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In “Downwind,” a documentary executive produced by Matthew Modine, directors Mark Shapiro and Douglas Brian Miller chronicle the lethal effects that nuclear testing on American soil has had on U.S. citizens.

The Oscar hopeful reveals that from 1951 to 1992, Mercury, Nevada, was the site for the testing of 928 large scale nuclear weapons. Wind dispersed radioactive fallout from those atmospheric blasts (mushroom clouds) and underground testing (venting) in a seemingly unpredictable manner to people living “downwind.” The United States Department of Justice defines “downwinders,” also known as lab rats, as human beings who live in counties located downwind from Nevada Test Site in the states of Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

The film explains that the radiation led to various diseases, mainly cancer. Shapiro and Miller also highlight how Hollywood star John Wayne and numerous members of the cast and crew of the 1956 movie “The Conqueror” died, arguably, of cancer due to...

“Put on your goggles,” says the voice. “Observers without goggles must face away from the blast.” Nuclear safety precautions were not always what we might hope for – but there’s worse. Much worse.

From the moment that Hahn, Strassmann, Meitner and Frisch published their respective papers in 1938, everyone involved with military science knew that an atomic bomb was a possibility, and had a pretty good idea what one would do – but military commanders prefer their investments to be made on a more precise basis. The strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki yielded a lot of useful data but it only got them so far. Testing on South Sea islands proved complicated and expensive. Where could they drop bombs without starting a war or risking too much political fallout? How about Nevada?

Between 1951 and 1992, they dropped 928.

Douglas Brian Miller and Mark Shapiro’s documentary is the US equivalent of Anthony Butt’s devastating.

With fingers tightly crossed, the Slamdance Film Festival plans a return to in-person screenings Jan. 20 29 in Utah, but its organizers have not forgotten the lessons they learned during two years of pandemic pivots.

“Something that’s become abundantly clear to us that’s important for the survival of independent film is accessibility,” festival producer Michael Morin tells Variety. “We’ve been able to do a successful online version of our festival for the last two years. It really made us reconsider what kind of program we wanted to put on when we did come back in person.”

“For me, the key word here would be diversification,” says festival manager Lily Yasuda. Where a hybrid of in-person and online programming was a logistical necessity during Covid, its success in facilitating attendance underscored the need for the festival to broaden its access to individuals, some without the resources and others the physical ability,...

Just two days before Sundance Film Festival will unveil its lineup, the other major January Utah festival has released theirs. Now in its 29th iteration, next year’s Slamdance Film Festival––which will also be providing programming both in-person and online, from January 20th through 29th––has unveiled its features slate. The lineup for the festival, which opens with Moby’s Punk Rock Vegan Movie, was culled from 7,600 total submissions, 1,522 of which were features. All films selected in the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition categories are directorial debuts without U.S. distribution, with budgets of less than 1 million Usd.

“From the streets of Seattle to the psychedelic skies of a unicorn-run dystopia, our filmmakers are transporting audiences to new dimensions with stories that explore the nuance of disability, immigration and gender. This year’s lineup represents a generation of new directors who are breaking boundaries and redefining what filmmaking...

Slamdance has announced its feature lineup and “Free LSD” as the closing night film for the 29th Slamdance Film Festival

This year’s lineup was chosen from 7,600 submissions — 1, 522 of which were features — and represents projects from 13 different countries. The selections for the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition categories are directorial debuts without U.S. distribution, with budgets of less than 1 million.

In addition to Slamdance’s opening night film Moby’s “Punk Rock Vegan Movie,” the festival will also showcase two additional Spotlight Feature screenings: “Downwind” and “Free LSD,” which follows one man’s inter-dimensional journey where, after using an experimental drug, he is provided a glimpse into a parallel universe. The film features appearances from Keith Morris and Jack Black.

“From the streets of Seattle to the psychedelic skies of a unicorn-run dystopia, our filmmakers are transporting audiences to new dimensions with stories that explore the nuance of disability,...

The Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 29th edition — taking place both in-person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah from January 20-26, and online on the Slamdance Channel from the 23rd to the 29th.

This year’s lineup of films from 13 countries was chosen from more than 7,600 submissions, more than 1,500 of which were features. As has been the case at each edition of Slamdance since its 1995 founding, all films selected in Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition are directorial debuts without U.S. distribution, with budgets of less than 1M Usd.

Slamdance revealed today that Dimitri Coats’ Free LSD will make its world premiere at the festival, serving as its Closing Night feature. The film featuring appearances from Keith Morris and Jack Black follows the inter-dimensional journey of a man who has used an experimental drug to cure a personal problem, thereby being provided a...

Fest unveils Narrative, Documentary, Breakouts, Spotlight, and Unstoppable programming line-ups.

Organisers at the hybrid 29th Slamdance Film Festival have announced that the word premiere of Dimitri Coats’ Free LSD will close the festival on January 20 2023 as they also unveiled Narrative, Documentary, Breakouts, Spotlight, and Unstoppable programming line-ups.

Free LSD follows an adult store owner who takes an experimental drug that provides a glimpse into a parallel universe where he is the leader of a band battling evil aliens over the future of human consciousness. Keith Morris, Coats, Autry Fulbright II, Dh Peligro, and Jack Black are among the cast.

The...

Some pretty neat webisodes have popped up online for Mauro Borrelli's Box of Shadows, and we figured we'd point you to them so you can drink up some spooky to get you through this Monday afternoon!

From the Press Release

"The Box Of Shadows production team has posted two new webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with actors Aaron Dean Eisenberg and Liz Fenning, and director Mauro Borrelli describing his vision for the film for the first time.

“We wanted to give audiences a taste of the movie while we continue working on the more than 200 visual effects for the final feature,” said producer Ed Polgardy.

Webisodes 1 & 2 can be found on the Box Of Shadows website in the “Trailer” section, under “View Trailer & Videos”, and are also available on the Box Of Shadows Vimeo channel, YouTube channel, MySpace and Facebook pages. Webisode 3 will be posted later in the month. The...