Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe prolific Rhonda Fleming, a "movie star made for Technicolor" who shone in films like Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past, and especially Allan Dwan's Slightly Scarlet and Tennessee's Partner, has died at 97. Recommended VIEWINGBarry Jenkins has released a "preamble" for his upcoming Amazon series The Underground Railroad, based on the novel by Colson Whitehead. The series follows two slaves who escape a Georgia plantation by following the Underground Railroad. The trailer for Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer's Apple TV+ documentary, Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, which focuses on the impact of meteorites on our planet. Roni Moore and James Blagden's Midnight in Paris follows a group of teenagers in Flint, Michigan, during the lead-up to their senior prom. The film will have its online...
- 10/26/2020
- MUBI
There’s a moment in Midnight in Paris that strikes because of its simple beauty and melancholy. The seniors of Flint Northern High School’s Class of 2012 made it! They are in the midst of the prom referenced in the film’s title, and are dancing their cares away to Kelly Rowland’s “Motivation.” While the boys bring out their best sexy moves, the girls mostly roll their eyes as they demand to be treated like the queens they are. One of them indifferently eats cotton candy as the camera pans by; she has earned this.
Of course, only one girl gets to be prom queen and the boys’ night turns out to be less eventful than they planned, but neither are the focus of Roni Moore and James Blagden’s sensitive documentary. Instead, the filmmakers capture a snapshot of the joy in a community that would soon be known for its dehumanizing water crisis.
Of course, only one girl gets to be prom queen and the boys’ night turns out to be less eventful than they planned, but neither are the focus of Roni Moore and James Blagden’s sensitive documentary. Instead, the filmmakers capture a snapshot of the joy in a community that would soon be known for its dehumanizing water crisis.
- 10/24/2020
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
When a documentary’s opening title card is “Flint, Michigan,” your instinct might be to assume that this will be a certain stripe of downbeat, sociological, living, tragic history — a story already pre-written by the headlines you’ve read about the place. But Roni Moore and James Blagden’s Midnight in Paris (streaming via Metrograph Virtual Cinemas through October 29th) is not that movie. The people it’s about, Flint Northern High School’s class of 2012, reject that story from the very start. “Everybody always looks at the bad stuff that goes on here,...
- 10/23/2020
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
Beyond the headlines about its (still-ongoing) water crisis and its boom-to-bust early years as an automotive powerhouse, Flint, Michigan is also home to nearly 100,000 people. That number, of course, includes plenty of kids and teenagers, all dreaming of what’s coming next. Each spring, that includes a fresh batch of high school graduates, six of whom are followed in James Blagden and Roni Moore’s “Midnight in Paris,” which focuses on some of Flint’s youth as they prep for their annual prom.
Billed as “an exuberant portrait of adolescence on the verge of adulthood,” the film “follows a small group of teenagers in Flint, Michigan, during the lead-up to their senior prom — an event that has transcended the typical black-tie affair and become a rare communal opportunity to celebrate the achievements of its youth. The film looks at the significance of the dance in the lives of Flint’s youth,...
Billed as “an exuberant portrait of adolescence on the verge of adulthood,” the film “follows a small group of teenagers in Flint, Michigan, during the lead-up to their senior prom — an event that has transcended the typical black-tie affair and become a rare communal opportunity to celebrate the achievements of its youth. The film looks at the significance of the dance in the lives of Flint’s youth,...
- 10/15/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Above: Midnight in ParisThere’s a certain warmth to Indie Memphis. Perhaps it’s odd to ascribe that to a film festival, but it’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of the four days I spent in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, surrounded by audiences, filmmakers, programmers, and writers like myself who have an enduring love for independent cinema. As soon as I arrived the temperature dropped to the low 40s and eventually the 30s, but I hardly noticed. I’d been wanting to go to Indie Memphis since critic and programmer Miriam Bale took was named Artistic Director of the event last year. The centerpiece of her first year was a celebration of Hong Sang-soo, bringing his films to Memphis for the first time.This year, the centerpiece of the festival was the Sara Driver retrospective, which included both her films and personal selections. Driver, a New York City director,...
- 12/5/2019
- MUBI
This month’s BAMcinemaFest isn’t just for New York cinephiles. The annual Brooklyn festival routinely boasts a slate that includes some of the year’s best indie offerings from festivals earlier in the year, and while the latest edition is no exception, it also has a number of notable world premieres and under-the-radar offerings.
This year’s festival will open on June 12 with the New York premiere of Lulu Wang’s lauded family dramedy “The Farewell,” starring Awkwafina. The film debuted at Sundance earlier this year to massive critical acclaim, and A24 will release it later this year. The festival will close with Diana Peralta’s “De Lo Mio” on June 22, which follows the “story of ride or die New York sisters who reunite with their estranged brother in the Dominican Republic following their father’s death.”
In between, there are a number of distinctive cinematic experiences, including 18 NY premieres,...
This year’s festival will open on June 12 with the New York premiere of Lulu Wang’s lauded family dramedy “The Farewell,” starring Awkwafina. The film debuted at Sundance earlier this year to massive critical acclaim, and A24 will release it later this year. The festival will close with Diana Peralta’s “De Lo Mio” on June 22, which follows the “story of ride or die New York sisters who reunite with their estranged brother in the Dominican Republic following their father’s death.”
In between, there are a number of distinctive cinematic experiences, including 18 NY premieres,...
- 6/11/2019
- by Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich, Chris O'Falt, Tambay Obenson and Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The organizers of the True/False Film Fest, taking place in Columbia, Missouri, on February 28 to March 3, are announcing their lineup exclusively to IndieWire. The 36 feature films and 18 short films (full list below) were culled from “roughly” 1,100 submissions.
Among the 36 new features, four of the films announced are world premieres. “The Hottest August,” is from director Brett Story and explores the anxieties of a “sweltering” New York City. “Midnight in Paris,” the directorial feature debut from Roni Moore and James Blagden, follows the Flint Northern High School’s senior class of 2012 as the Michigan students prepare for prom. Brazil-based filmmaker Maíra Bühler will screen “Let it Burn,” described as a tender portrait of addicts housed in a converted hotel in São Paulo’s notorious Cracolândia neighborhood. And the fourth T/F world premiere is director Jeffrey Peixoto’s exploration into what attracts members to the Church of Scientology in “Over the Rainbow.
Among the 36 new features, four of the films announced are world premieres. “The Hottest August,” is from director Brett Story and explores the anxieties of a “sweltering” New York City. “Midnight in Paris,” the directorial feature debut from Roni Moore and James Blagden, follows the Flint Northern High School’s senior class of 2012 as the Michigan students prepare for prom. Brazil-based filmmaker Maíra Bühler will screen “Let it Burn,” described as a tender portrait of addicts housed in a converted hotel in São Paulo’s notorious Cracolândia neighborhood. And the fourth T/F world premiere is director Jeffrey Peixoto’s exploration into what attracts members to the Church of Scientology in “Over the Rainbow.
- 2/6/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Dock Ellis was an All-Star pitcher for the powerhouse Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the early 1970s, but he’s best known for a rather dubious athletic feat. On June 12, 1970, he pitched a no-hitter, one of only 286 in the history of the game. But most likely, his gem was the only one recorded while under the influence of LSD.
Ellis’s athletic accomplishments, his civil-rights activism, and post-baseball career—when he sobered up and counseled other addicts—are part of a new documentary that opens in theaters today, No-No: A Documentary. But there’s no getting around the LSD no-hitter. Ellis...
Ellis’s athletic accomplishments, his civil-rights activism, and post-baseball career—when he sobered up and counseled other addicts—are part of a new documentary that opens in theaters today, No-No: A Documentary. But there’s no getting around the LSD no-hitter. Ellis...
- 9/5/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
I know that the Sundance Film Festival ended over a week ago, but in the six days I was at Sundance (and on screeners in the days before), I saw 25 movies. I wrote full reviews for 13 of them. My Full Sundance reviews: 'The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz' "The Overnighters" "Rudderless" "Fed Up" "Marmato" "Love Child" "Land Ho!" "The Voices" "Happy Valley" "My Prairie Home" "Life Itself" "Mitt" "Web Junkie" But that left 12 movies that I just didn't have the time to write my usual 1000-to-1750 words on. Since getting back from Park City, I've been slowly working my way through capsule reviews for those 12 movies. These are roughly the length of my Take Me To The Pilots entries, which means that in this format, people are going to complain about all of the text and the lack of paragraphs. Sorry. Because I'm just one part of HitFix's awesome Sundance team,...
- 2/5/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Sundance's timeline annually clashes with the NFL playoffs', but it was a life spent partly in baseball that gave this year’s festival one of its most captivating stories. The curious case of Dock Ellis’ now-infamous no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the San Diego Padres on June 12, 1970, thrown under the influence of LSD, is no stranger to Sundance audiences. James Blagden’s 2010 short “Dock Ellis & The LSD No No” is an amusing and concise encapsulation of the feat, featuring animation set to a public radio interview with Ellis. While Jeffrey Radice’s “No No: A Dockumentary” uses some of those same clips to illustrate the events surrounding that day nearly a half-century ago, those expecting a feature-length breakdown of a single athletic achievement will be pleasantly surprised to instead find a much deeper, fulfilling examination of the life that surrounded it. Much of the effectiveness of "No No" comes...
- 1/26/2014
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
If you know the name Dock Ellis, it’s probably because of a particularly unorthodox athletic — and medical! — achievement he accomplished in 1970. In the history of professional baseball, there have been 282 no-hitters. Only one of them, as far as we know, was pitched while under the influence of LSD. On June 12, 1970, Ellis, then playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, tossed a no-hitter against the Padres after dropping acid. If Ellis’s admission of being under the influence isn’t conclusive enough, the box score supports his claim: he beaned three batters and walked eight!
But Ellis was more than just some...
But Ellis was more than just some...
- 1/15/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
The Cinema Eye Honors, devoted to highlighting the best of the year's nonfiction films, have flipped for Lixin Fan's fantastic "Last Train Home," which follows a family of migrant workers as they struggle to stay connected while living separated by hundreds of miles. "Last Train Home" received the most nominations -- seven -- while Banksy's "Exit Through The Gift Shop" and Afghanistan documentary "Armadillo" each received six. The award ceremony will take place on January 18 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, and will be broadcast on the Documentary Channel.
Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
Armadilllo
Directed by Janus Metz
Produced by Sara Stockmann and Ronnie Fridthjof
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Directed by Banksy
Produced by Jaimie D'Cruz
Last Train Home
Directed by Lixin Fan
Produced by Mila Aung-Thwin and Daniel Cross
Marwencol
Directed by Jeff Malmberg
Produced by Jeff Malmberg, Tom Putnam, Matt Radecki, Chris Shellen...
Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking
Armadilllo
Directed by Janus Metz
Produced by Sara Stockmann and Ronnie Fridthjof
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Directed by Banksy
Produced by Jaimie D'Cruz
Last Train Home
Directed by Lixin Fan
Produced by Mila Aung-Thwin and Daniel Cross
Marwencol
Directed by Jeff Malmberg
Produced by Jeff Malmberg, Tom Putnam, Matt Radecki, Chris Shellen...
- 11/5/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
Before screening the Closing Night film ("Despicable Me"), Film Independent has announced its 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival audience award winners. According to HollywoodNews.com:
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival screened over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 40 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 4,700 submissions from filmmakers around the world. The final selections represent 28 World, North American, and U.S. premieres, which more than doubled from 2009. The number of films competing in the narrative and documentary competition categories also increased this year from 13 to 18, of which half are World premieres.
Here's the complete list of winners of the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival audience awards:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner: Four Lions directed by Christopher Morris
Writers: Christopher Morris, Jesse Armstrong, and Sam Bain
Producers: Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, and Adeel Akhtar
Film Description: (England) Never...
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival screened over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 40 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 4,700 submissions from filmmakers around the world. The final selections represent 28 World, North American, and U.S. premieres, which more than doubled from 2009. The number of films competing in the narrative and documentary competition categories also increased this year from 13 to 18, of which half are World premieres.
Here's the complete list of winners of the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival audience awards:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner: Four Lions directed by Christopher Morris
Writers: Christopher Morris, Jesse Armstrong, and Sam Bain
Producers: Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, and Adeel Akhtar
Film Description: (England) Never...
- 6/27/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
hollywoodnews.com: Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced its 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival audience award winners before the Closing Night film, “Despicable Me.” The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by The Los Angeles Times, with its central hub at L.A. Live, began Thursday, June 17 and ended today.
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to “Four Lions” directed by Christopher Morris and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to “Thunder Soul,” directed by Mark Landsman. Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith’s “Presumed Guilty won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No, directed by James Blagden. The video for Ok Go’s This Too Shall Pass, directed by James Frost, Ok Go, and Syyn Labs won the Audience Award for Best Music Video.
The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to “Four Lions” directed by Christopher Morris and the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to “Thunder Soul,” directed by Mark Landsman. Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith’s “Presumed Guilty won the Audience Award for Best International Feature.
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No, directed by James Blagden. The video for Ok Go’s This Too Shall Pass, directed by James Frost, Ok Go, and Syyn Labs won the Audience Award for Best Music Video.
- 6/27/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Los Angeles Film Festival ended with a screening of the Universal/Illumination animated film Despicable Me after the awards were handed out. Winning the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was the Christopher Morris-directed Four Lions, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary went to the Mark Landsman-directed Thunder Soul. The Audience Award for Best International Feature went to the Roberto Hernandez/Geoffrey Smith-directed Presumed Guilty. The Short Film Award went to the James Blagden-directed Dock Ellis & The Incredible No-No. Earlier, the Jury Narrative Award went to Pernille Fischer Christensen-directed A Family and the Jury Documentary Award went to the [...]...
- 6/27/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
The mythical story of Dock Ellis and the no-hitter he pitched in 1970 while on LSD is one giant matryoshka doll. There's layer upon exquisite layer to be uncovered: The black power movement, the war on drugs, Major League Baseball's free-agency era. And that's just the first couple of layers.
In the last year, the story of Ellis, who died in 2008, has been resurrected in song -- it's the sixth time -- with folkie Todd Snider's "America's Favorite Pastime." That was followed by artist James Blagden's psychedelic animated short, "Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No." Now there's a movie, "No No: A Dockumentary," in production.
Austin filmmakers Jeffrey Radice and Mike Blizzard, "No No"'s writer/director and producer, respectively, took the occasion of June 12th, the 40th anniversary of Ellis' no-hitter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to debut a seven-minute trailer of their forthcoming documentary. The location was The Highball, the...
In the last year, the story of Ellis, who died in 2008, has been resurrected in song -- it's the sixth time -- with folkie Todd Snider's "America's Favorite Pastime." That was followed by artist James Blagden's psychedelic animated short, "Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No." Now there's a movie, "No No: A Dockumentary," in production.
Austin filmmakers Jeffrey Radice and Mike Blizzard, "No No"'s writer/director and producer, respectively, took the occasion of June 12th, the 40th anniversary of Ellis' no-hitter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to debut a seven-minute trailer of their forthcoming documentary. The location was The Highball, the...
- 6/24/2010
- by Michael Hoinski
- ifc.com
The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is set to run June 17-27 in a brand new location. Oh, it’s still in L.A, but it’s moving across town, from Westwood — where it’s been held the past few years — all the way over to Downtown.
The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.
On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...
The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.
On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...
- 5/17/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Did you miss the Sundance Film Festival this year? The best of the 2010 Sundance shorts will be playing this Saturday in Montreal, Quebec. In fact, the event "Prends ça court!" is back at the Nuit blanche du Festival Montréal en lumière on Saturday, February 27, at the Monument-National from 8 Pm to 3 Am.
In addition to screenings of films, musician Slim Williams will be performing. Other guests include: Ben Charest, Al Baculus, Eric Roberts, Orson Clarke, Coco Thompson, Al Prater, and Dan Martel.
Best Of Sundance Shorts 2010
* Let's Harvest The Organs Of Death Row Inmates, from Chris Weller and Max Joseph.
* Mary Last Seen, from Sean Durkin.
* My Mom Smokes Weed, from Clay Liford.
* The Six Dollar Fifty Man, from Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland.
* Seeds Of The Fall, from Patrik Eklund.
* Logorama, from H5.
* My Invisible Friend, from Pablo Larcuen.
* N.A.S.A (A Volta), from Alexei Tylevich.
* The Armoire,...
In addition to screenings of films, musician Slim Williams will be performing. Other guests include: Ben Charest, Al Baculus, Eric Roberts, Orson Clarke, Coco Thompson, Al Prater, and Dan Martel.
Best Of Sundance Shorts 2010
* Let's Harvest The Organs Of Death Row Inmates, from Chris Weller and Max Joseph.
* Mary Last Seen, from Sean Durkin.
* My Mom Smokes Weed, from Clay Liford.
* The Six Dollar Fifty Man, from Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland.
* Seeds Of The Fall, from Patrik Eklund.
* Logorama, from H5.
* My Invisible Friend, from Pablo Larcuen.
* N.A.S.A (A Volta), from Alexei Tylevich.
* The Armoire,...
- 2/25/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
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