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Nominees for the 32nd Annual Movieguide Awards have been announced, with shows like Bluey, NCIS, Blue Bloods and Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV competing for the honor.

The Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry will be held Friday, February 7 at the Avalon Theatre in Hollywood. They come courtesy of Movieguide, a family review service for movies and television shows that has more than 89 million monthly users.

“There has been so much devastation to our city, we feel there is no better time to come together for strength and hope,” said Movieguide CEO Robby Baehr in a statement. “We want to celebrate those who bring joy and entertainment to the big screen and provide a space where families come together to escape from the world around them. We also want to honor the First Responders who risked their lives to save Los Angeles. We...

After its recent streaming launch on the Angel Studios app, Bonhoeffer will soon be released on digital platforms.

Bonhoeffer, or Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin., directed by Todd Komarnicki, is a faithful historical drama about German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The film, which stars Jonas Dassler, August Diehl, and Clarke Peters, explores Bonhoeffer's courageous stand against the Nazis during the Third Reich. 

With a reported $25 million budget, Bonhoeffer earned $12 million at the box office since its release in theaters.

Read full article on The Direct.

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55.5m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to an estimated $114m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a strong $55.5m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.

Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.

Wicked recorded...

Sunday Update: Moviegoers looked to the western sky this weekend in record numbers, as “Wicked” defied expectations by earning a whopping $114 million at the U.S. box office. That’s the best opening weekend ever for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical, beating the previous record-holder, “Into the Woods” (2014), at $31 million. “Wicked” is now the third biggest domestic opener of 2024, following “Deadpool & Wolverine” at $211 million and “Inside Out 2” at $154 million. Elsewhere, “Gladiator II” brought in an impressive $55 million, good enough for second place. Three cheers for “Glicked”!

Friday Update: Heading into Friday, “Wicked” had already made $19.2 million in previews: $2.5 million from Monday showings, $5.7 million from Wednesday advances, and $11 million for Thursday screenings. Comparatively, “Gladiator II” made $6.5 million in Thursday previews. This is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office weekends of the 2024 calendar year.

What will be the winners and the losers this week at the U.

“Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” emerges as a dramatic biographical drama that follows Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s amazing life as a German Lutheran priest who dared to oppose the Nazi government during one of humanity’s darkest times. Set in pre-World War II Germany, the film examines how a very religious thinker evolved from a contemplative theologian to an active resistance fighter eager to confront Hitler’s totalitarian machinery.

The movie is more than just a historical recounting; it is a compelling reflection on moral courage, personal conviction, and the incredible decisions people make when confronted with systemic evil. The film provides a fascinating narrative that resonates far beyond its historical setting, depicting Bonhoeffer’s drastic journey from a wealthy intellectual to a potential assassin plotting against Hitler.

More than a simple biographical sketch, Bonhoeffer illuminates how ordinary people can transform into extraordinary resisters when confronted with profound moral challenges, making...

If it had been released just two years ago, “Bonhoeffer” might have come across as simply the latest in a long line of respectable but predictable period dramas about brave Germans who dared to stand up to the Nazi regime. Today, however, the movie feels more like an uncomfortably timely cautionary tale with unsettling echoes of current events.

Not just because it reminds us that, in the late 1930s, Hitler’s sympathizers distributed a Nazified version of the Bible that depicted Jesus as a pure-bred Aryan — and demanded loyalty to Der Fuhrer in one of two extra commandments added to the original text. (Sales were huge.) Written and directed by Todd Komarnicki, a filmmaker arguably known best as the scripter for “Sully” from Clint Eastwood (who gets a special thanks shout-out in the closing credits hwew), “Bonhoeffer” illustrates the relative ease with which Hitler gained the acceptance and eventual fealty...

Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin is the latest offering from prolific faith-based production company, Angel Studios. Written and directed by Todd Komarnicki, the film is an ambitious attempt at capturing the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident who chose resistance against Hitler’s tyranny.

The story opens with a tender glimpse into Bonhoeffer’s childhood, set against the idyllic backdrop of his family’s country estate. Here, we see a young Dietrich playing with his older brother, Walter. This opening sequence establishes the deep bond within the Bonhoeffer family, this in turn makes the subsequent death of Walter in World War I all the more poignant. Komarnicki uses a non-linear storytelling approach, weaving between these early memories and Bonhoeffer’s later years as an adult.

One of the standout moments in the film is Bonhoeffer’s time in America, specifically his experiences in Harlem. Jonas Dassler...

Angel Studios, the company behind last year’s $250m global smash Sound Of Freedom, is in Las Vegas selling a slate that includes Bonhoeffer and The Last Rodeo and meeting partners on an international output network it has been quietly building.

Paris Filmes in Brazil, A Contracorriente in Spain, Nos Lusomundo in Portugal, Santa Barbara Films in Colombia, Neema Media in Benelux, FilmOne in Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, and Blitz in Croatia and former Yugoslavia are among the first to sign on to release the company’s values-based content slate.

Angel Studios chief distribution officer Jared Geesey will continue to...

An adaptation of Nicholas Hogg’s novel Tokyo, Jordan Scott’s sophomore directorial “A Sacrifice” has all the indications of competent filmmaking. The production design is neat and stately, and the pace is quite brisk. However, the very center of the film is caught up in a mesh of major screenwriting issues. Scott, who has also written the adapted screenplay, seems to have been trapped in key, critical areas of the plot, which she entirely dispenses with in a hasty rush of information, intercutting between various perspectives in the climactic stretch.

The rush and scramble of providing detailed backstories all at once at a juncture in the film that’s simply too late comes off as an effort to purely cushion the ‘big twist’ in the tale. While the predictability of it is up for debate, the twist considerably sacrifices facets of characterization, pulping previously established parameters so as to achieve a swift landing.

As she gets set to release her second movie, A Sacrifice, in theaters this weekend, Jordan Scott (IFC’s Cracks) recalls the best advice she received from her father, Sir Ridley Scott, from one director to another.

“I’m very lucky that I can pick up the phone and ask his advice on anything and I’m going to get the best answer. And his advice on everything is just: Preparation. Preparation. Preparation,’” Scott tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo, A Sacrifice from Scott Free Productions follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Eric Bana) as he investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event in the German capital. While he immerses himself into his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sadie Sinke), gets involved with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As these two worlds head towards an intersection,...

A Sacrifice, directed by Jordan Scott, has an overstuffed story with four interconnected storylines that struggle to balance each other. The film's production design is impressive, showcasing unique and lived-in settings in Berlin, but the storytelling suffers from confusing flashbacks and contrivances. A Sacrifice, based on the novel Tokyo, could have benefited from focusing on one storyline, as the current setup leaves the ending unsatisfying and melodramatic.

A Sacrifice (2024) is the second full-length film from director Jordan Scott, daughter of the venerable Sir Ridley Scott, and her first movie in 15 years. Maybe she was off in Berlin like the lead of her movie, Ben Monroe (Eric Bana), a psychologist, novelist, and university professor. He, however, is not a therapist, as he pointedly delineates to German forensic investigator and love interest, Nina (Sylvia Hoeks). It's too bad he isn't, because just about every character in this meandering, often confusing, tale could...

“We’re all so fucked, right.” So says Mazzy (Sadie Sink), a young woman visiting her father Ben (Eric Bana). This observation matches the dreadful tone of the film as a whole. Titled A Sacrifice, written and directed by Jordan Scott and inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s novel Tokyo, this is a small-scale psychological thriller informed by the loneliness of the coming climate apocalypse and comforting allure of group-think.

Bana plays Ben Monroe, a social psychologist who’s moved from his family to Berlin, following a separation with his wife. He’s made a small name for himself from research on cults and their influence. As he prepares to write a new book, his old cop friend Max (Stephan Kampwirth) and Max’s partner Nina (Sylvia Hoeks) bring him along to a crime scene wherein a small group of people appear to have participated in a ritualistic suicide. Days later,...

An academic’s visiting teenage daughter falls under the sway of a sinister cult connected to his own research in “A Sacrifice.” Suspended between straightforward thriller and something loftier, Jordan Scott’s sophomore feature — headlined by Sadie Sink and Eric Bana — is a slick but unsatisfying narrative muddle. It has the feel of a literary adaptation that doesn’t quite translate to a different medium: While the individual thematic elements are intriguing enough, they just don’t come together on screen in sufficiently coherent or atmospheric form. The result is a movie that ultimately falls short on both suspense and ideas, though it remains watchable enough. Vertical is releasing to U.S. theaters on June 28.

Other territories will be seeing it under the title “Berlin Nobody,” while English author Nicholas Hogg’s source novel was called (and is set in) “Tokyo.” So one can safely assume Scott, whose career has...

Exclusive: Angel Studios, the outfit behind global blockbuster Sound of Freedom, has unveiled the full trailer for its true-life WWII thriller Bonhoeffer – see it above. Spotlighting the courage and sacrifice of the titular German pastor and theologian-turned-spy, the film is written and directed by Sully scribe Todd Komarnicki. Angel Studios will release domestically on November 22.

The drama’s subject is World War II hero Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Jonas Dassler), a pacifist pastor who conspired to bring an end to the Nazi regime, fearlessly speaking the truth while facing unyielding oppression and evil.

The official synopsis reads: When a pacifist is called to a political act that could change the course of history, how will a man of honor respond? This is the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who preached love while plotting the assassination of an evil tyrant. With world-shattering stakes, Bonhoeffer begs the question, how far will you...

Vertical has unveiled the official trailer for the cult thriller A Sacrifice. The trailer sees Stranger Things' Sadie Sink falling deeper and deeper under the thrall of a dangerous cult. The movie could be the next step toward Sink becoming a bona fide scream queen.

The trailer for A Sacrifice pits Stranger Things star Sadie Sink against a killer cult. The upcoming movie, which is set to premiere in theaters on June 28, was written and directed by Jordan Scott, who made her directorial debut in 2009 with the independent movie Cracks starring Eva Green and Juno Temple. In addition to Sink, her newest project stars Troy's Eric Bana, Blade Runner 2049's Sylvia Hoeks, The Golden Glove's Jonas Dassler, Enemy at the Gates' Sophie Rois, and Stephan Kampwirth, who provided the German voice for Milo in Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Vertical has now unveiled the official trailer for A Sacrifice.

What sacrifices would you make for your job, your family, your lover…or even your sanity?

The trailer for writer/director Jordan Scott’s “A Sacrifice” propels audiences into a twisted game of untangling the motivations for a father-daughter duo caught on the periphery of a cult. Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel “Tokyo Nobody,” the feature follows American social-psychologist Ben Monroe (Eric Bana) who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events.

While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sadie Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy (Jonas Dassler) who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben must race against the clock to save his family.

Sylvia Hoeks, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and Lara Feith co-star.

The ever-prolific auteur Ridley Scott produces the film, along with Michael Pruss, Jonas Katzenstein,...

"Untangle yourself from your parents... the sooner you stop relying on them, the more powerful you will be." What kind of cult is this? Vertical has revealed an official trailer for an indie thriller titled A Sacrifice, a cult drama set in Berlin. This is the latest film directed by Ridley Scott's daughter Jordan Scott, following her feature debut Cracks from back in 2009. American social psychologist Ben Monroe investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event, while his daughter becomes entangled with a mysterious boy. While he immerses himself in his work trying to understand what is going on with this mysterious cult, his rebellious teen daughter, Mazzy, ends up embroiled with this German boy and another strange woman. Starring Eric Bana, Sadie Sink, Jonas Dassler, Sylvia Hoeks, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, & Lara Feith. It's "inspired by" a book that was originally set in Tokyo, however they shifted the location to Berlin instead,...

Vertical has dropped the new trailer for A Sacrifice, a thriller starring Eric Bana as a social psychologist who begins investigating a cult in Berlin as his rebellious daughter (Sadie Sink) gets drawn into its clutches.

The official synopsis reads, “A Sacrifice is an emotionally turbulent story that follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana), who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events. While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter.“

In addition to Eric Bana and Sadie Sink, A Sacrifice also stars Sylvia Hoeks, Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and Lara Feith. Based on the novel Tokyo Nobody by Nicholas Hogg,...

“A Sacrifice” is a new crime thriller feature, written and directed by Jordan Scott, starring Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”), Eric Bana, Sylvia Hoeks, Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth and Lara Feith, opening June 28, 2024 in theaters:

“…American social psychologist ‘Ben Monroe’ investigates a Berlin-based cult connected to disturbing events.

“While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, ‘Mazzy’. becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene.

“As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is set to attend the Cannes premiere of his latest feature, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, after receiving an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities and fleeing his home country.

Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.

“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).

Our joy will be that of...

International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety.

Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.

“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.

“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.

Exclusive: Vertical has closed a North American rights deal for A Sacrifice, writer-director Jordan Scott’s gripping thriller. The film, originally titled Berlin Nobody, is from Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions and augenschein Filmproduktion.

A Sacrifice stars Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down), Sadie Sink (Stranger Things & The Whale), Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049), Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and La­­ra Feith. Vertical will release the film exclusively in theaters on June 28.

Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo Nobody, A Sacrifice follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events. While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter.

Angel Studios, the outfit behind Sound Of Freedom, has dated three more theatrical releases rounding out its slate at a presentation today in Las Vegas.

The company told exhibitors gathered at CinemaCon that World War II thriller Bonhoeffer will hit theaters Nov. 22, Homestead on Dec. 20 and David — a new animated musical about the biblical king — on Nov. 21, 2025.

As reported, Sight is upcoming on May 24, and Possum Trot on July 4.

Angel is celebrating its first year as a theatrical distributor, topping $300 million in global box office revenue, the no. 8 stop, in 2023.

“We are eternally grateful to our theatrical partners who helped champion our studio and enabled us to bring films that amplify light into movie theaters,” said SVP and distribution head Brandon Purdie. “There is no better place than CinemaCon to celebrate and give credit to our exhibition partners.”

“We are excited about Angel’s upcoming slate of films for 2024 and...

Get ready to go gaga for another group of earnest teenagers hoping to change the world, or at least win a fake election at a famous youth retreat.

The contender to watch this week: “Girls State”

In 2021, “Boys State” picked up recognitions from the National Board of Review, Directors Guild of America, Emmys, and several critics groups, so of course we’re getting a sequel. This time, directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss move from Texas to Missouri to profile teenagers attending the eponymous mock-government program. The ambitious, excitable girls are just as fascinating as their male counterparts, and you can see them in action on Apple TV+.

Other contenders:

“The Zone of Interest“: If you still haven’t caught Jonathan Glazer‘s mesmerizing Holocaust drama, which won two Oscars and continues to spark controversy, it’s newly streaming on Max. “How to Have Sex”: Molly Manning Walker...

Body swaps are usually bad news in movies. I was a real estate agent close to a big deal, now I have to find a date for junior prom? Then, a wacky journey back to status quo — because the way things were is how they should be.

Or not, forwards “Skin Deep,” the intimate and slippery debut feature from German Kazakhstani director Alex Schaad. Adopting a high concept usually fit for farce, Alex Schaad and his brother, co-writer and actor Dimitrij Schaad, take on the body swap premise in search of more, destabilizing their characters’ notions of gender and bodily autonomy along the way.

Releasing stateside in New York and Los Angeles theaters this month, “Skin Deep” debuted at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. The premiere was already a dream come true for the brothers; then they won the Queer Lion, a prize voted for by a jury of critics...

The saying goes that in order to understand someone, you have to walk a mile in their shoes, but Alex Schaad’s broad yet entrancing “Skin Deep” offers an alternate method: In order to understand someone, try swapping bodies with them for a few days. That solution might be less efficient, but it’s far more complete. Indeed, the mysterious white tower at the center of the Esalen-like island retreat where this lightly supernatural German drama takes place is nothing if not a machine that creates empathy. It creates other feelings too, but the people who seem most receptive to and transformed by the experience tend to think of empathy as the ultimate goal, if only because they’ve exhausted all other means of achieving it.

These people aren’t sociopaths, they’re just in long-term relationships. They’ve arrived at that sad — but inevitable? — point where the soft intimacy...

Alex Schaad’s Skin Deep is a film with a body-swapping premise that’s notable for its restraint. Though as fresh and conceptually far-reaching as a David Cronenberg film, it traffics in body ambivalence more than body horror, striking an eerie, wistful tone.

The story hinges on the interplay of various couples. The central of these, Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler), travel by ferry to a remote and idyllic island where seasonal body-switching rituals take place. There they join Leyla’s friend Stella (Edgar Selge) in the initially jarring form of her elderly father, who recently died while inhabiting Stella’s aneurism-prone body. Leyla’s been suffering from chronic depression, so she and Tristan have decided to give the ritual a try, in the hope that a temporary shift in embodied perspective might help. They’re paired by lottery with another couple: Fabienne (Maryam Zaree) will swap with Leyla,...

"You are the person you are, because of the body you have." Kino Lorber has revealed the new official US trailer for the indie German low key sci-fi drama titled Skin Deep, from filmmaker Alex Schaad. Not to be confused with the 1989 sex comedy with John Ritter also called Skin Deep. This first premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and won the Queer Lion award, with stops at the Hamburg, Zurich, and Göteborg Film Festivals. At first glance, Leyla and Tristan seem like a happy young couple. When they travel to a remote, mysterious island, a game of identities begins, which changes everything – their perception, their sexuality, their whole "self." Kino Lorber adds: "Subverting genre and gender as it toggles from body swap thriller to intimate relationship drama, Skin Deep tells a story that transcends bodies, embracing the endless fluid possibilities in the question of what it means to truly love someone.

One of our favorite films coming out of Venice Film Festival back in 2022, where it won the Queer Lion award, Alex Schaad’s feature debut Skin Deep will now arrive in theaters early this February from Kino Lorber. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has arrived. The film subverts genre and gender as it toggles from body swap thriller to intimate relationship drama.

Here’s the synopsis: “Seeking a retreat where they can salvage their struggling relationship, young couple Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) travel to a remote island at the invitation of Leyla’s childhood friend Stella, where it soon becomes clear that what the island offers is more mysterious than a simple vacation. Leyla and Tristan join another couple in a ritual to exchange bodies and see the world through the eyes of someone else – a chance to find themselves or, for some of them,...

Exclusive: Angel Studios, the studio behind surprise global blockbuster Sound of Freedom, has acquired worldwide rights to Bonhoeffer (fka God’s Spy), a true-life thriller written and directed by Sully scribe Todd Komarnicki. Spotlighting the courage and sacrifice of an extraordinary World War II hero, the film is slated for release in theaters in 2024.

Pic’s subject is Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Jonas Dassler), a pacifist pastor determined to live his life with uncompromising political and spiritual courage while choosing to live in Berlin during the Third Reich. Conspiring to bring an end to the Nazi regime, he fearlessly spoke the truth while facing unyielding oppression and evil. His impact is still felt around the world today.

Starring alongside Never Look Away‘s Dassler are August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds), Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run), Nadine Heidenreich (Die Flaschenpost-Insel), David Jonsson (Rye Lane), and Flula Borg (Suicide Squad). Producers included Emmanuel and Camille Kampouris,...

While there’s plenty to be said and appreciated about cozy, comforting horror that offers catharsis, the genre’s ultimate aim is to terrify, shock, and even repulse. Of course, there is no shortage of ways that filmmakers accomplish this, frequently through gore, violence, and potent scare tactics, but transgressive horror is in a league of its own.

More than just gore, transgressive horror films revel in the taboo. Transgressive horror shatters cultural norms and seeks to explore beyond the boundaries of taste and social sensibilities, challenging viewers with shocking and sacrilegious imagery and themes. And yet, it’s not solely for shock value; transgressive horror has more on its mind than simply gore and depictions of depravity. There’s a purpose behind the pain. This week’s streaming picks are for the seekers of extreme cinema, unafraid to test their limits.

Here’s where you can stream them this week.

We meet Leyla (at this stage played by Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) on the boat as they travel to the island. Leyla has been dozing. The air is fresh and damp with spray. There’s that sense of possibility which often precedes a holiday or other break from day to day routine, but neither of them can anticipate how much their experience will change them. Tristan has not understood how wrong things are to begin with, and Leyla may not quite understand why.

They are travelling to an island for a unique spiritual experience. There are plenty of those out there, you might note, but this is a little different. After picking out a lottery ticket, they are randomly paired with another couple, Mo (Dimitrij Schaad) and Fabienne (Maryam Zaree). Mo’s sleazy comments as he tries to break the ice may make you wonder if this is some kind of.

Schaad’s directorial debut won the Queer Lion after debuting at Venice Critics’ Week.

Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights from Beta Cinema to Alex Schaad’s body swap thriller Skin Deep, which premiered in 2022 in Venice Critics’ Week, where it was awarded the Queer Lion.

Skin Deep is the directorial debut of Alex Schaad, who previously won the Student Academy Award for his social media thriller Invention of Trust.

The film is co-written by Schaad and his brother Dimitrij Schaad and produced by Tobias Walker and Philipp Worm of Walker + Worm Productions, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and Donndorffilm.

In the film,...

Exclusive: Jonas Dassler (The Golden Glove) has been tapped to play German pastor and theologian-turned-spy Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the thriller God’s Spy, based on a true story.

Others set for the pic written and directed by Sully scribe Todd Komarnicki include Flula Borg (The Suicide Squad), David Jonsson (Industry), August Diehl (A Hidden Life), Moritz Bleibtreu (World War Z) and BAFTA Award nominee Clarke Peters (The Wire).

The film currently in production is set in Berlin during the time of the Third Reich, examining Bonhoeffer’s determination to live his life with uncompromising political and spiritual courage, while speaking truth to power, in his attempt to save countless Jewish lives. Bonhoeffer was among only a few clergy who were early to recognize the danger of Hitler’s anti-Semitic rhetoric, and while the German church acquiesced to Hitler, Bonhoeffer took him on. First, from the pulpit — and then from the front lines.

Exclusive: Fresh off strong notices for Darren Aronofsky’s Venice Film Festival drama The Whale, Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has been tapped to star with Eric Bana (Munich) and Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) in thriller Berlin Nobody, which got underway in the German capital today.

Rising German actor Jonas Dassler — who got his breakthrough as a 1970s murderer in Fatih Akin’s Berlin title The Golden Glove — and Sophie Rois (Tom Tykwer’s Drei and Der Architekt) have also joined the cast of Jordan Scott’s movie about American ex-pat and social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) who relocates to Berlin to further his research on the epidemic of cult mentality. While he immerses himself in German cultism, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes entwined with a mysterious and enigmatic local boy (Dassler). The film is inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo.

Produced by Scott Free’s...

What makes a person? Mind or body? Take that line of inquiry even further and ask what it is you love about your significant other. Is it how they look or who they are? The combination of answers to these questions are infinite because we as people are too. Maybe looks or humor or generosity got you through the door, but those can’t stop you from leaving alone. At some point you must dig deeper to discover it’s the indefinable essence beneath their skin and psyche that truly draws you close. And if that’s necessary to be able to spend the rest of your life with this person who was a total stranger mere seconds before you met them, shouldn’t it also be true to love yourself?

The lucky of us who never have to ask often never think to ask, either. It’s why someone...

German helmer Alex Schaad takes on the body-swap trope in Venice Critics’ Week title “Skin Deep,” produced by Walker + Worm Film in co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk and Donndorffilm.

Beta Cinema, which handles the sales, has shared its trailer exclusively with Variety ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Italian fest.

The intimate, character-driven story sees a young couple – played by “And Tomorrow the Entire World” actor Mala Emde and Jonas Dassler – deciding to visit a remote island, hoping they might be able to solve their problems in a place that literally allows you to be someone else. But Schaad, who co-wrote the script with his brother Dimitrij, wasn’t trying to deliver another “Freaky Friday,” eschewing easy laughs for a much more philosophical approach.

“I wanted to make a movie about changes in a relationship, the struggle of being and staying together. That was the core of it all,...

A filmmaker with multiple irons in the fire has decided to go where the glow is. Thanks to our friends over at The Film Stage we learn that German master filmmaker Christian Petzold has begun production on The Red Sky — a gay-themed romance and the second instalment in a fairy tale trilogy that began with 2020’s Undine (read review).

Returning to the fold we find muse Paula Beer who’ll be supported by actors Enno Trebs, Thomas Schubert, Jonas Dassler and Langston Uibel. The summer project is set up near the Baltic Sea not far from the peninsula of Ahrenshoop located at the northern tip of Germany.…...

Back in the fall of 2020, when his fairytale Undine was making the festival rounds, German filmmaker Christian Petzold revealed he was working on a new project entitled The Red Sky, saying he would wait until the horrors of the pandemic lessened to make it, adding, “It’s also something to do with love and kissing and homosexual love too. I want to see bodies, and so on. I can’t do it with masks and so I want to do it for real.”

Now, the production, has commenced, according to a new update. Along with Paula Beer leading that cast, it’s also revealed that Enno Trebs (Lost Ones) is part of the ensemble while Thomas Schubert (Breathing), Jonas Dassler (The Golden Glove), and Langston Uibel (Unorthodox) are also attached. A new synopsis, auto-translated from German, has also arrived:

A hot, dry summer, like so many in recent years. Forest fires are uncontrollable.

Chryssos won the best director award for ‘A Pure Place’.

World premieres by Nikias Chryssos and Franziska Stünkel were among the winners of the German Cinema New Talent Awards at this year’s Filmfest München, which wrapped at the weekend.

Chryssos won the best director award for his second feature A Pure Place, an offbeat coming-of-age tale about two young siblings engulfed in a secret community obsessed with soap, located on a remote Greek island. He was selected by a jury comprised of actors Sophie von Kessel and Komi M. Togbonou, and Barbara Mundel, artistic director of the Münchner Kammerspiele.

German cinema looks set for an exciting year with forthcoming works that include a high-profile Cannes selection celebrating one of Germany’s most iconic filmmakers, an expressionistic thriller set in 1920s Vienna, a tale of Nazi seduction and a new Thomas Mann adaptation.

The Covid-19 pandemic dashed the excitement of a splashy Cannes premiere for Oskar Roehler’s “Enfant Terrible,” part of the festival’s Official Selection, but the film is nevertheless certain to generate buzz with its portrayal of legendary filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and his turbulent film career that spanned 1969 to 1982.

In making the film, Roehler found inspiration in Fassbinder’s own work.

“We didn’t want to do your standard biopic,” says producer Markus Zimmer, managing director of Bavaria Filmproduktion. “I think we did come very close to what Fassbinder would have made out of his own life. We tried to be in line with the artistic...

Sales agent Beta Cinema is launching its Cannes Market slate, which is headlined by psychological thriller “Corvidae,” with a playful and novel approach. The company has produced an entertainment show, in the style of a late-night chatshow, featuring its sales team pitching its films and presenting exclusive clips from them. Variety has been given an exclusive sneak peek at the show before it goes live on Friday.

Beta Cinema CEO Dirk Schürhoff is the charismatic host of chatshow “The Beta Cinema Show,” filmed at the company’s offices in Oberhaching, near Munich, while Thorsten Ritter, exec VP acquisitions, sales and marketing, leads the house band on electric guitar. Its sales executives beam in their reports from around the world, while the kangaroo from the hit film “The Kangaroo Chronicles” assists. The tone is fun and tongue-in-cheek, but it’s a serious attempt to add a bit of showbiz pizzazz to the virtual market format.

For the past few years we’ve had the privilege of partnering with the European Film Promotion’s sterling initiative, the Shooting Stars. This week we sat down with the latest cohort to find out more about these stars of the future.

These interviews were conducted at the Berlin Film Festival, and the ten winners were selected by a jury of industry experts from 28 nominations, most of the talent are already award-winning in their home countries.

The winners are Martina Apostolova (Bulgaria), Pääru Oja (Estonia), Victoria Carmen Sonne (Denmark), Zita Hanrot (France), Levan Gelbakhiani (Georgia), Jonas Dassler (Germany), Bilal Wahib (The Netherlands), Bartosz Bielenia (Poland), Joana Ribeiro (Portugal), Ella Rumpf (Switzerland).

Stefan Pape spoke to the chosen ten to ask them what the programme means to them, how their early successes have informed their career so far, and what they were doing when they heard that they had been selected.

Variety’s “10 Europeans to Watch” were feted Saturday night at a party held by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg at Berlin’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Co-hosting the evening were Kirsten Niehuus and Helge Jürgens, managing directors of Medienboard, the regional film, TV and digital-media funding body.

Pictured above are U.K. filmmaker and rapper Andrew Onwubolu, known by his alias Rapman, Irish producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Italian director Carlo Sironi (“Sole”), German director Leonie Krippendorff (“Cocoon”), Estonian director Tanel Toom, Germany-based Kosovan director Visar Morina (“Exile”), and Hungarian actor Abigél Szõke (“Those Who Remained”).

Before welcoming to the stage some of Europe’s most promising stars of tomorrow, Variety executive VP of content Steven Gaydos noted: “Variety is celebrating our 115th year covering international entertainment, before people were watching movies.”

He also shared the story of local producer Sol Bondy, who met Russian producers Ilya Stewart and Murad Osmann at Variety’s “10 Producers to...

Upcoming talent to be showcased at the Berlin Film Festival.

The 10 young actors selected for this year’s European Shooting Stars has been unveiled.

European Film Promotion (Efp) has revealed the selection of upcoming talent, which will be introduced to international casting directors, producers and filmmakers at the Berlin Film Festival next month.

They include Germany’s Jonas Dassler, who starred as serial killer Fritz Honka in Faith Akin’s The Golden Glove, a biography of German serial killer Fritz Honka, which played in competition at last year’s Berlinale.

The selection also features Poland’s Bartosz Bielenia from Poland,...

European Film Promotion has unveiled the 10 Shooting Stars, up-and-coming acting talents set to break out internationally, who will be honored at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.

The selection comprises Bartosz Bielenia from Poland, star of Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi,” among films shortlisted for this year’s best international feature film Oscar; France’s Zita Hanrot, the voice talent of Zunaira in animated Oscar contender “The Swallows of Kabul” who broke out locally with Philippe Faucon’s “Fatima”; and Portugal’s Joana Ribeiro who is currently shooting Antoine Fuqua’s action thriller “Infinite” for Paramount alongside Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Previous Shooting Stars include Alicia Vikander, Alba Rohrwacher, Matthias Schoenaerts, Pilou Asbæk and Baltasar Kormákur.

The Shooting Stars initiative is also honoring German actor Jonas Dassler, who made a splash at Berlin last year with his performance as a serial killer in Fatih Akin’s “The Golden Glove”; Dutch actor Bilal Wahib,...

The 2020 edition of European Shooting Stars has unveiled the 10 young acting talents it will spotlight, with participants arriving with credits including Polish Oscar shortlisted feature Corpus Christi.

On the list is Polish actor Bartosz Bielenia, whose turn as an amateur priest in Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi has already earned him acting awards at the Stockholm, Chicago and El Gouna film festivals.

He is selected alongside Danish actress Victoria Carmen Sonne, who has appeared in Hlynur Palmason’s Winters Brothers and Isabella Eklöf’s 2018 Sundance pic Holiday; she has won two Danish Academy awards (Bodils).

Also named is Swiss actress Ella Rumpf, who lead the cast of Julia Ducournau’s 2016 Cannes selection Raw, which won her the Révelation prize at the 2018 César Awards, and Jakob Lass’s 2017 Berlin title Tiger Girl. Rumpf will also appear this year in upcoming German Netflix series Freud.

Portuguese talent Joana Ribeiro makes the 2020 cut...

Ten of Europe's hottest young acting talents were unveiled Thursday, with the announcement of the 2020 European Shooting Stars.

The talent scouts at European Film Promotion selected up-and-coming actors and actresses on the cusp of their international breakthrough.

The Shooting Stars class of 2020 includes French actress Zita Hanrot, star of local hit School Life as well as the voice of Zunaira in animated Oscar contender The Swallows of Kabul; Portuguese star Joana Ribeiro, currently shooting, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Antoine Fuqua’s new TV series, Infinite; and German actor Jonas Dassler, whose transformative performance as serial killer Fritz Honka in Fatih ...