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“A Storybook We Were Creating Inspired by the Truth of Washington Heights”: Director Jon M. Chu on the Spirited New York Musical In The Heights
“We were trying to break the rules of a musical genre that’s been around since the beginning of Hollywood,” director Jon M. Chu says about the making of In The Heights, his sensational adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multi-award-winning stage musical featuring a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, who also wrote the screenplay. And the rules, he does break confidently, with a boisterous movie dedicated to the mostly Hispanic and Latin-centric communities of New York City’s Washington Heights. When he first came on board to direct In The Heights, a massively-scaled screen musical that renews the Busby Berkeley spirit and brings […]
by Tomris Laffly on Jun 9, 2021 -
“We Were Among the First Shows to Restart”: DP Ben Richardson on Mare of Easttown
When I spoke to cinematographer Ben Richardson shortly before the season finale of Mare of Easttown, the first thing I said was, “Don’t tell me anything that happens.” Anything is the operative word here. I didn’t want to know the outcome of the show’s central mystery—who killed young mother Erin McMenamin—before I had a chance to watch the climactic episode. But, equally, I didn’t want to know the conclusion of the domestic dramas surrounding detective Kate Winslet and the denizens of her blue-collar suburban Pennsylvania town—a region with an accent so distinctive Saturday Night Live built an entire sketch around […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Jun 8, 2021 -
Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Announces Grants for 18 Projects
The Sundance Institute today announced the latest cohort of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Grantees. A total of $590,000 in unrestricted grant support has been provided to 18 projects in various stages including five in development, eight in production, and five in post-production. From the press release: This granting cycle’s supported projects are from 20 countries and territories across five continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America), with over half the projects having international roots. Granting focused on projects by artists from historically underrepresented communities, ensuring that these stories are being told from within the communities. This year all […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 8, 2021 -
Back to One, Episode 157: Susan Kelechi Watson
We’re catching the super talented Susan Kelechi Watson at an interesting moment. She plays Beth Pearson on the network television phenomenon This Is Us, which just finished its fifth season and announced that the sixth will be its last. On this episode, she talks about what makes a performance “leave the screen,” learning the power of minimalism from watching Sade, how sometimes being a little lost “in the wilderness” is an important part of her process, why she started building her post-This Is Us career many seasons ago, and much much more! Back To One can be found wherever you […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 8, 2021 -
“You Have to Work with What Reality is Giving You”: Danielle Lessovitz on Port Authority
Port Authority, filmmaker Danielle Lessovitz’s gritty debut feature, is “so New York” that one of its least surprising traits is that Martin Scorsese is credited as executive producer. Opening in the cold, shadow-filled halls of the metro transportation hub that provides the film its title, the narrative follows Paul (Fionn Whitehead), a twentysomething arriving in from Pittsburgh, as he attempts to get in touch with his estranged sister (Louisa Krause). A bloody altercation on the subway leads to a chance encounter that connects Paul to a few (temporary) friends, odd jobs, and shelters to live in. One evening, Paul meets […]
by Erik Luers on Jun 7, 2021 -
“I’ve Never Made Storyboards Before”: Christian Petzold on Undine, CGI Catfish and Swimming Pools
When I got on Zoom with Christian Petzold, the writer-director had already been doing press off and on for Undine for 16 months. The film premiered at last year’s Berlinale to mixed-muted response and only now, via IFC Films, is seeing US release (both in theaters and on PVOD). In the interim, Petzold got and recovered from COVID-19 while doing interviews as the film continued its (virtual) festival run. There may not seem to be much left to talk about at this point, but Petzold is a famously inexhaustible and self-analyzing interview. In the middle of our talk, his internet cut […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 7, 2021 -
Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations: My Fair Lady, The President’s Analyst, The Hand
A glorious last gasp of the classical Hollywood studio system gets a reference quality upgrade with Paramount’s 4K disc of My Fair Lady, the best of the gargantuan musicals that would hit their commercial apex with The Sound of Music in 1965 and nearly sink the industry with Doctor Dolittle and Star! just a few years later. Released in 1964, My Fair Lady is an early entry in the cycle and an expertly modulated one thanks to the firm hand of director George Cukor, whose work was always characterized by a harmonious interaction between performance, composition, camera movement and cutting—Cukor […]
by Jim Hemphill on Jun 4, 2021 -
“Our Crew was Three People”: Slow Machine’s Paul Felten, Joe DeNardo and Stephanie Hayes on Their Rivette-Inspired Punk Thriller
Originally published out of Rotterdam 2020, this interview with the creators and star of Slow Machine is being republished today alongside the film’s release from Grasshopper Film. It is currently available for streaming through Metrograph. Kudos to the author of the unusually compelling copy for Slow Machine in the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s catalogue. The elephantine program, encompassing more than 500 films whose wild assortment of lengths, genres and formats defies any attempt at meaningful categorization (its four main sections this year were split into 23 subsections) is filled with gems, but offers scant assistance in discovering those not already […]
by Giovanni Marchini Camia on Jun 4, 2021 -
True/False Film Fest 2021: Unboxing
The box arrived in mid-April while I wasn’t home, so my confused roommates kindly brought it in. “What is this?” one asked when we regrouped; their initial assumption, based on The Box’s shiny black and vaguely sinister appearance, was that our other roommate had ordered bulky apparel from a goth website. Friends described it, variously, as resembling a monolith and/or child’s coffin. This was the first offering from True/False Film Fest 2021’s “Teleported” incarnation, intended as not just another at-home streaming festival but an entire experience—birthed out of pandemic necessity, but hopefully joyous on its own terms. Instead of unlocking the entire […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 4, 2021 -
Kino Lorber and Dedza Films Announce Release of Short Film Omnibus Who Will Start Another Fire
Kino Lorber and Dedza Films announced today their first collaborative release, Who Will Start Another Fire, an international short film omnibus featuring the works of nine emerging filmmakers from underrepresented communities around the world. Beginning June 11, the films will be released digitally on KinoMarquee.com, the distributor’s virtual theatrical platform in partnership with arthouse cinemas around the country. The anthology will also be released day and date on VOD on KinoNow.com, and forthcoming will be a limited edition DVD with an introduction by Charles Burnett. In-person screenings will occur across the country at independent cinemas that are open. From the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 4, 2021
