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Within the X-Men universe, few relationships are more immutable than the love triangle between Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops. Wolverine adores Jean. Jean, depending on the situation, adores Wolverine and Cyclops equally. Cyclops wants to punch Logan, and the feeling's mutual. Aside from 2019's X-Men run implying the three resolved their dilemma via polyamory, this relationship loop is inescapable except for a defining outlier on Wolverine's part.

Personal and political life in Haiti are brought sharply into focus in “Freda,” a powerful and resolutely unsentimental drama about a determined young university student who must decide whether to stay in her deeply troubled country or seek a future elsewhere. Weaving documentary footage of civil unrest into an intelligent and compassionate screenplay that examines what it means to be a Haitian woman in a society stacked heavily in favor of men, “Freda” marks an outstanding feature debut for actress-singer-filmmaker Gessica Geneus. This vital and vibrant drama is Haiti’s submission in the Oscar international feature category.

“Freda” is only the second Haitian feature entered for Oscar consideration, following “Ayiti Mon Amour” by Guetty Felinin in 2017. It’s also just the second Haitian production ever selected for Cannes, after Raoul Peck’s “The Man on the Shore” in 1993. “Freda” received a major profile boost in early December with the announcement that Francis Ford Coppola,...

Five-time Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola has joined Freda — the Haitian Oscar entry marking the narrative feature debut of actor, singer and documentarian Gessica Généus — as an executive producer. He will spearhead an awards-season push for the pic, which is only the second Haitian film to be submitted to the Academy Awards’ International Feature category.

“Freda is the kind of cinematic experience I value most: a journey into a way of life not normally accessible to me, providing insight about the real people who live in it. Gessica Généus’ film is an unforgettable jewel told with simple eloquence, beautifully memorable performances, and genuine feeling that few films ever achieve,” said Coppola. “This glimpse of contemporary life in Haiti shows a people who refuse to be defined by their tragic moments and who thrive with good hearts and best intentions. It is my humble honor to serve as the executive producer...

We got to interview William Levy and Alicia Sanz about their new Latin action thriller movie En Brazos De Un Asesino. The movie also stars Roberto Sosa, Adrian Lastra, Dalisa Alegria, Ettore D’ Alessandro, Jean Jean, Alessia Seravalle and is directed by Matias Moltrasio.

En Brazos de un Asesino means, “in the arms of an assassin,” and the movie is adapted from J. A Redmerski’s thiller, “Killing Sarai”.

William talks about the journey from actor to co-writer of this film and how he wanted to take control of his career. Also, now, as a producer, he can create opportunities for other people. He recalls how watching The Godfather in Cuba and seeing Andy Garcia who is Cuban inspired him to become an actor. The Latino market in America provides the number one audience going to the movies yet they only represent 3 percent of the roles. He wants to do something to change this!

Woodpeckers Director: José Maria Cabral Written by: José Maria Cabral Cast: Jean Jean, Ramón Emilio Candelario, Judith Rodriguez, Fenando Rodriguez de Jesus Maya, José Cruz Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 8/29/17 Opens: September 15, 2017 José Maria Cabral’s movie gives new meaning to the slang term “pecker,” and what’s more it even finds a sexually […]

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Director Patricio Guzman’s Cordillera among winners in industry strands.

The 32nd Guadalajara Film Festival (March 10-17), bookended by fierce criticism of Us president Donald Trump by local and international industry, has feted Everardo Gonzalez’s documentary Devil’s Freedom (La Libertad Del Diablo) with best Mexican feature, best Ibero-American documentary and best cinematography as well as the Mexican film critics trophy.

The feature, about violence in Mexico, is handled by Films Boutique and received its world premiere in Berlin earlier this year where it won an Amnesty International award.

Carlos Lechuga’s Santa And Andres, about political dissent in Cuba, was named best Ibero-American feature and also won best script.

Nicaraguan director Jose Maria Cabral’s prison drama Carpinteros (Woodpeckers) won best Ibero-American director in addition to best actor for Jean Jean.

Mexican debutant Sofia Gomez’s The Blue Years (Los Anios Azules), a coming of age drama, garnered five awards including best director, the Fipresci...

Exclusive: Dominican filmmaker José María Cabral, just off the Sundance debut of his film Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), has signed with Apa for agency representation. The pic, which Cabral wrote and directed, was one of the 12 films chosen to premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Shot in an actual jail with real inmates and prison guards, the film follows Julián (Jean Jean), who finds love and a reason for living in the last place imaginable: the Dominican…...

What starts as an institutional romance quickly becomes something altogether different in Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), a drama-turned-prison thriller from the Dominican Republic that opens, like many a prison picture, with a gut punch. Julian (Jean Jean) arrives at the Najayo Prison finding himself hazed at every turn. To earn his keep he serves as a tradesman cooking and repairing equipment. For protection he links up with Manaury (Emilo Candelario) a jailhouse powerbroker that deals drugs right out of the kitchen supply cabinet. Manaury is in love with Yanelly (Judith Rodriguez), a prisoner in the women’s compound across the way; they exchange notes, pictures, and soiled panties through a complex system of smuggling as some craftsman are sent to work in the women’s area.

The lovers communicate with each other through sign language, under the guard’s radar, trading glances, flirtations and vows once released. Manaury is on the outs with Yanelly,...

The Sundance Film Festival is soon approaching and that means many will be able to catch the first premieres of 2017. One of the films that will premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition is “Carpinteros (Woodpeckers),” about a young man who finds love in a Dominican Republic Prison. When Julián (Jean Jean) steps off the bus and becomes fresh meat in Najayo Prison, he didn’t know that he would become a Woodpecker, prisoners who romance ladies incarcerated at the women’s prison 150 meters across the way, or find the love of his life. But soon, he encounters Yanelly (Judith Rodriguez Perez) and must find a way to win her love, all while keeping it a secret and escaping the walls that trap his heart. Watch an exclusive trailer from the film below and check out the poster as well.

Read More: Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Including Returning...