Producer Shrihari Sathe makes his directorial debut with 1000 Rupee Note, premiering this weekend in New York at the Village East. Sathe, whose credits include Dukhtar, Buffalo Juggalos, It Felt Like Love (and, full disclosure, A Woman a Part, in partnership with me), developed this story based on a short by Shrikant Bojewar, the resident editor of Maharashtra Times, one of India’s major newspapers. Here’s a description: Budhi, a widow, lives in a small village in Maharashtra, India — and her only son has committed suicide. Though poor and left alone in the world, she leads a cheerful life and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 22, 2016A24 has just released this trailer for Andrea Arnold’s Cannes prize-winning American Honey, starring Shia LaBeouf and riveting newcomer Sasha Lane. She’s the new recruit, he’s the troubled showboater and Riley Keough is the bikini-clad capitalist who has cultishly transformed a motley collection of street youth into a band of traveling grifters. Arnold, along with her regular DP, Robbie Ryan, creates an exuberant and kaleidoscopic vision of contemporary America in a film that creates its own entirely compelling rhythm.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 21, 2016Written by Zachary Treitz and Kate Lyn Sheil, and directed by Treitz, Men Go to Battle is an ambitious independent historical drama that tells the story of two quarreling brothers whose back-and-forth are interrupted by the Civil War. Here’s how the filmmakers synopsize the film, which stars Tim Morton, David Maloney and, from Spring Breakers, Rachel Korine: While most Americans predict that the Civil War will end by Christmas, Henry (Tim Morton) and Francis Mellon (David Maloney) are more concerned about braving another winter on their struggling rural Kentucky farm. The brothers have become suffocatingly close. Francis’ practical jokes become […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 3, 2016Whether you missed The Witch in its first time in theaters or you’re ready to return for a second helping of horror, you’ll get a chance to see Robert Eggers’ stunner this weekend. In advance of its return to theaters on Friday, April 1, distributor A24 has released a new trailer (above) for the festival favorite, which initially premiered at Sundance in 2015. Back in February, The Witch gave A24 its biggest weekend opening ever, earning $8.8 million. Having already earned $24 million at the box office, it seems likely to edge out A24’s award-winning Ex Machina, which has grossed $25.4 million. Set in […]
by Paula Bernstein on Mar 30, 2016Two-time Academy Award nominated director Hany Abu-Assad follows up Paradise Now and Omar with The Idol, which now has a U.S. trailer. Inspired by the true story of Palestinian Mohammad Assaf, who was crowned Arab Idol champion in 2013, the film focuses on Assaf’s childhood in Gaza where he dreams of a successful musical career. The Idol, which premiered at TIFF 2015, was partially filmed on location in Gaza, the first feature to be shot there in decades. Adopt Films will release the film in New York on May 6 and nationwide on May 13.
by Paula Bernstein on Mar 10, 2016Pamela Romanowsky’s adaptation of Stephen Elliott’s meta-memoir, The Adderall Diaries, gets a pulse-pounding trailer from A24. The film tells the story of a writer, Elliott, navigating writer’s block while reporting on a murder trial taking place within San Francisco’s SM community. James Franco, who originally optioned Elliott’s book, plays the writer; Amber Heard is the journalist who gains his access to the case; and Ed Harris plays Elliott’s father, whose rageful relationship with his son provides the film’s emotional throughline. The film premieres on DirectTV on March 10 and in theaters April 15.
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2016What an exquisite final trailer for Todd Haynes’ Patricia Highsmith adaption, Carol! Haynes’s film, a story of forbidden love set in a 1950s’ New York, is pure cinema, every moment carefully calibrated and achingly expressed. Carol is Filmmaker‘s Fall, 2015 cover story — an interview of Haynes conducted by Kim Morgan — and the Weinstein Company has just released this last trailer, posted above.
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 20, 2015Disconcerting: Zia Anger appeared on our beginning-of-career 25 New Faces list just this year, but she’s already titling her latest short, My Last Film. Clarification should come shortly; the film, which stars Lola Kirke, Kelly Rohrback and Rosanna Arquette, premieres at the New York Film Festival as part a New York-centric shorts program alongside other favorites including Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez & Daniel Claridge and Joanna Arnow. In the meantime, a short, foreboding trailer, above, offers few clues.
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 31, 2015Jonas Carpignano made Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces list in 2012 on the basis of his astonishing short, A Chjàna, about violence between African immigrants and police in Rosarno, Italy. His debut feature, Mediterranea, develops a similar storyline and premiered in Cannes this year. Check out the film’s foreign trailer, which just dropped.
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 31, 2015With the annual Burning Man conference underway, now is a good time to revisit what producer and editor Mike Hedge calls a “participatory documentary,” As the Dust Settles. Shot at the festival, the doc uses a number of collaborating directors (Roger Ingraham, Katheryn McGaffigan, Jamie Dee, Jeremy Lubman, and Tarynn Wiehahn) and generally superb cinematography to capture, says Hedge, “an intimate glimpse of what we discovered about love, the environment, the gift economy, reality, art, creativity, and ourselves.” As the Dust Settles is available on a wide variety of streaming and download platforms. As a special bonus, Hedge has provided […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 31, 2015