“Nature will always win in the end,” notes Native American environmental activist Betty Osceola, one of several intriguing characters, human and not, that star in River of Grass, Sasha Wortzel’s highly personal love letter to a region both she and the Miccosukee tribal member call home. In fact, Osceola, a fiery grandmother, has dedicated her entire life to protecting her family — the Everglades itself. (Another thoughtful protagonist, a Miccosukee environmentalist and poet, likewise refers to his tropical surroundings as relatives, adding that “Chosen family is a survival strategy.”) As the strong-willed Osceola sees it, the question is really, “Do we want to win with her?”
This would, of course, necessitate us realizing that we are indeed a part of nature,… Read more
The Native Lab, the signature initiative of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, kicks off in person today through May 3 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Directors Lab, a core component of the Institute’s Feature Film Program, returns for its 45th year from June 1–16 in Estes Park, Colorado. Fellows will then participate in the Screenwriters Lab held online from June 24–27. Sundance Institute’s signature labs offer filmmakers a nurturing, immersive environment to develop their projects and refine their artistic voice under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors.
This year’s Native Lab supports four fellows and two artists-in-residence. The Directors Lab will support the development of eight projects and nine fellows, with two additional fellows joining for the Screenwriters Lab. Marking its… Read more
The Popcorn List has released its second annual survey of recommended feature films. From the press release:
The Popcorn List (TPL), an annual survey of acclaimed feature films returns for its second year with 19 film recommendations. TPL was founded in 2024 as a discovery and visibility initiative to amplify independent films that deserve to be seen more widely, highlight the discovery nature of film festivals and the craft of film curation, and respect audiences’ desire for story-driven movies. The result is an open-source database of acclaimed films without U.S. distribution (theatrical, VOD, self-distributed), as recommended by festival programmers across the country.
In addition to compiling the list, a component of the project is tracking and amplifying the films’ distribution pathways. The… Read more
In 2002, a George W. Bush aide coined the phrase “reality-based community”—a label meant pejoratively, anticipating the present belligerent moment. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” that (still!) anonymous official ranted. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” This psychotic assertion is paraphrased—nearly word-for-word, surely inadvertently—by the subjects of Julian Vogel and Johannes Büttner’s immaculately depressing Soldiers of Light, the first noteworthy film I saw at this… Read more
Even before its smashing opening weekend theatrical success, Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s first original directorial outing since his 2013 indie hit Fruitvale Station, was knocking loud on the box office doors. Early reviews praised the film’s unique genre-bending vision, weaving vampire lore and Irish songs into a 1932-set horror-musical dramatic thriller about identical Black twin brothers leaving behind their Chicago gangster lives to return to their sharecropper roots in the Mississippi Delta and start their own juke joint—that is, before the vampires come a-seducing. Before that, Smoke and Stack, twins played by Michael B. Jordan in a bravura dual performance, throw a party about which less said, the better—go experience it in theaters—other than to extol Ludwig Göransson’s (Black Panther) score.
DP… Read more
Back in 2008, Isaiah Saxon and his collaborators—Daren Rabinovitch and Sean Hellfritsch—appeared on Filmmaker’s annual 25 New Faces of Film list based on the strength of their impressive work on indie rock music videos. Saxon himself had a direct hand in helming iconic filmic accompaniments for Björk’s “Wanderlust,” Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” and Panda Bear’s “Boys Latin.” All three narratives hinge on an intensely surreal collision of human and natural forces—utilizing puppetry, animation, stop-motion and special effects—endearingly lo-fi yet intensely meticulous in its execution.
The same can be said of The Legend of Ochi, Saxon’s feature debut. Produced by A24 after receiving seed money from The Russo Brothers’ AGBO production studio, the film weaves an intricate tale about a mystical primate species… Read more
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River of Grass
