Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Astrakan (David Depesseville)
Astrakhan fur is unique: dark, beautiful, and stripped exclusively from newborn lambs, even ones killed in their mother’s womb. (Stella McCarthy once said it’s like wearing a fetus.) That ruthlessness—a sense of lost innocence; blood sacrifice—runs deep in Astrakan, a new film from France and one of the better in Locarno this year; and if that title isn’t enough to give pause, plenty else in the opening exchanges will. The first act is a procession of flags, both red and false: at the opening the protagonist, Samuel, lightly goads a snake in the reptile house of a zoo; moments later a rabbit is hung and skinned in his kitchen with all the ceremony of...
Astrakan (David Depesseville)
Astrakhan fur is unique: dark, beautiful, and stripped exclusively from newborn lambs, even ones killed in their mother’s womb. (Stella McCarthy once said it’s like wearing a fetus.) That ruthlessness—a sense of lost innocence; blood sacrifice—runs deep in Astrakan, a new film from France and one of the better in Locarno this year; and if that title isn’t enough to give pause, plenty else in the opening exchanges will. The first act is a procession of flags, both red and false: at the opening the protagonist, Samuel, lightly goads a snake in the reptile house of a zoo; moments later a rabbit is hung and skinned in his kitchen with all the ceremony of...
- 4/5/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Donating sperm makes me feel good. Maybe it makes me feel wanted, and needed. Worth something to somebody else,” says Stefan, one of the subjects of “Spermworld,” the new FX on Hulu documentary that delves into the landscape of unregulated babymaking and just why prospective parents have sought out these unconventional solutions.
Director Lance Oppenheim went deep inside another distinctive community with his last documentary, “Some Kind of Heaven,” about The Villages in Florida. And there’s a throughline to Oppenheim’s films: They combine lushly saturated camera work with a narrator-free approach that lets subjects tell their own stories about their sometimes quixotic lives. That’s also the case with his next project, “Ren Faire,” a three-part HBO series about the Texas Renaissance Festival and its charismatic founder that premieres this summer.
Oppenheim fell into the world of prolific sperm donors through former New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles...
Director Lance Oppenheim went deep inside another distinctive community with his last documentary, “Some Kind of Heaven,” about The Villages in Florida. And there’s a throughline to Oppenheim’s films: They combine lushly saturated camera work with a narrator-free approach that lets subjects tell their own stories about their sometimes quixotic lives. That’s also the case with his next project, “Ren Faire,” a three-part HBO series about the Texas Renaissance Festival and its charismatic founder that premieres this summer.
Oppenheim fell into the world of prolific sperm donors through former New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles...
- 3/30/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Like Lance Oppenheim‘s first feature, 2020’s Some Kind of Heaven, his follow-up Spermworld follows three nonfiction protagonists through a niche American context. Heaven focused on three residents of The Villages, a retirement community in Florida that’s the largest in the world, through cleanly composed, academy-ratio images of seniors who’ve self-selected to live in something like Back to the Future’s ’50s backlot suburbia writ large. Per its title and subject, Spermworld is a grimier follow-up in the wider 2.1 ratio, all sickly blue and green colors and degraded frame edges, following three main sperm donor subjects who tell themselves different stories about […]
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/29/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Like Lance Oppenheim‘s first feature, 2020’s Some Kind of Heaven, his follow-up Spermworld follows three nonfiction protagonists through a niche American context. Heaven focused on three residents of The Villages, a retirement community in Florida that’s the largest in the world, through cleanly composed, academy-ratio images of seniors who’ve self-selected to live in something like Back to the Future’s ’50s backlot suburbia writ large. Per its title and subject, Spermworld is a grimier follow-up in the wider 2.1 ratio, all sickly blue and green colors and degraded frame edges, following three main sperm donor subjects who tell themselves different stories about […]
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/29/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Welcome to the 253rd episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
Here’s how this week’s podcast plays out:
1. Headlines
Noah Wyle and ER, Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington, Claire Danes and Howard Gordon, Darren Star, The Last Thing He Told Me, Catherine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn lead a busy week in industry headlines.
2. What’s Up With … Euphoria
HBO said this week that production on the highly anticipated third season of the HBO drama will not begin soon, but rather that the cast can now pursue other opportunities in the interim. This segment...
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
Here’s how this week’s podcast plays out:
1. Headlines
Noah Wyle and ER, Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington, Claire Danes and Howard Gordon, Darren Star, The Last Thing He Told Me, Catherine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn lead a busy week in industry headlines.
2. What’s Up With … Euphoria
HBO said this week that production on the highly anticipated third season of the HBO drama will not begin soon, but rather that the cast can now pursue other opportunities in the interim. This segment...
- 3/29/2024
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Get ready for a compelling and thought-provoking journey into the world of modern parenthood with “Spermworld,” airing this Friday at 9:00 Pm on FX. In this eye-opening documentary, viewers will follow the experiences of three men as they navigate the complex landscape of online sperm donation forums.
As the new wild west of baby making, these online platforms serve as a meeting ground for sperm donors and hopeful parents, offering a unique glimpse into the intersection of technology, ethics, and human connection. However, what begins as a straightforward transaction of genetic material soon evolves into a journey of unexpected emotional and moral complexities.
Join these individuals as they grapple with questions of identity, responsibility, and the blurred boundaries between biology and family. “Spermworld” explores the profound impact of modern technology on the age-old desire for parenthood, shedding light on the intricate web of relationships that emerge in this uncharted territory.
As the new wild west of baby making, these online platforms serve as a meeting ground for sperm donors and hopeful parents, offering a unique glimpse into the intersection of technology, ethics, and human connection. However, what begins as a straightforward transaction of genetic material soon evolves into a journey of unexpected emotional and moral complexities.
Join these individuals as they grapple with questions of identity, responsibility, and the blurred boundaries between biology and family. “Spermworld” explores the profound impact of modern technology on the age-old desire for parenthood, shedding light on the intricate web of relationships that emerge in this uncharted territory.
- 3/22/2024
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
While many companies were affected by shortages brought on by Covid-19’s disruption, some may not be top of mind when it comes to everyday commerce. Enter filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, whose latest work Spermworld depicts the evolution of sperm banks. There’s been high interest from potential parents for receiving the male sperm, and the limited regulations of in-person sperm banks (e.g. donors can’t give their sperm to more than 25 or 30 families) have made donors run their business online. After contributing to the New York Times article The Sperm Kings Have a Problem: Too Much Demand, Oppenheim has now crafted a mind-boggling moving-image companion piece with backing from the outlet.
The documentary profiles a trio of primary leads: mechanic Tyree, Lyft driver Steve, and arithmetic professor Ari “the Sperminator” Nagel as they form different types of relationships and family trees during their exchanges. Steve hopes to make things...
The documentary profiles a trio of primary leads: mechanic Tyree, Lyft driver Steve, and arithmetic professor Ari “the Sperminator” Nagel as they form different types of relationships and family trees during their exchanges. Steve hopes to make things...
- 3/20/2024
- by Edward Frumkin
- The Film Stage
Chilean director Cristóbal Valenzuela Berríos first learned about the True/False Film Festival, home to documentaries each spring, while attending a festival in Japan a few years ago. He recalls seeing multiple filmmakers wearing beanies emblazoned with the logo of the doc-only event.
Upon asking what the T/F stood for, he was puzzled to learn that people were repping a gathering dedicated to nonfiction cinema on the other side of the world: Columbia, Missouri. Witnessing such devotion gave True/False something of a legendary status in his mind, placing it high up on the list of festivals he eagerly wanted to experience.
This year, Valenzuela Berríos finally made it to the small college town with a big appetite for true stories. There, he screened his latest fascinatingly offbeat doc “Alien Island,” about a famous UFO case in Chile with a bizarre connection to the Pinochet dictatorship.
“The filmmakers who...
Upon asking what the T/F stood for, he was puzzled to learn that people were repping a gathering dedicated to nonfiction cinema on the other side of the world: Columbia, Missouri. Witnessing such devotion gave True/False something of a legendary status in his mind, placing it high up on the list of festivals he eagerly wanted to experience.
This year, Valenzuela Berríos finally made it to the small college town with a big appetite for true stories. There, he screened his latest fascinatingly offbeat doc “Alien Island,” about a famous UFO case in Chile with a bizarre connection to the Pinochet dictatorship.
“The filmmakers who...
- 3/7/2024
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Indiewire
In terms of new original content coming to Hulu, March is a slight month, with the streamer’s highlight being the limited series premiere of We Were the Lucky Ones at the end of the month. The show, which is based on Georgia Hunter’s New York Times bestselling novel, is inspired by the true story of a Jewish family who are separated at the start of WWII, and who then have to survive in order to eventually reunite. We Were the Lucky Ones stars Joey King from The Kissing Booth films alongside Percy Jackson‘s Logan Lerman, and debuts on March 28.
Here’s everything coming to Hulu (and leaving) in March…
Hulu New Releases – March 2024
March 1
Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Dubbed) Dark Side of the 90s: Complete Season 2 Dark Side of the 2000s: Complete Season 1 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | 2007 Ali | 2001 Bad Teacher | 2011 Batman Begins | 2005 Beasts of the Southern Wild...
Here’s everything coming to Hulu (and leaving) in March…
Hulu New Releases – March 2024
March 1
Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Dubbed) Dark Side of the 90s: Complete Season 2 Dark Side of the 2000s: Complete Season 1 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | 2007 Ali | 2001 Bad Teacher | 2011 Batman Begins | 2005 Beasts of the Southern Wild...
- 3/1/2024
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Bravo has unveiled a first look at the “Vanderpump Rules” spinoff series “The Valley,” premiering on March 19 after a new episode of “Vanderpump Rules.” In subsequent weeks, “The Valley” will air at the regular time of 9 p.m. Et and stream the following day on Peacock.
The official description for the spinoff explains that it “follows a group of close friends as they trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships.”
The five couples featured this season include Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna. Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham join the series as friends.
Executive producers include Alex Baskin and Jeff Festa for 32 Flavors Entertainment; Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert and Jessica Chesler for Haymaker East; and Barry Poznick...
The official description for the spinoff explains that it “follows a group of close friends as they trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships.”
The five couples featured this season include Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna. Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham join the series as friends.
Executive producers include Alex Baskin and Jeff Festa for 32 Flavors Entertainment; Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert and Jessica Chesler for Haymaker East; and Barry Poznick...
- 2/28/2024
- by Caroline Brew and Diego Ramos Bechara
- Variety Film + TV
This March, Hulu will ring in spring with dozens of great titles, from Hulu Originals to programs from brands including National Geographic, Fox, FX, ABC, Crunchyroll, and others.
Just announced, Yorgos Lanthimos’ awards darling “Poor Things” will make its streaming premiere on the platform this month after a 90-day theatrical window and three days before this year’s Academy Awards where the absurdist comedy is nominated for 11 statuettes, including Best Picture. Other film favorites getting added to the library in March include “Scarface,” “The Wrestler,” and “My Cousin Vinny.”
The streamer will also host the season premieres of many of ABC’s most popular competition series, including “MasterChef Junior,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “The Masked Singer,” plus the landmark 20th season premiere of “Grey's Anatomy.”
Get your watch list together: find out The Streamable’s top picks for March 2024 at Hulu and continue below to see everything...
Just announced, Yorgos Lanthimos’ awards darling “Poor Things” will make its streaming premiere on the platform this month after a 90-day theatrical window and three days before this year’s Academy Awards where the absurdist comedy is nominated for 11 statuettes, including Best Picture. Other film favorites getting added to the library in March include “Scarface,” “The Wrestler,” and “My Cousin Vinny.”
The streamer will also host the season premieres of many of ABC’s most popular competition series, including “MasterChef Junior,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “The Masked Singer,” plus the landmark 20th season premiere of “Grey's Anatomy.”
Get your watch list together: find out The Streamable’s top picks for March 2024 at Hulu and continue below to see everything...
- 2/28/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
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