BY Laura Berger
Karen Gillan & Emily Kapnek Team Up for Disney+ Animated Musical Series “Rhona Who Lives By the River”
“Selfie” fans will have the chance to hear Karen Gillan belt it out again. She’s following up her ass-kicking role in “Gunpowder Milkshake” with animated musical series...
Trailer Watch: “Anonymous Club” Follows the Ups and Downs of Courtney Barnett’s World Tour
Melbourne-based musician Courtney Barnett hits the road in “Anonymous Club.” Filmed over three years, the documentary chronicles the ups and downs of the indie rocker’s world tour...
IDA Documentary Awards Nominations: “Faya Dayi,” “Jacinta,” and More
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced the nominees for this year’s IDA Documentary Awards. Five of 10 titles competing for the night’s top honor, Best Feature, are...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Sonja Sohn – “The Slow Hustle”
Sonja Sohn is an actress and filmmaker. Her on-screen credits include “The Wire,” “Body of Proof,” and “The Chi.” She made her directorial debut with the 2017...
Alysa Nahmias’ “Krimes” Acquired by MTV Documentary Films
“Krimes” is going global. MTV Documentary Films acquired worldwide rights to Alysa Nahmias’ documentary, which made its world premiere at Heartland Film Festival and is currently...
Trailer Watch: “Adrienne” Honors Late “Waitress” Filmmaker Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly “craved having her voice heard and her vision be out there,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Adrienne,” an HBO documentary honoring the late actress and...
Pick of the Day: “Cusp”
Ahead of “Cusp’s” world premiere at Sundance, directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt told us that they hope audiences will “think about what it actually looks like to...
Kathleen Collins to Receive Posthumous Icon Tribute at Gotham Awards
Kathleen Collins is set to receive the inaugural Icon Tribute posthumously during the 2021 Gotham Awards Ceremony. A press release announced that the event will honor the poet, playwright, writer,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Bianca Stigter – “Three Minutes: A Lengthening”
Bianca Stigter is a historian and cultural critic. She made the short film essays “Three Minutes – Thirteen Minutes – Thirty Minutes” and “I Kiss This Letter –...
Jennifer Aniston to Receive Sherry Lansing Leadership Award
Jennifer Aniston is joining the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, and Barbara Walters. The “Morning Show” star and exec producer has been named as this year’s recipient of the...
Pick of the Day: “The Dilemma of Desire”
Described by director Maria Finitzo as “a film about power, and how power is easily taken when the truth is replaced with a lie,” “The Dilemma of Desire” puts the clitoris under a microscope...
European Film Award Nominations: “Titane” and “Quo Vadis, Aida?” Up for Top Honor
The European Film Academy has announced nominations for the 34th European Film Awards, and Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” and Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?”...
Nicole Holofcener’s “Beth & Don” Acquired by A24, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Stars
A24 has acquired North American rights to Nicole Holofcener and Julia Louis Dreyfus’ latest collaboration, “Beth & Don.” The deal went down at the American Film Market, per...
Trailer Watch: Debbie Lum Follows Ivy League Hopefuls at an Elite High School in “Try Harder!”
Debbie Lum takes audiences inside the #1 ranked public high school in San Francisco in “Try Harder!” “The kids who come here, they are competing in a world that is very high...
Deepa Mehta to Helm Adaptation of “Burnt Sugar”
Deepa Mehta has another adaptation on the way. The Indo-Canadian filmmaker will follow-up her last feature, 2020’s “Funny Boy,” based on Shyam Selvadurai’s novel of the same name,...
Pick of the Day: “Beans”
“You need to be able to stand up for what’s important to you,” a 12-year-old Mohawk girl is told in “Beans.” Tracey Deer’s coming-of-age drama tells the story of Tekehentahkhwa,...
Kate Tsang’s “Marvelous and the Black Hole” Acquired by FilmRise
Kate Tsang’s debut feature has secured North American distribution. FilmRise landed rights to “Marvelous and the Black Hole,” a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl (Miya Cech) and...
Trailer Watch: Jane Campion Teams Up with Kirsten Dunst in Oscar Contender “The Power of the Dog”
Kirsten Dunst finds herself struggling to protect her son and husband from the cruelty of her brother-in-law in “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s first feature in over a...
Trailer Watch: Anna and Maya Are Experiencing Growing Pains in “PEN15” Season 2, Part 2
“If you’re lucky enough to live, live, and if you get the chance to dance, dance,” we’re told in a new trailer for Season 2, Part 2 of “PEN15.” Middle-schoolers...
Trailer Watch: Tracy Oliver Tells the Story of Four Friends in “Harlem”
From “Girls Trip” scribe Tracy Oliver, “Harlem” follows four girlfriends living in the Manhattan neighborhood. A trailer for the Prime Video comedy introduces us to Camille...
Katie Holmes Will Co-Write, Direct, Produce, and Star in Adaptation of “Rare Objects”
Katie Holmes is stepping behind the camera again. The “Dawson’s Creek” alumna and “All We Had” filmmaker is set to direct, co-write, and produce “Rare...
Sandrine Kiberlain’s “A Radiant Girl” Lands U.S. Distribution
“A Radiant Girl” is heading stateside. Film Movement acquired North American rights to Sandrine Kiberlain’s Cannes drama about a Jewish teenager living in Paris under German...
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Will Topline Isabel Coixet Romance “Nobody’s Heart”
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is set to star in Isabel Coixet’s next feature. The “Morning Show” actress will star in “Nobody’s Heart,” a romance based on the life of Portuguese...
Audra McDonald Returning to Broadway with a New Play by Adrienne Kennedy
Audra McDonald is Broadway bound. The six-time Tony winner is returning to The Great Bright Way with “Ohio State Murders,” a new play by Adrienne Kennedy, per Variety. An exploration of the...
Lone Scherfig Teams Up with Bérénice Bejo for “The Movie Teller”
Lone Scherfig is teaming up with an Oscar-nominated actress on a love letter to cinema. Scherfig is set to direct “The Movie Teller,” the story of a mother and daughter whose love of...
Vanessa Lapa Talks “Speer Goes to Hollywood,” Her Cautionary Tale About Media’s Power to Manipulate
Vanessa Lapa is an Israeli Academy-winning director and producer. She launched her career as a journalist and produced and directed over 100 news reports for Israeli TV. In 2006 she founded Realworks...
Sigourney Weaver-Starrer “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” Starts Filming for Amazon
We’re going to be seeing lots of Sigourney Weaver on the big screen in Pandora, but the “Avatar” actress also has a series on the way. The three-time Oscar nominee is starring in...
Gravitas Ventures Snags U.S. Rights to “Home,” Franka Potente’s Feature Directorial Debut
Best known for her breakthrough role in “Run Lola Run,” the “Bourne” franchise and, more recently, “Claws,” Franka Potente is making a name for herself behind the...
Trailer Watch: A Widow Finds Comfort in the Arms of Her Late Wife’s Best Friend in “My Fiona”
Jane (Jeanette Maus, “Your Sister’s Sister”) and Gemma (Corbin Reid, “How to Get Away with Murder”) are in mourning: both have lost the most important woman in their lives....
Trailer Watch: Aida Rodriguez Has “Fighting Words” in HBO Max Stand-Up Special
“Too much truth for you tonight?” asks Aida Rodriguez in a new trailer for her first hourlong stand-up special. Directed by Nadia Hallgren (“Becoming”) and Kristian Mercado...
Trailer Watch: Léa Seydoux Is a Superstar Journalist in “France”
Léa Seydoux is following up her supporting roles in “No Time to Die” and “The French Dispatch” by taking the lead in “France,” a dark comedy that sees her playing...
“Happy Valley” Will Return for Third and Final Season
Our long-awaited reunion with Sergeant Catherine Cawood is almost upon us. A third and final season of “Happy Valley” has been confirmed after years of teasing from creator Sally...
Trailer Watch: Sandra Bullock Fights for Her Sister & Redemption in Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Unforgivable”
“You’re going to pay for what you did,” Sandra Bullock is told in a new trailer for “The Unforgivable.” From director Nora Fingscheidt, the Netflix drama tells the story...
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola” Is Costa Rica’s International Oscar Pick
Costa Rica has high hopes for Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature. The country has chosen “Clara Sola” to represent it in the International Feature Oscar category at the 2022...
Pick of the Day: “Insecure”
“The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” served as Issa Rae’s calling card in the industry, but it’s “Insecure” that launched her into another stratosphere. Now...
Trailer Watch: Selina Ringel Is a “Single Mother by Choice” in HBO Max Pic
A fictional feature that tracks star, co-writer, and producer Selina Ringel’s real-life pregnancy, “Single Mother by Choice” tells the story of an overachieving, workaholic Latinx...
Jane Campion Will Receive the Director’s Tribute at 2021 Gotham Awards
Jane Campion is set to receive the Director’s Tribute at this year’s Gotham Awards ceremony, slated to take place November 29. Deadline broke the news. The first woman director to claim...
Mexico Adds Tatiana Huezo’s “Prayers for the Stolen” to Oscars’ International Feature Race
Mexico has once again chosen Tatiana Huezo to represent the country at the Oscars. The filmmaker’s follow-up to “Tempestad,” a doc that Mexico submitted for consideration in the...
Pick of the Day: “Found”
Like Amanda Lipitz’s first documentary, “Step,” a portrait of a girls’ step dance team during their senior year at a Baltimore high school that took home a Special Jury Award for...
Nearly Half of DOC NYC’s 2021 Features Lineup Is Women-Directed
DOC NYC has announced the majority of its 2021 slate. Of 112 features set to screen, 54 are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to about 48 percent of the program. The “Short...
“To All the Boys” Spinoff Series “XO, Kitty” Picked Up by Netflix
Kitty Song Covey is stepping into the spotlight. Netflix has announced that Lara Jean’s little sister is getting her own series. Titled “XO, Kitty,” the spinoff is inspired by the...
Trailer Watch: Elle Fanning Vows to Remake Russia in “The Great” Season 2
Convinced that “reason and compassion can win any argument better than violence,” Elle Fanning prepares to “remake Russia” in “The Great’s” sophomore season....
Kamila Andini’s “Yuni” Named Indonesia’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
Indonesia is hoping to make Oscar history with “Yuni.” The country, which has yet to receive an Oscar nod in the International Feature category, is submitting Kamila Andini’s...
Amanda Lipitz Talks “Found,” Her Doc About Biological Cousins Who Bond Over Their Adoptions
Amanda Lipitz is an award-winning producer, writer, and director. Her directorial debut and first feature-length documentary, “Step,” premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film...
Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller’s “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” Lands at Sony Pictures Classics
Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller’s tribute to the man born with the gift of a golden voice has found a home. Sony Pictures Classics acquired all rights in all media worldwide, excluding France and...
Trailer Watch: Mindy Kaling Explores “The Sex Lives of College Girls”
Are you ready to blackout with your rack out? From creators Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, “The Sex Lives of College Girls” follows four roommates at a prestigious New England college....
Pick of the Day: “Bergman Island”
“Do you think you can create a great body of work and raise a family at the same time?” asks Vicky Krieps in “Bergman Island.” Writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve identified this...
Pick of the Day: “Introducing, Selma Blair”
Selma Blair holds no illusions about her place in Hollywood. Whether it’s “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” or “Hellboy,” she’s best known standing...
Trailer Watch: Halle Berry Steps Into the Ring and Makes Her Directorial Debut with “Bruised”
Halle Berry is offered a second chance in “Bruised,” the Oscar-winning actress’ feature directorial debut. The pic tells the story of Jackie Justice (Berry), a disgraced MMA fighter...
North Macedonia Selects Dina Duma’s “Sisterhood” for Oscars’ International Feature Category
North Macedonia has chosen “Sisterhood” to represent it in the 2022 Oscars’ International Feature race. From writer-director Dina Duma, the drama tells the story of inseparable...
Trailer Watch: Beanie Feldstein Is “Harriet the Spy” in New Apple TV+ Animated Series
Currently starring as Monica Lewinsky in “American Crime Story: Impeachment,” the story of the former White House intern’s affair with President Bill Clinton, Beanie Feldstein is...