Like Lance Oppenheim‘s first feature, 2020’s Some Kind of Heaven, his follow-up Spermworld follows three nonfiction protagonists through a niche American context. Heaven focused on three residents of The Villages, a retirement community in Florida that’s the largest in the world, through cleanly composed, academy-ratio images of seniors who’ve self-selected to live in something like Back to the Future’s ’50s backlot suburbia writ large. Per its title and subject, Spermworld is a grimier follow-up in the wider 2.1 ratio, all sickly blue and green colors and degraded frame edges, following three main sperm donor subjects who tell themselves different stories about […]
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/29/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Like Lance Oppenheim‘s first feature, 2020’s Some Kind of Heaven, his follow-up Spermworld follows three nonfiction protagonists through a niche American context. Heaven focused on three residents of The Villages, a retirement community in Florida that’s the largest in the world, through cleanly composed, academy-ratio images of seniors who’ve self-selected to live in something like Back to the Future’s ’50s backlot suburbia writ large. Per its title and subject, Spermworld is a grimier follow-up in the wider 2.1 ratio, all sickly blue and green colors and degraded frame edges, following three main sperm donor subjects who tell themselves different stories about […]
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Fluid(s) Filmmaking: Lance Oppenheim and Daniel Garber on Spermworld first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/29/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
While many companies were affected by shortages brought on by Covid-19’s disruption, some may not be top of mind when it comes to everyday commerce. Enter filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, whose latest work Spermworld depicts the evolution of sperm banks. There’s been high interest from potential parents for receiving the male sperm, and the limited regulations of in-person sperm banks (e.g. donors can’t give their sperm to more than 25 or 30 families) have made donors run their business online. After contributing to the New York Times article The Sperm Kings Have a Problem: Too Much Demand, Oppenheim has now crafted a mind-boggling moving-image companion piece with backing from the outlet.
The documentary profiles a trio of primary leads: mechanic Tyree, Lyft driver Steve, and arithmetic professor Ari “the Sperminator” Nagel as they form different types of relationships and family trees during their exchanges. Steve hopes to make things...
The documentary profiles a trio of primary leads: mechanic Tyree, Lyft driver Steve, and arithmetic professor Ari “the Sperminator” Nagel as they form different types of relationships and family trees during their exchanges. Steve hopes to make things...
- 3/20/2024
- by Edward Frumkin
- The Film Stage
Bravo has unveiled a first look at the “Vanderpump Rules” spinoff series “The Valley,” premiering on March 19 after a new episode of “Vanderpump Rules.” In subsequent weeks, “The Valley” will air at the regular time of 9 p.m. Et and stream the following day on Peacock.
The official description for the spinoff explains that it “follows a group of close friends as they trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships.”
The five couples featured this season include Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna. Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham join the series as friends.
Executive producers include Alex Baskin and Jeff Festa for 32 Flavors Entertainment; Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert and Jessica Chesler for Haymaker East; and Barry Poznick...
The official description for the spinoff explains that it “follows a group of close friends as they trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships.”
The five couples featured this season include Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna. Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham join the series as friends.
Executive producers include Alex Baskin and Jeff Festa for 32 Flavors Entertainment; Aaron Rothman, Josh Halpert and Jessica Chesler for Haymaker East; and Barry Poznick...
- 2/28/2024
- by Caroline Brew and Diego Ramos Bechara
- Variety Film + TV
Winners were celebrated at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25, 2024. The ceremony took place at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA and honored outstanding achievement in film and television. Gold Derby associate editor Latasha Ford and senior editor Marcus James Dixon enjoyed an exclusive spot on the red carpet, interviewing many of the celebrities who were honored, presenting or enjoying the night’s festivities.
Watch each short video below from the 2024 Spirit Awards by clicking that person’s name:
Alan Barinholtz and Ron Song (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Susan Berger (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
David Brown (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Ronald Gladden (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Trisha Lafache (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast...
Watch each short video below from the 2024 Spirit Awards by clicking that person’s name:
Alan Barinholtz and Ron Song (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Susan Berger (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
David Brown (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Ronald Gladden (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
Trisha Lafache (‘Jury Duty’), winner for Best Ensemble Cast...
- 2/26/2024
- by Latasha Ford, Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Can you use the Film Independent Spirit Awards to predict the Oscars? That's a risky endeavour, but when you consider that last year's Indie Spirit Best Feature Everything Everywhere All At Once went on to win big at the Oscars, hopes are certainly higher for Celine Song's Past Lives' Best Picture chances come 10 March.
Song also picked up Best Director for her emotional tale of reconnection and regret, While Av Rockwell took Best First Feature for A Thousand And One and Co-writer/director Babak Jalali won the John Cassavetes Award for best feature made for under $1 million for Fremont.
The Holdovers took home the most film gongs, nabbing Best Cinematography for Eigil Bryld, a welcome Best Breakthrough Performance for Dominic Sessa and in what should probably this year be renamed the Da’Vine Joy Randolph Award, she won her latest trophy: Best Supporting Performance.
How To Blow Up A Pipeline...
Song also picked up Best Director for her emotional tale of reconnection and regret, While Av Rockwell took Best First Feature for A Thousand And One and Co-writer/director Babak Jalali won the John Cassavetes Award for best feature made for under $1 million for Fremont.
The Holdovers took home the most film gongs, nabbing Best Cinematography for Eigil Bryld, a welcome Best Breakthrough Performance for Dominic Sessa and in what should probably this year be renamed the Da’Vine Joy Randolph Award, she won her latest trophy: Best Supporting Performance.
How To Blow Up A Pipeline...
- 2/26/2024
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
The rain stayed away from Santa Monica Beach on Sunday (February 25) as Past Lives was named best film and Celine Song best director at the 39th annual Spirit Awards.
While the legacy studio and streamer contenders have dominated much of the big-ticket awards shows this season like Saturday night’s SAG Awards, last weekend’s Baftas, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this was a good opportunity for the Oscar-nominated A24 romance and Song to earn gongs for a film which has done well among critics groups since its world premiere at Sundance just over one year ago.
Jeffrey Wright...
While the legacy studio and streamer contenders have dominated much of the big-ticket awards shows this season like Saturday night’s SAG Awards, last weekend’s Baftas, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this was a good opportunity for the Oscar-nominated A24 romance and Song to earn gongs for a film which has done well among critics groups since its world premiere at Sundance just over one year ago.
Jeffrey Wright...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in ‘Past Lives’ (Photo Credit: Jon Pack / Courtesy of A24)
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.
On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.
2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Another big award show took place this weekend (in addition to the SAG Awards), the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which celebrates indie film and TV. One thing about this awards show is that their idea of independent sometimes makes me scratch my head a bit, with HBO’s big-budget The Last of Us nominated a whole bunch in the TV category, along with Netflix’s Beef and several other streaming shows, which I’m not sure one could call independent. For films, there’s a $30 million budget cap. For TV, I’m honestly not sure what the benchmark is because Last of Us was notoriously an expensive show to shoot, costing at least $100 million.
Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...
Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...
- 2/26/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
The best in independent film and television were honored at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.
Head inside to see the full list of winners…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday awarded A24’s Past Lives its Best Feature and the film’s Celine Song the Best Director in a ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica, giving the indie romantic drama a boost as it heads toward the Oscars where it is up for Best Picture.
Past Lives topped a marquee Best Feature category that included Netflix’s May December, Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction, Searchlight’s All of Us Strangers, Sony Pictures Classics’ We Grown Now and Mubi’s Passages.
“There is a concept in our film, an Eastern concept, and it’s called inyeon,” Song, making her feature directorial debut, said in her acceptance speech with her producers and cast. “It is about how just by being in the same space and time in this life, it means we actually knew each other for many, many lives that came before this one.
Past Lives topped a marquee Best Feature category that included Netflix’s May December, Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction, Searchlight’s All of Us Strangers, Sony Pictures Classics’ We Grown Now and Mubi’s Passages.
“There is a concept in our film, an Eastern concept, and it’s called inyeon,” Song, making her feature directorial debut, said in her acceptance speech with her producers and cast. “It is about how just by being in the same space and time in this life, it means we actually knew each other for many, many lives that came before this one.
- 2/26/2024
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday at the traditional Santa Monica beach tent location, with Aidy Bryant hosting. “Past Lives” took home the coveted Best Feature award, with “Beef” being honored as Best New Scripted Series. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below.
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
Best Feature
“Past Lives”
Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
“All of Us Strangers”
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
“American Fiction”
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
“May December”
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon
“Passages”
Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
“We Grown Now”
Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro
Best Lead Performance
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Jessica Chastain, “Memory”
Greta Lee, “Past Lives”
Trace Lysette, “Monica”
Natalie Portman, “May December”
Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”
Franz Rogowski, “Passages”
Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”
Teyana Taylor,...
- 2/25/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
The Film Independent Spirit Awards have been dutifully assigned to their worthy recipients, thus putting a button on yet another great year of indie film and innovative visual storytelling. And as awards prognosticators now ponder their Oscar futures with this new data set and the tent falls around our knees, we want to shout out one more time all of the producers, writers, directors, performers and more who made this such a special experience.
This year’s ceremony streamed live on IMDb’s YouTube and across other social platforms, including Film Independent’s own YouTube channel and Twitter (or “X” if you’re being pedantic). The full livestream (see below) will remain available to watch On Demand for the next eight weeks, which highlights, behind-the-scenes moments, arrival carpet interviews and more will are available at filmindependent.org and wherever fine entertainment journalism prevails.
Best Supporting Performance
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
The Holdovers...
This year’s ceremony streamed live on IMDb’s YouTube and across other social platforms, including Film Independent’s own YouTube channel and Twitter (or “X” if you’re being pedantic). The full livestream (see below) will remain available to watch On Demand for the next eight weeks, which highlights, behind-the-scenes moments, arrival carpet interviews and more will are available at filmindependent.org and wherever fine entertainment journalism prevails.
Best Supporting Performance
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
The Holdovers...
- 2/23/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
FX has set a March 29 premiere date for Spermworld, a documentary feature on the unregulated online marketplace for sperm, produced by The New York Times and Edgeline Films.
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, inspired by the Times’ article “The Sperm Kings Have a Problem: Too Much Demand” by Nellie Bowles, Spermworld is described as a road movie set inside the new wild west of baby making – online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents.
Per the synopsis: Against the landscape of roadside motels, abandoned shopping malls and suburban bathrooms across the country, the film follows intimate encounters between donors and recipients as they exchange more than just genetic material. Spermworld examines how our fantasies about partnership and parenthood shape our deepest desires. What emerges in this new feature-length documentary directed by Lance Oppenheim is an incisive portrait of the search for human connection in an increasingly alienating world.
Kathleen Lingo...
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, inspired by the Times’ article “The Sperm Kings Have a Problem: Too Much Demand” by Nellie Bowles, Spermworld is described as a road movie set inside the new wild west of baby making – online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents.
Per the synopsis: Against the landscape of roadside motels, abandoned shopping malls and suburban bathrooms across the country, the film follows intimate encounters between donors and recipients as they exchange more than just genetic material. Spermworld examines how our fantasies about partnership and parenthood shape our deepest desires. What emerges in this new feature-length documentary directed by Lance Oppenheim is an incisive portrait of the search for human connection in an increasingly alienating world.
Kathleen Lingo...
- 1/17/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
While the likes of Oppenheimer, Barbie, and Killers of the Moon will likely battle it out at the Oscars, Film Independent Spirit Awards is putting the spotlight on the indie productions of the year, with budget ranges from $10,000 to $28 million. May December, Past Lives, and American Fiction lead the nominations for the 39th ceremony, each taking five nods.
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.
See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.
Best...
- 12/5/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The full list of nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards has been announced!
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.
Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.
American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.
Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…
Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…
Best Feature (Award given to the producer)
All of Us Strangers
Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey
American Fiction
Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair
May December
Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Blue Jean, Past Lives, Sharper, Infinity PoolGraphic: Courtesy Altitude Films, A24, Apple TV+, Neon
We may be in the midst of the summer blockbuster season, but we’re also just past the halfway point of 2023, which makes it a perfect time to look back on the outstanding films released within the past six months.
We may be in the midst of the summer blockbuster season, but we’re also just past the halfway point of 2023, which makes it a perfect time to look back on the outstanding films released within the past six months.
- 7/4/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
"It's about a group of people coming together to solve a really huge problem." Neon has revealed a making of featurette video for How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which is now playing in limited theaters around the country. This acclaimed film is under extra special scrutiny because the FBI issued security notes about it - of course they did. A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline in this taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name from Andreas Malm - which describes sabotage as an effective and necessary form of climate activism. This video features a roundtable conversation with director Daniel Goldhaber, editor Daniel Garber, co-writer / executive producer Jordan Sjol, and star Ariela Barer, who also wrote and produced the film. I'm glad they released this video,...
- 5/12/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The efficiently titled How to Blow Up a Pipeline weaves a fictional story of eco-sabotage out of Marxist academic Andreas Malm’s book on climate activism. It’s also self-critical when it comes to cinema’s role within the movement.
One of the film’s central activists, Dwayne (Jake Weary), a Texan farmer whose land has been forcibly seized by the government for the construction of a pipeline, is interviewed on camera by a crew of documentarians. They’re keen to “put a human face on this crisis” in order to “raise awareness”. But all they’re really doing is demanding that Dwayne recount his pain for their own purposes. Will they contribute to his legal expenses? Will they stick around to fight his cause once the cameras have stopped rolling? We all know that they won’t. Filmmaker Daniel Goldhaber, who applied a similar sense of moral clarity to his debut,...
One of the film’s central activists, Dwayne (Jake Weary), a Texan farmer whose land has been forcibly seized by the government for the construction of a pipeline, is interviewed on camera by a crew of documentarians. They’re keen to “put a human face on this crisis” in order to “raise awareness”. But all they’re really doing is demanding that Dwayne recount his pain for their own purposes. Will they contribute to his legal expenses? Will they stick around to fight his cause once the cameras have stopped rolling? We all know that they won’t. Filmmaker Daniel Goldhaber, who applied a similar sense of moral clarity to his debut,...
- 4/20/2023
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Sabotage is a hopeful practice, a claw in the institutional fabric, and a tactic for long-term amelioration—so argues Andreas Malm, the provocative and ruthlessly efficient author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire. Malm’s manifesto, though uninstructive in the mechanics of the text’s title, runs in counterflow to both climate pessimism (or “fatalism”) and pacifism, arguing the mainstream environmental movement is lacking in one key flavor: functional sabotage. It isn’t so difficult to blow up a CO₂ emitting device, Malm says, and though his writing eschews the mechanics of how to do so, he offers ample rationale. “Will those in school today or born next year grow up to think that the machines of the fossil economy were accorded insufficient respect?” asks Malm.In his sophomore feature, Daniel Goldhaber shoulders the task of realizing Malm’s paperback as a narrativized feature,...
- 4/17/2023
- MUBI
With his feature debut Cam, Daniel Goldhaber considered the state of online sex work within an entertaining horror film that follows a classic doubling narrative. His sophomore effort, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, scales up the ambition but similarly explores complex themes, this time within the framework of a tense heist narrative. An ensemble piece, Pipeline follows an idealistic group of young activists plotting an eco-terrorism attack in rural Texas. This group of eight includes co-writer Ariela Barer, Lukas Gage, Kristine Froseth, and Sasha Lane. Unwilling to wait for painfully-slow systematic change, they feel forced (and therefore justified) to take this drastic action, even with the risk of hefty prison sentences should they be caught.
Art frequently mirrors the environment in which it was created and How to Blow Up a Pipeline carries the energy of the project’s very fast, 19-month conception-to-screen timeline, leading to its premiere last...
Art frequently mirrors the environment in which it was created and How to Blow Up a Pipeline carries the energy of the project’s very fast, 19-month conception-to-screen timeline, leading to its premiere last...
- 4/7/2023
- by Caleb Hammond
- The Film Stage
There is romance in activism and fighting the good fight against the immoral powers of the establishment. In following a group of young environmentalist anarchists who yearn to make an impact and have their voices heard by any means necessary, Daniel Goldhaber’s searing eco-thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” grasps this selfless passion at a visceral level.
Thankfully, romance doesn’t mean empty idealism in Goldhaber’s film, co-written by Goldhaber, Jorgan Sjol and Ariela Barer as a loose adaptation of Andreas Malm’s 2020 book. While the characters steering an act of terrorism around a Texan pipeline are all young and hotheaded, they aren’t out there to make some futile noise about climate change. There is a real point to the fatality-free disturbance these rightfully angry citizens of the world have carefully planned out, and what they have in mind is something a lot more significant than...
Thankfully, romance doesn’t mean empty idealism in Goldhaber’s film, co-written by Goldhaber, Jorgan Sjol and Ariela Barer as a loose adaptation of Andreas Malm’s 2020 book. While the characters steering an act of terrorism around a Texan pipeline are all young and hotheaded, they aren’t out there to make some futile noise about climate change. There is a real point to the fatality-free disturbance these rightfully angry citizens of the world have carefully planned out, and what they have in mind is something a lot more significant than...
- 4/7/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
The movies have a long history of “How to” films including How to Murder Your Wife, How to Steal a Million, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, How to Marry a Millionaire, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, How to Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog, even How to Train Your Dragon. But the riveting new eco-thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline takes it to new levels of how-to consciousness with a literal approach to its title and the source material on which it is based, that being Andreas Malm’s radical manifesto of the same name.
The author of that book does not go into exact detail on exactly how you could go about blowing up a pipeline, but instead lays out the urgent necessity to do just that act of property destruction, offering up the belief that this good deed...
The author of that book does not go into exact detail on exactly how you could go about blowing up a pipeline, but instead lays out the urgent necessity to do just that act of property destruction, offering up the belief that this good deed...
- 4/6/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Goldhaber’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline sends the message that enough is enough in a taut thriller that connects personal struggle with climate change. The storytelling is straightforward and simple, yet effective in delivering its appropriately-placed anger and moments of nail-biting suspense within the framework of a heist flick. How to Blow Up a Pipeline delivers on its promises.
‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ bands environment activists together Forrest Goodluck as Michael | Neon
Climate change drastically affects the lives of every person around the globe. However, it touches some folks a little differently, pushing them to do something about it. A crew of unlikely environmental activists connects to pull off a heist to shake up the conversation and move the needle through measures with potentially life-destroying effects.
Xochitl (Ariela Barer) and the group of recruited group of activists are in it for their own reasons, but...
‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ bands environment activists together Forrest Goodluck as Michael | Neon
Climate change drastically affects the lives of every person around the globe. However, it touches some folks a little differently, pushing them to do something about it. A crew of unlikely environmental activists connects to pull off a heist to shake up the conversation and move the needle through measures with potentially life-destroying effects.
Xochitl (Ariela Barer) and the group of recruited group of activists are in it for their own reasons, but...
- 4/3/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It’s been an interesting year for cinema thus far, and that won’t be slowing down in April.
There’s Leonor Will Never Die (7 April) – a meta love letter to Filipino cinema, led by the marvellous Sheila Francisco – and also Lola (7 April), a Second World War time travel drama whose low budget shows that you can do impressive things with very little. Albert Serra’s Pacifiction (21 April) is an intoxicating descent into danger and, as with the Spanish filmmaker’s previous films, it may be divisive, but demands to be seen – even if just to form your own opinion.
Ben Affleck directs and stars in Air (7 April), which follows Nike’s revolutionary partnership with a young Michael Jordan. Affleck’s receiving some of the best reviews of his career for the film. Meanwhile, grisly horror Evil Dead Rise (21 April) has generated word-of-mouth hype since its premiere at South by Southwest.
There’s Leonor Will Never Die (7 April) – a meta love letter to Filipino cinema, led by the marvellous Sheila Francisco – and also Lola (7 April), a Second World War time travel drama whose low budget shows that you can do impressive things with very little. Albert Serra’s Pacifiction (21 April) is an intoxicating descent into danger and, as with the Spanish filmmaker’s previous films, it may be divisive, but demands to be seen – even if just to form your own opinion.
Ben Affleck directs and stars in Air (7 April), which follows Nike’s revolutionary partnership with a young Michael Jordan. Affleck’s receiving some of the best reviews of his career for the film. Meanwhile, grisly horror Evil Dead Rise (21 April) has generated word-of-mouth hype since its premiere at South by Southwest.
- 4/1/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Charades has closed a raft of deals on Daniel Goldhaber’s heist thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” in the run up to its market premiere at the AFM. The movie had a critically acclaimed world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival where it played in the competitive Platform section.
It was previously acquired by Neon for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA Media Finance. Charades has now sold the film to France (Tandem), U.K. (Vertigo Releasing), German-speaking Switzerland, Austria, Italy Germany (Plaion), Benelux (The Searchers), Turkey (Fabula) and Latin America (Impacto).
Based on Andreas Malm’s controversial manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film stars Ariela Barer, who also produced and co-wrote with Jordan Sjol. It was edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely...
It was previously acquired by Neon for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA Media Finance. Charades has now sold the film to France (Tandem), U.K. (Vertigo Releasing), German-speaking Switzerland, Austria, Italy Germany (Plaion), Benelux (The Searchers), Turkey (Fabula) and Latin America (Impacto).
Based on Andreas Malm’s controversial manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film stars Ariela Barer, who also produced and co-wrote with Jordan Sjol. It was edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely...
- 11/2/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Daniel Goldhaber’s heist thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” has been boarded by Paris-based world sales banner Charades following its critically acclaimed world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The breakout film played in the competitive Platform section at Toronto and was acquired by Neon for North America in a deal negotiated by CAA Media Finance.
Based on Andreas Malm’s controversial manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film stars Ariela Barer, who also produced and co-wrote with Jordan Sjol. It was edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely thriller that’s described as “part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.”
Charades has picked up international sales rights to the film from CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and is...
Based on Andreas Malm’s controversial manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film stars Ariela Barer, who also produced and co-wrote with Jordan Sjol. It was edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely thriller that’s described as “part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.”
Charades has picked up international sales rights to the film from CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and is...
- 10/6/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Daniel Goldhaber announced “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” the film he made with Jordan Sjol, Ariala Barer, and Daniel Garber, on the morning of August 3rd, just out of nowhere, like Beyoncé dropping an album. It’s not only the spontaneity of the announcement that feels fitting, but the devil-does-care energy and urgency to it: not merely a “we did a thing,” but, like its assemblage of characters assemble in the film, a bomb waiting to go off.
With a spectacularly quick turnaround of about 18 months, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” pulsates with frantic and frenetic electricity in every frame, channeling both an acuity in the language of genre it’s deliberately channeling and toying with as well as confrontationally (in a good way) forcing its audience to engage with provocative political discourse, and, perhaps even the potential for film itself as a mode of housing a radical...
With a spectacularly quick turnaround of about 18 months, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” pulsates with frantic and frenetic electricity in every frame, channeling both an acuity in the language of genre it’s deliberately channeling and toying with as well as confrontationally (in a good way) forcing its audience to engage with provocative political discourse, and, perhaps even the potential for film itself as a mode of housing a radical...
- 9/16/2022
- by Kyle Turner
- The Playlist
Click here to read the full article.
Neon has won the race to acquire How to Blow Up a Pipeline in one of the first major acquisitions from Toronto.
Featuring an ensemble cast including Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine, the heist thriller had generated sizeable buzz among distributors The Hollywood Reporter had spoken to following its TIFF world premiere.
Based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis, How To Blow Up A Pipeline was directed by Daniel Goldhaber (Cam), produced, co-written, and starring Ariela Barer (Runaways, Atypical), co-written by Jordan Sjol and edited by Daniel Garber (Cam, Some Kind of Heaven) and follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline. It’s described as part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.
Neon has won the race to acquire How to Blow Up a Pipeline in one of the first major acquisitions from Toronto.
Featuring an ensemble cast including Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine, the heist thriller had generated sizeable buzz among distributors The Hollywood Reporter had spoken to following its TIFF world premiere.
Based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis, How To Blow Up A Pipeline was directed by Daniel Goldhaber (Cam), produced, co-written, and starring Ariela Barer (Runaways, Atypical), co-written by Jordan Sjol and edited by Daniel Garber (Cam, Some Kind of Heaven) and follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline. It’s described as part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.
- 9/13/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neon has acquired the North American rights to “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” a heist thriller that made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week and was being sought by multiple studios.
The film from Daniel Goldhaber played in the Platform section of TIFF and is one of the first major acquisitions from the festival. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline in a taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.
Also Read:
Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers’ With Paul Giamatti Nabbed by Focus Features in 30 Million Deal
The film stars Ariela Barer alongside Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine.
The film from Daniel Goldhaber played in the Platform section of TIFF and is one of the first major acquisitions from the festival. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline in a taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.
Also Read:
Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers’ With Paul Giamatti Nabbed by Focus Features in 30 Million Deal
The film stars Ariela Barer alongside Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine.
- 9/13/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Neon has locked down North American rights to the thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline — a Toronto Film Festival breakout which had its world premiere as part of the 2022 festival’s Platform category — following a competitive situation.
The film, billed as part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism, is based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis. It follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Daniel Goldhaber (Cam) directed from his script written with Ariela Barer and Jordan Sjol. Barer stars alongside Kristine Froseth (Sharp Stick), Lukas Gage (Euphoria), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Sasha Lane (American Honey), Jayme Lawson (The Batman), Marcus Scribner (Black-ish), Jake Weary (It Follows), Irene Bedard (Pocahantas) and Olive Jane Lorraine (Jelly).
How to Blow Up a Pipeline was written, cast, financed and prepped in only...
The film, billed as part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism, is based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis. It follows a crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Daniel Goldhaber (Cam) directed from his script written with Ariela Barer and Jordan Sjol. Barer stars alongside Kristine Froseth (Sharp Stick), Lukas Gage (Euphoria), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Sasha Lane (American Honey), Jayme Lawson (The Batman), Marcus Scribner (Black-ish), Jake Weary (It Follows), Irene Bedard (Pocahantas) and Olive Jane Lorraine (Jelly).
How to Blow Up a Pipeline was written, cast, financed and prepped in only...
- 9/13/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has acquired the North American rights to the thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” out of the Toronto International Film Festival, where it world premiered in the auteur-driven Platform section.
Based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film is directed by Daniel Goldhaber (“Cam”); produced, co-written and stars Ariela Barer; co-written by Jordan Sjol and edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely thriller that’s described as “part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.”
The film features an all-star ensemble cast including Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine.
Neon is planning a theatrical release.
The deal is one of the first out of Toronto,...
Based on Andreas Malm’s manifesto tackling the climate crisis, the film is directed by Daniel Goldhaber (“Cam”); produced, co-written and stars Ariela Barer; co-written by Jordan Sjol and edited by Daniel Garber.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” follows a group of young environmental activists who set out to sabotage an oil pipeline in a timely thriller that’s described as “part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of direct action as climate activism.”
The film features an all-star ensemble cast including Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, Irene Bedard and Olive Jane Lorraine.
Neon is planning a theatrical release.
The deal is one of the first out of Toronto,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
The U.K.’s Sheffield Doc/Fest has announced 55 projects for pitching forum MeetMarket and 22 projects for the Arts Talent Market.
The events run in parallel June 9-11 as part of the wider festival, which runs June 4-13. The MeetMarket will see projects presented to industry partners and consisting of a mix of emerging talent and experienced filmmakers. The emerging talents include Agustina Comedi, Cassie Quarless, Cyril Aris, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, Tom Fassaert and Usayd Younis. There are also several seasoned players, such as Andre Singer (“Meeting Gorbachev”), Andreas Voit (“Leipzig in The Fall”), Diane Quon (“Minding the Gap”), Göran Hugo Olsson (“The Black Power Mixtape”), Kellen Quinn (“Time”), Riel Roch-Decter (“All Light”), Sean Mcallister (“A Syrian Love Story”) and Sierra Pettengill (“The Reagan Show”)
The Arts Talent Market will connect 22 creatives and teams with industry representatives. The work is an almost equal split between immersive VR/Ar, and video art or installation pieces,...
The events run in parallel June 9-11 as part of the wider festival, which runs June 4-13. The MeetMarket will see projects presented to industry partners and consisting of a mix of emerging talent and experienced filmmakers. The emerging talents include Agustina Comedi, Cassie Quarless, Cyril Aris, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, Tom Fassaert and Usayd Younis. There are also several seasoned players, such as Andre Singer (“Meeting Gorbachev”), Andreas Voit (“Leipzig in The Fall”), Diane Quon (“Minding the Gap”), Göran Hugo Olsson (“The Black Power Mixtape”), Kellen Quinn (“Time”), Riel Roch-Decter (“All Light”), Sean Mcallister (“A Syrian Love Story”) and Sierra Pettengill (“The Reagan Show”)
The Arts Talent Market will connect 22 creatives and teams with industry representatives. The work is an almost equal split between immersive VR/Ar, and video art or installation pieces,...
- 4/27/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The 55 projects selected for the pitching forum have been revealed.
Documentary projects about corruption in football, black representation in the arts and the explosion in Beirut are among those selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 2021 pitching forum MeetMarket.
The UK documentary market will take place virtually, as it did last year as a result of the pandemic, and will run from June 9-11. The public-facing festival will include physical screenings but the market has gone online-only due to travel restrictions for the mainly international delegates.
A total of 55 projects were selected from more than 570 applications and includes productions from 31 countries,...
Documentary projects about corruption in football, black representation in the arts and the explosion in Beirut are among those selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 2021 pitching forum MeetMarket.
The UK documentary market will take place virtually, as it did last year as a result of the pandemic, and will run from June 9-11. The public-facing festival will include physical screenings but the market has gone online-only due to travel restrictions for the mainly international delegates.
A total of 55 projects were selected from more than 570 applications and includes productions from 31 countries,...
- 4/26/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: A screening of Abel Gance's Napoléon at the Paramount Theatre Oakland in 2012. (Photo by San Francisco Silent Film Festival.)In partnership with the Cinémathèque Française and the French National Film Board, Netflix will be financing a new restoration of Abel Gance's 1927 silent epic Napoléon ahead of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's death this summer. The film has been restored many times before, but this restoration aims to bring to life Gance's 7-hour "Apollo cut," named after the Apollo Theatre where the film screened in 1927. Beanpole filmmaker Kantemir Balagov has found his next project: An HBO series adaptation of the hit zombie video game series, The Last of Us. Bong Joon-ho will head the main jury of this year's Venice Film Festival, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked...
- 1/20/2021
- MUBI
Lance Oppenheim’s debut feature, Some Kind of Heaven, follows a small group of residents in Central Florida’s The Villages, America’s largest—and most notorious—retirement community. Following several superb short films, the 24-year-old director brings a mature generosity towards his subjects that veers beyond easy humor to create a profound portrait of a place that carries plenty of preconceived notions.I spoke to Oppenheim and Some Kind of Heaven editor Daniel Garber at the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri in March, right before the start of Covid-19 lockdowns. Rather than discussing the film’s newfound prescience, we talked about their experience on location, bringing out humor in the edit, and outside references on the film.Notebook: I’m sure you’re getting annoyed with people bringing up your age, because they do it as if it’s inconceivable that you’d make a good movie.
- 1/15/2021
- MUBI
In Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei’s paranoid thriller “Cam,” an erotic webcam performer finds her followers stolen by a doppelganger who hijacks her channel, pushes the sexual envelope farther, and otherwise seems determined to destroy her life. Call it identity theft of a sexy, possibly supernatural kind.
There’s not much depth to this low-budget but resourcefully flashy enterprise, which is hyperactive in presentation to the brink of being grating. Nor is there much (if any) satisfactory resolution to the central mystery. But the combination of a sex-worker milieu, suspense mechanics and speed-of-the-internet pace should appeal to genre fans looking for something different — but not too different — from the norm. It certainly worked for Fantasia jurors, who gave the film their best screenplay and first feature prizes, and Netflix buyers, who acquired “Cam” from the Montreal-based genre fest.
In her all-pink home “studio,” Alice aka “Lola” (Madeline Brewer from...
There’s not much depth to this low-budget but resourcefully flashy enterprise, which is hyperactive in presentation to the brink of being grating. Nor is there much (if any) satisfactory resolution to the central mystery. But the combination of a sex-worker milieu, suspense mechanics and speed-of-the-internet pace should appeal to genre fans looking for something different — but not too different — from the norm. It certainly worked for Fantasia jurors, who gave the film their best screenplay and first feature prizes, and Netflix buyers, who acquired “Cam” from the Montreal-based genre fest.
In her all-pink home “studio,” Alice aka “Lola” (Madeline Brewer from...
- 7/26/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
When host — and living documentary legend — Steve James took the stage on Thursday night to kick off the start of the 11th Annual Cinema Eye Honors Awards at Queens’ own Museum of the Moving Image, he might have enjoyed the benefit of being tipped off as to who would dominate the ceremony. For James, the night was all about a “new generation” of filmmakers, and bringing them further into a tight-knit community that could support them for the rest of their lives.
No surprise then that Yance Ford and his debut feature, the deeply personal and long-gestating “Strong Island,” emerged as the night’s biggest winner, pulling in wins for Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Debut, and Outstanding Nonfiction Feature Film. Ford’s win for Outstanding Direction was also a history-maker: the filmmaker is the first to ever win the award for a debut film.
Read More:Cinema Eye Honors Announces Nominees; ‘Strong Island,...
No surprise then that Yance Ford and his debut feature, the deeply personal and long-gestating “Strong Island,” emerged as the night’s biggest winner, pulling in wins for Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Debut, and Outstanding Nonfiction Feature Film. Ford’s win for Outstanding Direction was also a history-maker: the filmmaker is the first to ever win the award for a debut film.
Read More:Cinema Eye Honors Announces Nominees; ‘Strong Island,...
- 1/12/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
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