Royalty Hightower in The Fits The Fits, 2.30am, Film4, Tuesday, April 23
The sort of film that used to cause big waves at Sundance (where it did eventually screen), Anna Rose Holmer's debut is all the more impressive for having been made as part of Venice's Biennale College, which helps directors turn around their microbudget features in a year. It sees Royalty Hightower make an exceptional debut as Toni - a youngster who is exploring her identity. She finds herself torn between the boxing world she has become immersed in via her brother and the very sort of different camaraderie that is offered by the all-girls drill team - a type of group dance that is popular in the US. Holmer explores the way that people adopt an identity or an attitude according to their chosen tribe, showing how Toni's different 'look' keeps her on the fringes while, as the film progresses,...
The sort of film that used to cause big waves at Sundance (where it did eventually screen), Anna Rose Holmer's debut is all the more impressive for having been made as part of Venice's Biennale College, which helps directors turn around their microbudget features in a year. It sees Royalty Hightower make an exceptional debut as Toni - a youngster who is exploring her identity. She finds herself torn between the boxing world she has become immersed in via her brother and the very sort of different camaraderie that is offered by the all-girls drill team - a type of group dance that is popular in the US. Holmer explores the way that people adopt an identity or an attitude according to their chosen tribe, showing how Toni's different 'look' keeps her on the fringes while, as the film progresses,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
There is a deep, festering darkness inside the belly of guilt and love — and there is no film that quite sets that tone like the new A24 psychological drama, "God's Creatures." The upcoming movie now has a trailer, and it seems as though A24 is continuing to capitalize on works of ruthless cinema that force us to take hard looks at ourselves, the choices we have made, and the ones we have yet to make.
The film follows Emily Watson as a fishing worker in an Irish village who is faced with the realization that her estranged son (Paul Mescal) has returned to their village, but holds a sinister secret inside him — and for her, the familial bonds and the power of a mother's love will be tested upon his return. "God's Creatures" made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight section and earned a standing ovation.
The film follows Emily Watson as a fishing worker in an Irish village who is faced with the realization that her estranged son (Paul Mescal) has returned to their village, but holds a sinister secret inside him — and for her, the familial bonds and the power of a mother's love will be tested upon his return. "God's Creatures" made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight section and earned a standing ovation.
- 8/16/2022
- by Lex Briscuso
- Slash Film
The first trailer for “Sidney,” Apple TV+’s upcoming documentary on legendary film icon Sidney Poitier, has been released.
The film examines the legacy of Poitier, who died earlier this year at 94. One of the most acclaimed and recognizable movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the first Black man to receive a best actor award, Poitier was also a director and an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Interview subjects featured in the film include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee.
“Sidney” is directed by Reginald Hudlin, from a script by Jesse James Miller. Oprah Winfrey produces with Derik Murray for Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment. Hudlin executive produces with Poitier family members Joanna Shimkus Poitier and Anika Poitier, as well as Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Barry Krost.
“Sidney” releases Sept. 23. Watch the full trailer below.
The film examines the legacy of Poitier, who died earlier this year at 94. One of the most acclaimed and recognizable movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the first Black man to receive a best actor award, Poitier was also a director and an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Interview subjects featured in the film include Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee.
“Sidney” is directed by Reginald Hudlin, from a script by Jesse James Miller. Oprah Winfrey produces with Derik Murray for Harpo Productions and Network Entertainment. Hudlin executive produces with Poitier family members Joanna Shimkus Poitier and Anika Poitier, as well as Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Barry Krost.
“Sidney” releases Sept. 23. Watch the full trailer below.
- 8/16/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay and Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
"Is there no feeling in you?!" A24 has revealed an official trailer for the indie film God's Creatures, an Irish drama from this year's Cannes Film Festival. It premiered in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar section at Cannes and will be opening in September in select theaters And on VOD at the same time from A24 Films. It's a new film from the filmmakers behind The Fits, set in Ireland, described as "Rural Gothic, Astute Psychological Drama." In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him soon rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic. The film stars Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Marion O'Dwyer, Toni O'Rourke, Brendan McCormack, and Isabelle Connolly. It's another of these dramas about an entire town turning against people.
- 8/16/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Unconditional love is complicated.
On Tuesday, the trailer debuted for the new A24 psychological thriller “God’s Creatures”, directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, who previously helmed indie darling “The Fits”.
Read More: Colin Farrell And Brendan Gleeson’s Friendship Comes To An End In First Trailer For ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
The film stars Emily Watson as Aileen O’Hara, a woman living in an Irish fishing village, whose sun returns home quite suddenly after living in Australia for several years.
Played by Paul Mescal, her son Brian is soon accused of committing a terrible crime agains his former girlfriend, played by Aisling Franciosi.
Creating a fracture in their relationship, Aileen’s need to protect her son while facing the truth tests her love as a mother and her sanity.
Read More: Anya Taylor-Joy And Nicholas Hoult Are Served A Fine-Dining Meal With A Terrifying Twist In New...
On Tuesday, the trailer debuted for the new A24 psychological thriller “God’s Creatures”, directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, who previously helmed indie darling “The Fits”.
Read More: Colin Farrell And Brendan Gleeson’s Friendship Comes To An End In First Trailer For ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
The film stars Emily Watson as Aileen O’Hara, a woman living in an Irish fishing village, whose sun returns home quite suddenly after living in Australia for several years.
Played by Paul Mescal, her son Brian is soon accused of committing a terrible crime agains his former girlfriend, played by Aisling Franciosi.
Creating a fracture in their relationship, Aileen’s need to protect her son while facing the truth tests her love as a mother and her sanity.
Read More: Anya Taylor-Joy And Nicholas Hoult Are Served A Fine-Dining Meal With A Terrifying Twist In New...
- 8/16/2022
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
After the remarkable breakthrough drama The Fits, the wait has been a long one for Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer to return, but they finally did so at Cannes this year. God’s Creatures, starring Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, and Aisling Franciosi, is set in a windswept fishing village, following a mother torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. Ahead of a theatrical and VOD release next month from A24, the first trailer has now arrived.
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “Some actors slip into familiar roles like old sweaters. Emily Watson might prefer a raincoat. The actress first graced our screens in Breaking the Waves for Lars von Trier: her eyes peeking out from under a wooly hat, whipped by wind and rain, and carrying the sins of an entire town. The great actress faces those same elements again in God’s Creatures,...
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “Some actors slip into familiar roles like old sweaters. Emily Watson might prefer a raincoat. The actress first graced our screens in Breaking the Waves for Lars von Trier: her eyes peeking out from under a wooly hat, whipped by wind and rain, and carrying the sins of an entire town. The great actress faces those same elements again in God’s Creatures,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
After bursting onto the scene as Connell in the hit series “Normal People,” Paul Mescal continues to build a resume that’s going a long way to establish him as a bona fide movie star. His latest outing as a leading man is “God’s Creatures,” a new Irish family drama from Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer that promises to be every bit as powerful as their first collaboration, “The Fits.”
The film, which follows a dangerous secret that threatens to unravel a family in an Irish fishing town, made a strong debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Critics generally praised Mescal’s performance, and many predicted that a late September rollout from A24 could lead to the film becoming an unexpected hit during the fall movie season.
Per the official synopsis from A24, “God’s Creatures” is set in a windswept fishing village, where a mother is torn...
The film, which follows a dangerous secret that threatens to unravel a family in an Irish fishing town, made a strong debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Critics generally praised Mescal’s performance, and many predicted that a late September rollout from A24 could lead to the film becoming an unexpected hit during the fall movie season.
Per the official synopsis from A24, “God’s Creatures” is set in a windswept fishing village, where a mother is torn...
- 8/16/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer dazzled critics in 2015 with her feature debut “The Fits,” which made a big splash at Sundance that year. Seven years later, she finally returns with collaborator Saela Davis, who was the co-writer and editor of “The Fits.” Together, they have directed the new psychological drama/thriller “God’s Creatures.” Premiering at The Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to great acclaim, Davis and Holmer’s film Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, and Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson.
Continue reading ‘God’s Creatures’ Trailer: Emily Watson & Paul Mescal Star In A24’s New Mother & Son Psychological Drama at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘God’s Creatures’ Trailer: Emily Watson & Paul Mescal Star In A24’s New Mother & Son Psychological Drama at The Playlist.
- 8/16/2022
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Some actors slip into familiar roles like old sweaters. Emily Watson might prefer a raincoat. The actress first graced our screens in Breaking the Waves for Lars von Trier: her eyes peeking out from under a wooly hat, whipped by wind and rain, and carrying the sins of an entire town. The great actress faces those same elements again in God’s Creatures, trading von Trier’s nightmarish vision of the Scottish highlands for a doom metal take on Ireland’s Atlantic coast.
Written by Shane Crowley in collaboration with the producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, God’s Creatures tells a story about sexual assault and collective denial that is as universal as it is inseparable from its locale. The film is directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, American filmmakers whose brilliant 2016 debut The Fits showcased a true flair for building suspense, not to mention an appreciation for shared psychosis...
Written by Shane Crowley in collaboration with the producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, God’s Creatures tells a story about sexual assault and collective denial that is as universal as it is inseparable from its locale. The film is directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, American filmmakers whose brilliant 2016 debut The Fits showcased a true flair for building suspense, not to mention an appreciation for shared psychosis...
- 5/21/2022
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
It’s not that we haven’t seen Emily Watson on screen recently — it just feels a long time since any film really made us look at her. Somehow knowing and guileless and haunted at once, her piercing, pale-eyed gaze made an immediate mark in film history with her debut in “Breaking the Waves” a quarter-century ago, but it’s been an underused natural resource of late: TV has been more generous, but the movies have confined her to stock mom-and-wife supporting roles for years. She’s a mom and wife again in “God’s Creatures,” an unexpected pivot of a sophomore feature from American duo Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer. The difference is a film with an acute interest in sidelined mothers, wives and women in general, and the result is Watson’s meatiest, most compelling showcase in an age.
A solemn community tragedy set in an unnamed, unloved Irish fishing village,...
A solemn community tragedy set in an unnamed, unloved Irish fishing village,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Shared madness — or, at least, shared delusion — punctuated filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer’s striking debut “The Fits,” which followed a group of young dancers in Cincinnati who all fell prey to the same mysterious ailment and saw their bonds shift and change because of it. Holmer created her remarkable first film with editor and writer Saela Davis and they reteam on her second, “God’s Creatures,” with Davis taking a co-directing credit on another ambitious look inside a community defined by fractured, perhaps even crazy bonds.
Unlike “The Fits,” however, “God’s Creatures” is a decidedly chilly affair, both due to its location (a windswept Irish fishing village where people wear cozy sweaters even in May) and its subject matter (a prodigal son returns home and upends everyone’s lives). But And while that may be the point — what outsider could ever fully understand the rules and ways of this community? — the...
Unlike “The Fits,” however, “God’s Creatures” is a decidedly chilly affair, both due to its location (a windswept Irish fishing village where people wear cozy sweaters even in May) and its subject matter (a prodigal son returns home and upends everyone’s lives). But And while that may be the point — what outsider could ever fully understand the rules and ways of this community? — the...
- 5/19/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Fits Team Anna Rose Holmer & Saela Davis to Direct Emily Watson & Paul Mescal in God’s Creatures
In the six years since the striking drama The Fits arrived, we’ve been waiting to see what the team of Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis would jump to next. There was a Natalie Portman-led project that didn’t move forward, but now a previously announced psychological drama co-directed by the duo is finally moving ahead.
Deadline reports A24 has backed the film, which is titled God’s Creatures and will star Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Marion O’Dwyer, and Toni O’Rourke. With production already underway, the Shane Crowley-scripted film is set in a “rain-swept Irish fishing village, and focuses on a mother who lies to protect her son and the devastating impact that choice has on her community, her family and herself.”
The story comes from Crowley and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, who is also producing. Chayse Irvin is shooting the film with editing by...
Deadline reports A24 has backed the film, which is titled God’s Creatures and will star Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Marion O’Dwyer, and Toni O’Rourke. With production already underway, the Shane Crowley-scripted film is set in a “rain-swept Irish fishing village, and focuses on a mother who lies to protect her son and the devastating impact that choice has on her community, her family and herself.”
The story comes from Crowley and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, who is also producing. Chayse Irvin is shooting the film with editing by...
- 5/12/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Emily Watson and Paul Mescal are set to star in the A24 psychological drama God’s Creatures, with Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer directing. This will mark the directing debut as a duo, after working together on the award-winning feature The Fits.
God’s Creatures, currently in production, also stars Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Marion O’Dwyer and Toni O’Rourke.
The film is a psychological drama set in a rain-swept Irish fishing village, and focuses on a mother who lies to protect her son and the devastating impact that choice has on her community, her family and herself. The screenplay is by Shane Crowley; story is by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly & Crowley.
The Sixty-Six Pictures production is being produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, following her critically acclaimed films Ammonite and Lady Macbeth. Sixty-Six developed God’s Creatures with the support of Screen Ireland, BBC Film and A24.
Inbal Weinberg will be production designer,...
God’s Creatures, currently in production, also stars Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Marion O’Dwyer and Toni O’Rourke.
The film is a psychological drama set in a rain-swept Irish fishing village, and focuses on a mother who lies to protect her son and the devastating impact that choice has on her community, her family and herself. The screenplay is by Shane Crowley; story is by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly & Crowley.
The Sixty-Six Pictures production is being produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, following her critically acclaimed films Ammonite and Lady Macbeth. Sixty-Six developed God’s Creatures with the support of Screen Ireland, BBC Film and A24.
Inbal Weinberg will be production designer,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
A24 co-financing alongside BBC Film, Screen Ireland, Wrap.
A24 has come on board psychological drama God’s Creatures currently filming in Ireland with leads Emily Watson and Paul Mescal.
Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer have reunited after their award-winning drama The Fits to direct the Sixty-Six Pictures production.
A24 has taken worldwide rights and is co-financing alongside BBC Film, Screen Ireland, and Wrap (Ireland’s Western Region Audiovisual Producers Fund).
God’s Creatures is set in a rain-swept Irish fishing village where a woman’s lies to protect her son have a devastating impact on the community, her family, and herself.
A24 has come on board psychological drama God’s Creatures currently filming in Ireland with leads Emily Watson and Paul Mescal.
Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer have reunited after their award-winning drama The Fits to direct the Sixty-Six Pictures production.
A24 has taken worldwide rights and is co-financing alongside BBC Film, Screen Ireland, and Wrap (Ireland’s Western Region Audiovisual Producers Fund).
God’s Creatures is set in a rain-swept Irish fishing village where a woman’s lies to protect her son have a devastating impact on the community, her family, and herself.
- 5/11/2021
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Film Festival has always been one of the premiere places for discovery, providing a launching pad for breakout films en route to mainstream acclaim and awards. But oftentimes, the best of Sundance — films that are truly original, fresh, and worthy — go on to smaller victory laps. These are the festival’s hidden gems, and though they might not be getting Oscar nods, they’re just as deserving of our attention. In advance of this year’s virtual fest, we’ve partnered with AMC+ to assemble a varied list of past Sundance stunners. Featuring early films from the likes of Miranda July and the Safdie’s to Spike Lee’s adaptation of a hit Broadway musical, all of these gems are available via AMC+ streaming platform.
“Daddy Longlegs”
The brothers Safdie are, by now, an indie household name — but a decade ago, they burst onto the map with this captivating dramedy.
“Daddy Longlegs”
The brothers Safdie are, by now, an indie household name — but a decade ago, they burst onto the map with this captivating dramedy.
- 1/29/2021
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired the world sales rights to “The Art of Return” – a Spanish production by first-time director Pedro Collantes nurtured through Venice’s renowned Biennale College film workshop initiative.
The boutique distributor will also handle the Spanish distribution for this coming-of-age drama, which focuses on a young actress (“Holy Camp’s” Macarena García) returning home to Madrid after six years in New York.
The action takes place over a 24-hour period in the protagonist’s home city, where she has a series of encounters that cause her to reassess her life.
Set to make its debut Sept. 8 at the Venice Film Festival, the film was co-written by Collantes and the Spanish screenwriter Daniel Remón (“Out in the Open”), who is also making his feature debut as a producer on this production.
Executive producers are Tourmalet Films’ Mayi Gutiérrez Cobo (“Stockholm”) and the producer and line manager Manuel Fernandez-Arango “(Destronados,...
The boutique distributor will also handle the Spanish distribution for this coming-of-age drama, which focuses on a young actress (“Holy Camp’s” Macarena García) returning home to Madrid after six years in New York.
The action takes place over a 24-hour period in the protagonist’s home city, where she has a series of encounters that cause her to reassess her life.
Set to make its debut Sept. 8 at the Venice Film Festival, the film was co-written by Collantes and the Spanish screenwriter Daniel Remón (“Out in the Open”), who is also making his feature debut as a producer on this production.
Executive producers are Tourmalet Films’ Mayi Gutiérrez Cobo (“Stockholm”) and the producer and line manager Manuel Fernandez-Arango “(Destronados,...
- 9/2/2020
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
45 Years (Andrew Haigh)
Andrew Haigh’s third feature as a director, 45 Years, is an excellent companion piece to its 2011 predecessor, Weekend. The latter examined the inception of a potential relationship between two men over the course of a weekend, whereas its successor considers the opposite extreme. Again sticking to a tight timeframe, the film chronicles the six days leading up to a couple’s 45th wedding anniversary. Though highly accomplished, Weekend nevertheless suffered from a tendency towards commenting on itself as a gay issues film, which at times overrode the otherwise compelling realism. Despite treating material arguably even more underrepresented in cinema – senior relationships...
45 Years (Andrew Haigh)
Andrew Haigh’s third feature as a director, 45 Years, is an excellent companion piece to its 2011 predecessor, Weekend. The latter examined the inception of a potential relationship between two men over the course of a weekend, whereas its successor considers the opposite extreme. Again sticking to a tight timeframe, the film chronicles the six days leading up to a couple’s 45th wedding anniversary. Though highly accomplished, Weekend nevertheless suffered from a tendency towards commenting on itself as a gay issues film, which at times overrode the otherwise compelling realism. Despite treating material arguably even more underrepresented in cinema – senior relationships...
- 4/17/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
At prestigious private school Haldwell, student factions hold power. There are five, among them The Spades, run by Selah (Lovie Simone), the role of her faction is to provide the illicit substances on which the underground parties organised by another faction, covered up by yet another, are run. As a senior, Selah is moving on at the end of the year and there is no apparent successor to her position, until Paloma (Celeste O’Connor) arrives and is taken under her wing.
That summary is the very surface level of what Selah and the Spades is about. Writer/Director Tayarisha Poe’s debut feature is impressively original and jammed with ideas, but it also falls interestingly into an emerging subgenre, driven by female directors. These films, like Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits, Mitzi Pierone’s Braid, Alice Waddington’s Paradise Hills and Jennifer Reeder’s stunning Knives + Skin (as yet...
That summary is the very surface level of what Selah and the Spades is about. Writer/Director Tayarisha Poe’s debut feature is impressively original and jammed with ideas, but it also falls interestingly into an emerging subgenre, driven by female directors. These films, like Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits, Mitzi Pierone’s Braid, Alice Waddington’s Paradise Hills and Jennifer Reeder’s stunning Knives + Skin (as yet...
- 4/17/2020
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Landlocked by South Africa on all sides, the kingdom of Lesotho is a place of high skies, wide landscapes and narrow prospects for its two million inhabitants: a set of dimensions somehow captured in every exquisitely constructed, square-cut frame of “This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection.” A haunted, unsentimental paean to land and its physical containment of community and ancestry — all endangered by nominally progressive infrastructure — this arresting third feature from Lesotho-born writer-director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese is as classical in theme as it is adventurous in presentation. Toggling between earthy naturalism and suspended dream atmospherics as fluently as its life-weary 80-year-old protagonist (the superb Mary Twala Mhlongo) skims the real and spiritual realms, it’s the kind of myth-rooted, avant-garde Southern African storytelling that rarely cracks the international festival circuit.
An appearance in Sundance’s international competition — where it netted a special jury prize for “visionary filmmaking...
An appearance in Sundance’s international competition — where it netted a special jury prize for “visionary filmmaking...
- 2/7/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: BBC Films is at the Sundance Film Festival with a record five movies playing in official selection. It’s one of the UK producer-financier’s biggest hauls at any overseas festival.
Debuting in Park City this year are Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself, Remi Weekes’ debut His House, Sean Durkin’s Jude Law-starrer The Nest, Eliza Hittman’s abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Aneil Karia debut Surge starring Ben Whishaw. Each project was developed from an early stage by BBC Films, which also backed production. Weekes’ Midnight thriller His House is already making waves after Netflix snapped up global rights yesterday.
In a wide-ranging interview, we spoke to the revamped BBC Films team, led by former Film4 executive Rose Garnett since 2017, about Sundance, BBC Films’ direction, the growing challenge posed by streamers and the #Baftasowhite furore.
BBC Films rarely discusses development projects but today we...
Debuting in Park City this year are Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself, Remi Weekes’ debut His House, Sean Durkin’s Jude Law-starrer The Nest, Eliza Hittman’s abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Aneil Karia debut Surge starring Ben Whishaw. Each project was developed from an early stage by BBC Films, which also backed production. Weekes’ Midnight thriller His House is already making waves after Netflix snapped up global rights yesterday.
In a wide-ranging interview, we spoke to the revamped BBC Films team, led by former Film4 executive Rose Garnett since 2017, about Sundance, BBC Films’ direction, the growing challenge posed by streamers and the #Baftasowhite furore.
BBC Films rarely discusses development projects but today we...
- 1/23/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
10 Great ‘Small’ Movies You Might Have Missed in the 2010s, From ‘Manakamana’ to ‘The Fits’ (Photos)
The films on this admittedly non-comprehensive list were not distributed by major studios, but by smaller specialty companies. They played for a couple of weeks (or less) in big cities, maybe even just one night in a museum. They weren’t on the multiplex radar at all. But to adventurous film audiences, they were a vital part of any discussion about cinema. They told complex stories ignored by major studios. The dug deeper into abstraction or discomfort. And they pushed at the edges of filmmaking practice in ways that will influence the mainstream in the future.
“Cemetery of Splendor” (2015)
A makeshift hospital on an ancient royal burial ground houses soldiers overcome with a mysterious sleeping sickness. Then they begin psychically communicating with the women who work there. Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s oblique, delicate story of historical memory and collective awakening that plays out like a dream.
“Did You Wonder Who Fired The Gun?...
“Cemetery of Splendor” (2015)
A makeshift hospital on an ancient royal burial ground houses soldiers overcome with a mysterious sleeping sickness. Then they begin psychically communicating with the women who work there. Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s oblique, delicate story of historical memory and collective awakening that plays out like a dream.
“Did You Wonder Who Fired The Gun?...
- 12/11/2019
- by Dave White
- The Wrap
After crafting one of the best films of 2016 with The Fits, the creative team is finally returning with a follow-up. Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis will be co-directing a Gothic psychological drama produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Variety reports. The Fits, which is Holmer’s directorial debut, was edited and co-written by Saela Davis, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival back in 2015. This time around, these two have decided to collaborate on directing.
O’Reilly has been involved in producing some titles such as the Academy Award-winning short Head Over Heels and the drama Lady Macbeth starring Florence Pugh. Not much has been revealed regarding the film’s premise, however the screenplay will be written by debut screenwriter Shane Crowley. It has been mentioned that the movie will take place in Ireland, and that the project will be done with the help of O’Reilly...
O’Reilly has been involved in producing some titles such as the Academy Award-winning short Head Over Heels and the drama Lady Macbeth starring Florence Pugh. Not much has been revealed regarding the film’s premise, however the screenplay will be written by debut screenwriter Shane Crowley. It has been mentioned that the movie will take place in Ireland, and that the project will be done with the help of O’Reilly...
- 5/26/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis are attached as co-directors on a Gothic psychological drama that will be produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly.
The helmers previously worked together on critically acclaimed movie “The Fits,” which launched at Venice in 2015. It went on to play at Sundance where, in its review, Variety said that “Rose Holmer’s promising debut feature crafts a meticulous mood of psychological isolation and beguiling mystery.”
The movie was nominated at the 2016 Gotham Awards and as Best First Feature at the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards.
Their new project will be the first time that Davis and Holmer, who are based in New York, have joined forces as a directing duo.
O’Reilly produced William Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth” and the buzzy “Ammonite,” the upcoming film from “God’s Own Country” helmer Francis Lee, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.
There are few plot details as yet of the Gothic psychological drama.
The helmers previously worked together on critically acclaimed movie “The Fits,” which launched at Venice in 2015. It went on to play at Sundance where, in its review, Variety said that “Rose Holmer’s promising debut feature crafts a meticulous mood of psychological isolation and beguiling mystery.”
The movie was nominated at the 2016 Gotham Awards and as Best First Feature at the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards.
Their new project will be the first time that Davis and Holmer, who are based in New York, have joined forces as a directing duo.
O’Reilly produced William Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth” and the buzzy “Ammonite,” the upcoming film from “God’s Own Country” helmer Francis Lee, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.
There are few plot details as yet of the Gothic psychological drama.
- 5/22/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Receiving a ton of support along the way, the micro-budgeted Selah and the Spades went into production this summer in Tayarisha Poe‘s backyard of Philly. She was a Sundance Institute Knight Foundation Fellow in 2016 and her feature project Selah and the Spades went on to receive development support from Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters, Directors, and Creative Producing (for producer Lauren McBride) Labs and Catalyst Forum; Cinereach, Ifp, and TribecaAll Access. Cast comprised of Lovie Simone, Celeste O’Connor, Jharrel Jerome, Jesse Williams, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Gina Torres. Anecdote we learned: Poe was a stills photographer on The Fits.…...
- 11/22/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Dancing is an expression of joy. It goes well with an agreement of eternal love between two—preferably more—people. It’s perfect to celebrate the newfound manhood of a young Jewish boy. In some particularly water-deprived spots of the world, dancing is also the required and necessary course of action during a draught. For some, myself included, the idea of personal members flailing, heads bobbing, and muscles convulsing to the tune of Bruno Mars' “Marry You” is synonymous with pain, suffering and horror. It’s with glee that I’ve compiled this selection of accurate portrayals of dance scenes in the history of cinema. I imagine that when filmmakers take the beautiful act of bodies in motion and pervert it to show something terrible, they’re trying to tap into the feelings responsible for the fake foot injuries plaguing the my history of wedding attendances. The fear is...
- 11/20/2018
- MUBI
A quiet and observant sports drama, When She Runs, like The Fits, is a film that lives and breathes process. Our lead Kristen goes through her daily life which involves late night training sessions at one of those unstaffed 24-hour discount gyms, working at a snow cone shop, and visitations with her five-year-old son. While her age is never explicitly the subject of the film, she’s given a once-in-every-four-years shot at moving up to the next round, qualifying to train for team USA. The now or never spirit haunts everything she does.
Directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, When She Runs, like the team’s previous feature God Bless the Child, is largely a work that provides the raw material, requiring some narrative heavy lifting from the audience. Whereas God Bless the Child proved to alienate with the blusterous rhythms of children left alone to fend for themselves...
Directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, When She Runs, like the team’s previous feature God Bless the Child, is largely a work that provides the raw material, requiring some narrative heavy lifting from the audience. Whereas God Bless the Child proved to alienate with the blusterous rhythms of children left alone to fend for themselves...
- 5/3/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Each year, the Sundance Film Festival faces expectations established by the previous edition. Assessing program quality often becomes secondary to following the hype, and the festival is defined by the movies that cost the most and have the greatest promise of commercial viability. However, in 2018 the question isn’t which Sundance movies are this year’s “The Big Sick,” “Mudbound” or “Call Me By Your Name;” it’s ultimately more constructive to consider what’s not.
See More:The 2018 IndieWire Sundance Bible: Every Review, Interview, and News Item Posted During the Festival
In year of cautious buyers and fewer blockbuster breakouts, smaller and stranger movies stepped into the foreground, dividing audiences and fueling thoughtful conversations. (When one Sundance first-timer for whom English was a second language asked me to define “hype,” I replied, “Everything you should ignore.”) In a consumer age dominated by customized viewing habits, a festival that’s hard...
See More:The 2018 IndieWire Sundance Bible: Every Review, Interview, and News Item Posted During the Festival
In year of cautious buyers and fewer blockbuster breakouts, smaller and stranger movies stepped into the foreground, dividing audiences and fueling thoughtful conversations. (When one Sundance first-timer for whom English was a second language asked me to define “hype,” I replied, “Everything you should ignore.”) In a consumer age dominated by customized viewing habits, a festival that’s hard...
- 1/23/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Natalie Portman was only 11 years old when she auditioned for and won the role of Mathilda in Luc Besson’s “Léon: The Professional,” and after more than two decades making moves in Hollywood and abroad she has her own share of harassment and sexism stories. During a conversation at Vulture Fest in Los Angeles, Portman was asked about the many sexual harassment and abuse allegations coming out of Hollywood, to which she got incredibly candid about her own experiences facing similar issues.
Read More:Natalie Portman to Play Bull Rider in ‘The Fits’ Director Anna Rose Holmer’s New Film
“When I heard everything coming out, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m so lucky that I haven’t had this.’ And then, on reflection, I was like okay, definitely never been assaulted, definitely not, but I’ve had discrimination or harassment on almost everything I’ve ever worked on in some way,...
Read More:Natalie Portman to Play Bull Rider in ‘The Fits’ Director Anna Rose Holmer’s New Film
“When I heard everything coming out, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m so lucky that I haven’t had this.’ And then, on reflection, I was like okay, definitely never been assaulted, definitely not, but I’ve had discrimination or harassment on almost everything I’ve ever worked on in some way,...
- 11/20/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
When Greta Gerwig’s already-lauded “Lady Bird” hits limited release later this week, the actress-writer-director will join a long line of other female filmmakers who used their directorial debut (this one is Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, just for clarity’s sake) to not only launch their careers, but make a huge mark while doing it. Gerwig’s Saoirse Ronan-starring coming-of-age tale is an instant classic, and one that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has enjoyed Gerwig’s charming work as a screenwriter in recent years, bolstered by her ear for dialogue and her love of complicated and complex leading ladies.
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
- 11/1/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Being a teenager is difficult enough when there isn’t a serial killer on the loose. Not making things easier in “Kill Me Please” is the fact that, for 15-year-old Bia (Valentina Herszage), the recent string of murders is perversely fascinating — the kind of thing she’d post on Facebook or like on Instagram, not least because one of the victims bears a striking resemblance to her.
Read More:‘Tulip Fever’ Review: This Bizarre, Long-Delayed Historical Romance Was Not Worth the Wait
A kind of “Virgin Homicides,” Anita Rocha da Silveira’s debut feature takes place in a well-to-do Rio de Janeiro struggling to understand the violence that’s invaded its neighborhood. Bia and her three besties talk about boys, parties, and the ghost that may or may not haunt their school — all of it ubiquitous yet unknowable. Bia’s conception of such adolescent milestones has been so filtered through...
Read More:‘Tulip Fever’ Review: This Bizarre, Long-Delayed Historical Romance Was Not Worth the Wait
A kind of “Virgin Homicides,” Anita Rocha da Silveira’s debut feature takes place in a well-to-do Rio de Janeiro struggling to understand the violence that’s invaded its neighborhood. Bia and her three besties talk about boys, parties, and the ghost that may or may not haunt their school — all of it ubiquitous yet unknowable. Bia’s conception of such adolescent milestones has been so filtered through...
- 9/1/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
After naming Alfonso Cuarón the best-reviewed filmmaker of the 21st century and Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer the worst, Metacritic’s next list explores the 25 best movies directed by women. Unsurprisingly, Kathryn Bigelow takes both the #1 and #2 spots with “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Hurt Locker,” respectively.
Read MoreAlfonso Cuarón Is the Best Director of the 21st Century, According to Metacritic — See the Top 25
Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director with the latter, a painfully tense drama about the Iraq War. (Her latest, “Detroit,” just misses the list by a few points.) Ava DuVernay also shows up twice (with “Selma” and “13th”), as does Sarah Polley (“Away from Her” and “Stories We Tell”), while the likes of Sofia Coppola, Mia Hansen-Løve, and Maren Ade are represented as well. Here’s the data-driven review aggregator’s full list:
Read MoreUwe Boll Isn’t the...
Read MoreAlfonso Cuarón Is the Best Director of the 21st Century, According to Metacritic — See the Top 25
Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director with the latter, a painfully tense drama about the Iraq War. (Her latest, “Detroit,” just misses the list by a few points.) Ava DuVernay also shows up twice (with “Selma” and “13th”), as does Sarah Polley (“Away from Her” and “Stories We Tell”), while the likes of Sofia Coppola, Mia Hansen-Løve, and Maren Ade are represented as well. Here’s the data-driven review aggregator’s full list:
Read MoreUwe Boll Isn’t the...
- 7/30/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Official Lineup Announcements
2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup: Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, ‘Twin Peaks’ and More
2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Short Film Lineup
Cannes 2017 Unveils Official Schedule, Adds Masterclasses With Clint Eastwood and Alfonso Cuarón
Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
Cannes Classics 2017 Lineup Includes ‘Belle de Jour’ Restoration, Stanley Kubrick Doc and More
2017 Cannes Critics’ Week Announces Lineup, Including ‘Brigsby Bear’ and Animation From Iran
Cannes Adds Roman Polanski Film to Lineup
Cannes Doc Day to Explore ‘Fake News,’ Women’s Voices and New Work From Amos Gitaï
Cannes American Pavilion 2017 Lineup: Spike Lee, Wim Wenders, Screen Talk Live and More
Pre-Festival Announcements and News
Cannes 2017: Pedro Almodóvar Is Jury President
Cannes: Barry Jenkins, Cristian Mungiu and More Are Set for Jury Duty
Cannes Addresses Netflix Controversy By Forcing Competition Films to Receive Theatrical Distribution In France
Todd Haynes...
2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup: Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, ‘Twin Peaks’ and More
2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Short Film Lineup
Cannes 2017 Unveils Official Schedule, Adds Masterclasses With Clint Eastwood and Alfonso Cuarón
Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
Cannes Classics 2017 Lineup Includes ‘Belle de Jour’ Restoration, Stanley Kubrick Doc and More
2017 Cannes Critics’ Week Announces Lineup, Including ‘Brigsby Bear’ and Animation From Iran
Cannes Adds Roman Polanski Film to Lineup
Cannes Doc Day to Explore ‘Fake News,’ Women’s Voices and New Work From Amos Gitaï
Cannes American Pavilion 2017 Lineup: Spike Lee, Wim Wenders, Screen Talk Live and More
Pre-Festival Announcements and News
Cannes 2017: Pedro Almodóvar Is Jury President
Cannes: Barry Jenkins, Cristian Mungiu and More Are Set for Jury Duty
Cannes Addresses Netflix Controversy By Forcing Competition Films to Receive Theatrical Distribution In France
Todd Haynes...
- 5/17/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
In the battle for what will be the premier streaming home for current independent film, Amazon Prime is showing signs that it could top Netflix, FilmStruck, and Mubi. Between funding auteur-driven Amazon originals like Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden,” Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester By the Sea,” and their exclusive deal with A24 (“American Honey,” “Lobster,” “Swiss Army Man,” and “Moonlight” which arrives 5/21), Prime has a good percentage of the best titles.
What often gets lost in Amazon’s suboptimal browsing interface is the number of recent lower-profile indies on the service that feature some of the most exciting filmmaking of the last year. Here are seven recent gems you shouldn’t miss.
“The Love Witch”
You have never seen anything like this film. Sure, it looks like a late-era technicolor film — shot on 35mm, with deliciously saturated production and costume design — but this isn’t nostalgic kitsch.
What often gets lost in Amazon’s suboptimal browsing interface is the number of recent lower-profile indies on the service that feature some of the most exciting filmmaking of the last year. Here are seven recent gems you shouldn’t miss.
“The Love Witch”
You have never seen anything like this film. Sure, it looks like a late-era technicolor film — shot on 35mm, with deliciously saturated production and costume design — but this isn’t nostalgic kitsch.
- 5/1/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
In order to make accurate predictions about the potential Cannes Film Festival lineup, it’s first important to explore which films definitely won’t make the cut. The glamorous French gathering is notorious for waiting until the last minute before locking in every slot for its Official Selection. That includes competition titles, out of competition titles, a small midnight section and the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Cannes announces the bulk of its selections in Paris on April 13, but until then, there are plenty of ways to make educated guesses. Much of the reporting surrounding the upcoming festival selection is simply lists of films expected to come out this year. However, certain movies are definitely not going to the festival for various reasons.
That’s why our own list of potentials doesn’t include “Image Et Parole,” Jean-Luc Godard’s followup to “Goodbye to Language,” which sales agent Wild Bunch now anticipates as a 2018 title.
That’s why our own list of potentials doesn’t include “Image Et Parole,” Jean-Luc Godard’s followup to “Goodbye to Language,” which sales agent Wild Bunch now anticipates as a 2018 title.
- 3/31/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, Eric Kohn, Jude Dry, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
A just-unveiled poster for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is raising eyebrows for all the wrong reasons. Featuring Claudia Cardinale, the new artwork has been criticized online for airbrushing the Italian actress to make her appear thinner than she did in the original 1959 snapshot. Joining the chorus is “The Fits” director Anna Rose Holmer, who tweeted her displeasure: “Why the need to alter Claudia Cardinale’s body so dramatically for #Cannes2017 official poster?”
Read More: Cannes 2017: 70th Anniversary Festival Poster Features Joyous Claudia Cardinale
“I am honored and proud to be flying the flag for the 70th Festival de Cannes,” Cardinale said in a statement, “and delighted with this choice of photo. It’s the image I myself have of the festival, of an event that illuminates everything around. That dance on the rooftops of Rome was back in 1959. No one remembers the photographer’s name … I’ve also forgotten it.
Read More: Cannes 2017: 70th Anniversary Festival Poster Features Joyous Claudia Cardinale
“I am honored and proud to be flying the flag for the 70th Festival de Cannes,” Cardinale said in a statement, “and delighted with this choice of photo. It’s the image I myself have of the festival, of an event that illuminates everything around. That dance on the rooftops of Rome was back in 1959. No one remembers the photographer’s name … I’ve also forgotten it.
- 3/29/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Charlize Theron graced the stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Wednesday to talk about Universal’s upcoming action-thriller “Atomic Blonde,” in which she plays the lead role of Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 intelligence collection expert and assassin trained in hand-to-hand combat. Theron also served as a producer on the film, which previewed an extended new clip for the audience at CinemaCon.
Directed by David Leitch, “Atomic Blonde” sees Theron fighting off double and triple agents as she tries to figure out who set her up.
Read More: ‘Atomic Blonde’ Review: Charlize Theron Kicks Ass In Cold War Action-Thriller — SXSW 2017
“Everyone you get close to ends up dead,” says John Goodman in the footage. “The clock is ticking.”
Theron also appears in a racy scene with Sofia Boutella, whom she has to seduce while undercover. “We wanted the film to be provocative in a lot of ways,” Leitch said.
Some...
Directed by David Leitch, “Atomic Blonde” sees Theron fighting off double and triple agents as she tries to figure out who set her up.
Read More: ‘Atomic Blonde’ Review: Charlize Theron Kicks Ass In Cold War Action-Thriller — SXSW 2017
“Everyone you get close to ends up dead,” says John Goodman in the footage. “The clock is ticking.”
Theron also appears in a racy scene with Sofia Boutella, whom she has to seduce while undercover. “We wanted the film to be provocative in a lot of ways,” Leitch said.
Some...
- 3/29/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Natalie Portman and director Anna Rose Holmer (The Fits) appear to have hit it off. Last week, we saw them collaborate on the music video for the James Blake song “My Willing Heart,” a black and white short as beautiful as it is touching, showing a heavily pregnant Portman connecting with her unborn child in some downright amazing underwater photography. Now, after giving birth on February 22nd, she’s already back in the saddle to play the lead in Holmer’s next production, Bronco Belle, summarized as “Rocky on a bull.”
The film follows Raylene Jackson, a female bull rider described as a “vulnerable and determined American woman with a chip on her shoulder,” who’s struggling to be taken seriously in an extremely male-dominated sport. Indiewire goes on to report that Khurram Longi is on script duties and that “interest is already there” – and so it should be! After all,...
The film follows Raylene Jackson, a female bull rider described as a “vulnerable and determined American woman with a chip on her shoulder,” who’s struggling to be taken seriously in an extremely male-dominated sport. Indiewire goes on to report that Khurram Longi is on script duties and that “interest is already there” – and so it should be! After all,...
- 3/28/2017
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Last week, Natalie Portman made news when she starred in the new music video for James Blake’s “My Willing Heart.” The black-and-white video was helmed by Anna Rose Holmer, the breakout director of “The Fits,” and features a very pregnant Portman connecting with her unborn child. Now, after giving birth to her daughter on February 22, the actress is already gearing up for a new project, which will reunite her with Holmer.
Read More: Natalie Portman: Ashton Kutcher Was Paid Three Times My Salary for ‘No Strings Attached’
According to Deadline, Portman and Holmer are teaming up for “Bronco Belle,” which follows a bull rider (Portman) as she tries to make her mark in a male-dominated sport. Khurram Longi is handling the script. The project is being shopped around, and “interest is already there.”
Read More: Pablo Larraín and Natalie Portman’s ‘Jackie’ Sets the High Bar for Historical...
Read More: Natalie Portman: Ashton Kutcher Was Paid Three Times My Salary for ‘No Strings Attached’
According to Deadline, Portman and Holmer are teaming up for “Bronco Belle,” which follows a bull rider (Portman) as she tries to make her mark in a male-dominated sport. Khurram Longi is handling the script. The project is being shopped around, and “interest is already there.”
Read More: Pablo Larraín and Natalie Portman’s ‘Jackie’ Sets the High Bar for Historical...
- 3/28/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
We recently saw a new James Blake music video starring (a very pregnant) Natalie Portman and directed by The Fits helmer Anna Rose Holmer. A striking, but all too brief collaboration, we expressed hope that the two would re-team for a feature film, and just a week later, plans are already underway for a new project that Holmer would direct.
According to Deadline, the Black Swan Oscar winner is attached to star in Bronco Belle, which would find her playing Raylene Jackson, a burgeoning bull rider described as a “vulnerable and determined American woman with a chip on her shoulder.” Back when Emily Blunt was attached, writer Khurram Longi described the formation of the project to Screen Daily:
“We were driving down from New York and ended up in Texas where by chance we stumbled across the world of rodeo. I had never been to one before. We started to...
According to Deadline, the Black Swan Oscar winner is attached to star in Bronco Belle, which would find her playing Raylene Jackson, a burgeoning bull rider described as a “vulnerable and determined American woman with a chip on her shoulder.” Back when Emily Blunt was attached, writer Khurram Longi described the formation of the project to Screen Daily:
“We were driving down from New York and ended up in Texas where by chance we stumbled across the world of rodeo. I had never been to one before. We started to...
- 3/28/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
While Anna Rose Holmer has yet to follow up her acclaimed, award-winning, breakout film “The Fits,” there’s no doubt she’s landed on the right radars, as her latest effort sees her working with two pretty big talents.
Holmer has gone behind the camera to direct the new video for James Blake‘s “My Willing Heart.” The melancholic track is gorgeously shot in black and white, and features a very pregnant Natalie Portman in a series of stirring images.
Continue reading Natalie Portman Stars In New James Blake Video From ‘The Fits’ Director Anna Rose Holmer at The Playlist.
Holmer has gone behind the camera to direct the new video for James Blake‘s “My Willing Heart.” The melancholic track is gorgeously shot in black and white, and features a very pregnant Natalie Portman in a series of stirring images.
Continue reading Natalie Portman Stars In New James Blake Video From ‘The Fits’ Director Anna Rose Holmer at The Playlist.
- 3/21/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
After helming one of last year’s best films with The Fits, Anna Rose Holmer is continuing to flex her directing muscles. We recently saw her Moonlight-inspired short film and now she’s back with a new music video for James Blake‘s “My Willing Heart,” which he co-wrote with Frank Ocean, and starring a very pregnant Natalie Portman.
The black and white video for the song from last year’s The Colour in Anything is another visually striking work from Holmer as we witness Portman — who was “just days” away from giving birth to her daughter when the video was shot in Los Angeles — in a bedroom and then taking an underwater dive. The moody, evocative piece has us hoping this isn’t the last time The Fits director collaborates with the actress.
Check it out below, with a hat tip to Pitchfork, and if one wants to see more of Portman,...
The black and white video for the song from last year’s The Colour in Anything is another visually striking work from Holmer as we witness Portman — who was “just days” away from giving birth to her daughter when the video was shot in Los Angeles — in a bedroom and then taking an underwater dive. The moody, evocative piece has us hoping this isn’t the last time The Fits director collaborates with the actress.
Check it out below, with a hat tip to Pitchfork, and if one wants to see more of Portman,...
- 3/20/2017
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Natalie Portman skipped the Oscars this year because she had given birth to her second child just days before, and for anyone wondering what Portman was up to prior to that, you now have your answer: Shooting a music video for James Blake.
The English musician has premiered the gorgeous black-and-white music video for his song “My Willing Heart,” and it puts a very pregnant Portman front and center as she connects with her unborn child in various locations, including a softly-lit bedroom and a giant pool. Anna Rose Holmer, the breakout director of “The Fits,” shot the video days before Portman gave birth.
Read More: How Natalie Portman Found the Woman Behind the Icon in ‘Jackie’
Portman can currently be seen on the big screen in Terrence Malick’s “Song to Song.” She worked on new films from Alex Garland (“Annihilation”) and Xavier Dolan (“The Death and Life of John F.
The English musician has premiered the gorgeous black-and-white music video for his song “My Willing Heart,” and it puts a very pregnant Portman front and center as she connects with her unborn child in various locations, including a softly-lit bedroom and a giant pool. Anna Rose Holmer, the breakout director of “The Fits,” shot the video days before Portman gave birth.
Read More: How Natalie Portman Found the Woman Behind the Icon in ‘Jackie’
Portman can currently be seen on the big screen in Terrence Malick’s “Song to Song.” She worked on new films from Alex Garland (“Annihilation”) and Xavier Dolan (“The Death and Life of John F.
- 3/20/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Before we get back to the Academy Awards and what exactly happened there, and I promise we will, that big weekend also had a non Oscar ceremony that Moonlight triumphed at. Yes, let us quickly go back and take a glance at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. That was where Moonlight did even better, winning everywhere that it was nominated. That was slightly unexpected, though in light of the Academy Award results, perhaps shouldn’t have been. Regardless, it was a history making weekend and one that independent cinema should have been proud of. As such, the Independent Spirit Awards deserve a tip of the cap too. The Spirit Awards went up and down the line for Barry Jenkins’ film, giving Moonlight a big sweep before it pulled the Oscar upset. You’ll see all of its wins below, as well as a horse of a different color with the Razzie results,...
- 3/6/2017
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Taking place just a day before the Oscars, the Film Independent Spirit Awards is perhaps a pre-cursor, but more often than not it is simply a more eclectic round-up of the essential features of the past year. 2017 was no different with Barry Jenkins‘ stellar break-out drama Moonlight picking up Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and the Robert Altman Award for the ensemble (which meant they weren’t nominated in the other categories).
Also featuring Isabelle Huppert, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Molly Shannon, two awards for The Witch, and more, check out the full list of winners below, as well as Nick Kroll and John Mulaney‘s hilarious opening monologue and more highlights from the show.
Best Feature – Moonlight
Best Director – Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Female Lead – Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Best Male Lead – Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Supporting Female – Molly Shannon, Other People
Best Supporting Male – Ben Foster,...
Also featuring Isabelle Huppert, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Molly Shannon, two awards for The Witch, and more, check out the full list of winners below, as well as Nick Kroll and John Mulaney‘s hilarious opening monologue and more highlights from the show.
Best Feature – Moonlight
Best Director – Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Female Lead – Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Best Male Lead – Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Supporting Female – Molly Shannon, Other People
Best Supporting Male – Ben Foster,...
- 2/26/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Anna Rose Holmer’s terrific debut invites comparisons with Hitchcock as tensions rise in a local youth centre
The pure products of the Us go briefly, unnervingly crazy in The Fits, a terrific rites-of-passage drama that charts an outbreak of mass hysteria inside a Cincinnati sports centre. Full credit to debut director Anna Rose Holmer for wringing the maximum mileage from a paltry $170,000 (£13,600) budget. Restricting herself to a single location and its immediate surrounds, she whips up a quiet storm of everyday horror; an allegory of adolescence, crawling with existential dread. The Fits is a small, spare picture; it blows in and off the screen in 71 minutes flat. But it shakes you to the core and the effects last for days.
This small, spare picture whips up an allegory of adolescence, crawling with existential dread
Continue reading...
The pure products of the Us go briefly, unnervingly crazy in The Fits, a terrific rites-of-passage drama that charts an outbreak of mass hysteria inside a Cincinnati sports centre. Full credit to debut director Anna Rose Holmer for wringing the maximum mileage from a paltry $170,000 (£13,600) budget. Restricting herself to a single location and its immediate surrounds, she whips up a quiet storm of everyday horror; an allegory of adolescence, crawling with existential dread. The Fits is a small, spare picture; it blows in and off the screen in 71 minutes flat. But it shakes you to the core and the effects last for days.
This small, spare picture whips up an allegory of adolescence, crawling with existential dread
Continue reading...
- 2/26/2017
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
The 32nd Independent Spirit Awards took place on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles. Many Oscar contenders — such as “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea” — were nominated alongside smaller titles such as “American Honey” and “Chronic,” making for a truly unpredictable show.
Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Who Will Win and Who Should Win — Critics Survey
The full list of nominees is below, with winners in bold.
Best Feature
“Moonlight”
“American Honey”
“Chronic”
“Jackie”
“Manchester by the Sea”
Best Director
Barry Jenkins –”Moonlight”
Andrea Arnold –”American Honey”
Pablo Larraín –”Jackie”
Jeff Nichols –”Loving”
Kelly Reichardt –”Certain Women”
Best Male Lead
Casey Affleck –”Manchester by the Sea” as Lee Chandler
David Harewood –”Free in Deed” as Abe Wilkins
Viggo Mortensen –”Captain Fantastic” as Ben Cash
Jesse Plemons –”Other People” as David Mulcahey
Tim Roth –”Chronic” as David Wilson
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Huppert –”Elle” as Michèle Leblanc
Annette Bening –”20th Century Women” as...
Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Who Will Win and Who Should Win — Critics Survey
The full list of nominees is below, with winners in bold.
Best Feature
“Moonlight”
“American Honey”
“Chronic”
“Jackie”
“Manchester by the Sea”
Best Director
Barry Jenkins –”Moonlight”
Andrea Arnold –”American Honey”
Pablo Larraín –”Jackie”
Jeff Nichols –”Loving”
Kelly Reichardt –”Certain Women”
Best Male Lead
Casey Affleck –”Manchester by the Sea” as Lee Chandler
David Harewood –”Free in Deed” as Abe Wilkins
Viggo Mortensen –”Captain Fantastic” as Ben Cash
Jesse Plemons –”Other People” as David Mulcahey
Tim Roth –”Chronic” as David Wilson
Best Female Lead
Isabelle Huppert –”Elle” as Michèle Leblanc
Annette Bening –”20th Century Women” as...
- 2/26/2017
- by William Earl
- Indiewire
A24’s drama – and the distributor itself – enjoyed a huge Saturday afternoon at Film Independent’s 32nd annual Spirit Awards ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica.
Best feature winner Moonlight won six awards and took the plaudits on an afternoon that also sends best director winner Barry Jenkins to Sunday’s Oscars in high spirits and recognised Friday night’s César winner Isabelle Huppert for Elle and Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea in the lead acting categories.
Besides best feature and director, Moonlight won screenplay for Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, cinematography for James Laxton, and editing for Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders.
The film started the ceremony as joint frontrunner with American Honey on six nominations and converted all six, including the previously announced Robert Altman Award. American Honey went away empty-handed.
It was a triumphant afternoon for A24, which made its first financing foray on Moonlight and also distributed Robert Eggers’s first...
Best feature winner Moonlight won six awards and took the plaudits on an afternoon that also sends best director winner Barry Jenkins to Sunday’s Oscars in high spirits and recognised Friday night’s César winner Isabelle Huppert for Elle and Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea in the lead acting categories.
Besides best feature and director, Moonlight won screenplay for Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, cinematography for James Laxton, and editing for Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders.
The film started the ceremony as joint frontrunner with American Honey on six nominations and converted all six, including the previously announced Robert Altman Award. American Honey went away empty-handed.
It was a triumphant afternoon for A24, which made its first financing foray on Moonlight and also distributed Robert Eggers’s first...
- 2/26/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 32nd annual Independent Spirit Awards, sponsored by Perrier-Jouët, kicked off Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier in California, honoring the best independent films of 2016.
Oscar contenders like Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight are both nominated for awards, alongside smaller films like American Honey and Chronic, making Saturday's awards ceremony truly anyone's game.
Related: Final Oscars Predictions 2017: Here's Who Should Win and Who Will Win the Biggest Awards!
Check back for updates to see who wins big.
Best Feature
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Andrea Arnold –American Honey
Barry Jenkins –Moonlight
Pablo Larraín –Jackie
Jeff Nichols –Loving
Kelly Reichardt –Certain Women
Best Male Lead
Casey Affleck –Manchester by the Sea
David Harewood –Free in Deed
Viggo Mortensen –Captain Fantastic
Jesse Plemons –Other People
Tim Roth –Chronic
Best Female Lead
Annette Bening –20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert –Elle
Sasha Lane –American Honey
Ruth Negga –Loving
Natalie Portman –Jackie
Best Supporting...
Oscar contenders like Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight are both nominated for awards, alongside smaller films like American Honey and Chronic, making Saturday's awards ceremony truly anyone's game.
Related: Final Oscars Predictions 2017: Here's Who Should Win and Who Will Win the Biggest Awards!
Check back for updates to see who wins big.
Best Feature
American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Andrea Arnold –American Honey
Barry Jenkins –Moonlight
Pablo Larraín –Jackie
Jeff Nichols –Loving
Kelly Reichardt –Certain Women
Best Male Lead
Casey Affleck –Manchester by the Sea
David Harewood –Free in Deed
Viggo Mortensen –Captain Fantastic
Jesse Plemons –Other People
Tim Roth –Chronic
Best Female Lead
Annette Bening –20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert –Elle
Sasha Lane –American Honey
Ruth Negga –Loving
Natalie Portman –Jackie
Best Supporting...
- 2/25/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
The Fits is only in a few UK cinemas, but heck, it's worth seeking out...
Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. Scattered across every genre and decade, growing up is one of the most constant sources of inspiration for filmmakers. The Fits - the feature debut of writer/director Anna Rose Holmer - is a coming of age drama, but not as you know it.
The film follows Toni (Royalty Hightower - definitely worth keeping track of), an 11-year-old tomboy we first meet working out with her older brother in the boxing gym. She soon discovers another world within the community centre, one in which the Lionesses - a group of competitive dancers - exist.
Immediately transfixed, Toni joins the Lionesses’ ranks and, despite being out of her depth amidst the aggression, precision and sexual power of the older girls, befriends Beezy (Alexis Neblett), one of the other new recruits.
Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. Scattered across every genre and decade, growing up is one of the most constant sources of inspiration for filmmakers. The Fits - the feature debut of writer/director Anna Rose Holmer - is a coming of age drama, but not as you know it.
The film follows Toni (Royalty Hightower - definitely worth keeping track of), an 11-year-old tomboy we first meet working out with her older brother in the boxing gym. She soon discovers another world within the community centre, one in which the Lionesses - a group of competitive dancers - exist.
Immediately transfixed, Toni joins the Lionesses’ ranks and, despite being out of her depth amidst the aggression, precision and sexual power of the older girls, befriends Beezy (Alexis Neblett), one of the other new recruits.
- 2/25/2017
- Den of Geek
We learned early last month that Nick Kroll and John Mulaney are co-hosting the Independent Spirit Awards, and now IndieWire can exclusively announce the presenters at this Saturday’s ceremony. Nine actors will be lending their talents to the proceedings: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Kerry Washington, Miles Teller, Samuel L. Jackson, Freida Pinto, Fred Armisen and Amanda Peet.
Read More: Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney Love Spending Every Waking Hour Together in New Promos
In addition, Gary Clark Jr. is serving as the one-man house band for the ceremony, the Spirit Awards’ 32nd. The awards will be broadcast live on IFC at 5 p.m. Est this Saturday. Full list of nominees below.
Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney to Co-Host Ceremony
Best Feature:
“American Honey”
“Chronic”
“Jackie”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”
Best Director:
Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”
Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
Pablo Larraín,...
Read More: Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney Love Spending Every Waking Hour Together in New Promos
In addition, Gary Clark Jr. is serving as the one-man house band for the ceremony, the Spirit Awards’ 32nd. The awards will be broadcast live on IFC at 5 p.m. Est this Saturday. Full list of nominees below.
Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney to Co-Host Ceremony
Best Feature:
“American Honey”
“Chronic”
“Jackie”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight”
Best Director:
Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”
Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
Pablo Larraín,...
- 2/23/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
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