Oscar Micheaux is a trailblazing American filmmaker whose name and fandom — including Spike Lee and the late John Singleton — are better known than his groundbreaking films. A festival opening in New York on Friday, May 3, at Film Forum aims to fix that.
Though competition is steep in the New York film space, with 17 films and several curated special events, “Oscar Micheaux and the Birth of Black Independent Cinema” is designed to make history. Seven films on the schedule are new restorations of the original prints. Some screenings will be accompanied by live musical performances, much like when silent films were originally exhibited in the 1910s and 1920s. On May 5, there’s also a tribute for the recently deceased author and filmmaker Pearl Bowser, a pivotal architect of the renaissance Micheaux’s work now enjoys. The lineup also boasts conversations with DJ Spooky (aka Paul Miller), who composed new scores for...
Though competition is steep in the New York film space, with 17 films and several curated special events, “Oscar Micheaux and the Birth of Black Independent Cinema” is designed to make history. Seven films on the schedule are new restorations of the original prints. Some screenings will be accompanied by live musical performances, much like when silent films were originally exhibited in the 1910s and 1920s. On May 5, there’s also a tribute for the recently deceased author and filmmaker Pearl Bowser, a pivotal architect of the renaissance Micheaux’s work now enjoys. The lineup also boasts conversations with DJ Spooky (aka Paul Miller), who composed new scores for...
- 5/2/2024
- by Carole V. Bell
- Indiewire
"He didn't just make movies, he sparked a revolution." Kino Lorber is launching a classic film tour soon to celebrate a pioneering American filmmaker named Oscar Micheaux. He is known as "the country's first major Black filmmaker," who made many films from the 1920s onward that redefined what cinema could be and who it was for. His very first film was The Homesteader in 1919, however it is now considered lost. Kino Lorber will be showing 17 films from Micheaux's filmography, provided by the Library of Congress as 4K restorations & rare discoveries. Micheaux directed & produced more than 40 films from 1919-1948, shifting from silent to talkies, and depicting early such complex and taboo subjects as religious hypocrisy, interracial marriage, police violence, and lynching, often with all-Black casts and producers. This touring "festival" features 17 films that will play on the big screen at art house cinemas. Featuring Within Our Gates (1920), Micheaux’s earliest surviving feature,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
105 years ago this year, the birth of Black independent cinema commenced when Oscar Micheaux released his silent feature The Homesteader. While that 1919 film, along with most of the pioneering director’s silent work, has been lost, 17 of Micheaux’s films, including seven new restorations, are now coming to theaters with Kino Lorber’s new retrospective Oscar Micheaux and the Birth of Black Independent Cinema. Presented in partnership with the Library of Congress, the retrospective kicks off on May 3 at Film Forum before touring to other cities nationwide, and we’re pleased to exclusively launch the trailer. Kino Lorber will also release the Micheaux collection on home video later this year.
One of the earliest filmmakers to depict the Black American experience with nuance and depth, Oscar Micheaux directed more than 40 films between 1919 and 1948, working in both the silent and talkie era, exploring a range of complex, often taboo subjects that included religious hypocrisy,...
One of the earliest filmmakers to depict the Black American experience with nuance and depth, Oscar Micheaux directed more than 40 films between 1919 and 1948, working in both the silent and talkie era, exploring a range of complex, often taboo subjects that included religious hypocrisy,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
To say anything in film history is a “first” can be a dubious claim. Not only is film complicated as a medium but so much of its history has been lost. Our picture of cinema is one largely of the movies that have been lucky enough to survive, or the movies that have been considered important or special enough to be preserved. It takes even more effort to find and preserve the history of filmmakers who existed outside the early film studios.
But that effort is exactly what film historian Pearl Bowser undertook, and she is now being honored for it with “The Boom Is Really An Echo: Selections from the Pearl Bowser Media Collection” at Bam.
Bowser’s probably best known as the scholar who revived interest in director Oscar Micheaux and the early days of Black cinema in the ‘70s — an interest that abides to this day with...
But that effort is exactly what film historian Pearl Bowser undertook, and she is now being honored for it with “The Boom Is Really An Echo: Selections from the Pearl Bowser Media Collection” at Bam.
Bowser’s probably best known as the scholar who revived interest in director Oscar Micheaux and the early days of Black cinema in the ‘70s — an interest that abides to this day with...
- 4/21/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Before the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened its doors in 2021, even senior staffers were surprised by the depth of Black film history that dwelt in its archives. Looking through the film posters and memorabilia from race movies of the early 20th century, co-curator Doris Berger found herself amazed and chagrined. She had stumbled on a treasure trove and heritage she knew little about.
Berger is not alone and her experience isn’t surprising. The foundational titles most of us know and gravitate to first when we think of Black film tend to be the earnest classics of the 1960s, the blaxploitation movies of the 1970s, and the indie Black cinema of the 1980s and 1990s.
In those archives, Dr. Berger recognized a rich history screaming out for greater attention. The result was an exhibition, conceived and produced in partnership with National Museum of African American History and Culture film and photography curator Dr.
Berger is not alone and her experience isn’t surprising. The foundational titles most of us know and gravitate to first when we think of Black film tend to be the earnest classics of the 1960s, the blaxploitation movies of the 1970s, and the indie Black cinema of the 1980s and 1990s.
In those archives, Dr. Berger recognized a rich history screaming out for greater attention. The result was an exhibition, conceived and produced in partnership with National Museum of African American History and Culture film and photography curator Dr.
- 2/26/2024
- by Carole V. Bell
- Indiewire
Explore where to stream the best films of 2023.
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Drylongso (Cauleen Smith)
Writer-director Cauleen Smith made Drylongso when she was in college, 25 years ago, premiering at Sundance in 1998. She has gone on to create dozens of short films, art installations, and more experimental work, focused on similar themes of feminism, racial violence, and Black communities. The low-key hangout movie should have been a stepping stone for Smith, but, as with many other works by Black female filmmaking of the last half-century, it fell out of circulation. – Michael F. (full interview)
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Fingernails (Christos Nikou)
Is love quantifiable? No, but that doesn’t stop Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou from exploring that question over two dull, excruciating hours in Fingernails,...
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Drylongso (Cauleen Smith)
Writer-director Cauleen Smith made Drylongso when she was in college, 25 years ago, premiering at Sundance in 1998. She has gone on to create dozens of short films, art installations, and more experimental work, focused on similar themes of feminism, racial violence, and Black communities. The low-key hangout movie should have been a stepping stone for Smith, but, as with many other works by Black female filmmaking of the last half-century, it fell out of circulation. – Michael F. (full interview)
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Fingernails (Christos Nikou)
Is love quantifiable? No, but that doesn’t stop Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou from exploring that question over two dull, excruciating hours in Fingernails,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Film geeks, rejoice. Leading indie label Kino Lorber is entering the world of streaming. The company has launched Kino Film Collection, a new subscription video service available in the U.S. via’s Amazon’s Prime Video Channels. The Collection will feature new Kino releases fresh from theaters, along with hundreds of films from its expansive library of more than 4,000 titles, many now streaming for the first time. It will cost users $5.99 per month.
Films available at launch include award-winning theatrical releases and critically acclaimed festival favorites and classics from around the globe, such as The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci), Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos), Taxi (Jafar Panahi), Poison (Todd Haynes), Ganja & Hess (Bill Gunn), The Scent of Green Papaya (Tran Anh Hung), A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour), Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski), Portrait of Jason (Shirley Clarke), and A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke).
Joining them are entries...
Films available at launch include award-winning theatrical releases and critically acclaimed festival favorites and classics from around the globe, such as The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci), Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos), Taxi (Jafar Panahi), Poison (Todd Haynes), Ganja & Hess (Bill Gunn), The Scent of Green Papaya (Tran Anh Hung), A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour), Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski), Portrait of Jason (Shirley Clarke), and A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke).
Joining them are entries...
- 11/2/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kino Lorber, at the Lumiére Festival and International Classic Film Market (Mifc) in Lyon with a number of new restorations, including Stanley Kubrick’s “Fear and Desire,” will next release Bridgett M. Davis’ 1996 drama “Naked Acts” and a complete retrospective of Oscar Micheaux, the first black filmmaker.
Also headed for release is “The Dragon Painter,” a rare, 1919 silent film with an all Asian cast, with the feel of an old Japanese film but entirely shot in the San Francisco area. It stars Sessue Hayakawa, who produced it himself, as well as his real-life wife Tsuru Aoki.
Kino Lorber is partnering with Milestone Films to release “The Dragon Painter” in 4K in 2024 with a new score.
Likewise set for a 4K release next year in partnership with Milestone is “Naked Acts,” which follows young Black actress Cicely, who is about to make her acting debut in a low budget film. As...
Also headed for release is “The Dragon Painter,” a rare, 1919 silent film with an all Asian cast, with the feel of an old Japanese film but entirely shot in the San Francisco area. It stars Sessue Hayakawa, who produced it himself, as well as his real-life wife Tsuru Aoki.
Kino Lorber is partnering with Milestone Films to release “The Dragon Painter” in 4K in 2024 with a new score.
Likewise set for a 4K release next year in partnership with Milestone is “Naked Acts,” which follows young Black actress Cicely, who is about to make her acting debut in a low budget film. As...
- 10/18/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Pittsburgh’s Black Bottom Film Festival (Bbff), hosted by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (Awaacc), has inked a curatorial partnership with LA’s Micheaux Film Festival for its upcoming sixth edition, which runs October 27—October 29.
During this year’s edition, the festival will also honor Academy Museum head Jacqueline Stewart with its Luminary Award. Alongside her role at the Academy Museum, Stewart is a professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago.
Presented by Citizens Financial Group, the Bbff will unravel over three days, featuring a series of screenings and panels all focused on what organizers describe as “the essence of Black life,” curated by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham of the Micheaux Film Festival.
“We take immense pride in curating the 6th edition of the Black Bottom Film Festival, while also celebrating our partnership. It is both an honor and a privilege...
During this year’s edition, the festival will also honor Academy Museum head Jacqueline Stewart with its Luminary Award. Alongside her role at the Academy Museum, Stewart is a professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago.
Presented by Citizens Financial Group, the Bbff will unravel over three days, featuring a series of screenings and panels all focused on what organizers describe as “the essence of Black life,” curated by Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham of the Micheaux Film Festival.
“We take immense pride in curating the 6th edition of the Black Bottom Film Festival, while also celebrating our partnership. It is both an honor and a privilege...
- 10/10/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
When college friends Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham launched the Micheaux Film Festival five years ago, the event, designed to put a spotlight on diverse and underrepresented creators, was limited to just a one-day affair.
“Really, [we] just wanted to do it as a proof of concept to see if this is something that people wanted, that they needed,” Branch told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they have responded in droves.”
The now-weeklong festival, which wraps on Sunday, is a testament to how much it has grown and the variety of the projects involved. Key premieres included Scrap, a film starring Vivian Kerr and Anthony Rapp about a single houseless mother; The Good Egg about a woman grappling with infertility who gets entangled with a con artist; and the documentary Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia about the effects of gun violence in the city.
There is also a screening of Gran Turismo,...
“Really, [we] just wanted to do it as a proof of concept to see if this is something that people wanted, that they needed,” Branch told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they have responded in droves.”
The now-weeklong festival, which wraps on Sunday, is a testament to how much it has grown and the variety of the projects involved. Key premieres included Scrap, a film starring Vivian Kerr and Anthony Rapp about a single houseless mother; The Good Egg about a woman grappling with infertility who gets entangled with a con artist; and the documentary Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia about the effects of gun violence in the city.
There is also a screening of Gran Turismo,...
- 7/15/2023
- by Xennia Hamilton
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival (July 10-16) is to honor director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) and actress Yvette Nicole Brown (Community).
Caple Jr., also known for directing Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts and The Land, is to receive the festival’s Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer of Excellence Award while Community and Dear White People star Brown will be the recipient of the Michael Ajakwe Pioneer of Influence Award. The duo will be honored on Sunday July 16th.
Additions to the festival lineup include a screening of The Next Black Millionaires, a docuseries about the journey of three ambitious entrepreneurs growing their passions into million-dollar businesses, and a panel with Roku’s Head of Content David Eilenberg, Macro’s Chief Brand Officer Stacey Walker King and Roku Originals showrunner Erika Bryant.
Panel Lights, Camera, Activism will feature Chris Lane, Participant VP, Distribution and Michael Kelly, Participant VP, Impact, who will...
Caple Jr., also known for directing Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts and The Land, is to receive the festival’s Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer of Excellence Award while Community and Dear White People star Brown will be the recipient of the Michael Ajakwe Pioneer of Influence Award. The duo will be honored on Sunday July 16th.
Additions to the festival lineup include a screening of The Next Black Millionaires, a docuseries about the journey of three ambitious entrepreneurs growing their passions into million-dollar businesses, and a panel with Roku’s Head of Content David Eilenberg, Macro’s Chief Brand Officer Stacey Walker King and Roku Originals showrunner Erika Bryant.
Panel Lights, Camera, Activism will feature Chris Lane, Participant VP, Distribution and Michael Kelly, Participant VP, Impact, who will...
- 7/7/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony’s video game adaptation Gran Turismo is among movies set to debut at the fifth edition of LA’s Micheaux Film Festival (July 10-16).
The Neill Blomkamp-directed movie, which is based on the hit video game and stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou, is also due to have a Q&a at the festival, though precise talent attendance has yet to be confirmed.
In the sports drama a gamer’s skills wins him the chance to become a professional race car driver. The movie will play on the festival’s closing night before rolling out globally from August 9th.
The festival, which honors filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and celebrates diverse cinema, will once again be held at The Culver Theater and Regal Cinemas L.A. Live.
The event will open with the world premiere of My Home Unknown, written and directed by Yaz Canli,...
The Neill Blomkamp-directed movie, which is based on the hit video game and stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou, is also due to have a Q&a at the festival, though precise talent attendance has yet to be confirmed.
In the sports drama a gamer’s skills wins him the chance to become a professional race car driver. The movie will play on the festival’s closing night before rolling out globally from August 9th.
The festival, which honors filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and celebrates diverse cinema, will once again be held at The Culver Theater and Regal Cinemas L.A. Live.
The event will open with the world premiere of My Home Unknown, written and directed by Yaz Canli,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
As famed Afro-Peruvian activist, choreographer, and poet Victoria Santa Cruz once said, "We need to recover our history, tell our own stories, and sing our own songs."
It is this sentiment that I live by when discussing Afrolatinidad. Afrolatinidad is not a new concept or idea. As a people and culture, Afro-Latinxs have been fighting for centuries to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and respected for their contributions to larger society. The term Afrolatinidad is used to describe the cultural identity and heritage of Black people from Latin America and Latin Americans of African descent, whose ancestors had undergone the experience of chattel slavery. Clarity is important here because there has been so much confusion about who is or isn't considered Afro-Latinx.
The confusion around Afro-Latinidad and who gets to claim it can be traced back to the complex history of mestizaje and racism in Latin America. Mestizaje refers to the mixing of Indigenous,...
It is this sentiment that I live by when discussing Afrolatinidad. Afrolatinidad is not a new concept or idea. As a people and culture, Afro-Latinxs have been fighting for centuries to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and respected for their contributions to larger society. The term Afrolatinidad is used to describe the cultural identity and heritage of Black people from Latin America and Latin Americans of African descent, whose ancestors had undergone the experience of chattel slavery. Clarity is important here because there has been so much confusion about who is or isn't considered Afro-Latinx.
The confusion around Afro-Latinidad and who gets to claim it can be traced back to the complex history of mestizaje and racism in Latin America. Mestizaje refers to the mixing of Indigenous,...
- 4/20/2023
- by Nydia Simone
- Popsugar.com
February, marking both Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, is the kind of stretch from which a programmer can mine plenty. Accordingly the Criterion Channel have oriented their next slate around both. The former is mostly noted in a series comprising numerous features and shorts: Shirley Clarke and William Greaves up to Ephraim Asili and Garrett Bradley, among them gems such as Varda’s Black Panthers and Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground; a six-film series on James Baldwin; and 10 works by Oscar Micheaux.
Meanwhile, the 23-film “All You Need Is Love” will cover the blinding romance of L’Atalante, the heartbreak of Happy Together, and youthful whimsy of Stolen Kisses; four Douglas Sirk rarities should leave their mark, but I’m perhaps most excited about three starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Perhaps more bracing are 12 movies by Derek Jarman and four by noir maestro Robert Siodmak. Also a major...
Meanwhile, the 23-film “All You Need Is Love” will cover the blinding romance of L’Atalante, the heartbreak of Happy Together, and youthful whimsy of Stolen Kisses; four Douglas Sirk rarities should leave their mark, but I’m perhaps most excited about three starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Perhaps more bracing are 12 movies by Derek Jarman and four by noir maestro Robert Siodmak. Also a major...
- 1/26/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
There have been many classic movie comedies over the years featuring Black stars, ranging from Eddie Murphy's Coming to America to Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act. Those films are among the many that resonated with Black audiences even though they were directed by white filmmakers. Despite that, Hollywood has also had a long tradition of Black directors creating movies aimed specifically at Black audiences; trailblazer Oscar Micheaux, in fact, is regarded as the first major Black filmmaker, directing and producing more than 40 so-called "race films" between 1919 and 1948.
These days, as Hollywood executives increasingly come to realize the importance of Black directors telling Black stories, there's been an ever-growing number of Black directors engaging in big-screen filmmaking, a trend that has been evident not just in dramas but in comedies as well. In fact, some of the most beloved comedies with predominantly Black casts featured Black directors at the helm. For the full picture,...
These days, as Hollywood executives increasingly come to realize the importance of Black directors telling Black stories, there's been an ever-growing number of Black directors engaging in big-screen filmmaking, a trend that has been evident not just in dramas but in comedies as well. In fact, some of the most beloved comedies with predominantly Black casts featured Black directors at the helm. For the full picture,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- Slash Film
A comprehensive, personal, and kaleidoscopic look at representation, Elvis Mitchell’s Is That Black Enough For You?!? is a passionate and loving walk through film history framed by Blaxploitation cinema of the 1970s. Written, directed, and narrated by the master conversationalist, curator, film scholar, and cultural critic, this is a densely packed visual essay told through film clips, archival materials, and interviews with Black stars of multiple eras who speak to the influence of this sub-genre on their lives and careers.
Borne from the notion that America was in a freefall spiral circa 1968, a new kind of subversive independent cinema arrived on the scene, forcing Hollywood to compete and adapt. Mitchell notes landmarks of representation along with the way—including Robert Downy Sr.’s Putney Swope, an experimental comedy set in the world of advertising,, and Martin Ritt’s The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.
Black Enough is...
Borne from the notion that America was in a freefall spiral circa 1968, a new kind of subversive independent cinema arrived on the scene, forcing Hollywood to compete and adapt. Mitchell notes landmarks of representation along with the way—including Robert Downy Sr.’s Putney Swope, an experimental comedy set in the world of advertising,, and Martin Ritt’s The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.
Black Enough is...
- 11/9/2022
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Elvis Mitchell delivers a vivid history of African American cinema, ranging from the unsung heroes of Hollywood’s golden age to the thrills of Blaxploitation
The title of Elvis Mitchell’s tremendous study of black American cinema is taken from Ossie Davis’s 1970 Blaxploitation buddy cop comedy Cotton Comes to Harlem, based on the Chester Himes novel, about a bale of cotton discovered in Harlem, of all the unlikely places: a bale which hides misappropriated cash and is of course a satirical symbol of oppression. Different characters wisecrack: “Is that black enough for you?”, riffing subversively on authenticity in the power struggle.
With a dense and fascinating mass of clips and interviews with figures in the movies such as Whoopi Goldberg, Zendaya, Samuel L Jackson and Laurence Fishburne, Mitchell fights back against cultural erasure and amnesia: there is a rich and vivid history of African American cinema which blossomed in Hollywood’s pioneering golden age,...
The title of Elvis Mitchell’s tremendous study of black American cinema is taken from Ossie Davis’s 1970 Blaxploitation buddy cop comedy Cotton Comes to Harlem, based on the Chester Himes novel, about a bale of cotton discovered in Harlem, of all the unlikely places: a bale which hides misappropriated cash and is of course a satirical symbol of oppression. Different characters wisecrack: “Is that black enough for you?”, riffing subversively on authenticity in the power struggle.
With a dense and fascinating mass of clips and interviews with figures in the movies such as Whoopi Goldberg, Zendaya, Samuel L Jackson and Laurence Fishburne, Mitchell fights back against cultural erasure and amnesia: there is a rich and vivid history of African American cinema which blossomed in Hollywood’s pioneering golden age,...
- 11/9/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
When discussing representation, we emphasize the necessity of Black people living in this moment and seeing themselves onscreen. But in the past, Black audiences had a much stronger need to visualize a different, more prosperous future in the wake of the violent realities of Jim Crow, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement. They needed to see a world where Black people were allowed to meet their full potential as artists, thinkers, and craftspeople.
In the opening lines of the new documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” director Elvis Mitchell speaks of his grandmother, remarking that “movies changed the way she dreamed.” For people in her generation, those dreams could be life-changing.
But most of the faces she saw onscreen at the movies were white. For the Black cinephile in the early years of Hollywood, projecting oneself onto characters was necessary. And yet, there were filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux and,...
In the opening lines of the new documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” director Elvis Mitchell speaks of his grandmother, remarking that “movies changed the way she dreamed.” For people in her generation, those dreams could be life-changing.
But most of the faces she saw onscreen at the movies were white. For the Black cinephile in the early years of Hollywood, projecting oneself onto characters was necessary. And yet, there were filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux and,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Jourdain Searles
- Indiewire
The annual American Film Institute (AFI) festival has finally announced its full lineup.
AFI Fest runs Wednesday, November 2 through Sunday, November 6 and includes 125 titles to be screened in Los Angeles. Opening night kicks off with AppleTV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” directed by Alek Keshishian. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” will close the festival.
The full lineup also includes special screenings for “Bones and All,” Sundance winner “Nanny,” Robert Downey Jr.’s documentary “Sr.,” “Le Pupille,” and “Women Talking.”
The official selections feature 53 percent of films directed by women and 32 percent of films helmed by Bipoc filmmakers. Eleven percent of directors identify as Lgbtqia+. The full festival includes seven Red Carpet Premieres, six Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory, and three Guest Artistic Director Selections from Ava DuVernay. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will showcase three independent films amplifying the voices of...
AFI Fest runs Wednesday, November 2 through Sunday, November 6 and includes 125 titles to be screened in Los Angeles. Opening night kicks off with AppleTV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” directed by Alek Keshishian. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” will close the festival.
The full lineup also includes special screenings for “Bones and All,” Sundance winner “Nanny,” Robert Downey Jr.’s documentary “Sr.,” “Le Pupille,” and “Women Talking.”
The official selections feature 53 percent of films directed by women and 32 percent of films helmed by Bipoc filmmakers. Eleven percent of directors identify as Lgbtqia+. The full festival includes seven Red Carpet Premieres, six Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory, and three Guest Artistic Director Selections from Ava DuVernay. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will showcase three independent films amplifying the voices of...
- 10/3/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Between the pore-rich tightness of his close-ups and the mysterious, patient grandeur of his landscapes, Sergio Leone took the Hollywood-forged myths that enraptured him as a child and created one of cinema’s most influential oeuvres.
Considering Leone’s impact, from those sun-cooked, Ennio Morricone–scored westerns through the nostalgic sweep of his final film, “Once Upon a Time in America,” there’s never not a good time to enjoy a detailed, clip-rich tribute to the legendary Italian filmmaker, and now we have Francesco Zippel’s gratifying biographical appraisal “Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America,” making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Cineastes who watch it should start pulling those Leone DVDs from the shelf beforehand; you’ll want them handy when the parade of praised sequences and behind-the-scenes insight is over, and after interviewee-superfan Quentin Tarantino offers up an amusing post-credits anecdote built around the shorthand...
Considering Leone’s impact, from those sun-cooked, Ennio Morricone–scored westerns through the nostalgic sweep of his final film, “Once Upon a Time in America,” there’s never not a good time to enjoy a detailed, clip-rich tribute to the legendary Italian filmmaker, and now we have Francesco Zippel’s gratifying biographical appraisal “Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America,” making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Cineastes who watch it should start pulling those Leone DVDs from the shelf beforehand; you’ll want them handy when the parade of praised sequences and behind-the-scenes insight is over, and after interviewee-superfan Quentin Tarantino offers up an amusing post-credits anecdote built around the shorthand...
- 9/6/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
The Academy Museum’s Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971 is not to be missed. Not only does the exhibition celebrate Black representation in film, it serves as an important reminder and lesson about the contributions of Black filmmakers and stars to the world of cinema.
Opening Aug. 21, seven galleries make up the exhibit exploring Oscar Micheaux’s low-budget dramas in the silent-film era to the works of Melvin Van Peebles.
The exhibition also introduces audiences to stars largely unknown to mainstream moviegoers — Ralph Cooper, Clarence Brooks and Francine Everett — alongside iconic screen legends Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne.
Poiter’s Oscar for “Lillies of the Field” is just one of the many artifacts on display in this historic exhibition. Alongside the award are tap shoes worn by the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
Cowboy Boots worn by Herb Jeffries in 1937’s...
Opening Aug. 21, seven galleries make up the exhibit exploring Oscar Micheaux’s low-budget dramas in the silent-film era to the works of Melvin Van Peebles.
The exhibition also introduces audiences to stars largely unknown to mainstream moviegoers — Ralph Cooper, Clarence Brooks and Francine Everett — alongside iconic screen legends Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Lena Horne.
Poiter’s Oscar for “Lillies of the Field” is just one of the many artifacts on display in this historic exhibition. Alongside the award are tap shoes worn by the Nicholas Brothers and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets.
Cowboy Boots worn by Herb Jeffries in 1937’s...
- 8/19/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay and Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
“Great actors fall into darkness backwards,” Bill Duke likes to say, quoting an early teacher of his who suggested that the leap of faith required for someone to become the person they imagine in their mind requires a sense of self-belief powerful enough to overcome their fear of the unknown. Not only has Duke consistently done that over the course of the actor-director’s 40-plus-year career, he’s done it with an unparalleled degree of excellence and grace.
While cinephiles and casual fans alike may be familiar with Duke’s performances in films like “Predator” and “Menace II Society,” few recognize the full impact of his contributions behind the camera during the ’90s, when he hit his stride with a series of major and enduring work that range from “A Rage in Harlem” and the masterful neo-noir “Deep Cover” to the beloved crowdpleaser “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
While cinephiles and casual fans alike may be familiar with Duke’s performances in films like “Predator” and “Menace II Society,” few recognize the full impact of his contributions behind the camera during the ’90s, when he hit his stride with a series of major and enduring work that range from “A Rage in Harlem” and the masterful neo-noir “Deep Cover” to the beloved crowdpleaser “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
- 8/18/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures debuts Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971 on August 21, 2022. The ambitious exhibition, on view through April 9, 2023, explores the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers in the US in both independent production and the studio system—in front of the camera and behind it—from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s to the early 1970s.
The Academy Museum’s second exhibition in the 11,000-square-foot Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, Regeneration includes rarely seen excerpts of films, documentaries, newsreels, and home movies, as well as historical photographs, costumes, props, and posters. Regeneration will also feature contemporary artworks referencing the impact of the legacy of Black filmmaking and Ar elements designed for the exhibition. The exhibition will be accompanied by a range of film screenings, including world premieres of films newly restored by the Academy Film Archive, an interactive microsite with supplemental content, a robust curriculum to engage high school students and teachers,...
The Academy Museum’s second exhibition in the 11,000-square-foot Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, Regeneration includes rarely seen excerpts of films, documentaries, newsreels, and home movies, as well as historical photographs, costumes, props, and posters. Regeneration will also feature contemporary artworks referencing the impact of the legacy of Black filmmaking and Ar elements designed for the exhibition. The exhibition will be accompanied by a range of film screenings, including world premieres of films newly restored by the Academy Film Archive, an interactive microsite with supplemental content, a robust curriculum to engage high school students and teachers,...
- 8/18/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: Next month’s Micheaux Film Festival in LA will honor Bron co-founder and President Brenda Gilbert with the Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer of Excellence Award and filmmaker and Spike Lee collaborator Ernest Dickerson with the Michael Ajakwe Pioneer of Influence Award.
The festival, which spotlights Bipoc creators, will run July 11-17 at the Regal Cinemas Live LA, Downtown.
This year’s festival will include Ernest Dickerson’s Double Play and a career Q&a with the filmmaker; Birdwatching, starring Amanda Seyfried; Artistic, starring former NFL star Marshawn Lynch; Ghost Girl with Jamie Neuman; Run Nixon starring Lil Fizz; and Launch at Paradise starring Catherine Curtin. As we previously revealed, the event’s actor ambassadors will be Sharon Lawrence and Anthony Anderson.
Gilbert is the co-founder and president of Vancouver-based film powerhouse Bron Studios, which has executive-produced and co-financed 30 Oscar nominated movies. Titles include The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel, Judas and the Black Messiah,...
The festival, which spotlights Bipoc creators, will run July 11-17 at the Regal Cinemas Live LA, Downtown.
This year’s festival will include Ernest Dickerson’s Double Play and a career Q&a with the filmmaker; Birdwatching, starring Amanda Seyfried; Artistic, starring former NFL star Marshawn Lynch; Ghost Girl with Jamie Neuman; Run Nixon starring Lil Fizz; and Launch at Paradise starring Catherine Curtin. As we previously revealed, the event’s actor ambassadors will be Sharon Lawrence and Anthony Anderson.
Gilbert is the co-founder and president of Vancouver-based film powerhouse Bron Studios, which has executive-produced and co-financed 30 Oscar nominated movies. Titles include The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel, Judas and the Black Messiah,...
- 6/21/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Covid Puts Paid To Shanghai Fest At Eleventh Hour
At the eleventh hour, the organizers of the Shanghai Film Festival have canceled this year’s event due to the pandemic, which continues to ravage parts of Asia. The festival — China’s most prestigious — was due to kick off later this month. Organizers said: “Given the Covid-19 pandemic, the Organizing Committee of Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff) has decided that the 25th Siff, originally scheduled to take place in June 2022, will be postponed to next year. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks and sincere apologies to people in all sectors of society who care about and support Siff. If possible, we will plan and hold film exhibitions and themed events in the second half of this year to share the joy brought by cinematic art and film activities.”
Studicanal Sets Post-Sarah Doole Transition For ‘It’s A Sin’ Producer...
At the eleventh hour, the organizers of the Shanghai Film Festival have canceled this year’s event due to the pandemic, which continues to ravage parts of Asia. The festival — China’s most prestigious — was due to kick off later this month. Organizers said: “Given the Covid-19 pandemic, the Organizing Committee of Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff) has decided that the 25th Siff, originally scheduled to take place in June 2022, will be postponed to next year. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks and sincere apologies to people in all sectors of society who care about and support Siff. If possible, we will plan and hold film exhibitions and themed events in the second half of this year to share the joy brought by cinematic art and film activities.”
Studicanal Sets Post-Sarah Doole Transition For ‘It’s A Sin’ Producer...
- 6/6/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wednesday detailed how its upcoming exhibit “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971” will explore Black filmmakers from Oscar Micheaux to Melvin Van Peebles.
The Museum shared details of the exhibit, which will open on Aug. 21 and run through April 9, 2023 in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery. It is the second major temporary exhibit at the Academy Museum, after the current installation devoted to the work of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
In a press release, the Academy Museum described the exhibition this way:
“The exhibition explores the achievements and challenges of both independent production and the studio system, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s through the height of the civil rights movement. ‘Regeneration’ features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive, as well as other narrative films and documentaries; newsreels and home movies; photographs; scripts; drawings; costumes; equipment; posters; and historical materials,...
The Museum shared details of the exhibit, which will open on Aug. 21 and run through April 9, 2023 in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery. It is the second major temporary exhibit at the Academy Museum, after the current installation devoted to the work of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
In a press release, the Academy Museum described the exhibition this way:
“The exhibition explores the achievements and challenges of both independent production and the studio system, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s through the height of the civil rights movement. ‘Regeneration’ features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive, as well as other narrative films and documentaries; newsreels and home movies; photographs; scripts; drawings; costumes; equipment; posters; and historical materials,...
- 5/4/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Sundance Institute today unveiled the 2022 Sundance Film Festival’s Beyond Film line-up of events that are free to the public. Speakers will include such artists from this year’s program as La Guerra Civil director Eva Longoria Bastón, Dual star Karen Gillan, Cha Cha Real Smooth and Am I Ok? star Dakota Johnson, Alice star Keke Palmer and Lucy & Desi director Amy Poehler.
Beyond Film events will range from artist talks to daily meetups and immersive experiences. Additional programming will include the daily talk show How to Fest: Daily; a solo performance by multiple Emmy–winning artist, Lynette Wallworth; a sneak peek at the film Oscar’s Comeback about Black film pioneer Oscar Micheaux and a conversation with its directors; Artist Spotlights with Xr/VR/new media creators showing work in the New Frontier section; a talk centered on the climate crisis, and more.
The in-person, Park City component...
Beyond Film events will range from artist talks to daily meetups and immersive experiences. Additional programming will include the daily talk show How to Fest: Daily; a solo performance by multiple Emmy–winning artist, Lynette Wallworth; a sneak peek at the film Oscar’s Comeback about Black film pioneer Oscar Micheaux and a conversation with its directors; Artist Spotlights with Xr/VR/new media creators showing work in the New Frontier section; a talk centered on the climate crisis, and more.
The in-person, Park City component...
- 1/13/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The American movie business started in New Jersey.
Between 1893 and 1896 in West Orange, N.J., Thomas Edison was developing the early motion picture tech, inventing new ways to capture images in motion, and the result is that “you have the only fully operational motion picture studio facility in the world,” says Richard Koszarski, professor emeritus of English and cinema studies at Rutgers University, and expert in the early motion picture industry in New York and New Jersey.
His latest book on film history is “Keep ’Em in the East: Kazan, Kubrick, and the Postwar New York Film Renaissance.”
While companies were setting up production operations and offices in New York City, including Edison, “it’s very difficult to film in New York City. In those days, they didn’t have very good artificial lights,” says Koszarski. Making films required enormous skylights and other sources of natural light.
But over in Fort Lee,...
Between 1893 and 1896 in West Orange, N.J., Thomas Edison was developing the early motion picture tech, inventing new ways to capture images in motion, and the result is that “you have the only fully operational motion picture studio facility in the world,” says Richard Koszarski, professor emeritus of English and cinema studies at Rutgers University, and expert in the early motion picture industry in New York and New Jersey.
His latest book on film history is “Keep ’Em in the East: Kazan, Kubrick, and the Postwar New York Film Renaissance.”
While companies were setting up production operations and offices in New York City, including Edison, “it’s very difficult to film in New York City. In those days, they didn’t have very good artificial lights,” says Koszarski. Making films required enormous skylights and other sources of natural light.
But over in Fort Lee,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
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The glamour of Old Hollywood is timeless, but the holiday season is a great time to purchase one of these classic film-themed gifts. In addition to curating broadcast lineups of the greatest films of all time (from one of the largest film libraries in the world), Turner Classic Movies has also curated a wide variety of gifts for the classic film fan in your life — or yourself, if that’s you. And if you subscribe to Hulu Live or Sling TV, you can stream all the TCM movies your heart desires. If you’re not subscribed, Hulu Live costs just $64.99 a month after a free seven-day trial. That means you can officially cut...
The glamour of Old Hollywood is timeless, but the holiday season is a great time to purchase one of these classic film-themed gifts. In addition to curating broadcast lineups of the greatest films of all time (from one of the largest film libraries in the world), Turner Classic Movies has also curated a wide variety of gifts for the classic film fan in your life — or yourself, if that’s you. And if you subscribe to Hulu Live or Sling TV, you can stream all the TCM movies your heart desires. If you’re not subscribed, Hulu Live costs just $64.99 a month after a free seven-day trial. That means you can officially cut...
- 11/2/2021
- by Jean Bentley and Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
Chicago – Day Five of the 57th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) will present a documentary on Oscar Micheaux, the originator of black filmmaking, who began in Chicago. (click Oscar Micheaux for details), as well as a whole slate of films and events.
The 57th Chicago International Film Festival Day Five features screenings in theater, at the drive-in and virtual/online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 57th Ciff. And click Day Five for the complete line up of films.
Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Filmmaking
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Events Of The Day: 10:00am: “Coffee Talk: “Pandemic Cinema: Film Art in the Age of Contagion” (click here).
Appearances Of The Day: 12:00pm: “For the Left Hand” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 12:00pm: “White Building” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 5:00pm: “Shankar’s Fairies” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 7:...
The 57th Chicago International Film Festival Day Five features screenings in theater, at the drive-in and virtual/online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 57th Ciff. And click Day Five for the complete line up of films.
Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Filmmaking
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Events Of The Day: 10:00am: “Coffee Talk: “Pandemic Cinema: Film Art in the Age of Contagion” (click here).
Appearances Of The Day: 12:00pm: “For the Left Hand” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 12:00pm: “White Building” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 5:00pm: “Shankar’s Fairies” … Special Guests Scheduled to Attend. 7:...
- 10/17/2021
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Faux spontaneity is hard to pull off, especially when you’re overtly selling something. Such is the case with ABC’s 43-minute special, “A Night in the Academy Museum,” where a cadre of A-list actors attempt to recreate “That’s Entertainment” under the conceit of “sneaking into” the now open Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, purportedly to show audiences all they need to know in order to book their next vacation and visit. But what ends up happening over the Film Academy’s hour-long commercial (supported by other commercials) is that the flaws of a museum (and the company that crafted it) still surface.
Laura Dern introduces the special, walking into the empty David Geffen Theater in order to entice audiences to not only come to the Museum, but see a movie in general. This has been a common theme in a few theater-focused ads: Insert an A-list star in...
Laura Dern introduces the special, walking into the empty David Geffen Theater in order to entice audiences to not only come to the Museum, but see a movie in general. This has been a common theme in a few theater-focused ads: Insert an A-list star in...
- 10/12/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
There’s a cruel irony working against Hollywood’s efforts to diversify: For nearly a century, the industry depicted the world as a place dominated by white, straight, able-bodied men. The movies typically relegated women and people of color to supporting and subservient roles, while excluding (or else vilifying) queer and handicapped characters. As a result, entire generations have been raised on lopsided and inaccurate representations of our past — that Jesus was white, for example — to the extent that they don’t necessarily believe it when Black actors appear in situations where they played a significant (off-screen) role. Like the American West.
Well, as Jeymes Samuel’s stylish outlaw revenge saga “The Harder They Fall” insists from the outset, “These. People. Existed.” — white letters punched through a black screen like someone blasted it with shotgun pellets. The movie, which kicked off the BFI London Film Festival with a bang, isn...
Well, as Jeymes Samuel’s stylish outlaw revenge saga “The Harder They Fall” insists from the outset, “These. People. Existed.” — white letters punched through a black screen like someone blasted it with shotgun pellets. The movie, which kicked off the BFI London Film Festival with a bang, isn...
- 10/6/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Ten Minutes to Live / The Girl from ChicagoThere was a period, less than a lifetime ago, when the filmgoer was met with a laidback prolificacy. In this stretch, from silents to the sixties, it would be common for a habitual spectator to see multiple films by, say, Raoul Walsh or Michael Curtiz in a given calendar year. For a director, the two-(or more)-films-a-year was a frequency in the studio system, whose mechanisms were set up to move personnel from one production to another seamlessly. The regularity of this occurrence likely allowed it to pass under the viewer’s gaze without notice.Even the critic, in the fledgling era of auteurism, was unlikely to look at more than the resonances and dissonances of theme and style across two (or more) films of a director in a particular year. So, the phenomenon took on the selfsame approach to what...
- 9/6/2021
- MUBI
Image of Parker Bright protesting Dana Schutz painting at the 78th Whitney Biennale“I was taught in American history books that Africa had no history, and neither did I. That I was a savage about whom the less said, the better.” —James Baldwin At the 78th Whitney Biennale, American artist Dana Schutz’s painting Open Casket conjured up controversy within the art world. The piece abstractly depicted the mangled body of fourteen year old Emmit Till after he had been tortured and lynched by two white men. Black non-binary activist and artist Parker Bright served as the catalyst for some of the important commentary in response to the work. Adorning a shirt with the words “Black Death Spectacle” scrawled across its back, they stood in front of Schutz’s painting blocking it from view. This act of protest sent waves across the art world and forced onlookers to evaluate what...
- 9/3/2021
- MUBI
This story about Barry Jenkins and “The Underground Railroad” first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
The Amazon Prime limited series “The Underground Railroad” is both one of the past year’s most horrifying programs and one of its most beautiful. Based on Colson Whitehead’s best-selling novel that creates a world in which the network used to smuggle slaves out of the American South in pre-Civil War days was an actual series of underground trains, the series from “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” writer-director Barry Jenkins blends fantasy with brutal reality.
In your work, you always seem to look for a balance between lyricism and real urgency, between straightforward storytelling and a more poetic approach.
Yeah, I agree with that. There are journalists and literary writers and historians that have told the straightforward version of this story with incredible impact.
The Amazon Prime limited series “The Underground Railroad” is both one of the past year’s most horrifying programs and one of its most beautiful. Based on Colson Whitehead’s best-selling novel that creates a world in which the network used to smuggle slaves out of the American South in pre-Civil War days was an actual series of underground trains, the series from “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” writer-director Barry Jenkins blends fantasy with brutal reality.
In your work, you always seem to look for a balance between lyricism and real urgency, between straightforward storytelling and a more poetic approach.
Yeah, I agree with that. There are journalists and literary writers and historians that have told the straightforward version of this story with incredible impact.
- 8/19/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Historians may now acknowledge Oscar Micheaux as a pioneering Black filmmaker, and the industry could be catching up. However, that acclaim certainly didn’t follow him through his lifetime, when the hustling novelist and director made complex dramas about Black life in America across three decades, starting with the silent era and continuing for many years after that. By the time of his death in 1951, the child of former slaves in Kentucky had written six novels and directed 44 films, but around 80 percent of them have been lost.
Needless to say, most people have been late to the party when it comes to Micheaux’s career, including Cannes. But the festival’s Cannes Classics sidebar made up for that this year by screening a new restoration of Micheaux’s 1935 crime thriller “Murder in Harlem,” alongside a new documentary about the filmmaker’s contemporary resonance, “Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Cinema,...
Needless to say, most people have been late to the party when it comes to Micheaux’s career, including Cannes. But the festival’s Cannes Classics sidebar made up for that this year by screening a new restoration of Micheaux’s 1935 crime thriller “Murder in Harlem,” alongside a new documentary about the filmmaker’s contemporary resonance, “Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Cinema,...
- 7/11/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Filmmaker Dee Rees made history on June 29 when her debut feature “Pariah” joined the Criterion Collection, making the Oscar and Emmy nominee the first Black American woman to have her work included. Before Rees, Euzhan Palcy, who is from Martinique, was the lone Black woman to have a film (1989’s “A Dry White Season”) selected.
“It feels like a formal acknowledgment of the film’s impact to the canon and being a part of the culture,” Rees tells Variety of having her movie chosen. “Even though artists have to try to find your validation from inside, it’s nice to be seen.”
And as a Black filmmaker in particular, Rees adds, “it’s important to be included for future generations of filmmakers, if [Criterion] is the thing that’s being taught in schools.”
“When they’re absent, then the assumption is there’s none in existence,” she explains. “There’s no Black filmmakers here,...
“It feels like a formal acknowledgment of the film’s impact to the canon and being a part of the culture,” Rees tells Variety of having her movie chosen. “Even though artists have to try to find your validation from inside, it’s nice to be seen.”
And as a Black filmmaker in particular, Rees adds, “it’s important to be included for future generations of filmmakers, if [Criterion] is the thing that’s being taught in schools.”
“When they’re absent, then the assumption is there’s none in existence,” she explains. “There’s no Black filmmakers here,...
- 7/2/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Rushes: Abel Ferrara's Cinema Village Festival, "The Lighthouse" Manga, Romina Paula & Lázaro Gabino
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Kinuyo Tanaka. Courtesy of Nikkatsu / Carlotta. The Cannes Film Festival has announced the titles of its Cannes Classics section, which includes restored films by Kinuyo Tanaka, Bill Duke, Peter Wollen, and Oscar Micheaux. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Mati Diop, Jessica Hausner, Mylene Farmer, Tahar Rahim, Song Kang-ho and Kleber Mendonça Filho will join director Spike Lee on the Cannes 2021 Competition jury.The Toronto International Film Festival is starting to announce its lineup for this year's edition, from an Alanis Morissette documentary and Kenneth Branagh's Belfast to Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho and Denis Villeneuve's Dune.In a special episode of New Beverly's Pure Cinema Podcast, Quentin Tarantino has announced he will work with Sony on a new, boutique Blu-Ray label "Tarantino Archives," taking inspiration from Twilight Time and reissuing films from their catalogue.
- 6/30/2021
- MUBI
Cannes Classics
Mark Cousins‘ documentary “The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas,” following the legendary “The Last Emperor” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” producer’s annual drive to Cannes, will be the pre-opener at the Cannes Classics selection this year.
Restored titles this year include “Friendship’s Death” by Peter Wollen, starring Tilda Swinton; “F For Fake” by Orson Welles; “Mulholland Drive” by David Lynch (2001 U.S.); “I Know Where I’m Going!” by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; and “The Double Life Of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski”.
The section will also celebrate the work of actor/director Bill Duke with a screening of “The Killing Floor” (1985); Japanese actor and filmmaker Kinuyo Tanaka’s “Tsuki Wa Noborinu”; Spanish actor and filmmaker Ana Marisca’s “El Camino” from 1964; French maven Marcel Camus’ “Orfeu Negro” and Italian master Roberto Rossellini’s “Francesco, Giullare Di Dio”.
Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American director in the history of U.
Mark Cousins‘ documentary “The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas,” following the legendary “The Last Emperor” and “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” producer’s annual drive to Cannes, will be the pre-opener at the Cannes Classics selection this year.
Restored titles this year include “Friendship’s Death” by Peter Wollen, starring Tilda Swinton; “F For Fake” by Orson Welles; “Mulholland Drive” by David Lynch (2001 U.S.); “I Know Where I’m Going!” by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; and “The Double Life Of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski”.
The section will also celebrate the work of actor/director Bill Duke with a screening of “The Killing Floor” (1985); Japanese actor and filmmaker Kinuyo Tanaka’s “Tsuki Wa Noborinu”; Spanish actor and filmmaker Ana Marisca’s “El Camino” from 1964; French maven Marcel Camus’ “Orfeu Negro” and Italian master Roberto Rossellini’s “Francesco, Giullare Di Dio”.
Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American director in the history of U.
- 6/24/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Led by Spike Lee, the jury contains five women and four men.
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the main Competition jury for its 74th edition which runs July 6-17.
For the second time in the festival’s history, female jury members will be in the majority with five women and three men due to join previously announced jury president Spike Lee. In 2018, when Cate Blanchett was jury president, the split was also five women and four men.
This year’s female jury members comprise French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, Canadian-French singer/songwriter Mylène Farmer, US actress, producer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal,...
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the main Competition jury for its 74th edition which runs July 6-17.
For the second time in the festival’s history, female jury members will be in the majority with five women and three men due to join previously announced jury president Spike Lee. In 2018, when Cate Blanchett was jury president, the split was also five women and four men.
This year’s female jury members comprise French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, Canadian-French singer/songwriter Mylène Farmer, US actress, producer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 2021 Cannes Classics section. Made up of a selection of restored prints, the roster also includes new documentaries that explore the history of cinema. Among the offerings is Mark Cousins’ pre-opening doc, The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas, which covers a yearly drive with the British producer from London to Cannes. Cousins and Thomas will be in town for the presentation. (Scroll down for the full Cannes Classics list.)
Restored titles include David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive; 1945’s I Know Where I’m Going! by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; Krzysztof Kieślowski’s 1991 drama The Double Life Of Véronique; Orson Welles’ F For Fake from 1973; and Friendship’s Death by Peter Wollen which features Tilda Swinton’s first role.
Among the special events are a tribute to director and actor Bill Duke who will present his 1985 The Killing Floor which premiered at Critics...
Restored titles include David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive; 1945’s I Know Where I’m Going! by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; Krzysztof Kieślowski’s 1991 drama The Double Life Of Véronique; Orson Welles’ F For Fake from 1973; and Friendship’s Death by Peter Wollen which features Tilda Swinton’s first role.
Among the special events are a tribute to director and actor Bill Duke who will present his 1985 The Killing Floor which premiered at Critics...
- 6/23/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Mark Cousins joins iconic producer on annual road trip to Cannes.
Visit Films has boarded worldwide rights on Mark Cousins’ Cannes Classics documentary The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas.
Cousins joins Thomas on the producer’s annual road trip from London to the Cannes Film Festival as he recalls some of his most iconic films like Bernardo Bertolucci’s multiple Oscar winner The Last Emperor, David Cronenberg’s Crash, and Nic Roeg’s Bad Timing.
Thomas discusses Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, and David Bowie, and the journey is interspersed with commentary from Tilda Swinton and Debra Winger, and features a range of film clips.
Visit Films has boarded worldwide rights on Mark Cousins’ Cannes Classics documentary The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas.
Cousins joins Thomas on the producer’s annual road trip from London to the Cannes Film Festival as he recalls some of his most iconic films like Bernardo Bertolucci’s multiple Oscar winner The Last Emperor, David Cronenberg’s Crash, and Nic Roeg’s Bad Timing.
Thomas discusses Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, and David Bowie, and the journey is interspersed with commentary from Tilda Swinton and Debra Winger, and features a range of film clips.
- 6/23/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Tilda Swinton to attend restored screening of Peter Wollen’s 1987 UK film Friendship’s Death.
Two documentaries from Mark Cousins and restored films from Kinuyo Tanaka, Oscar Micheaux, and Orson Welles will screen in Cannes Classics, announced on Wednesday (June 23).
Cousins’ The Story Of Film: A New Generation and The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas, a profile of the celebrated British producer, are among a documentary line-up that incudes Buñuel, Un Cineasta Surrealista from Javier Espada, and All About Yves Montand by Yves Jeuland.
The roster of restored narrative films includes David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive, Japanese actor-filmmaker Kinuyo Tanaka’s (pictured) The Moon Has Risen,...
Two documentaries from Mark Cousins and restored films from Kinuyo Tanaka, Oscar Micheaux, and Orson Welles will screen in Cannes Classics, announced on Wednesday (June 23).
Cousins’ The Story Of Film: A New Generation and The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas, a profile of the celebrated British producer, are among a documentary line-up that incudes Buñuel, Un Cineasta Surrealista from Javier Espada, and All About Yves Montand by Yves Jeuland.
The roster of restored narrative films includes David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive, Japanese actor-filmmaker Kinuyo Tanaka’s (pictured) The Moon Has Risen,...
- 6/23/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Yes, sure, all the new films are exciting and sure to dominate discourse from here to January, but every year (i.e. when a pandemic doesn’t kneecap them) the Cannes Film Festival provides an equal-if-not-greater service: Cannes Classics, their mix of favorite and soon-to-be-discovered films from yesteryear.
2021’s lineup is representative of that variety, offering as it does Orson Welles and David Lynch alongside an early Raoul Peck feature (restored by Scorsese’s World Cinema Project), Tilda Swinton’s screen debut, a lesser-seen Masahiro Shinoda, and (frankly!) names that don’t ring a bell.
Take a look at the list below, with hope that these will make their way to American shores.
A Tribute To Bill Duke
The director, actor and producer, in Competition at Cannes with A Rage in Harlem in 1991, returns to the Croisette with his first film as director, presented at the Semaine de la critique...
2021’s lineup is representative of that variety, offering as it does Orson Welles and David Lynch alongside an early Raoul Peck feature (restored by Scorsese’s World Cinema Project), Tilda Swinton’s screen debut, a lesser-seen Masahiro Shinoda, and (frankly!) names that don’t ring a bell.
Take a look at the list below, with hope that these will make their way to American shores.
A Tribute To Bill Duke
The director, actor and producer, in Competition at Cannes with A Rage in Harlem in 1991, returns to the Croisette with his first film as director, presented at the Semaine de la critique...
- 6/23/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
It might be a Netflix world, as the 800-pound gorilla in the space, but there are other competitive streaming platforms offering home viewing options that are more bountiful than ever before. Amazon Prime is one of them, which, like Netflix, offers a library of films, old and new, that have become increasingly diverse over the years, in an effort to meet demand. However, it still can be a difficult task for any discerning viewer looking specifically for Black films to sift through the deluge.
As an extension of IndieWire’s monthly list of the best new films on Netflix, this list will be updated periodically as new titles become available, and old titles will be replaced.
From pioneer Oscar Micheaux’s “Within Our Gates” (1920), the earliest surviving feature film by an African American filmmaker, to Melvin Van Peebles’ only studio picture, a Kafkaesque comedy titled “Watermelon Man,” the first blaxploitation parody,...
As an extension of IndieWire’s monthly list of the best new films on Netflix, this list will be updated periodically as new titles become available, and old titles will be replaced.
From pioneer Oscar Micheaux’s “Within Our Gates” (1920), the earliest surviving feature film by an African American filmmaker, to Melvin Van Peebles’ only studio picture, a Kafkaesque comedy titled “Watermelon Man,” the first blaxploitation parody,...
- 5/26/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Black filmmakers have struggled for representation as long as the movies have existed. As Hollywood took shape in the early half of the 20th century, Black directors were already looking for ways to push back on prevailing stereotypes. From the “uplift” films of the 1910s, produced via initiatives at the Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, to the naturalistic shorts made by William Foster in Chicago, and the work of the Lincoln Motion Picture Company — the first Black-owned film production enterprise in the United States — there was no shortage of examples.
The most prolific and tireless voice during this period was Oscar Micheaux, who blazed trails in Black American cinema beginning with his 1919 feature debut, “The Homesteader,” the first feature film written and directed by an African American. It’s been 90 years since he became the first Black filmmaker to produce a sound feature film with “The Exile;” it’s been 70 years since his death.
The most prolific and tireless voice during this period was Oscar Micheaux, who blazed trails in Black American cinema beginning with his 1919 feature debut, “The Homesteader,” the first feature film written and directed by an African American. It’s been 90 years since he became the first Black filmmaker to produce a sound feature film with “The Exile;” it’s been 70 years since his death.
- 5/12/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Variety and the African American Film Critics Association closed out the second edition of the Micheaux Project educational program with Lausd’s Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (Laces) by hosting a virtual red carpet that drew comedian and “Let’s Make a Deal” host Wayne Brady, “Black Lighting” star Jordan Calloway and other actors, filmmakers and industry figures.
Now in its second year, the Micheaux Project is an eight-week extracurricular seminar for high school students from underrepresented communities. Eight students from Laces, the Lausd magnet school in Mid-City Los Angeles, took part in the course, which is designed to introduce students to an array of job opportunities in entertainment journalism, film criticism and the industry at large.
During the virtual red carpet held April 14, students had the experience of conducting brief red carpet-style interviews with a steady stream of industry players. Rising stars including actors Sherry Cola and Zuri Adele...
Now in its second year, the Micheaux Project is an eight-week extracurricular seminar for high school students from underrepresented communities. Eight students from Laces, the Lausd magnet school in Mid-City Los Angeles, took part in the course, which is designed to introduce students to an array of job opportunities in entertainment journalism, film criticism and the industry at large.
During the virtual red carpet held April 14, students had the experience of conducting brief red carpet-style interviews with a steady stream of industry players. Rising stars including actors Sherry Cola and Zuri Adele...
- 4/23/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has unveiled a robust series of programs in the run-up to its planned opening on Sept. 30, highlighting film artists including Spike Lee, Hayao Miyazaki and Satyajit Ray.
The museum held a virtual tour for media Wednesday to discuss the programming and museum’s progress, hosted by Academy governor Laura Dern.
Throughout the presentation, Academy spokespersons emphasized the inclusion of a diverse array of filmmakers and artisans from the U.S. and around the world. The museum will not ignore the industry’s blindspots, the presentation emphasized.
“We will not shy away from problematic moments,” said Dern, “The exhibition also showcases less-proud moments in the history of the cinema.”
Bill Kramer, director and president of the Academy Museum, explained how those moments will be integrated throughout the museum’s exhibits and programming. “We didn’t want these conversations to sit in a separate gallery. We...
The museum held a virtual tour for media Wednesday to discuss the programming and museum’s progress, hosted by Academy governor Laura Dern.
Throughout the presentation, Academy spokespersons emphasized the inclusion of a diverse array of filmmakers and artisans from the U.S. and around the world. The museum will not ignore the industry’s blindspots, the presentation emphasized.
“We will not shy away from problematic moments,” said Dern, “The exhibition also showcases less-proud moments in the history of the cinema.”
Bill Kramer, director and president of the Academy Museum, explained how those moments will be integrated throughout the museum’s exhibits and programming. “We didn’t want these conversations to sit in a separate gallery. We...
- 3/10/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
With “Da 5 Bloods,” writer, director and producer Spike Lee tells a story about Black Vietnam War veterans who “fought and died for a country that has not shown love to them.” But that legacy goes all the way back to the founding of the United States of America. Watch our exclusive video interview with Lee above.
See‘Da 5 Bloods’ producer Jon Kilik on film’s logistical hurdles, Spike Lee’s vision and Chadwick Boseman’s ‘mythic presence’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
The title soldiers in Lee’s film return to Vietnam in the present day to retrieve the remains of their squad leader (played in flashbacks by the late Chadwick Boseman) as well as a hidden stash of gold. But they’re also still struggling with the trauma of their service. It’s not a new story for African-Americans to die for a country that continually betrays them, “from Crispus Attucks, who was...
See‘Da 5 Bloods’ producer Jon Kilik on film’s logistical hurdles, Spike Lee’s vision and Chadwick Boseman’s ‘mythic presence’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
The title soldiers in Lee’s film return to Vietnam in the present day to retrieve the remains of their squad leader (played in flashbacks by the late Chadwick Boseman) as well as a hidden stash of gold. But they’re also still struggling with the trauma of their service. It’s not a new story for African-Americans to die for a country that continually betrays them, “from Crispus Attucks, who was...
- 3/5/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Usually the annual American Cinematheque tribute puts a bunch of Hollywood folks in black tie in a hotel ballroom to ingest rubber chicken and champagne. This year’s Spike Lee award show was a streamlined virtual affair hosted by “Inside Man” star Jodie Foster, who conducted a charming interview with Lee over the course of an evening interspersed by films clips and memories from such collaborators as actors Delroy Lindo and Angela Bassett, cinematographers Ernest Dickerson and Ellen Kuras, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, and production designer Wynn Thomas.
Brooklyn-based Lee, who is 63, has directed 25 features and documentaries plus countless commercials, collecting Emmys, BAFTAs, Cannes and critics awards along the way, including last year’s Adapted Screenplay Oscar for “BlacKkKlansman.”
“If you love what you are doing you can delay father time,” Lee said. “I’ve got some more joints to make. This award is not just for me but...
Brooklyn-based Lee, who is 63, has directed 25 features and documentaries plus countless commercials, collecting Emmys, BAFTAs, Cannes and critics awards along the way, including last year’s Adapted Screenplay Oscar for “BlacKkKlansman.”
“If you love what you are doing you can delay father time,” Lee said. “I’ve got some more joints to make. This award is not just for me but...
- 1/15/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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