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The ark that Lil Nas X set sail on in the music video for “J Christ” survived the storm. The rapper largely retreated when the era-launching single failed to connect with fans and sparked backlash about his apparent reliance on controversy as a promotional tactic. Now, he’s preparing to bounce back from his comeback with “Light Again,” the first release of a chapter titled “Dreamboy.”

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“When the world needed him the most, he vanished,” the single teaser reads,...

As the major fall film festivals have concluded – and top regional festivals like ones held in Montclair, New Jersey, Middleburg, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia, take turns at center stage – there is no better time to take stock in the awards race. This year’s Oscars field is one of the most wide-open in recent memory, with no clear frontrunner for Best Picture and several worthy films vying for the honor. That means what films and performances were honored during high-profile film festivals in Venice, New York, Toronto, and Telluride, Colorado – either with actual hardware or anecdotal praise and approval – is perhaps more important than ever.

Ahead is a breakdown of the fall festival award winners and honorees and what all this might mean for the race at hand.

Venice Film Festival

“The Room Next Door” (Golden Lion)

Brady Corbet for “The Brutalist” (Silver Lion for best directing)

Nicole Kidman for...

Neon has given life to “Chuck.”

On Thursday, the indie distributor announced it had acquired Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” with plans to debut it in theaters next summer.

The film, which is based on the novella by Stephen King, won this year’s People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival

Variety first reported Neon’s acquisition plans, with Deadline quick to follow.

Welcome home, Chuck.⁰Mike Flanagan’s incredible adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life Of Chuck will be in theaters everywhere next Summer. pic.twitter.com/js87FURO14

— Neon (@neonrated) September 26, 2024

“The Life of Chuck” is told in three parts, with an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, and Mark Hamill. Further plot details were provided by Deadline: “It begins with a world in freefall: the internet has failed, and...

While Stephen King is known as the King of Horror, he has produced masterpieces when he deviated from his usual genre. Examples of such works include The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. Now, King’s sci-fi novella, The Life of Chuck, from his collection If It Bleeds is adapted into a film, that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A still from The Life of Chuck | Credit: Intrepid Pictures

The film, helmed by Mike Flanagan, was awarded the People’s Choice Award at the TIFF. The recognition has great significance for the film as fifteen of the last sixteen winners have been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Life of Chuck will probably follow suit and earn a Best Picture nod at the Oscars.

Stephen King’s Adaptation, The Life Of Chuck, Now Has A Greater Chance At Oscars Tom Hiddleston in the film adaptation...

Gracie Abrams is officially on tour and we have the set list for her The Secret of Us show!

The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter is performing shows across North America through October 10 and then she’s rejoining Taylor Swift on the remaining dates of The Eras Tour.

Gracie will then travel around Europe in 2025!

Head inside to check out the set list…

Keep scrolling to check out the full set list…

**This set list is representative of one of the first nights on the tour and might not be completely accurate for every show.

1. Felt Good About You

2. Risk

3. Blowing Smoke

4. 21

5. I Love You, I’m Sorry

6. Where Do We Go Now?

7. Gave You I Gave You I

8. Mess It Up

9. Full Machine

10. Surprise Song

11. Good Luck Charlie

12. I Knew It, I Know You

13. I Know It Won’t Work

14. Friend

15. Normal Thing

16. Feels Like

17. Let It Happen

18. Tough Love

19. I Miss You,...

Mike Flanagan‘s “The Life of Chuck” just bagged the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Since 2008, 15 of the 16 winners of the Toronto audience award have gone on to reap Best Picture bids at the Oscars. And five of those — “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Green Book,” and “Nomadland” — won the top prize at the Academy Awards. (The exception to the rule: 2011’s “Where Do We Go Now?” from Lebanon.)

That stat certainly buoys the awards hopes of this film that is still without a distribution deal. Flanagan adapted the Stephen King novella about the life of a seemingly ordinary man, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). Jacob Tremblay plays a younger version of the character with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan and Mark Hamill in supporting roles.

While “The Life of Chuck” finished first in the poll of festival goers, two other strong...

Camila Cabello has teamed up with Lil Nas X for “He Knows,” the latest single from her upcoming album.

Built around a sensual, driving beat, “He Knows” features Cabello paying homage to playing the game, as she sings, “He’s wrapped around my pinky finger/ Watching the way I move/ … And he knows it’s true/ When I play with him like that/ That he’s coming right back.”

For his verse, Lil Nas gets sexual, with interlocking layers of his voice delivering lines like “Let it rain on me/ He fucking up my headboard/ So I’m on my knees like dear lord please pray for me.” Today, the single arrived alongside a visualizer that appears to have been filmed while both artists were attending the 2024 Met Gala. Stream the song and watch the video below.

Get Camila Cabello Tickets Here

“He Knows” is the latest single from Cabello’s upcoming fourth studio album,...

Kevin Abstract has released a new single, “Tennessee,” featuring Lil Nas X.

“Tennessee” is the first single from Abstract since his album Blanket, which arrived last year. The single saw its live debut in April during the second weekend of Coachella 2024, when Abstract welcomed Lil Nas X onto the stage as a surprise guest.

Get Kevin Abstract Tickets Here

Now, the studio version of “Tennessee” has arrived in all of its glory, along with a music video celebrating queer romance. Lyrically, the song describes the excitement of a new love affair, with lines like “Never met someone like him/ Getting my reps in in the gym/ Skinny queen, I’m getting slim/ I’m the God of my life like a sim.” Watch the music video below.

Introducing “Tennessee” before its debut at Coachella, Abstract praised Lil Nas X, saying that he’s “very lucky to know him and to...

The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.

They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.

The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).

Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the eight jurors who will be joining jury president Greta Gerwig for the event’s 2024 edition (May 14-25).

They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.

The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.

Lil Nas X just couldn’t keep this new song under wraps for any longer.

On Friday, the musician surprise-released a demo for “Light Again” on SoundCloud. The fun track hears the musician rapping and singing over a house beat. He joked on X that his label might not be happy about releasing it unofficially.

“Ngl might get in trouble for releasing this song without [my] label’s permission but anyway,” Lil Nas wrote on TikTok. He added on X: “Sorry Columbia!”

“I’m way too toned, let me tone down/My dick too big,...

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Megan thee Stallion sets the record straight, Ice Spice delivers a cheeky shot at her competitors, and Lil Nas X drops the antics and gets reflective. Plus, new tracks from Fletcher, Justice, Maluma and more.

Megan Thee Stallion, “Hiss” (YouTube)

Ice Spice, “Think U the Sh*t (Fart)” (YouTube)

Lil Nas X, “Where Do We Go Now?” (YouTube)

Yungblud feat. Lil Yachty, “When We Die (Can We Still Get High?...

It’s been two weeks since Lil Nas X made his Biblical return with “J Christ”; now, the pop star is back with a new single: “Where Do We Go Now?” written for his upcoming documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero.

With a slower tempo and a ballad feel, “Where Do We Go Now?” shows a more emotional side of Lil Nas X, with lyrics describing self-doubt and loss. The refrain asks “So where do we go now?/ We did everything so endlessly/And only to feel undone/ So where are we going?” while on the climatic bridge, Nas sings “I just wanna feel consoled inside/ I just wanna be somebody new inside/ I just wanna be somebody else out there/ I just wanna be somebody.”

Musically, the song speaks to Lil Nas X’s genre-blending approach, featuring elements of pop, hip-hop, and pop-punk, while having just the right...

Lil Nas X has shared an introspective single, “Where Do We Go Now?” The reflective song was written for his HBO Original documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, which premieres Jan. 27 on Max.

The rapper announced the song, co-written by Lil Nas X alongside Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin, earlier this week, teasing its inward-leaning nature by noting on social media, “good news yall im dropping new music to match with your depression.”

Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero follows Lil Nas X as he prepares to embark on his first U.

Cord Jefferson’s film debut “American Fiction” just bagged the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Since 2008, 14 of the 15 winners of the Toronto audience award have gone on to reap Best Picture bids at the Oscars. And five of those — “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Green Book,” and “Nomadland” — won the top prize at the Academy Awards. (The exception to the rule: 2011’s “Where Do We Go Now?” from Lebanon.)

That stat certainly buoys the awards hopes of “American Fiction,” a sassy satire adapted by first-time filmmaker Jefferson from Percival Everett‘s 2001 bestseller “Erasure.” Emmy and Tony winner Jeffrey Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an English literature professor whose lampooning of another Black writer’s success turns into an unexpected success. Orion Pictures releases “American Fiction,” which was financed by MRC, on Nov. 3 via MGM.

While “American Fiction” finished first in the poll of festival goers,...

Anyone who was inside Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, for the world premiere of American Fiction — an Amazon/MGM film that came into the festival with virtually no profile — could feel it: Cord Jefferson’s satire about American racial dynamics was clicking on all levels. Audience members were howling with laughter, choking back tears and completely riveted from start to finish. It was all enough to prompt Amazon/MGM to encourage Jefferson, who had left Toronto after the film’s first screening, to come back to town for subsequent screenings. He did.

And now, nine days after the film’s unveiling, TIFF attendees have chosen it as the winner of the festival’s Audience Award, cementing its status as one of this season’s top-tier Oscar contenders.

As I noted in an analysis that posted yesterday (in which I predicted that American Fiction would take home this...

What will the people choose?

In its final stretch, on Sunday, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce the film chosen by the public for the People’s Choice Award of its 48th edition. After “Poor Things” took home the Golden Lion at Venice, we look to the Canadian awards season staple to boost a film in the hunt for best picture.

The top prize has become one of the most vital predictors of awards season success. In past years, best picture winners such as Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” (2018) and Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” (2020) made a winning stop at TIFF before getting Oscar glory. Other TIFF Audience Award recipients such as “The Fabelmans” (2022), “Belfast” (2021), “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) and “La La Land” (2016) are among the movies that went on to receive noms.

So, which movies are buzzing with support? The movie that wins at TIFF is...

The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off its TIFF Visionaries talks, one-on-one discussions with leading figures in international cinema, with Nadine Labaki, the acclaimed Lebanese director of Caramel, Where Do We Go Now? and Capernaum. The Hollywood Reporter is the media partner of the TIFF Visionaries series.

Born in a small village in Lebanon in 1974, Labaki grew up during the country’s civil war — “which robbed me of my childhood” — where movies were her only escape. “The highlight of my day was the moment we had power so that we could watch a film,” she said, speaking onstage at the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC headquarters in Toronto. “Very early on, I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker, to create stories that can allow me to escape my reality.”

In a wide-ranging talk, Labaki traced her career path, first through directing advertising and music videos — “where I learned...

Toronto — TIFF today unveiled the 10 World Premiere features that comprise the Platform programme for 2023, along with the 2023 Platform jury members: Academy Award–winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, joined by Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki, and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.

Since its introduction in 2015, Platform has celebrated and showcased films with unique directorial perspectives. The 10 films in the 2023 programme are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 Cad given to the best film in the programme, selected by an in-person international jury.

“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki, and Anthony Shim as jury members for the Platform programme at TIFF,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Together, they represent the bold and independent spirit of the Platform Prize.”

Platform is TIFF’s competitive programme that champions bold directorial visions. The...

“Dream Scenario,” a bizarre comedy starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, will be one of 10 films competing in the Platform program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.

The films will be competing for the Platform Prize, a $20,000 Cad award that will be given to the film chosen as the section’s best by a jury consisting of directors Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim (who won the Platform Prize last year for “Riceboy Sleeps”).

In a statement released by TIFF, programming director and Platform lead Robyn Citizen singled out “Dream Scenario,” which will serve as the section’s opening-night film, and said, “This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially ‘going viral’ — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work.” She went on to say,...

Dreams and reality blur together for Gracie Abrams on her latest single, “Amelie,” the second preview of her upcoming debut album Good Riddance. The soft acoustic ballad recalls a brief but impactful interaction with a girl who is now a figure in her distant past and who she can’t quite recall if she ever knew at all.

“I met a girl once/She sorta ripped me open/She doesn’t even know it/She doesn’t know my name,” Abrams sings. “We sat on the sofa/She asked me...

I do not know if there has been a greater case of Fomo I have experienced in recent memory than seeing the reaction to "The Fabelmans," the semi-autographical tale from arguably the greatest living filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, coming out of the world premiere of this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Our own Chris Evangelista gave the picture a rave review, as have numerous other critics I trust. Now, my anticipation, which was already off the charts, is so high that scientists have not figured out ways to measure it yet.

It seems the regular cinema-loving folk at the festival loved the film as well. According to Variety, "The Fabelmans" has taken home TIFF's People's Choice Award, a much coveted prize, from the festival. The picture edged out Sarah Polley's "Women Talking" and Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," which took second and third place, respectively, for the award.

Steven Spielberg’s film memoir “The Fabelmans” just bagged the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Since 2008, 13 of the 14 winners of the Toronto audience award have gone on to reap Best Picture bids at the Oscars. And five of those — “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Green Book,” and “Nomadland” — won the top prize at the Academy Awards. (The exception to the rule: 2011’s “Where Do We Go Now?” from Lebanon.)

That stat certainly buoys the awards hopes of “The Fabelmans,” which is inspired by the early years of the filmmaker who just turned 75. Newcomer Gabriel Labelle plays Sammy, a version of the young Steven, with Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as his parents, Seth Rogen as a family friend, and Judd Hirsch as a cantankerous uncle.

Spielberg co-wrote the film with Tony Kushner. Other long-time collaborators of his on board include cinematographer Janusz Kaminski,...

The Toronto International Film Festival (aka TIFF) has been around since 1976, and is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, when you consider how many movies premiere there each year, reportedly in the hundreds some years. Toronto is slightly more accessible to journalists from America, Canada and the rest of the world than Venice or Telluride, since Toronto is a major metropolis with plenty of hotels and theaters that can cater to such a vast attendance.

TIFF is famous for its lavish gala premieres that bring the stars out in their finest red carpet attire. Many studios not only regularly choose to premiere their fall releases at TIFF but will also junket those films there, which means that journalists attend from all over the world for interviews, which is not necessarily true of other September festivals. Studios like Sony, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Focus Features, Searchlight,...

Anne-Dominique Toussaint, a Belgian-born revered yet discreet film producer based in Paris, has uncovered and championed many promising filmmakers through her company Les Films des Tournelles. And the best is yet to come.

Since launching her company 32 years ago, Toussaint, who is known for her spot-on artistic taste and elegant demeanor, has nurtured long-term relationships with talent such as Nadine Labaki (“Caramel”), Riad Sattouf (“The French Kissers”), Louis Garrel (“Les deux amis”) and Philippe Le Guay (“The Cost of Living”). She produced their debuts and kept up with them, giving them the necessary freedom to deliver original movies that found an international audience.

Always on the lookout for stimulating challenges, Toussaint is now getting ready to produce the feature debut of one of France’s best-known actors, Emmanuelle Devos (“Read My Lips”).

Devos’ project “On the Road Again” is an ambitious 1913-set movie headlined by two female protagonists, which will be played by Anais Demoustier,...

Less than two months after Beirut was blasted by one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, director Nadine Labaki has taken to the streets of the Lebanese capital with her camera.

“I don’t know where it’s going to lead, or if it will ever lead anywhere,” says Labaki, whose latest film, the Oscar-nominated “Capernaum,” shed light on Beirut’s preexisting desperation. But as teams of volunteers clear rubble, feed survivors and try to rebuild — and the country’s “corrupt” government, Labaki points out, does the bare minimum — Lebanon’s most prominent filmmaker isn’t staying idle.

The only positive development since Aug. 4, when 2,750 tons of neglected ammonium nitrate detonated in the city’s port, leaving 190 dead, more than 6,500 injured and roughly 300,000 homeless, is that civil society and volunteers, many of whom are young Lebanese, have been working ceaselessly.

The fact that a network of unpaid workers “got...

Victory for Chloé Zhao’s drama starring Frances McDormand means it now looks certain to get a best picture Oscar nomination

Nomadland, the recession-era retirees study starring Frances McDormand, has won the Toronto film festival people’s choice award, adding the influential prize to the Venice Golden Lion it was awarded a week ago.

The Toronto award is much prized in the industry, as it counts a significant number of Oscar best picture awards and nominees among its recent winners, including Green Book (2018), Room (2015) and 12 Years a Slave (2013). Nomadland’s director Chloé Zhao is also the first woman to win the award since 2011, when Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? triumphed. Nomadland would now appear to be a major contender for end-of-year awards, with a best picture Oscar nomination a virtual certainty...

The Toronto International Film Festival’s Grolsch People’s Choice Award is one of the first indicators for a film heading towards the Dolby Theatre during an awards season. On Sunday, “Nomadland” from Chloé Zhao won the TIFF audience award, joining a list of epic pictures that have gone on to Oscar attention.

The Searchlight Pictures film stars Frances McDormand as a woman who sets off on the road to live as a modern-day nomad, and it has received near-universal acclaim. One of the brightest spots of TIFF and Venice, the film has emerged as one of the frontrunners for next year’s Academy Awards, which are still seven months away. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences extended their eligibility calendar to Feb. 28, 2021, and moved the ceremony to April 25, 2021.

This marks Searchlight’s second win in a row following last year’s “Jojo Rabbit,...

Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and the Kuwait National Cinema Company are partnering with Gulf arthouse venue Cinema Akil for the Beirut Disaster Relief Screenings.

Ziad Doueiri’s West Beirut and Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? will screen today at Cinema Akil with repeat screenings this coming weekend, Friday August 14 and Saturday August 15. All proceeds from the ticket sales go to the Lebanese Red Cross relief efforts.

The move comes after last week’s catastrophic explosion in Beirut which left more than 200 dead and thousands wounded. The damage leveled several acres of the capital city, leaving thousands of inhabitants homeless and without access to basic needs and resources. All this in a year where Lebanon’s currency devalued more than 80%, triggering huge protests and unrest.

“Both West Beirut and Where Do We Go Now are reflections of a Lebanese society that through unity, work to...

Films by Oscar-nominated Lebanese directors Nadine Labaki and Ziad Doueiri are to be screened in the Middle East to raise money for the Red Cross following the devastating explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4. 

The Beirut Relief Screenings is an initiative by Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and its partner the Kuwait National Cinema Company together with the UAE arthouse cinema Cinema Akil, where the screenings will take place. 

West Beirut, Doueiri's 1998 feature debut set in 1975 during Lebanon's devastating civil war, will be shown alongside Where Do We Go Now?, Labaki's 2011 ...

Films by Oscar-nominated Lebanese directors Nadine Labaki and Ziad Doueiri are to be screened in the Middle East to raise money for the Red Cross following the devastating explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4. 

The Beirut Relief Screenings is an initiative by Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment and its partner the Kuwait National Cinema Company together with the UAE arthouse cinema Cinema Akil, where the screenings will take place. 

West Beirut, Doueiri's 1998 feature debut set in 1975 during Lebanon's devastating civil war, will be shown alongside Where Do We Go Now?, Labaki's 2011 ...

Cannes’ Un Certain Regard jury president Nadine Labaki announced Thursday that she is working on a documentary about the making of her jury prize-winning “Capernaum” from last year. At a Variety-Kering Women in Motion talk at the Majestic Hotel, she also admitted she wouldn’t turn down the chance to direct a Hollywood superhero film.

Her 2018 Cannes entry has become an unexpected phenomenon in China, where it is currently still third at the box office even after more than two weeks in theaters and has so far grossed over $44 million.

“It’s a big surprise for me,” she said of its success, but said the film had likely resonated because of its universal themes and the fact that her actors had really lived through the circumstances they re-created onscreen — making it an unusually visceral viewing experience.

She wouldn’t have been able to elicit the same performances if her own...

by Nathaniel R

Nadine Labaki is three-for-three. Lebanon's most prominent filmmaker has seen all three of her films premiere at Cannes to considerable acclaim and go on to represent her country as Oscar submissions. The first two Caramel (2007) and Where Do We Go Now? (2011) became international arthouse hits. Her newest feature Capernaum, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, recently began its platform release in the Us and will hopefully see the same warm reception. It's her best shot yet at an Oscar nomination, having made the finals in foreign film. Her Cannes jury prize winner focuses on the refugee crisis in Lebanon by focusing on one Syrian boy named Zain (played by Zain Al Rafeea) who is trying to survive on his own. It's a visceral must-see and should elevate Labaki's already healthy reputation as a world class director.

To my surprise, she isn't sure what she's doing next, admitting that...

Chicago – One of the best films of 2018 is “Capernaum.” The title means “Chaos,” and co-writer/director Nadine Labaki certainly created a form of that action in the crazy quilt journey of the main character of Zain, an undocumented immigrant boy in Lebanon. From a story that takes us from his street survival to a court of law… suing his parents, “Capernaum” is a multi-layered masterpiece.

The film is framed by the trial. Zain, portrayed with amazing purpose by the similarly named Zain Al Rafeea, is a boy who felt that he shouldn’t have been born into his family of poor Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and sues his parents on that basis. His only respite in the family was with his beloved sister Sahar. When she was sold into marriage, Zain ran away, only to end up in the streets. An African woman with a baby took pity on him,...

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Nadine Labaki’s third feature film has moved from the Jury Prize at Cannes to a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. While its Us release this month marks a span of seven years since her breakthrough Tiff People’s Choice Award-winning Where Do We Go Now?, the Toronto audience I saw Capernaum with (my review) hadn’t forgotten the magic they were soon to experience again.

Capernaum is an affecting drama with an authentically disarming humor courtesy of newcomer Zain Al Rafeea—a refugee. It tracks the desperation, ingenuity, and anguish he endures in order to survive a life he didn’t ask for—one he’s willing to sue his parents in court for forcing him to live. His journey draws on the complex and harrowing existence too many face today, highlighting the true cost of humanity’s selfishly irredeemable decisions.

Audience reactions at the Cannes Film Festival aren’t always the best indicator of a film’s quality — many of the best films have inspired walk-outs — but a 15-minute standing ovation tends to bode pretty well. For “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki’s Beirut-set drama which just released its first official trailer, that standing ovation catapulted the film to the top of the competition heap, eventually earning it the Jury Prize at the annual summer festival.

The film, according to the official synopsis, “tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the ‘crime’ of giving him life. A gutsy streetwise child as he flees his negligent parents, [Zain] survives through his wits on the streets, takes care of Ethiopian refugee Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her baby son, Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), being jailed for a crime, and finally, seeks justice in a courtroom.”

Labaki used...

Peter Farrelly’s Green Book is the winner of this year’s sometimes Oscar-predictive Grolsch People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Last year’s winner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri went on to be nominated for Best Picture and won two acting awards, but the ultimate Oscar winner for Best Picture, The Shape Of Water did not even make Tiff’s list of the top three audience favorites.

This year’s first runner up is Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk which Annapurna will release on November 30 and was warmly received at its Tiff World Premiere last Sunday. Second runner up is Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma which Netflix will debut in December and which recently won the Golden Lion top prize at Venice and is expected to be a major awards player this season.

The trophy is considered a bellwether of sorts for the awards...

Nothing in director Nadine Labaki’s first two pleasant but tonally inconsistent features, “Caramel” and “Where Do We Go Now?,” approaches the power and skill of “Capernaum,” which represents a major leap forward in all departments. Proving herself an astonishingly accomplished director of non-professional performers as well as a measured storyteller, Labaki draws attention to the plight of children in Beirut’s slums and the Kafka-esque bind of people without ID cards. While this is unquestionably an issue film, it tackles its subject with intelligence and heart.

Prizes are almost a certainty, and not just because juries might be more prone to awarding women directors in this particular moment in history — no wonder Sony Pictures Classics snapped it up in the Cannes market for Stateside distribution, since this is one Lebanese film sure to do significant business at art-house cinemas nationwide.

There’s one liability however, and that’s the title.

Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed North American and Latin American rights to Cannes competition title “Capernaum,” a drama from Lebanese director Nadine Labaki about a boy who sues his parents.

CAA Media Finance brokered the distribution deal on behalf of the filmmakers with Wild Bunch, which represents the international rights.

Sony Pictures Classics distributed Labaki’s previous film, “Where Do We Go Now?,” which world-premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won a special mention in 2011.

“Capernaum” centers on 12-year-old Zein, who takes his parents to court “for giving me life” in a world of pain and suffering. It is written by Labaki, along with Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Kesrouani, Georges Khabbaz and Labaki’s husband, Khaled Mouzanar, who also produced the film and composed the music.

The movie stars Labaki, Zain Alrafeea, Yordanos Shifera and Treasure Bankole.

“It is wonderful to have the opportunity to collaborate once again with Sony Pictures Classics.

Distributor handled Where Do We Go Now?

Sony Pictures Classics (Spc) has acquired North American and Latin American rights to Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum ahead of its world premiere in Cannes competition next Thursday and plans an awards-qualifying Us release in December.

Capernaum marks a return to Cannes for the Lebanese filmmaker, whose two previous films, Caramel and Toronto audience award winner Where Do We Go Now? premiered on the Croisette and reunites Labaki with Spc, who distributed Where Do We Go Now?

The film tells the story of a child who rebels against the life imposed on him and...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American and Latin American rights to Nadine Labaki’s Cannes competition title “Capernaum,” which will premiere at the festival next Thursday. Spc previously distributed Labaki’s second film, “Where Do We Go Now?” Her latest feature is billed as a “politically-charged fable” that follows a child who sues his own family. It is one of three films directed by women to compete for the Palme d’Or at this year’s festival.

Sony Pictures Classics plans to open the film in December qualifying the movie for year-end awards consideration.

“It is wonderful to have the opportunity to collaborate once again with Sony Pictures Classics. ‘Capernaum’ is very special to me, and with the passion Tom and Michael have for this film, I know this is the ideal partnership,” said Labaki in an official statement.

Actress-turned-fimmaker Labaki is a Cannes regular, a graduate of the festival’s Residence program,...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American and Latin American rights to Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum.

The film is set to premiere May 17 at Cannes, where it will screen in competition.

Capernaum marks a return to the fest for the Lebanese filmmaker, whose two previous pics, Caramel and Where Do We Go Now? — the latter of which won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival — premiered at Cannes. The sale also marks a reteaming between Labaki and Sony Pictures Classics, which distributed Where Do We Go Now?

Written by Labaki, who also appears...

Girl Talk is a weekly look at women in film — past, present, and future.

While the Cannes Film Festival has long struggled to put together a Competition slate that includes more than a fraction of female filmmakers, there are major signs of diverse life throughout the rest of this year’s slate, which includes 20 female filmmakers set to debut new films at the lauded festival. At least said Competition includes a trio of intriguing (and very different-sounding) offerings, including films from both Cannes regulars and a newbie. Elsewhere, there’s still more exciting new work to be found from filmmakers both established and emerging.

The Un Certain Regard section — which often touts high numbers of female filmmakers — nearly reached parity with its slate, as six of its 13 films were directed by women. In the International Critics’ Week (Aka Semaine de la Critique) sidebar, they’re actually leading the way. In...

This year’s Cannes Film Festival competition announcement continues a worrying trend in the history of the lauded festival: a slate dominated by male directors. The 2018 competition lineup includes the highest number of films from female filmmakers since 2011 — but that’s only a sign of growth due to the even smaller number of films from women in the 2017 lineup.

This year’s festival will play home to new works from Nadine Labaki, Eva Husson, and Alice Rohrwacher, who will compete in a smaller competition section (although the festival may add more films in the days ahead).

As happened last year, when the festival’s competition slate also included just three female directors, the 2018 edition of the event cut down slightly on the competition entries. The section typically vacillates between 23 and 18 offerings each year, which means the total percentage of competing female filmmakers was yet again nominally bumped up even though...

Lebanon is going to the Academy Awards. 

The Insult, Ziad Doueiri's tense Beirut-set courtroom thriller, has become the first Lebanese film to be nominated in the Oscars' foreign-language category, being named to the final shortlist of five on Tuesday. 

The film, which picked up the best actor award for Kamel El Basha in Venice, was the 14th film to be submitted by Lebanon since 1978 (and Doueiri's second, after his 1998 debut West Beirut). Other notable titles include Nadine Labaki's 2011 drama Where Do We Go Now?, which was widely expected to be nominated. 

The nomination ...

Lebanon is going to the Academy Awards. 

The Insult, Ziad Doueiri's tense Beirut-set courtroom thriller, has become the first Lebanese film to be nominated in the Oscars' foreign-language category, being named to the final shortlist of five on Tuesday. 

The film, which picked up the best actor award for Kamel El Basha in Venice, was the 14th film to be submitted by Lebanon since 1978 (and Doueiri's second, after his 1998 debut West Beirut). Other notable titles include Nadine Labaki's 2011 drama Where Do We Go Now?, which was widely expected to be nominated. 

The nomination ...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 11, 2012

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Lebanon’s official selection for the 2012 Academy Awards, Where Do We Go Now? is a comedy movie mixed with musical moments.

The foreign film explores religious tension in a light-hearted way. It’s set in a remote village where the church and mosque stand side by side and the village’s blowhard men are threatening to start a religious war. Tired of losing sons, husbands and fathers because of previous flare-ups, the women unite to distract their men with ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring Ukranian strippers.

Co-written and directed by Nadine Labaki (Carmel), PG-13-rated Where Do We Go Now? was screened in a limited number of theaters, to much acclaim from audiences. Moviegoers gave the film an 80% approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Critics didn’t like it as much, giving the movie mixed reviews.

Following on from Nadine Labaki’s critically-acclaimed directorial début Caramel, the young, talented film maker once again delves into the lives of Lebanese women, and once again creates a film that is as rich in poignancy as it is in affability, in the upcoming drama Where Do We Go Now?

Labaki herself stars in the film as Amale, one of many women desperately attempting to mediate between a growing feud between the Muslims and Christians in a small village in Lebanon. In a village where everybody knows everybody else residents have comfortably been living side by side for centuries despite the clash of religious beliefs separating them. Yet the country is in turmoil following the futile war between religious zealots, and the wives are desperate to steer their husbands and sons away from any potential violence.

Despite successfully hiding any national news coverage of the feud, throwing away newspapers and...

The Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award's current streak of influencing the best picture race has come to an end.  The past three years have seen "Slumdog Millionaire," "Precious" and "The King's Speech" each secure the festival's highest honor.  With the announcement that Lebanese drama "Where do we go now?" is this year's winner, Toronto's influence on awards season has been tempered a bit. "Where do we go now?" received rave reviews when it debuted outside of competition at Cannes in May and is Lebanon's official entry into the foreign language film race.  The picture centers on an isolated Lebanese...

edit@hollywoodreporter.com (Etan Vessing)

"Where Do We Go Now?" takes the top prize, while "The Island President" and "The Raid" also receive honors.

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