News

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has partnered with JetBlue on an exclusive in-flight pop-up channel, offering a curated selection of 12 independent features from artists of color and women directors.

The films will be accompanied by a special video introduction from DuVernay, debuting across select JetBlue aircraft on December 1. The in-flight partnership is the first for Array, which has acquired and distributed more than 40 independent features since 2011.

“Over the years, I’ve experienced transformative moments by watching films while flying. Something about the intimacy of being in the air as stories unfold has always appealed to me,” shared DuVernay. “We launched Array Releasing in 2011 as a way to connect audiences with indie cinema made by underrepresented filmmakers. Our hope is that JetBlue travelers will sit back and enjoy the magic of these films, exploring new visions and new voices while in the majesty of mid-air.”

“We are thrilled to take Array...

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Indie filmmakers who are women and directors from the global majority will now have access to a new level of audience — literally.

Ava DuVernay’s distribution vehicle Array Releasing has partnered with JetBlue to launch a pop-up in-flight channel that will screen a dozen Array features.

“Over the years, I’ve experienced transformative moments by watching films while flying. Something about the intimacy of being in the air as stories unfold has always appealed to me,” DuVernay said in a statement. “We launched Array Releasing in 2011 as a way to connect audiences with indie cinema made by underrepresented filmmakers. Our hope is that JetBlue travelers will sit back and enjoy the magic of these films, exploring new visions and new voices while in the majesty of mid-air.”

Available starting today Thursday, each film will be preceded by a short video featuring DuVernay giving...

At the past two Toronto festivals, features from a new wave of Indigenous filmmakers — notably Jeff Barnaby’s “Blood Quantum,” Tracey Deer’s “Beans,” Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open” (co-directed with Kathleen Hepburn) —found acclaim and went on to connect with buyers and audiences beyond the borders of Canada.

Poised for similar traction, this year’s Toronto slate spotlights the past, present and future of Indigenous filmmaking across the festival’s public, industry and events programming. And just outside the festival frame, the Indigenous screen community is cued for non-stop action.

The Canadian government’s 2021 budget, unveiled in April, allocated $40.1 million over three years for the Indigenous Screen Office (Iso) to support screen-based content made by First Nations, Inuit and Métis creators — the largest investment in Indigenous screen sector since the launch of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Aptn) in 1999. Founded in 2018, the Iso is...

Exclusive: Grace Glowicki (Carmilla), Quelemia Sparrow (Tribal), Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale) and newcomers Alexandra Roberts and Cole Sparrow-Crawford will lead the cast of Canadian-Swiss co-pro Invasions.

Production is underway in Penticton, BC, on the psychological drama about a pregnant cannery worker who, after discovering what she believes to be an invasive insect in a peach, must convince her community that the danger it poses is very real.

The film is written and will be directed by Sophie Jarvis, whose short film The Worst Day Ever premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won Best Direction at the enRoute Film Festival. Jarvis was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for her work as production designer on Kathleen Hepburn’s Never Steady, Never Still.

The pic heralds from Experimental Forest Films, Ceroma Films and Reign Films in partnership with Cinédokké Films of Switzerland. Producers are Tyler Hagan (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open), Sara Blake,...

As we observe Native American Heritage Month, there are as many historical contributions to celebrate by our people as there are things happening in the current cultural landscape. Within cinema, there’s been a recent blossoming of films by Indigenous filmmakers internationally on the festival circuit and beyond that have been pushing the form and actively engaging with the very open-ended question: what is an Indigenous Cinema?

Well, what is it? There’s no one style, genre or format to answer that question, which makes this current moment exciting and palpable in terms of what it’s laying down for the next few decades of Indigenous filmmakers to come. In essence, it’s Indigenous artists expressing themselves through their own culture, experience and ultimately, their own lens.

A good indication of what’s going on now and how that future might track can be seen through the following directors and their films:

“Fast Horse” (2019) – dir.

It would be easy to dismiss Rama Rau’s first non-documentary feature Honey Bee as another melodramatically grim look at the consequences of sex trafficking in North America because it does utilize a lot of narrative convenience as far as driving the plot towards its endgame. Doing so, however, would discount the reason why Bonnie Fairweather and Kathleen Hepburn’s script works this way and why the resulting message is more important than the journey to get there. The whole point of portraying young Natalie’s (Julia Sarah Stone) plight is to provide an example for how the cycle of abuse can be broken. It’s not about piling on the tragedy or sweeping her trauma under the rug for some unrealistic rebirth in the aftermath. It’s about growing, healing, and hope.

The decision to therefore bookend the film with scenes at truck stops is crucial. We must witness...

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing is adding to its library of inclusive narratives with the critically acclaimed drama Lingua Franca directed, written, produced, edited by and starring Isabel Sandoval. The film will debut on Netflix and open theatrically in select cities on August 26.

Lingua Franca made history at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival Venice Days program as the first film directed and starring an openly trans woman of color to screen in competition. The film follows the story of an undocumented Filipina trans woman Olivia (Sandoval) who is the live-in caregiver for Olga (the late Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Olivia’s main priority is to secure a green card to stay in America, but when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren), issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threatens Olivia’s very existence.

“The release...

Members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television voted to crown Sophie Deraspe’s “Antigone” as best film at the Canadian Screen Awards Thursday, presented virtually by broadcasters CBC and CTV.

The film, a contemporary spin on the Greek tragedy, also won awards for lead female actor for Nahéma Ricci, female actor in a supporting role for Nour Belkhiria, adapted screenplay for Deraspe, and editing for Geoffrey Boulangé and Deraspe.

Variety’s review of the film, which was named best Canadian feature at the Toronto Film Festival, said it “feels refreshingly liberated by the spirit of Sophocles’ original material.” The “impassioned” film was “electrified by a performance of immense self-possession and dignity from revelatory new star Nahéma Ricci,” the critic wrote.

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn won the prizes for directing and original screenplay for “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open.” The film also took the cinematography award for Norm Li.

Antigone, Sophie Deraspe’s haunting French-language drama that set its adaptation of the Greek tragedy as a tale of a modern-day refugee family in Montreal, won Best Picture and tied François Girard’s The Song of Names with five wins overall Thursday at the Canadian Screen Awards, Canada’s equivalent to the Oscars.

Winners in the Cinematic Arts categories came tonight in a virtual ceremony held by The Canadian Academy, culminating three days of award handouts spanning film, TV, news, sports and documentaries.

Antigone won the Best Canadian Feature Film at last year’s Toronto Film Festival on its way to becoming Canada’s official submission in the 2020 International Feature Film race. Tonight, it also took best actress for star Nahéma Ricci, supporting actress for Nour Belkhiria, adapted screenplay for Deraspe, and Geoffrey Boulangé and Deraspe won for editing.

Song of Names, about an Englishman who searches for his childhood friend,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSGoodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)Cancellations, closures, and cuts continue in the wake of Covid-19. Box Office Pro, Cineuropa, and Complex will be regularly updating timelines of the virus's impact on theatres and the film industry. In response to these events, website Screen Slate and New York City-based cinema Light Industry have launched the Cinema Worker Solidarity Fund, which seeks to help movie theater workers whose jobs have been affected by the closure of local cinemas. Meanwhile, the fate of this year's Cannes Film Festival remains indeterminate, with film companies planning a virtual market (and online screenings) should the festival be cancelled. Elsewhere, SXSW pushes forward by opting to distribute screening links to its jurors for award decisions. Recommended VIEWINGAll of avant-garde filmmaker Sky Hopinka's short films are now available for free, including Fainting Spells...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe first poster for Abel Ferrara's long-awaited Siberia, which will compete in the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. In 2015, Ferrara described the mysterious picture as a means of seeing "if we can really film dreams—our fears, our regrets, our nostalgia.”This year's Academy Awards concluded with a Best Picture win for Parasite! Check out the rest of the winners here. Recommended VIEWINGThe trailer for Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, about the final issue published by a fictional American magazine based in a French city. Matías Piñeiro continues his Shakespeare series with Isabella. The film, which premieres at the upcoming Berlinale, features regular collaborators Maria Villar and Agustina Muñoz and circles the production of the play Measure by Measure. The first trailer for Sally Potter's The Roads Not Taken, which stars Javier Bardem...

Exclusive: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired the coming-of-age drama Jezebel directed, written, produced by and co-starring Numa Perrier. The film is set to stream on Netflix starting January 16, 2020, and will open theatrically in New York, Los Angeles and other select cities that same month.

Jezebel made its world premiere at SXSW this year and details Perrier’s real-life experiences. The film follows 19-year-old Tiffany (Tiffany Tenille) as she navigates her dying mother’s financial struggles. By working as an Internet fetish cam girl in the ’90s, the young woman uses her fantasy world as an escape from her real-life circumstances.

As Perrier’s feature debut, Jezebel won Best Director and Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival as well as the Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

“Numa Perrier’s directorial debut delivers a beautiful balance of poignancy and humor to reveal truths about women,...

As indie darlings and awards season contenders like Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, Waves and Dark Waters continue to impress, the Thanksgiving weekend has a handful of offerings when it comes to the specialty box office.

This week will see the premiere of Michael Apted’s 63 Up, the latest installment of his acclaimed Up Series. The BritBox documentary is part feature, part anthropologic study as it asks “whether or not our adult lives are pre-determined by our earliest influences and the social class in which we are raised.”

“63 Up is a landmark film and BritBox is proud to be the theatrical distributor, supporting Michael Apted and his lifetime of documentary filmmaking,” said Soumya Sriraman, President and Founder, BritBox.

The journey started in 1970 with 7 Up which spotlighted a group of British-born children. This served as the foundation for the series as Apted...

You can tell from the title. “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open” stands out in a field of generic, cookie-cutter dramas, not simply in terms of representation — though the female-made, indigenous-focused thriller offers a field day for intersectionality theorists — but also in the unconventional way the story unfolds. Filmed in what looks like a single real-time tracking shot (not counting a 12-minute intro to establish the characters), this resourceful Canadian micro-indie establishes an immediate, urgent language all its own to confront the problem of domestic abuse, making the issue personal for both the characters and their audience.

After a healthy tour of the festival circuit — where such a project ticks multiple boxes on the identity-politics ballot — “The Body Remembers” reaches U.S. screens via Array, the Ava DuVernay-backed distribution organization that serves as a megaphone for marginalized voices. While it can be tough at times — earnest, agitated,...

"I'm gunna protect her... No one's taking my baby." Ava DuVernary's indie label Array has released a trailer for their latest film hitting theaters this month titled The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open. This premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and also played at the Sydney & Toronto Film Festivals. The film takes place entirely in real time as a stitched continuous take in order to achieve an experience for the viewer which is urgent, intimate, naturalistic, and highly suspenseful. Skillfully written and directed by filmmakers Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn, the film is about a chance encounter on the street between two Indigenous women, one fleeing a violent domestic attack. Starring Violet Nelson and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, with Charlie Hannah, Barbara Eve Harris, Jay Cardinal Villeneuve, Aidan Dee, James Angus Cowan, and Anthony Bolognese. The film has received positive reviews across the board so far, calling it an "ambitious & gutsy...

The American Film Institute (AFI) just announced the films that will play in the New Auteurs, Cinema’s Legacy, Midnight, Shorts and AFI Conservatory Showcase sections at AFI Fest 2019 presented by Audi, completing the festival’s program.

The complete AFI Fest program includes 142 titles of which 51% are directed by women. This year’s program represents 52 countries and includes eight official International Feature Film Oscar®submissions as well as four World Premieres.

See online film guide at http://fest.afi.com/.

This year, they have transitioned back to a paid ticket system. For more information about ticket prices, Film Passes and Priority Passes, visit http://fest.afi.com. As an Official Supporter of the festival, I have five (5) complementary tickets to each screening of this film. They are available to the first to ask me! Please note that a ticket does not guarantee seating; be seated at 15 minutes prior to start time to ensure a seat.

The AFI Fest has been rolling out its 2019 slate for months — since announcing Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim as its opening-night film in August — and now we have the full lineup. Check it out below.

The festival, which runs November 14-21 in Los Angeles, will close with with Apple’s The Banker, starring Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult and Nia Long, and will feature the world premiere of Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell.

Here is the full lineup for the 2019 AFI Fest:

New Auteurs

Adam

Samia, heavily pregnant and alone, wanders through Casablanca, seeking shelter until Abla, a single mother, reluctantly takes her in. As the women discover each other’s inner struggles, their lives are transformed. A film festival darling, Maryam Touzani’s debut feature crafts a delicate tale of love through a confident female gaze. Dir Maryan Touzani. Scr Maryan Touzani. Cast Lubna Azabal, Nisrin Erradi, Douae Belkhaouda.

Mexican event runs from November 13-17.

Sophie Deraspe’s Canadian Oscar submission Antigone, Matías Meyer’s Modern Love, David Zonana’s Workforce and Michael Angelo Covino’s The Climb are among the Los Cabos International Film Festival’s competitive sections, Competencia Los Cabos and México Primero, announced on Tuesday (15).

Entries in the Competencia Los Cabos are: Modern Loves, Matías Meyer; Antigone (Canada), Sophie Deraspe; Ash (Canada), Andrew Huculiak; Greener Grass (Us), Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe; Honey Boy (Us), Alma Har’el; Holy Beasts, Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas; The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (Canada), Elle-Máijá...

Exclusive: Array Releasing has acquired worldwide rights to the Canadian drama The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, expanding the company’s slate of inclusive films. Array founder Ava DuVernay said Thursday that the company plans a release later this fall.

Written and directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (who also stars) and Kathleen Hepburn, the drama explores two Indigenous women living very different lives who are briefly brought together by desperate circumstances. The film debuted at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and most recently, made its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

“Through emotional, passionate storytelling, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open showcases the rarely portrayed lives, challenges and perspectives of Indigenous women,” Array president Tilane Jones said. “This beauty of a film by two dynamic women filmmakers captivated everyone at Array. We’re thrilled to share Elle-Máijá and Kathleen’s talents while unveiling...

Top Picksdaniel KASMAN1. 2008 (Blake Williams)2. State Funeral (Sergei Loznitsa)3. About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)4. Seven Years in May (Affonso Uchôa)5. Uncut Gems (Josh & Benny Safdie)6. Crazy World (Nabwana I.G.G.)7. Austrian Pavilion (Philipp Fleischmann)8. Transcript (Erica Sheu)9. Collective (Alexander Nanau)10. Book of Hours (Annie MacDonell)Fernando F. CROCE1. The Traitor (Marco Bellocchio)2. The Cordillera of Dreams (Patricio Guzmán)3. Uncut Gems (Josh & Benny Safdie)4. Bacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles)5. The Wild Goose Lake (Diao Yinan)6. First Love (Takashi Miike)7. Anne at 13,000 ft (Kazik Radwanksi)8. The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão (Karim Aïnouz)9. Sound of Metal (Darius Marder)10. It Must Be Heaven (Elia Suleiman)Kelley DONG1. To the Ends of the Earth (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)2. Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger (Alanis Obomsawin)3. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn)4. Liberté (Albert Serra)5. How to Build a Girl (Coky Gieroyc), Saint Maud (Rose Glass)Correspondences#1 Daniel Kasman...

Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” has won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award as the audience’s favorite movie at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Tiff announced on Sunday.

The black comedy deals with a 10-year-old German boy in World War II who idolizes Adolf Hitler but is forced to reconsider his ideals when he discovers that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their house. The film drew largely positive reviews at Tiff, but offended some who felt that Hitler and Nazis were not a laughing matter.

“Jojo” beat Todd Phillips’ “Joker” for the award, as well as less divisive films that included Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes.”

Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” was the first runner-up, while Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” was second runner-up.

Also Read: 'Jojo Rabbit' Film Review: Taika Waititi Insists That...

Directors Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) and Patricia Rozema (“I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”) and producer Cassian Elwes will serve as mentors at the Toronto International Film Festival’s 2019 Tiff Filmmaker Lab, Tiff organizers announced on Wednesday.

The festival also unveiled its lineup of Canadian films, which will include new work directed by Atom Egoyan, Louise Archambault, Ellen Page and Amy Jo Johnson, and starring Felicity Huffman, Imogen Poots and David Cronenberg, among others. And it announced participants in industry programs and the Canadian honorees in its annual Tiff Rising Stars showcase.

The films were spread across eight different sections of the Toronto Film Festival, some of which have yet to announce their non-Canadian programming.

Also Read: Mister Rogers, the Joker and Judy Garland Are All Headed to Toronto Film Festival

The Canadian galas, all previously announced, are the opening-night documentary “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” Semi...

The Toronto International Film Festival​ has added another 26 new titles to its 2019 festival lineup, comprised entirely of features directed by Canadian filmmakers. Each year, Tiff highlights films that hail from its own shores in a standalone announcement, and this year it ​includes seven f​irst features, ​13 w​orks by returning Tiff alumni, and almost 50% films directed by women.

Tiff debuts include Aisling Chin-Yee’s “The Rest of Us,” Harry Cepka’s “Raf,” Matthew Rankin’s “The Twentieth Century,” Heather Young’s “Murmur,” and Nicole Dorsey’s “Black Conflux.” Plenty of returning filmmakers are also included in this batch of films, including Atom Egoyan, Sophie Deraspe, Joey Klein, Albert Shin, Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis, Louise Archambault, Kire Paputts, and Amy Jo Johnson.

“We are deeply impressed by the high quality of the work done by Canadian directors this year — particularly from filmmakers who were making their first and second features,...

Festival also announces four Canadian Rising Stars and the annual Filmmaker Lab participants.

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) brass announced on Wednesday (July 31) the launch of a talent incubator for female content creators and unveiled the line-up of Canadian features, nearly half of which are directed by women.

Five features from indigenous filmmakers are among the selection of 26 Canadian features. Tiff also announced four Canadian Rising Stars, the annual Tiff Filmmaker Lab participants, finallists for Telefilm Canada’s Pitch This! competition, and the roster of Canadian short films.

The Canadian feature selections include seven first features and 13 works by returning Tiff alumni,...

Kacey Rohl, Mikhaïl Ahooja, Nahéma Ricci, Shamier Anderson are Tiff Rising Stars.

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) brass announced on Wednesday (July 31) the launch of a talent incubator for female content creators and unveiled the line-up of Canadian features, nearly half of which are directed by women.

Five features from indigenous filmmakers are among the selection of 26 Canadian features. Tiff also announced four Canadian Rising Stars, the annual Tiff Filmmaker Lab participants, finallists for Telefilm Canada’s Pitch This! competition, and the roster of Canadian short films.

The Canadian feature selections include seven first features and 13 works by returning Tiff alumni,...

Women In Film, Los Angeles has revealed the recipients of its 33rd annual Film Finishing Fund, which awards cash grants and production services to complete works-in-progress films that are by or about women.

A total of nine grantees were chosen by an industry jury for the calendar year 2018. This edition’s crop emerged from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries and shorts, submitted from 22 countries.

“The 2018 grantees tackle some of society’s most pressing issues and work in innovative ways to tell excellent stories that matter,” Wif executive director Kirsten Schaffer said. “Through the Film Finishing Fund, we are able to support these filmmakers at a crucial moment of their journey to help ensure their voices are heard. We, along with our partners Stella Artois, are proud to support them and look forward to their success.”

Previous Wif grantees have gone on to win Oscars, Emmys and festival awards. Last year’s...

Grantees selected from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries, shorts submitted from 22 countries.

Women In Film, Los Angeles on Wednesday (16) announced nine recipients of the 33rd annual Film Finishing Fund.

The grantees were selected from 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries and shorts submitted from 22 countries. The Fund provides cash grants and in-kind production services to complete films that fit the established criteria of being by or about women. The works-in-progress are viewed by a special jury of women in the industry who select the winning films.

The 2018 Women In Film Finishing Fund winners are:

Stella Artois Grants

Decade Of Fire by Gretchen Hildebran...

The first films in the Generation section at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival have been unveiled. The 16 movies will play in the Kplus and 14plus competition at the Berlinale, with organizers highlighting the recurring theme of young people looking for meaning in an uncertain world, and the number of female-centric stories that will be told.

“These are brave films from courageous filmmakers, with their fingers on the pulse of the time and an acute feel for the social, cultural and political developments of our present moment,” said section head Maryanne Redpath.

An initial eight films were announced for 14plus, with projects hailing from China, India, South Korea and the U.S. They will all have their European or world premieres in Berlin. The lineup includes “Stupid Young Heart” from Oscar-nominated director Selma Vilhunen and “Goldie” from Sam de Jong, whose “Prins” was the opening film for Generation 14plus in 2015.

The Generation...

Seven world premieres amongst 16 films.

The first 16 titles from the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (Feb 7-17) Generation section have been revealed.

For the 42nd edition of the Generation strand, there are eight films for Generation 14plus and eight for Generation Kplus so far.

Titles in the former include the European premiere of Stupid Young Heart from Finland’s Selma Vilhunen, who was nominated for the best live action short Oscar for Do I Have To Take Care Of Everything? in 2014.

There will also be a European premiere of Bulbul Can Sing from Indian director Rima Das. Das’ previous film Village Rockstars...

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Bryce Dallas Howard costars as a dinosaur expert tasked with rescuing the animals from their island. Also costarring Daniella Pineda, Geraldine Chaplin, and Isabella Sermon. (male writers and director)

my review | find cinemas

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Boundaries

Shana Feste writes and directs this family dramedy about a woman (Vera Farmiga) and her teen son who take a road trip with her criminal father.

my review | find cinemas

Never Steady, Never Still [pictured]

Shirley Henderson costars in this domestic drama about a woman suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Written and directed by Kathleen Hepburn.

find cinemas

Spiral

Laura Fairrie directs this documentary about the rise of anti-Semitism in contemporary France.

find cinemas

Lobster Cop

Xinyun Li writes and directs this Chinese crime comedy about cops who open a restaurant to entrap bad guys.

find cinemas

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

Mouly Surya cowrites and directs this Indonesian dramatic...

With a riveting central performance by Shirley Henderson as a woman dealing with advanced Parkinson’s, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking Kathleen Hepburn’s Never Steady, Never Still (adapted from her short of the same name) was simply about the tragedy of the disease. A different version of this story would probably go that route because it’s the “flashier” path towards recognition. The Vancouver native, however, decides to go further by delving beneath the surface by exposing the hardships and struggles of life itself. She divides her story in two so that Judy (Henderson) and her son Jamie (Théodore Pellerin) can receive equal focus. They’re both shown at a crossroads wherein there’s no choice but to dive headlong into an abyss of independence neither is certain can be conquered.

When a sudden death forces Judy to fend for herself for the first time in the...

In today’s film news roundup, Bill Bellamy and Julie Gonzalo join “The Great Illusion,” Tommy Ragen gets the lead in “Chasing,” and shooting wraps on human-trafficking drama “Natalie.”

Castings

Bill Bellamy, Julie Gonzalo, Ireland Basinger-Baldwin, and Ava Locklear are rounding out the cast of the horror-thriller “The Great Illusion,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Previously announced cast includes Graham Greene, Selma Blair, Glenn Morshower, Tokala Black Elk, Jon Lindstrom, Kenzie Dalton, and newcomer Oscar Cardenas. “The Great Illusion” is co-written by Cardenas and daughter Maria Gabriela Cardenas, who will direct as her feature film debut. Amy Williams is producing.

“The Great Illusion” follows a tortured FBI agent suffering from an irrational fear of darkness, as he investigates a mysterious former prostitute in order to catch a vicious serial killer. Production starts on June 4 in Los Angeles.

Bellamy hosts “Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes?” Gonzalo starred in TNT’s “Dallas.

Effie Brown, Howard Rosenman among participating industry executives.

The 28th annual Inside Out Toronto Lgbt Film Festival has announced the eight selected feature film projects included in this year’s second annual Finance Forum, as well as the participating industry executives.

The Forum, in its second year, will feature international projects from the Us, the UK, and India. Inside Out’s executive director Andria Wilson made the announcement on Friday (April 27).

The 2018 Finance Forum will take place over two days from May 24–25 and aims to provide Lgbtq-identified producers and as producers creating Lgbtq content the chance to pitch their projects to executives.

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The Leisure Seeker [IMDb]

Francesca Archibugi cowrites this dramedy about an elderly couple on an Rv adventure. Costarring Helen Mirren. (male director)

Every Day [my review]

Angourie Rice stars as a teenager who falls in love with a soul that inhabits a different body every day. (male writer and director)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society [my review]

Lily James stars as a writer who uncovers an untold story of British endurance during World War II. Costarring Jessica Brown Findlay, Katherine Parkinson, and Penelope Wilton. (male writers and director)

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Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieur) [my review]

Juliette Binoche stars as a woman seeking new love at midlife. Directed by Claire Denis; written by Denis and Christine Angot.

Never Steady, Never Still [IMDb] pictured

Shirley Henderson costars in this domestic drama about a woman suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Written and directed by Kathleen Hepburn.

Funny Cow [my review]

Maxine Peake stars in...

This drama about a mother who has Parkinson’s and her teenage son who is struggling with his sexuality, is unsatisfying despite heartfelt moments

This is a sincerely intended drama from Canadian writer-director Kathleen Hepburn, and it was a prizewinner on its home turf, but I have to admit to finding it tough sledding. It is plaintive and subdued, with a dual narrative focus that is not as satisfyingly developed or resolved as it might be.

Judy, played by Shirley Henderson, lives near the oilfields of Alberta and has Parkinson’s. She has a supportive if withdrawn husband, Ed (Nicholas Campbell), though she seems also to have an emotional connection with her neighbour Lenny (Lorne Cardinal). Judy is worried and protective about her aimless teen son Jamie (Théodore Pellerin) who, quite aside from worrying about his mother, has his own issues with sexuality and identity, and who occupies half the film’s narrative space.

In today’s film news roundup, “Creed II” rounds out its cast, the African American Film Critics Association starts a screening series with American Cinematheque and Sundance award winner Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers begins shooting her first feature.

Castings

“Fences” star Russell Hornsby has joined Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in MGM-Warner Bros.’ “Creed II,” which began shooting Monday in Philadelphia.

“Creed II” is the continuation of the Rocky franchise and the sequel to 2015’s “Creed,” which took in more than $170 million at the worldwide box office. The new film is being directed by Steven Caple Jr., from an original screenplay written by Stallone based on characters from the franchise.

Jordan is returning as Adonis Creed and Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris and Andre Ward are reprising their roles. The film is produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Kevin King-Templeton and Stallone.

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for April 2018, including "Charmed", "Arrow", "Supergirl" and a whole lot more:

Feature Films:

Daughter Of The Wolf

Local Production Company: Daughter Productions

Director: David Hackl

Producer: Jessica Bennett, Robert B. Bricker, Douglas Falconer, Danielle Masters, Andre Relis, Frank White

Mar 18/18 - Apr 13/18

Purple Harvest

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Red Snow

Local Production Company: Zhoh Daatsik Pictures Inc.

Director: Marie Clements

Producer(s): Lael McCall, Michelle Morris, Jonathan Tamuz

Mar 20/18 - May 28/18

The Art Of Racing In The Rain

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Simon Curtis

Producer: Patrick Dempsey, Neal H. Moritz, Tania Landau, Joannie Burnstein

Apr 30/18 - Jul 23/18

The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open

Local Production Company: Kmlt Productions Inc.

Director: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn

Producer: Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski

Mar 25/18 - Apr 09/18

Untitled Ali Wong/Randall...

Meanwhile The Lonely Battle Of Thomas Reid wins best Irish film from Dublin Film Critics Circle.

The 2018 Dublin International Film Festival braved heavy snowfall this weekend to hand out its annual Discovery Award to four rising stars in the Irish film industry.

This year’s Discovery Awards went to director Mia Mullarkey for her documentary Mother & Baby, Rua Meegan and Trevor Whelan for their work on Bordalo II: A Life of Waste, and Tj O’Grady Peyton for directing and starring in Wave.

Despite going ahead with the awards ceremony at Dublin’s Light House Cinema on March 5, many of...

Netflix's Anne With an E, the adaptation of Anne of Green Gables, grabbed a field-leading 13 nominations for the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards on Tuesday.

And Sadaf Foroughi's Ava, a coming-of-age drama set in Iran, and Kathleen Hepburn's Never Steady, Never Still, which stars Happy Valley star Shirley Henderson, lead all-comers in the film field, with eight nominations each. The contenders for Canada's national media awards were unveiled at a press conference in Toronto.

Anne With an E, which is produced out of Canada as a co-production with the CBC, will compete for best TV drama against Lifetime's Mary Kills...

Festival brass unveil Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and more.

Mary Harron, Kim Nguyen (both pictured above), Ingrid Veninger, and Denis Côté are among the familiar names in the 26-strong Canadian Features slate that Toronto International Film Festival programmers unveiled on Wednesday.

The selection comprises the highest number of feature directorial debutants and films from Western Canada in recent years. More than 30% of the titles are by first-time feature directors.

Festival brass also announced Short Cuts, Tiff Cinematheque, Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and the recipient of the 2017 Len Blum Residency.

The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7-17.

Canadian Features

“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,” Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock said. “This year’s line-up has a truly international feel to it, too, with a number of features shot all over the globe — something that also...

At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the annual event will pay tribute to its home country with a number of options that span the past, present, and future of Canadian creativity. Per usual, the fest has unveiled a slew of titles that will make up its Canadian feature slate — 26 in all — with an eye towards advancing not only established Canadian filmmakers, but rising stars as well.

This year’s Canadian lineup boasts one of the highest numbers of feature directorial debuts ever, as well as one of the highest numbers of films from Western Canada in recent years. Over 30% of the titles have a first-time feature director, while seven out of nine are Tiff alumni.

Read More:tiff’s Platform Selection: How the Festival’s Buzziest Slate is Pivoting After Launching ‘Moonlight’

“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,...

Canadian feature drama from Kathleen Hepburn stars Shirley Henderson and Théodore Pellerin.

London-based distributor Soda Pictures has picked up Kathleen Hepburn’s debut feature Never Steady, Never Still for release in Canada and the UK.

Starring Shirley Henderson (Trainspotting) and Théodore Pellerin (Les Demons), the film follows a woman struggling with advanced Parkinson’s disease while her son attempts to find his emotional and sexual identity.

Also amongst the cast are Mary Galloway (Fire Song), Nicholas Campbell (Naked Lunch) and Lorne Cardinal (Insomnia).

Written and directed by Hepburn – whose concept short of the same name played at Tiff and won her a most promising director prize at the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival – the project is produced by Tyler Hagan for Experimental Forest Films and James Brown for Christie Street Creative, with Carole Whiteman exec producing.

Following a winter shoot in tough conditions in Canadian province British Columbia earlier this year, shooting will recommence...