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If you are looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a new feel-good rom-com that also transports you to Italy, then “La Dolce Villa” is probably right up your alley.

Now streaming on Netflix, the movie centers on Eric Field (Scott Foley), a dad who rushes to Italy after his daughter tells him that she’s purchasing a home there for one euro and plans to rebuild it herself. Naturally, he has to stop what he feels is a wildly poor decision.

But once he gets there, the two are able to find common ground and reconnect after the passing of the family’s matriarch. Eric even finds love along the way.

So, here are all the people you’ll need to keep track of in “La Dolce Villa.”

Scott Foley and Maia Reficco in “La Dolce Villa” (Netflix) Eric Field (Scott Foley)

Eric Field is a dad, a widower,...

Premiering at the Venice Film Festival later this month, Joe Wright’s “M. Son of the Century” sees the filmmaker return to the small screen for a long-form examination of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to Prime Minister of Italy in 1922, a role which he held until his dismissal in 1943. The last time Wright helmed a limited series such as this was in 2003 with his BBC One show “Charles II: The Power and the Passion,” which covered 27 years in the life of the King as he worked to restore the monarchy. Exploring history has always been one of Wright’s strengths, but with the upcoming American election placing democracy on the ballot, his latest series feels particularly timely.

“M. Son of the Century” is led by Italian actor Luca Marinelli, who has earned international acclaim for his roles in “Martin Eden,” “The Old Guard,” and the FX series “Trust.

Italian auteur Pietro Marcello – whose 2019 film “Martin Eden” made a splash on the international art-house scene – is shooting “Duse,” a movie about legendary Italian stage diva Eleonora Duse. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi stars as Duse and Noémie Merlant (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) plays her daughter.

The Match Factory has acquired international rights to “Duse” and is kicking off sales on this buzzy biopic in Cannes. See an exclusive first-look image above.

Duse, who lived between 1858 and 1924, was considered by many the greatest actress of her time. She performed in many countries, most notably in plays by Gabriele D’Annunzio and Henrik Ibsen.

Marcello’s “Duse” will look at the latter part of her life when she is 60 “and her legendary career is now long over,” says the provided synopsis.

“But in the brutal years between the First World War and the rise of fascism, the Divina chooses to return to...

Italian state broadcaster Rai is under heavy fire amid allegations that it censored a planned anti-fascist monologue by prominent writer Antonio Scurati, author of international bestseller “M: Son of the Century,” which reconstructs fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to power.

Scurati was meant to read his monologue – written to mark the country’s upcoming April 25 national holiday that celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism – on the talk show “Chesarà,” which aired on the broadcaster’s Rai 3 channel Saturday night.

Shortly before the show’s airtime, as the writer prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai informing him that his appearance had been canceled “for editorial reasons,” according to an internal Rai document published by leftist daily La Repubblica.

In protest against the sudden muzzling, “Chesarà” host Serena Bortone read out the monologue in full on the talk show herself. Scurati’s text has also...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson has done it all: India by train, Rhode Island by foot, the Mediterranean by sub, France by bike, faux-Germany by hotel, apple-orchard America by fox, animated Japan by dog, motel Texas by friends, New York City by family. But––despite the feeling that this couldn’t possibly be true––he’s never told a story in western America. In setting he hasn’t gone further west than Houston. Until Asteroid City: Arizona desert by quarantine. – Luke H. (full review)

Where to Stream: Peacock

Beatrix (Lilith Kraxner & Milena Czernovsky)

One of the best films in recent years––still without U.S. distribution––is streaming for free the next two weeks on Le Cinéma Club. It...

The Twilight Singers have announced a definitive box set titled Black Out the Windows/Ladies and Gentlemen, The Twilight Singers, out in October via One Little Independent Records. In addition to newly remastered versions of the Greg Dulli-led band’s studio releases, it contains an LP of rare and previously unreleased material.

The 13-piece (six 2xLP and one EP) box set was pressed onto 180g crystal clear vinyl housed in reimagined white embossed album sleeves. It contains remasterings of the studio albums Twilight as Played by The Twilight Singers, Blackberry Belle, She Loves You, Powder Burns, and Dynamite Steps as well as the 2006 EP A Stitch in Time. The bonus album, Etcetera, features 11 tracks of rare and previously unreleased material.

Accompanying the vinyl is a 56-page book containing essays by Mark Lanegan, Duff McKagan, The Church’s Steve Kilbey, and more. It also includes career-spanning rare and previously unseen photos by Danny Clinch,...

Come Sail Away: Marcello Runs Aground in Muddled Adaptation

Pietro Marcello returns to literature for inspiration in his third narrative feature (and French language debut), Scarlet (L’Envol), based on the 1923 novel Scarlet Sails by beloved Russian novelist Alexander Grin. Much like he did with Jack London’s Martin Eden (2019), utilizing the text loosely for his own unique vision, this is far removed from more traditional takes on Grin’s novel, like the 1961 Russian language version which hewed close to the original romantic fairy tale. Unfortunately, the liberties transposed upon the simplicity of Grin’s text results in an oddly disjointed take.…...

As filmmaking gets further relegated to smaller screens, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a director like Pietro Marcello crafting cinema that is best experienced on a vast canvas. While the release of his stunning 2019 drama Martin Eden was unfortunately dampened by the pandemic, he’s now returned with the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol). Premiering just about a year ago at Cannes, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey in post-wwi France will now arrive in U.S. theaters starting this Friday. Starring Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.

While he stopped by NYC for last fall’s New York Film Festival premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Marcello about his experience working in France, the silent film connections to Scarlet, how his latest work marked a transitional point for his career,...

"No one believes in magic anymore. No one sings anymore, except you." Ah yes, the romance of old... Kino Lorber has unveiled the official US trailer for an indie romantic fable titled Scarlet, opening in the US this June after first premiering last year. The film (shot on 35mm film in the 1.5:1 aspect ratio) is an enchanting period fable set in France and directed by Italian filmmaker Pietro Marcello, whose prize-winning Martin Eden was a festival hit in 2020. With a talented cast that includes Raphaël Thiéry, Louis Garrel, and newcomer Juliette Jouan, Scarlet will play in US art house theaters (starting in New York City) this June before expanding wide. Based on a novel by Russian author Alexander Grin, it tells of the emancipation of a woman over twenty years, between 1919 and 1939, a time of great inventions and great dreams between the wars. A story "filled with lyrical beauty,...

Unless you were lucky enough to catch it on the 2019 festival circuit, the pandemic unfortunately led to most viewers seeing Pietro Marcello’s stunning drama Martin Eden at home. Thankfully his next feature, the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol), will be primed for theatrical viewing. The Cannes selection will get a U.S. release from Kino Lorber on June 9. An adaptation of Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey stars Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.

As David Katz said in his review, “In his previous film Martin Eden, and now with Scarlet, Pietro Marcello has found a novel way to depict artistic striving, closely tying it with the concept of labor. It’s also something that runs through Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, about the poetry-penning bus driver of the same name:...

Italian director Pietro Marcello made a splash at the 2019 Venice Film Festival with the Jack London adaptation “Martin Eden.” That film about an idealistic man’s sentimental and moral education at the turn of the 20th century, distributed in the U.S. by Kino Lorber, more or less introduced the talents of heartthrob Luca Marinelli to Western audiences. Now, Marcello is partnering with the U.S. distributor once more, this time turning his camera on the story of a woman’s coming of age, with “Scarlet.” The cast includes Raphaël Thiéry, Louis Garrel, and newcomer Juliette Jouan. IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the film, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, below.

Per the official synopsis, shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the...

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Indie Film Site Network (Ifsn), a collaboration between well-respected media outlets covering the most essential developments in independent and international cinema. Ifsn, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, Ioncinema.com, RogerEbert.com, and Screen Anarchy, was created with a mission to support film criticism and foster an ever-growing community of indie film lovers.

In the evolving landscape of filmmaking and film criticism, the very definition of “independent” is shifting and it is our mission to work with sites and distributors that still retain that singular focus on the best in cinema. With Indie Film Site Network, we’re delighted to offer a destination for distributors and filmmakers where they know they will truly be reaching the most passionate fans of independent movies.

Through reviews, interviews, podcasts, news, special features, and extensive coverage from film festivals across the world to theatrical,...

Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Pietro Marcello’s sprawling post-wwi film “Scarlet,” which opened Cannes’ Directors Fortnight.

Represented in international markets by Orange Studio, “Scarlet” will have its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival, before a theatrical release in 2023.

A loose adaptation of Alexander Grin’s novel, “Scarlet” marks Kino’s second collaboration with Marcello. It follows “Martin Eden,” which competed at Venice, won best actor for Luca Marinelli and went on to play at Toronto.

Marcello, who rose to prominence as a documentarian with his film “The Mouth of the Wolf,” penned the script for “Scarlet” with his regular screenwriting partner Maurizio Braucci (“Martin Eden”) and Maud Ameline, with the participation of novelist Geneviève Brisac.

“Scarlet” was produced by Charles Gillibert and Ilya Stewart. The film stars Raphaël Thiery and Juliette Jouan as father and daughter, alongside Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky and Yolande Moreau.

Neapolitan director Pietro Marcello, who made the transition from high-profile docs to fiction with his Naples-set 2019 adaptation of Jack London’s Martin Eden – that made a splash on the international art-house scene – has now tackled a France-set tale inspired by a Russian novel in his new film “Scarlet” (see review) that mixes fable, musical, historical and magical realism elements.

The pic’s central character is Juliette, played by promising newcomer Juliette Jouan, an orphan girl raised by a community of women and by her father Raphaël, a burly soldier who returned from the First World War to find that his adored wife after giving birth had passed away.

Marcello spoke to Variety about what he calls his first ‘feminine’ film. Excerpts.

There is a strong sense of matriarchy in this film. You’ve underlined its feminine aspect.

I’ve always made films that are quite masculine. “Martin Eden” certainly was.

Not quite a musical, sort of a folktale, and almost but not entirely a hardscrabble hunk of post-war realism before all of a sudden changing gears, “Scarlet” – which opened the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight sidebar on Wednesday – is a tricky project to pin down. Of course, director Pietro Marcello wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shooting in French for the first time, the Italian filmmaker made his name with documentaries before working found and historical footage into the world of make-believe with 2019’s “Martin Eden.” With this more ambitious (if more uneven) follow-up, Marcello continues at a similar pace, folding fact into fiction as he explores both the landscapes of rural Normandy in the aftermath of the First World War and the plight of the working poor, all through the crags of his leading man’s brow.

That brow (and those crags) belongs to Raphael (Raphaël Thiéry...

In his previous film Martin Eden, and now with Scarlet, Pietro Marcello has found a novel way to depict artistic striving, closely tying it with the concept of labor. It’s also something that runs through Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, about the poetry-penning bus driver of the same name: both filmmakers have helped demystify our idea of the artist as a potential “great man of history” and the deification often accorded them. The would-be literary maven of Martin Eden and two artist-craftsmen of Scarlet are engaged instead in a noble struggle, a bit like the eternal workers’ struggle of Marcello’s other chief interest: that of leftist political thought.

Scarlet, a quasi-fairytale adapted from Russian author Aleksandr Grin’s Scarlet Skies, is a more even-tempered work than Martin Eden, and less likely to command the same ardor directed towards that film. But it finds Marcello acing another high-end literary adaptation,...

A slight but satisfying choice to open Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, Pietro Marcello’s “Scarlet” isn’t quite a fairy tale, although it certainly feels like one at times. For example, roughly midway through the movie, a woman who might be a witch meets the film’s fanciful young heroine, Juliette (Juliette Jouan), in the woods and predicts her fortune, explaining that one day this girl — who’s destined for greater things than the provincial Normandy farm where she’s dutifully passed her adolescence — will be whisked away by a ship flying scarlet sails.

Set in the years just after the Great War, this charming French-language fable — which hails from the celebrated Italian doc maker whose epic narrative debut, “Martin Eden,” was a critical success on the festival circuit just pre-covid — is smaller, sweeter and more sensitive than Marcello’s earlier work. The movie’s sense of reality-based romance,...

The Cannes official competition lineup didn’t exactly see a surge in the number of female filmmakers represented. Enter Quinzaine, a.k.a. Director’s Fortnight, the beloved sidebar of the festival this year kicking off May 18. The lineup of titles includes 11 films directed by women, including Mia Hansen-Løve’s “One Fine Morning,” a romance starring Léa Seydoux and Melvil Poupaud; the new film from “Disorder” director Alice Winocour, “Paris Memories”; the feature directing debut of actor Charlotte Le Bon, “Falcon Lake”; and more.

This year’s lineup also includes new works from genre filmmakers: Alex Garland’s “Men,” releasing stateside May 20 from A24, will premiere as a Special Screening of the festival. Plus, there’s British director Mark Jenkin’s anticipated experimental horror film “Enys Men.” Paul Mescal stars in the psychological thriller “God’s Creatures,” directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, who directed the 2015 Venice hit “The Fits.

Pietro Marcello’s French-language period drama “Scarlet” is set to open the 54th edition of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight on May 18.

Weaving musical and fantasy elements, the film is set in Northern Normandy, between the two world wars, a time of great inventions, and follows the journey of a young woman who was raised by her father, a widowed war veteran, and strives to find her own path in life.

Marcello, a critically acclaimed Italian filmmaker whose credits include the Venice prize-winning “Martin Eden,” penned the script with his regular screenwriting partner Maurizio Braucci (“Gomorra”), as well as Maud Ameline (“Amanda”), with the participation of the novelist Geneviève Brisac.

“Scarlet” is produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema with Avventurosa and Rai Cinema in Italy, in collaboration with Ilya Stewart (Hype Film) and Antonio Miyakawa (Wise Pictures). Orange Studio is handling international sales while Le Pacte will distribute it in France.

Every year, former President Barack Obama reminds us just how good we had it by flexing his impeccable taste in film and TV. As December gets halfway through, it’s that time of year again for Obama to name his favorite films of 2021.

“Over the next few days, I’ll share my annual list of favorite books, music, and movies. Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year,” Obama wrote on Twitter before beginning the rollout of the best art he consumed in the past year. His list of top films includes critics’ favorite “Drive My Car” (which is Japan’s entry for the International Feature Oscar), Questlove’s Oscar-hopeful documentary “Summer of Soul,” “West Side Story,” and “The Power of the Dog.”

Obama also made room for films including “Pig,” “Passing,” “The Card Counter,” Oscar winner “Judas and the Black Messiah,...

Pietro Marcello, the critically acclaimed Italian filmmaker of the Venice prize-winning “Martin Eden,” has just started shooting “Scarlet” (“L’envol”), a French-language drama set in Northern Normandy. Orange Studio has acquired international sales rights to the film which will be distributed in France by Le Pacte.

Charles Gillibert, whose Paris-based outfit CG Cinema previously delivered award-winning films such as Deniz Erguven’s “Mustang” and Leos Carax’s “Annette,” is producing “Scarlet” with Avventurosa and Rai Cinema in Italy, in collaboration with Ilya Stewart (Hype Film) and Antonio Miyakawa (Wise Pictures).

Marcello penned the script with his regular screenwriting partner Maurizio Braucci (“Gomorra”), as well as Maud Ameline (“Amanda”), with the participation of the novelist Geneviève Brisac.

The film is set between the two world wars, a time of great inventions, and follows the journey of a young woman who was raised by her father, a widowed war veteran, and strives...

Roman Polanski will soon return behind the camera on “The Palace” a drama set in Switzerland that is co-written with fellow Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski.

The new Polanski project, which the director is expected to start shooting this fall, was announced Thursday during a lineup presentation by Rai Cinema, the film arm of Italian public broadcaster Rai.

“The Palace” is set on New Year’s Eve in 1999, “which is the epilogue of an entire millennium,” said Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco. The film is situated “in a big hotel immersed in the Swiss Alps where the lives of the guests and those who work for them intersect,” the exec added, noting that he only recently received the screenplay and isn’t allowed to say more.

The Polanski pic is being lead-produced by Italian actor-producer Luca Barbareschi via his Eliseo Entertainment company.

Barbareschi was also a producer on Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,...

Italian directors Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”), Pietro Marcello (“Martin Eden”) and Francesco Munzi (“Black Souls”) have teamed up on high-profile doc “Futura,” a portrait of how Italy’s adolescents look at the future.

“Futura,” which is being co-produced by pubcaster Rai’s Rai Cinema film unit with Marcello’s own Avventurosa shingle, is billed as a “collective investigation” by the three auteurs “on the different expectations and prospects for the future” of adolescents they met while traveling across Italy.

The doc, which is now in post, is described in promotional materials as “a portrait of the country [Italy] observed through the eyes of teenagers who talk about the places they live in and imagine themselves, torn between the opportunities that surround them, the dream of what they want to become, the fear of failing, the trials they hope to overcome.”

Marcello, who is being feted with a retrospective at the...

Corporate behemoths like Netflix and Disney Plus define the streaming world, but the pandemic inspired specialized distributors to invent a VOD niche with virtual cinema. Led by companies like Kino Lorber, Magnolia Films, and Film Movement, they offer films in partnership with art house theaters and split the revenues. What initially sounded like a long shot became common practice in the space of a year, and virtual cinema could be a permanent feature that runs in parallel to theatrical releases.

Using its website and membership lists to access target audiences, Kino Lorber began selling films through its Kino Lorber Marquee platform last March, starting with “Bacurau.” It also helped acclimate older viewers into seeing movies online.

A year later, Kino Lorber has released 30 films via virtual cinema. According to its self reporting, shared with IndieWire, the platform grossed $1.2 million, with $600,000 going to some 50 arthouse theaters. That’s down from the...

Nearly a year after closing its physical location, New York City’s IFC Center is preparing to finally reopen on Friday, March 5. The theater has announced a range of new safety measures along with new releases and several screening series. The arthouse venue first shut its doors on March 13, 2020 as early lockdown measures called for the closure of a variety of cultural institutions. In late February, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City movie theaters had permission to reopen at 25 percent capacity and with a maximum of 50 people allowed per screen. Other areas of the state reopened months ago.

While the state has enacted a number of guidelines for reopening theaters, IFC Center has added additional safety measures, including mandatory mask-wearing at all times, no concession sales, and no eating and drinking allowed in theaters. Its five screens will also feature reserved seating (with six feet between...

Leading arthouse sales and production house The Match Factory and Italian film director Pietro Marcello have teamed up for the third time following the company’s acquisition of his documentary “Per Lucio,” which world premieres in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival.

They previously worked together on fantasy drama “Lost and Beautiful,” which played in competition at Locarno in 2015, and period drama “Martin Eden,” which competed at Venice in 2019, winning best actor, and screened at Toronto, where it won the Platform Award. “Martin Eden” was picked up by distributors around the world, and attracted more than 400,000 admissions across Europe.

Marcello’s debut feature-length documentary, “Crossing the Line,” screened in Venice’s Orizzonti section in 2007, and his documentary “The Mouth of the Wolf” was selected for the Berlin’s Forum section in 2010, winning the Teddy Award and the Caligari Film Prize.

In “Per Lucio,” Marcello portrays the...

Only scripts written under the WGA guidelines or those of several international partners are allowed to vie for the Writers Guild of America Awards. This limited eligibility means that these precursor prizes, which reveals its roster for the 2021 WGA Awards on February 16, are not the most reliable barometer of the eventual Oscar nominees and winners. Indeed, in the past 11 years only 73 of the Writers Guild of America Awards nominees have numbered among the 110 screenplays that reaped Academy Awards bids.

Among those ineligible for consideration this year are some of the leading Oscar contenders, including the original screenplays for “Mank” and “Minari” and the adapted screenplays for “The Father,” “The Life Ahead” and “Nomadland.”

Other original scripts that aren’t eligible include those for “Ammonite,” “The Assistant,” “Farewell Amor,” “Herself,” “Ordinary Love,” “Supernova” and “The Climb.”

And other adaptations out of the running include “Blithe Spirit,” “Hope Gap,” “Martin Eden,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,...

Soon after the nominees were announced for the 2021 Critics Choice Awards, our forum posters let loose with their opinions related to whose work was recognized and whose was snubbed. In particularly, folks loved the extra attention for “Sound of Metal” and rolled their eyes at the “Judas and the Black Messiah” snubs. Some saw this year’s lineups as basic and complained about certain inclusions, while others cheered the redemption of a few performers left out of the running at this year’s Golden Globe and SAG Awards.

Below is just a sampling of our readers’ brutally honest Critics Choice Awards reactions regarding the nominees in many of the film categories. Take a look, then join in if you’re brave enough. The winners in both film and TV will be handed out March 7 during a live CW telecast hosted by Taye Diggs. Gold Derby’s predictions center is open,...

Mubi the premier streaming service for curated independent films, has revealed its lineup for February. Among the eclectic selection of films coming exclusively to Mubi are “Dead Pigs”, the bold directorial debut by Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan and Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden”, a compelling adaptation of Jack London’s novel, starring Luca Marinelli. Mubi will also exclusively present Beginning, the striking feature debut by Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili, which has been selected as Georgia’s official selection for the 93rd Academy Awards, and Werner Herzog’s deeply personal documentary “Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin” featuring his late friend and travel writer Bruce Chatwin.

In February, Mubi is proud to partner with Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program to spotlight a collection of films made by Sundance Institute Fellows. Reflecting the support given to independent storytelling by artists of Indigenous descent, this special selection includes films such...

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Two of the best indie films of 2020 make their way onto disc and VOD this week, alongside a quietly affecting documentary, a frantic comedy/drama, a couple of sterling catalog releases, and a Criterion edition of the latest Scorsese and Dylan collaboration.

Continue reading The 7 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Climb,’ ‘Martin Eden’ & More at The Playlist.

The 2020-21 awards season got its first prominent awards ceremony with the 30th Annual Gotham Awards. Eleven competitive awards were given out to the best films, performances, and television series of the previous year. Feature films with multiple nominees included “First Cow,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Nomadland,” and “Saint Frances.” All of this year’s Best Feature nominees were films directed by women, a first in the 30-year history of the Gotham Awards.

In addition to the 11 competitive categories, the 30th Gotham Awards awarded five Tribute honors throughout the ceremony, including the late Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis (Actress Tribute), Steve McQueen (Director Tribute), Ryan Murphy (Industry Tribute), and the inaugural Ensemble Tribute to the cast of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

The first award of the night went to “One Night in Miami” breakout Kingsley Ben-Adir, who appeared on camera from a hotel in London. The...

The 2020 Gotham Awards have already made history, with all of this year’s best feature nominees directed by women. The ceremony, which will livestream on the Independent Filmmaker Project and Variety’s Facebook pages beginning at 8 p.m. Et, is sure to offer more of the same.

The 30th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards contenders are led by Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” which received all four major noms: best feature, screenplay, actor and breakthrough actor. Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” Kitty Green’s “The Assistant” and Natalie Erika James’s “Relic” are also nominated for best feature.

In the best actor category, Chadwick Boseman received a posthumous nomination for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The other nominees in the category include Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Jude Law (“The Nest”), John Magaro (“First Cow”) and Jesse Plemons (“I’m Thinking of Ending Things...

The Gotham Awards for independent film are being handed out tonight, January 11. More than 1,200 Gold Derby users have been predicting the winners since nominations were announced in October, and their predictions have been combined to generate our official racetrack odds. Scroll down to see our forecasts in 10 categories, with the nominees listed in order of their odds and our projected winners highlighted in gold.

SEE2021 Gotham Awards nominations: All 5 Best Feature nominees directed by women

“Nomadland” is the favorite to win Best Feature at these awards, which it would add to its already abundant pile of plaudits. It has already been named the best film of the year by critics in Boston, Chicago, Indiana and Greater Western New York, not to mention the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and the National Society of Film Critics.

But this wouldn’t be the first time director Chloe Zhao claimed this prize. Her...

Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe,” an anthology of five films set in Black areas of London over a period of decades, has been named the best film of 2020 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, which announced its annual winners on Sunday.

It is the first time that the Lafca has honored a group of films rather than a single film with its best picture award. McQueen’s anthology, which includes “Lovers Rock,” “Mangrove” and “Red, White and Blue,” is currently playing on Amazon Prime, and neither the individual films nor the series are qualifying for the Oscars or guild awards as motion pictures.

“Small Axe” will be in the running for Emmys and guild awards in the television categories as a limited series. Strangely, Lafca voters treated the anthology as individual movies in the music category, where they singled out “Lovers Rock” for a runner-up citation, but then lumped...

Moments ago, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association finished unveiling their 2020 awards on Twitter. As always, some of their choices were a bit out of left field, but also far less so than in years past. Consider it a side effect of the year being so unique, since a broader range of movies are being considered. The top prize went to Steve McQueen’s Small Axe, while other films and performances cited included Carey Mulligan and Promising Young Woman in Best Actress (Emerald Fennell also took Best Screenplay for her work writing the flick), Chloe Zhao for Nomadland in Best Director, as well as Chadwick Boseman and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in Best Actor. Read on for all of the winners… Here now are the results of the Lafca voting for 2020: Best Picture Winner: “Small Axe” Runner Up: “Nomadland” Best Director Winner: Chloe Zhao – “Nomadland” Runner Up: Steve...

Whether he was breaking into an emotional rendition of “Amazing Grace” or bending over to let a five-year-old touch his hair, there’s no doubt that Barack Obama was the coolest president we’ll ever have. And while we know he has excellent taste in partners, every year Obama likes to remind us that his taste in film and TV is also impeccable. The former president has had much more time on his hands since leaving The White House, and he’s taken it upon himself to flex his cinephile leanings. This year he expanded his annual top ten list to include film and television, even including a diplomatically worded explanation about the changing nature of the industry.

“Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual...

Turns out Barack Obama has a lot of free time on his hands. As is the former president’s annual tradition, he selected his favorite movies and TV shows of the year, among them films like “Nomadland” and “Mank” and shows like “The Queen’s Gambit” and “The Boys,” and being stuck inside from the coronavirus really helped his viewing habits.

“Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format,” Obama wrote on Twitter Friday.

But Obama clearly didn’t waste time bingeing “The Office” for the fifth time, and his eclectic taste continues to be way better than most.

In addition to some more under the radar foreign titles that have been popular on critics’ end of the year lists like “Bacurau,...

Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” took home the top prize at the 33rd European Film Awards.

The Danish dramedy swept Saturday’s virtual ceremony, nabbing additional wins for best director and best actor for Mads Mikkelsen, who plays an alcoholic high school teacher. Vinterberg also won best screenplay for the feature, along with co-writer Tobias Lindholm.

When accepting the top award, Vinterberg said, “None of my films ever could ever have been made without the support systems of my country and of European filmmaking in general. My first film was about child abuse, my second one about the same and now we’ve made a film about four heterosexual white males teaching youngsters to drink. It could never have been possible outside of this continent and I’m super proud to be awarded in this continent.”

The filmmaker dedicated his win to the memory of his 19-year-old daughter Ida, who...

The European Film Awards, unfolding virtually this year, revealed its major winners during a ceremony on Saturday, December 12. The European Film Academy previously doled out prizes for below-the-line crafts, short films, and more throughout the week. The 33rd annual European Film Awards this year were emceed by German TV host Steven Gätjen out of Berlin. Nominees and winners Zoomed in from around the world, to some technical difficulties.

With four nominations each, European Film winner “Another Round,” “Corpus Christi,” and “Martin Eden” led the way. Also nominated in the main category were “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” “The Painted Bird,” and “Undine.” This year, the Academy upped the number of nominees in the European Film and European Documentary from five to six. Documentary nominees are “Acasa, My Home,” “Gunda,” “Little Girl,” “Saudi Runaway,” and “The Cave,” with “Collective” winning the prize.

Earlier this week, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland was elected as the new...

This year’s awards season, delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, finally got underway with the announcement of the 2021 Gotham Awards nominations on November 12 (last year’s big reveal was on Oct. 24). These awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) and honor the best of the year as determined by small committees of film journalists and festival programmers. The five Best Feature nominees, which were all directed by women, are: “The Assistant,” “First Cow,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Nomadland” and “Relic.” Scroll down to see the complete list of contenders.

Will these awards preview the Oscars? Perhaps. Last year’s Best Feature award went to “Marriage Story,” which did go on to reap a Best Picture bid. However, that was the exception rather than the rule. Indeed, its rival Gotham Awards nominees — “The Farewell,” “Hustlers,” “Uncut Gems” and “Waves” — were all snubbed by the Academy Awards.

Why is this?...

The longest awards season ever kicks off today with the announcement for the 2020 Gotham Awards nominees. The awards ceremony, backed by the Independent Film Project (IFP), is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As always, the Gothams are the first stop on the awards season journey, which this year will last until the Oscars ceremony all the way on April 25. The 2020 Gotham Awards are set to take place January 11, 2021, over a month delay from when the ceremony’s usually held, on the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

While the Gotham Awards don’t always overlap with the Oscars, they often play a key role in elevating films into the overall awards conversation since the ceremony is the first of the season. Past acting winners like Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”), Awkwafina (“The Farewell”), Ethan Hawke (“First Reformed”), and Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) all had Oscar momentum following the Gothams, with Driver nabbing an Oscar nom for Best Actor.

Kitty Green’s “The Assistant,” Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Natalie Erika James’ “Relic” have been nominated as the best independent films of 2020 at the 30th annual IFP Gotham Awards, the Independent Filmmaker Project announced on Thursday.

All five nominees in the Best Feature category were directed by women, a first for the Gothams.

With four nominations in the eight film categories, the period drama “First Cow” led all films in nominations. “Nomadland” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” each received two nominations, as did six other films that were not nominated in the Best Feature category: “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” “Miss Juneteenth,” “Saint Frances,” “The Vast of Night,” “The Nest” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”

Nominees in the new Best International Feature category included Maimouna Doucoure’s “Cuties,” which led to protests by conservative critics when it aired on Netflix.

Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” starring Mads Mikkelsen, leads the race for the 33rd European Film Awards, alongside Jan Komasa’s Oscar nominated “Corpus Christi” and Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden.” Each film has four nominations.

“Another Round” took nominations for best film, director, actor for Mikkelsen, and screenwriter for Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm. The film won the Audience Award at London Film Festival, and best actor, jointly for the four male leads, at San Sebastian.

“Corpus Christi” will compete for best film, director, actor for Bartosz Bielenia, and screenwriter for Mateusz Pacewicz.

“Martin Eden” is short-listed in the best film category, as well as director, actor for Luca Marinelli (who won best actor with the film at Venice last year), and screenwriter for Marcello and Maurizio Braucci.

Three films scored two nominations each. Burhan Qurbani’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz” competes for best film, and screenwriter for Martin Behnke and Qurbani.

Nominations for feature film and documentary up from five to six.

The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.

The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.

Scroll down for full list of nominees

The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...

The European Film Academy has unveiled the nominations for its 2020 awards, which will take place virtually across a series of online events December 8-12.

Leading the way are Another Round, Corpus Christi, and Martin Eden which have four nominations apiece, including for European Film 2020. Joining them in that main category are Berlin Alexanderplatz, The Painted Bird, and Undine.

Nominated for European Documentary are: Acasa, My Home; Collective; Gunda; Little Girl; Saudi Runaway; and The Cave.

In the European Director category, joining Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round, Jan Komasa for Corpus Christi, and Pietro Marcello for Martin Eden are Agnieszka Holland for Charlatan, Francois Ozon for Summer Of 85, and Maria Sødahl for Hope.

The European Actress nominees are: Paula Beer (Udine); Natasha Berezhnaya (Dau. Natasha); Andrea Bræin Hovig (Hope); Ane Dahl Torp (Charter); Nina Hoss (My Little Sister); and Marta Nieto (Mother).

Up for European actor: Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi...

Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi and Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round lead the nominations for the 2020 awards. For the European Film Academy, 2020 is about social class, religion and… alcohol. Announced today, the leading nominees for the upcoming 33rd European Film Awards, which will take place in a virtual ceremony streamed from Berlin on 12 December (read news), are Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi and Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round. All three have garnered four nominations, coincidentally in the same categories: European Film, European Director, European Actor and European Screenwriter. An interesting feat for a very male trident, composed of some of the most successful films of the season, with the first two coming from last year’s edition of the Venice Film Festival, and the third hailing from the 2020 Cannes selection then later selected at...

For his adaptation of Jack London’s “Martin Eden,” Pietro Marcello changed the setting of from the novel’s pre-wwi America to pre-World War II Italy. He told us his Martin Eden is “connected to what’s happening in today’s world in terms of hedonism and narcissism.” Which is another way of saying: a solipsistic society that requires world-shaking events to wake us up to the rise and resurgence of fascism. But this isn’t a #Resistance film. No, Marcello’s Martin Eden involves Eden as an interloper who educates himself and rises in society’s ranks. His struggle is with the uneducated world from which he comes and the educated elites who want little to do with him.

With his new film now arriving in Virtual Cinemas, we spoke with Marcello about Martin Eden’s autodidactic education, how Luca Marinelli looks like Indiana Jones in the film’s marketing,...

Martin Eden Kino Lorber Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Pietro Marcello Writer: Maurizio Braucci, Pietro Marcello, novel by Jack London Cast: Luca Marinelli, Jessica Cressy, Denise Sardisco, Vincenzo Nemolato Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/2/20 Opens: October 16, 2020 In the forceful prose that is the backbone […]

The post Martin Eden Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

With everything that has happened in 2020, it’s hard to think back to what last fall felt like. Back when the summer was filled with blockbusters at the multiplex and film festivals were showcasing amazing features in the fall. One of those films is “Martin Eden,” which wowed audiences last fall and is finally arriving in theaters next month. It’s only been a year, but it sure does feel like “Martin Eden” was a decade ago.

Continue reading ‘Martin Eden’ Trailer: One Of 2019’s Festival Favorites Finally Arrives In The US Next Month at The Playlist.

"I'd rather drink poison than break my back for you." Kino Lorber has released an official US trailer for the Italian drama Martin Eden, which first premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year to tons of acclaim. It also played at the Toronto & New York Film Festivals last year. The film is adapted from Jack London's 1909 novel of the same name, but recreated as a very Italian story. Italian actor Luca Marinelli won the Best Actor prize in Venice for playing Martin, then went on to co-star in Netflix's The Old Guard this year. Martin Eden struggles to rise above his destitute, proletarian circumstances with an intense and passionate pursuit of self-education, hoping to achieve a place among the literary elite as a famed writer. The film also stars Jessica Cressy, Vincenzo Nemolato, Marco Leonardi, Carlo Cecchi, Pietro Ragusa, Denise Sardisco, Carmen Pommella, Elisabetta Valgoi, & Savino Paparella.