Woman Lead Archives - Page 4 of 55

‘TIGER’ (SXSW 2025 short) Tragedy, art, and family legacy bloom in this mesmerizing short.

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

TIGER

Tragedy follows a family of creatives. Dana Tiger‘s artist father was the creator of the t-shirt brand Tiger. After his untimely death, her mother pushed his art into the homes of millions in the 80s. The entire family begins silkscreening orders to JCPenney day and night. When the youngest sibling, Chris, unexpectedly passes the same way, the business halts, and hope fades. But the Tiger story does not end there.

Home videos, family photographs, original art, and a haunting ancestral voice carry us through the family’s past and present. Dreamlike editing, filled with dynamic choices, creates a mesmerizing 12 minutes. An extraordinary story of resiliency, loyalty, and validation, TIGER is an inspiring short about generational healing and legacy.

Credits

Director:	Loren Waters
Executive Producer:	Loren Waters, Robert L. Hunter
Producer:	Dana Tiger, Loren Waters
Screenwriter:	Loren Waters
Cinematographer:	Robert L. Hunter
Editor:	Amanda Moy, Eva Dubovoy
Sound Designer:	Amanda Moy, Eva Dubovoy
Music:	Trevor Kowalski
Principal Cast:	Dana Tiger, Lisa Tiger
Additional Credits:	Senior Colorist: Andrew Francis, Associate Producer: Dylan Brodie, Post Sound Mixer: James Russell, First Assistant Camera: Marissa Shoemaker, Production Assistant: Serena Jones

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘UVALDE MOM’ (SXSW 2025) One mother’s courageous journey to fight through tragedy and for all families.

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

UVALDE MOM

1 shooter. 77 minutes. 376 officers on sight. 21 lives gone. The Uvalde mass school shooting was one of the deadliest in the world. As gunfire rang out and the police didn’t move, the parents tried to get their children. Under the threat of arrest, one mother jumped the fence and got her kids out. UVALDE MOM is the story of national hero Angeli Rose Gomez and the community still fighting for justice through their grief.

Cell phone footage from Angeli and her mother shows the harassment by the police of the Robb Elementary School parents. Her escape with the boys was captured on surveillance footage. Her sons’ reactions as they reach safety across the street speak volumes. The trauma on their faces is still there today. The moment Angeli defied the police and told the world, the living nightmare only got scarier.

Civil Rights Attorney for the Institute for Justice, Marie Miller, breaks down the law surrounding the retaliation for Angeli speaking out about her experience. Angeli was pulled over on trumped-up charges, threatened, and stalked by police.

Uvalde is a small town in Texas. There is a clear socioeconomic divide within its borders. The Mexican-American population grew up understanding the invisible town line between the white part of town and everyone else.

The film dives into Angeli’s childhood and tumultuous relationship with her children’s father. Anyone in their right mind would see a victim of domestic abuse, but the fallout from her history gives vengeful police a twisted talking point.

The ever-evolving details of the shooting remain one of the most disgusting parts- The lack of action, cops on their phones, and the subsequent coverup and blame game. The 21 families of the victims advocate for new gun laws, but the backlash from the 2nd Amendment fans and Governor Gregg Abbott stalls any forward movement.

Meanwhile, out of the blue, Angeli is sent to a correctional facility 7 hours away from Uvalde for allegedly violating her parole. While there are zero consequences for the failed police, Angeli is served with an injustice the audience will feel in their bones.

The argument for gun safety seems like a no-brainer. But, like we’ve said in the past, if Sandy Hook didn’t move the needle, I’m not sure anything will. The desperation for change is real. I watched Columbine unfold in real-time as a senior in high school, practicing my first lockdown drill three days later. My two small children have been doing drills since they were two years old. This is not the life I ever imagined for any of us.

UVALDE MOM is hard to watch but vitally important. Something has to give. It should not be another child’s life.

Credits

Director:	Anayansi Prado
Executive Producer:	Davis Guggenheim, Julie Parker Benello, James Costa, Rahdi Taylor, Patty Quillin
Producer:	Ina Fichman, Anayansi Prado, David Goldblum
Screenwriter:	Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza
Cinematographer:	E.J. Enríquez, M.J. Johnston
Editor:	Pablo Proenza
Music:	Ramachandra Borcar
Principal Cast:	Angeli Rose Gomez, Arnulfo Reyes, Tina Quintanilla, Lavonne De Leon

UVALDE MOM follows the extraordinary story of Angeli Rose Gomez, a farm worker and single mother who risked everything to save her two sons during the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX. While nearly 400 armed officers waited 77 minutes to act, Angeli ran into the school, pulled her children to safety, and became a viral symbol of courage. But as she spoke out against law enforcement’s inaction, she faced intense harassment from authorities, who weaponized her past to discredit and silence her.

From award-winning director Anayansi Prado (Maid in America, The Unafraid), UVALDE MOM is a powerful, heart-wrenching look at Angeli’s relentless fight for justice. As Uvalde confronts systemic failures and the U.S. Department of Justice launches an investigation, conflicting narratives emerge, deepening the town’s grief and anger. With the first anniversary of the tragedy approaching, Angeli must navigate the weight of what happened to her community while continuing her personal battle for truth and accountability.

Remaining SXSX screenings for UVALDE MOM:

PREMIERE: Monday, March 10 at 5:45 PM CT – Rollins Theatre at The Long Center

Tuesday, March 11 at 5:00 PM CT – AFS Cinema

Friday, March 14 at 6:00 PM CT – SXSW Film & TV Theater at the Hyatt Regency

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘THE SURRENDER’ (SXSW 2025) Grief, delusion, and the supernatural collide in one hell of a debut.

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

THE SURRENDER

Filmmaker Julia Max‘s feature debut, THE SURRENDER, comes to SXSW 2025 in all its haunted glory.

With her father bedridden and dying of cancer, Megan returns home to help her mother in his 24-hour care. Each woman has vastly differing opinions on his end-of-life plans. Barbara has fallen into the “spiritual” lifestyle as a means to cope with impending grief, while Megan desires his pain to stop. When Robert passes, and their relationship stretches to its limits, Megan reluctantly agrees to participate in a resurrection ritual.

THE SURRENDER opens with an undeniably jarring image. The audience feels an immediate sense of foreboding. Max weaves in forgotten memories from Megan’s childhood, giving us insight into the reality of their family unit. The delay of these scenes shifts the entire narrative. The choice is brilliant.
Vaughn Armstrong delivers a nuanced turn as Robert. Max allows him the opportunity to play multiple roles within one character. Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy) and Colby Minifie (The Boys) knock it out of the park. Their loaded dialogue gets more and more biting and honest. Their scenes are a masterclass in communication. Whether driven by confession or fear, Burton and Minifie are perfect together.

Technically, the film is superb. The lighting, editing, production design, and practical FX create a sinister narrative. There is no predicting where this script goes. Max pulls the rug out from under us again and again. The final act is emotional torture. THE SURRENDER is a brutal dive into grief, unresolved trauma, and the lengths we will go for love. It’s the weirdest therapy session I’ve ever witnessed.

Remaining SXSW screenings of THE SURRENDER:

The Surrender at Alamo Lamar 8

Mar 14, 2025

9:30pm — 11:00pm

Credits

Director:	Julia Max
Executive Producer:	Susan Gelb, Adam Maffei, Rob Massar
Producer:	Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich
Screenwriter:	Julia Max
Cinematographer:	Cailin Yatsko
Editor:	Sushila Love
Production Designer:	Tahryn Justice Smith
Sound Designer:	AJ Pyatak, Josh Atwell
Music:	Alex Winkler
Principal Cast:	Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly
Additional Credits:	Co-Producer: Brenden Rodriguez, Co-Producer: Daniel Schwab

sxsw2025_banner_860

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘CREEDE U.S.A ‘ (SXSW 2025) The powerful hope between theatre and politics.

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

CREEDE U.S.A.

A mining boomtown wanted to expand their minds by inviting a repertory theatre to establish themselves in the 1960s. Kahane Corn Cooperman SXSW 2025 is a peak behind the curtain of the country’s political landscape. Leave your judgment at the door. Welcome to a genuine snapshot of small-town America. Welcome to CREEDE U.S.A.

A town of roughly 300 asks the hard national questions, from guns to LGBTQ curriculum inclusion. CREEDE U.S.A. features school board meetings that seem to put empathy on trial as the months pass, but discussions occur with the utmost civility and open ears. Sit-down interviews with the residents are charming, insightful, and raw. The cinematography by Jilann Spitzmiller and Graham Willoughby is stunning, and Osei Essed‘s score feels like home.

Boasting theatre legend alum Mandy Patinkin, Creede Repertory Theatre is a machine with three productions in a single season, with a local audience from every street in town. Deliciously diverse casting and productions that challenge preconceived notions.

The positive impact of the rep theatre is undeniable. Like all theatre spaces, it is a safe and inclusive place filled with new ideas, challenging an audience to think. One does not usually equate theatre and conservative values. As a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC, a homeowner in the city and CT, a children’s theatre director, and a writer, I speak from firsthand knowledge over my 44 years. We’ve seen the national impact over the past 10 years, with groups like Moms For Liberty infiltrating school boards and banning books in counties they don’t even live in.

CREEDE U.S.A. is an unbelievably fascinating microcosm of the country. Big ideas are not abstract because the town is so small and close. Civility is the key to communicating. They are the perfect example of how important local government remains. CREEDE U.S.A is a how-to guide to getting involved, listening, authentic problem-solving, and open-mindedness. This community obliterates political bias and cliché. We should all aspire to be more like them. The film is a celebration of tradition and art. It honors the complexity of humans.

Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman

Producer: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman

Running Time: 94 mins

In Kahane Cooperman’s lyrical CREEDE U.S.A., a remote Colorado mountain mining town becomes an unexpected model for public discourse. For generations, Creede’s residents have held tightly to their heritage and values. But when the town brought in a theater company to revitalize the economy, the citizens were introduced to new ideas and perspectives—creating an ongoing tension between tradition and change.

Nearly 60 years and countless performances later, Creede is a stunning microcosm of America’s national divisions. Issues like guns in classrooms and gender pronouns spark tense debates, yet the town remains bound by a shared sense of place and community. Through intimate portraits, charged town meetings, and a rich historical lens, CREEDE U.S.A. explores how this evolving community continues to find common ground – both inside and outside of the mining shafts, ranches and the Creede Repertory Theatre. Hopeful and urgent, the film offers a poignant reflection on the challenges and possibilities of coexistence in an increasingly polarized world.

REMAINING CREEDE U.S.A. SXSW SCREENINGS:

PREMIERE: Sunday, March 9 at 9:00 PM CT – SXSW Film & TV Theater at the Hyatt Regency
Monday, March 10 at 5:00 PM CT – AFS Cinema
Thursday, March 13 at 9:30 PM CT – Violet Crown Cinema theaters 2 and 4

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘GLORIOUS SUMMER’ (SXSW 2025) Sumptuous, sinister, and aptly named.

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

GLORIOUS SUMMER

Three young women live a seemingly carefree life within the walls of a stunning estate. Their daily routine has regimen and free time, and the women submit to language tests by the unknown robotic voice guiding their waking hours. Are these women muses, are they assassins, are they replicas, or are they prisoners? We’re not quite sure.

Filmmakers Helena Ganjalyan and Bartosz Szpak bring their striking feature debut, GLORIOUS SUMMER, to SXSW 2025 audiences. The film is as unsettling as it is intriguing. There is an overarching feeling of inevitable doom. Questions whirl in your brain as small clues drop into their enigmatic conversations. The mystery immediately grabs hold.

The film could have been filmed in the 60s with 16mm cinematography by Tomasz Woźniczka. The costumes scream quiet luxury in their airy, simplistic cuts, sun-soaked pastels, and flowy fabrics. The setting is a beautifully crumbling chateau estate with fresco-painted walls and lush blooming meadows.

Each character is firmly delineated. There is a clear hierarchy. The tawny-skinned woman (Helena Ganjalyan) appears quietly cunning. The tallest, pale-skinned woman (Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska) is the most openly rebellious, while the youngest, the redhead (Daniela Komędera), has a childlike need to please.

They plan to rebel. They rehearse a faux demise and all it entails, trying their hardest to keep their plans from whoever or whatever keeps them docile. Fifty minutes in, a crack in the system delivers insight to the women and the audience with just enough to keep us baited.

The cast is spectacular. Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska, Helena Ganjalyan, and Daniela Komędera knock it out of the park with carefully curated specificities and physical work. Their chemistry makes your heart race. Bravo. The audience is rooting for these women. It slowly reveals the narrative revolves around free thinking and choice. GLORIOUS SUMMER is the sleeper sci-fi feminist film you never knew you needed. It lives up to its name.

GLORIOUS SUMMER Credits:

Directors: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak

Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska

Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak

Cinematographer: Tomasz Woźniczka

Editor: Alan Zejer

Production Designer: Katarzyna Tomczyk

Sound Designer: Marcin Jachyra, Maciej Amilkiewicz

Music: Bartosz Szpak

Principal Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz-Hanczewska, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj

Co-financed by: Polish Film Institute

SXSW Screening Schedule GLORIOUS SUMMER:

Violet Crown Cinema 2 – Saturday, March 8 at 3:00 pm w/ Filmmaker Q&A
Violet Crown Cinema 2 – Monday, March 10 at 11:30 am w/ Filmmaker Q&A
Alamo Lamar 7 – Thursday, March 13 at 6:45 pm

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘YOUR HIGHER SELF’ (SXSW 2025) A wacky journey in search of dopamine hits.

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

YOUR HIGHER SELF

Life Coaching has become a rather broad term in our culture, akin to “Wellness.” Director Annie St-Pierre explores the various methods in her SXSW 2025 film YOUR HIGHER SELF. Everyone is looking for enlightenment, even if it means wading through the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.

There is an immediate irony to the film as audiences experience the training of life coaches. The overarching theme of these classes focuses on the idea that a coach is not a therapist but an advisor on present and future encouragement and self-realization. Yet, with humans, the transition seems inevitable. One has to weigh the side effects of toxic positivity when not confronting past trauma.

We witness practical workshopping, where a client rehearses for a meeting or event from start to finish. The coach serves as a theatre director, adjusting each word’s delivery and every physical movement, including micro-expressions. Bring in the horse therapy, personal soul cycle session, zoom calls, music, and group work. You name it, we get a taste.

As a product of child therapy, holding a degree in performance, as a choreographer and children’s theatre director, I know so many of these methods in my bones. I provide guidance and feedback like the dopamine hits I craved in my youth. It all falls under a broader umbrella of feel-good self-expression and the need to feel useful.

The camerawork is as engaging as the editing. The film unfolds in nuanced snapshots of industry variations. YOUR HIGHER SELF leans into the absurdity and honors that each person’s path to self-help is a personal choice while acknowledging it is ultimately business. Bravo to those who agreed to appear in the film. Kudos to Annie St-Pierre for giving everyone the confidence and trust to participate.

YOUR HIGHER SELF is a visual and emotional dream board for anyone seeking inspiration. Whatever your motives for watching, you will undoubtedly find yourself fully immersed in these methods while simultaneously poopooing them. SXSW audiences are in for quite the ride and the beginning of long conversations. Equal parts cringe and intriguing, YOUR HIGHER SELF is undeniably entertaining.

Your Higher Self SXSW Remaining Screenings:

Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 10, 2025

5:45pm — 7:05pm

Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 10, 2025

5:45pm — 7:05pm

Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 5

Mar 13, 2025

2:30pm — 3:50pm

Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 6

Mar 13, 2025

2:30pm — 3:50pm

Credits:

Director:

Annie St-Pierre

Executive Producer:

Sylvain Corbeil

Producer:

Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre

Screenwriter:

Annie St-Pierre

Cinematographer:

Etienne Roussy

Editor:

Myriam Magassouba

Sound Designer:

Marie-Pierre Grenier, Bernard Gariepy Strobl, Jean-François Caissy

Music:

Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘BABY DOE’ (SXSW 2025) A shocking and complex case of pregnancy denial and the trauma is stems from.

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

BABY DOE

BABY DOE explores the nuanced case of Gail Ritchey and the baby she left in the woods over 30 years ago. Director Jessica Earnshaw skillfully brings the audience into the inner circle of Ritchey and her conservative Christian community in rural Ohio while digging into the psychological trauma behind it all.

When I tell you your jaw will be on the floor in the first five minutes, it is not an exaggeration. It will not be the last time the facts surrounding this case give you pause or take your breath away. Earnshaw uses a mix of police footage, news clips, and sit-down interviews with every family member, including the father of the child- her current husband. She brings cameras into the meetings with Gail and her defense team as they ask all the right questions. It is a gateway to the deep-seated trauma.

The most fascinating aspect has to be religion. Gail’s connection to Christianity is complex as hell. Her daughter’s church welcomes her into their community while she awaits trial, but part of me believes that had she approached these sane people 30 years ago as an unwed mother, she would have been shunned. The home video of her Baptist youth group and the story of her relationship with Mark honestly explain everything.

Her lawyers struggle to reconcile Gail’s lack of memories, but to women who have ever been involved with the church, the shame associated with premarital sex, pregnancy, and abortion, not to mention the patriarchal structure, all scream off the screen. The psychological complexity of pregnancy denial is connected to all these issues. Earnshaw uses other cases to draw parallels in Gail’s story. It is a powerful insight.

I give a lot of credit to Mark for never wavering in his support for Gail. Audiences must go into the film with an open mind and honestly, taking a page from Mark’s playbook in unconditional love. My heart breaks for the guilt carried by Gail. I cannot imagine her burden. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge her church community. At the very least, their current support genuinely surprised me in the best way.

Endlessly compelling, BABY DOE has you in its grip from start to finish. SXSW audiences will not stop talking about this film.

Credits

Director:

Jessica Earnshaw

Executive Producer:

Jenny Raskin, Kelsey Koenig, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Debbie L. McLeod, Jamie Wolf, Nathalie Seaver, Meadow Fund, Peggy Case, and Tom Meadows

Producer:

Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw

Cinematographer:

Jessica Earnshaw and Emily Thomas

Editor:

George O’Donnell and Leah Boatright

Music:

Gil Talmi

Principal Cast:

Gail, Mark, Courtney, Evan, Steven, Mark M.

Additional Credits:

Co-Producer: John Rudolf, Co-Executive Producer: Rebecca Lichtenfeld and Chandra Jessee for InMaat, Co-Executive Producer: Drew Scott , Co-Executive Producer: Chris Boeckmann, Co-Executive Producer: Erika A. Christensen, Contributing Producer: Chicken & Egg Films , Assistant Editor: Jessie Adler, Associate Producer: Liz Yong Lowe

Remaining Screenings of BABY DOE:

Baby Doe at Violet Crown Cinema 2

Mar 9, 2025

5:00pm — 6:40pm

Baby Doe at Violet Crown Cinema 4

Mar 9, 2025

5:00pm — 6:40pm

Baby Doe at Alamo Lamar 1

Mar 13, 2025

9:30pm — 11:10pm

Baby Doe at Alamo Lamar 8

Mar 13, 2025

9:30pm — 11:10pm

BABY DOE (Documentary Feature Competition) – Thirty years ago, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a devoted mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to the infamous cold case of “Geauga’s Child,” leading to her arrest for murder. Authorities dismiss her claim that the baby was stillborn, and the media swiftly vilifies her.

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘DEAR TOMORROW’ (SXSW 2025) Raw and important, a doc about the epidemic of loneliness will crack the hardest of hearts.

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

DEAR TOMORROW

SXSW 2025 documentary DEAR TOMORROW delves into the epidemic of loneliness. Filmmaker Kaspar Astrup Schröder follows two Japanese citizens who suffer from severe loneliness. Schröder quietly observes them through their physical and emotional isolation and a subsequent few conversations with the mental health hotline, “A Place For You.”

The film features chat text scrawling across the screen. Masato and Shoko seem to lead similar lives. Both in their forties with no family around them to cushion the blow of isolation, they try different things to lessen the sadness. Masato gets a pet owl, while Shoko takes the advice of a volunteer and reaches out to a former classmate. While these momentary actions provide a dopamine hot and hope, the underlying echoes of doubt remain steadfast.

Founder Koki Ozara uses data to prioritize calls, but with over 1000 a day, the demand far outreaches their ability to serve the population. Nationally, Ozara works in tandem with the Japanese government to address the problem with a global symposium. But, as the film progresses, the most basic solutions prove complicated. Red tape, like everywhere else in the world, stands in the way of genuine help.

The exquisite music instills a deep longing that beautifully mirrors the desire to connect with the two subjects. The film’s structure forces us to slow down and authentically watch.

DEAR TOMORROW is an excellent companion watch for Steve Buscemi‘s THE LISTENER. Viewing is a mix of emotions, from crestfallen to hopeful. All I kept thinking about in the film’s quiet moments were hastily put-together solutions brought about by my fixer mentality. I understood much of what Masato and Shoko felt, as I am a mother in my forties who now contemplates daily feelings of isolation and identity. It can feel like a vice.

Masato and Shoko are undeniably brave to share their most intimate fears. Mental health often comes with a stigma that becomes politicized and kept at arm’s length out of fear. If Covid-19 lockdowns taught us anything, we cannot continue to sweep it under the rug. Humanity must do better for each other. DEAR TOMORROW puts all of these things front and center in a universally relatable way. Revealing, raw, and relentlessly touching SXSW audiences will be moved.

Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm

In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)

Remaining Dear Tomorrow Screenings:

Dear Tomorrow at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 9, 2025

9:30pm — 11:01pm

Dear Tomorrow at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 9, 2025

9:30pm — 11:01pm

Dear Tomorrow at Alamo Lamar 5

Mar 13, 2025

11:00am — 12:31pm

Dear Tomorrow at Alamo Lamar 6

Mar 13, 2025

11:00am — 12:31pm

Credits

Director:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Executive Producer:

Katrine A. Sahlstrøm, Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Katrine Philp, Patricia Drati, Boris B. Bertram

Producer:

Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm

Screenwriter:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Cinematographer:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Editor:

Laura Skiöld Østerud, Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Sound Designer:

Ted Krotkiewski

Music:

Jon Ekstrand

Additional Credits:

Co-producer: Michael Krotkiewski, Co-producer: David Herdies, Co-producer: Huang Yin-Yu

For all things SXSW, click here!

‘SEVEN VEILS’ (2025) A lush and twisted tidal wave of art and trauma.

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

SEVEN VEILS

In SEVEN VEILS, filmmaker Atom Egoyan examines the exploitation of female trauma. The line of art and life blur completely as a protege director remounts her mentor’s production of Salome with an unusually intimate touch.

Egoyan’s editing is complex. It forces you to keep up. It is both the film’s best and worst aspect. If you drop focus, the film will run away from you in its artistic endeavor. The juxtaposition of Jeanine’s childhood, her marriage, and the play is a whirlwind of obsession. The play is a visceral therapy session and a reclamation of her past.

Amanda Seyfried has a knowing in her eyes. Her commitment to Salome’s text feels organic and seeped in trauma. Seyfried owns this character. It’s a brilliant and immensely heartbreaking turn.

It is far too simplistic to describe the film’s plot as a story of a suffering artist. SEVEN VEILS digs into gross power dynamics and the financial advantage of oppressing female truth. SEVEN VEILS emits a dangerous and formidable energy.

SEVEN VEILS Trailer:

Directed by Atom Egoyan, Starring Amanda Seyfried

Filmed On Location During Egoyan’s Staging of the
Opera Salome

In Select Theaters Nationwide Next Week
March 7, 2025

**Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival**
**Official Selection: Special Gala: Berlin International Film Festival**

Written & Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith, Mark O’Brien, Vinessa Antoine, Ambur Braid, Michael Kupfer-Radecky
Produced by: Atom Egoyan, Niv Fichman, Simone Urdl, Kevin Krikst, Fraser Ash
Executive Produced by: Nate Bolotin, Maxime Cottray, Adrian Love, Noah Segal, John Sloss, Nick Spicer, Aram Tertzakian

After years away, theater director Jeanine (Academy Award® nominee Amanda Seyfried) re-enters the opera world to stage her former mentor’s most famous work. Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, Jeanine allows her repressed trauma to color the present as her personal and professional lives begin to unravel. Renowned director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter) reunites with Seyfried in this visually stunning, propulsive work, filmed on location during the staging of Egoyan’s acclaimed production of Salome.

RT: 107 Minutes

Backstory
Atom Egoyan directed the opera, Salome, in 1996, the first opera in what would be many to come over his career. Best known as a prominent film director since the 1980s, Egoyan has proven he is a master of both mediums. “I’ve been involved with opera for a number of years, doing it parallel to my film work. I always wondered if there was a way to bring the two worlds together,” says Egoyan.

More recently, the director was interested in exploring what the production of Salome would mean in our current culture. This interest led Egoyan to write the script for Seven Veils, about a remount of Salome that he filmed at the same time the opera was on stage, using the opera singers from Salome in the film.

“Salome is a production I’ve done a number of times so when I knew that the Canadian Opera Company was remounting it, I thought this would be an ideal time to fuse the opera singers I knew they had booked with the script I had written,” says Egoyan. “I wanted to explore how the themes of Salome could weave with the story of remounting this particular production. It’s not really an opera movie, it’s just using the world of the opera as a workplace like any workplace. We see the characters as they float in and out of scenes dealing with the preparation of the opera.”

“Atom’s production of Salome electrified the stage when it debuted in 1996 and has evolved with each remounting. The opera explores themes that resonate through Atom’s body of work, and SEVEN VEILS is an exciting and provocative next step in this ongoing evolution,” says producer Niv Fichman.

“The story of Salome has such a rich inheritance. It comes to us from the bible and then became the basis of this extraordinary play that Oscar Wilde wrote that explodes with language of people describing things they can’t have. The composer Richard Strauss saw a production of this unique play and was seized by the idea of making it the basis of the libretto. He found a way of harnessing what Oscar Wilde did with his words with truly revolutionary music. It was exciting to bring that energy into this moment and all the issues that are floating around our space, and seeing how these characters are navigating the dynamics of creativity, desire and power,” says Egoyan.

SEVEN VEILS is produced by Rhombus Media and Ego Film Arts, with the participation of Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates, in association with XYZ Films, IPR.VC, Cinetic Media, Crave, and the Canadian Opera Company.

Elevation Pictures will be distributing the film theatrically in Canada.

For more films from XYZ, click here!

Reunion comedy ‘THE STRESS IS KILLING ME’ (2025) A palatable entry into Gen X misery share

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

THE STRESS IS KILLING ME

Following their 20th college reunion, a group of old friends agrees to stay in a rental together for a week-long getaway rather than immediately part ways. During dinner, everyone around the table says what they’d be if they could choose another career path. They agree to take the week and live out that dream in the rental house. From chef to teacher, artist to detective, the group reluctantly indulges in each other’s fantasies. The past does not stay buried, and things get chaotic.

You know these characters. They are quirky, anxiety-riddled, moody, unhappy, hopeful, and exhausted. Ya know, all the things we are in our 40s. The cast has a fun chemistry. It’s easy to imagine that they are friends in real life, and they concocted this film throughout the weekend. Misery loves company. THE STRESS IS KILLING ME digs into all those messy, unresolved feelings that hide in the back of our memories 20 years later.

Each character delves into regrets and what-ifs. The script examines mortality, imposter syndrome, and the patterns we fall into with old friends. While it’s still slightly goofy and relatively predictable, THE STRESS IS KILLING ME is an enjoyable walk down memory lane. It’s a comfort watch.

THE STRESS IS KILLING ME Trailer:

Freestyle Digital Media’s new comedy, THE STRESS IS KILLING ME will have its world theatrical premiere on Friday February 28, 2025 at the Landmark Westwood Theatre in Los Angeles and run for a week in the lead to the March 7th digital and streaming release.

THE STRESS IS KILLING ME is written, directed, and produced by Tom Carroll, and stars Grayson Berry, Carly Christopher, April Hartman, Theron LaFountain, Barry Landers, Lisa Lucas, Matthew Page, and Crystal Thomas.

Synopsis: THE STRESS IS KILLING ME is a comedy about eight college friends reuniting for their 20th reunion at the University of New Mexico. Now in their forties, they’ve all achieved professional success but find themselves disenchanted with their current careers. During the reunion, they share their dream jobs and decide to spend a week to live them out, leading to a whirlwind of hilarious and heartfelt moments. THE STRESS IS KILLING ME explores mid-life crises, the search for happiness, and the unexpected twists life throws our way. As each friend steps into a wildly different role—like artist, yoga teacher, or sex therapist—they confront the challenges of their aspirations and rediscover the bonds of friendship that have stood the test of time.

For more comedy reviews, click here!

SXSW 2025: This year is all about kicking ass and making names with new filmmakers taking the leap.

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

SXSW 2025

SXSW 2025 is back with a vengeance. Brimming with talent new and old, the festival grows each year, giving audiences what they love. This year is no exception with Film and TV’s coolest, latest, and greatest. On the docket are hotly anticipated titles like DEATH OF A UNICORN with its insane ensemble cast, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return in ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR, and Peter Cilella‘s Midnighter DESCENDENT. Take a peek at some of the films we’re watching this year…

For more info on SXSW 2025 click here!

ODYSSEY

Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings

Natasha Flynn is an estate agent on a mission—and she’s going to make a killing. Cast: Polly Maberly, Mikael Persbrandt, Jasmine Blackborow, Guy Burnet, Ryan Hayes, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Kellie Shirley (World Premiere)

ARREST THE MIDWIFEDirector: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman

The arrest of midwives in a rural healthcare desert ignites an unexpected rebellion: Amish and Mennonite women who break from tradition, and emerge as fierce political activists fighting for reproductive justice and birthing rights. (World Premiere)

GLORIOUS SUMMER (Poland)

Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska

A sun-drenched renaissance palace. Three women remain in a carefree state of limbo, tended to by an unseen, all-providing system. But as cracks in the paradise begin to appear, they are faced with a choice: escape or remain in the perfect illusion? Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj (World Premiere)

DEATH OF A UNICORN

Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page

A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)

REELING

Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner

After a life altering accident, Ryan struggles to fit in with old friends and family at a birthday luau but the celebration boils over when he uncovers the missing memory of when his life took a tragic turn. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)

BABY DOE

Director: Jessica Earnshaw, Producers: Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw

At 22, Gail gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Decades later, she’s arrested for murder, even though she says the baby was stillborn. Baby Doe explores the fallout when young women cannot accept the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. (World Premiere)

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

Director: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig

A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. Cast: Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, Kaitlyn Bacon (World Premiere)

TEASER TRAILER LINK:

DEAR TOMORROW (Denmark, Japan, Sweden)Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm

In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)

FOR WORSEDirector/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese

Fresh off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mom tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a new beginning after finding herself at a Gen Z wedding behaving like a 25-year-old drunk bridesmaid. Cast: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, Liv Hewson (World Premiere)

O’DESSA

Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)

CREEDE U.S.A.

Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman

Welcome to Creede – a remote mining town with no stop light, a theater company and 300+ folks at 9,000 feet. This unlikely setting – with its miners, ranchers and theater people – offers an unexpected lens on divisions felt by Americans everywhere. (World Premiere)

THE SURRENDER

Director/Screenwriter: Julia Max, Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich

When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual that will bring him back from the dead. Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly (World Premiere)

UVALDE MOMDirector: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza

When a school mass shooting rocks a small town in Texas, a mom desperate to save her kids is launched into the public eye. She speaks out against a system that never protected her. The community challenges these powers and exposes those who failed to protect its most vulnerable – children. (World Premiere)

IDIOTIKA
Director/Screenwriter: Nastasya Popov, Producers: Tess Cohen, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Saba Zerehi, Nastasya Popov

In this sharp, irreverent comedy, a disgraced fashion designer with a dangerously low credit score, Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) enters a reality show with a six-figure cash prize to save her babushka’s West Hollywood apartment. But as the competition intensifies, slick producer Nicol (Camila Mendes) pushes her to spin her family’s struggle into spectacle, forcing Margarita to decide whether to play along or take control of her own narrative, one unhinged look at a time.

Cast: Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Saweetie, Owen Thiele, Galina Jovovich, Mark Ivanir, Nerses Stamos, Ilia Volok (World Premiere)

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (Canada)Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah. Cast: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson (World Premiere)

BROTHER VERSES BROTHER

Director: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan

Synopsis: Inspired by Francis Coppola’s concept of Live Cinema, Brother Verses Brother is a radically personal musical odyssey. Combative twin musicians hunt for their dying poet father, in an improvisation performed by the director’s own family, and presented as an unbroken real-time shot through the streets of San Francisco.

One brother seeks love, while the other seeks an audience. But as night falls and their father remains missing, their increasingly frantic safari leads them from the secret haunts of the Beat poets into the heart of their family. Their tale becomes a testament to the power of music, the bonds of brotherhood, and the lifeblood of a city – experienced by the viewer in real-time.

Cast: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan (World Premiere)

OUT FOR DELIVERYDirector/Screenwriter: Chelsea Christer, Producers: Clinton Trucks, Alexa Rocero, David B. Lyons

When terminally ill Joanna makes the difficult decision to pursue end of life options through the Death With Dignity law, the systems set up to make her death peaceful and dignified become the opposite. (Texas Premiere)

BAGGAGE (Australia, United Kingdom)

Director/Screenwriter: Lucy Davidson, Producers: Vanessa Batten, Amy Upchurch

Anthropomorphic suitcase best friends bring their emotional baggage on holidays. (International Premiere)

For SXSW 2025’s entire lineup, click here!

For all things SXSW 2025 and beyond from Reel News Daily, tap this!

‘ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN’T’ (Slamdance 2025) A shockingly profound experimental short.

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN’T

An extraordinary cinematic memoir where truth and fiction obliterate boundaries, Jessica Hankey‘s short, “ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN’T,” rocked Slamdance 2025.

Part confessional and all raw emotions, ONE REHEARSES jarring nature is exhilarating. Marjorie Annapav divulges unfiltered intimacy, from her time as a sex worker in the 70s to witnessing a murder. Her life is the stuff of any writer’s dreams. Ann Randolph gives such a solid performance that she will have you question reality. Annapav is undeniably fearless.

The editing and camerawork celebrate the emotional chaos. In 15 minutes, you get bombarded with unbelievable stories and a mindblowing approach. ONE REHEARSES is art therapy mixed with the exploratory and revealing moments of the rehearsal space. It’s the magic of theatre and cinema and the effects of an open-minded director. This short is an exquisite give-and-take that captivates the viewer from every approach.

ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN’T Teaser Trailer:

SYNOPSIS:
In One Rehearses, the Other Doesn’t Marjorie Annapav plays herself as she immerses in improvisational work and on-stage rehearsals with a fictionalized performance teacher. Drawing from her personal history, she enacts scenes based on the murder of her boyfriend by the mob and her time as a sex worker in 1970s New York. In an effort to discover a version of her life that can play to audiences, Marjorie will probe overlooked behaviors, desires, selves. A peripheral figure in American Surrealism, Annapav is noted for her relationship with artist William Copley, who once claimed he sold his art collection in order to pay her to marry him. InOne Rehearses, the Other Doesn’t, gender, power, economic exchange, and the artifice of storytelling shape a drama of rehearsal and reinvention.

Jessica Hankey:Director/Co-Writer/Producer: Jessica Hankey
Writers: Ann Randolph, Marjorie Annapav, Jessica Hankey,
Victor Kaufold

Producers: Keren Hantman, Jessica Hankey
Creative Producer: Gaby Hoffman
Editors: Julia Straface, Jessica Hankey
Cinematographers: Chris Dapkins, Helki Frantzen
Sound: Dalmar Montgomery, Chris Ward
Music: Corey Fogel
Cast: Marjorie Annapav, Ann Randolph
TRT: 15:49 min
Country: USA

For all things Slamdance, click here!

‘THE BUILDOUT’ (2025) A gorgeously shot, nail-biting genre-bender

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

THE BUILDOUT

Filmmaker Zeshaan Younus has been the talk of the town on the festival circuit with THE BUILDOUT. The film follows two close friends scouting the Southern California desert, searching for a new site for their religious group. That is only the beginning.

Cameron and Dylan are not the first to set foot on the land. Timelines cross. The two friends document what they find on a camcorder. In the isolation, they discover more questions than answers, and the viewer travels down a rabbit hole of unnerving chaos.

Jenna Kanell gives Cameron a feisty edge that reminds me of Robin Tunney in Empire Records, appearance and all. There is a visible aversion to the hyper-religious nature that Dylan openly expresses. Hannah Alline (Adult Swim Yule Log) is Dylan. Alline brings an almost unwavering, psychopathic faith as a recovering addict. Kanell and Alline share a beautifully organic chemistry. They are perfect foils for one another. They share an unresolved trauma bond within a larger mystery.

The audience holds its collective breath with only drips of information at any given time. The eclectic camera work by Justin Moore is jarring in the best way possible, delivering a continuously menacing vibe. (Don’t think I missed your EP credit, Emily Bennett!) Matt Latham‘s editing is emotionally dizzying and brilliant. This entire team knew precisely what they were doing. Younus creates characters that captivate, backed by a story that digs its talons into your brain. THE BUILDOUT will have you begging for more.

The Buildout Trailer:

The harrowing, horrifying festival favorite

THE BUILDOUT

arrives on all VOD platforms February 25th

The acclaimed, dramatic thriller stars Jenna Kanell (TERRIFIER, RENFIELD) and Hannah Alline (DC’s Doom Patrol, ADULT SWIM YULE LOG)

Something is happening in the desert. The epicenter is a strange tent, humming with an imbued esoteric energy. What is found within its walls is incomprehensible.

We first meet Dylan and Cameron as they barrel deeper into the desert. One knows exactly where they’re going, the other one is doing their best to be a good friend.

On a road trip fueled by junk food and documented by a handheld camera, the women traverse a landscape that feels more like Mars than Earth – the California Desert. This is their last chance to get back – back to what they used to be. Today, they are but mere fragments of their former selves; weighed down by the looming presence of a shared tragedy.

A story of rebirth, recovery, closure, and accountability propelled forward by an esoteric conduit. This women-led narrative follows the tectonic shift of a friendship over one fateful day. In the face of the unexplained, they lean into their truest selves and come face-to-face with an unnerving discovery.

THE BUILDOUT is a meditation taken from behind the handlebars of a speeding motorcycle. It aims to bridge the gap between found footage and traditional cinematic storytelling while leaning into strong, capable, and unapologetic characters.

The debut feature from distributor Ethos Releasing, THE BUILDOUT is written and directed by Zeshaan Younus and stars Jenna Kanell, Hannah Alline, Natasha Halevi, Michael Sung Ho, and Danielle Evon Ploeger.

For more horror coverage, click here!

‘LOCKJAW’ (Slamdance 2025) Communication is key in Sabrina Greco’s comedy.

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — 1 Comment ↓

LOCKJAW

Filmmaker Sabrina Greco brings her new comedy, LOCKJAW, to Slamdance 2025. Rayna simply wants a nice night out with her friends for the first time since her drunk driving accident six weeks ago, but her wired-shut jaw brings with it a slew of complications.

Rayna’s night out begins at a party, moves to a magic show, and ends in the unknown. She skillfully manipulates the people around her with charm until she doesn’t. Her unresolved trauma from the accident rears its ugly head in through the discomfort of others. These minute power plays show her underlying vulnerability.

Ally Davis plays Cleo, the eccentric artist wife of Nick Corirossi, playing Robert The Magician. Together, they are deliciously insufferable. Kevin Grossman and Colin Burgess are Rayna’s best friends, Colin and Mitch. Each man is equally infatuated with her to the point of verbal doe-see-doe. They are childish in a way that reads authentic and hurt-filled. You know these characters.

Blu Hunt is a comic genius. She has that it-girl quality. I’m buying whatever she’s selling at all times. Her commitment to the dialogue or a particular gag is chef’s kiss. Hunt recently wowed me in The Dead Thing. She is just as compelling in Lockjaw.

Since 99% of the film sees Rayna’s jaw wired, I would have all her dialogue closed captioned. I struggled to follow enough that I wished I could have been able to read for clarity. The film’s success hinges entirely on Hunt *pun intended.

The script is chaotic. It feels like a long-lost student film from the 90s. It’s a vibe I cannot explain, except for the fact that I was a theatre kid surrounded by wannabe filmmakers in NYC during those years. It’s somehow a typical night out with those creatives. The incestuous relationships where friends and lovers are blurry. It celebrates the spontaneity of youth in the best way.

Showings of Lockjaw – select to order tickets:

Sat, Feb 22nd, 10:00 PM @ Summer & David Theater @ Quixote (SOLD OUT)

Mon, Feb 24th, 6:15 PM @ Panasonic LUMIX Theater @ Quixote

Year:

2025
Runtime:

77 minutes
Language:

English
Country:

United States
Premiere:

World Premiere
Genre:

Comedy
Subtitle Language:

English

Director:

Sabrina Greco
Screenwriter:

Sabrina Greco
Producer:

Abbie Jones
Cast:

Blu Hunt, Colin Burgess, Nick Corirossi, Kevin Grossman, Ally Davis, Sally Sum, Lena Redford

For more Slamdance coverage, click here!

‘STOCKADE’ (2025) Art, antiquities, and mystery collide in this unique immigrant story.

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

STOCKADE

Eric McGinty‘s STOCKADE follows Ahlam, a Lebanese woman trying to get her artist’s visa extended in NYC. To pay her lawyer, she agrees to deliver a package upstate.

Halfway through the story goes in an entirely bizarre direction when Richard doesn’t show up, Paul isn’t answering the phone, and two strangers appear in the house demanding the contents of the package. Suddenly, easy money is not so easy after all.

The tonal shift into antiquities thriller/wild goose chase is a bit jarring, but you root so hard for Ahlam that you go along for the ride. It definitely feels like everyone in Stockade knows more than they’re willing to divulge, and Ahlam is a manipulated chess piece in a game she never agreed to play.

The script features characters with racial microaggressions. The film didn’t actually need the thriller aspect at all. Ahlam’s immigrant artist story is enough to keep an audience engaged in earnest, although the commentary on the abuse of immigrant bodies is undoubtedly impactful.

While the rest of the cast is mediocre at best, Sarah Bitar is spectacular. She has a commanding presence about her. Ahlam holds unspoken trauma and guilt from leaving her family in Beruit. Bitar holds you captive with her fierce energy. She is the reason to watch this film.

Trailer:

Award-Winning Mystery-Drama STOCKADE Sets Limited Theatrical Release on February 21, 2025 and North American VOD Platforms and DVD on February 25, 2024 Via Freestyle Digital Media

The award-winning mystery-drama STOCKADE will have a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Glendale theater starting February 21, 2025, and will also be available on all North American digital HD internet, cable and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, on February 25, 2025 via Freestyle Digital Media. In this psychological “immigrant noir” thriller, a Lebanese artist (played by Sarah Bitar) in New York takes a job delivering a package upstate, only to get embroiled in a murky scheme. STOCKADE is written and directed by Eric McGinty.

STOCKADE had its World Premiere at the 2023 Woodstock Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Ultra Indie Award. The film was also an Official Selection of the 2024 Queens World Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image where it won awards for Best Narrative Feature and Best Female Actor, and was also nominated for Best Director Narrative Feature, Best Ensemble Feature and Best Narrative Feature Screenplay.

STOCKADE tells the story of Ahlam, a struggling Lebanese artist in New York City who takes a job delivering a package upstate, only to open a Pandora’s box. In this updated meditation on the pursuit of the American dream, Ahlam finds herself in dire financial straits and desperate to come by the funds to extend her artist’s visa. When she is offered a job to deliver a mysterious package upstate, Ahlam believes she has found a solution. Upon her arrival in the Hudson Valley, Ahlam encounters shady characters and quirky neighbors as she is unwittingly drawn into the world of ancient artifact trafficking. Every step of the way, STOCKADE keeps viewers guessing, and with its naturalistic yet expressionistic aesthetic, this noir thriller makes a unique addition to the crime genre.

Written and directed by Eric McGinty, STOCKADE was produced by Anna Sang Park, Eric McGinty and Adam Vazquez. The cast features Sarah Bitar (‘Ahlam’), Bahar Beihaghi (‘Zora’) and Guy de Lancey (‘Paul’).

“STOCKADE was inspired by my experience as an artist who’s tracked the fine art world in New York City for many years, as well as my research on Middle-Eastern artifacts and the illegal antiquities trade,” said writer/director Eric McGinty. “But above all else, I was determined to make an ‘immigrant film noir,’ where characters and situations that are underrepresented in most mainstream films are instead at the center of the story.”

McGinty first met trilingual (English, Arabic and French) film and stage actor Sarah Bitar, when she was attending drama school in New York City. Bitar’s actual struggles inspired the creation of Ahlam, a Lebanese painter just out of art school; an antihero who gets caught up in the hyper-capitalistic, colonialistic world of fine art. The intersectionality of Bitar’s real-life – as an immigrant to America and a queer person from a region in the world where the LGBTQ+ community is often not accepted by significant swaths of society – was deeply influential as McGinty crafted the character. “It was also imperative for me to collaborate with Lebanese cast and crew members, including our editor, composer and several actors. Other performers are from the Middle-Eastern diaspora, South Africa, Korea and Argentina,” he added.

About STOCKADE writer/director Eric McGinty:

McGinty’s first feature, Wallabout, won the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2015 Bushwick Film Festival and the Best Personal Narrative Award at the 2014 Manhattan Film Festival. In 2016, Wallabout had a theatrical release for a month at the venerable Paris art house, Cinéma Saint-André des Arts, where the esteemed film magazine, Positif, gave it 4 stars. As a first assistant director, Eric often collaborated with French directors who were shooting films in the US, including Cédric Klapisch, Luc Besson, Olivier Nakache/Eric Toledano and Rachid Bouchareb. Based in Brooklyn, Eric grew up in a bicultural environment, having been raised in Paris and Washington, D.C. by a French mother and an American father. He began his career in Paris working as an actor and stage manager in theater and modern dance. He attended the Sorbonne and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating his studies in film and literature. In STOCKADE, Eric also plays the role of Richard.

CREDITS:

Written and Directed by Eric McGinty

Produced by Anna Sang Park, Adam Vazquez, Eric McGinty

Executive Producers: Anna Sang Park, Lela Meadow-Conner

Director of Photography: Guy de Lancey

Editor: Nay Tabbara

Music by Alex Wakim

Sound: Samuel O’Sullivan

Art Director: David Raff

TRT 88 minutes | Color | English, Arabic, French

For more thrillers, click here!

‘THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD’ (Berlinale 2025) A tense, compelling watch.

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD

Anna Myuleart‘s Berlinale 2025 feature THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD tells the story of Gal, a trash sorter who escapes an abusive relationship with her five and nine-year-old children on the back of her cart.

Gal’s character has a Mary Poppins quality in creating magic for her kids. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!” The unrelenting motivation she provides for Rhianna and Benin puts most parents to shame. Gal’s palpable anxiety appears in moments when the kids are distracted and engaged in an activity. She does her best to guard them from reality and fear.

Lílis Soares‘ cinematography captures the unpredictable chaos of Brazilian streets and the immediacy of the little family’s fear. The music perfectly matches Gal’s inner thoughts. The sound mixing is spectacular. Alongside Myuleart’s screenplay, all these elements combined, the story’s intimacy screams off the screen.

Our two small leads, Rihanna Barbosa and Benin Ayo have a chemistry a director dies for. Their playful nature and natural talent are infectious. They are stars.

Shirley Cruz gives Gal a fully fleshed-out, flawed heroine. Cruz wears Gal’s inner turmoil on her face. Through her, Muylaert tackles the emotional conflict and misogyny attached to cyclical and generational abuse. It is challenging to witness her suffering. It is akin to watching an addict go through detox and then falling off the wagon.

An hour into the film, your heart drops. The conversation that follows should almost come with a trigger warning for survivors. Filled with gaslighting and classic abuser language, it will infuriate and break you. THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD captures invisible labor, unconditional love, cycles of abuse, and the determination to create a better life. It is a difficult but rewarding viewing experience and female-centric storytelling at its best.

THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD/ (A MELHOR MÃE DO MUNDO) Director: Anna Muylaert

World Premiere. World Premiere – Berlinale Special (Brazil/Argentina)

Director
- Anna Muylaert
Screenplay
- Anna Muylaert
Cinematography
- Lílis Soares
Editing
- Fernando Stutz
Music
- André Abujamra,
- George Nahssen
Sound Design
- Miriam Biderman,
- Ricardo Reis
Production Design
- Maíra Mesquita,
- Juliana Ribeiro
Casting
- Gabriel Domingues
Producers
- Tomás Darcyl,
- Ricardo Costianovsky,
- Clara Ramos,
- Bianca Villar,
- Karen Castanho,
- Fernando Fraiha,
- Anna Muylaert
Executive Producers
- Leonardo Mecchi,
- Deborah Nikaido

Remaining screening dates:

MonFeb 1719:00

Cubix 9

SatFeb 2212:00

Akademie der Künste (AdK)

SunFeb 2317:45

Haus der Berliner Festspiele

For more Berlinale coverage, click here!

‘The Virgin of The Quarry Lake’ (Sundance 2025) Teen angst and feminine rage become a powder keg in a unique coming-of-age tale.

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

The Virgin of The Quarry Lake

Jealousy collides with superstition in Laura Casabé‘s coming-of-age Sundance 2025 film The Virgin of The Quarry Lake. Natalia lives with her grandmother, Rita, after being abandoned by her parents. The summer after high school graduation is a time of angst, curiosity, fear, and desire. Intimated by a worldly older woman named Silvia, Nati and her two best friends become deeply entrenched in a battle to keep her crush, Diego, from her clutches.

Although set in 2001 Argentina, the film’s narrative parallels today’s political climate with startling accuracy. The government is a disaster. There are rolling blackouts, civil unrest, and the popular television personality peddles misinformation. Nati witnesses violence again and again. Her envy of Silvia and sexual frustration push her to her limits. The repeated and infuriating misogyny she endures results in a bloody act of pushback. Nati unleashes an alarming feminine rage.

Based on the stories of Mariana Enriquez, screenwriter Benjamin Naishat creates something quite magic. The Virgin of The Quarry Lake also delivers a visceral sense memory of young love. Nati receives a heartbreaking phone call from Silvia. I received a shockingly similar call the summer of my Senior year, and it destroyed me in a way that I still remember at almost 45 years old. You will hurt for her. It is vicious. Dolores Oliverio owns the role of Natalia. She is an undeniable star.

The visual juxtaposition of the continuously rotting contents of the homeless man’s abandoned cart screams off the screen. Diego Tenorio‘s closeup cinematography is perfect. The Virgin of The Quarry Lake is a physical manifestation of simmering emotional trauma and hidden power.

THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE

Argentina, Spain, Mexico

Director: Laura Casabé

Screenwriter: Benjamin Naishtat

Producers: Tomas Eloy Muñoz, Valeria Bistagnino, Alejandro Israel, David Matamoros, Angeles Hernandez, Diego Martinez Ulanosky

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67532c8068b8b71dd2fe4c6c

For more Sundance 2025 coverage, click here!

‘MOM’ (2025) Emily Hampshire wows in this visceral watch. It will haunt your soul.

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

MOM

Being a mom to a newborn is overwhelming. The isolation, judgemental eyes, unsolicited advice, sleep deprivation, and the death of your former self can eat you alive. There is no way to adequately explain the transformation of our mental, emotional, and physical being unless you have experienced it personally. Adam O’Brien brings audiences a film that tackles all these elements with a horror twist. MOM stars Emily Hampshire as a new mother struggling to connect with her newborn son. Her unforgiving husband only exacerbates each new challenge, leading to the darkest outcomes for this little family.

As a mother of two, I will never forget those days of newborn life. Lack of sleep almost drove me to the edge. In MOM, Hampshire skillfully captures the nuance of first-time parenting like I have never seen portrayed onscreen before. Screenwriter Philip Kalin-Hajdu combines each new hardship with unresolved trauma, and the marriage of those two stories makes for the perfect storytelling storm.

François Arnaud is loathsome, which means he is doing a fantastic job. His careless reactionary blaming makes him punchable. Arnaud’s version of Jared will make you want to scream. Mothers will immediately recognize the pattern of behavior.

Emily Hampshire nails this role. Her chameleon abilities shine once again in Meredith. Hampshire is so compelling you cannot take your eyes off her. She delivers an emotional torrent that burrows into your psyche. It is truly startling.

The editing, sound, and cinematography are fantastic. Often jarring in nature, they match the tone from the first frame. MOM delves into the stress of default parenting, the impossible expectations we put on women, the pressure to bond, and the insurmountable grief that digs into your soul. The film is a physical manifestation of PPD and unresolved trauma. MOM is a hauntingly visceral watch. You will feel it in your bones.

MOM Trailer:

Uncork’d Entertainment will release the postpartum horror MOM in select theaters beginning February 7 before arriving on digital/VOD platforms on February 11.

Starring Emily Hampshire, known for her acclaimed role in “Schitt’s Creek,” the film made its world premiere at Glasgow FrightFest in 2024, receiving praise for its haunting exploration of motherhood and psychological trauma.

MOM follows a struggling mother (Hampshire) who is abandoned by her family and partner after a horrific incident. As she falls further into isolation, she begins to be haunted by a sinister entity that is determined to make her relive her darkest moments. Delving into the darker side of motherhood, Mom is an intelligent and original take on the family-based horror story.

Directed by Adam O’Brien and written by Philip Kalin-Hajdu, the film also stars François Arnaud (Marlowe) and Christian Convery (Cocaine Bear). Producing are Delirium Pictures and Kinetic Film Group.

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‘AZI’ (Sundance 2025 short) Palpable tension and one hell of a tease.

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

AZI

Montana Mann‘s Sundance 2025 short film AZI is an intriguing cat-and-mouse game of power. A weekend trip away takes an odd but intriguing turn when a challenge presents itself. Seemingly harmless fun turns into something (perhaps) more sinister in a matter of hours.

The dynamic between 17-year-old Azi and her best friend’s father’s new girlfriend moves from passive-aggressive to outright challenge. You can cut the tension with a knife. Mann delivers enough longing looks between Wool and Goodjohn to wager guesses about each woman’s motivation. You’re dying to know what happens next once the screen goes black.

Breeda Wool has a talent for choosing juicy roles in indie films. Any cinephile of the genre knows her work, and her turn as Elizabeth is no exception. Wool brings an aura that is generally unexplainable other than to say you feel compelled to watch her. Dior Goodjohn is utterly captivating in the titular role. Where has she been all my life? Her ability to match Wool’s energy and presence should make heads turn. They make a dazzling pair.

Thankfully, a feature-length version of AZI is already in the works. Sundance 2025 audiences are in for one hell of a tease. These are guaranteed seats in butts whenever production is complete. Count me very much in.

Remaining Screening of AZI:

Jan 31, 1:10 PM MST

Screening

Megaplex Redstone – 2

Park City

Online

Jan 30, 10:00 AM EST –
Feb 3, 6:55 AM EST

Online Screening

Inspired by director and writer Montana Mann’s own coming-of-age experience, AZI tells the intimate and timely story of a Persian-American teenager contending with her identity and sexuality. The short follows seventeen-year-old Azi (Dior Negeen Goodjohn) on a weekend away with her best friend’s family, where she unexpectedly forms a mysterious and electric connection with another woman on the trip, Elizabeth (Breeda Wool), resulting in a psychological game that raises complex questions about their motives, power dynamics and the ability to take control of one’s own agency.

Montana Mann is a Persian-American award-winning writer/director from Virginia. Her most recent narrative short film, AZI, world premiered at Palm Springs International Shortfest, and won the SAGindie Award at HollyShorts. The feature adaptation of the same short participated in the 2024 Film Independent Fast Track program. As part of the MENA/SWANA diaspora, her work explores the journey of finding one’s identity as a female living between two cultures.

Producer Steven Snyder is an independent producer who most recently worked with Jim Burke at his company, Innisfree Pictures. There, he worked on the production of Green Book, which won three Academy Awards including the Oscar for Best Picture. He is an executive producer on Dreamin’ Wild, which world premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and was released through Roadside Attractions. He is a 2024 Film Independent Fellow and was selected to participate in Inside Out’s International Finance Forum promoting queer creatives.

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Sundance 2025 arrives to kick off this year’s festival season. 8 films we are excited for.

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

The Sundance Film Festival has launched the careers of indie film directors, writers, and actors for 41 years now. Back with in-person and online screening opportunities, this year’s iteration boasts new and bold storytelling from every genre. Here are a handful of films we’ll track in 2025.

For all the info on this year’s festival, click here!

TOUCH ME

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6753380a68b8b77b4ffe621e

Written and directed by Addison Heimann (Hypochondriac), the TOUCH ME stars Olivia Taylor Dudley (Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension), Lou Taylor Pucci (A-X-L), Jordan Gavaris (“Hacks”), Marlene Forte (Knive’s Out) and Paget Brewster (“Criminal Minds”).

In TOUCH ME, after a series of unfortunate events leaves their house uninhabitable and reeking of poo, two co-dependent friends, Joey and Craig, find themselves homeless and out of options. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex resurfaces. He wants her back. Along with being hot, Brian also happens to be an alien whose touch makes anxiety and depression disappear. The two venture to his compound for the weekend with the hope of being healed from past traumas, but underneath Brian’s veneer of healing is a sinister plot filled with murder, mayhem, and blood. TOUCH ME is an psychosexual horror-comedy about the nature of co-dependent friendships and how far we are willing to go for a slice of happiness.

Director: Addison Heimann

Screenwriter: Addison Heimann

Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr., Addison Heimann

Principal Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster

Addison Heimann is a queer genre filmmaker currently residing in Los Angeles. His first feature, Hypochondriac, premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was distributed by XYZ Films. His goal is to tell queer stories that explore mental health in the genre space.

ANDRE IS AN IDIOT

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675333aa68b8b73e67fe584a

Andre, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor.

Produced by A24 Films

Director: Tony Benna

Production Companies: A24 Films, Sandbox Films, Safehouse Pictures

Producers: André Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner

Tony Benna has developed and directed within a variety of platforms, creating award-winning work with multiple mediums, including film, advertising, post-production, and broadcast. With strong roots in stop-motion animation techniques, he is focused on pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling.

LIFE AFTER

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675332e268b8b704ebfe55ad

In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia.

Co-funded through ITVS Open Call and will premiere on Independent Lens

MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675315ab68b8b7b799fe264a

Directed by David Borenstein and co-directed by Pasha Talankin, this uniquely collaborative film is as captivating and joyful as it is eye-opening and sobering. Mr. Nobody Against Putin showcases rare footage that reveals the profound impact of Putin’s regime on the lives of everyday Russians, particularly its children.

Director: David Borenstein

Co-Director: Pavel Talankin

Screenwriter: David Borenstein

Producer: Helle Faber

David Borenstein has worked in the documentary industry on three different continents. He has produced and directed TV for BBC, PBS, ARTE, Al Jazeera, DR, Vice, and many more international broadcasters. Borenstein directed Can’t Feel Nothing (2024), Love Factory (2021), and Dream Empire (2016).

SUNFISH & OTHER STORIES ON GREEN LAKE

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67531ef268b8b7d56dfe338e

Lives intertwine around Green Lake. A girl learns to sail, a boy fights for first chair, two sisters operate a bed-and-breakfast, and a fisherman is after the catch of his life. An anthology following the residents of a small town and the lake that binds them together.

Director: Sierra Falconer

Screenwriter: Sierra Falconer

Producers: Grant Ellison, Sierra Falconer

Sierra Falconer is a Michigan-raised, Los Angeles–based screenwriter and film director. She holds a BFA in film theory from Wesleyan University and an MFA in film directing from UCLA. Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) is Falconer’s feature directorial debut.

ATROPIA

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6753268268b8b78fabfe3efb

When an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.

Hailey Gates Sundance

Hailey Gates is a filmmaker and journalist based in New York. She received her BFA from NYU in experimental theater. Her award-winning short film Shako Mako premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. As an actress, Gates has appeared in Twin Peaks: The Return, Uncut Gems, and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers.

THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67532c8068b8b71dd2fe4c6c

In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.

Director: Laura Casabé

Screenwriter: Benjamin Naishtat

Principal Cast: Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Agustín Sosa

Laura Casabé

Laura Casabé is a genre director. Her 2016 debut, La Valija de Benavidez, received seven international awards. Los que vuelven premiered at the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam, won multiple awards at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, and won Best Director at the 2020 Sitges Film Festival.

BUBBLE & SQUEAK

https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675327a268b8b7a63dfe4235

Accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned, Declan and Delores must confront the fragility of their new marriage while on the run for their lives.
Super clone watches are the perfect blend of style, affordability, and precision, offering everyone a chance to enjoy luxury without the cost.

Director(s): Evan Twohy

Screenwriter: Evan Twohy

Producers: Christina Oh, Steven Yeun

Principal Cast: Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, Steven Yeun, Dave Franco, Matt Berry

Evan Twohy was raised on Hitchcock and opera on the edge of a forest outside Berkeley, California. From an early age, he found himself drawn to absurdist theater and began writing plays in New York City prior to making his first feature, Bubble & Squeak.

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Directed by Atom Egoyan, Starring Amanda Seyfried

Filmed On Location During Egoyan’s Staging of the
Opera Salome

In Select Theaters Nationwide Next Week
March 7, 2025

The harrowing, horrifying festival favorite

THE BUILDOUT

arrives on all VOD platforms February 25th