Neither Barbie production designer Sarah Greenwood nor set decorator Katie Spencer had Barbie dolls growing up. “Or a DreamHouse, or anything,” recalls Greenwood, who joined Filmmaker on Zoom alongside Spencer following the record-breaking opening of Greta Gerwig’s feminist smash hit. “I was probably a little judgmental about Barbie until this film — I fell into that camp. But I kind of readdressed my thoughts after meeting this Barbie, and [its creator] Ruth Handler.” Spencer adds, “And [after] meeting Greta. We were a part of the backlash generation. Even if we wanted a Barbie, I don’t know that our parents would have […]
On Monday, TIFF announced the gala and special presentation titles for this year’s festival, which runs from September 7 through 17. Now the documentary slate has been revealed, which includes 93-year-old veteran filmmaker Frederick Wiseman’s French restaurant doc Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros, Errol Morris’s John le Carré exploration The Pigeon Tunnel, Roger Ross Williams’s anti-blackness investigation Stamped From the Beginning, co-directors Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’s Louis C.K. takedown Sorry/Not Sorry, Pierre-Henri Gibert’s Agnès Varda tribute Viva Varda! and more. TIFF’s opening night doc film will be Copa 71, Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine’s film about an international women’s soccer tournament […]
While rapper Travis Scott stars in Harmony Korine‘s latest film Aggro Dr1ft (announced today as part of the Venice 2023 lineup), today Scott announces another collaboration with Korine (and a handful of other filmmakers): Circus Maximus, the 75-minute visual accompaniment to his forthcoming album Utopia. Scott and Korine direct alongside Gaspar Noé, Nicolas Winding Refn, Lamb director Valdimar Jóhannsson and celebrated artist and music video helmer Kahlil Joseph. A brief official synopsis reads: Prepare to enter Circus Maximus as Travis Scott takes his audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of […]
After TIFF’s first wave lineup announcement yesterday, the lineup now arrives for the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which will take place from August 30 through September 9. Last week, it was revealed that Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers would be pulled from the festival due to talent (namely Zendaya) being unable to attend due SAG-AFTRA strike rules. Originally programmed as the festival’s opening night selection, Edoardo de Angelis’s Comandante will now kick off the fest. At a glance, lineup highlights include new films from Pablo Larraín, Rysusuke Hamaguchi, Michael Mann, David Fincher, Ava DuVernay, Sofia Coppola, Richard Linklater, Wes […]
A new trailer lands today for Our Father, the Devil, writer-director Ellie Foumbi’s feature debut that earned her a spot on our 25 New Faces of Film list last year. Selected for funding through the Venice Biennale College Cinema in December 2019, the film first screened as a “work in progress” at Venice in 2021 before premiering a final cut at Tribeca in 2022, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Here’s the plot of the film, per an official synopsis: Nominated for the 2023 Best Feature Independent Spirit Award, Ellie Foumbi’s elegant moral thriller and debut feature […]
Critic, curator and sometime Filmmaker Magazine contributor Darren Hughes is the Artistic Director of the new FILM FEST KNOX, which will be holding its inaugural edition from November 9 to 12, 2023. Among the new festival’s sections will be an American Regional Film Competition section designed to highlight work produced outside of New York and Los Angeles. From the press release: In response to an announcement that the Knoxville Film Festival would no longer be taking place after a 19-year run, Visit Knoxville will now be producing a new film event. FILM FEST KNOX is an international film festival in […]
The Toronto International Film Festival unveils today 60 titles programmed for the 2023 edition’s gala and special presentation sections. Taking place from September 7-17, TIFF’s first wave lineup announcement encompasses 37 World Premieres, seven International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, and four Canadian Premieres. At a glance, several buzzy films that premiered at this year’s Cannes will also screen in Toronto, including Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, Gran Prix winner The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster (which won Best Screenplay for Yuji Sakamoto), Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera and Catherine Breillat’s Last […]
“To get a good script is a thrilling thing,” said Oscar®-nominated actor Lesley Manville during this month’s SCAD Lacoste Film Festival. “It was a privilege when a good script would plop through the letterbox—it now pings through your email.” Manville’s good humor and insights infused the event, which took place July 1-2 in France’s Luberon Valley at the international location of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Fittingly, the festival paid homage to tradition as it looked to the future—while having a great time in the here-and-now. “La Maison Basse, with walls dating back from the 12th century, […]
Ahead of its world premiere next month at the Locarno Film Festival, a trailer arrives today for Lucy Kerr’s feature debut Family Portrait. Kerr appeared on our annual 25 New Faces of Film list last year, in part due to the strength of this film. An official synopsis provided by sales company Lights On reads: Set at the dawn of COVID, Family Portrait follows a sprawling family on a morning when they have planned a group picture. After the mother disappears and one of the daughters becomes increasingly anxious to find her and take the picture, the rest of the […]
The first trailer drops today for 25 New Faces of Film alum Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal, the filmmaker’s meditative hybrid doc on the impact of the coal industry (and the substance itself) on Central Appalachia. The film premiered at Sundance this year in the NEXT section and will arrive in select theaters around the country for limited engagements beginning next month. Per an official synopsis: A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, King Coal meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Oscar-nominated filmmaker […]