News

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSLa région centrale.Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States for a second time.Major film distributors declined to pick up Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice (2024) under threat of legal action from the Trump campaign, just as recent documentaries, including No Other Land and The Bibi Files (both 2024) have been neglected.In a stunning blow to film preservation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has laid off sixteen employees from its archive and library departments as part of a broad “restructuring” plan. Several were instrumental archivists who had been at the Academy for years.Not only are Moroccan filmmakers receiving plum spots in international festival lineups, but investments from foreign productions, a new streaming service,...

Building on the success of the 200 million minutes that listeners spent with Talkhouse productions in 2022, the award-winning podcast network has defied industry decline with another banner year of growth, expansion and increased production across a variety of mediums. In 2023, hit shows such as How Long Gone, Solicited Advice with Alison Roman and the brand new Odb: A Son Unique – which recently entered the Top 20 on Apple Podcasts – contributed to 148% increase in total listens across the Talkhouse Podcast Network. In addition, its unique audience reach soared by 148%, while ad revenue surged exponentially, further cementing Talkhouse as a leading partner for first-person, artist-focused storytelling.

From the Talkhouse Podcast Network to Talkhouse.com's daily digital publication, year-round Talkhouse Live events and a just-launched print zine called Talkhouse Reader, the company continues to prioritize authenticity, credibility and creativity with every step forward. Each Talkhouse production brings its audience deeper and more directly into the minds of its favorite musicians,...

Victor Erice’s “Close Your Eyes” won best film at the 17th edition of Leffest Lisboa Film Festival, which announced awards Saturday night.

Marking Erice’s first feature film since his 1992 docudrama “The Quince Tree Sun” and garnering almost universal positive reviews – Variety called it “an aching ode to film, time and memory” – following its world premiere at Cannes, “Close Your Eyes” has screened at Toronto, Busan, BFI London and New York.

During Leffest, in a session moderated by Paulo Branco, 83-year old Erice took part in a conversation with preeminent 64-year old Portuguese helmer, Pedro Costa, whose short “The Daughters of Fire,” was a Cannes Special Screening and also had its Portuguese premiere at the fest.

Erice remarked during the event, one fest highlight, that both he and Costa are working in the shadow of two great filmmakers – “Don Luis Buñuel” and “Don Manoel de Oliveira” – and he added...

Exclusive: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, one of the founders of the Wu Tang Clan, is getting the podcast treatment.

A new series, hosted by Khalik Allah, will tell the story of the rapper, the stage-crashing, secret weapon of the Staten Island group.

Eight-part series Odb: A Son Unique will explore the complex man also known as Ason Unique (and born Russell Tyrone Jones), who struggled with addiction and mental health and died in 2004, a few days before his 36th birthday.

The show, which launches on November 7, comes from Usg Audio, Novel and Talkhouse.

Host Khalik Allah, who started his career photographing the Wu Tang Clan, will explore the story of the young prankster who grew up in Brooklyn before becoming part of hip hop history. As well as the Wu Tang records, he also recorded three solo albums – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Nigga Please and A Son Unique.

Mubi has unveiled their November 2023 lineup, featuring notable new releases such as Ashley McKenzie’s Queens of the Qing Dynasty and Alain Gomis’ Thelonious Monk documentary Rewind & Play. Also in the lineup is three stellar earlier films from Christian Petzold––Yella, Jerichow, and The State I Am In––along with John Cassavetes’ Husbands and Gloria, a Hayao Miyazaki short, and a retrospective dedicated to Argentinian-born, French-educated filmmaker and theorist Nelly Kaplan.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

November 1

A Very Curious Girl, directed by Nelly Kaplan | A Mischievous Rebellion: Films by Nelly Kaplan

The Pleasure of Love, directed by Nelly Kaplan | A Mischievous Rebellion: Films by Nelly Kaplan

Charles and Lucie, directed by Nelly Kaplan | A Mischievous Rebellion: Films by Nelly Kaplan

Papa the Little Boats, directed by Nelly Kaplan | A Mischievous Rebellion: Films by Nelly Kaplan

Yella, directed by Christian Petzold | Phantoms Among Us: The Films of Christian Petzold

Jerichow,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSOn July 13, SAG-AFTRA issued a strike order, joining the WGA, who have been striking since May. In an incendiary speech, the guild’s president, Fran Drescher, said: “SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP’s responses to the union’s most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry…Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal.” This Vulture Q&a with Jonathan Handel, author of Hollywood on Strike!: An Industry at War in the Internet Age, delves into the details of the work stoppage.Applications are open for Open City Documentary Festival & Another Gaze’s third annual critics’ workshop, which will take place in early September during the festival.

“The Girlfriend Experience” director Lodge Kerrigan’s 2004 movie “Keane,” starring Damian Lewis and Abigail Breslin, is getting a 4K restoration and a U.S. theatrical release.

Grasshopper Film snapped up distribution rights to the critically acclaimed pic, which is executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and produced by Andrew Fierberg. “Keane” — in 4K — will premiere in cinemas in early 2022, followed by releases on VOD, TV and home video. (The movie received a limited theatrical release in New York back in 2005.)

“Keane” turns on William Keane (Lewis) who is struggling to cope six months after his six-year-old daughter was abducted from New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal while traveling with him. Repeatedly drawn to the site of the abduction, Keane wanders the bus station, compulsively replaying the events of that fateful day as if hoping to change the outcome. When one day he meets a financially strapped woman, Lynn Bedik...

First-time filmmaker Rebeca “Beba” Huntt opens her eponymous debut “Beba” — a complicated and bold self-portrait, exploring identity, internalized anti-Blackness, and generational trauma — with a declarative statement: “You are now entering my universe.” Her world, initially, is visually translated via a shaky cam walking through a twisty, moss-smeared forest. A woozy horn hypnotizes over a collage of images: Huntt swaying to the sea, people at the beach, her hand in the sand — all shot on a gorgeous 16mm. Her spoken-word poetry, wherein she says “violence lives in my DNA,” lays the groundwork for the next 79 unflinching minutes.

Huntt was born in 1990; she is the product of generational soul-searching. Filmed over the course of eight years, “Beba” exists as a similar exploration. Huntt interviews her family, recalls her nascent college years, praises her friend group, and later shows the inequities of surrounding herself with college white (presumably) liberals. Without hesitation, she talks about her own shortcomings too.

Khalik Allah's Iwow: I Walk on Water is exclusively playing on Mubi in the UK and Ireland starting April 12, 2021.The latest work from photographer-filmmaker Khalik Allah, Iwow: I Walk on Water, is a sprawling, ambitious, 200-minute self-portrait, a transparent exploration of the author himself through the relationships he forges as an artist and a man.The film opens, aptly, with an a capella rendition of the classic hymn “Blessed Assurance”—sung by the director’s aunt—in a testament to his faith (Allah is a member of Five-Percent Nation) and the conviction that has defined his work. When we spoke last May—after Iwow had premiered at the 2020 True/False Film Festival and in the throes of a pandemic that had shaken the world—Allah pointed out the emblematic juxtaposition at the start of the film: He prays to God. Then, he muses on his dick size. “I thought [as a boy] it would keep growing forever,...

The lives portrayed in Carlos Alfonso Corral’s slim, sensitive and soulful “Dirty Feathers” are lived on several edges. There’s the edge of poverty. The film’s subjects are homeless, in and out of shelters, sometimes sleeping under bridges. There’s the edge of addiction and sobriety, with many of them heavy drug users in various stages of kicking or sliding back into the habit. And with one guy brandishing a blade in a moment of chest-beating bravado, there’s the knife-edge of violence and mental instability, as various volatile conditions go untreated due to insurance status and lack of access to healthcare resources.

This marginalization is geographical too: “Dirty Feathers” was filmed on the streets and in the institutions of the U.S.-Mexico border towns of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, reflecting Corral’s own Mexican-American identity. And while Nini Blanco’s beautiful, expressive handheld monochrome photography...

Khalik Allah chronicles his Harlem encounters in this patience-testing but immersive part-street documentary, part-autobiography

I Walk on Water is a hefty documentary project from artist and film-maker Khalik Allah: something that might be called an investigative meditation on the lives of the homeless, the marginal and the dispossessed in Harlem in New York City, and the film-maker’s own life. Lasting three hours and 19 minutes, it is an expansive collage of video, celluloid and 16mm, in colour and black-and-white, something close to underground cinema.

Allah simply lets the camera roll open-endedly and talks to street people like the Haitian man nicknamed Frenchie (we never hear what his actual name is), whom he has photographed before. The director often uses the 125th Street subway station as his base of operations; he features rappers’ performances and also films the uniformed NYPD cops, whose faces are half-smiling masks of opaque indulgence. Allah brings his Italian girlfriend,...

"[A] deep dive into Harlem after dark..." Dogwoof has unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming UK release of a documentary called I Walk on Water, also known as Iwow: I Walk on Water, from visionary artist Khalik Allah (of Black Mother most recently). The basic description says this is "an intimate and visually stunning" exploration of Harlem. But here's what it's really about: inspired by psychedelic mushrooms, the filmmaker sees himself as a reincarnation of Jesus, with his mission of charity among Harlem's poor. Very interesting. Allah, who made his debut with the 2015 documentary Field Niggas, explained: "My objective hasn't changed, it's always been to keep it real with myself; to stay true to my vision and to have the courage to express it cinematically. Iwow is a sort of first-person documentary poem; a statement of my artistic integrity and my uncompromising dedication to the streets." Looks like a mesmerizing trip around Harlem.

Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner shot all five films in the “Small Axe” anthology, working alongside director Steve McQueen. “Lovers Rock,” now streaming on Amazon, is the second film in the anthology and focuses on reggae music sub-genre of the same name which was frequently heard at house parties among the Black community. The house parties were a celebration of love and Black culture.

Kirchner had gone from “Mangrove,” the first film in the five-part “Small Axe” anthology to “Lovers Rock” and says, “Mangrove” was “heavy and difficult because we were dealing with how the system was treating Black people.”

Going to the Notting Hill Carnival helped infuse Kirchner with new energy, celebrating West Indian culture and attending the carnival helped him realize how he would frame the film. Kirchner talked to Variety about working on “Lovers Rock.”

How did going to the carnival help your camera movement?

There was so much joy,...

The International Documentary Association has announced a shortlist of 30 films from which it will choose its nominations for the 2020 Ida Documentary Awards, with a list that includes “76 Days,” “Boys State,” “Crip Camp,” “MLK/FBI,” “The Reason I Jump,” “The Truffle Hunters,” “Time” and “Welcome to Chechnya.”

The list also included a generous helping of foreign-made docs, including “Notturno,” “Acasa, My Home,” “Collective,” “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange,” “Gunda,” “Me and the Cult Leader,” “A Metamorfose dos Passaros,” “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” and “Softie.”

The rest of the list: “City Hall,” “Disclosure,” “The Forbidden Reel,” “I Walk on Water,” “The Mole Agent,” “Reunited,” “Self Portrait,” “Stray,” “‘Til Kingdom Come,” “To See You Again,” “Unapologetic,” “The Viewing Booth” and “Wintopia.”

The shortlisted films present a dramatically different view of the year in nonfiction filmmaking than the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which were announced on Monday. Only three films — “Crip Camp,...

The 2021 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards has announced the shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories. In a year crowded with top-notch documentaries (see the Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations here), with more debuts unspooling at Doc NYC (November 11-19), every reputable non-fiction awards group helps to curate the sprawling list of eventual Oscar contenders, and the IDA is no exception. (Read IndieWire’s current list of documentary feature predictions here.)

The IDA will bestow 16 awards this year, for Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.

Honorees will be announced on Tuesday, November 10. Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 24, along with the other awards recipients.

The 2021 International Documentary Association (Ida) Awards has announced the shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories. In a year crowded with top-notch documentaries (see the Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations here), with more debuts unspooling at Doc NYC (November 11-19), every reputable non-fiction awards group helps to curate the sprawling list of eventual Oscar contenders, and the Ida is no exception. (Read IndieWire’s current list of documentary feature predictions here.)

The Ida will bestow 16 awards this year, for Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.

Honorees will be announced on Tuesday, November 10. Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 24, along with the other awards recipients.

Upon his return home from California, Jay (Obi Nwachukwu) glides through his old neighborhood of NoMa, Washington, D.C. He makes small talk with old acquaintances—the neighbors, the guys on the corner, the old trio sitting on a stoop. It’s when he walks on by, however, that everyone else’s actions carry on. The camera holds on the locals, not so much Jay. The words say more about a collective routine, not so much about Jay himself. He says he’s come back to take notes for a movie he’s developing, but based on the questions he asks, it’s like he’s trying to propel a stream of consciousness.

And that stream of consciousness is dreamlike. In his debut, director Merawi Gerima skates between the past and present with laidback confidence, forging memories from what Jay is at a constant risk of forgetting. Whether those memories...

Grasshopper Film has secured the U.S. distribution rights to Iwow: I Walk on Water, a documentary feature from New York-based photographer and filmmaker Khalik Allah, to released in physical and virtual theaters later this year. In Iwow, Allah focuses on longtime muse Frenchie, a 60-something schizophrenic, homeless Haitian man, who he becomes increasingly intertwined with. In parallel, Allah, the filmmaker behind Black Mother, also turns the camera on himself to document a turbulent romantic relationship and grapple with personal notions of spirituality and mortality – all inquiries about which he gathers advice from charismatic confidants including Fab 5 Freddy, members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and, in deeply moving exchanges, his own mother. Allah, who made his debut with the 2015 documentary Field Niggas, said “My objective hasn’t changed, it’s always been to keep it real with myself; to stay true to my vision and to have the courage to express it cinematically.

The Bentonville Film Festival set the lineup for its sixth edition Tuesday, with the festival co-founded by Geena Davis unveiling its spotlight and competition program of indie feature films, shorts and episodic titles.

The fest is set to run August 10-16 in the Arkansas city and is being engineered as a hybrid event because of coronavirus concerns, with digital screenings, panels and events to run alongside some on-the-ground premieres and conversations.

This year’s lineup includes four Spotlight pics including the U.S. premiere of Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, which tells the true story of protest and controversy at 1970 Miss World contest, and Parkland Rising, a documentary that looks at the students of Parkland, Fl, who started an international movement to call attention to the need for better gun laws.

As per usual, this year’s lineup focuses on underrepresented voices in film. Of the 68 titles, more...

The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.

“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”

Available today, Projectr will function as both a...

The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.

“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”

Available today, Projectr will function as both a...

With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.

Some of the most exciting documentaries are the ones where the “documentary” label doesn’t do the work justice. Khalik Allah’s work exists within such energizing, unclassifiable terrain. By the time his “Black Mother” surfaced at New Directors/New Films in 2018, Allah had already established his bonafides: In two shorts and a pair of concise features, he has emerged as a genuine auteur, among the best directors documenting Black faces in contemporary cinema. Nevertheless, it takes under four hours to consume almost his entire body of work, save for a new feature that premiered on the festival circuit earlier this year; with the rest of his oeuvre on the Criterion Channel, now’s the ideal time to get caught up.

As both cinematographer and director,...

With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.

Some of the most exciting documentaries are the ones where the “documentary” label doesn’t do the work justice. Khalik Allah’s work exists within such energizing, unclassifiable terrain. By the time his “Black Mother” surfaced at New Directors/New Films in 2018, Allah had already established his bonafides: In two shorts and a pair of concise features, he has emerged as a genuine auteur, among the best directors documenting Black faces in contemporary cinema. Nevertheless, it takes under four hours to consume almost his entire body of work, save for a new feature that premiered on the festival circuit earlier this year; with the rest of his oeuvre on the Criterion Channel, now’s the ideal time to get caught up.

As both cinematographer and director,...

More than 50 years since black protestors first attempted to walk with protestors across a bridge in Selma—a bridge where they were met with violence and bloodshed at the hands of local authorities—it appears much and little has changed in American life. Millions make that connection each day as we head into the second weekend of protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Maybe that’s why some are eager to revisit the history of this American experience.

Hence Paramount Pictures announced Friday it is making Ava DuVernay’s Selma available for free across all major content platforms. This means you can watch the movie on Amazon, Apple, YouTube, or streamer of your choice.

“We hope this small gesture will encourage people throughout the country to examine our nation’s history and reflect on the ways that racial injustice has infected our society,” Paramount said in a statement.

The Criterion Collection on Thursday joined the wave of industry supporters who’ve come out in the past week to help fight systemic racism, and help advocate for police reform and support protesters across America. From A24 to Bad Robot, film’s leading voices are stepping up in response to current events. In an email from Criterion president Peter Becker and CEO Jonathan Turell, the company announced a $25,000 initial contribution, followed by an ongoing $5,000 monthly commitment for organizations supporting Black Lives Matter.

But Criterion also announced that it’s lifting the paywall on select titles from Black filmmakers, and white filmmakers who’ve captured the Black experience through documentary, so that audiences at home can stream them for free, with no need for a subscription.

Titles streaming for free on Criterion Channel include Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust,” Maya Angelou’s “Down in the Delta,” Shirley Clarke’s “Portrait of Jason,...

Above: The Metamorphosis of BirdsWhile attending True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Mo came the news that South by Southwest later this month would be canceled due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Along with the additional looming possibility that the Cannes Film Festival in May might similarly be disrupted or postponed, this prompts the question of what such cancellations mean for film, which can only be answered by asking what purposes such festivals serve. For SXSW, a public festival, this means a sudden evaporation of dozens of opportunities for audiences to see new film work. Due to the festival's size, it also serves as a launch pad for movies that will then tour festivals that are either smaller or have less cultural visibility. During or at the end of this tour, a film may either be bought for distribution in cinemas or on digital platforms (or both...

by Stephen Tronicek

As the sun rose over Columbia, Missouri, I found myself refreshed and ready to go. I’d slept on a couch for free (a quite comfy couch) and gained some of my energy back after the night before. I can say with some certainty that this energy has disappeared now that it is, yet again, midnight and I’ve just gotten home. There’s no need for pity though. The selection of films today was brilliant, broad, flawed but nevertheless exciting, something that True/False is certain to provide.

The day started out with Kirsten Johnson’s Dick Johnson is Dead, a documentary about grief for a person who has never died. Johnson has become a master of the meta-documentary, with her film Cameraperson capturing an emotional portrait of being a cinematographer for documentaries. Now, she’s returned to kill her dying father Dick, over and over and over again.

Competition line-up includes new films by Jerzy Sladkowski, Bryan Fogel, Moara Passoni and Hubert Sauper.

Copenhagen-based documentary festival Cph:dox (March 18-29) has revealed its 2020 competition line-up, with 52% of the 65 titles directed by one or more female directors.

Notable world premieres include Ecstasy, the new project from Brazil’s Moara Passoni, who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated The Edge Of Democracy. Ecstasy is an autobiographical hybrid following Passoni’s alter ego Clara as she battles anorexia

Also in the main competition is the world premiere of Bitter Love from Polish filmmaker Jerzy Sladkowski, who won the main award at Idfa with Don Juan...

Emerging on the scene with his remarkably-shot, poetic portraits of life, Field Niggas and Black Mother, director Khalik Allah is back with his third and most ambitious film yet. Clocking in at three hours, Iwow (I Walk on Water) finds him back on the streets of New York City. The filmmaker has now released a trailer and, as expected, it’s not of the standard variety. Clocking in at seven minutes, it features off-the-cuff freestyle voiceover from the director himself explaining the project over presumably footage from the film itself, which includes no shortage of stunning imagery (including a Black Mother poster cameo).

“Peace. I’m telling you ahead of festivals and ahead of my world premiere: I made the best film of 2020 and I don’t give a fuck what they write,” Allah wrote in a recent Facebook post. “It is my privilege to forgive and I’m forever...

“The path of the math is to go fast” — not even a year after the release of Khalik Allah’s second feature, Black Mother, the filmmaker has just released the first trailer of his new feature, Iwow (I Walk on Water). The film is said to be three hours long, and the trailer length — seven minutes — is thus appropriately relational. Here’s Allah’s statement accompanying the video: Peace. From the most illest iambic pentameter visual photographer. Allah’s 5% student doctor. I’m around the 85% again. Straight up Ren & Stimpy. The pitiful situation of my people is the person […]...

“The path of the math is to go fast” — not even a year after the release of Khalik Allah’s second feature, Black Mother, the filmmaker has just released the first trailer of his new feature, Iwow (I Walk on Water). The film is said to be three hours long, and the trailer length — seven minutes — is thus appropriately relational. Here’s Allah’s statement accompanying the video: Peace. From the most illest iambic pentameter visual photographer. Allah’s 5% student doctor. I’m around the 85% again. Straight up Ren & Stimpy. The pitiful situation of my people is the person […]...

Uncut Gems wins best lead actor, directing, editing.

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was named best feature at the Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday (8) in a night that recognised female directing talent in stark contrast to tomorrow’s Oscars.

Olivia Wilde won best first film for Booksmart, and American Factory, co-directed by Julia Reichert, (alongside Steven Bognar), won best documentary.

Renée Zellweger won best actress for Judy and has virtually swept the boards this awards season ahead of Sunday’s expected win at the Academy Awards.

Adam Sandler was a popular winner for Uncut Gems, which took home...

The 35th annual Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent cinema, took place Saturday in Santa Monica.

Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” won best picture, while Adam Sandler and Renee Zellweger took home the top acting prizes.

Full list of winners.

Best Feature

A Hidden Life

Clemency

The Farewell (Winner)

Marriage Story

Uncut Gems

Best Director

Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse

Alma Har’el – Honey Boy

Julius Onah – Luce

Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Lorene Scafaria – Hustlers

Best First Feature

Booksmart (Winner)

The Climb

Diane

The Last Black Man In San Francisco

The Mustang

See You Yesterday

Best Female Lead

Karen Allen – Colewell

Hong Chau – Driveways

Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell

Mary Kay Place – Diane

Alfre Woodard – Clemency

Renée Zellweger – Judy (Winner)

Best Male Lead

Chris Galust – Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce

Robert Pattinson – The Lighthouse

Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Matthias Schoenaerts – The Mustang

Best Supporting Female

Jennifer Lopez...

Aubrey Plaza will return to host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica.

The 35th annual Spirit Awards are set to air live on the IFC Channel beginning at 5 p.m. Et/2 p.m. Pt. The network will live stream the ceremony on its website, though audiences will need a cable login to watch. TV subscribers can also watch the show live on IFC app’s, available on iOS and Android, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox, and Android TV devices.

This year’s top Spirit Award nominees include Robert Pattinson’s “The Lighthouse” and Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems,” with five nods each. Shia Labeouf’s “Honey Boy” and Kirill Mikhanovsky’s scored four nominations.

“Uncut Gems,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” are up for best feature.

Here’s the full...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.

Ash Is Purest White (Jia Zhangke)

Jia Zhangke focuses on the prism of displacement: social, economic, political, spiritual. Ash Is Purest White, his latest dalliance with genre-inflected cinema, portrays a modern China stimulated and disrupted by the effects of globalism. But even as these changes motivate every aspect of the recursive narrative, they’re adjacent in this dual character study of a gangster and his moll. This film’s interest in time proves more platonic and freely cinematic as these characters travel through a world that’s left them behind. – Michael S.

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime

The Bling Ring (Sofia Coppola)

Arriving after her most abstract work,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.

Asako I & II (Ryūsuke Hamaguchi)

Full-fledged, complicated, rapturous romance is relatively rare in cinema nowadays, and one of the very best examples is Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Asako I & II, which uses its doubled lovers as a way to reflect back upon its main character, in all of her doubts and uncertainties. Deeply rooted in its present moment, yet prone to flights of fancy as transportive and unreal as any in contemporary filmmaking, the film delights as much as it aches, staying in close step with the turns caused by the whims of the self and the other, moving back and forth in rapture. – Ryan S.

“First Cow” director Kelly Reichardt has been given a $50,000 Film Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant designed to recognize a mid-career female director.

Reichardt won the third annual Bonnie Award, named for Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo, who became the first woman to pilot a major U.S. airline when she joined the award’s sponsor, American Airlines, in 1973.

Actress Alfre Woodard and filmmaker Jon M. Chu presented the award, one of four grants given out by Film Independent at its nominees brunch at the Boa Steakhouse in West Hollywood on Saturday.

Also Read: 'The Lighthouse,' 'Uncut Gems' Lead Nominees at Independent Spirit Awards

In addition to the $50,000 Bonnie Award, $25,000 unrestricted grants were given to an up-and-coming producer (Molly Asher), director (Rashaad Ernesto Green) and documentary director (Nadia Shihab).

Winners in the rest of the Spirit Awards categories will be announced during the main Spirit Awards show on Saturday, Feb. 4.

The...

There remains one group we’ve yet to hear from when it comes to the best films of 2019: the directors who made them. IndieWire has reached out to a number of our favorite filmmakers to share their lists and thoughts on what made this year great.

As is advisable with creative people, we gave the directors a great deal of freedom in how they reflected on the year in moving images. What follows is everything ranging from traditional top 10 lists to favorite moments and performances, with lists that span TV, podcasts, and much more.

This is the fourth year IndieWire has done this survey, and what was exciting about this particular group is how many are international, and the wide range of films they celebrated. If you are bored with every end-of-the-year list looking the same, you are in for a treat, as some of the best filmmakers highlight...

Epic concert films, the return of one of cinema’s longest-running franchises, explorations of the toll of modern war, a canine friendship for the ages, a vivid journey into space, the final film from a master director–these were just a few of the subjects and stories that this year’s documentary offerings brought us. With 2019 wrapping up, we’ve selected 20 features in the field that left us most impressed, so check out our list below and, in the comments, let us know your favorites.

63 Up (Michael Apted)

Revisiting the same subjects chosen from various walks of British life in 1964 at age seven, the latest installment, 63 Up, proves to be at times a moving sociological experiment with little surprise as it documents the lives of eleven ordinary British subjects it has followed for the past 56 years. Inspired by Francis Xavier’s quote, “Give me a child until he is seven...

Best international film nominees include Parasite, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and The Souvenir.

Uncut Gems and The Lighthouse have emerged as the top contenders for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards with five nods apiece while A24 leads the distributor pack on 18 nominations.

Adam Sandler from Uncut Gems will face off against The Lighthouse’s Robert Pattinson and others for best lead male and the Safdie brothers and Robert Eggers are among the best director nominees for each film, respectively.

Other best feature nominees announced on Thursday (21) are A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell and Marriage Story.

Best international film nominees include Parasite, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and The Souvenir.

Uncut Gems has emerged as the top contender among nominees for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards, with the Adam Sandler drama getting nominations in five categories including best feature.

Other best feature nominees are A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell and Marriage Story.

The Lighthouse also got five Spirit Award nominations and other films with multiple citations included Give Me Liberty and Honey Boy with four each and Clemency, Hustlers, The Last Black Man In San Francisco, Luce, Marriage Story and The Third Wife with three each.

The 2020 Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced Thursday, November 21. So who made the cut at these kudos, which celebrate the best in American independent films? Scroll down to see the full list of nominees for the 2020 Indie Spirits. Remember, only American-made movies with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration.

These Spirit contenders were decided by nominating committees that included film critics, film programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees and winners, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

Winners will be chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who sign up for membership starting at $95 per year.

These awards have come to be a significant preview of the Oscars as the motion picture academy embraces more independent films. Five of the last six Spirit champs for Best Feature went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

The nominations for the 35th Independent Spirit Awards have been announced, and it was a big morning for “The Lighthouse” and “Uncut Gems.” The annual indie awards ceremony is presented by Film Independent and takes place the day before the Academy Awards on the beach in Santa Monica, California. The Spirit Awards have become known over the last decade for showcasing nominees that are a mix of underdog films and higher-profile awards contenders.

It’s important to note the Indie Spirit Awards has a budget ceiling of $22.5 million, meaning any movie made for more than this amount is ineligible for nominations. For this reason, Martin Scorsese’s Netflix-backed “The Irishman” was not eligible for 2020 nominations (the film had a budget north of $150 million). Netflix’s other top Oscar contender, Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” is eligible for Spirit Awards and landed a Best Feature nomination. As has become common over the last several years,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.

The Art of Self-Defense (Riley Stearns)

If Fight Club taught us one thing and one thing only it is to never underestimate the power of a bored single man with nothing to lose. And that is, in some ways, also the central thesis of Riley Stearns’ delightfully twisted The Art of Self-Defense, a pitch-black comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg as sad sack Casey, a lonely auditor who, in the film’s opening scene, is mocked at a distance in French by a couple. He, unfortunately, has become proficient in French, working his way through cassette tapes on his commute to work. He’s an easy and perhaps asexual target,...

The International Documentary Association has announced its shortlist for best feature, a category that includes “Apollo 11,” “American Factory,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” and the Aretha Franklin concert film “Amazing Grace.”

The 2019 awards will be presented during a ceremony at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Dec. 7. Up to 10 nominees in each of the categories will be selected from the shortlist and announced on Oct. 23, when nominees in all categories are announced. Ida members will have access to nominated films to vote for Best Feature and Best Short starting Nov. 4.

For the first time, the Ida will present an award for best director. Awards will be presented in the following categories: best feature, best short, best curated series, best episodic series, best multi-part documentary, best short form series, best audio documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, best music documentary, best director, best cinematography, best editing, best writing,...

The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.

The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.

The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...

The International Documentary Association (Ida) has revealed the 35th Annual Ida Documentary Awards shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories, culled from 785 submissions: 375 documentary features, 153 documentary shorts, 124 documentary series, 89 student films, 44 podcasts, and 48 music documentaries. After winnowing down each list to up to ten nominees to be announced on Wednesday, October 23, online screeners will be accessible for viewing as of November 4, followed by the Ida membership voting.

The 2019 Awards will be presented at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, December 7. The Ida will bestow awards in 16 categories. This year, the Ida has changed how craft awards are selected: cinematographers, editors, writers and composers will do the honors. And for the first time, the Ida will present an award for Best Director.

The awards categories include Best Feature, Best Short, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best Short Form Series, Best Audio Documentary, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award,...

The Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace,” the moon-mission chronicle “Apollo 11” and the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, “American Factory,” have made the short list for the International Documentary Association’s 2019 Ida Documentary Awards, the Ida announced on Thursday.

The announcement narrows the field to 30 feature films and 21 shorts that will move on to a second round of voting.

The IDA’s short list of 30 feature films contains 10 films that were on Doc NYC’s recent 15-film list of the year’s likeliest nonfiction awards contenders: “American Factory,” “The Apollo,” “Apollo 11,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Diego Maradona,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “For Sama,” “Honeyland” and “One Child Nation.”

Additional films on the Ida’s list include “Amazing Grace,...

2019 is nearing the halfway mark, so it’s time to take a look back at the first six months and round up our favorite titles thus far. While the end of this year will bring personal favorites from all of our writers, think of the below 21 entries (and honorable mentions) as a comprehensive rundown of what should be seen before heading into a promising back half of the year.

Do note that this feature is based solely on U.S. theatrical releases from 2019, with many currently widely available on streaming platforms, home video (both noted below) or theatrically. Check them out below, as organized alphabetically, followed by honorable mentions and a handful of films to keep a look out for the rest of the summer.

Amazing Grace (Sydney Pollack)

A time capsule that’s as fresh and powerful an experience as it must have been when recorded live in Watts...

The first set of images in “Black Mother,” Khalik Allah’s intensely felt act of cinematic hypnosis, is a cavalcade of monochrome, vignetted portraits: A young woman in a tight minidress dances in a market; a shirtless man wriggles on one foot, extending the other leg gymnastically high in the air; an old woman with milky eyes smiles beatifically into the camera. The film’s last image is in grainy 16mm color as a woman’s arm extends from her hospital bed to touch the bassinet in which her newborn sleeps. And in the little over an hour in between, Allah, who directed, shot, edited, and co-scored the film, avoids the literal and the linear to create a beguilingly immersive, multifaceted, vividly sensorial portrait of his mother’s homeland, Jamaica.

Allah’s last film, “Field Niggas,” explored the microcosm of one Harlem street corner to make statements about race and...