Process documentaries following Indigenous land protectors are typically endurance tests for filmmakers, not to mention protagonists. But the payoff is that these films often resonate strongly with audiences in their ability to take viewers beyond the headlines and frontlines in profound and intimate ways.
One of several strong land-activism docs looking for buyers at Hot Docs this year is Jalena Keane-Lee’s feature-directing bow “Standing Above the Clouds.” The film follows three Native Hawaiian families over six years as they work alongside a growing coalition of local and international supporters to protect Mauna Kea (a dormant volcano on Hawaii’s largest island) from further development—specifically, a project to build the massive Thirty Meter Telescope (Tmt) on the sacred mountain’s arid summit, which is the site of the world’s largest astronomical observatory.
“I was raised by an activist mom within a community of strong women, which was definitely an initial spark,...
One of several strong land-activism docs looking for buyers at Hot Docs this year is Jalena Keane-Lee’s feature-directing bow “Standing Above the Clouds.” The film follows three Native Hawaiian families over six years as they work alongside a growing coalition of local and international supporters to protect Mauna Kea (a dormant volcano on Hawaii’s largest island) from further development—specifically, a project to build the massive Thirty Meter Telescope (Tmt) on the sacred mountain’s arid summit, which is the site of the world’s largest astronomical observatory.
“I was raised by an activist mom within a community of strong women, which was definitely an initial spark,...
- 5/1/2024
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced a one night only theatrical release of Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All, and has rolled out the documentary’s trailer.
A Sundance debut and a Tribeca selection, the film will play in theaters across the country on Wednesday, April 10. There will also be a screening and live performance with the band in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, March 29, and the film will have a digital release to follow on May 7.
“Festival audiences have embraced and celebrated this story of Amy and Emily, and now we get to bring this film to fans in theaters all over the country,” said filmmaker Alexandria Bombach. “A film about community should be seen in community.”
“From our earliest days at Little Five Points Community Pub in Atlanta, the ideal of ‘community’ has informed our music and activism,” adds Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. “We feel...
A Sundance debut and a Tribeca selection, the film will play in theaters across the country on Wednesday, April 10. There will also be a screening and live performance with the band in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, March 29, and the film will have a digital release to follow on May 7.
“Festival audiences have embraced and celebrated this story of Amy and Emily, and now we get to bring this film to fans in theaters all over the country,” said filmmaker Alexandria Bombach. “A film about community should be seen in community.”
“From our earliest days at Little Five Points Community Pub in Atlanta, the ideal of ‘community’ has informed our music and activism,” adds Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. “We feel...
- 3/11/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Apolonia, Apolonia leads the 2023 International Documentary Awards nominations with four nods.
Other top nominees include The Mother of All Lies and Milisuthando, which earned three nominations apiece.
All three films are up for the top prize of best feature documentary, along with two-time nominees Against the Tide, ANHELL69, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Q.
All of this year’s best director nominees represent films nominated for best feature.
Other two-time nominees, not up for best feature or director, include Anselm (best cinematography and original music score), To Kill a Tiger (best original music score and best writing) and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (best editing and cinematography).
Winners will be announced at the IDA’s virtual awards show, set for Dec. 12, which will take place at 8 p.m. Pt and stream on documentary.org and the IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events...
Other top nominees include The Mother of All Lies and Milisuthando, which earned three nominations apiece.
All three films are up for the top prize of best feature documentary, along with two-time nominees Against the Tide, ANHELL69, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Q.
All of this year’s best director nominees represent films nominated for best feature.
Other two-time nominees, not up for best feature or director, include Anselm (best cinematography and original music score), To Kill a Tiger (best original music score and best writing) and Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (best editing and cinematography).
Winners will be announced at the IDA’s virtual awards show, set for Dec. 12, which will take place at 8 p.m. Pt and stream on documentary.org and the IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events...
- 11/21/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The International Documentary Association has announced nominations in 18 categories for its 39th awards, which will be awarded in a streaming ceremony on Dec. 12.
The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”
The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...
The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”
The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
The 2023 IDA Documentary Awards has officially unveiled its list of nominees.
The 39th annual awards ceremony for the International Documentary Association will take place virtually on December 12, streaming on documentary.org, as well as the IDA YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. The awards recognize the top films and projects in the documentary genre.
Nominees include “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” about how a Ugandan pop star disrupted the national political landscape; “Pianoforte,” following the prestigious international piano competition; and HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” The shortlist for the nominees was announced earlier this year
The decision to hold the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards virtually was in part due to the current geopolitical landscape, according to IDA Interim Executive Director Ken Ikeda.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party,...
The 39th annual awards ceremony for the International Documentary Association will take place virtually on December 12, streaming on documentary.org, as well as the IDA YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. The awards recognize the top films and projects in the documentary genre.
Nominees include “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” about how a Ugandan pop star disrupted the national political landscape; “Pianoforte,” following the prestigious international piano competition; and HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” The shortlist for the nominees was announced earlier this year
The decision to hold the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards virtually was in part due to the current geopolitical landscape, according to IDA Interim Executive Director Ken Ikeda.
“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Lea Glob’s documentary Apolonia, Apolonia earned a leading four nominations today as the IDA Documentary Awards revealed its nominees for the 39th edition of the prestigious event.
Following closely with three nominations apiece were The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir, and Milisuthando, directed by Milisuthando Bongela.
Apolonia, Apolonia, a personal exploration into the life and work of French artist Apolonia Sokol filmed over the course of 13 years, will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Editing. Glob’s film won the top prize at IDFA, where it debuted last November, going on to win awards at Cph:dox in Copenhagen, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Sofia International Film Festival, among others. Despite its many laurels, the film has yet to land a U.S. distributor.
‘The Mother of All Lies’
The Mother of All Lies earned nominations as Best Documentary Feature,...
Following closely with three nominations apiece were The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir, and Milisuthando, directed by Milisuthando Bongela.
Apolonia, Apolonia, a personal exploration into the life and work of French artist Apolonia Sokol filmed over the course of 13 years, will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Editing. Glob’s film won the top prize at IDFA, where it debuted last November, going on to win awards at Cph:dox in Copenhagen, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Sofia International Film Festival, among others. Despite its many laurels, the film has yet to land a U.S. distributor.
‘The Mother of All Lies’
The Mother of All Lies earned nominations as Best Documentary Feature,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Eleven documentary projects from 11 countries have been selected for the Intl. Documentary Assn.’s annual Enterprise Documentary Fund Production Grant.
Selected from 371 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of $435,000 in production grants.
Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The fund is financially supported by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. In its seven-year history, the fund has given over $5 million in grant money to nonfiction filmmakers.
The selected projects are currently in production in 11 countries including the U.S., Philippines, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy and Afghanistan. Of the 15 directors behind the docs, 46% are filmmakers of color, 69% are women or gender-non-conforming filmmakers, 12% identify as members of the Lgbtqia+ community, and 8% identify as a D/deaf or disabled person or have long-term health conditions.
Selected from 371 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of $435,000 in production grants.
Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories that integrate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The fund is financially supported by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. In its seven-year history, the fund has given over $5 million in grant money to nonfiction filmmakers.
The selected projects are currently in production in 11 countries including the U.S., Philippines, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy and Afghanistan. Of the 15 directors behind the docs, 46% are filmmakers of color, 69% are women or gender-non-conforming filmmakers, 12% identify as members of the Lgbtqia+ community, and 8% identify as a D/deaf or disabled person or have long-term health conditions.
- 11/15/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The HBO Original documentary short How We Get Free, directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles (HBO’s “Black and Missing”) and produced by the New York Times and Multitude Films, debuts Tuesday, November 14 (9:00 – 9:30 p.m. Et/Pt) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
Synopsis: How We Get Free follows community activist Elisabeth Epps as she works to abolish the cash bail system in Colorado. Inspired by a New York Times article and filmed over the course of two years, the documentary tracks Epps’ efforts as the founder and executive director of the Colorado Freedom Fund, a community bail fund working against the criminalization of poverty. For Epps, this work is personal. Having spent time in jail herself, where she bore witness to the conditions and inequities, she is passionately committed to this work.
As Epps spends her days and nights driving around Denver...
Synopsis: How We Get Free follows community activist Elisabeth Epps as she works to abolish the cash bail system in Colorado. Inspired by a New York Times article and filmed over the course of two years, the documentary tracks Epps’ efforts as the founder and executive director of the Colorado Freedom Fund, a community bail fund working against the criminalization of poverty. For Epps, this work is personal. Having spent time in jail herself, where she bore witness to the conditions and inequities, she is passionately committed to this work.
As Epps spends her days and nights driving around Denver...
- 11/12/2023
- by Travis B. Dhalia
- Martin Cid - TV
The International Documentary Association announced the 17 feature-length and 25 short documentaries included on the shortlists for the 39th IDA Documentary Awards, which will be held during the week of Dec. 11in Los Angeles.
The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21, and IDA members will vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary until Dec. 5.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s Interim Executive Director. “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
The 2023 shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 280 documentary makers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries. IDA received 669 total submissions in all categories from 48 countries.
Best Feature Documentary Shortlist
Against the Tide...
The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21, and IDA members will vote for Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary until Dec. 5.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s Interim Executive Director. “This year’s Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
The 2023 shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 280 documentary makers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries. IDA received 669 total submissions in all categories from 48 countries.
Best Feature Documentary Shortlist
Against the Tide...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
The International Documentary Association (IDA) on Tuesday announced its best feature and short shortlists for the 2023 IDA Documentary Awards.
The ceremony will be held during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles — venue information is set to follow. Starting Nov. 7, IDA members will be able to view each of the shortlisted films on IDA Virtual Cinema, and up to 10 nominees from each category will be selected. The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s interim executive director. “This year’s best feature documentary and best short documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
280 documentary filmmakers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries selected the shortlists. IDA received 669 total submissions from 48 countries.
The ceremony will be held during the week of Dec. 11 in Los Angeles — venue information is set to follow. Starting Nov. 7, IDA members will be able to view each of the shortlisted films on IDA Virtual Cinema, and up to 10 nominees from each category will be selected. The nominees will be announced on Nov. 21.
“The 39th IDA Documentary Awards continues the tradition of celebrating the best of international nonfiction media of the year,” said Ken Ikeda, IDA’s interim executive director. “This year’s best feature documentary and best short documentary shortlists reflect important work from twenty-one countries. We are excited to celebrate the work of our community and present winners this December in Los Angeles.”
280 documentary filmmakers, curators, critics and industry experts from 40 countries selected the shortlists. IDA received 669 total submissions from 48 countries.
- 10/24/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund will be supporting 23 selected independent documentary film projects this year through grants totaling over $1 million. This initiative has previously funded notable films including Oscar-nominated features “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Minding the Gap” and “The Edge of Democracy.”
In addition to shrinking budgets for commissioned docuseries and one-offs, there has been a dramatic decline in distribution deals for indie docs, making the Sundance Institute grant vital to the nonfiction community. Especially to those filmmakers in the docu space working on social issue documentaries.
This year, the documentaries awarded grants explore a large breadth subject matters from around the world, telling stories about Indigenous People and Native Americans, transgender youth, secrets of a family’s lineage, people with disabilities and an untitled feature about Uvalde, Texas. Of the 23 films, six are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production.
“The stories and themes explored...
In addition to shrinking budgets for commissioned docuseries and one-offs, there has been a dramatic decline in distribution deals for indie docs, making the Sundance Institute grant vital to the nonfiction community. Especially to those filmmakers in the docu space working on social issue documentaries.
This year, the documentaries awarded grants explore a large breadth subject matters from around the world, telling stories about Indigenous People and Native Americans, transgender youth, secrets of a family’s lineage, people with disabilities and an untitled feature about Uvalde, Texas. Of the 23 films, six are in development, 14 are in production and three are in post-production.
“The stories and themes explored...
- 8/21/2023
- by Sophia Scorziello
- Variety Film + TV
Toronto’s Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has added 12 films to its Special Presentations program. The first tranche of titles was announced March 14. The festival runs April 27 to May 7.
World premieres include Canadian journalist Michelle Shephard’s “The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain,” the uncovering of the story behind the pathologist who stole the genius’ brain in 1955; “The Rise of Wagner,” a chilling exposé on the collusion between Wagner Group mercenaries and the Kremlin, which has resulted in secret killings and countless human rights violations; “We Are Guardians,” the story of the Indigenous guardians of the Brazilian Amazon, struggling to protect their territories from the ravages of extractive industries, deforestation, corrupt politicians and profit hungry global corporations; “Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?,” a chronicle of dissident Hong Kong politician and activist Nathan Law’s fight for democracy; and director Barry Avrich’s “Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella,...
World premieres include Canadian journalist Michelle Shephard’s “The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain,” the uncovering of the story behind the pathologist who stole the genius’ brain in 1955; “The Rise of Wagner,” a chilling exposé on the collusion between Wagner Group mercenaries and the Kremlin, which has resulted in secret killings and countless human rights violations; “We Are Guardians,” the story of the Indigenous guardians of the Brazilian Amazon, struggling to protect their territories from the ravages of extractive industries, deforestation, corrupt politicians and profit hungry global corporations; “Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?,” a chronicle of dissident Hong Kong politician and activist Nathan Law’s fight for democracy; and director Barry Avrich’s “Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired domestic theatrical rights to Participant’s civil rights documentary Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power.
Greenwich plans a December 2 release of the film directed by Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir, which earlier this week earned a Critics Choice Documentary Awards nomination as Best Historical Documentary. As Deadline previously reported, Peacock acquired U.S. streaming rights to the film in June.
Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales will handle international film sales for the title at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) next month and upcoming markets and festivals. Lowndes County premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and screened last month at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine.
Lowndes County, Alabama
“The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented not the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement, but the beginning of a new, crucial chapter,” a description of the film notes. “Nowhere was...
Greenwich plans a December 2 release of the film directed by Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir, which earlier this week earned a Critics Choice Documentary Awards nomination as Best Historical Documentary. As Deadline previously reported, Peacock acquired U.S. streaming rights to the film in June.
Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales will handle international film sales for the title at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) next month and upcoming markets and festivals. Lowndes County premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and screened last month at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine.
Lowndes County, Alabama
“The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented not the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement, but the beginning of a new, crucial chapter,” a description of the film notes. “Nowhere was...
- 10/21/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Peacock has acquired the civil rights documentary Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power ahead of its world premiere next week at the Tribeca Festival. A streaming release date will be announced soon for the pic, which is presented by Participant, a Multitude Films production, in association with The Atlantic and will bow on the streamer as a Peacock Original.
Told through first-person testimony and archival footage, the film chronicles a group of courageous, young Black activists who put their lives on the line not just to secure the right to vote, but for Black Power in Lowndes County, Al. It was inspired by Vann R. Newkirk II’s research and writing, as published in The Atlantic. He also served as consulting producer on the film, which premieres Tuesday in Tribeca’s Spotlight Documentary section.
“What stood out to us about the history of Lowndes County’s role...
Told through first-person testimony and archival footage, the film chronicles a group of courageous, young Black activists who put their lives on the line not just to secure the right to vote, but for Black Power in Lowndes County, Al. It was inspired by Vann R. Newkirk II’s research and writing, as published in The Atlantic. He also served as consulting producer on the film, which premieres Tuesday in Tribeca’s Spotlight Documentary section.
“What stood out to us about the history of Lowndes County’s role...
- 6/10/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: NewFilmmakers Los Angeles today announced the winners of its 10th annual Best of Nfmla Awards.
The list included Huella‘s Gabriella Ortega (Best New Filmmaker), Tracey Deer’s Beans (Best Feature Film), Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s A La Calle (Best Documentary Feature Film), Ciara Lacy’s This Is the Way We Rise, JJ Shpall’s Date Nite, Isabella Issa’s Yellow Girl and Me, Sarah Clift’s The Birth of Valerie Venus, Gustavo Milan’s Under the Heavens (Seiva Bruta), Bastien Dubois’ Souvenir Souvenir, Devone X. King’s Last Black Man (Best New Media & Experimental), Arnold Mwanjila’s Taliya (Best Screenplay), I Make Good Sounds at Parties‘ Russell Goldman, Yellow Girl and Me‘s Dior Wilson, Sweet Potatoes‘ Luke Sargent (Best Cinematography), From Here‘s Christina Antonakos-Wallace and Aletta Von Vietinghoff (Best Film Editing), The Fire Next Time‘s Jose Pablo Ramirez (Best Sound Design) and Livin’ in the Light‘s Onry (Best Score).
The Best of Nfmla Awards look to recognize the best talent in independent cinema from around the globe. This year’s edition included 125 nominees across 16 Award categories. All nominated projects screened as part of the Nfmla Monthly Film Festival 2021 season which ran from January 1st, 2021 through December 31st, 2021. Best New Filmmaker winner Ortega claimed a 3,000 Anthony Rhulen grant, with numerous other winners nabbing grants of 2,000. Over 5,000 in Blackmagic Design equipment will also be awarded to select winners, with post host Picture Shop hosting a post-production workshop for all nominees and winners.
Nfmla is a Los Angeles-based arts and culture non-profit organization that works year-round to highlight the works of independent artists. Its full list of 2022 Best of Nfmla nominees can be found here.
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Exclusive: Doc10 today announced its first-ever awards program, which this year will honor documentary filmmakers N. Bird Runningwater and Jessica Devaney.
The inaugural Luminary Award, celebrating filmmakers that shine a light on vital social issues, will be presented to Runningwater, who has supported such films as Billy Luther’s Miss Navajo and Heather Rae’s Trudell. The Vanguard Award, created to honor innovative and important documentary filmmakers, will be presented to Devaney, producer of some 17 shorts and features, including 2021 Doc10 selection Pray Away.
“The inaugural Luminary and Vanguard Awards were born to celebrate and promote the power of independent filmmaking,” said Doc10 co-founders Steve Cohen and Paula Froehle. “Jess and Bird represent the now and the future of great, cinematic documentary producing and how independent, fearless storytelling can promote real change in our world.” The 7th Doc10 documentary film festival will run from May 19-22 at the Davis Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. To find out more about it or to purchase tickets, click here.
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Exclusive: Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy) will exec produce and star in the sci-fi thriller Space Racer, from writer-director Erik Bernard (Free Dead or Alive), with NFTs related to the film to be released by Karman Studios at the Cannes Marché du Film.
The pic from Bernard’s Rebel 6 Films and Gemini Films takes place in the year 2084. It finds Earth beginning to look to space for survival, at a point when it’s barely able to sustain human life. At this juncture, humans have contacted alien race, with pilot James Colt earning the opportunity to represent Earth in its first intergalactic race.
Bernard and Lyndon Tait wrote the script for the pic, which is intended to set up a trilogy. Kevin Grevioux (Underworld) is producing, with Velasquez, Bernard and Courtney LeMarco (Hoarders) exec producing, and Jasmin Espada (Free Dead or Alive) serving as co-producer. Velasquez is represented by Insurge-Ent and Innovative Artists; Bernard and LeMarco by Espada PR & Entertainment; and Grevioux by Brent Johnson of One Entertainment.
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Exclusive: Toric Films‘ Ojan Missaghi and David Wachs will be seeking distribution for their films Day Labor, Out of Hand and Deadly Games at this year’s Cannes Film Festival—with actor Gilles Marini (The Rookie) also on hand to promote the company’s slate.
Day Labor watches as a Latin American veteran seeks work as a day laborer in order to keep his family afloat. A regular day turns into a deadly game of survival when he is mistakenly dropped off at a private ranch in El Paso, Texas to be hunted for sport. R. Ellis Frazier directed the pic, which stars Amy Johnston, Louis Mandylor and Danny Arrory.
Director Brian Skiba’s Out of Hand is a thriller centered on Valerie (Louise Linton), a charismatic and sophisticated college professor who is married to a younger personal trainer heartthrob, David (Pierson Fode). When the couple leaves town to a secluded cabin in Lake Tahoe, things start to unravel. William Baldwin, Joana Metrass , David Wachs and Christy St. John also star.
Then, there’s Deadly Games, in which four female influencers are invited to paradise island to partake in a million-dollar opportunity by a crypto mogul, fighting to gain the most subscribers during their weekend for the paysite contest. When one of the girls ends up dead, and the murder gets kept a secret, the influencers get more than they bargained for. Missaghi directed and produced the pic, which stars Marini, Metrass, Vanessa Angel, Roberto ‘Sanz’ Sanchez, Krista Kalmus and Emelina Adams.
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Exclusive: Lost Souls collaborators John F. Uranday and Bobby Cloud will be bringing their new indie drama Depth of Field to Cannes’ Marché du Film.
The film directed by Uranday tells the story of Charles (Rafael Petardi), a widower who has given up on life, until he meets a foster child next door that changes his life forever. It also stars George Stroumboulopoulos (The Communist’s Daughter), Jay Acovone (Fox’s Lethal Weapon), Carrie Quinn Dolin (Bruce Almighty), Ella Thomas (NCIS: Los Angeles), Diana Diaz (Music) and Thea Saccoliti. Producer Cloud, who is also an attorney, co-wrote the script with Uranday, with Jeffrey Stevens serving as a story contributor. Uranday also produced, along with Orlin Dobreff, Mike G, Rafael Petardi, Tom Summers and Tristan Salas Henry, with Stroumboulopoulos serving as exec producer. Uranday and Cloud are repped by Espada PR & Entertainment.
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Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to the romance Bristol Fashion, with plans to release it across internet and satellite platforms on June 7th.
The film tells the story of a young transgender woman, Christina (Lea Nayeli), who escapes her troubled home to find solace in a dilapidated boatyard. When she buys a broken-down boat for that purpose, she gets more than she bargained for in the boat’s owner, Esteban (Raul A. Perez)—warm, funny and dying to take her to dinner. He gives her a place to stay on an abandoned barge and helps her fix up the boat, and slowly but surely, they find themselves navigating the sometimes-messy waters of a straight man falling for a trans woman.
Pierre Guillet and Timothy John Foster wrote and produced Bristol Fashion, with Guillet directing. Richard Difrisco also stars. Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire the film directly with Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films. Its trailer can be found below.
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Exclusive: Deadline has a new trailer for Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman’s feature doc The Human Trial, which Abramorama is releasing in North American theaters and on its Watch Now @ Home virtual cinema platform on June 24th.
More than a decade in the making, the film follows a groundbreaking clinical trial that peels back the headlines to show the sweat, passion and sacrifice behind every breakthrough cure. In 2011, Hepner and her husband Mossman heard about a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, a disease that shockingly kills more than five million people each year. Driven by a desire to cure Lisa of her own type 1 diabetes, the filmmakers were given unprecedented access to a clinical trial—only the sixth ever stem cell trial in the world. What follows is an intimate journey with the patients and scientists who put themselves on the line to be first.
Hepner scripted the project and produced alongside Jonathan Formica (Lost & Found) and Kristin Lesko (O.J.: Made in America), with diabetes org Beyond Type 1 exec producing alongside Amy Rapp (The Woman Who Wasn’t There), Marla Oringer, Greer Wylder and Thom Scher. Check out the trailer for The Human Trial below.
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Exclusive: Deadline has an exclusive clip from the feature doc Since I Been Down, which is set for release on VOD on May 24th.
The film from director Gilda Sheppard stakes us to Tacoma, Washington. Influenced by the national drug war frenzy and the fear-based culture of punishment in the 1980s and ’90s, Tacoma sacrificed its most vulnerable children to a life behind bars. These children, who are now adults, cannot be silenced. As we hear them tell their stories, bravely, unapologetically, we realize: This is the story of ‘Everytown USA’.
June Nho Ivers, Saman Maydani and Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss produced the doc, with Sheppard and David Menschel serving as executive producers. Our exclusive clip from the film can be found below.
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Hallie and Audrey McPherson will be bringing their dramedy Earthquake Country to Dances With Films on Saturday, June 18th at 7:15 p.m. Pst.
The film written and directed by The McPherson Sisters centers on Rhyme Osbourne (Lydian Blossom), who is fed up with her mother’s alcoholism and delusions of grandeur and her father’s literal inability to get off the couch. On her eighteenth birthday, Rhyme puts into motion a plan that will cut ties with her family—for good. Set in 2007 in the seemingly idyllic Ojai, CA, the film is a coming-of-age story that explores the creation of family mythology, the malleability of memory, and the sometimes suffocating intimacy of the nuclear family.
Deborah Marks-Bertling, Alex Sorian Brown, Todd Caroll, Nigel Vonas, Melina Emilie, Madison Widener and Kyle Hester also star. Pic was produced by the McPhersons and Melina Hayum.
***
Filmmaker Alex Proyas‘ production outfit Heretic Foundation and development company Mystery Clock Cinema this week announced a co-production/financing partnership with the UK-based 108 Media, which has launched worldwide sales and packaging on his latest feature, the horror Sister Darkness.
The female-driven film marking the first of several forthcoming collaborations between the parties is set in the UK in the 1930s—at a time when women were marginalized and exploited. It follows the newly-wed but unhappy Alice as she stumbles across her doppelgänger Isla, whose existence is a mystery seeped in a tale of bloody retribution against her oppressors, the hellish supernatural nightscape, and a dread uprising against the deceitful aristocracy. Pic will go before camera in Australia later this year.
Proyas negotiated his multi-faceted deal with 108 Media’s CEO Abhi Rastogi and President (Production) Justin Deimen, with support from Rod Smith and Steven Rosser (Legal Counsel), General Manager & Executive Producer Andrew Robinson, Studio Producer Erasmo (Raz) Raimundo, and Craig Emmanuel of Paul Hastings in Los Angeles.
***
Gkids has acquired North American rights to writer-director Atsuko Ishizuka’s first original feature Goodbye, Don Glees!. The distributor will release both the original Japanese-language version of the film and an all-new English-language dub in theaters this year, on the heels of the film’s February 2022 release in Japan.
The film produced by the acclaimed studio Madhouse follows the story of three friends over the course of one summer, as their backyard adventures turn one small incident into a life-changing journey. It features the voices of Ayumu Murase, Natsuki Hanae, Kana Hanazawa and Yuuki Kaji, and is represented internationally by Kadokawa.
The list included Huella‘s Gabriella Ortega (Best New Filmmaker), Tracey Deer’s Beans (Best Feature Film), Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s A La Calle (Best Documentary Feature Film), Ciara Lacy’s This Is the Way We Rise, JJ Shpall’s Date Nite, Isabella Issa’s Yellow Girl and Me, Sarah Clift’s The Birth of Valerie Venus, Gustavo Milan’s Under the Heavens (Seiva Bruta), Bastien Dubois’ Souvenir Souvenir, Devone X. King’s Last Black Man (Best New Media & Experimental), Arnold Mwanjila’s Taliya (Best Screenplay), I Make Good Sounds at Parties‘ Russell Goldman, Yellow Girl and Me‘s Dior Wilson, Sweet Potatoes‘ Luke Sargent (Best Cinematography), From Here‘s Christina Antonakos-Wallace and Aletta Von Vietinghoff (Best Film Editing), The Fire Next Time‘s Jose Pablo Ramirez (Best Sound Design) and Livin’ in the Light‘s Onry (Best Score).
The Best of Nfmla Awards look to recognize the best talent in independent cinema from around the globe. This year’s edition included 125 nominees across 16 Award categories. All nominated projects screened as part of the Nfmla Monthly Film Festival 2021 season which ran from January 1st, 2021 through December 31st, 2021. Best New Filmmaker winner Ortega claimed a 3,000 Anthony Rhulen grant, with numerous other winners nabbing grants of 2,000. Over 5,000 in Blackmagic Design equipment will also be awarded to select winners, with post host Picture Shop hosting a post-production workshop for all nominees and winners.
Nfmla is a Los Angeles-based arts and culture non-profit organization that works year-round to highlight the works of independent artists. Its full list of 2022 Best of Nfmla nominees can be found here.
***
Exclusive: Doc10 today announced its first-ever awards program, which this year will honor documentary filmmakers N. Bird Runningwater and Jessica Devaney.
The inaugural Luminary Award, celebrating filmmakers that shine a light on vital social issues, will be presented to Runningwater, who has supported such films as Billy Luther’s Miss Navajo and Heather Rae’s Trudell. The Vanguard Award, created to honor innovative and important documentary filmmakers, will be presented to Devaney, producer of some 17 shorts and features, including 2021 Doc10 selection Pray Away.
“The inaugural Luminary and Vanguard Awards were born to celebrate and promote the power of independent filmmaking,” said Doc10 co-founders Steve Cohen and Paula Froehle. “Jess and Bird represent the now and the future of great, cinematic documentary producing and how independent, fearless storytelling can promote real change in our world.” The 7th Doc10 documentary film festival will run from May 19-22 at the Davis Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. To find out more about it or to purchase tickets, click here.
***
Exclusive: Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy) will exec produce and star in the sci-fi thriller Space Racer, from writer-director Erik Bernard (Free Dead or Alive), with NFTs related to the film to be released by Karman Studios at the Cannes Marché du Film.
The pic from Bernard’s Rebel 6 Films and Gemini Films takes place in the year 2084. It finds Earth beginning to look to space for survival, at a point when it’s barely able to sustain human life. At this juncture, humans have contacted alien race, with pilot James Colt earning the opportunity to represent Earth in its first intergalactic race.
Bernard and Lyndon Tait wrote the script for the pic, which is intended to set up a trilogy. Kevin Grevioux (Underworld) is producing, with Velasquez, Bernard and Courtney LeMarco (Hoarders) exec producing, and Jasmin Espada (Free Dead or Alive) serving as co-producer. Velasquez is represented by Insurge-Ent and Innovative Artists; Bernard and LeMarco by Espada PR & Entertainment; and Grevioux by Brent Johnson of One Entertainment.
***
Exclusive: Toric Films‘ Ojan Missaghi and David Wachs will be seeking distribution for their films Day Labor, Out of Hand and Deadly Games at this year’s Cannes Film Festival—with actor Gilles Marini (The Rookie) also on hand to promote the company’s slate.
Day Labor watches as a Latin American veteran seeks work as a day laborer in order to keep his family afloat. A regular day turns into a deadly game of survival when he is mistakenly dropped off at a private ranch in El Paso, Texas to be hunted for sport. R. Ellis Frazier directed the pic, which stars Amy Johnston, Louis Mandylor and Danny Arrory.
Director Brian Skiba’s Out of Hand is a thriller centered on Valerie (Louise Linton), a charismatic and sophisticated college professor who is married to a younger personal trainer heartthrob, David (Pierson Fode). When the couple leaves town to a secluded cabin in Lake Tahoe, things start to unravel. William Baldwin, Joana Metrass , David Wachs and Christy St. John also star.
Then, there’s Deadly Games, in which four female influencers are invited to paradise island to partake in a million-dollar opportunity by a crypto mogul, fighting to gain the most subscribers during their weekend for the paysite contest. When one of the girls ends up dead, and the murder gets kept a secret, the influencers get more than they bargained for. Missaghi directed and produced the pic, which stars Marini, Metrass, Vanessa Angel, Roberto ‘Sanz’ Sanchez, Krista Kalmus and Emelina Adams.
***
Exclusive: Lost Souls collaborators John F. Uranday and Bobby Cloud will be bringing their new indie drama Depth of Field to Cannes’ Marché du Film.
The film directed by Uranday tells the story of Charles (Rafael Petardi), a widower who has given up on life, until he meets a foster child next door that changes his life forever. It also stars George Stroumboulopoulos (The Communist’s Daughter), Jay Acovone (Fox’s Lethal Weapon), Carrie Quinn Dolin (Bruce Almighty), Ella Thomas (NCIS: Los Angeles), Diana Diaz (Music) and Thea Saccoliti. Producer Cloud, who is also an attorney, co-wrote the script with Uranday, with Jeffrey Stevens serving as a story contributor. Uranday also produced, along with Orlin Dobreff, Mike G, Rafael Petardi, Tom Summers and Tristan Salas Henry, with Stroumboulopoulos serving as exec producer. Uranday and Cloud are repped by Espada PR & Entertainment.
***
Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to the romance Bristol Fashion, with plans to release it across internet and satellite platforms on June 7th.
The film tells the story of a young transgender woman, Christina (Lea Nayeli), who escapes her troubled home to find solace in a dilapidated boatyard. When she buys a broken-down boat for that purpose, she gets more than she bargained for in the boat’s owner, Esteban (Raul A. Perez)—warm, funny and dying to take her to dinner. He gives her a place to stay on an abandoned barge and helps her fix up the boat, and slowly but surely, they find themselves navigating the sometimes-messy waters of a straight man falling for a trans woman.
Pierre Guillet and Timothy John Foster wrote and produced Bristol Fashion, with Guillet directing. Richard Difrisco also stars. Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire the film directly with Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films. Its trailer can be found below.
***
Exclusive: Deadline has a new trailer for Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman’s feature doc The Human Trial, which Abramorama is releasing in North American theaters and on its Watch Now @ Home virtual cinema platform on June 24th.
More than a decade in the making, the film follows a groundbreaking clinical trial that peels back the headlines to show the sweat, passion and sacrifice behind every breakthrough cure. In 2011, Hepner and her husband Mossman heard about a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, a disease that shockingly kills more than five million people each year. Driven by a desire to cure Lisa of her own type 1 diabetes, the filmmakers were given unprecedented access to a clinical trial—only the sixth ever stem cell trial in the world. What follows is an intimate journey with the patients and scientists who put themselves on the line to be first.
Hepner scripted the project and produced alongside Jonathan Formica (Lost & Found) and Kristin Lesko (O.J.: Made in America), with diabetes org Beyond Type 1 exec producing alongside Amy Rapp (The Woman Who Wasn’t There), Marla Oringer, Greer Wylder and Thom Scher. Check out the trailer for The Human Trial below.
***
Exclusive: Deadline has an exclusive clip from the feature doc Since I Been Down, which is set for release on VOD on May 24th.
The film from director Gilda Sheppard stakes us to Tacoma, Washington. Influenced by the national drug war frenzy and the fear-based culture of punishment in the 1980s and ’90s, Tacoma sacrificed its most vulnerable children to a life behind bars. These children, who are now adults, cannot be silenced. As we hear them tell their stories, bravely, unapologetically, we realize: This is the story of ‘Everytown USA’.
June Nho Ivers, Saman Maydani and Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss produced the doc, with Sheppard and David Menschel serving as executive producers. Our exclusive clip from the film can be found below.
***
Hallie and Audrey McPherson will be bringing their dramedy Earthquake Country to Dances With Films on Saturday, June 18th at 7:15 p.m. Pst.
The film written and directed by The McPherson Sisters centers on Rhyme Osbourne (Lydian Blossom), who is fed up with her mother’s alcoholism and delusions of grandeur and her father’s literal inability to get off the couch. On her eighteenth birthday, Rhyme puts into motion a plan that will cut ties with her family—for good. Set in 2007 in the seemingly idyllic Ojai, CA, the film is a coming-of-age story that explores the creation of family mythology, the malleability of memory, and the sometimes suffocating intimacy of the nuclear family.
Deborah Marks-Bertling, Alex Sorian Brown, Todd Caroll, Nigel Vonas, Melina Emilie, Madison Widener and Kyle Hester also star. Pic was produced by the McPhersons and Melina Hayum.
***
Filmmaker Alex Proyas‘ production outfit Heretic Foundation and development company Mystery Clock Cinema this week announced a co-production/financing partnership with the UK-based 108 Media, which has launched worldwide sales and packaging on his latest feature, the horror Sister Darkness.
The female-driven film marking the first of several forthcoming collaborations between the parties is set in the UK in the 1930s—at a time when women were marginalized and exploited. It follows the newly-wed but unhappy Alice as she stumbles across her doppelgänger Isla, whose existence is a mystery seeped in a tale of bloody retribution against her oppressors, the hellish supernatural nightscape, and a dread uprising against the deceitful aristocracy. Pic will go before camera in Australia later this year.
Proyas negotiated his multi-faceted deal with 108 Media’s CEO Abhi Rastogi and President (Production) Justin Deimen, with support from Rod Smith and Steven Rosser (Legal Counsel), General Manager & Executive Producer Andrew Robinson, Studio Producer Erasmo (Raz) Raimundo, and Craig Emmanuel of Paul Hastings in Los Angeles.
***
Gkids has acquired North American rights to writer-director Atsuko Ishizuka’s first original feature Goodbye, Don Glees!. The distributor will release both the original Japanese-language version of the film and an all-new English-language dub in theaters this year, on the heels of the film’s February 2022 release in Japan.
The film produced by the acclaimed studio Madhouse follows the story of three friends over the course of one summer, as their backyard adventures turn one small incident into a life-changing journey. It features the voices of Ayumu Murase, Natsuki Hanae, Kana Hanazawa and Yuuki Kaji, and is represented internationally by Kadokawa.
- 5/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
An award-winning writer, blogger and editor whose work centers on the post-apartheid condition from the perspective of Black, middle-class South Africans and women, Milisuthando Bongela is making her directorial debut with a coming-of-age story that she’s pitching this week at the Hot Docs Forum.
“Milisuthando” is a meditation on power, intimacy, difference, and the weight of loving and fearing your enemy in a time of decolonization. Directed by Bongela, the film is produced by Marion Isaacs for The Good Black Project (South Africa), in co-production with Sonia Barrera and Viviana Gómez Echeverry of Viso Producciones (Colombia), with Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous of Multitude Films attached to executive produce.
Bongela was born and raised in the republic of Transkei, one of the Bantustans or “homelands” set aside for Black inhabitants by South Africa’s apartheid government. Nominally independent, Transkei residents had a distinct experience of the years in which...
“Milisuthando” is a meditation on power, intimacy, difference, and the weight of loving and fearing your enemy in a time of decolonization. Directed by Bongela, the film is produced by Marion Isaacs for The Good Black Project (South Africa), in co-production with Sonia Barrera and Viviana Gómez Echeverry of Viso Producciones (Colombia), with Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous of Multitude Films attached to executive produce.
Bongela was born and raised in the republic of Transkei, one of the Bantustans or “homelands” set aside for Black inhabitants by South Africa’s apartheid government. Nominally independent, Transkei residents had a distinct experience of the years in which...
- 5/5/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Twenty projects from 19 countries have been selected for the 23rd edition of the Hot Docs Forum, the marquee feature financing event of the annual documentary festival, which runs in hybrid format from April 28 to May 8 in Toronto.
Of the projects’ 26 filmmakers, 14 are women, and 15 are Bipoc. Projects include stories around space rocks, solar power and crusading mushrooms, and process docs that follow characters in their homelands, schools and warzones over several years.
Over two days in advance of the festival, Forum project teams present their seven-minute pre-recorded pitches to a “round table” of decision-makers and financiers, from whom they then receive eight minutes of live feedback, which is also recorded.
The 2022 pitch presentations and decision-maker feedback are packaged and made available to registered delegates to stream on demand for the duration of the festival.
Hot Docs industry programs director Elizabeth Radshaw calls this year’s Forum projects “a celebration of...
Of the projects’ 26 filmmakers, 14 are women, and 15 are Bipoc. Projects include stories around space rocks, solar power and crusading mushrooms, and process docs that follow characters in their homelands, schools and warzones over several years.
Over two days in advance of the festival, Forum project teams present their seven-minute pre-recorded pitches to a “round table” of decision-makers and financiers, from whom they then receive eight minutes of live feedback, which is also recorded.
The 2022 pitch presentations and decision-maker feedback are packaged and made available to registered delegates to stream on demand for the duration of the festival.
Hot Docs industry programs director Elizabeth Radshaw calls this year’s Forum projects “a celebration of...
- 3/16/2022
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has released the trailer for Pray Away, a new documentary that investigates the abuse brought on by gay conversion therapy programs — featuring interviews with the program leaders themselves.
The film centers on Exodus International, an Evangelical gay conversion program that began as a Bible study group between five gay men who wished to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle.” Shortly after its inception in the Seventies, the group received 25,000 letters from LGBTQ people asking for help, leading Exodus International to rapidly grow into the largest gay conversion therapy program in the world.
The film centers on Exodus International, an Evangelical gay conversion program that began as a Bible study group between five gay men who wished to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle.” Shortly after its inception in the Seventies, the group received 25,000 letters from LGBTQ people asking for help, leading Exodus International to rapidly grow into the largest gay conversion therapy program in the world.
- 7/12/2021
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
A group of filmmakers including director Kimberly Townes-Gethers, producer-writer-actor Theo Perkins and executive Kirk Moore have launched Audacity Division, a banner that aims to amplify non-dominant narratives in the Bipoc space.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
- 7/2/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: ICM Partners has signed Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led nonfiction production company founded by Jessica Devaney and dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities. The move comes as it has upcoming Netflix’s Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
The company, launched in 2016 by Brooklyn-based producer Devaney, has produced films including this past season’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues from Geeta Gandbhir, Sundance award winner Always in Season from Jacqueline Olive, and Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll directed by Nancy Schwartzman which bowed at Tribeca in 2018.
Multitude has won the Cinereach Producers Award, the Sima Vital Voices Award, and Doc NYC’s 40 under 40 Award. The team is led by Deveany, VP Production Anya Rous; and Head of Finance Ameena Din.
“We’re thrilled to partner with ICM and...
The company, launched in 2016 by Brooklyn-based producer Devaney, has produced films including this past season’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues from Geeta Gandbhir, Sundance award winner Always in Season from Jacqueline Olive, and Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll directed by Nancy Schwartzman which bowed at Tribeca in 2018.
Multitude has won the Cinereach Producers Award, the Sima Vital Voices Award, and Doc NYC’s 40 under 40 Award. The team is led by Deveany, VP Production Anya Rous; and Head of Finance Ameena Din.
“We’re thrilled to partner with ICM and...
- 6/21/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“Pray Away,” a documentary that holds a microscope to the “pray away the gay” movement, is coming to Netflix.
The film, from executive producers Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy, will debut on the streaming service in August. Prior to its arrival on Netflix, “Pray Away” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16.
“Pray Away” was initially slated to open at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, which was paused in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s edition will run from June 9 through 20 and will be held across New York City’s five boroughs.
Kristine Stolakis directed the film in her feature filmmaking debut. The doc examines the enduring harm of conversion therapy and centers on former leaders of religious anti-gay campaigns. It also focuses on survivors, who seek healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma.
Stolakis produced “Pray Away” with Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous.
The film, from executive producers Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy, will debut on the streaming service in August. Prior to its arrival on Netflix, “Pray Away” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16.
“Pray Away” was initially slated to open at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, which was paused in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s edition will run from June 9 through 20 and will be held across New York City’s five boroughs.
Kristine Stolakis directed the film in her feature filmmaking debut. The doc examines the enduring harm of conversion therapy and centers on former leaders of religious anti-gay campaigns. It also focuses on survivors, who seek healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma.
Stolakis produced “Pray Away” with Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous.
- 5/12/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Ahead of the pic’s June 16 world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Netflix has snapped up the Blumhouse TV and Ryan Murphy executive produced documentary Pray Away which investigates the enduring harm of conversion therapy and the “pray the gay away” movement. An August release on the streamer is currently set.
In the Kristine Stolakis-directed and produced docu, former leaders of the “pray the gay away” movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma. In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle.” They quickly received over 25K letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their...
In the Kristine Stolakis-directed and produced docu, former leaders of the “pray the gay away” movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma. In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle.” They quickly received over 25K letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their...
- 5/12/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“Pray Away” will premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on June 16
The documentary “Pray Away,” executive produced by Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy, has landed at Netflix, the streamer announced on Wednesday.
“Pray Away,” which examines the harm of conversion therapy and the “pray the gay away” movement, will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16. It will then debut on Netflix in August.
Kristine Stolakis directed the documentary and also produced alongside Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous. Murphy and Blum executive produced alongside Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Mary Lisio, Amanda Spain, Daniel J. Chalfen, Jim Butterworth, Katy Drake Bettner, Johnny Symons, Julie Parker Benello, Patty Quillin, Nion McEvoy, Leslie Berriman, Regina K. Scully and Alexis Martin Woodall.
The official logline reads: “Former leaders of the ‘pray the gay away’ movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from...
The documentary “Pray Away,” executive produced by Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy, has landed at Netflix, the streamer announced on Wednesday.
“Pray Away,” which examines the harm of conversion therapy and the “pray the gay away” movement, will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16. It will then debut on Netflix in August.
Kristine Stolakis directed the documentary and also produced alongside Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous. Murphy and Blum executive produced alongside Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Mary Lisio, Amanda Spain, Daniel J. Chalfen, Jim Butterworth, Katy Drake Bettner, Johnny Symons, Julie Parker Benello, Patty Quillin, Nion McEvoy, Leslie Berriman, Regina K. Scully and Alexis Martin Woodall.
The official logline reads: “Former leaders of the ‘pray the gay away’ movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from...
- 5/12/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Feature had been invited to Tribeca, Telluride in 2020.
Netflix has acquired global rights to upcoming Tribeca Festival world premiere and gay conversion documentary Pray Away.
Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum are among executive producers on the title, which was invited to screen at Tribeca and Telluride last year before the pandemic scuppered plans.
It will premiere at Tribeca on June 16 prior to debuting on the platform in August.
Kristine Stolakis made her feature directorial debut on Pray Away, which follows former leaders of the “pray the gay away” movement as they contend with the aftermath of their actions.
Meanwhile a...
Netflix has acquired global rights to upcoming Tribeca Festival world premiere and gay conversion documentary Pray Away.
Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum are among executive producers on the title, which was invited to screen at Tribeca and Telluride last year before the pandemic scuppered plans.
It will premiere at Tribeca on June 16 prior to debuting on the platform in August.
Kristine Stolakis made her feature directorial debut on Pray Away, which follows former leaders of the “pray the gay away” movement as they contend with the aftermath of their actions.
Meanwhile a...
- 5/12/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.
To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective
Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season
2021 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Film
Updated: Feb. 25, 2021
Awards Prediction Commentary: Netflix has three contenders, all of which have the goods to win the category. The prestige of “What Would Sophia Loren Do” will keep it in the conversation while the charms of “Speed...
To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective
Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season
2021 Oscars Predictions:
Best Documentary Short Film
Updated: Feb. 25, 2021
Awards Prediction Commentary: Netflix has three contenders, all of which have the goods to win the category. The prestige of “What Would Sophia Loren Do” will keep it in the conversation while the charms of “Speed...
- 2/25/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Folk rock musicians the Indigo Girls are getting the first documentary film of their 30-plus year career thanks to director Alexandria Bombach and Multitude Films.
The film doesn’t have a specific release date or title, and Bombach said in a statement it will be completed in “early 2021.” The Indigo Girls release their 15th studio album, “Look Long,” on May 22.
Since forming the band in 1985, Indigo Girls duo Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have become global queer icons and received awards for both their musical talents and social activism. The pair won a best contemporary folk recording Grammy Award in 1991 for their song “Hammer and a Nail” and received a Pell Award For Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2019. Their eponymous second studio album went double platinum in 1989.
Also Read: Geno Silva, 'Scarface' Actor, Dies at 72
The documentary will include “nearly forty years of video archive that has been locked away in Amy’s basement,...
The film doesn’t have a specific release date or title, and Bombach said in a statement it will be completed in “early 2021.” The Indigo Girls release their 15th studio album, “Look Long,” on May 22.
Since forming the band in 1985, Indigo Girls duo Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have become global queer icons and received awards for both their musical talents and social activism. The pair won a best contemporary folk recording Grammy Award in 1991 for their song “Hammer and a Nail” and received a Pell Award For Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2019. Their eponymous second studio album went double platinum in 1989.
Also Read: Geno Silva, 'Scarface' Actor, Dies at 72
The documentary will include “nearly forty years of video archive that has been locked away in Amy’s basement,...
- 5/18/2020
- by Samson Amore
- The Wrap
The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.
The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...
- 10/10/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The BBC has picked up a slew of feature docs including Oscar-nominated Minding The Gap and Sundance titles One Child Nation and Maiden.
This comes as the British public broadcaster has revamped its feature doc strand Storyville with films launching on youth-skewing network BBC Three for the first time as it looks to appeal to younger audiences.
The pick ups were unveiled today at the Sheffield Doc/Fest by BBC Storyville Commissioning Editor Mandy Chang.
Minding the Gap will air on BBC Three alongside true crime doc Roll Red Roll and music doc Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl.
Bing Liu’s Oscar nominated Minding the Gap is the coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown, hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends ran away from home as teenagers, Bing tracks 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a...
This comes as the British public broadcaster has revamped its feature doc strand Storyville with films launching on youth-skewing network BBC Three for the first time as it looks to appeal to younger audiences.
The pick ups were unveiled today at the Sheffield Doc/Fest by BBC Storyville Commissioning Editor Mandy Chang.
Minding the Gap will air on BBC Three alongside true crime doc Roll Red Roll and music doc Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl.
Bing Liu’s Oscar nominated Minding the Gap is the coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown, hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends ran away from home as teenagers, Bing tracks 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a...
- 6/9/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinereach announced the four recipients of 2019’s Producer Award, a $50,000 filmmaking prize as part of the Cinereach Producers Initiative, on Friday.
The indie film company has selected Jessica Devaney (“Always in Season”), Alexandra Lazarowich (“Fast Horse”), Kishori Rajan (“Random Acts of Flyness”) and Jamund Washington (“Tramps”) as independent producers that have demonstrated vision and integrity, contributed to the film community as mentors and leaders, and enriched the culture through their films.
“This year’s group of recipients is particularly exciting because Jessica, Alexandra, Kishori and Jamund have each created poignant, culturally thoughtful work that breaks down barriers on a multitude of platforms. Their commitment to this type of work is shifting our industry in meaningful ways,” Merrill Sterritt, head of partnerships and creative initiatives at Cinereach, said in a statement.
Also Read: How to Be a 'Real' Producer: Know Your Audience and 'Fight for Your Life'
“We are proud to...
The indie film company has selected Jessica Devaney (“Always in Season”), Alexandra Lazarowich (“Fast Horse”), Kishori Rajan (“Random Acts of Flyness”) and Jamund Washington (“Tramps”) as independent producers that have demonstrated vision and integrity, contributed to the film community as mentors and leaders, and enriched the culture through their films.
“This year’s group of recipients is particularly exciting because Jessica, Alexandra, Kishori and Jamund have each created poignant, culturally thoughtful work that breaks down barriers on a multitude of platforms. Their commitment to this type of work is shifting our industry in meaningful ways,” Merrill Sterritt, head of partnerships and creative initiatives at Cinereach, said in a statement.
Also Read: How to Be a 'Real' Producer: Know Your Audience and 'Fight for Your Life'
“We are proud to...
- 6/7/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The AFI Docs Festival has selected the Steven Bognar-Julia Reichert documentary “American Factory” as its centerpiece film, screening on June 21.
The event will take place at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“American Factory” centers on the aftermath of the 2014 purchase of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, which had closed in 2008. A Chinese billionaire reopened the facility as Fuyao Glass America, with the promise of giving work to more than 2,000 local residents, along with bringing hundreds of Chinese workers to Ohio. Tensions mount among the Americans due to low wages and concerns about safety.
The festival revealed its full slate of films Wednesday for the 2019 edition, the 17th year, with 72 films representing 17 countries. The festival runs June 19–23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Md.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of...
The event will take place at the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“American Factory” centers on the aftermath of the 2014 purchase of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, which had closed in 2008. A Chinese billionaire reopened the facility as Fuyao Glass America, with the promise of giving work to more than 2,000 local residents, along with bringing hundreds of Chinese workers to Ohio. Tensions mount among the Americans due to low wages and concerns about safety.
The festival revealed its full slate of films Wednesday for the 2019 edition, the 17th year, with 72 films representing 17 countries. The festival runs June 19–23 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Md.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of...
- 5/15/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Documentaries are hotter than ever, but their production and distribution is in constant flux. In 2017, major companies were shelling out huge dollars to acquire documentaries, dramatically shifting the scales for the budgets and value of nonfiction. Then everything changed at Sundance 2018, when contrary to expectations, Netflix and Amazon deescalated the marketplace they had super-sized a year before.
At the Park City festival, Netflix acquired a single doc, “Shirkers”; Amazon hasn’t acquired a completed documentary since Matthew Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” from 2017. “It’s like night and day,” said one documentary producer. While Amazon’s strategy remains unclear, Netflix has refocused its resources on producing documentaries in-house.
Both companies declined to comment for this article. But it’s clear that their recent absence from the market has had impact — deals have taken longer to close and the price-tags have been reduced.
“We’re having to educate producers and financiers...
At the Park City festival, Netflix acquired a single doc, “Shirkers”; Amazon hasn’t acquired a completed documentary since Matthew Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” from 2017. “It’s like night and day,” said one documentary producer. While Amazon’s strategy remains unclear, Netflix has refocused its resources on producing documentaries in-house.
Both companies declined to comment for this article. But it’s clear that their recent absence from the market has had impact — deals have taken longer to close and the price-tags have been reduced.
“We’re having to educate producers and financiers...
- 4/17/2018
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
New work features John Turturro, Bobby Cannavale and Kobe Bryant.
Top brass at the 16th edition of the festival have unveiled the selection of 57 shorts in competition and 36 world premieres.
This year’s short slate has a significant geographical reach as 40% of the crop are international films from 18 countries and 40% of the overall selection are directed by women.
Female directors attending with world premieres include Marianne Amelinckx with Dive (Venezuela, pictured), Jessica Devaney and Geeta Gandbhir with Love The Sinner (USA), Aeyliya Husain with Shooting War (Canada), and Georgia Oakley with Little Bird (UK).
The New York programme has been renamed Group Therapy and includes performances by Cannavale, Kieran Culkin, Hayek, Turturro, and actual New York firefighters.
Hair, directed by Turturro who co-wrote with Cannavale, is among the world premieres and presents an unscripted dialogue between Turturro and Cannavale based on a man’s hair.
Special screenings include the premiere of Disney animator Glen Keane’s short...
Top brass at the 16th edition of the festival have unveiled the selection of 57 shorts in competition and 36 world premieres.
This year’s short slate has a significant geographical reach as 40% of the crop are international films from 18 countries and 40% of the overall selection are directed by women.
Female directors attending with world premieres include Marianne Amelinckx with Dive (Venezuela, pictured), Jessica Devaney and Geeta Gandbhir with Love The Sinner (USA), Aeyliya Husain with Shooting War (Canada), and Georgia Oakley with Little Bird (UK).
The New York programme has been renamed Group Therapy and includes performances by Cannavale, Kieran Culkin, Hayek, Turturro, and actual New York firefighters.
Hair, directed by Turturro who co-wrote with Cannavale, is among the world premieres and presents an unscripted dialogue between Turturro and Cannavale based on a man’s hair.
Special screenings include the premiere of Disney animator Glen Keane’s short...
- 3/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
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