To be a standout on a show featuring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford is quite a feat, but that’s exactly what Luke Tennie did in his breakthrough role as Sean in the hit Apple TV+ series Shrinking. On this episode, the seemingly effortlessly-talented young actor takes us back to his early days and details how football played a pivotal part in helping him with the disciplines required for acting. He explains his belief that there can be no real “play” without massive preparation; talks about coming to a place of understanding that auditioning is simply a “demonstration of my capabilities;” […]
Since the late 1990s, Lav Diaz’s cinema has explored the Philippines’ troubled history with colonization, authoritarianism, corruption, poverty, macho-feudalism and the tensions that animate and enliven the sociopaths of today. His durational works are simultaneously a test of patience and spirit and assertions that the stories of Filipinos deserve time and space to unfold in all of its complexities. Diaz’s works paint portraits of good men and women whose morals disintegrate along with their minds, poisoned by the pressures of the world, leading them to commit uncharacteristic acts of violence one would think they are too progressive or too intelligent […]
Originally published January 20, 2024, timed to the film’s premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, this interview with Seeking Mavis Beacon director Jazmin Jones is now reposted in conjunction with the film’s theatrical release from NEON. — Editor Exuberantly maximalist in approach, Jazmin Jones’s blast of a debut feature, Seeking Mavis Beacon, is a rapid-fire blend of neo-noir road movie, desktop essay film and meta critique of the “searching for” documentary subgenre. The picture follows Jones and cyber doula friend Olivia McKayla Ross — self-described “e-girl detectives” — on their years-long journey to locate Renee L’Espérance, the Haitian-born model […]
The Gotham Film and Media Institute, Filmmaker’s publisher, announced today the programming for the 2024 Gotham Week Expo, taking place during Gotham Week on Monday, September 30th – Thursday, October 4th in locations throughout New York City. As announced in a press release, The Gotham “brings together partners from The Gotham’s Expanding Communities initiative to provide community and thought leadership on topics pertinent to film and media creators, including discussing challenges and solutions on how to approach advocacy and career advancement.” Opening the Expo will be a demo and conversation with Kamala Avila-Salmon, Lionsgate’s Head of Inclusive Content. The presentation […]
Production studio Wavelength has announced its official sponsorship of the Yellow Springs Film Festival. From the press release: On Sunday, October 6, 2024, at 1:45 PM ET, Wavelength, in partnership with YSFF, will host its first-ever WAVE Grant showcase featuring short films from WAVE Grant alumni including Ana Verde’s Te Llaman Las Olas (The Waves Call You), Geena Hernandez’s Chicks, Sofia and Andrea Riba’s American Girl, Hannah Patterson’s Late to the Party, Amanda Gordon’s Sugar Honey, Leena Kurishingal’s No Escape, and Neha Aziz’s So, That Happened. The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Wavelength’s Head of […]
Since its inception in 2012, Blackstar Film Festival has become one of my favorites. In a recent interview in Essence, founder Maori Karmel Holmes said, “When I started the festival, I didn’t realize that it was going to be an annual event, and I was mostly interested in seeing films that I knew existed in the world but hadn’t been shown in Philadelphia. I was also interested in a specific kind of film, mostly experimental, largely made by independent filmmakers and wanting to put them together in a way that would put artistic films next to social justice documentaries and […]
He was in The OA, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and played Roy Cohn in Fellow Travelers, but the stage is where Will Brill has found the most satisfaction and success recently, in A Case For The Existence of God, Uncle Vanya, and, just this year, as Reg in Stereophonic on Broadway, for which he received a Tony Award. On this episode he talks about building Reg by starting with his voice, why following playwright David Adjmi to a bar was a pivotal move, the importance of directorial affirmation, how his pre-show ritual has changed, and much more. Back To One […]
Chicken & Egg Pictures announced today the 29 grantees for its second Pictures Research & Development Grant. From the press release: Chicken & Egg Pictures, which provides support and funding to women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers, announced today the 29 film projects supported by its second Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant. The grants provide directors with $10,000 USD for research or $20,000 USD for development of a new documentary project. These critical stages in the life of a documentary are often unpaid and unsupported. Grantees will also have access to the Chicken & Egg Pictures’ team and […]
A 4DX screening offers a host of bells and whistles engineered to make the moviegoing experience less passive. Three motors in every seat work in tandem to shake a participant around violently during big action setpieces or vibrate lightly during quieter moments. There’s a back kicker for imitating punches or kicks thrown during fights. Lightning effects and fog fill the theater at large, while sprays of water interact with each audience member. The premium format received a massive visibility bump this summer when viral clips of audience members watching Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters lit up TikTok and X. On this […]
Andrés Arochi’s cinematic indoctrination began at a Blockbuster Video in Mexico City when he was 12-years old. Stuck at home for the summer after being grounded for his grades, Arochi spent those months binging the offerings in his local Blockbuster’s small section of American arthouse cinema. The next summer he worked for his uncle to save money for his first stills camera. By the time he was 17, Arochi was shooting music videos and beginning to direct experimental films. Now, he’s behind the lens on his first narrative feature Longlegs, the well-received box office hit about an FBI Agent (Maika […]