17728 Results for “”
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Back to One, Episode 172 (A Titane Special Episode): Agathe Russell and Vincent Lindon
Julia Ducournau’s new film Titane is, on many levels, an overwhelming cinematic experience. If you’re like me, it might take a second viewing to begin to fully appreciate the astounding work Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon deliver (no pun intended) to us in this film. Lindon is a seasoned actor with decades of accolades and experience in French cinema, and Rousselle is a wet-behind-the-ears newcomer making her feature film debut. But, serendipitously, as you’ll gather from this discussion, that is precisely what each of them needed in the other to energize their own performances. They talk about facing fears, letting […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Oct 5, 2021 -
Trailer Watch: Grasshoppers, The First Feature from 2018 25 New Face of Film Brad Bischoff
We profiled writer-director Brad Bischoff back in 2018 as part of that year’s 25 New Faces of Film. At the time, Vadim Rizov described his feature screenplay as “A bleakly funny Before Sunrise for mutually destructive alcoholics, it follows unstable couple Ray and Lisa over one increasingly sodden day and night, roaming through neighborhood streets, bars, open houses and many places they’re increasingly unwelcome.” Three years later, the film is making its world premiere as part of this year’s BendFilm Festival. We’re happy to share the premiere of the film’s trailer, whose visual control grounds performances by Saleh Bakri (The […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 4, 2021 -
“We Set Out To Make a Documentary in Six Months, Get the Music Out There, Play at Sundance and It Ends Up Taking Us Six Years”: Directors Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz on Karen Dalton: In My Own Time
Filmmakers Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz were deep in Missouri, working in the prop department for Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone, when they both became consumed with the legendary 1960s-era folk singer Karen Dalton. The artist, who died of AIDS in 1993, only 55 years old, was famously described by admirer and peer Bob Dylan as someone who “sang like Billie Holiday and played guitar like Jimmy Reed.” Her hallowed status on the Greenwich Village scene that launched Dylan and many others never elevated her to mainstream success. Drug addiction and emotional turmoil took a heavy toll, yet Dalton left behind […]
by Steve Dollar on Oct 4, 2021 -
Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations: “Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films,” Love and Basketball and Masquerade
When screenwriter, director, producer, actor, novelist, stock options trader, playwright, musician, newspaper columnist and gallery artist Melvin Van Peebles died last week at the age of 89, he left behind one of the most varied and entertaining bodies of work in all of American (and French, thanks to his Parisian detour in the 1960s) arts and letters. He’s best known for his revolutionary 1971 feature Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, but that classic—important as it is as a point of reference and inspiration for generations of independent filmmakers—only scratches the surface of Van Peebles’s genius and audacity. Thankfully, the Criterion Collection […]
by Jim Hemphill on Oct 1, 2021 -
Sentient.Art.Film Announces Inaugural Line of Sight Fellows
Sentient.Art.Film, which describes itself as a “creative distribution initiative,” is in the middle of its second online repertory series, “My Sight is Lined with Visions” (online through January 22 of next year). Now, Sentient.Art.Film has announced the five artists and filmmakers chosen for its inaugural Line of Sight fellowship. From the press release: Unlike the project-based artist development programs that dominate the indie film landscape, the Line of Sight Fellowship provides intergenerational mentorship and community-building discussion space for participants to develop a collective understanding of historical radical filmmaking (particularly the practices of marginalized communities) and shared future imaginaries outside of […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Sep 30, 2021 -
Overwhelming the Circuit: How I Scored First-Class Distribution for My Microbudget Film
My film was never going to be an easy sell. It’s black and white, nearly three hours long and stars no recognizable name actors. That’s all without mentioning that it was shot on the rattiest of shoestrings and, as a story, it’s a rather strange ride. Yet it wound up with dozens of positive (and sometimes rave) reviews from established critics, and a distribution deal with Kino Lorber, one of the best—if not the best—arthouse distributors in the country, and all without a publicist or sales agent. To invoke the Talking Heads: “Well, how did I get here?” I have […]
by Daniel Kremer on Sep 29, 2021 -
“I Have to Pay Some Form of Homage to the Art Form That Saved Me From Myself”: Writer/Director James DeMonaco on His Staten Island-Set Drama, This Is The Night
A veteran screenwriter and, more recently, an accomplished director, James DeMonaco has had a prolific career most commonly associated with The Purge franchise. Spanning five films and a television series, The Purge marked DeMonaco’s sophomore directorial outing and, aided by the upstart production company, Blumhouse, saw the filmmaker’s first box-office hit. DeMonaco, who also directed the second and third entries in the series, continues with the franchise, as a screenwriter, to this day (a rumored sixth installment is currently in the works). However, ties to his hometown of Staten Island remain at the forefront of DeMonaco’s creative endeavours, and his […]
by Erik Luers on Sep 28, 2021 -
Back to One, Episode 171: Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt is the very definition of a veteran actor. MASH, Alien, Steel Magnolias, Top Gun, A River Runs Through It, and countless other supporting credits in films and television grace his esteemed resume, plus an Emmy for Picket Fences. But never a lead role in a feature film! Until now. East Of The Mountains just might be 88-year-old Tom Skerritt’s best work on the screen. It’s an assured, vulnerable, simple yet extremely powerful performance, utilizing, as he describes in this episode, his “less is more” approach to acting. He talks about what he learned mentoring with Robert Altman and […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Sep 28, 2021 -
Watch: Short Films from the 2021 Filmfort Film Festival
Filmmaker is very happy to partner with the Filmfort Film Festival for its 2021 Filmfort Online Showcase. These films are available to watch here, free, on the site through Sunday, September 27. Check out the rest of the lineup at Filmfort and keep up via social @filmfortfest and #filmfort2021 #filmfortweekend. Enjoy! Changing Landscapes: Isle of Eigg dir. Aaron Farley, John Schlue, Alexander Falk USA 29 mins Do you see what I see? from Brad Abrahams on Vimeo. Do You See What I See? dir. Brad Abrahams USA, 12 mins Here you go: Halpate dir. Adam Khalil & Adam Piron USA, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 25, 2021 -
NYFF 2021 Critic’s Notebook: Benedetta, Il buco
Given what it took to arrive back at this point, anyone who introduced the first press and industry screening of this year’s New York Film Festival would have gotten a nice round of applause—I too am excited to be back at the Walter Reade Theater, my favorite NYC auditorium on a sheer projection quality/screen size/audio fidelity basis. But all politics is local, and NYFF’s significance relative to the larger festival landscape shouldn’t obscure the specific context of this year’s edition. With its union chapter recognized, Film at Lincoln Center’s staff are now attempting to negotiate and ratify a contract. The […]
by Vadim Rizov on Sep 24, 2021
