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The annual SFFIlM Festival has officially unveiled its 2024 lineup, with two first-time feature filmmakers bookending the fest.

Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical feature “Dìdi (弟弟)” opens the festival April 24 after premiering at Sundance 2024. Wang was also recently Oscar-nominated for his short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” which had been supported by Sffilm grants.

The 67th annual festival closes out with Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, and late actor Richard Roundtree in his final role. The feature screens April 28.

Programming highlights include “The Idea of You,” “Sing Sing,” “Janet Planet,” and Sundance award-winning documentary “Porcelain War.” A private screening of opening night film “Dìdi (弟弟)” in Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos will be held at the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market exclusively for cast and crew, Sffilm Festival filmmakers, and Sffilm fellows and grantees. A Sffilm members’ screening of “Mother, Couch” will also take place after the film debuted...

Steve Buscemi’s “The Listener” is heading to the Sarasota Film Festival.

The 26th edition of the Florida fest will feature live and in-person screenings and events that will take place across Sarasota beginning on April 5. The 10-day fest will feature 23 narrative features, 41 documentary features and 81 short films.

Buscemi will be in Sarasota to participate in a Q&a following the screening of “The Listener,” which will serve as the closing night film. About a crisis hotline worker enduring the pressures of her job, the film starring Tessa Thompson made its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022.

Lynn Dow’s “Bull Street,” starring Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan, will open the fest on April 5. The drama centers on a South Carolina small-town lawyer (Malynda Hale) as she faces local politics and an unwavering judge (Madigan) when her estranged father’s family tries to evict her and her grandmother (Devine) from her home.

Variety will honor Molly Ringwald with the Variety Creative Vanguard Award at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, April 6. The award will be for her outstanding career achievements, earning acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

Ringwald will participate in a Q&a about her extensive work in film and TV with Variety Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis.

“It’s important to remember that before Molly Ringwald was the iconic young star of John Hughes’ teen angst-driven comedies such as ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘The Breakfast Club,’ she first starred in Paul Mazursky’s contemporary update of Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest,’” said Steve Gaydos, Variety EVP of Global Content and Executive Editor. “This is important because the secret of Ringwald’s early success and career longevity is the simple fact she has always been one of American film and television’s most gifted and versatile actresses. Her dazzling work this...

The Miami Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 41st edition, including “Thelma,” starring June Squibb, opening the event and Tony Goldwyn’s “Ezra” as closing night selection.

Goldwyn will be honored at the festival with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the Impact Award.

The festival runs April 5-14, with Goldwyn in attendance for the April 13 closing screening of “Ezra,” which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rainn Wilson.

“This year’s lineup spotlights exciting narrative programming, essential documentaries, and groundbreaking shorts, bringing an unbelievable host of films to our local community,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “The Miami Film Festival is delighted to welcome our audiences back for another year of incredible screenings and inspiring conversations.”

“We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible slate of diverse and exciting films to Miami,...

In an exclusive uInterview, Fred Hechinger and Clark Gregg discuss working with June Squibb and the late Richard Roundtree in their new film, Thelma.

Thelma follows an aging widow of the same name who spends most of her time tending to her 20-something grandson, Daniel, played by Hechinger. When she receives a call from a scammer pretending to be Daniel, Thelma sends $10,000 in cash to a nearby P.O. box and embarks on an action-packed journey to retrieve her money.

Hechinger said that working with Squibb on the project was “incredible.”

“She’s the best, just the top of the top, not only one of the greatest partners in scene work but also just a great friend,” he told uInterview founder Erik Meers.

“We just came from a screening where we could tell that the audience was really connected with the film,” Gregg said. “I think the reason that’s happening is,...

"This summer - action has a new name." Magnolia Pictures has unveiled a very short teaser trailer for the Sundance 2024 hit film Thelma, from writer / director Josh Margolin. The film didn't win any awards, but it did win over the hearts of many Sundance viewers as one of the best of the fest. Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin's own grandmother, Thelma puts a clever spin on movies like Mission: Impossible, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. Yes, she kicks some serious ass. With infectious humor, Margolin employs the familiar tropes of the action genre in hilarious, age-appropriate ways to tackle aging with agency. In the first leading film role of her 70-year career, June Squibb portrays the strong-willed Thelma with grit and determination, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of business. In addition to Squibb kicking butt as Thelma,...

There’s a new action hero in Hollywood and her name is June Squibb! At 94 years young, the Oscar-nominated actress (“Nebraska”) stars in “Thelma,” an action comedy about Thelma Post, a 93-year-old woman who gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson. Fueled with rage, Thelma sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. Watch the first teaser trailer below.

“Thelma” premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024 and was quickly scooped up by Magnolia Pictures. Squibb’s co-stars include Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg and Malcolm McDowell. The feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, “Thelma” is a poignant action-comedy that gives Squibb her first leading role and features Roundtree’s final performance.

See Celebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam Gallery

Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin’s own grandmother, “Thelma” puts a clever spin on movies like “Mission: Impossible,...

Scarlett Johansson is assembling the cast of her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.”

June Squibb, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Nebraska” will be joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Broadway veteran Jessica Hecht and Erin Kellyman.

The movie, formerly titled “Eleanor, Invisible,” follows Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb), a 90-year-old woman trying to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades. Tory Kamen wrote the screenplay.

TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics, partnering for the first time, will release “Eleanor the Great” in theaters on a yet-to-be-determined date.

Johansson is producing the film with Jonathan Lia, and Keenan Flynn for These Pictures, Kara Durrett and Jessamine Burgum for Pinky Promise, and Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler of Maven Screen Media.

Wayfarer Studios co-financed “Eleanor the Great” with Content Engineers, Pinky Promise and MacPac. Steve Sarowitz, Justin Baldoni,...

El éxito del terror indie en Sundance: “Talk to Me” pasa el testigo a “I Saw the TV Glow” en su 40ª edición.

El Festival de Cine de Sundance ha terminado y por ello os traemos nuestro análisis del festival. Un festival en el que anteriormente se estrenaron mundialmente películas muy aclamadas como “Brooklyn”, “Hereditary”, “Manchester By The Sea”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Get Out” o “Whiplash”. Y es que, esta temporada de premios aún no ha terminado y ya estamos con los ojos puestos en las películas de Sundance para ver cuál ha destacado y si alguna de ellas podría unirse a esta lista de películas aclamadas que tuvieron su estreno en el festival. Así que, pasemos al análisis.

Como siempre, para obtener una visión más clara acerca de las reacciones del festival, hemos optado por realizar un análisis utilizando como fuente los datos de Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic y Letterboxd.

The Sundance Film Festival 2024, beloved by independent film enthusiasts, opens the film festival circuit with a bustling calendar of parties, thought-provoking panels, and red-carpet premieres.

Celebrating its 40th milestone, the lineup boasts diversity across various categories, featuring 53 short films, 35 documentary features, and 83 feature films. The award-winning films for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival were announced today at The Ray Theatre in Park City during a ceremony.

The jury and audience-awarded prizes include Grand Jury Prizes awarded to In The Summers (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Porcelain War (U.S. Documentary Competition), Sujo (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and A New Kind of Wilderness (World Cinema Documentary Competition). The Next Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to Little Death.

Related: Sundance Film Festival Awards: ‘In The Summers’, ‘Didi’, ‘Daughters’ Top Winners List

Audiences came together in person over the weekend in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Sundance Resort with talent that included June Squibb,...

“Presence,” a twisty new thriller that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has sold to Neon.

The movie, which is directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, puts an inventive spin on the haunted house genre. It unfolds from the perspective of the spectral entity and is primarily interested in dramatizing the issues of the people living in the home, who seem to be grappling with a lot of interpersonal problems.

“I wanted to find a different way to tell the story,” Soderbergh told Variety in a recent profile. “Everything is revealed through the glimpses of this family that this presence sees. And the whole ghost genre element is a Trojan horse to show a group of people in danger of falling apart.”

The market at Sundance has been slower than usual, with deals taking longer to hammer out — that’s a sign of how challenging the box office has become for indie pictures.

Newly-created UK sales outfit Rapt Films International has acquired Corey Sherman’s US drama Big Boys, for all rights outside North America.

Big Boys is US filmmaker Sherman’s feature debut, which premiered at BFI Flare: London Lgbtqia+ Film Festival in March 2023, going on to win the audience award for best narrative feature at Outfest. The coming-of-age comedy sees a teenage boy’s unexpected crush turn a camping trip into a weekend of self-discovery.

The film stars Isaac Krasner, who will soon appear in Amazon’s Holland, Michigan starring Nicole Kidman; with supporting cast including Dora Madison, Taj Cross, Emily Deschanel and David Johnson III.

Netflix has scored the biggest on-site deal at Sundance so far, pouncing on the horror It’s What’s Inside in a reported $17m deal.

Greg Jardin’s Midnight selection premiered on Friday and centres on a pre-wedding party that goes horrifically wrong when a former friend of the group arrives bearing a suitcase.

William Rosenfeld, Kate Andrews, Jason Baum and Raúl Domingo produced the film, which CAA Media Finance represented for sales and had been in talks with buyers since Friday’s world premiere.

The ensemble cast features Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Devon Terrell, among others.

It’s What’s Inside...

Searchlight Pictures has snapped up worldwide rights to Jesse Eisenberg’s Sundance hit A Real Pain, paying what is believed to be $10m in the first major deal of the festival following Saturday’s world premiere.

‘A Real Pain’: Sundance Review

Theatrical and streamer buyers pursued the comedy drama immediately after the first screening at The Eccles Theatre and it was clear the film possessed broad appeal.

Searchlight pursued it doggedly and an all-night negotiation with WME Independent and CAA Media Finance reminiscent of Sundances of yesteryear concluded around 7am on Sunday.

The studio plans to launch the film...

In one of the most unusual and inspiring sights which will surely go down in Sundance lore, Black Box Diaries director Shiori Ito led audience members in a post-premiere karaoke rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’.

‘Black Box Diaries’: Sundance Review

The spontaneous event immediately followed the Q&a session after the world premiere of the Japanese journalist’s debut feature in which she chronicled her struggle for justice against her high-profile rapist.

An exhilarated and exhilarating Ito, microphone still in hand, sung along and invited ticket holders to join her on stage at Prospector Square Theatre...

In one of the most unusual and inspiring sights which will surely go down in Sundance lore, Black Box Diaries director Shiori Ito led audience members in a post-premiere karaoke rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’.

‘Black Box Diaries’: Sundance Review

The spontaneous event immediately followed the Q&a session after the world premiere of the Japanese journalist’s debut feature in which she chronicled her struggle to seek justice against her high-profile rapist.

An exhilarated and exhilarating Ito, microphone still in hand, sung along and invited ticket holders to join her on stage at Prospector Square...

While fans used to play six degrees of Kevin Bacon at the Sundance Film Festival (or anywhere for that matter), in 2024, it’s all about connecting the dots of alumni from Mike White’s The White Lotus. The stars of the Emmy Award-winning vacation anthology series have returned to the mainland and clocked back in on a flurry of independent films. Below is a roundup of all the White Lotus stars making the Park City rounds this year and why they’re here.

Aubrey Plaza

The actress and producer returns to the festival on the heels of a critically acclaimed turn in Emily the Criminal to star in Megan Park’s comedy My Old Ass opposite Maisy Stella, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks and Percy Hynes White. The plot follows bright-yet-irreverent Elliott (Stella) as she comes face-to-face with her older self (Plaza) during a mushroom trip. The encounter spurs a funny...

At the beginning of Thelma––a loveable, low-stakes joyride from director Josh Margolin––the movie’s eponymous 93-year-old grandmother sits on the couch with her grandson Daniel and marvels at Tom Cruise. They’re watching a recent Mission: Impossible sequel on her tiny television and can’t fathom Cruise’s running and jumping daredevil-ism at his weathered age. Thelma may live alone, need hearing aids, play solitaire, have trouble typing out an email, and get flustered when pop-up ads surprise her online. But much like America’s most extreme action star, she knows she’s still got it, too.

Thelma is played by June Squibb and it’s clear she’s having a ball leading her first movie. Since making a name for herself with an Oscar nomination in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, the nonagenarian has spent the last decade flexing her comedic chops in small roles and cameos, eating...

After years acting and making short-form content and collaborating on 2018 LA Film Festival entry Deep Murder, Los Angeles native Josh Margolin’s feature directorial debut Thelma has premiered at Sundance where it received a rousing reception.

June Squibb, Oscar-nominated in Nebraska and now 94, stars in her first lead role as a grandmother who gets scammed and stops at nothing to take back what belongs to her, employing an impressive array of nonagenarian spycraft along the way.

Margolin was inspired to make the Sundance Premieres selection after his own grandmother Thelma nearly fell for a scam. The action comedy shot in...

After years acting and making short-form content and collaborating on 2018 LA Film Festival entry Deep Murder, Los Angeles native Josh Margolin’s feature directorial debut Thelma has premiered at Sundance where it received a rousing reception.

June Squibb, Oscar-nominated in Nebraska and now 94, stars in her first lead role as a grandmother who gets scammed and stops at nothing to take back what belongs to her, employing an impressive array of nonagenarian spycraft along the way.

Margolin was inspired to make the Sundance Premieres selection after his own grandmother Thelma nearly fell for a scam. The action comedy shot in...

Swiss film producers and financiers Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani have been Sundance regulars for more than 15 years, but this edition is special.

The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.

Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.

“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.

“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”

Former Zff co-founder and...

“I didn’t expect to get so old,” sighs 93-year-old Thelma Post (June Squibb) in Josh Margolin’s hilarious and unexpectedly poignant mash-up of Point Blank and The Straight Story. Squibb, so good in Nebraska, once again represents for the hip-op generation, bringing wisdom and truth — plus the best waspish comic timing since Maggie Smith in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park — to a comic action-thriller that has fun with the pitfalls of old age but does so with dignity and respect. Appeal should be across the board; indeed, the film would make a great May-December double bill with the 2022 Aubrey Plaza vehicle Emily the Criminal, a similar study of an ordinary woman sucked into a shady underworld.

Margolin lays out all the film’s key elements with refreshing speed, opening with 24-year-old Daniel (Fred Hechinger) patiently helping the recently widowed...

Nonagenarian actress June Squibb is making her first ever in-person appearance at the Sundance Film Festival this year as the star of Josh Margolin’s comedy-action-drama Thelma about a grandmother who goes after an internet scammer.

“I’ve had films show there before but either I was working or wasn’t that interested in the film,” says 94-year-old Squibb, who was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska in 2013.

In Thelma, she plays a 93-year-old L.A. grandmother, living happily alone and unassisted in her beloved condo in the Valley, whose independence is threatened when she is scammed out of $10,000 by a caller impersonating her grandson.

Initially ashamed and flummoxed by her gullibility, Thelma is inspired to embark on a mission to track down the thief after seeing a newspaper headline celebrating Tom Cruise’s age-defying Mission Impossible career.

No longer in the possession of a...

Park City – Are you ready for a 93-year-old action hero? No, we’re not referring to whatever movie or television show Sylvester Stallone is working on at the moment. We’re talking about one of the most unlikely heroes of all portrayed by none other than June Squibb. Yes, the Oscar nominee stars as the title character in Josh Margolin’s “Thelma,” a world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival that reminds scammers it’s not smart to mess with the wrong retiree.

Continue reading ‘Thelma’ Review: June Squibb Is On The Hunt For A Scammer [Sundance] at The Playlist.

One afternoon, 93-year-old Thelma (June Squibb) receives a harried call from her beloved grandson, Danny (Fred Hechinger), saying he's in jail and desperately needs help. Thelma can tell his voice sounds slightly off, but when she asks him about it, he says the accident that landed him in jail resulted in a broken nose, accounting for the difference in his voice. Danny tells her a defense attorney will be calling her momentarily to make arrangements to get him out, and when the other man calls Thelma, he tells her she needs to mail $10,000 in cash to an address across town in order to get Danny out as quickly as possible. Thelma calls her daughter (Parker Posey) and son-in-law (Clark Gregg), Danny's parents, but neither answers. So, dutifully, she gathers the cash and mails it to the address — only to soon discover that Danny is actually fine. Thelma's been scammed.

The...

June Squibb insists on doing her own stunts.

“I never think of myself as being old,” says the 94-year-old Oscar-nominated actor as she heads to Sundance for the premiere of her new film “Thelma.” It’s an adventure movie that proves kicking ass isn’t just a young person’s game. In it a grandmother loses $10,000 in a phone scam, prompting her to set out on a treacherous quest to get her money back. It’s fitting that Squibb, who gets the first starring role of her seven-decade screen career, was willing to perform action scenes that could have left her with titanium hips, because “Thelma” cheekily references and riffs on the gravity-defying sequences of “Mission: Impossible.”

“Tom Cruise jumping out of a plane is as dangerous as my grandma getting onto a bed,” says writer-director Josh Margolin. “I wanted to treat Thelma’s mission with the sincerity and stakes...

This year, Filmmaker sent all first-time Sundance feature film producers a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also sent out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for editors and cinematographers. Below, find links to individual first-time Sundance feature producer responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Treat People Well and They’ll Treat You Well”: Producer Chris Kaye on Thelma “Trying To Fit Someone’s Dream Into a Confined Budget Is Not Easy”: Producer Sam Intili on I Saw the TV Glow

The post 2024 Sundance Questionnaire: First-Time Producer Responses first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

This year, Filmmaker sent all first-time Sundance feature film producers a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also sent out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for editors and cinematographers. Below, find links to individual first-time Sundance feature producer responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Treat People Well and They’ll Treat You Well”: Producer Chris Kaye on Thelma “Trying To Fit Someone’s Dream Into a Confined Budget Is Not Easy”: Producer Sam Intili on I Saw the TV Glow

The post 2024 Sundance Questionnaire: First-Time Producer Responses first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Thelma spins a real-life experience of director Josh Margolin’s grandmother into a comedic action film. The eponymous character, played by veteran character actor June Squibb falls victim to a phone scammer claiming to be her grandson and begins a literal quest for justice. The film also marks the first producing credit for Chris Kaye, who recounts his long road to the gig, which began in earnest just as he was ready to throw in the towel and embark on a new career. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time […]

The post “Treat People Well and They’ll Treat You Well”: Producer Chris Kaye on Thelma first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Thelma spins a real-life experience of director Josh Margolin’s grandmother into a comedic action film. The eponymous character, played by veteran character actor June Squibb falls victim to a phone scammer claiming to be her grandson and begins a literal quest for justice. The film also marks the first producing credit for Chris Kaye, who recounts his long road to the gig, which began in earnest just as he was ready to throw in the towel and embark on a new career. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time […]

The post “Treat People Well and They’ll Treat You Well”: Producer Chris Kaye on Thelma first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

In a modestly scaled riff on action movies, Thelma follows a 93-year-old grandmother on a quest for justice after falling victim to a phone scammer claiming to be her grandson. The film, which is inspired by director Josh Margolin’s own grandmother, stars June Squibb in the lead role. Below, cinematographer David Bolen discusses his inspirations for the look of the film’s San Fernando Valley setting and how the crew pulled off one particularly difficult scene. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer […]

The post “Creating a Mood and Tone Is the Most Impactful Element of Cinematography”: David Bolen on Thelma first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

In a modestly scaled riff on action movies, Thelma follows a 93-year-old grandmother on a quest for justice after falling victim to a phone scammer claiming to be her grandson. The film, which is inspired by director Josh Margolin’s own grandmother, stars June Squibb in the lead role. Below, cinematographer David Bolen discusses his inspirations for the look of the film’s San Fernando Valley setting and how the crew pulled off one particularly difficult scene. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer […]

The post “Creating a Mood and Tone Is the Most Impactful Element of Cinematography”: David Bolen on Thelma first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Variety is returning to the Sundance Film Festival this year with its annual Interview Studio, presented by Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling. Throughout the festival, videos from the interview studio will be distributed across Variety.com as well as Variety and Audible’s social media channels.

Beginning Friday, January 19, running through Sunday, January 21, the Variety Studio, presented by Audible, will feature interviews with industry-leading directors and top talent from the films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Confirmed talent includes Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”); Jodie Foster, Alex Hedison, Alok Vaid-Menon (“Alok”); Lionel Richie, Bao Nguyen, Julia Nottingham (“The Greatest Night in Pop”); Kerry Washington, Angela Patton, Natalie Rae (“Daughters”); June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Clark Gregg, Josh Margolin (“Thelma”); Anna Fleck, Ryan Boden, Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorn, Ji-Young Yoo, Jack Champion (“Freaky Tales”); Richard Linklater, Glen Powell (“Hit Man”); Susanna Fogel,...

Oscar-nominated actor June Squibb has joined the voice cast of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”

The 94-year-old Squibb last worked with the Disney-owned studio for 2020’s “Soul” and 2019’s “Toy Story 4,” and has lent her voice to other animated projects including “Solar Opposites,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “The Fungies.”

Squibb’s character details are unknown, but she joins an A-list voice cast in the sequel, which hits theaters June 14. Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black return as Joy, Sadness and Anger, respectively, while Tony Hale and Liza Lapira take over for Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling as Fear and Disgust after reported salary disputes.

The original “Inside Out” (2015) was set inside the mind of a little girl, Riley, whose life is uprooted when her family moves from the Midwest to San Francisco. The animated blockbuster personified emotions as they conflict on how to best navigate Riley through change.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born A Star Is Born, 10.40pm, BBC1, Wednesday, January 17

This fourth film iteration of the story of a fading star who strikes up a relationship with a talented newcomer and helps her find fame - leading to romance and tragedy, showed there's a reason why it is a perennial favourite. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga make the perfect pairing as the older star with addiction issues and nervous newcomer, and Cooper (who also co-wrote the screenplay) proves he's no slouch in the directorial department either, moving the story along at a fair pace. He hits the sweet spot of delivering the emotional goods without overdoing it, but, be warned, you're also likely to have the Oscar-winning tune Shallow stuck in your head for a week afterwards.

Thelma, 1.35am, Film4, Thursday, January 18

With its broody themes of adolescence and religion recalling Seventies...

Indian filmmaker Ravi Muppa will adapt his Oscar-qualifying short “Incognito” into a feature-length film.

The executive producers of the short, Indian auteur Anurag Kashyap (“Kennedy”) and Ranjan Singh (“Udta Punjab”) under the Flip Films banner and Nicholas Weinstock and Divya D’Souza of Invention Studios, are reuniting to produce the feature.

In “Incognito,” a lonely motel receptionist makes an extra buck by selling the hidden-cam videos of his unsuspecting guests on the internet. But when one such guest turns out to be a young girl at risk of being trafficked, he faces a crisis of conscience and a mission.

“Incognito” has been selected at more than 20 international film festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying Palm Springs Shortfest, Tirana and LA Shorts, and is a 2024 Oscar contender in the live action short film category, where candidates from India include “Nocturnal Burger” and “The Broken Table.”

Mumbai-based Muppa was one of the writers on hit...

Festival will take place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City.

Sundance Film Festival’s top brass have unveiled the 40th anniversary edition line-up for 2024 as Steven Soderbergh makes his return as director for the first time since his 1989 breakout sex, lies and videotape, and Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui’s Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is the opening night film.

The full slate of works announced includes 82 features representing 24 countries, and 91 selections including episodic programmes. World premieres make up 94% of the entire roster, and 40% of the filmmakers are debutants.

The festival will take place January...

Stars: Eili Harboe, Dennis Storhoi, Regina Tucker, Vebjorn Enger, Jonis Jesf, Iben Akerlie, Arthur Berning | Written and Directed by Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken

Like many people, you might think you’ve seen everything when it comes to zombie movies. But there’s always somebody with a new idea, a fresh and original take on the horror genre. Films like One Cut of the Dead, Anna and the Apocalypse, and Train to Busan, have all added something new to the zombie movie, and this Norwegian production tries to do the same.

And Project Z is somewhat original. It takes things from various other movies to create something that is quite unique. To start with, this is a found footage movie, and there’s actually not a whole lot of found footage zombie movies. It doesn’t exactly play out like other films in that horror subgenre though, because it’s a movie about people making a movie.

As confirmed by Deadline, Richard Roundtree, the groundbreaking star of the original "Shaft" franchise has died as a result of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. Roundtree was a gifted athlete who played for New Rochelle High School's nationally-ranked and undefeated football team but later dropped out of college after he was scouted by Ebony Fashion Fair founder Eunice W. Johnson and began modeling for companies like Duke hair products and Salem cigarettes. A few years later, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company theater group in New York City, where he became a fast leading man. This led to a successful career in front of the camera, where Roundtree would become colloquially known as the "first Black action hero."

He appeared in a number of Blaxploitation films in the 1970s, but he became a cinematic icon as detective John Shaft in the films "Shaft," "Shaft's Big Score!," "Shaft in Africa," and the short-lived series adaptation.

Exclusive: Taiye Selasi, who wrote the book Ghana Must Go and was mentored by Toni Morrison, is developing a new, Lagos-set comedy drama for the global marketplace.

Selasi is writing Victoria Island and has teamed up with Severance and Escape At Dannemora exec producer Nicholas Weinstock, American Gods producer Fremantle and African producer Known Associates Entertainment on the project.

The hour-long project follows the adventures of a Nigerian-American woman who returns to Lagos, newly married to an oil billionaire, and launches an event planning company with the help of her friends in the home of the world’s most spectacular events.

Selasi will write and exec produce the series through her production company Cocoa Content, which she founded in 2019 with media investor Jerôme Levy. She is known for her Ted Talk Don’t Ask Where I’m From, Ask Where I’m a Local.

Weinstock will exec produce through his Invention Studios shingle,...

Zurich Avenue, headed by producers and former Zurich Film Festival execs Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani, has quickly amassed an impressive slate of projects since launching last year, including Annette Bening starrer “Nyad.”

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film, which chronicles the attempt by 64-year-old swimmer Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to Florida, unspools at the Zurich Film Festival. Zurich Avenue co-developed the Netflix film, which was produced by Black Bear Pictures and Mad Chance.

Part of financing group SPG3 Entertainment, likewise co-founded by Spoerri along with Urs Wietlisbach and Alfred Gantner in 2020, Zurich Avenue has provided the producers with a more hands-on approach, allowing them to create their own slate. The company’s recent films include Bill Pohlad’s critically-acclaimed “Dreamin’ Wild,” starring Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel; Coky Giedroyc’s Take That musical “Greatest Days”; and the forthcoming Josh Margolin action-comedy “Thelma,” starring June Squibb...

The latest in a series of films based on products from the world of children’s toys, the new film Barbie proves to be something of a remarkable achievement on a par with other groundbreaking examinations of female empowerment such as Thelma & Lousie (1991).

Director Greta Gerwig delivers more of the masterful storytelling she did with films like Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), but there is something wholly unique and original in Barbie that borders on brilliance. Throughout the film, Gerwig never lets the fun drag or get out of hand, or silly as it might in some other filmmaker’s hands. Instead, this is played as an earnest tale of female independence and is even more powerful for it. This is, to date, possibly the most important film based on a toy ever made.

Written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (the two previously collaborated on Baumbach’s 2012 feature Frances Ha...

Veteran film producer Divya D’Souza has joined Invention Studios as senior VP of development and production.

D’Souza will report to Invention CEO Nicholas Weinstock and oversee the company’s slate of TV series and features. She joins the company after seven years as an executive at Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone’s On the Day Productions. There, she served as a producer on projects including “Bob Ross: Happy Accidents,” “Betrayal & Greed,” “Thunder Force,” “God’s Favorite Idiot,” “Little Big Shots,” “Superintelligence,” “Happytime Murders,” “Nobodies” and “Life of the Party.”

“Divya is a kind and creative superstar of an executive,” stated Weinstock, announcing D’Souza’s hiring. “I’m thrilled to have her big brain and big heart onboard as we welcome all kinds of writers, directors, and actors and help them to do the coolest things they possibly can.”

In 2022, Invention Studios signed a first-look deal with Fremantle to expedite its development and production of TV,...

A rare and extensive animation collection from Steven Spielberg, Shirley Kurata’s Oscar-nominated costumes from 2022 Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, a blacklisted writer’s original Oscar statuette from 1958’s The Defiant Ones and the more than 700-film collection of legendary film scholar and Honorary Oscar recipient Kevin Brownlow are just a few of the latest donations to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ vast collections housed at the Margaret Herrick Library on Beverly Hills, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the Academy Film Archive. These items and many more just add to the eye-popping collected works for AMPAS, the largest film-related collection in the world (next to my garage – Not).

The Steven Spielberg Animation Collection, which includes more an 150 pieces of original animation art from 1932-52 is such a prize that the Academy is renaming its Herrick Library’s Graphic Arts department — which also includes posters,...

Exclusive: Longtime IFC Films and Cinetic Media PR colleagues Laura Sok and Kate McEdwards are launching new PR and strategy firm, Track Shot.

Track Shot will be based in New York City and work across independent, foreign and genre films as well as distribution strategy. The duo brings more than two decades in the publicity and communications field as well as a deep knowledge of the distribution landscape. Sok and McEdwards have built and led hundreds of film campaigns during their careers working in-house and alongside major distributors on the agency side. Previously, they led PR efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects, IFC Films Unlimited (streaming service) and most recently Shudder and Rlje.

Their final campaign for IFC Films was Matt Johnson’s chart-topping BlackBerry. This year they also launched Kyle Edward Ball’s breakthrough feature Skinamarink for Shudder/IFC Films.

Among their many successful campaigns at IFC...

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that IFC Films’ longtime Head of PR Laura Sok will be departing the indie distribution company.

Sok has been Head of PR for the last five years in an overall seven-year career at IFC (she worked there from 2008-2010), and was first hired by Jonathan Sehring to run the department. She led public-relations efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects and streaming service IFC Films Unlimited. Last December, her oversight was expanded to include the labels Shudder and Rlje Films.

Sok led 20th anniversary efforts for IFC Films and was integral in constructing the 2020 drive-in release and promotion strategy during the pandemic. She also led publicity strategy and campaigns for all films during the most successful financial years in IFC Films history.

While Sok is one of many executives to recently leave IFC including distribution head Jasper Basch,...

Exclusive: Good Deed Entertainment has acquired North American and UK rights to the indie drama Midday Black Midnight Blue, starring 2x Emmy winner Merritt Wever (Godless), slating it for a day-and-date release in June.

The first feature from writer-directors Samantha Soule and Daniel Talbott, also starring Chris Stack (AMC’s Interview with the Vampire) and Soule (Godless), follows Ian (Stack) as he grapples with his shifting memories of Liv (Soule), a woman he once loved. For Ian, it’s a chance run-in with Liv’s sister (Wever) that sparks a journey in which he has a chance to reconnect to the light and fight his way back to life.

The film, which world premiered at last year’s Seattle Film Festival, is produced by Soule, Talbott and Stack, as well as Lovell Holder and Addie Johnson Talbott. Exec producers are Timothy Farrell, Conner Marx and Will Pullen. Gde’s EVP...

Who’s ready to party?

Parker Posey’s beloved 1995 coming-of-age comedy “Party Girl” celebrates a 4K restoration with a national tour to mark the 28th anniversary of the film. “Party Girl” kicks off in New York City at the IFC Center on April 28, followed by a live Q&a with lead star Posey. The film simultaneously debuts in Los Angeles at Glendale Laemmle Theatre and Landmark Westwood Theatre also on April 28, with a live Q&a with film director Daisy von Scherler Mayer.

In the classic film, a 20-something, irresponsible party girl is bailed out of jail by her librarian godmother. To repay the loan, she starts working at the library and gradually turns her life around.

“We made this movie for ‘the kids’ — as we called them — young people from small towns, who had big dreams, and who weren’t, for whatever reason, conforming to the status quo,” Posey shared with IndieWire.

Following her stint in Berlinale Series’ competition with “The Architect,” a Norwegian Viaplay limited series set in the near future, Kerren Lumer-Klabbers will focus on a feature film next, which has the working title of “School of Women.”

The project, produced by Søs Thøstesen, will be inspired by her own life, admits the filmmaker. Or rather, the lives of her two mothers.

“They met thanks to the Women’s Liberation Movement in Denmark. One of my mothers grew up in a conservative family, where a woman was supposed to be seen, not heard. The word ‘lesbian’ wasn’t even a part of the vocabulary. She spent her whole life trying to liberate herself from that upbringing,” she said.

Lumer-Klabbers has been busy interviewing women who were a part of the Movement. Including her mothers.

“I told them they can’t say anything wrong and that it’s not about ‘entertaining’ me.

AnnaSophia Robb has joined Kathy Bates, John Malkovich, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root and Lewis Pullman in the cast of “Thelma.” The Exchange is selling the film at Berlin’s European Film Market.

Robb starred in Hulu’s Emmy-winning series “The Act,” Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” and HBO Max’s “The Carrie Diaries,” and is toplining Netflix’s upcoming “Rebel Ridge.”

“Thelma” tells the true story of the 11-year battle by the mother of John Kennedy Toole, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “A Confederacy of Dunces,” to get his novel published after his suicide.

“Thelma” was written by Black List screenwriter Andrew Farotte, and is to be directed by Ken Kwapis, who was Emmy-nominated for “The Office” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” Kwapis’ film credits include “A Walk in the Woods” with Robert Redford, “He’s Just Not That into You” with Jennifer Aniston and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.