Indiewire’s chief film critic David Ehrlich returns with his annual video countdown of the year’s best films, selecting 25 titles to highlight via clever editing choices and, most distinctly, various needle drops culled from a wide range of 2022 releases, from The Batman to Bones and All. In what’s also become a recent tradition, Ehrlich continues to have the director behind the top-ranked film choose a charity for viewers to donate to, as a way to “help justify the (truly humiliating) amount of time it takes me to make them.” This year, Filmmaker is proud to say that Charlotte Wells, […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jan 9, 2023The abstract yet oppressive sensation of an anxiety attack is captured through intense corporeal movement in Waves, the latest from Brooklyn-based filmmaker Nat Gee. The film stars Lily Baldwin as a woman in the throes of an anxious episode, her oft-idyllic surroundings transformed into hostile environments. A well-manicured flower garden becomes a frightening, frenzied feast (and viny prison); gentle waves crashing upon a sandy shore morph into a violent assailant; a stroll in a verdant, tranquil park turns into an uneasy exercise in losing bodily autonomy. Yet as fascinated as Gee is in conveying the unsettling feeling of being consumed […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 20, 2022On Halloween night 1992, the BBC switchboard became inundated with an estimated one million phone calls related to a now-infamous TV broadcast. Convincingly filmed as a live news report—even featuring recognizable BBC presenters Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Mike “Smitty” Smith—Ghostwatch convinced a wide swath of the British populace (reportedly including Parkinson’s own mother) that a real-life possession was unfolding in front of their eyes, and that a demonic entity was being channeled through their own screens. Though programmed as part of the network’s narrative anthology series Screen One, many viewers tuned into the program after the identifiable drama banner […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 16, 2022Ahead of its opening weekend at NYC’s Quad Cinema, Filmmaker shares an exclusive clip of Mark Pellington‘s Going All the Way: The Director’s Edit. This re-edit and 4K restoration of Pellington’s feature debut includes a new title sequence created by Sergio Pinheiro as well as 50 additional minutes of previously unseen footage accompanied by new music from composer Pete Adams. Based on the 1970 novel by Dan Wakefield (who also penned the script), the film stars Jeremy Davies and an early-career Ben Affleck as Sonny and Gunner, two young men who return home to Indianapolis after serving in the Korean […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 16, 2022Immediately buzzed about after its inclusion in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival feature lineup announcement, the trailer has already arrived for Brandon Cronenberg‘s Infinity Pool. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård as a wealthy novelist who commits manslaughter on foreign soil and is presented the opportunity to have a doppelgänger face the death penalty in his place—for a substantial fee, of course. Also starring are Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman. Per the official synopsis: While staying at an isolated island resort, James (Skarsgård) and Em (Coleman) are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 8, 2022Today, the Sundance Institute announces the comprehensive feature film lineup for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. For the first time since 2020, the Festival will reconvene in-person, with screenings taking place in Park City, Salt Lake City and the Sundance Resort from January 19-20. An online streaming window will be available for viewers across the country from January 24-29. Of the 99 feature films announced today, 94% are world premieres. “We’re so excited to be coming back in person,” Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO, told Filmmaker via phone call. “Last year was quite devastating with having to pivot late in […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 7, 2022Today, the Slamdance Film Festival announces its 2023 feature lineup, including programming for the Narrative Features Competition, Documentary Features Competition, Breakouts, Unstoppable, and Spotlight Screenings. The 29th annual edition of the festival will adhere to a hybrid model, with events taking place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah from January 20-26 and online via the Slamdance Channel from January 23-29. “From the streets of Seattle to the psychedelic skies of a unicorn-run dystopia, our filmmakers are transporting audiences to new dimensions with stories that explore the nuance of disability, immigration and gender,” said Festival Manager Lily Yasuda in […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 5, 2022Documentary filmmaker Julia Reichert, who won an Oscar with her partner Steven Bognar for American Factory, has died. Reichert passed away in her Ohio home on Thursday night from urothelial cancer after being diagnosed as Stage Four back in 2018. She was 76. Reichert’s filmography has championed the plight of marginalized Americans, particularly through the lens of gender and class. Her first film, Growing Up Female (1971), examined the lives of six women, ages four through 35, and their gendered socialization within American culture. The film was originally completed as her senior project while attending Antioch College in Yellow Springs, […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 2, 202222 years after the release of their debut album, the Baltimore-bred quartet Animal Collective is as prolific as ever. Members Avey Tare (Dave Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb) and Geologist (Brian Weitz) released their 11th studio album this year—the delectably jammy Time Skiffs—to a wave of acclaim the band arguably hasn’t received since their indie-tronica staple Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2009. On the heels of Time Skiffs’ success, the band has already hit the studio to record their forthcoming release, rumored to hit shelves and streamers from the band’s longtime label Domino Records in 2023. This year has […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 2, 2022Dances With Films (DWF), the Los Angeles-based independent film festival, continues to celebrate its 25th anniversary by expanding to New York City. While the LA edition of the festival took place in June, today marks the beginning of DWF’s inaugural NYC iteration, with festival screenings to be hosted at Regal Union Square from December 1 through 4. The lineup features over 70 feature, documentary and short film premieres. “Dances With Films champions independent voices throughout the world, so it was a natural fit to bring our unique brand of festival to the cultural capital of the United States,” festival founders […]
by Natalia Keogan on Dec 1, 2022