As we reported last week, the NYC-based, cinema worker-centric zine Cashiers Du Cinéma has curated a 10-film program at Brooklyn’s BAM Cinema that spotlights the oft-unappreciated labor of front of house theater staff. Today, filmmaker David Cardoza shares an exclusive promo for our readers that stars Bill Heidbreder, a NY writer/critic and subject of the 2002 documentary Cinemania. The promo features Heidbreder playing a character named Terry. He dons a movie usher’s red vest, black sunglasses and a microphone headset as he implores commuters in the 6th Ave subway tunnel to check out the BAM series, which is entitled Cinéma […]
Several Futures announces today that it has acquired North American distribution for Revelations of Divine Love, New York-based filmmaker Caroline Golum’s sophomore film. Following her 2017 debut A Feast of Man, Golum’s 14th century-set feature had its world premiere at FIDMarseille last summer. Several Futures, which specializes in “auteurist and anti-imperialist work,” picks up Revelations of Divine Love a few weeks after its North American premiere at the Montreal Critics’ Week film festival. “Caroline Golum’s film is totally unique in the current landscape of American independent film—not only in its ambition, but in its sincerity and artistry,” said Several Futures […]
“What I’m saying is, if you want to go, I won’t stop you.” At the final Park City edition of Sundance last week, my 14th consecutive one, I contemplated this line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid daily. That’s because a gorgeous, Western-style artwork painted on plywood by local artist Ryan Williams stood not far from The Library Theater, displaying the dearly departed Sundance Kid Robert Redford (who passed away last September at age 89) next to these famous words spoken by his character. The quote felt like a homegrown farewell steeped in bittersweet resignation, an ingenious marking of […]
For me, the fun of Sundance—and all festivals—is seeing not the films that everyone is buzzing about pre-fest (I can wait for the streaming release), but discovering the quieter gems that US distributors would do well to take a chance on. While this year’s nonfiction crop was weaker overall than 2025’s exceptional slate—which saw such cinematic revelations as Life After, The Perfect Neighbor and Seeds all competing in the US Documentary Competition—the docs that rose to the top, most notably the handful below, have continued to stay with me long after the final credits rolled in Park City. Barbara Forever […]
Dan Welch and David Cardoza, self-described “editors-for-life” of the NYC-based Cashiers Du Cinéma zine, are taking over Brooklyn’s BAM Cinema for a 10-film series “contemplating cinema work in works of cinema,” running from February 13-19. For those unfamiliar with the pair’s publication, each edition features a variety of comics, essays, and short fiction “about the ragged glory of working at movie theaters,” all penned by current or former movie theater employees. The first issue was published in 2023, and the most recent fourth issue was released back in December to substantial buzz, complete with a shout-out in The Strategist’s “Best […]
As Sundance 2026 wraps and the curtain drops on Park City, the Sundance 2026 awards have been announced. Films fortunate enough to be so honored by Sundance juries gain valuable visibility, boosting their chances at finding greater audiences. Several of the films mentioned in my first round of coverage won awards. However, many of the premieres at Sundance you will likely hear very little about. As director Eugene Hernandez commented at the awards ceremony, out of 16,000 submissions, 150 films were selected for this year’s Sundance. How many festival attendees, no less reviewers, are able to see more than 20-30 […]
While the East digs out from under feet of snow and ice, Park City is dry as a bone. Desiccated slopes encircling Main Street are gray and bare, devoid of powder or skiers. Meanwhile, Main Street, a pedestrian mall during the festival’s first weekend, is buzzier than ever, packed with Sundancers under sunny skies reveling at the festival’s last rodeo in Utah. The only precipitation in the forecast is another blizzard of great indie films. Last night’s premiere of Once Upon a Time in Harlem was the film’s first public screening ever, and it was met with two standing ovations. […]
This year’s Sundance Film Festival promises a somewhat elegiac atmosphere. For starters, this is the last time the festival will take place in snowy Park City, Utah, its home since 1981. (Next year, Sundance will take up residence in similarly snowy Boulder, Colorado.) Adding to the mournful vibe is the still fresh loss of Robert Redford, the festival’s founder and presiding spirit, who died in September. Another devastating loss came with the passing of Tammie Rosen, Sundance’s dedicated Chief Communications Officer, who died in December after a lengthy battle with cancer. Amid these many lamentations, it’s heartening to see that […]
Chicken & Egg Films, the Brooklyn-based organization that champions women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers with funding, mentorship, and access, announces today the grantees of its 2026 (Egg)celerator Lab. Nine feature documentary film projects, all helmed or co-helmed by first- or second-time directors, will receive one year of professional mentorship and a $40,000 production grant. Coinciding with the 2026 (Egg)celerator Lab announcement is news that C&E will, for the first time in the organization’s history, host its signature retreats in Canada. Per a press release, this decision was “in response to the fact that travel to the United States has grown […]
The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival announces the lineup for its 23rd annual incarnation today, and Filmmaker has an exclusive early look at the 46 features and 69 short and mini docs slated for inclusion. Montana’s largest annual cinematic event will roar back to life in Missoula from February 13 through 22, and this year’s program features a slew of world premieres, along with a large handful of films set to debut at Sundance later this month, among them Brydie O’Connor’s Barbara Forever, Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig’s Jaripeo, Rachael J. Morrison’s Joybubbles, and Sam Green’s The Oldest Person in […]