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The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has unveiled two new exhibitions exploring how science has impacted technology, aesthetics and storytelling in cinema Oct. 6.

“Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema,” investigates the role of color in film while “Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema” will examine the global impact of the science fiction subgenre cyberpunk on cinema culture.

Senior Exhibitions Curator Jessica Niebel curated “Color in Motion” with the help of assistant curator Sophia Serrano, curatorial assistant Manouchka Kelly Labouba and research assistant Alexandra James Salichs.

Niebel explained knowledge about the history of color in film is lacking and propelled her team to craft an exhibit that would engage and educate audiences about the area. She highlighted the power of film colors as a storytelling device to create meaning and tone throughout a narrative.

“With every new color technology, there were new ways of cinematic expression,” Niebel said. “When cinema was invented,...

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is launching two marquee exhibitions for Fall 2024.

AMPAS’ Los Angeles Museum will host both the “Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema” and “Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema” to celebrate the aesthetics of famed features.

“Color in Motion” includes technologies from Technicolor and Eastman Color, and displays objects such as the iconic ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), as designed by Gilbert Adrian; the eponymous ballet slippers from “The Red Shoes” (1948) designed by Hein Heckroth; Kim Novak’s green dress from “Vertigo” (1958), designed by Edith Head; a Wonka chocolate bar from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971); and a blue ensemble worn by Jaime Foxx as Django in “Django Unchained” (2012).

“Color in Motion” spans 130 years, from 1894 to 2024, and is organized into six main themes: Choreographing Color, Technologies and Spectacles, Monochrome Film Installation, Color as Character, Experimentation, and Color Arcade. A recreation of...

For those of us who religiously watch “Sex and the City” on whatever platform it is currently streaming on (hi), April 1 is an exciting day. That’s the day the popular HBO series starring Sarah Jessica Parker is coming to Netflix — for the very first time. And TBS reruns this is not: This is the full, unedited, groundbreaking show, now just waiting for viewers new and old to do a Netflix binge. (Paging Gen Z!)

Of course, there are plenty of other exciting TV shows and movies hitting Netflix in April 2024. Movie thrills include Jessica Chastain-starring “Molly’s Game” making its way back to the streamer, as well as perennial rom-com fave “You’ve Got Mail.” On the TV side, there’s new series “Dead Boy Detectives,” from showrunner Steve Yockey, and from the same universe as “The Sandman,” based on the beloved comic series from Neil Gaiman.

Top Pick for...

Netflix’s upcoming arctic comedy finally has a name and has rounded out cast, as it goes into production in snowy Nunavut, Canada.

Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s North of North began production today. The comedy follows a young Inuk mother (Anna Lambe) who wants to build a new future for herself, but finds it won’t be easy in her small Arctic town where everyone knows her business.

Joining Anna Lambe and Keira Cooper in the cast are Mary Lynn Rajskub, Maika Harper, Braeden Clarke, Jay Ryan, Kelly William, Zorga Qaunaq and Doreen Simmonds (True Detective: Night Country).

Lambe and Cooper were cast in mother-daughter roles in December, as we reported at the time.

Rajskub...

Dark Winds and Blood Quantum actor Kiowa Gordon and Sera-Lys McArthur (Café Daughter, Outlander) have joined the cast of Many Wounds, a contemporary re-imagining of Lee Tamahori’s ground-breaking 1994 Maori film Once Were Warriors, set among indigenous communities in Canada.

Skye Pelletier (Prey) stars in Many Wounds as Mashka, a young teenager on the cusp of being swallowed up by a colonial system meant to further the goals of assimilation who becomes a warrior to protect his family.

Ojibway filmmaker Jeremy Torrie, who wrote and is directing Many Wounds, and producing the film together with Métis producer Tanya Brunel, said he drew on his own personal, painful experiences growing up indigenous in Winnipeg for the script.

“Our intention with this film is to reveal some uncomfortable truths about the effects of generations of forced assimilation and genocide by the Canadian government toward our peoples for a society largely unaware of how deep the wounds go,...

Neon Intl. has added to its growing EFM slate with Jason Buxton’s “Sharp Corner,” starring Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders. The company, launched last year as the sales arm of Neon, will launch the project in Berlin.

The under-the-radar feature, now in post-production, is based on the short story from Russell Wangersky’s Giller Prize-shortlisted collection “Whirl Away,” and marks Buxton’s follow up to his debut film, 2012’s ”Blackbird,” which won the best first feature in Toronto and picked up the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Écrans Juniors.

“Sharp Corner” follows a dedicated family man who becomes obsessed with saving the lives of the car accident victims on the sharp corner in front of his house — an obsession that could cost him everything.

The film, a Canadian-Irish co-production, is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, Screen Nova Scotia, Ontario Creates and in association with Bell Media/Crave.

Indigenous American filmmakers have created a diverse range of movies that highlight their culture, history, and personal experiences while also providing engaging stories that anyone can connect with. Many Indigenous films are not high-profile projects or big-budget blockbusters, but they still deserve to be seen and connected with by a wider audience. These films cover a variety of genres, from character studies to sci-fi and horror, providing something for everyone to enjoy and appreciate.

While most people associate Hollywood with North American movies, there are a number of Indigenous creators, artists, and filmmakers who have produced complex, narrative-rich movies. Ranging from small indie character dramas to entertaining genre flicks, Indigenous American directors, writers, and actors have all produced great works of art that manage to highlight their culture, history, and personal experiences while also creating overall engaging stories that anyone can follow and connect with. Whether it be a small...

Two-day event runs September 10-11 in association with TIFF.

New Zealand producers Emma Slade and Victoria Dabbs of Firefly Films and Canadian partner Michelle Morris of Lily Pictures are among 40 producer teams set to participate in Ontario Creates’ 2023 International Financing Forum (Iff) running September 10-11 in Toronto.

The two-day feature film co-financing and co-production market, in association with TIFF and now in its 18th year, is a hybrid event. There will be in-person one-on-one producer and executive meetings, an industry panel discussion with Ontario and international producers, networking opportunities, and online international meetings.

Selected producers will get the chance to...

The Toronto Film Festival has unveiled 42 short films to feature as part of its Short Cuts program in September, led by the Riz Ahmed-starrer Dammi and Redlights, toplined by Kaniehtiio Horn and Ellyn Jade.

Ahmed, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Sound of Metal and last year earned a Oscar for the live-action short The Long Goodbye, toplines Dammi, a short directed by French auteur Yann Mounir Demange and set to world premiere in Locarno before landing in Toronto. The film also stars Isabelle Adjani, Souheila Yacoub, Sandor Funtek and Suzy Bemba and is produced by Ami, the French fashion brand, which teased a trailer for the film in Cannes.

Demange has TV series credits that include Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Dead Set, and movie credits like ’71 and White Boy Rick. Renee Zhan, who earned the Jury Award for best animated...

In late June, it was announced that Reservation Dogs‘ third season would be its last.

“That’s a difficult line to write and a more difficult decision to make,” co-creator Sterlin Harjo said in an Instagram post announcing the show’s final season ahead of its Aug. 2 premiere. “Almost all television and film depictions about Native people are mostly inaccurate. And most of them have been untruthful.”

Co-created by Harjo and Taika Waititi and debuting in August 2021, the writer would go on to celebrate the “gift” of his series, which helped foment one of the first, major TV network pushes of modern Native and Indigenous storytelling. Reservation Dogs has offered a “different perspective of Indigenous people and our culture,” he wrote. “Most important of all, it has been a dream to collaborate and make a show that is entirely written by, directed by and stars Native people.”

The decision was...

June is National Indigenous History Month, and there’s no better time to enjoy some Indigenous-made entertainment.

Check out these recommendations of some of the top movies from a new generation of Indigenous filmmakers and actors who tell their own stories — their way.

Read More: Et Canada Honours National Day Of Truth And Reconciliation With ‘Indigenous Artists & Icons’

“Atanarjuat the Fast Runner”

Directed by by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, this 2001 drama was the first feature film in history to be written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language.

According to Kunuk, this screen adaptation of an ancient Inuit legend “demystifies the exotic, otherwordly aboriginal stereotype by telling a universal story.”

“Before Tomorrow”

Adapted from a Danish novel, this 2008 feature from directors Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu is the first feature film to be made by Arnait Video Productions, a women’s Inuit film collective.

Set in a small Inuit...

To celebrate its century-long run as one of Hollywood's biggest movie studios, Warner Bros. is releasing 20-minute-long remakes of six of its most classic films. The company, which is now called Warner Bros. Discovery after a merger with Discovery, Inc., plans on developing the short film series through its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team and stated that the series will reimagine these stories through "representative casting, storytelling, and narrative."

The six films on the slate are the recently remade "A Star is Born," the swashbuckling "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the Western "Calamity Jane," the Abbott and Costello comedy "Jack and the Beanstalk," the much-adapted "The Prince and the Pauper," and the James Dean drama "Rebel Without a Cause." Production is slated to begin this summer, with Ali Afshar ("American Wrestler: The Wizard" and a whole slew of Christmas-related material) serving as consulting producer. "We can't think of a better...

Exclusive: Red, White & Brass is the debut feature from director Damon Fepulea’i and we’ve got the first trailer for the Taika Waititi-exec produced inspiring underdog tale. Check it out above.

Based on a true story, the film follows a community of passionate Tongans led by Maka, a superfan who will do whatever it takes to get tickets to the Tonga vs France 2011 Rugby World Cup game – even if that means promising to deliver a brass band for the pre-match entertainment. The only problem is, the band doesn’t exist and Maka has four weeks to create one.

The cast includes John-Paul Foliaki (Popstars), Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Panthers), Ilaisaane Green (Brutal Lives), Onetoto Ikavuka, Mikey Falesiu (Toke), Lupeti Finau, Lotima Pome’e (Under the Vines) and Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson (Savage).

Fepulea’i co-wrote the script with co-producer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau. The film hails from the producers behind such New Zealand-produced features as The Breaker Upperers,...

By Jennie Punter

From icons and industry veterans to emerging directors and new faces, the stories and creative power of Indigenous women are featured at the 2022 Toronto festival.

Buffy Sainte-Marie alighted opening night Sept. 8 to launch Toronto’s streetfest, just an hour before the premiere of Madison Thomas’ “Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On,” The doc explores the artistry and activism of the Cree singer-songwriter — the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar (for song “Up Where We Belong” from “An Officer and a Gentleman” in 1983).

Buoyed by the ascendant advocacy and investment of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office (Iso) and the longstanding grassroot networks across the arts, this year’s slate further broadens the festival’s evolving programming ethos with narrative films that reflect the histories, dreams, and day-to-day realities of Indigenous women filmmakers and their communities.

For the “Bones of Crows,” esteemed multihyphenate Marie Clements held close the stories...

Co-financing, co-production forum takes place September 11-12.

New projects involving the producer of The Babadook, Game Of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and Lemon Tree filmmaker Eran Riklis will be front and centre when the first in-person Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (Iff) in three years kicks off at TIFF next month.

Now in its 17th year, the two-day co-financing and co-production market takes place from September 11-12 in association with TIFF and features 42 feature film producer teams – 20 from Canada and 22 from as far afield as Australia, India, Norway, Scotland and the US.

The producers will participate in one-on-one producer...

Co-financing, co-production forum takes place September 11-12.

New projects involving the producer of The Babadook, Game Of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and Lemon Tree filmmaker Eran Riklis will be front and centre when the first in-person Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (Iff) in three years kicks off at TIFF next month.

Now in its 17th year, the two-day co-financing and co-production market takes place from September 11-12 in association with TIFF and features 42 feature film producer teams – 20 from Canada and 22 from as far afield as Australia, India, Norway, Scotland and the US.

The producers will participate in one-on-one producer...

Dan Trachtenberg's "Prey" is not only the best-reviewed "Predator" film on Rotten Tomatoes, but in three days of its release gained more viewer hours than any Hulu television or movie to date. That's an incredible feat for a sci-fi thriller and proof that horror fans are craving more Indigenous-made films. Producer Jhane Myers, a member of the Comanche and Blackfeet Nations, anchors the film's setting, characters, and perspective to craft the first-ever fully Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche language) dubbed film.

In "Prey," the young hunter Naru (Amber Midthunder) embarks on Kuhtaamia, a hero's rite of passage, when a Predator lands on Earth lands on Earth for the first time to hunt. Of course, a bloody battle of brawn and wits ensues. When asked about how she approached bringing a film set 300 years ago on Comanche land to life, Myers told Bloody Disgusting, "I was excited because it dealt with my culture.

The Toronto International Film Festival Primetime program is set to spotlight seven compelling and thought-provoking television series from around the world — including five world premieres. In addition to series premieres, TIFF will present season premieres of established and beloved shows.

Returning to the Glenn Gould Theatre, TIFF’s Industry Conference lineup also announced today will engage and inspire industry delegates from all over the world with a highly curated slate of sessions and inspiring speakers. This year’s festival runs September 8 through 16.

Heading up the series lineup is, among others, Lars von Trier with the return of his twisted dark comedy series “The Kingdom,” revolving around a supernatural hospital. Alexander Skarsgård joins the cast of the series this time.

“TIFF recognizes serialized storytelling as one of the most groundbreaking creative mediums today,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Growing increasingly risk-taking, it continues to attract top writers and directors globally.

April is here and that means there’s a whole slew of new releases headed to Hulu to meet your streaming needs.

In the realm of original films, Hulu has the queer rom-com “Crush,” starring Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho, which debuts April 29. Meanwhile, new library arrivals this month include the Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi mind-bender “Looper,” both “Shrek” and “Shrek 2,” and all four films in “The Twilight Saga.”

April is also a big month for new TV shows on Hulu. Andrew Garfield’s hot streak continues with the FX drama “Under the Banner of Heaven,” which debuts exclusively on Hulu April 28. For reality TV fans, “The Kardashians” premieres on April 14. Hulu also has two franchise spinoff kids shows returning with Season 7 of “Madagascar: A Little Wild” on April 4 and Season 2 of “The Croods: Family Tree” on April 5.

These are but a few highlights in a rather...

Though the confusingly named initiative “FX on Hulu” is on its way out, FX is still bringing premium television to Hulu in the meantime.

Hulu’s list of new releases for April 2022 is highlighted by FX limited series Under the Banner of Heaven. This adaptation of the non-fiction book by John Krakauer stars Andrew Garfield as a Mormon police detective whose faith is shaken when investigating a murder involving the church.

It’s not all just FX on the TV side of things for Hulu this month, however. The streamer is debuting second seasons of its series The Hardy Boys (April 6) and Woke (April 8). There isn’t much to report from Hulu’s original movies arm aside from true crime documentary Captive Audience on April 21. But that doc about one family’s 50-year journey for justice sounds like a must-watch.

April 1 sees the usual arrival of library film titles. Looper,...

by Nathaniel R

Nominations have been announced for the annual Canadian Screen Awards.

Best Motion Picture  

Drunken Birds (6 nominations) - a Mexican man tries to find a lost love in Montréal Night Of The Kings (2 nominations) - In the Ivory Coast's most dangerous prison, a new convict tries to survive the night by entertaining the prisoners with a story. [Streaming on Hulu] Night Raiders  (11 nominations) - a mom joins a vigilante group to rescue her daughter [Available to rent online] Scarborough (11 nominations) - three poor children become friends Wildhood  (6 nominations) - a two-spirit teen runs away from home in this LGBTQ coming of age film.

Full list of nominees and a few comments after the jump...

The inaugural season of CBC and HBO Max series “Sort Of” leads both the television and overall 2022 Canadian Screen Award nominations with 13 nods. CBC’s “Pretty Hard Cases” and CTV Sci-Fi Channel’s “Wynonna Earp” with 11 each, and CBC’s “Coroner” and “Kim’s Convenience” with 10 each are the other leading television nominees.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television revealed on Tuesday 145 nominations across television, film and digital media categories. In film, Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson’s “Scarborough” and Danis Goulet’s “Night Raiders” top the nominations with 11 each, while Michael McGowan’s “All My Puny Sorrows” has eight and Bretten Hannam’s “Wildhood” and Ivan Grbovic’s “Drunken Birds” six each.

“21 Black Futures” and “For the Record” lead the digital media nominations with eight each, followed by “The Communist’s Daughter” with six.

Beth Janson, CEO, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, said: “We are so fortunate to...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment’s family film Dakota, starring Abbie Cornish, Lola Sultan (Netflix’s Yes Day), William Baldwin (Backdraft), Patrick Muldoon (The Comeback Trail) and Tim Rozon (Surreal Estate), for release in limited theaters beginning April 1, with a platformed theatrical rollout to follow.

In the action-adventure pic, recently widowed single mom Kate Sanders (Cornish) lives on her family’s farm in Georgia with her daughter Alex (Sultan). Life on the farm is a challenge and things only get more complicated when the combat dog Dakota, delivered by Sergeant Cj Malcolm (Rozon), arrives on their doorstep. Cj is fulling a promise made to Kate’s late husband, his friend and fellow Afghanistan veteran Marine Clay Sanders, to bring Dakota home to them, upon his death.

Kate spends her time between the farm and running the volunteer fire department,...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Plaza Catedral, the Oscar-shortlisted film from writer-director Abner Benaim, which looks to represent Panama at the 94th Academy Awards, in the category of Best International Feature. The company’s release plan has not yet been disclosed.

The drama centers on Alicia (Ilse Salas), a woman who had a perfect life before her 6-year-old son died in a tragic accident. Plagued by grief, she becomes estranged from society – until one night a street-smart 13-year-old boy named Chief (Fernando Xavier de Casta) arrives at her door bleeding from a gunshot wound, and begs her to let him inside.

Plaza Catedral made its world premiere at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, where it won the awards for both Best Actress and Best Actor. The film then went on to win the Audience Award for Best Film at the International Film Festival of Panama. Benaim produced it with...

If my shortlist for this piece is any indication, Hollywood adjusted to Covid just fine. I’ve put aside an average of 60-70 posters every year since I’ve been doing Posterized until barely hitting 40 in 2020. It wasn’t a dearth of quality work, but the fact that there were so many fewer releases to choose from. And since I base these columns on current-year US runs rather than when one-sheets start making their rounds, my pool of candidates was greatly reduced.

So either 2021 work was off-the-charts or the hybrid theatrical-streaming schedule found itself whole once again, because I was back to around 65. It helps too when you get new players on the scene, alt-posters too good to dismiss, and social-media controversy courtesy the collision of nudity and art that put more international designs into our American consciousness.

There are a couple below where the domestic marketing team decided to...

Danis Goulet’s cautionary tale of an Indigenous mother’s rescue mission with overtones of the residential school scandal is thinly characterised

Centring on a dystopian North America where Indigenous children are abducted and placed in state-run institutions to be brainwashed – a detail that recalls the shameful history of Canadian residential schools – this is a cautionary tale from Cree-Métis director Danis Goulet that has the commendable aim of reclaiming sci-fi tropes that recklessly appropriate the trauma of minority groups. But despite these lofty intentions and a wealth of Native American talent, the film follows a highly predictable path where the plight of Indigenous communities never amounts to anything more than simplified metaphors.

Night Raiders follows the arduous journey of Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), a Cree woman regretting her decision to give up her injured daughter Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart) to the authoritarian state. The film zigzags between lush forests and sterile cityscapes...

Writer/director Danis Goulet had been working as a filmmaker, primarily making dramas, for years before her 2013 short film Wakening opened the door to the genre space. She saw the opportunity to tell important stories in a digestible, entertaining way and when it came time to create her feature film debut, she knew the way to tell her story was through genre filmmaking.

Night Raiders is the fruits of her labour. A project years in the making that has been influenced by both history and current events, the film unfolds in a near future ravaged by war and other disasters that have left much of the population decimated. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers stars as Niska, a mother surviving in the wilderness who soon finds herself working with a group of rebels to break h...

2043 - in a dystopian future a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are considered property of the regime which trains them to fight. A desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a State children’s academy and get her daughter back. A parable about the situation of the First Nations, Night Raiders is a female-driven sci-fi drama about resilience, courage and love. Samuel Goldwyn Films is releasing Danis Goulet's sci-fi thriller Night Raiders in theaters, on Digital and On Demand on November 12th. We have three (3) iTunes codes to give away to our readers in the U.S. Our own Shelagh caught Night Raiders when it had its world premiere at TIFF recently. Goulet...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films will co-produce and provide domestic distribution for Stars Fell Again—the sequel to V.W. Scheich’s rom-com Stars Fell on Alabama, starring James Maslow and Ciara Hanna, which it also released.

The sequel picks up one year after successful Hollywood agent Bryce Dixon (Maslow), and his client-turned-girlfriend Madison Belle (Hanna) started dating. Despite busy schedules, the couple has managed to make their relationship work. Bryce has even bought an engagement ring and is ready to propose to Madison while they visit her family in rural Oregon for Christmas. However, the spontaneous engagement and wedding of Madison’s sister Harper to her new boyfriend Noah throw Bryce’s perfect proposal plans into a tailspin. Can Bryce and Madison – with the help of their friends David (Johnnie Mack), Sarah (Cecilia Kim) and Larry – save Harper’s wedding and survive their own romantic hurdles?

The film directed by Scheich,...

Hiring

Netflix has appointed Tara Woodbury as the company’s first content executive in Canada. Working from the company’s Toronto offices, the “Transplant” executive producer is charged with commissioning and developing English- and French-language scripted content for the streamer. Her remit also includes establishing and growing relationships with creative talent from across the country.

Most recently, Woodbury was VP of development at Sphere Media, working on projects such as “Transplant” for CTV and the post-apocalyptic feature “Night Raiders” from director Danis Goulet, who won the Emerging Talent Award at the Toronto International Film Festival for her work on the film.

Theatrical

“The Banker” from Apple TV Plus will hit Chinese screens on Oct. 26. Directed and co-written by George Nolfi, the film tells the story of how wealthy club owner Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) and real estate investor Bernard S. Garrett Sr. (Anthony Mackie) became two of the first African-American bankers in the U.

FilmBookCast Ep. 159 FilmBookCast is the official podcast of FilmBook. FilmBookCast is an entertainment news podcast on the latest movie and television show news. Each week, FilmBook contributor Chris Banks discusses that breaking Hollywood news. In FilmBookCast Ep. 159, Chris looks at movie previews including: Night Raiders, from Disney and Pixar comes Lightyear a Buzz Lightyear origin story, and Heart of Champions starring Michael Shannon. [...]

Continue reading: FilmBookCast Ep. 159 – Dune Review, The Witcher: Season 2 Trailer, Walker Shocker, & More...

Written and directed by Danis Goulet, Night Raiders is set in a dystopian North America in 2044 as we follow a mother who joins an underground band of vigilantes to try and rescue her daughter from a state-run institution. A selection at Berlinale and TIFF this year, the Taika Waititi-produced sci-fi film (which draws from real-life history featuring the Canadian Indian residential school system) will now get a release next month and the new trailer has arrived.

Jared Mobarak said in his TIFF review, “Goulet crafts a mythology to go along with the science fiction born from actual laws passed by her country’s legislature. In it lies a prophecy. A nearby Cree community led by Ida (Gail Maurice) believe a stranger from the north will come to their hidden camp and be their guardian, leading them to salvation in the fabled settlement of Bigstone far up in the Northwest Territories.

Dystopia hits an unsettling stride when it edges too close to our reality. And given rapidly advancing, creepier everyday technology, plus the post-apocalyptic vibe of the past few years, this is getting a lot easier to do. This is where films like the upcoming sci-fi "Night Raiders" come in, powerful and ready to hit a nerve. Child soldiers, stolen land, and an ongoing struggle as resistance movements form against the government? The film may take place in the fictional, distant future but this story is obviously rooted in reality.

You can watch the trailer for "Night Raiders" below.

"Night...

The post Night Raiders Trailer: The Debut Feature Executive Produced by Taika Waititi Offers a Vital Story appeared first on /Film.

Saint Maud: "Experience the terrifying film that Esquire calls “a mesmerizing horror masterpiece” when Saint Maud arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD November 30 from Lionsgate. Saint Maud stars Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle. Saint Maud will be available on Blu-ray™ + Digital and DVD for the suggested retail price of $17.99 and $14.98, respectively.

Official Synopsis

The debut film from writer-director Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul — but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.

Blu-ray / DVD Special Features

Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Rose Glass A Higher Calling: The Rapture of Saint Maud"

----------

Lair: "Synopsis: When Ben Dollarhdye is accused of murder, saying he was possessed by a demonic force, Steven Caramore investigates his friend's claims,...

Event ran September 12-13 concurrent Toronto International Film Festival.

The virtual 2021 Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) that took place this month brought together feature producers on projects at various stages of development with industry executives and hosted more than 550 meetings.

Iff, which took place from September 12-13 concurrent with Toronto International Film Festival, invited 42 industry executives from the likes of Netflix, Neon, Voltage Pictures, The Match Factory and Protagonist Pictures. Charlotte Mickie, vice-president of Celluloid Dreams, said: “Iff is awesome. The offering is diverse and rich, and the conversations with the producers are so stimulating and provocative, in a good way.

Winner of both the Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award and the Rogers Audience Award at this year’s Hot Docs, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is the latest documentary from multifaceted artist Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. A writer, director, producer and actor – she currently stars in Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders, which just debuted at TIFF – Tailfeathers is also a member of the Kainai First Nation in Alberta. It’s a community that continues to be ravaged by […]

The post “The Terms ‘Diversity’ and ‘Inclusion’ Inherently Center Power and Privilege….”: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers on Her Camden International Film Festival-Debuting Doc Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

In Danis Goulet's debut dystopian thriller, The Night Raiders, a mother joins an underground band of vigilantes to try and rescue her daughter from a state-run institution.

The year is 2043. A military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. Children are property of the State. A desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes to infiltrate a State children’s academy and get her daughter back. Night Raiders is a female-driven dystopian drama about resilience, courage and love.

Check out the trailer below:...

The world premiere of Danis Goulet’s first feature, “Night Raiders,” in Berlin generated positive reviews and led to a U.S. sale to Samuel Goldwyn. But to the Toronto-based, Cree-Métis filmmaker it all felt a little abstract.

“I haven’t seen an audience reaction, so Toronto feels like the premiere,” she told Variety during a break from directing the Netflix thriller “Ivy,” which shot around Toronto this summer.

“Bringing ‘Raiders’ home is important because it talks about what’s happened here, in Canada, on this land,” added Goulet, referring to Canada’s residential school system — which operated from the 1870s to the 1990s and tore 150,000 Indigenous children from their families and cultures — and the discoveries this spring of unmarked graves of children at the sites of former schools.

Set in 2043 in a divided post-civil-war North America, “Raiders” follows a Cree woman (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) who returns from the forest to...

German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller coined the poetic confession “First they came…” in 1946. The post-wwii piece spoke about how groups like the Nazis would always find new targets to oppress once their recent victims were erased. First it was the socialists. Then trade unionists and Jews. The sigh of relief breathed by those not yet included under those labels is thus only ever brief. Unless you don the swastika to partake in the purges, they’ll eventually find a label to justify wiping you from existence too. The Holocaust taught a lot about the evils of man, yet it was our own ignorance that refused to see it earlier. It’s probably no coincidence that Canadian Indian residential schools closed the following year.

Cree-Métis writer-director Danis Goulet wondered how North America would look if the opposite proved true. What if that institution not only continued to thrive and indoctrinate indigenous...

Benedict Cumberbatch is enjoying a rigorous fall festival workout. The British actor started at Venice with the world premiere of western “The Power of the Dog,” in which he’s earning raves as a volatile cattle rancher in Montana, followed by a tribute to its writer/director Jane Campion at Telluride, and now he’s getting his own Tribute Actor Award at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-18).

Every year, the festival anoints a chosen few award winners who tend to go on to win Oscars, including Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”), Roger Deakins (“Blade Runner 2049”), and director Chloé Zhao, whose “Nomadland,” like “Jojo Rabbit” and “Green Book,” went on to win the coveted People’s Choice award, often an Oscar Best Picture bellwether.

Also accepting a Tribute Actor Award is Jessica Chastain, who also went to Venice, and then flew...

Benedict Cumberbatch is enjoying a rigorous fall festival workout. The British actor started at Venice with the world premiere of western “The Power of the Dog,” in which he’s earning raves as a volatile cattle rancher in Montana, followed by a tribute to its writer/director Jane Campion at Telluride, and now he’s getting his own Tribute Actor Award at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-18).

Every year, the festival anoints a chosen few award winners who tend to go on to win Oscars, including Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”), Roger Deakins (“Blade Runner 2049”), and director Chloé Zhao, whose “Nomadland,” like “Jojo Rabbit” and “Green Book,” went on to win the coveted People’s Choice award, often an Oscar Best Picture bellwether.

Also accepting a Tribute Actor Award is Jessica Chastain, who also went to Venice, and then flew...

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

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

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

TIFF Ebert Director Award

Denis Villeneuve

Filmmaker

When French-Canadian filmmaker Villeneuve made his breakthrough — 2010’s film, “Incendies,” which was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar — the world took notice.

“‘Incendies’ was the first film where I was finally able to make cinema the way I had always dreamt of,” he says, “That is when I was truly born as a filmmaker.”

His latest, “Dune,” bowed in Venice and screens at the Toronto festival. It his theaters Oct. 22.

Villeneuve earned a reputation for his keen attention to detail and unique approach towards cinematography, which often relies on a thematic color palette, intentional use of light and a voyeuristic style, owed largely to his collaborations with the legendary Dp Roger Deakins. “Working with Roger on three movies has been the most intense and profound film school ever.

“How blessed I was to have the privilege to work with so many great artists in front and behind the camera.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced that Dionne Warwick and Danis Goulet will be honored at the TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 18.

Warwick, the famed singer of “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Walk on By,” will receive the Special Tribute Award. She is the subject of “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over,” a new documentary by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner that will premiere at TIFF in the TIFF Docs section.

Goulet, who directed “Night Raiders,” a Taika Waititi-backed science fiction film about a Cree woman resisting a military government, will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by L’Oréal Paris and supported by MGM. “Night Raiders” will have its North American premiere at the festival, screening as a gala presentation.

“We are excited to be announcing a music industry icon, alongside an exceptional emerging talent,” said Joana Vicente, executive director and co-head of TIFF. “A legend in her own right,...

Updated August 11 With New Additions Below.

This year’s Toronto International Film Festival has an opener: Stephen Chbosky’s feature-film adaptation of the Tony Award–winning musical “Dear Evan Hansen” will serve as the Opening Night Gala Presentation at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival and will screen Thursday September 9 at Roy Thomson Hall. Starring Tony winner Ben Platt as Evan, along with Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, and Nik Dodani, “Dear Evan Hansen” features songs from the original Broadway sensation.

The festival has also announced its closer, Zhang Yimou’s “One Second,” billed as “a love letter to movies and a reminder of how they can unite people, regardless of our differences,” along with a robust series of additions to both the Galas and Special Presentations slates, joining a list of already-announced titles. Standout films include the world premiere of Michael Showalter’s Jessica Chastain-...

BenedictionThe lineup has been unveiled for the 2021 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place over 10 days (September 9-18) both in-person and physically in Toronto, and digitally across Canada. Wavelengths - FEATURESFutura (Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher)The Girl and the Spider (Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher)Neptune Frost (Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman)A Night of Knowing Nothing (Payal Kapadia)Ste. Anne (Rhayne Vermette)The Tsugua Diaries (Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes)Wavelengths - SHORTSThe Capacity for Adequate Anger (Vika Kirchenbauer)Dear Chantal (Querida Chantal) (Nicolás Pereda)earthearthearth (Daïchi Saïto)Inner Outer Space (Laida Lertxundi)Polycephaly in D (Michael Robinson)“The red filter is withdrawn.” (Minjung Kim)Train Again (Peter Tscherkassky)Midnight Madness After Blue (Dirty Paradise) (Bertrand Mandico)Dashcam (Rob Savage)Saloum (Jean Luc Herbulot)Titane (Julia Ducournau)You Are Not My Mother (Kate Dolan)Zalava (Arsalan Amiri)TIFF DOCSAttica (Stanley Nelson)Beba (Rebeca Huntt)Becoming Cousteau...

With the Greater Sydney lockdown due to extend until at least the end of the month, Sydney Film Festival, intended to run August 18-29, will now move to new dates in early November.

This is the second date change for the festival so far this year; typically, Sff is held in June. It pushed its dates to August to following the shifts of major festivals like Cannes and Berlin.

In 2020, the festival was initially cancelled outright, before organisers pivoted to a smaller, online-only line-up of 33 films.

However, this year, while various models were considered through the Covid outbreak, moving entirely online was not an option, nor was a hybrid festival.

Sff CEO Leigh Small tells If that in rescheduling to November, the most important consideration was that the festival be able to go ahead in person, noting that audiences want to get back into cinemas, and industry is financially reliant on an in-cinema model.

Festival will open with Stephen Chbosky’s ‘Dear Evan Hansen’.

The world premiere of Stephen Chbosky’s musical adaptation Dear Evan Hansen will open 2021 Toronto International film Festival, which runs from September 9-18.

Playing as a Gala Presentation, the film is one of 20 additions to the programme, alongside the North American premiere of Zhang Yimou’s One Second as the closing night film. Shortly after the line-up announcement, Neon said it had acquired the film for North America.

Other newly-announced Gala Presentation world premieres include Walt Becker’s Clifford The Big Red Dog; and Barry Levinson’s The Survivor starring Ben Foster.

Festival will open with Stephen Chbosky’s ‘Dear Evan Hansen’.

The world premiere of Stephen Chbosky’s musical adaptation Dear Evan Hansen will open 2021 Toronto International film Festival, which runs from September 9-18.

Playing as a Gala Presentation, the film is one of 20 additions to the programme, alongside the North American premiere of Zhang Yimou’s One Second as the closing night film. Shortly after the line-up announcement, Neon said it had acquired the film for North America.

Other newly-announced Gala Presentation world premieres include Walt Becker’s Clifford The Big Red Dog; and Barry Levinson’s The Survivor starring Ben Foster.

“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Clifford The Big Red Dog” and “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” are just some of the movies that will make their premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall as part of its lineup of gala presentations.

Universal’s “Dear Evan Hansen” starring Ben Platt will be the festival’s opening night film, and Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” will be the closing night film.

“There was no question that ‘Dear Evan Hansen was the ideal film to launch the Festival this year,” Cameron Bailey, artistic director and co-head of TIFF, said in a statement. “This film is ultimately about healing, forgiveness, and reaffirms how connected and essential we all are to one another. We couldn’t think of a more important idea to celebrate this year as we come together once again to share the power and joy of cinema in theatres together.”

Other films...