Authors — Natalia Keogan
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Trailer Watch: Laura Moss’s birth/rebirth
The trailer arrives for birth/rebirth, the feature debut of writer-director Laura Moss, a 25 New Faces alum from 2017. Co-written by Moss and their longtime screenwriting partner Brendan O’Brien, the film is essentially a modern-day take on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, examining the biological urge to create life (whether through scientific exploits or human procreation) and the true meaning of “motherhood.” In my interview with Moss out of this year’s Sundance, I provide a general rundown of the film’s plot: The film follows Dr. Rose Casper (Marin Ireland), a brilliant pathologist lacking in basic social skills. Human connection doesn’t interest her […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jul 13, 2023 -
Trailer Watch: Claire Simon’s Our Body
Watch the trailer for Our Body, the latest from acclaimed French documentarian Claire Simon, director of God’s Offices, The Competition, I Want to Talk About Duras and others. The doc had its world premiere at this year’s Berlinale before screening at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight and True/False stateside. Per an official synopsis: French documentary titan Claire Simon observes the everyday operations of the gynecological ward in a public hospital in Paris. In the process, she questions what it means to live in a woman’s body, filming the diversity, singularity and beauty of patients in all stages of life. Through these many […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jul 13, 2023 -
The 2023 Locarno Film Festival Lineup Features Lav Diaz, Radu Jude, Quentin Dupieux and More
The full lineup has been unveiled for the 76th Locarno International Film Festival, which will take place in the Swiss town from August 2-12. At a glance, highlights include new films from Filipino slow cinema auteur Lav Diaz, Romanian social satirist Radu Jude, zany French funnyman Quentin Dupieux and Argentine director Eduardo Williams (who actually needs three films in a trilogy, anyway?). Also featured in this year’s lineup is Family Portrait, the feature debut from Lucy Kerr, who we included on our annual 25 New Faces of Film list last year. Check out the full lineup below, and visit Locarno’s official […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jul 5, 2023 -
New/Next Film Festival Announces First Titles in Its Inaugural Lineup
New/Next Film Festival, produced by Baltimore NPR affiliate station 88.1 WYPR and curated by programmer Eric Allen Hatch, announces today the first titles in its inaugural 2023 lineup. The festival was created in reaction to the recent news that the Maryland Film Festival would not have a 2023 edition. New/Next will run from August 18-20 and be hosted at the five-screen Charles Theatre in Baltimore. “I’m thrilled to be back at The Charles Theatre, bringing some of the most exciting cinema I’ve seen in recent years to our audiences,” said Hatch, who was MdFF’s director of programming from 2010-2018, in […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 29, 2023 -
Maya Daisy Hawke Shares Masterclass Films Proof of Self and Notes on Notes
“A cutting room is a place where you see things that haven’t been seen before and may never be seen again,” says non-fiction editor and filmmaker Maya Daisy Hawke in Proof of Self, one of two masterclass short films (alongside Notes on Notes) that she’s made available to watch on Vimeo. “It’s where a certain amount of magic happens and where the truth gets buried—because ultimately once it’s been captured, it’s no longer real.” Proof of Self is 24-minutes long and partially explores Hawke’s nagging suspicion that she was “living in a spy novel” while editing the 2022 doc Navalny, […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 28, 2023 -
Apply for PAM CUT’s 2023 Sustainability Labs
PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, the film and new media arm of the Portland Art Museum, is currently accepting applications for their third annual Sustainability Labs. The six month program is specifically tailored for multidisciplinary media storytellers, providing mentorship, career-developing resources and stipends to further their artistic practices. Applications close on July 1. “Our organization is all about artists who aren’t content to be contained—by medium, what’s come before or a singular type of media that they’re working with,” Amy Dotson, director of PAM CUT and curator of Film & New Media at the Portland Art Museum, […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 22, 2023 -
“I Absolutely Cannot Stand the Present”: Ted Geoghegan on Period Horror Film Brooklyn 45
Post-WWII national anxieties offer a glimpse into our current tolerance for totalitarianism in Brooklyn 45, writer-director Ted Geoghegan’s latest horror effort. Presented as a real-time film in a bottle setting, the film takes place during the immediate aftermath of the war as a group of veterans meet at one of their Brooklyn (by way of Chicago) abodes to reconnect and (attempt to) mend fresh wounds. Clive “Hock” Hockstatter (Larry Fessenden) hosts the group, who assemble in part to support their old friend after his wife’s recent suicide. Rounding out the guest list is Marla Sheridan (Anne Ramsay), who worked as […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 15, 2023 -
Let Me Be Your Shelley Duvall: Stewart Thorndike on Bad Things
The haunted halls of a defunct Catskills hotel wreak psychological violence on a group of young, queer city slickers in Bad Things, the long-awaited sophomore feature from writer-director Stewart Thorndike. Arriving nearly a decade after Lyle, Thorndike’s sapphic take on Rosemary’s Baby starring Gabby Hoffmann, Bad Things similarly tackles plot points and thematic fixations of another scary movie staple—Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining—through a thoroughly queer and feminist perspective. Ruthie (Gayle Rankin) is debating whether or not to sell the now-derelict hotel her mother used to run years prior. With a decisive real estate meeting only days away, Ruthie assembles a […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 14, 2023 -
Executive Director Anne Hubbell on the Provincetown International Film Festival at 25
Founded in 1999 and situated in the historic arts colony on the Massachusetts Cape, the Provincetown International Film Festival has been a bastion for independent filmmakers and their projects for a quarter of a century, with classics such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Cameraperson and Coffee & Cigarettes appearing across its programming. PIFF has also long been known for its established rapport with queer directors (John Waters has returned annually to present awards and host events) and the the LGBTQ+ community that resides in the town year-round. PIFF’s 2023 edition, which begins today and runs through the 18th, is the festival’s […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 14, 2023 -
Exclusive Trailer: Film at Lincoln Center’s “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd” Retrospective Series
Filmmaker is pleased to host the exclusive trailer premiere of Film at Lincoln Center’s forthcoming retrospective series “Marco Ferreri: Beyond the Absurd,” which was co-produced by Cinecittà. The most comprehensive U.S. retrospective of the Italian director’s work will take place at FLC from June 9 through 22, with several films presented on 35mm. Per the press release: Highlights include Ferreri’s third feature The Little Coach, starring the famous comic actor José Isbert, which established young Ferreri as a European master of black humor; The Ape Woman, which underwent harsh censorship and is now presented with its three different endings: the […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 6, 2023
