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ABC News Studios has acquired the new documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery. The film about the famed music festival created by Sara McLachlan will premiere at Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 17 before debuting on Hulu Sept. 21.

Ally Pankiw directed the film, which is produced by Dan Levy’s Not a Real Production Company and commissioned by CBC. The film is produced with the support of the original Lilith Fair founders McLachlan, Terry McBride, Dan Fraser, and Marty Diamond. The film is based on the 2019 Vanity Fair article “Building a...

Sarah McLachlan’s late ’90s all-female touring festival Lilith Fair is the subject of a new feature-length documentary set to premiere on Hulu and Disney+ on Sunday, September 21st.

Titled Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, the authorized film is inspired by the 2019 Vanity Fair article Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair, written by Jessica Hopper with former Consequence editor Sasha Geffen and Jenn Pelly. The film is directed by Ally Pankiw and pulls from more than 600 hours of archival footage, interviews, and stories from fans, festival organizers, and artists who played Lilith Fair.

Get Sarah McLachlan Tickets Here

The documentary includes interviews with McLachlan herself, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Merchant, Mýa, Jewel, the Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, and Olivia Rodrigo. The latter will presumably be talking about the festival’s influence since she wasn’t even born yet when Lilith Fair was founded.

Sarah McLachlan’s late ’90s all-female touring festival Lilith Fair is the subject of a new feature-length documentary set to premiere on Hulu and Disney+ on Sunday, September 21st.

Titled Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, the authorized film is inspired by the 2019 Vanity Fair article Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair, written by Jessica Hopper with former Consequence editor Sasha Geffen and Jenn Pelly. The film is directed by Ally Pankiw and pulls from more than 600 hours of archival footage, interviews, and stories from fans, festival organizers, and artists who played Lilith Fair.

Get Sarah McLachlan Tickets Here

The documentary includes interviews with McLachlan herself, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Merchant, Mýa, Jewel, the Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, and Olivia Rodrigo. The latter will presumably be talking about the festival’s influence since she wasn’t even born yet when Lilith Fair was founded.

Hasta cuatro presencias españolas en el Festival canadiense.

© TIFF

El Festival Internacional de Cine de Toronto, que celebra su 50.ª edición del 4 al 14 de septiembre, ha anunciado los primeros títulos que integrarán sus dos secciones principales: Galas y Proyecciones Especiales. Aunque se esperan más incorporaciones, ya destacan nombres como Chloé Zhao, Edward Berger, David Michôd, Gus Van Sant, Guillermo del Toro, Mark Jenkin y Paul Greengrass. Además, España no se queda atrás y pone toda la carne en el asador con cuatro títulos. A la previamente anunciada El cautivo, de Alejandro Amenábar, que tendrá su estreno mundial en el certamen canadiense, se suman Tres adioses, de Isabel Coixet, también en calidad de premiere mundial; Sirat, de Oliver Laxe, tras su triunfo en la Croisette; y la coproducción Calle Málaga, que llegará tras su estreno en Venecia.

Galas

Adulthood (Alex Winter)

A Private Life (Rebecca Zlotowski)

Driver’s Ed (Bobby Farrelly)

Eleanor...

Celebrating its 50th edition this year, the Toronto International Film Festival will take place September 4–14. The festival has now unveiled its Galas & Special Presentations lineup, featuring new films by Benny Safdie, Gus Van Sant, Alice Winocour, Baz Luhrmann, Mark Jenkin, Steven Soderbergh, Rian Johnson, Paul Greengrass, Mamoru Hosoda, Joachim Trier, Richard Linklater, Jafar Panahi, Guillermo del Toro, Arnaud Desplechin, and more.

See below.

2025 Galas (in alphabetical order):

*previously announced

*A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | France

North American Premiere

Adulthood | Alex Winter | USA

World Premiere

Driver’s Ed | Bobby Farrelly | USA

World Premiere

Eleanor the Great | Scarlett Johansson | USA

North American Premiere

Eternity | David Freyne | USA

World Premiere

Fuze | David Mackenzie | United Kingdom

World Premiere

Glenrothan | Brian Cox | United Kingdom

World Premiere

Good Fortune | Aziz Ansari | USA

World Premiere

*Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | United Kingdom

Canadian Premiere

*Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | India

North American Premiere

*John Candy: I Like Me | Colin Hanks | USA...

World premieres of David Michôd’s boxing biopic Christy starring Sydney Sweeney, Alice Winocour’s fashion industry dramaCouturestarring Angelina Jolie,and David Mackenzie’s action thriller Fuze are among the line-up in Galas and Special Presentations unveiled by Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) today (July 21).

Also selected for their first public screenings at the festival’s 50th anniversary edition (September 4-14)are Isabel Coixet’s drama Three Goodbyes, Romain Gavras’s adventure comedy Sacrifice, mystery The Ugly from Train To Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg Trials drama Nuremberg, acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North America, Aziz Ansari...

The directorial debuts of comedian Aziz Ansari, “Euphoria” breakout Maude Apatow, “Succession” star Brian Cox and “Split” actor James McAvoy will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Ansari’s action comedy “Good Fortune,” Apatow’s coming-of-age comedy “Poetic License,” Cox’s British drama “Glenrothan” and McAvoy’s musical biopic “California Schemin'” are among the new additions to the TIFF lineup. Other films that will host world premieres at the annual Canadian-based gathering include Alex Winter’s “Adulthood” and Bobby Farrelly’s “Driver’s Ed.”

Meanwhile Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine,” a wrestling drama starring Dwayne the Rock Johnson and Emily Blunt, and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” will have their North American premieres at TIFF. Those movies have yet to announce where the world premieres will take place, though it’s likely the Venice Film Festival.

TIFF also announced that several movies that already debuted at other...

World premieres of Aziz Ansari’s comedy Good Fortune starring Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves, David Michôd’s boxing biopic Christy starring Sydney Sweeney, and David Mackenzie’s action thriller Fuze are among the line-up in Galas and Special Presentations unveiled by Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) today (July 21).

Also selected for their first public screenings at the festival’s 50th anniversary edition (September 4-14)are Isabel Coixet’s drama Three Goodbyes, Romain Gavras’s adventure comedy Sacrifice, mystery The Ugly from Train To Busan’s Yeon Sang-ho, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg Trials drama Nuremberg, acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North America,...

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Edward Berger’s “Ballad of a Small Player,” Bobby Farrelly’s “Driver’s Ed,” Brian Cox’s “Glenrothan,” Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man’s Wire,” Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” and Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” will screen in the Galas and Special Presentations sections of the 2025 Toronto international Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Monday.

Those films were among the more than 50 new movies that were added to the robust TIFF lineup. Previously, the festival had announced 17 other galas and special premieres, including Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” Derek Cianfrance’s “Roofman,” Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz,” Paul Greengrass’ “The Lost Bus” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” The festival will open with Colin Hanks’ documentary “John Candy: I Like Me.”

More than 30 of the newly announced films will be world premieres. Those include “Driver’s Ed,...

As the fall festivals begin to roll out their lineups (a phrase you’ll be seeing a lot of on IndieWire in the coming days), a word of both caution and delight: don’t forget about the festival films that have already premiered elsewhere, from Sundance to Cannes. The Toronto International Film Festival certainly has not, as today’s full lineup of Gala and Special Presentations includes plenty of previously-premiered films that are already ranking among the year’s best.

We’re talking Sundance standouts like Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams,” plus Cannes hits likes Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling,” Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague,” and Óliver Laxe’s “Sirāt.”

And today’s announcement also includes world premieres like Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune,” Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License,...

The Toronto Film Festival has unveiled new star-driven Gala and Special Presentations titles, including Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, Maude Apatow’s Poetic License, Isabel Coixet’s Three Goodbyes, David Michod’s Christy, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg and Alice Winocour’s Couture.

Set for the buzzy red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall are world premieres for Bobby Farrelly’s road trip comedy Driver’s Ed, which stars Alyssa Milano, Kumail Nanjani and Molly Shannon; Russell Crowe’s Nazi thriller Nuremberg from director James Vanderbilt and Sony Pictures Classics, with the historical drama also starring Rami Malek, Michael Shannon and Leo Woodall; Succession actor Brian Cox bringing his directorial debut Glenrothan, where he stars alongside Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson in a film about estranged brothers looking to save a family whisky distillery; and David Freyne’s romantic comedy Eternity for A24, which stars Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner.

Days after announcing its gala world premieres, the Toronto International Film Festival has just expanded its lineup with a slate of new films featuring A-listers and Oscar winners. On Monday, the festival announced the highly anticipated debuts of movies starring Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn, Seth Rogen, Saoirse Ronan, Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino, underscoring the festival’s reputation as a crucial spring board for award-season contenders.

Tuner

The film, starring Hoffman and Leo Woodall, is directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher (Navalny) in his feature debut. It follows a former piano prodigy (Woodall) who, down on his luck, uses his extraordinary auditory skills to help a found family figure (Hoffman). The cast also includes Havana Rose Liu and Lior Raz.

Christy

Sydney Sweeney stars as trailblazing professional boxer Christy Martin in this drama directed by David Michôd. Based on a true story, the film chronicles Martin’s meteoric rise...

ReFrame and Wif (formerly known as Women in Film) have announced the new class of ReFrame Rise.

The third cohort of fellows includes the following directors: Maureen Bharoocha, Ashley Eakin, Raven Jackson, Zoey Martinson, Nicole Mejia, Laura Moss, Kate Tsang and Anu Valia. Cinematographers include Ino Yang Popper, Aymae Sulick and Maddy Talias.

ReFrame Rise has been committed to developing both above and below-the-line talent and continuing a pipeline of support toward resilient and lasting careers. In 2022, ReFrame Rise expanded to include cinematographers in the cohort.

Over the next two years, fellows will be connected with industry professionals who will serve as sponsors, offering fellows a deeper, more engaged level of support than traditional mentorship. Fellows will have access to a variety of ReFrame and Wif events and stakeholders, support on personal PR and publicity materials and ongoing craft refinement sessions as well as strategic support in making strides toward career goals.

Rashida Jones is known as a powerhouse creator in the Hollywood industry. She has acted in several iconic, Emmy-nominated series and projects, including The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Silo. This Emmy season, she wowed audiences with one of the best performances of her career in the science-fiction anthology series Black Mirror. Jones played a lead in the episode “Common People”; however, her acting in this role is anything but ordinary.

Despite this impressive body of work, Jones has never won an Emmy and has only received one nomination for producing the Netflix documentary Hot Girls Wanted in 2015. However, as a creator, Jones has reached some impressive heights. In 2018, the documentary about her father, iconic music producer Quincy Jones, titled Quincy, which she codirected with Alan Hicks, won a Grammy for Best Music Film. In 2024, her short documentary Swim Lesson was shortlisted for the Oscars.

Jones’s connection to Black Mirror...

Netflix has a strong Emmy hand to play this TV awards season, positioning the seventh season of its flagship anthology series “Black Mirror” for a major awards run — and this time, the dystopian drama might be among its most formidable contenders yet.

Confirmed exclusively to Variety, the streamer is submitting three standout performances for lead acting honors in the limited or anthology series or TV movie categories: Paul Giamatti for the melancholic and moving “Eulogy,” and Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones for their resonant turns in the sociopolitical two-hander “Common People.” It’s a bold push that signals high hopes for a season already being hailed as a return to form — and possibly the series’ strongest outing since its Emmy-winning heyday.

Giamatti’s performance as Phillip, a solitary man navigating grief through digital means in “Eulogy,” has generated both tears and buzz. The 46-minute episode explores the ethics of AI-driven memorials,...

The 49-year-old Rashida Jones pulled no punches with her latest Black Mirror episode, and let’s just say, Netflix might need some aloe for the burn. Under the glossy surface of a tragic love story, she went full savage on the streaming giant’s obsession with content overload. It’s eerie, emotional, and yeah, a little too real for comfort.

What starts off as a bittersweet romance quickly spirals into a soul-crushing mirror of our binge-driven world. Viewers called it one of the most depressing tales yet, and not because of the heartbreak, but because it hits way too close to home.

Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli in The Office | Credits: NBC Rashida Jones kicks off Black Mirror with a haunting love story and a brutal Netflix takedown

“One of the most depressing things I’ve seen” — that’s how one viewer summed up Black Mirror’s Season 7 opener, Common People.

Season 7 of Black Mirror dropped April 10 on Netflix after a two-year break. English showrunner Charlie Brooker wrote or cowrote all of the episodes, as usual. He's a five-time Emmy winner for writing and producing "San Junipero" in 2017, writing and producing "USS Callister" in 2018, and producing "Bandersnatch" in 2019. He received a sixth career Emmy nomination last year for writing "Joan Is Awful," but lost to Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer).

Speaking of "Bandersnatch" and "USS Callister," Season 7 marks the first time Black Mirror has revisited previous storylines in the form of cameo and a sequel, respectively. Will Poulter's computer programmer character Colin Ritman was featured in the interactive "Bandersnatch" and now returns with a small role in "Plaything." Meanwhile, "USS Callister: Into Infinity" is a full-on sequel to the original outer space installment, with Cristin Milioti and Jimmi Simpson reprising their crew members of the titular starship.

As for the other new episodes,...

Plot: Charlie Brooker’s dark, satirical anthology series will return in 2025 with six brand new episodes, including a sequel to the sci-fi adventure USS Callister.

Review: Since Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror moved from the UK’s Channel 4 to Netflix in 2016, we have been lucky to get four seasons and the interactive movie Bandersnatch. The last foray into the surreal anthology was in 2023, which offered a mix of almost feature-length tales that felt a bit underwhelming compared to the legacy the series had built for itself. The seventh volume of Black Mirror debuts on Netflix today and is a return to the powerful storytelling we saw in the early years of the series. Bringing back spin-offs and continuations of beloved entries, this may be the most diverse mix of story tones and themes, all tied to the ongoing theme of technological horror that is just slightly askew from what could really happen.

Do not upgrade your Rivermind subscription if you haven't watched episode 1 of season 7 of "Black Mirror," titled "Common People." You've been warned — spoilers lie ahead!

If you're a longtime fan of the disturbing anthology series "Black Mirror," you might be surprised when I tell you that the season 7 premiere of the show, "Common People" — written by showrunner and creator Charlie Brooker and directed by Ally Pankiw, who previously helmed the season 6 premiere "Joan is Awful" — is the single bleakest hour the show has ever produced. I also frankly don't mean that in a good way, but I'll circle back to that.

The episode features just three lead actors, starting with Rashida Jones and Chris O'Dowd as Amanda and Mike Waters, an everyday couple leading a quiet and simple life together. After celebrating their anniversary at their favorite hotel The Juniper out of town, they return home — and we learn that...

Since 2011, Charlie Brooker's sci-fi/horror/comedy/whatever-you-want-it-to-be anthology series "Black Mirror" has had a firm hold on pop culture, a fact that was only heightened when the series made the leap to Netflix in season 3. But a curious thing happened: as the real world grew increasingly more surreal and strange, the far-out concepts of "Black Mirror" struggled to keep up. When we're living in a modern world where we're cursed to hear about the banal evil of Elon Musk and something called "Fartcoin" every single damn day, the running "Black Mirror" question asking "Eh bruv, wot if your mobile phone killed you?" starts to feel kind of silly.

Of course, no one is saying that "Black Mirror" has to accurately reflect our current weird times (although that does seem to be Brooker's whole deal with the show) as long as it tells compelling stories. Unfortunately, the series has struggled...

Black Mirror returns to Netflix later this month, and new details have been released for the seventh season of the anthology series. Viewers can see new posters and a trailer, and check out the latest episode details with cast information.

Netflix shared the following:

“Charlie Brooker's dark, satirical anthology series will return on April 10, 2025 with six brand new episodes, including a sequel to the sci-fi adventure USS Callister.

Episodic Details:

Episode 701: Common People

Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive - but at a cost... .

Starring: Rashida Jones (Amanda), Chris O'Dowd (Mike), Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor)

Director: Ally Pankiw

Written by: Charlie Brooker...

Another new trailer for Black Mirror season seven has dropped along with a synopsis for every single episode and its cast! Season seven will have a total of six episodes, and it seems like we'll actually be getting two sequel episodes instead of one! Check out the synopsis below and the trailer at the bottom of the page.

Common People

Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive — but at a cost.

Cast: Rashida Jones (Amanda), Chris O’Dowd (Mike), Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor) and directed by Ally Pankiw was written by Brooker, story by Brooker and Bisha K. Ali.

Bête Neire

Synopsis: Maria is a high-flying development executive at a chocolate company. Everything is going well for her until someone she hasn’t seen since school — a woman named Verity...

Netflix has released an episodic trailer for the upcoming season 7 of ‘Black Mirror’ alongside an episode synopsis.

Charlie Brooker’s dark, satirical anthology series will return in 2025 with six brand-new episodes, including a sequel to the sci-fi adventure USS Callister.

Episode 701:

Common People

Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but at a cost….

Starring: Rashida Jones (Amanda), Chris O’Dowd (Mike), Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor)

Director: Ally Pankiw

Written by: Charlie Brooker (Story by Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali)

Run time: 56 minutes

Episode 702:

Bête Noire

Synopsis: Confectionary whizz kid Maria is unnerved when her former schoolmate Verity joins the company she works at — because there’s something altogether odd about Verity, something only Maria seems to notice…

Starring: Siena Kelly (Maria), Rosy McEwen (Verity), Michael Workéyè...

Not only did Black Mirror drop a lengthy season seven trailer, but it also released episode titles and plot details. The six-episode season, which includes the much-anticipated sequel to USS Callister, will premiere on April 10, 2025.

Charlie Brooker created the series and once again writes each of the episodes. Season seven directors include David Slade, Ally Pankiw, Toby Haynes, Haolu Wang, and Luke Taylor. Brooker, Jessica Rhoades, and Annabel Jones executive produce.

Commenting on the upcoming season, Brooker told Netflix’s Tudum, “You can expect a mix of genres and styles. […]We’ve got six episodes this time, and two of them are basically feature-length. Some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional.”

Poster for ‘Black Mirror’ season 7 Common People episode (Photo Credit: Netflix) Black Mirror Season 7 Episode Details:

Episode 701: Common People

When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her...

One of the first lines of dialogue in the episode title-revealing trailer for Black Mirror Season Seven is laughably on-the-nose: “Don’t freak out.” What follows in the two minutes after this instruction is a montage of the type of dystopian nightmare scenarios the Netflix series is known for, only with an added dash of realism ahead of the six-episode season premiere scheduled for April 10.

In the episode “Hotel Reverie,” Issa Rae stars as the Hollywood A-lister Brandy Friday. Brandy signs onto a film project in which a high-tech system...

A seventh season of the anthology series Black Mirror will be making its way to the Netflix streaming service this year, and it has been previously revealed that Black Mirror season 7 will consist of six episodes, one of which will be a sequel to the popular season 4 episode USS Callister. The streamer has now revealed artwork and plot details for every one of these new episodes, which will premiere on April 10. Keep scrolling to see the art and get the information.

Created and written by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is an anthology series that taps into our collective unease with the modern world, with each stand-alone episode a sharp, suspenseful tale exploring themes of contemporary techno-paranoia leading to an unforgettable – and sometimes unsettling – conclusion. Without questioning it, technology has transformed all aspects of our lives; in every home; on every desk; in every palm – a plasma screen; a monitor; a...

Charlie Brooker’s dark satire anthology series “Black Mirror” is back for Season 7 with a new crop of conflicts.

“Black Mirror” will have six brand-new episodes, created by Brooker who also writes the series while working with a slate of directors. The episode descriptions have now been released ahead of the season premiere, which includes the buzzy sequel to the sci-fi adventure “USS Callister” titled “USS Callister: Into Infinity” and starring Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, and Jimmi Simpson. The trio previously starred in the 2017 “USS Callister” episode with Jesse Plemons and Michaela Coel, which also featured the voice of Aaron Paul and an uncredited cameo by Kirsten Dunst. The “USS Callister: Into Infinity” will be the finale for Season 7.

The “Black Mirror” Season 7 cast additionally includes the previously announced Awkwafina, Milanka Brooks, Peter Capaldi, Emma Corrin, Patsy Ferran, Paul Giamatti, Lewis Gribben, Osy Ikhile, Rashida Jones, Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen,...

"None of this is real!" "I'm as real as you are." Netflix has revealed the second trailer for Black Mirror - Season 7, the next offering of new episodes in Charlie Brooker's iconic sci-fi anthology series. This trailer highlights each of the six episodes and reveals more info on them: Common People (#701) directed by Ally Pankiw; Bête Noire (#702) directed by Toby Haynes, Hotel Reverie (#703) directed by Haolu Wang; Plaything (#704) directed by David Slade; Eulogy (#705) directed by Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor; USS Callister: Into Infinity (#706) directed by Toby Haynes. Coming up this April, six more episodes will be available to watch all over the world. Brooker states: "You can expect a mix of genres and styles... Some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional." This next season is "a little bit Og Black Mirror. It's back to basics in many ways. They're all sci-fi stories.

Netflix has released a new episodic trailer and key art for Black Mirror season seven, which will launch on the streaming service on April 10. Read on to learn more about the episodes of the seventh season.

Charlie Brooker’s dark, satirical anthology series will return with six brand new episodes, including a sequel to the sci-fi adventure USS Callister. From production company Broke & Bones, Black Mirror is executive-produced by Brooker, Jessica Rhoades, and Annabel Jones.

The Black Mirror Season 7 cast includes Awkwafina, Milanka Brooks, Peter Capaldi, Emma Corrin, Patsy Ferran, Paul Giamatti, Lewis Gribben, Osy Ikhile, Rashida Jones, Siena Kelly, Billy Magnussen, Rosy McEwen, Cristin Milioti, Chris O’Dowd, and Issa Rae.

Paul G. Raymond, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jimmi Simpson, Harriet Walter, Michele Austin, Ben Bailey Smith, Asim Chaudhry, Josh Finan, James Nelson-Joyce, Will Poulter, Jay Simpson, and Michael Workéyè round out the cast.

Black Mirror Season Seven Episodes

Episode...

Lose your mind and lose your reality when “Black Mirror” returns to Netflix for its seventh season on April 10. The new episodic trailer and posters below preview all six new stories in which nothing is as it seems.

“Common People” is directed by Ally Pankiw and written by Charlie Brooker. Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, and Tracee Ellis Ross star.

When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but at a cost….

“Bête Noire” is directed by Toby Haynes and written by Booker. Siena Kelly, Rosy McEwen, Michael Workéyè, Ben Bailey Smith, Amber Grappy, Ravi Aujla, Elena Sanz, and Hanna Griffiths star.

Confectionery whizz kid Maria is unnerved when her former schoolmate Verity joins the company she works at — because there’s something altogether odd about Verity, something only Maria seems to notice…...

The trailer and episode info for Netflix’s Black Mirror season 7 is finally here!

Previously announced cast members include Awkwafina, Milanka Brooks, Peter Capaldi, Emma Corrin, Patsy Ferran, Paul Giamatti, Lewis Gribben, Osy Ikhile, Rashida Jones, Siena Kelly, Billy Magnussen, Rosy McEwen, Cristin Milioti, Chris O’Dowd, Issa Rae, Paul G. Raymond, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jimmi Simpson and Harriet Walter.

New cast members include Michele Austin, Ben Bailey Smith, Asim Chaudhry, Josh Finan, James Nelson-Joyce, Will Poulter, Jay Simpson, and Michael Workéyè.

Keep reading to see episode titles, synopsis, and the trailer…

Episode 701: Common People

Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but at a cost….

Starring: Rashida Jones (Amanda), Chris O’Dowd (Mike), Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor)

Director: Ally Pankiw

Written by: Charlie Brooker (Story by Charlie...

Black Mirror has released its mothership of season seven details.

In addition to the episodic trailer (below), here are all of the details mastermind Charlie Brooker and Netflix have released about the six episodes that make up the highly anticipated return of Netflix’s Emmy-winning dystopian series.

Such details include cast, synopsis, run time and credits for each standalone saga, which includes the first-ever Black Mirror sequel, for USS Callister, and a callback episode to Netflix’s first-ever interactive feature with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

The details follow on a previous release of first-look images. The season releases April 10 on Netflix.

Here are the episode details:

Common People (56 minutes), starring Rashida Jones (Amanda), Chris O’Dowd (Mike), Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor) and directed by Ally Pankiw was written by Brooker, story by Brooker and Bisha K. Ali.

Synopsis: When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, her desperate husband...

"We have to create software that elevates us..." Here we go again! Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for Black Mirror - Season 7, the next offering of six new episodes in Charlie Brooker's iconic sci-fi anthology series. Brooker directed five new episodes which debuted back in 2023 for Season 6. Coming up this April, six more episodes will be available to watch, all directed by other filmmakers including David Slade, Ally Pankiw, Haolu Wang. Netflix didn't release any specific details about any of them (except for the sequel we all know about) - we have to guess based on this footage. "Your first look at new episodes of Black Mirror, including a sequel to the sci-fi adventure USS Callister." Brooker adds: "You can expect a mix of genres and styles... Some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional." This next season is "a little bit Og Black Mirror.

Noah Segal, co-founder and co-president of Canadian indie powerhouse Elevation Pictures, is taking meetings in Berlin as the company ramps up an ambitious production slate to make between three to five features and one series a year.

The slate is led by Jordan Tannahill’s Canadian-uk medieval horror Rapture, set in a remote English monastery and ready to shoot later this year with a significant portion of production taking place in Hungary. It is being made with US outfit 2Am, producer of Babygirl and Past Lives,both of which Elevationdistributed in Canada.

Backed by Teddy Schwarzman’s Black Bear, Elevation...

As people begin to assess what they lost in the Los Angeles wildfires, producer Amanda Rohlke and production designer and art director Amelia Steely are encouraging industry colleagues to share images with property owners to help with insurance claims and offer sentimental value.

The idea came to Rohlke and Steely on Monday when they were texting with a friend whose family lost their house in the Palisades. Rohlke suddenly remembered she had shot a film at the house in 2013 and that the crew took lots of photos. She contacted the art department from the shoot to try to find the photos, and when Rohlke updated her friends, Steely realized she too had photos from various locations.

“It occurred to me, wow, there are all these resources that homeowners may not know about,” Steely said. “Often the homeowner’s absent and doesn’t know that somebody has taken hundreds of photos of their home.

So many stars stepped out to attend the Out100 Celebration at NeueHouse Hollywood on Wednesday night (December 11) in Hollywood, Calif.

The annual event honors those who are making strides within the LGBTQ+ community, and this year was no exception.

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade attended with the basketball star’s daughter Zaya Wade, and they put on a stylish display.

Cynthia Erivo received the Icon of the Year Award, and Sheryl Lee Ralph was dubbed the Advocate of the Year. They got support from friends and costars, who joined them on the red carpet.

With so many stars in attendance, we pulled together photos of everyone so that you could easily see what they wore and who was there.

Head inside to see all of the photos…

Keep scrolling to see all of the photos…

Gabrielle Union, Zaya Wade and Dwyane Wade

Fyi: Gabrielle is wearing Burberry. Zaya is wearing Ronny Kobo.

Writer and director Ally Pankiw's I Used To Be Funny features a cast of new and notable names in the entertainment industry who show new sides of their abilities in the Canadian comedy-drama. I Used To Be Funny focuses on a young comedian with Ptsd, who debates whether to help search for a missing teenager she used to babysit. Premiering in 2023 at SXSW before being released in theaters on June 7, 2024, reviews of I Used To Be Funny have commended the cast's emotional performances.

From completely new faces in the industry to ones that are familiar to keen comedy fans, I Used To Be Funny utilizes its cast's comedic background to deliver an emotionally deep story with moments of comedic flair. As such, many of these actors show a completely new side of their acting abilities as comedy actors who nail dramatic roles. This fresh-faced cast brings I Used To Be Funny...

Our top pick this week already won an Academy Award: “The Boy and the Heron,” the 2024 winner for Best Animated Feature, is now available on Max, where it joins the rest of the streamer’s Studio Ghibli collection, alongside classics like “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke.”

“The Boy and the Heron” comes from anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, and may be the 83-year-old filmmaker’s last film. It’s an allegorically autobiographical film about a boy named Mahito Maki (voiced by Luca Padovan in the English-language dub). He is grieving the death of his mother when a trickster heron tells him he can reunite with her, sparking an unpredictable journey into a spirit realm. It’s a thematically rich and beautifully animated film that moves with Miyazaki’s inimitable dream logic. The voice cast also includes Christian Bale, Florence Pugh, Mark Hamill, and Willem Dafoe, among many others.

Here are some...

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.

The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki)

Cinema at its most boundlessly imaginative, The Boy and the Heron is a journey of thrilling, pure dream logic chock full of images that feel conjured from the deepest corners of Miyazaki’s mind. Considering the painstaking, hand-drawn labor it takes to pull off an animation this encumbered by standard narrative conventions, the feat of Miyazaki being able to corral such a vision feels miraculous. For the sake of the medium, here’s hoping the 82-year-old legend has one more in him.

Where to Stream: Max

Coup! (Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman)

Let’s talk about the pandemic for a moment. No, not the Covid-19 Pandemic. The pandemic that, 100 years ago, killed millions and shuttered...

One of the great benefits of being a Film Independent Member is that you get to go to our Film Independent Presents screenings. We do the hard work of finding some of the freshest new voices out there, we screen their films for you weeks before they release wide, and you get to see them for free! Oh, and afterwards there are Q&As with the creatives behind the project. Wow, that seems like a pretty good deal.

Here are just a few of the most recent Q&As from our Film Independent Presents screenings.

Recently, our own Josh Welsh spoke with, actors Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin, producer Monique Walton, and writer/director Greg Kwedar, about the transformative power of art in A24’s new film Sing Sing. starring an ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors. In theaters now.

In a riotous Q&a, Carlos Aguilar get under the...

Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s 1990s all-female music festival Lilith Fair is the subject of a feature documentary from the CBC and director Ally Pankiw.

The first Lilith Fair, which McLachlan spearheaded to defy a male-dominated music industry that couldn’t envision more than one woman performing on a concert stage or on a radio playlist, kicked off on July 5, 1997.

Over a quarter-century later, Dan Levy’s Not a Real Production Company and Elevation Pictures are co-producing Lilith Fair, with interviews by McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Natalie Merchant, Mýa, Jewel, Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile and Olivia Rodrigo.

The original ladies-first Lilith Fair tour from 1997 to 1999 attracted artists like Crow, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple and Liz Phair from across the music world, and went on to help launch the careers of performers like Missy Elliott, The Chicks, Nelly Furtado and Christina Aguilera.

The documentary, authorized by McLachlan,...

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.

Aftersun (Charlotte Wells)

One of the 2022’s most resonant films, Aftersun looks at the scratchy dynamics between a father and daughter while on vacation. It’s about memory, the finite nature of the relationships in our lives, and the difficulties of a parent’s diminishing mental health. Charlotte Wells knows where to put the camera in her debut—undeterred from taking risks, from placing her characters outside of the frame, from looking at shadows instead of the people themselves. Aftersun is a rare, tremendous first film, full of heart and focused melancholy; it breaks you down and fills you up simultaneously. The consistent inclusion of camcorder footage, and the fact that it enhances the story rather than becoming a distraction, further proclaims...

During her time in journalism school, writer-director Ally Pankiw discovered documentary studies and broadcast news, and immediately fell in love with video editing and production.

Although she didn’t attend traditional film school, she taught herself the basics of Final Draft after graduating and started writing. After directing Season 1 of Netflix’s “Feel Good,” the “Joan Is Awful” episode of “Black Mirror” and more, Pankiw finally got funding for her first feature film: “I Used to Be Funny,” starring “Shiva Baby” breakout Rachel Sennott.

The film is in select theaters via Utopia and was released digitally on June 18. Sennott stars as Sam, a stand-up comedian struggling with Ptsd after being sexually assaulted. She tries to decide whether or not to look for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. The story swaps between past and present, where Sam navigates her trauma.

Pankiw tells Variety that the...

I Used to Be Funny, starring Rachel Sennott, tackles the complex themes of trauma and healing through a stand-up comedian's story. Ally Pankiw's film blends humor and drama to highlight how women are silenced after experiencing violence. The movie explores the impact of trauma on creativity and the importance of reclaiming humor and joy in the face of adversity.

I Used to Be Funny, a smart and contemplative movie that recently received high praise at Tribeca Film Festival, is now available to watch in theaters or from home. Written and directed by Ally Pankiw (who has previously written for Schitt's Creek and directed episodes of The Great), the movie stars Rachel Sennott, best known for her star-making turn in Bottoms. Sennott plays Sam, a stand-up comedian who hasn't felt like getting up on stage since her recent traumatic experience.

Though it does veer more toward drama than comedy, I Used To Be Funny...

It was an Inside Out specialty weekend, fairly quiet and with a stream of indies films and more wide releases. The schedule is starting to recover from a strike-induced slump that, however, provided oxygen to some indies.

Small films have been competing for screens with majors at arthouses from Alamo Drafthouse to Landmark since theaters reopened post-Covid and the more of them there are, the harder it is. It’s nice to see major back and the broader box office on a solid footing. But it would also be nice to see more indie breakouts like Civil War, Late Night With The Devil, Immaculate, Wicked Little Letters, One Life or Love Lies Bleeding.

“June is crowded” with indies now, says one distributor. And theaters “don’t have space to support indies in a meaningful way.”

Others are heartened by recent wide-release blowouts. “It’s still a tough market. But I...

Rachel Sennott shines in a nuanced role. I Used to Be Funny balances comedy and drama effectively. The film's ending feels rushed despite strong filmmaking.

For a movie about Ptsd, I Used to Be Funny is anything but "used to." The film is funny in the here and now, constantly reminding the audience that, while laughter isn't the best medicine, sometimes it's the only way to move forward in the wake of the unimaginable. Starring Rachel Sennott, best known for her comedic turn in Bottoms, I Used to Be Funny gets the actress to flex the dramatic muscles she used in her earlier project, Shiva Baby. She plays Sam, the stand-up comedian who can't seem to shake her past with the family she nannied for.

I Used to Be Funny (2024)

DirectorAlly PankiwRelease DateJune 7, 2024CastCaleb Hearon, Sabrina Jalees, Olga Petsa, Rachel Sennott, Jason JonesRatingNRRuntime105 MinutesGenresDrama, Comedy Expand

It's not difficult to guess what happened to Sam,...

Ally Pankiw finds it hilarious that her debut feature, “I Used to Be Funny,” isn’t centering on a queer character, despite her own orientation.

While writer/director Pankiw, who is a queer filmmaker, noted that inherently all of her work has a “queer perspective” given her identity. “I Used to Be Funny” is about a stand-up comic, played by Rachel Sennott, who grapples with Ptsd after a teen she used to nanny goes missing.

Pankiw wants to see more queer filmmakers to tell stories that aren’t only queer — and not feel pigeonholed to make only “coming out” dramas.

“Dramedy and dark comedies, that’s really the world that I like playing in,” Pankiw told IndieWire. “Stuff that obviously centers around women and queer people and isn’t just about coming out. It’s always nice…You know, look, I’ve been out for 16 years. So the things that...

Cardio is good. Sony Pictures Classics’ 4k rerelease of Run Lola Run had a healthy weekend, opening to an estimated $154k on 275 screens. This is the 25th anniversary of the U.S. debut of Tom Tykwer’s German experimental thriller that sees flame-haired Lola (Franka Potente) on the move in Berlin, pounding the pavement to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend’s life. (This was before the euro arrived). See Deadline interview here. A handful of rereleases/restorations have been box office stars post-Covid and this is another indie win.

A24’s Tuesday, a modern-day fairy tale with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, launched to $26k on two screens. Daina O. Pusic’s directorial debut premiered at Telluride. The modern-day fairy tale had sold out Q&As shows throughout the weekend and expands to a moderate nationwide footprint next week.

Utopia reunited with Shiva Baby (and Bottoms) star Rachel Sennott...

“Technology is an incredibly powerful tool. I hope we can use it all to our advantage and not clumsily smack ourselves in the face with it,” declares “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker. In our recent webchat, producer Jessica Rhoades adds, “When technology connects us, it’s at its best. When it divides us it’s at its worst.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“Black Mirror” is the anthology series where each episode tells a dystopian tale featuring technology. Brooker has written the series since it launched in 2011. He has won five Emmys for his work on the show. He explains, “It’s interesting because each one is separate. You say goodbye to all the characters at the end of each episode. There’s something a bit sad about that. You’ve bothered to create this whole world and it’s like, ‘goodbye.’”

SEEAnnie Murphy interview: ‘Black Mirror: Joan Is...

It’s a big weekend for critically acclaimed indies in limited release as well as a handful of moderate openings, including Richard Gere’s latest film Longing. The provenance of that is unusual as the film from Lionsgate/Grindstone is a Canada-set remake of a 2017 Israeli drama. The original was quite well received, but the film opening this weekend has been thoroughly skewered by critics.

After winning screenplay and audience awards in Israel, the original film premiered in Venice, taking the Bnl People’s Choice Award, then played Toronto.

Both versions are written and directed by Savi Gabizon. Characters and story are identical: a successful single American businessman (Gere) meets up with a 20-year-old old flame (Suzanne Clément) and learns that he has a son, and, a beat later, that the young man has just died in a car accident. Trying to process that and find a connection,...