son Mason (Jeremiah Daniels) as they begin navigating a space rearranged by an unexpected, upending death. To state that Lucky is the newly single dad to a child with Down syndrome seems both apt and somehow overstates what is handled with an unblinking, quiet care.

“Color Book” delivers lo-fi pleasures and struts high-fidelity clarity. Yet, what this spare drama truly offers is a new category. Call it “deep fidelity,” in which the filmmaker captures without flash or pretense the material, emotional and even spiritual lives of his protagonists.

The Tcl Chinese Theatre will host benefit showings of two films: “Superman” and “2001: A Space Odyssey,” with 100% of the ticket sales and concession sales to be donated to L.A. wildfire victim relief. Both featured films will play in the Tcl Theatre’s main auditorium.

Richard Donner’s “Superman,” which originally premiered at the Chinese Theatre in 1978, will screen Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:30 pm, presented in 4k. Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” will screen Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7pm, presented in IMAX.

Proceeds from both screenings will benefit the American Red Cross, Los Angeles Fire Foundation, Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers foundation. Tickets run $25 and available for pre-booking via the Tcl Chinese Theatre website.

Friday, Jan. 17 Lost Charles Burnett Film, ‘The Annihilation of Fish,’ To Release in Theaters for First Time

“The Annihilation of Fish,” directed by Charles Burnett, has...

Acclaimed director Charles Burnett is finally getting the proper release for his lost feature “The Annihilation of Fish.”

IndieWire can announce that the 1999 film has landed a 4K restoration and theatrical release. “The Annihilation of Fish” first screened at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired for distribution; however, the distributor canceled the film’s release after one bad review in Variety. “The Annihilation of Fish” has never been available on all media anywhere for almost 30 years.

“The Annihilation of Fish” stars Lynn Redgrave as Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini. She moves into a Los Angeles boarding house with an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder) where she meets a Jamaican widower, Fish (James Earl Jones), who has recently been released from a mental institution despite his continued battles against unseen demons. In the face of personal challenges and differences,...

“It’s also getting hot in here, so I think I’ll get more serious and roll my sleeves up by taking the jacket off.”

When it comes to the Criterion Closet, “Nickel Boys” writer/director RaMell Ross didn’t come to mess around. Trying to emulate the feeling of what it was like when he first discovered cinema in the library of the Rhode Island School of Design where he earned his Mfa degree, Ross let his focus turn towards the many shelves of titles for him to choose from. After grabbing Volker Schlöndorff’s 1979 adaptation of “The Tin Drum,” Ross was drawn to the work of Wong Kar-Wai, as both an admirer and a student interested in learning more.

“I know his work, but I haven’t digested it,” said Ross. “I think people should digest work, not encounter it. You need to bring it in. You need to eat it.

Making movies is a hard business, but it’s much easier when you’re doing it with someone you value and respect. It seems the same can be said of picking movies, as collaborators Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste joined forces once again to take on the Criterion Closet. The two are currently promoting their most recent film together, “Hard Truths,” which is garnering Jean-Baptiste tremendous awards buzz, including recognition from the NYFCC, the Lafca, and the BIFAs this past weekend. She was previously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Leigh’s 1996 Palme d’Or winner, “Secrets & Lies,” a film the pair look back on with fondness in the video below.

“Here’s a film you’re really going to like,” Leigh said, reaching for the film, to which Jean-Baptiste jokingly responded, “What’s that one about?”

After they both grabbed Charles Burnett...

Singer-songwriter Benjamin Booker is back with his first new music in seven years, “Lwa In the Trailer Park,” which will appear on his upcoming album, Lower.

“Lwa In the Trailer Park” signals a major shift artistic shift for Booker from the blues, punk, and Americana-inspired sounds of his first two albums to something more experimental and noisier (Booker co-produced the album with celebrated producer Kenny Segal). But Booker’s songcraft and knack for melody remain tight as ever, as he sings in hushed tones over blown-out drums and screaming guitars,...

Justin Simien’s four-part docuseries Hollywood Black tells the story of cinema through the perspectives of Black creators and talents. Adapted from Donald Bogle’s book and directed by Simien himself, the MGM+ program reframes how we understand the development of movies by centering Black voices and histories. In each episode, Simien sits down with a range of guests—from actors and scholars to fellow filmmakers—to gain new insight into landmark works and overlooked figures through lively discussion.

While comprehensive is an unrealistic goal given its limited format, Hollywood Black offers thought-provoking examination of how racial politics have continually shaped the industry. Simien makes a compelling case that without Black participation from the very start, the moving image simply wouldn’t exist in the same way. We follow his journey to recover ignored contributors and place icons in fuller context against the ebbs and flows of representation over decades.

Justin Simien’s four-part docuseries Hollywood Black tells the story of cinema through the perspectives of Black creators and talents. Adapted from Donald Bogle’s book and directed by Simien himself, the MGM+ program reframes how we understand the development of movies by centering Black voices and histories. In each episode, Simien sits down with a range of guests—from actors and scholars to fellow filmmakers—to gain new insight into landmark works and overlooked figures through lively discussion.

While comprehensive is an unrealistic goal given its limited format, Hollywood Black offers thought-provoking examination of how racial politics have continually shaped the industry. Simien makes a compelling case that without Black participation from the very start, the moving image simply wouldn’t exist in the same way. We follow his journey to recover ignored contributors and place icons in fuller context against the ebbs and flows of representation over decades.

Early in Billy Woodberry’s Bless Their Little Hearts, Charlie (Nate Hardman) declares to a group of drinking buddies that there’s a time in every man’s life when he must “make a decision between the spiritual and the material.” Until now, Charlie has always chosen the material, and his pronouncement suggests a deliberate mental shift, perhaps as a form of self-preservation to stave off despair. After all, he pounds the pavement day after day, begging for work and filling out employment applications, yet all he ever has to show for it is the occasional temporary landscaping gig or a few bucks from selling catfish he caught by the side of the road.

Where Charlie’s confidence in the spiritual is short-lived—his faith is only ever rewarded by dashed hopes—it remains the central focus of Woodberry’s touching and melancholic feature-length debut. Written with piercing clarity by Charles Burnett,...

Before Ayo Edebiri broke out in “The Bear” and “Bottoms” or even as a voice on “Big Mouth,” she was a huge Letterboxd influencer, offering a mix of hilarious and thoughtful commentary on a wide range of cinema. She has largely tempered her posting, still contributing a brief review from time to time, but is now returning to the film criticism forum with some recent Criterion Closet picks.

“I be on these sales. I’m on these sales. I’m getting 50 percent off these DVDs just like you are, so I’m very excited to be here,” Edebiri said as she scoured shelf upon shelf of classic cinema.

Edebiri’s first pick was Akira Kurasawa’s pulpy crime drama and the inspiration for Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s latest collaboration, “High & Low.” Discussing the film, Edebiri said, “I’ve been seeing this popping off Letterboxd, which I think...

Most filmmakers only really get going when the pain of not making a movie finally boils over to the point where it exceeds the pain of making a movie. And once this pivotal point-of-no-return is reached, the accumulated velocity of ambition will not allow petty inconveniences to impede the ultimate realization of its goal. Not even a punishing lack of start-up capital–or even, it turns out, a torrential Southern California downpour choking the streets of LA to a frigid standstill.

So despite being rescheduled from February 6 due to an aggressive late-winter rainfall, Fi’s Filmmaker Tuesday session, The Evolution of Microbudget Filmmaking, finally happened last week on March 19, featuring a panel of four acclaimed indie producers and directors (not to mention Fi Fellows!) who have all managed to make big waves with their work despite microscopic production budgets. They were: Iram Parveen Bilal, Ron Najor, Gia Rigoli and Avril Speaks.

Before we can even get on the record, before that most familiar robot warning of “This meeting is being recorded,” Frederick Elmes is swapping stories about Albert Brooks. After greeting me by name, he mentions a news piece I had written––a blurb about the recent Brooks documentary Defending My Life. He worked with Brooks some, he says, as a camera operator, goes on to speak generously and thoughtfully about the atmosphere the director cultivated and maintained on set, what that meant in turn to his work as a cinematographer, to the cast and crew more generally. I am sitting and grinning like an idiot, not unlike an ancillary Brooks character––maybe Bruno Kirby in Modern Romance. It strikes me that this moment represents Elmes’ approach to tending the moving image: careful research, a focus on listening, the sharing of ideas stemming from observation, and an immediate instinct for collaborative thinking.

Next week marks Charles Burnett’s 80th birthday, which the filmmaker will celebrate tonight in long-gestating style: by premiering the restoration of his “The Annihilation of Fish” in Los Angeles. Burnett first premiered the film at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival, and for 25 years he’s struggled to get it in front of audiences.

“I’m curious, because it’s been locked away for a very long time for all sort of reasons and you sort of wonder if it’s still relevant, how audiences are going to take it,” Burnett told IndieWire on the eve of his birthday and tonight’s screening.

Tonight’s free screening is part of the UCLA Festival of Preservation, a full circle moment for Burnett, who learned his craft at UCLA’s film school. Fifty years later, his alma mater helped restore a film that, at times, looked like it might be locked in a Technicolor vault forever.

Indie icon Kim Gordon, whose excellent solo album “The Collective” dropped last week, is this month’s featured film curator for Galerie, the new online film club launched by Indian Paintbrush. Below, Gordon shares a deeply personal curation of eight films that influence and reflect audio, visual art, and personal style. While best known as a musician and cofounding member of Sonic Youth, Gordon’s art has long stretched into multiple other disciplines, with film being just one.

“Morvern Callar,” dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2002

I love the way Lynne Ramsay uses sound dynamics. In this movie the music is like another character. The mixtape that her dead boyfriend made and left for her (saying “Keep the music to yourself”) becomes a thread throughout the film. He is the music — it not only keeps him alive for her but replaces him.

“Clouds of Sils Maria,” dir. Olivier Assayas, 2014

The relationship in this...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSEvil Does Not Exist.We are saddened to learn that Issue 97 will be Cinema Scope’s last in its current form. To “do something valuable in this field,” editor and publisher Mark Peranson writes, “one needs creative freedom.” This is exactly what, for twenty-five years and just under 100 issues, Cinema Scope was able to provide, offering a space that allowed, per Peranson, “a certain kind of filmmaker’s work to be treated with the intellect and respect they deserve.” The print issue is on its way to subscribers now, and its entire contents—including interviews with Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Rodrigo Moreno, and Alex Ross Perry—can also be read online.Sandra Milo has died at the age of 90. She starred in Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963) and Juliet of the Spirits...

Kino Lorber, at the Lumiére Festival and International Classic Film Market (Mifc) in Lyon with a number of new restorations, including Stanley Kubrick’s “Fear and Desire,” will next release Bridgett M. Davis’ 1996 drama “Naked Acts” and a complete retrospective of Oscar Micheaux, the first black filmmaker.

Also headed for release is “The Dragon Painter,” a rare, 1919 silent film with an all Asian cast, with the feel of an old Japanese film but entirely shot in the San Francisco area. It stars Sessue Hayakawa, who produced it himself, as well as his real-life wife Tsuru Aoki.

Kino Lorber is partnering with Milestone Films to release “The Dragon Painter” in 4K in 2024 with a new score.

Likewise set for a 4K release next year in partnership with Milestone is “Naked Acts,” which follows young Black actress Cicely, who is about to make her acting debut in a low budget film. As...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAggro Dr1ft.NYFF have announced a few new lineups, including their adventurous-looking Spotlight section, with new work by Harmony Korine, Hayao Miyazaki, Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie, and more. They've also shared the experimental program for Currents, which opens with Eduardo Williams’s The Human Surge 3 and features James Benning, Deborah Stratman, and Pham Thien An. And finally, their Revivals section includes restorations of Jean Renoir’s “almost ghostly last film in Hollywood,” The Woman on the Beach (1947); Niki de Saint Phalle's first solo feature Un rêve plus long que la nuit (1976); and a 4K restoration of Horace Ové’s Pressure (1976), world-premiering in conjunction with the London Film Festival. Following news last week that Leila’s Brothers (2022) filmmakers Saeed Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi have been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended over five years,...

We ranked the 100 best movies of the ‘80s, and listed our favorite performances, scores, and anime of the decade. We interviewed Charles Burnett about his compromised masterpiece “My Brother’s Wedding,” Susan Seidelman about bringing a new kind of woman to the big screen, “Buddies” actor David Schachter about the first movie to tackle AIDS head-on, and went deep with Hal Hartley on the making of “The Unbelievable Truth.” Michael Giacchino waxing poetic on “Raiders of the Lost Ark?” Griffin Dunne reflecting on “After Hours?” The story of the Sundance Institute from the people who brought it to life? A true Day One exclusive.

We ran essays about the synth invasion of Hollywood scores, the uncomfortably comedic role that consent played in ’80s comedies, the birth of the steadicam, the ending of “Fatal Attraction,” and — of course — why “Streets of Fire” should’ve been the biggest rock musical of our lifetimes.

Charles Burnett is best known for his landmark portraits of Black American life, from the aching neorealism of “Killer of Sheep” to the mordant mysticism of “To Sleep with Anger,” his films aim to depict the broken contract the country made with its African American citizens in the aftermath of World War II.

His lesser-known masterpiece “My Brother’s Wedding,” however, is emblematic of a different continuum running through Burnett’s films: the theme of becoming.

An intimate window into early ’80s Los Angeles, where confluences of Black Southern roots were still trying to flower in a hostile urban environment — “My Brother’s Wedding” is a heated tale about the perils of upward mobility, the rising drug epidemic, and the tight alliance shared by two Black men, Pierce (Everett Silas) and Soldier (Ronnie Bell), the latter of whom has just been released from prison as the film begins.

Young and proudly working-class,...

A low-key, poetic exploration of life’s ironies, Monica Sorelle’s feature debut Mountains frames the disappearance of Miami’s Little Haiti with a warm, compassionate gaze recalling the masters of social realism––akin to Roberto Rossellini with the touch of Ousmane Sembène’s lighter films. With a title drawn from a Haitian proverb “behind mountains there are mountains,” the film retains a light touch, somewhat more sad than mad as Little Haiti disappears in the city’s building boom. A modest dream home is unobtainable once the real estate vultures circle the neighborhood and Xavier Sr. (Atibon Nazaire), a demolition worker, plays a role in changing his neighborhood permanently, making way for young Whole Foods-shopping professionals to displace families and small businesses.

Xavier Sr. lives in a small bungalow with crossing guard / homemaker wife Esperance (Sheila Anoizer) and their floundering 20-something son Junior (Chris Renois), an aspiring stand-up comedian.

Mubi is adding over 50 features from the Sony Pictures’ library to its U.S. streaming service. The mix of studio and arthouse fare includes Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, The Last Picture Show by Peter Bogdanovich and films from Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar and Guillermo Del Toro.

The company’s growing and global streaming service currently offers over 900 titles in the U.S., where it adds one new film to the platform daily. The Sony deal is a significant haul, especially since studios have become more aggressive in retaining content for their own services. Sony, uniquely, doesn’t have a streaming platform in-house.

Each Sony film has its own window, with some available already and all cycling onto the service at some point through the end of 2024. Others titles in the deal include 2046 by Wong Kar-wai; Volver by...

Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Wong Kar-wai, Steven Spielberg, Claire Denis, Pedro Almodóvar, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Nolan, Kelly Reichardt, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Charles Burnett, Lynne Ramsay, Lee Chang-dong, Yorgos Lanthimos, Mia Hansen-Løve, Bi Gan, Michael Haneke, and Hou Hsiao-hsien. Those are just a few of the directors who have been featured at New Directors/New Films throughout its 52-year history.

With this year’s edition, taking place at NYC’s Film at Lincoln Center at the Museum of Modern Art, kicking off this Wednesday, we’ve rounded up 17 features worth seeing––some of which we caught at Sundance, Berlinale, Locarno, and beyond, and others new to us at the festival. All in all, this 52nd edition presents another exciting example of the boundless creativity of emerging filmmakers and points to a bright future for the medium.

Check out our picks to see below and learn more here.

Astrakan (David Depesseville)

Astrakhan fur is unique: dark,...

Everything Everywhere All At Once was the big winner at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, winning seven awards out of its eight nominations.

The genre-bending film won best feature, and Michelle Yeoh won best lead performance, while Stephanie Hsu won best breakthrough performance and Ke Huy Quan won best supporting performance, beating out his co-star Jamie Lee Curtis. The filmmaking duo Daniels also won best screenplay and best director, while Paul Rogers won best editing for the film.

Through tears, Yeoh said, “The Daniels, my boys, thank you for writing such an incredible script that gave us the opportunity to be here to be seen to be heard. And I want to dedicate this to all our mothers. Without our mothers, none of us would be here. … Thank you to all of you for believing in us and giving us a seat at the table. And for all...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Alice, Darling (Mary Nighy)

Everything you need to know about Alice’s (Anna Kendrick) state of mind concerning the abuse inflicted by her boyfriend Simon (Charlie Carrick) are the words “it’s not like he hurts me.” We feel Sophie’s (Wunmi Mosaku) wince in our bones—”hurt” doesn’t only become noteworthy when wrought by a physical altercation. Alice is glued to her phone to ensure she doesn’t miss a call or text. She wakes up super early to apply make-up and style her hair to Simon’s preference. Parrots all the soundbites he uses to police her eating habits about the toxicity of sugar. And literally pulls her hair out of her head whenever she has a spare second...

Since the creation of the camera and the dawn of cinema, film has been one long experiment. Experimental film has often been defined through its rejection of traditional storytelling and structure, its defiance of logic or reason while creating mesmerizing scenes through dreamlike abstraction and subjective narrative.

A key figure in the early history of experimental film was the French filmmaker Georges Méliès. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Méliès was one of the first filmmakers to use special effects and trick photography to create fantastical and surreal images on the screen. His films, such as A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage, were some of the first examples of what would later be called experimental film. Another important trailblazer during the silent era was female director Lois Weber who is credited in creating an estimated 200 to 400 films. She was credited with pioneering the use of the...

Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including Carla Simón’s Golden Bear winner Alcarràs, Ruth Beckermann’s Mutzenbacher, a series celebrating Black cinema with works from Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Ephraim Asili, Bill Duke, and more.

Additional highlights include Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, Albert Brooks’ Modern Romance, Bong Joon Ho’s The Host, Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, shorts by Emilija Škarnulytė, and the beginning of a series spotlighting Akio Jissoji’s Buddhist Trilogy.

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

February 1 – Softie, directed by Samuel Theis | From France with Love

February 2 – The Sleeping Negro, directed by Skinner Myers

February 3 – Before Midnight, directed by Richard Linklater

February 4 – To Sleep with Anger, directed by Charles Burnett

February 5 – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, directed by Stanley Kramer | Performers We Love

February 6 – Aphotic Zone, directed by Emilija...

Edward R. Pressman, the prolific Hollywood indie producer behind Wall Street, Badlands, American Psycho, Das Boot and The Crow, among dozens of others, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 79.

His death was confirmed to Deadline his company, Pressman Films.

With dozens of acclaimed and impactful films and TV movies stretching back to the late 1960s and including now-classics like Conan the Barbarian, Talk Radio, Bad Lieutenant and Brian De Palma’s 1972 Sisters, Pressman was noted for discovering talented directors early in their careers. In addition to Sisters he produced De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, and, with the acclaimed 1973 TV-movie Badlands, Terrence Malick. Jason Reitman made his directing debut in Pressman’s 2005 Aaron Eckhart starrer Thank You for Smoking.

An early collaboration with Oliver Stone on the 1981 drama The Hand paved the way for Talk Radio (1988) and the 1987 Oscar-winning Wall Street. He and Stone produced Kathryn Bigelow’s early film Blue Steel (1990).

Among the other directors with whom Pressman would forge early bonds were Alex Proyas (The Crow), Sylvester Stallone (Paradise Alley) and Sam Raimi (Crimewave).

Among his many other credits both domestic and international, either as producer or executive producer, are Fred Schepisi’s Plenty, starring Meryl Streep; Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot; Mary Harron’s American Psycho, with Christian Bale; James Toback’s Two Girls and a Guy; Harold Becker’s City Hall, starring Al Pacino; Danny DeVito’s Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson; Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, starring Danny Glover; Barbet Schroeder’s Reversal of Fortune, starring Jeremy Irons in an Oscar-winning performance as Claus von Bülow; and John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer.

Pressman also earned Emmy and PGA Award nom as an executive producer of the 2018 HBO telefilm Paterno, and former longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. The producer also was nominated for back-to-back Indie Spirit Awards in 1992 and ’93 for Homicide and Bad Lieutenant, respectively, and received Film Independent’s John Cassavetes Award in 1991. He also received a Tribute Award from the Gothams in 2003.

A native New Yorker and Stanford University graduate who also studied at the London School of Economics, Pressman has been honored by the French Cinematheque, The National Film Theatre in London, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Pacific Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Cinematék, among others.

Pressman is survived by his wife of 39 years, Annie McEnroe Pressman, and son Sam Pressman, who has worked for Edward R. Pressman Productions for the past decade and says he will continue producing films for the company in honor of his father.

In a major shift one of the nation’s premier arthouses, Karen Cooper will be exiting as director on June 30 after 50 years running the Film Forum in New York City. Deputy Director Sonya Chung will assume the role.

Cooper has led the nonprofit cinema since its first iteration in 1972 as a 50-seat loft space on the Upper West Side open only weekends, to a multi-million dollar operation with four screens and 500 seats in lower Manhattan. She’ll remain an advisor to Chung with a focus on programming premieres and fundraising

“To say this is a transitional moment would be a vast understatement – for virtually all of its history, Film Forum has been energetically and most ably guided by Karen, not least during the very challenging pandemic period from which we are emerging. My board colleagues and I are extremely grateful for her tenure, and excited that in Sonya we have...

Every 10 years, the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine asks hundreds of film critics to name what they believe to be the 10 greatest movies of all time. From this, a master list of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time is compiled. Once released, there's a brief period of effusion followed by days of rage. How could "[insert masterpiece here]" rank below so many films that are clearly inferior, or, god forbid, miss the list entirely? For some, the final list is too esoteric while others find the list too beholden to tradition. Many correctly point out that there's historically been a decided caucasian male slant.

The BFI addressed this last complaint in 2022 by expanding its scope from 846 critics to 1,639. This broadening of perspectives has resulted in what is easily the most racially and ethnically diverse list in the poll's 70-year history. Films from Ousmane Sembène ("Black Girl"), Julie Dash ("Daughters of the...

It’s been less than 24 hours since the announcement of Sight and Sound’s greatest films of all-time polls. While we have a decade more of discourse, the first reactions were expectedly divisive when certain 21st-century films make the list and other venerated classics are dropped. As interesting as the top 100 is to discuss, we wanted to look a bit deeper to see how the reception of certain films shifted over the last decade, with a rundown of the films that were added and those removed.

As one can see below, about a quarter of the list switched up this time, with major showings for a number of women filmmakers—Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Julie Dash, Jane Campion, Barbara Loden, Céline Sciamma, Maya Daren, and Věra Chytilová. Wong Kar-wai, Hayao Miyazaki, Charles Burnett, Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, and Bong Joon-ho were also well-represented.

The films that were dropped...

Another decade, another Sight & Sound poll. On Thursday, the British magazine unveiled the 2022 edition of its long-running critics’ poll on the greatest films of all time, with “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” taking the top spot — the first film from a female director to achieve the honor since the poll began in 1952.

Directed by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman and released in 1975, “Jeanne Dielman” is a three-hour, 20-minute film following the title character (Delphine Seyrig), a single mother and prostitute, as she carries out a monotonous daily routine that slowly breaks apart and collapses. Since its premiere, the film has been highly acclaimed as a landmark of feminist cinema. Previously, it ranked 36 on Sight & Sound’s 2012 edition of the poll, where it was one of only two films in the top 100 from a female filmmaker; the other, “Beau Travail” by Claire Denis, is now ranked at number seven.

In celebration...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.Newsrrr.First: Notebook is launching a weekly email newsletter in 2023! Sign up here to keep up with our latest writing in this precarious digital age.At a recent screening of Rrr in Chicago, S.S. Rajamouli mentioned that his father and screenwriting partner V. Vijayendra Prasad is beginning to draft a sequel. In the meantime, Rajamouli is preparing an untitled film starring Mahesh Bubu, set to begin filming in the spring.In this Willamette Week article about George Saunders’s new short story collection Liberation Day, there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention of a film project. Richard Ayoade will direct an adaptation of Saunders’s 2012 short story “The Semplica-Girl Diaries,” set to begin filming next year. Though Ayoade stole the show in both parts of Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, this will be his...

A comprehensive, personal, and kaleidoscopic look at representation, Elvis Mitchell’s Is That Black Enough For You?!? is a passionate and loving walk through film history framed by Blaxploitation cinema of the 1970s. Written, directed, and narrated by the master conversationalist, curator, film scholar, and cultural critic, this is a densely packed visual essay told through film clips, archival materials, and interviews with Black stars of multiple eras who speak to the influence of this sub-genre on their lives and careers.

Borne from the notion that America was in a freefall spiral circa 1968, a new kind of subversive independent cinema arrived on the scene, forcing Hollywood to compete and adapt. Mitchell notes landmarks of representation along with the way—including Robert Downy Sr.’s Putney Swope, an experimental comedy set in the world of advertising,, and Martin Ritt’s The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.

Black Enough is...

That’s The Honourable Sheryl Lee Ralph to you!

On Monday, Emmy-winning “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph shared a post on Instagram from the King’s House, where she was awarded the Order of Jamaica.

Read More: Sheryl Lee Ralph Reacts To Beyoncé Sending Her Flowers Following Her Big Emmy Win

Along with Ralph, the ceremony honoured 143 notable Jamaicans, including recording artist Agent Sasco, jazz pianist Monty Alexander and others.

“Well, it is now official! I am The Honourable Sheryl Lee Ralph Oj,” Ralph wrote in the caption. “Warrior Woman!”

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A post shared by Sheryl Lee Ralph (@thesherylleeralph)

The honour was celebrated by fans, including “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson, who commented with a heart eyes emoji.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaas!!!!! ,” wrote Kerry Washington, while Joe Pantaliano added, “You were always Honorable m!!! ”

Read More: Jennifer Hudson Fangirls While Teaming Up With ‘Original Dreamgirl’ Sheryl Lee...

When discussing representation, we emphasize the necessity of Black people living in this moment and seeing themselves onscreen. But in the past, Black audiences had a much stronger need to visualize a different, more prosperous future in the wake of the violent realities of Jim Crow, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement. They needed to see a world where Black people were allowed to meet their full potential as artists, thinkers, and craftspeople.

In the opening lines of the new documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” director Elvis Mitchell speaks of his grandmother, remarking that “movies changed the way she dreamed.” For people in her generation, those dreams could be life-changing.

But most of the faces she saw onscreen at the movies were white. For the Black cinephile in the early years of Hollywood, projecting oneself onto characters was necessary. And yet, there were filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux and,...

The title of Elvis Mitchell’s documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” is a rallying cry heard in Ossie Davis’ “Cotton Comes to Harlem,” and it reflects the exuberant tone of this very wide-ranging, essayistic tribute to the Black-centered movies of the 1970s.

Mitchell describes his intentions on the soundtrack and says that this film is an examination of how “one decade forever changed the movies and me.” Though we never see him on screen, it is Mitchell’s voice guiding us throughout, and that voice is never less than lively, witty and provocative.

Premiering at the New York Film Festival on its way to Netflix, “Is That Black Enough for You?!?” runs 135 minutes and takes in an enormous amount of material; Mitchell’s insights into any particular film or subject have to be both brief and acute, and this suits Mitchell perfectly, because he has always been a...

"This is the story about a group of artists that changed the culture forever." Netflix has unveiled an official trailer for Is That Black Enough For You?!?, a documentary film directed by the film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell. You may have heard of him before? If not, check him out here. This doc tracks the history of Black cinema, focused mainly on the '70s (1968-1978), with archival and new interviews with many of the key players from the era. Crucial artistic voices, including director Charles Burnett, Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne, Zendaya and others, offer their distinctive prism on the creators and the many films that dazzled and inspired. The doc provides insight into the history of Black representation going back to the earliest days of cinema, and the cultural impact of witnessing unapologetic Blackness. This looks fantastic!! An exciting and empowering trip back through cinema history.

The era of 1970s Black cinema is at the forefront for film critic Elvis Mitchell’s Netflix documentary, “Is That Black Enough for You? How one decade changed the movies (and me).”

The documentary, which makes its world premiere in the Spotlight section of the 2022 New York Film Festival, debuts in select theaters October 28 before streaming on Netflix November 11. Mitchell writes, directs, and narrates the feature, which includes interviews with Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Zendaya, and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as actors Billy Dee Williams, Harry Belafonte, Mario Van Peebles, Margaret Avery, and Charles Burnett.

“They were proof that we were here, that we create culture, that we have voices, and that we will be heard,” Fishburne says in the trailer about the legacy of Black filmmakers.

David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh produce the documentary, along with Angus Wall and Ciara Lacy.

The official synopsis reads: From celebrated writer and film historian Elvis Mitchell,...

Click here to read the full article.

The American Film Institute’s Los Angeles-based film festival AFI Fest has revealed this year’s crop of red carpet galas including films from Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro, Maria Schrader and Florian Zeller.

As previously announced, AFI Fest will open with the world premiere of Apple’s Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me on Nov. 2 and close four days later with the U.S. premiere of Universal Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s The Fabelmans from Steven Spielberg.

Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, which will screen Nov. 3, centers on Silverio, a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles who returns to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit. Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid and Iker Solano star in the film.

On Nov. 4, notable journalist,...