The Greek nonprofit Oxbelly announced today the participants of its 2024 Oxbelly retreat, which was held June 22-30, 2024 in Costa Navarino, Greece. Thirty fellows broken into three strands — screenwriting, episodic writing and fiction writing — received mentorship from an illustrious list of advisors, who included Charlie Kaufman, Chigozie Obioma, Miguel Gomes, Marielle Heller, Barry Jenkins and Michael Almereyda. Leaders and program directors for the three programs were Guardians of the Galaxy screenwriter Nicole Perman (Screenwriting); Jen Blake (executive producer, Joyland) and Deutschland 83 producer Jörg Winger (Episodic); and An Orchestra of Minorities author Chigozie Obioma (Fiction). As the […]
In 2012, Scottish composer Anna Meredith released her first non-classical-music recording, Black Prince Fury, a four-track EP opening with what immediately became her signature tune: “Nautilus,” a ferociously escalating blast of brass running arpeggios up and down at increasingly overwhelming volume. It’s at once visceral and programmatic, applying classical discipline to an earth-shaking instrumental in a mission statement that also opened Meredith’s first full-length album, 2016’s Varmints. In an interview with The Guardian’s Laura Snapes at the time, Meredith was insightful about the economics of choosing to move from the realm of classical music, where she wrote work paid for […]
After early success opposite Kirsten Dunst in Lifetime’s Fifteen and Pregnant, and as Jasper on the CW’s reboot of 90210, he’s gone on to build an impressive acting resume balancing television work (Hulu’s Under the Banner of Heaven) with edgy, transformative roles in independent films (Cuck; Can’t Seem to Make You Mine, opposite Lindsay Burdge; and A Desert, which just premiered at the Tribeca Festival, to name a few). On this episode, he talks about why it all starts with building trust with his collaborators early, the semi-mystical process of aligning his heart with the character’s heart, the importance of […]
A Bird Came Down is both a short and a feature-to-be by Heather von Rohr, produced by Nick Dawson, Editor of the Talkhouse and Filmmaker‘s former Managing Editor, and Emmett Kerr-Perkinson. In the guest essay below, von Rohr discusses the film’s themes within the context of its long gestation period. Von Rohr, Dawson and Kerr-Perkinson are currently crowdfunding the short’s post-production. To learn more, visit the project’s fundraising page at the New York Foundation for the Arts. — Editor In mid-June, I shot my first film in more than two decades. It’s called A Bird Came Down, and will be […]
BlackStar Projects, the organization celebrating visionary Black, Brown and Indigenous film and media artists, announced today the full program for its 2024 BlackStar Film Festival. This 13th edition of BlackStar takes place August 1 – 4 at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, with additional screenings, parties and events at various venues in Center City Philadelphia. Among the highlights are the Opening Night selection, Dreams in Nightmares, writer/director Shatara Michelle Ford’s feature follow-up to their acclaimed Gotham and Spirit Award-nominated debut, Test Pattern. Dreams in Nightmares tells the story of three Black queer femmes on a Midwestern road trip […]
McKenzie Wark is out in Brooklyn, New York. We’re speaking via video chat in the days leading up to the FIDMarseille premiere of Life Story, her new collaboration with Jessica Dunn Rovinelli. Between questions, and while we wait for Jessica to join us, McKenzie moves around the world just out of frame. She speaks to her daughter, walks into and out of L-Train Vintage, crosses streets, occasionally exchanging greetings with passersby. It is a joy to edit the transcript of this interview later on—sentences are punctuated with “oh hi!”s, “how’ve you been?”s, little subtexts of intimacy smuggled into thoughts about […]
Legendary writer/director Robert Towne, whose screenplays include Chinatown and Shampoo and films include Personal Best and Tequila Sunrise, died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 89. On this sad occasion we’re reposting Matt Ross’s print edition interview with Towne from our Spring, 2006 issue. Below, the two discuss Towne’s adaptation of John Fante’s Ask the Dust, the financing difference between studio and independent films, and why Towne keeps returning to cinematic L.A. R.I.P. Robert Towne. — Editor Every city has its quintessential storyteller. And when it comes to Los Angeles, a city whose primary business is itself the […]
As I wrote when sharing an exclusive clip from the feature upon its festival premiere, Christina Kallas‘s Paris is in Harlem “takes place the night before New York’s infamous Cabaret Law was repealed. In a historic Harlem jazz bar, a shooting alters the lives of several strangers who have gathered for the final night of ‘no dancing.’” With the film premiering on digital platforms July 4, check out the new trailer above. Comments Kallas, ““As a European filmmaker making films in America, I’m somewhat obsessed with guns ending up in the wrong hands. In Paris is in Harlem, I am […]
In the midst of a successful modeling career a decade ago, Abbey Lee’s chance to break into acting came with Mad Max Fury Road. That challenging shoot was the first of many she faced with relish. A scene-stealing role in The Neon Demon followed, then M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, Lovecraft County, and Florida Man, to name a few, and now she stars opposite Kevin Costner in his 2-part western epic Horizon: An American Saga (in theaters now). On this episode, she talks about letting the character find her, the importance of staying malleable, using everything that happens as fuel for […]
“I thought about The Exterminating Angel,” Lucy Kerr says over coffee as she describes the origins of Family Portrait, her hypnotic feature debut. Indeed, the film’s central conceit hews closely to Luis Buñuel’s 1962 satire, but instead of posh partygoers being inexplicably stuck in a single room, an extended Texas family is unable to get everyone to gather for the titular photo. In particular, Katie’s (Deragh Campbell) pleas for everyone to assemble are frustratingly ignored or otherwise thwarted, especially when the family matriarch (Silvana Jakich) is suddenly nowhere to be found. Wandering around the vast property in search of her […]