Authors — Sarah Salovaara
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Abandoned Goods: Artists and Filmmakers Jillian Mayer and Zia Anger Talk about Anger’s Film/Performance My First Film and the Meanings of Failure and Success
With Zia Anger’s My First Film performance presented by Anger tomorrow at The Metrograph, here, from our Winter, 2019 print issue, is a conversation between Anger and filmmaker and artist Jillian Mayer, moderated by Sarah Salovaara, about all the various topics raised by the film, including how we measure success and failure in the independent world. Following the Metrograph performance, My First Film will play Sheffield Doc Fest June 7. From 2010 to 2012, Zia Anger, whose short, I Remember Nothing, landed her on Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces of Film list in 2015, made a microbudget feature film in her […]
by Sarah Salovaara on May 10, 2019 -
Trailer Watch: Isabelle Huppert in Neil Jordan’s Greta
Isabelle Huppert may well be the hardest working person in movies, with six films released in the past year. Next on the docket is Neil Jordan’s Greta, which premiered a couple months back at TIFF, and looks to lean heavy on the camp. Huppert stars as the titular Manhattanite who lures a younger woman, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, into an insidious game of cat and mouse. Focus Features will release the film stateside in March.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 21, 2018 -
Short Film: Caroline, Directed by Celine Held and Logan George
The Oscar short lists were announced earlier this week and one of the ten titles to make the cut in the Live-Action Short category was Caroline. Written and directed by Celine Held and Logan George — two of 2017’s 25 New Faces — the film follows a frenetic afternoon in the life of single mother who leaves her three children behind to go on a job interview. Watch it above.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 20, 2018 -
Trailer Watch: Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book
The trailer for Jean-Luc Godard’s latest cine-essay, The Image Book, has arrived. Winner of a special Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film revisits, reworks and reflects upon excerpts from cinema history. Blake Williams, in his dispatch from Cannes, described it as a “densely layered work of montage,” in line with much of Godard’s late period. Kino Lorber will release The Image Book in New York on January 26, and in Los Angeles on February 15.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 19, 2018 -
The Black List Announces its 2018 Screenplays
The 13th edition of The Black List has just been released. Founded by development executive Franklin Leonard, the list is a survey of the best un-produced screenplays in Hollywood, according to an anonymous selection of agents, managers, and production companies. Topping the list is Frat Boy Genius, a seemingly Social Network style take on Snap’s Evan Spiegel. Other highlights include a new project from Lena Waithe, and Nobody Nothing Nowhere, written by last year’s 25 New Faces Rachel Wolther and Alex Fischer. Read on for the full list. 36 Votes: Frat Boy Genius by Elissa Karasik A disgruntled employee of Snapchat tells the […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 17, 2018 -
Watch: Alfonso Cuarón’s Quartet for the End of Time (1983)
Now that Roma is available for all on Netflix, it’s as good a time as any to revisit the earliest work of Alfonso Cuarón. Made in 1983, when he was a 22 year-old film student in Mexico City, Quartet for the End of Time bares a strong semblance to the to the classics of the French New Wave. Named after the featured chamber music by Olivier Messiaen, the film explores the solitary life of a young man in and around his apartment. It was Cuarón’s last credited short before his 1991 feature length debut, Solo Con Tu Pareja.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 14, 2018 -
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K: Is it Worth It?
A $1300 4K RAW camera that comes with DaVinci Resolve and produces stunning, detailed images as those featured in the above camera test seems like a no-brainer. But as Blackmagic begins shipping their latest Pocket Cinema Camera, reports are rolling in of faulty battery life and other hang-ups. More than one reviewer noted that the battery has a tendency to jump from 70% to 0% in a second flat. Another suggests remedying the issue by purchasing a handful of Canon LP-E6Ns for back-up, effectively tacking an extra couple hundred dollars onto the baseline price tag. He also warns that the audio jacks can […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 13, 2018 -
Trailer Watch: Jobe’z World
Following its world premiere at last month’s IndieMemphis, Factory25 has released the first trailer for Jobe’z World, Michael M. Bilandic’s follow-up to his 2013’s art world satire Hellaware. This film looks to borrow from the After Hours formula of a New York City night gone wrong, as roller-blading, drug dealing Jobe (Jason Grisell) bares witness to the death of a celebrity client (Theodore Bouloukos). Featuring a robust ensemble and cinematography by Sean Price Williams, Jobe’z World is set for release on January 11.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 12, 2018 -
Watch: Blocking as Foreshadowing in Ridley Scott’s Alien
Although this video essay by Sareesh Sudhakaran is called “How Ridley Scott Covers a Dialogue Scene,” it more accurately investigates the ways in which Scott uses blocking and perspective to foreshadow the more sinister events of his 1979 mega-hit Alien. In breaking down the three scenes set inside the Nostromo’s dining area, Sudhakaran also draws attention to the more tradition applications of blocking, via its reinforcement of the shifting power dynamics amongst the crew. Check it out above.
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 11, 2018 -
Is The End Nigh for Fandor?
On the heels of FilmStruck’s closure, independent film streaming services have taken another hit as Fandor laid off about 40 employees towards the end of last week. The company’s CEO, Chris Kelly, announced that their assets were sold to a newly formed entity — Fandor ABC LLC, which is managed by GlassRatner — and that Fandor.com “will continue streaming movies without interruptions.” Their homepage now features a very small header that, once clicked upon, offers up the following statement: Fandor has prided itself on providing access to great film and visual expression to a broad audience. While we have had […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 10, 2018
