The Columbine massacre happened in 1999. It’s crazy to think it’s been over twenty years because we seem to have a new school shooting every month now. And as they grew in prevalence, the conversation surrounding them shifted from tragedy to politicization. Gus Van Sant’s Elephant arrived in 2003 as a poetic psychological display unconcerned with pretending to know answers. It documented the experience of this tragic event as an emotional confluence between troubled souls on both sides of the gun — the mundane taking on meaning beyond its façade. With the help of a 24-hour news cycle, however, this notion of problematic complexity has been erased. Now it’s monster versus victim. It’s mental illness versus gun control. The empathy necessary to solve this terrifying epidemic ceases to exist.
Choosing to tell a story on this subject in 2018 must therefore combat many more prejudices and preconceptions than at...
Choosing to tell a story on this subject in 2018 must therefore combat many more prejudices and preconceptions than at...
- 4/29/2018
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
"You've got to help me with this kid, Budzinski." The Orchard has debuted a trailer for the indie drama And Then I Go, directed by Vincent Grashaw, based on Jim Shepard's novel "Project X". The film stars Arman Darbo and Sawyer Barth as friends in middle school. "In the cruel world of junior high, two friends suffer in a state of anxiety and alienation. Misunderstood by their families and demoralized at school, their fury simmers quietly until an idea for vengeance offers them a terrifying release." The full cast includes Melanie Lynskey, Justin Long, Tony Hale, Carrie Preston, Melonie Diaz, Royalty Hightower, Michael Abbott Jr., and Sean Bridgers. This played at a number of smaller film festivals last year, and is going straight to VOD for release. It looks like a strong indie film about growing up as an awkward kid in school. Here's the official Us trailer (+ posters...
- 3/28/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
And Then I Go Review And Then I Go (2017) Film Review from the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Film Festival, a movie directed by Vincent Grashaw, starring Arman Darbo, Sawyer Barth, Melanie Lynskey, Justin Long, Tony Hale, Carrie Preston, Melonie Diaz, Royalty Hightower, [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: And Then I Go: An Unflinching Drama That Hesitates At The End [La Film Festival 2017]...
Continue reading: Film Review: And Then I Go: An Unflinching Drama That Hesitates At The End [La Film Festival 2017]...
- 6/21/2017
- by Reggie Peralta
- Film-Book
In the battle for what will be the premier streaming home for current independent film, Amazon Prime is showing signs that it could top Netflix, FilmStruck, and Mubi. Between funding auteur-driven Amazon originals like Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden,” Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester By the Sea,” and their exclusive deal with A24 (“American Honey,” “Lobster,” “Swiss Army Man,” and “Moonlight” which arrives 5/21), Prime has a good percentage of the best titles.
What often gets lost in Amazon’s suboptimal browsing interface is the number of recent lower-profile indies on the service that feature some of the most exciting filmmaking of the last year. Here are seven recent gems you shouldn’t miss.
“The Love Witch”
You have never seen anything like this film. Sure, it looks like a late-era technicolor film — shot on 35mm, with deliciously saturated production and costume design — but this isn’t nostalgic kitsch.
What often gets lost in Amazon’s suboptimal browsing interface is the number of recent lower-profile indies on the service that feature some of the most exciting filmmaking of the last year. Here are seven recent gems you shouldn’t miss.
“The Love Witch”
You have never seen anything like this film. Sure, it looks like a late-era technicolor film — shot on 35mm, with deliciously saturated production and costume design — but this isn’t nostalgic kitsch.
- 5/1/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The Fits is only in a few UK cinemas, but heck, it's worth seeking out...
Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. Scattered across every genre and decade, growing up is one of the most constant sources of inspiration for filmmakers. The Fits - the feature debut of writer/director Anna Rose Holmer - is a coming of age drama, but not as you know it.
The film follows Toni (Royalty Hightower - definitely worth keeping track of), an 11-year-old tomboy we first meet working out with her older brother in the boxing gym. She soon discovers another world within the community centre, one in which the Lionesses - a group of competitive dancers - exist.
Immediately transfixed, Toni joins the Lionesses’ ranks and, despite being out of her depth amidst the aggression, precision and sexual power of the older girls, befriends Beezy (Alexis Neblett), one of the other new recruits.
Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. Scattered across every genre and decade, growing up is one of the most constant sources of inspiration for filmmakers. The Fits - the feature debut of writer/director Anna Rose Holmer - is a coming of age drama, but not as you know it.
The film follows Toni (Royalty Hightower - definitely worth keeping track of), an 11-year-old tomboy we first meet working out with her older brother in the boxing gym. She soon discovers another world within the community centre, one in which the Lionesses - a group of competitive dancers - exist.
Immediately transfixed, Toni joins the Lionesses’ ranks and, despite being out of her depth amidst the aggression, precision and sexual power of the older girls, befriends Beezy (Alexis Neblett), one of the other new recruits.
- 2/25/2017
- Den of Geek
Luminous performances and truly bewitching film-making elevate this uncanny, oestrogen-soaked dance drama
At a Cincinnati recreation centre where almost the entire film takes place, 11-year-old tomboy Toni (Royalty Hightower) has been learning about boxing from her older brother (Da’Sean Minor). However, a glimpse of other girls practicing hip-hop dance moves in another part of the building entirely beguiles Toni, and she joins up and dives in, learning in the process not just different physical skills but the mysterious ways of adolescent girlhood. Unfortunately, an inexplicable outbreak among the cohort of “fits” – spasmodic twitching and fainting, that looks half like dancing, half like demonic possession – threatens the unity of the group and Toni’s place within its strict hierarchy.
This may evoke other explorations of female trouble in all-girl environments (see, for instance, Carol Morley’s The Falling, Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides or Lucile Hadžihalilović’s Innocence). But...
At a Cincinnati recreation centre where almost the entire film takes place, 11-year-old tomboy Toni (Royalty Hightower) has been learning about boxing from her older brother (Da’Sean Minor). However, a glimpse of other girls practicing hip-hop dance moves in another part of the building entirely beguiles Toni, and she joins up and dives in, learning in the process not just different physical skills but the mysterious ways of adolescent girlhood. Unfortunately, an inexplicable outbreak among the cohort of “fits” – spasmodic twitching and fainting, that looks half like dancing, half like demonic possession – threatens the unity of the group and Toni’s place within its strict hierarchy.
This may evoke other explorations of female trouble in all-girl environments (see, for instance, Carol Morley’s The Falling, Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides or Lucile Hadžihalilović’s Innocence). But...
- 2/23/2017
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
As the definition of an independent film has shifted with the ever-expanding budget divide in American filmmaking — particularly Hollywood cutting back on its mid-range projects — when it comes time for awards season, it’s often only the highest profile of “indie films” that get recognized. While we do our best to recognize the films that often get unfortunately, a new awards has launched that honors the best of truly independent American cinema, featuring films all under a $1 million budget.
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
Aptly titled the American Independent Film Awards (aka AIFAs), they were voted on by international film festival programmers, U.S. based film festival programmers, and North American film critics (including yours truly.) “First and foremost, we would like to thank all film producers and distribution companies who helped us identify qualifying films and outline the categories. We’d also like to thank the international and American based film festival programmers, and...
- 2/20/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Author: Zehra Phelan
The market seems to be oversaturated with an abundance of coming-of-age stories, from the beautiful Moonlight, which releases in cinemas on the 24th of February, to The Fits, which is also released on the same day. Whether it’s a case of its audience relating to the theme of the narrative or the fact these stories are enchantingly compelling to watch, with mesmerizing performances from the young cast members, they seem to be hitting the right nerve.
From The Fits trailer, which can be viewed below, nothing is given away. There’s no much context and it looks very much open to interpretation. The film is led by the young talents of Royalty Hightower in her acting debut as Eleven-year-old Toni. The award winning film also has Anne Rose Holmer as director, another talent making her directorial debut.
The Fits was funded through grants from the Venice...
The market seems to be oversaturated with an abundance of coming-of-age stories, from the beautiful Moonlight, which releases in cinemas on the 24th of February, to The Fits, which is also released on the same day. Whether it’s a case of its audience relating to the theme of the narrative or the fact these stories are enchantingly compelling to watch, with mesmerizing performances from the young cast members, they seem to be hitting the right nerve.
From The Fits trailer, which can be viewed below, nothing is given away. There’s no much context and it looks very much open to interpretation. The film is led by the young talents of Royalty Hightower in her acting debut as Eleven-year-old Toni. The award winning film also has Anne Rose Holmer as director, another talent making her directorial debut.
The Fits was funded through grants from the Venice...
- 2/2/2017
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
2016 wasn’t a banner year. Say what you will, even outside the realm of politics, 2016 was a profoundly troubling year that will go down in the history books as a turning point on a global scale. We lost many a legend, and nations are growing more and more divisively divided. However, despite this seemingly ever-expanding divide between not only cultures but sub-cultures therein, the world of film saw numerous films that will forever alter the language with which filmmakers speak to one another and their audiences. Be it profound documentaries about forgotten sub-societies or nuanced and empathetic dramas offering glimpses into underrepresented groups in today’s world, 2016 is one of the great film years of this decade, and these are the top ten films that I can’t stop myself from talking or thinking about.
10. I Am Not Your Negro
Starting off this list is one of the truly great documentaries,...
10. I Am Not Your Negro
Starting off this list is one of the truly great documentaries,...
- 1/9/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist — moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography, among the most vital to the medium. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. Check out our rundown below and, in the comments, let us know your favorite work.
Arrival (Bradford Young)
At this point, it would be unfair to call Bradford Young an up-and-coming cinematographer. While it’s an accurate description in terms of his relative years behind the camera, the caliber of his work already feels like one of the most accomplished in the genre. Ahead of a Han Solo prequel, he got his first taste with sci-fi thanks to Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival.
Arrival (Bradford Young)
At this point, it would be unfair to call Bradford Young an up-and-coming cinematographer. While it’s an accurate description in terms of his relative years behind the camera, the caliber of his work already feels like one of the most accomplished in the genre. Ahead of a Han Solo prequel, he got his first taste with sci-fi thanks to Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival.
- 12/28/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards:
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight -- winner
Best Director
Damien Chazelle (-) La La Land
Barry Jenkins (-) Moonlight -- winner
Pablo Larraín (-) Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan (-) Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park (-) The Handmaiden
Best Actor
Casey Affleck (-) Manchester by the Sea -- winner
Adam Driver (-) Paterson
Joel Edgerton (-) Loving
Colin Farrell (-) The Lobster
Denzel Washington (-) Fences
Best Actress
Amy Adams (-) Arrival
Rebecca Hall (-) Christine
Isabelle Huppert (-) Elle
Natalie Portman (-) Jackie -- winner
Emma Stone (-) La La Land
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (-) Moonlight -- winner
Alden Ehrenreich (-) Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster (-) Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight
Michael Shannon (-...
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight -- winner
Best Director
Damien Chazelle (-) La La Land
Barry Jenkins (-) Moonlight -- winner
Pablo Larraín (-) Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan (-) Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park (-) The Handmaiden
Best Actor
Casey Affleck (-) Manchester by the Sea -- winner
Adam Driver (-) Paterson
Joel Edgerton (-) Loving
Colin Farrell (-) The Lobster
Denzel Washington (-) Fences
Best Actress
Amy Adams (-) Arrival
Rebecca Hall (-) Christine
Isabelle Huppert (-) Elle
Natalie Portman (-) Jackie -- winner
Emma Stone (-) La La Land
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (-) Moonlight -- winner
Alden Ehrenreich (-) Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster (-) Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight
Michael Shannon (-...
- 12/21/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Here's the complete list of nominees, winners will be announced on Dec. 15:
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Damien Chazelle (-) La La Land
Barry Jenkins (-) Moonlight
Pablo Larraín (-) Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan (-) Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park (-) The Handmaiden
Best Actor
Casey Affleck (-) Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver (-) Paterson
Joel Edgerton (-) Loving
Colin Farrell (-) The Lobster
Denzel Washington (-) Fences
Best Actress
Amy Adams (-) Arrival
Rebecca Hall (-) Christine
Isabelle Huppert (-) Elle
Natalie Portman (-) Jackie
Emma Stone (-) La La Land
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (-) Moonlight
Alden Ehrenreich (-) Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster (-) Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight
Michael Shannon (-) Nocturnal Animals
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis (-) Fences
Lily Gladstone (-) Certain Women...
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director
Damien Chazelle (-) La La Land
Barry Jenkins (-) Moonlight
Pablo Larraín (-) Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan (-) Manchester by the Sea
Chan-wook Park (-) The Handmaiden
Best Actor
Casey Affleck (-) Manchester by the Sea
Adam Driver (-) Paterson
Joel Edgerton (-) Loving
Colin Farrell (-) The Lobster
Denzel Washington (-) Fences
Best Actress
Amy Adams (-) Arrival
Rebecca Hall (-) Christine
Isabelle Huppert (-) Elle
Natalie Portman (-) Jackie
Emma Stone (-) La La Land
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (-) Moonlight
Alden Ehrenreich (-) Hail, Caesar!
Ben Foster (-) Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges (-) Manchester by the Sea
Trevante Rhodes (-) Moonlight
Michael Shannon (-) Nocturnal Animals
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis (-) Fences
Lily Gladstone (-) Certain Women...
- 12/13/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
From “Moonlight” to “The Fits,” “Loving” to “Hell or High Water,” “The Witch” to “Arrival” and plenty in between, 2016 offered up a number of chances for some of the indie film world’s most impressive rising stars to break out in a major way.
And we’re not just talking on-screen talents — though any year that provides room for Mahershala Ali to dominate the awards space while also introducing us to newbies like Sasha Lane and Royalty Hightower is worthy of its own special accolades — but also writers, directors and producers, people who have spent years working to perfect their craft and bring it to the masses.
Read More: The Best of 2016: IndieWire’s Year in Review Bible
These aren’t just our newest stars, they’re the next generation of creators. Get to know them now.
Check out our gallery of biggest and best film breakthroughs of the year up top.
And we’re not just talking on-screen talents — though any year that provides room for Mahershala Ali to dominate the awards space while also introducing us to newbies like Sasha Lane and Royalty Hightower is worthy of its own special accolades — but also writers, directors and producers, people who have spent years working to perfect their craft and bring it to the masses.
Read More: The Best of 2016: IndieWire’s Year in Review Bible
These aren’t just our newest stars, they’re the next generation of creators. Get to know them now.
Check out our gallery of biggest and best film breakthroughs of the year up top.
- 12/13/2016
- by Anne Thompson, Chris O'Falt, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Graham Winfrey, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Chicago – The poignant journey of “Moonlight” topped the 2016 Chicago Film Critics Association nominations list with 11, as announced on Monday, December 12th. Other notable multi-category nominees included the biopic “Jackie,” the drama “Manchester by the Sea” and the musical “La La Land.” Janelle Monae (“Hidden Figures”), Lily Gladstone (“Certain Women”) and Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”) scored double nominations in the Best Supporting Actress and Actor categories, as well as Most Promising Performer.
Scene from ‘Moonlight,’ Honored with 11 Nominations for 2016 from the Chicago Film Critics Association
Photo credit: A24
The Chicago Film Critics Association is an organization that oversees many events in the Chicagoland area, including the Chicago Film Critics Awards, the Chicago Critics Film Festival and various film discussions and events around the city and surrounding suburbs. The nominees for the Cfca best of 2016 films are…
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight...
Scene from ‘Moonlight,’ Honored with 11 Nominations for 2016 from the Chicago Film Critics Association
Photo credit: A24
The Chicago Film Critics Association is an organization that oversees many events in the Chicagoland area, including the Chicago Film Critics Awards, the Chicago Critics Film Festival and various film discussions and events around the city and surrounding suburbs. The nominees for the Cfca best of 2016 films are…
Best Picture
The Handmaiden
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight...
- 12/12/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
No year is a “bad year” for movies, but some years aren’t exactly too kind to certain subjects, genres, concepts and people. 2016, for all of its many negatives, has been a good year for film – and for its women, both behind the camera and squarely in front of it.
While female filmmakers are still struggling to be recognized in the same way as their male counterparts, the women who have broken through – from reliable auteurs like Andrea Arnold, Rebecca Miller, Kelly Reichardt and Anne Fontaine to rising stars like Maren Ade, Sophia Takal and Clea Duvall – did so in a very big way this year, thanks to films that spoke to their own talents and visions. Actresses also shown bright in 2016, from awards favorites like Natalie Portman, Annette Bening and Octavia Spencer to fresh faces like Kate Lyn Sheil, Ruth Negga and Sasha Lane.
There’s still a ways to go,...
While female filmmakers are still struggling to be recognized in the same way as their male counterparts, the women who have broken through – from reliable auteurs like Andrea Arnold, Rebecca Miller, Kelly Reichardt and Anne Fontaine to rising stars like Maren Ade, Sophia Takal and Clea Duvall – did so in a very big way this year, thanks to films that spoke to their own talents and visions. Actresses also shown bright in 2016, from awards favorites like Natalie Portman, Annette Bening and Octavia Spencer to fresh faces like Kate Lyn Sheil, Ruth Negga and Sasha Lane.
There’s still a ways to go,...
- 12/8/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It’s always an interesting exercise to arrive at the end of a year and take stock of the films that it produced, to squint for as much perspective as you can and see what the movies might have been saying to us, or to each other. Given the, uh, unique events of the last 12 months (or even just the last four weeks), it might take a little while longer than usual for us to have a clear sense of what the landscape really looked like. Will these films offer us rare insight into turbulent times, or — like much of what was released in theaters just prior to 9/11 — will they seem like relics from a more innocent world?
With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to get a bit more granular than usual, and to highlight individual moments from my 25 favorite films of the year (and, at least for the moment,...
With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to get a bit more granular than usual, and to highlight individual moments from my 25 favorite films of the year (and, at least for the moment,...
- 12/6/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Every December it bears repeating: Anyone who thinks this was a bad year for movies simply hasn’t seen enough. In an age of binge-viewing, a preponderance of must-see premium cable shows and, hell, even smartphone apps that command far more attention most feature-length achievements, the true range of quality cinema is often obscured by the noise of an ever-cluttered media landscape. To really assess the state of modern movies, one look beyond the obvious. Sure, it was a weak year for movies that stand out mainly due to star power and sizable marketing budgets, but those options represent only a small fraction of the marketplace.
The film festival circuit provides an ideal alternative to conventional channels for discovering movies worth talking about all year long — and, if they’re lucky enough to land distribution, they quality for year-end celebration on lists like this one. This year, every single finalist...
The film festival circuit provides an ideal alternative to conventional channels for discovering movies worth talking about all year long — and, if they’re lucky enough to land distribution, they quality for year-end celebration on lists like this one. This year, every single finalist...
- 12/5/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The precursors are coming in hot and heavy folks. Yesterday, the National Board of Review chimed in with their picks. Also, the Satellite nominations came out, so I’ll share them with you as well. First up, as you’ll see below, Nbr basically crowned Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea in as many places as they could. This more or less continues to solidify it as a Best Picture nominee when the Oscars come around. As expected, Casey Affleck took Best Actor for the film as well, with Lonergan getting Best Original Screenplay, while Lucas Hedges was Breakthrough Male. Barry Jenkins got a Best Director prize for Moonlight, which also saw Naomie Harris win Best Supporting Actress. Also of note was Amy Adams getting Best Actress for Arrival, Jeff Bridges winning Best Supporting Actor for Hell or High Water, as well as Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese scoring...
- 11/30/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The National Board of Review has named Manchester By The Sea 2016’s Best Film of the Year, it was announced today, along with the organization’s other year-end honors.
Below is a full list of the 2016 award recipients announced by the National Board of Review:
Best Film: Manchester by the Sea
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress: Amy Adams, Arrival
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, Silence
Best Animated Feature: Kubo and the Two Strings
Breakthrough Performance (Male): Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Breakthrough Performance (Female): Royalty Hightower, The Fits
Best Directorial Debut: Trey Edward Shults, Krisha
Best Foreign Language Film: The Salesman
Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
Best Ensemble: Hidden...
Below is a full list of the 2016 award recipients announced by the National Board of Review:
Best Film: Manchester by the Sea
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress: Amy Adams, Arrival
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, Silence
Best Animated Feature: Kubo and the Two Strings
Breakthrough Performance (Male): Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Breakthrough Performance (Female): Royalty Hightower, The Fits
Best Directorial Debut: Trey Edward Shults, Krisha
Best Foreign Language Film: The Salesman
Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
Best Ensemble: Hidden...
- 11/30/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Manchester by the Sea" is off to a great start this awards season. The Kenneth Lonergan film was chosen as the Best Film of 2016 by the National Board of Review. Casey Affleck also won Best Actor and Lonergan took home the Best Screenplay award while Lucas Hedges was named the Breakthrough Performance (Male) of the Year.
(Check out my interview with Lucas Hedges for "Manchester by the Sea" here, and with Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams here)
Check out the full list of the winners of this year's Nbr awards:
Best Film: .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, .Moonlight.
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Actress: Amy Adams, .Arrival.
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, .Hell or High Water.
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, .Moonlight.
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, .Silence.
Best Animated Feature:...
(Check out my interview with Lucas Hedges for "Manchester by the Sea" here, and with Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams here)
Check out the full list of the winners of this year's Nbr awards:
Best Film: .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, .Moonlight.
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Actress: Amy Adams, .Arrival.
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, .Hell or High Water.
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, .Moonlight.
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, .Manchester By the Sea.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese, .Silence.
Best Animated Feature:...
- 11/30/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester By the Sea” is the best film of the year, and star Casey Affleck is the year’s best actor, according to the National Board of Review, which also accorded the film with original screenplay and breakout performance for Lucas Hedges.
The choice isn’t surprising for the 107-year-old National Board of Review, an organization comprised of “knowledgeable film enthusiasts and professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students,” and one that tends to support message films with gravitas. “Manchester By the Sea,” with its tragic story and well-respected writer-director Kenneth Lonergan, fits the bill.
Read More: How Metacritic Can Sink a Contender’s Oscar Chances, and How Critics’ Groups Fight Back
Also solidifying its frontrunner status in the documentary Oscar race is Gotham-winner Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America.” (Kirsten Johnson’s also-ran “Cameraperson” picked up the Freedom of Expression award.)
The Nbr viewed over 250 films this year,...
The choice isn’t surprising for the 107-year-old National Board of Review, an organization comprised of “knowledgeable film enthusiasts and professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students,” and one that tends to support message films with gravitas. “Manchester By the Sea,” with its tragic story and well-respected writer-director Kenneth Lonergan, fits the bill.
Read More: How Metacritic Can Sink a Contender’s Oscar Chances, and How Critics’ Groups Fight Back
Also solidifying its frontrunner status in the documentary Oscar race is Gotham-winner Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America.” (Kirsten Johnson’s also-ran “Cameraperson” picked up the Freedom of Expression award.)
The Nbr viewed over 250 films this year,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Barry Jenkins wins best director for Moonlight; Casey Affleck, Amy Adams scoop top acting awards.
The National Board Of Review (Nbr) on Tuesday declared Amazon Studios’ Manchester By The Sea its best film of 2016 as it honoured the drama with four awards.
Even though Nbr best film winners seldom go on to claim the best picture Oscar – one must go back to 2009 and Slumdog Millionaire for the last time that happened – the accolade confirms this drama and Monday’s Gothams victor Moonlight as the early awards season heavyweights, a view that the oncoming rush of critics groups awards could very well endorse.
It is notable too that there was a complete shut-out of La La Land and Fences, while Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese took adapted screenplay honours for Paramount’s little-seen Silence.
Besides the top accolade Manchester By The Sea also earned best actor for Casey Affleck, original screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan, and breakthrough...
The National Board Of Review (Nbr) on Tuesday declared Amazon Studios’ Manchester By The Sea its best film of 2016 as it honoured the drama with four awards.
Even though Nbr best film winners seldom go on to claim the best picture Oscar – one must go back to 2009 and Slumdog Millionaire for the last time that happened – the accolade confirms this drama and Monday’s Gothams victor Moonlight as the early awards season heavyweights, a view that the oncoming rush of critics groups awards could very well endorse.
It is notable too that there was a complete shut-out of La La Land and Fences, while Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese took adapted screenplay honours for Paramount’s little-seen Silence.
Besides the top accolade Manchester By The Sea also earned best actor for Casey Affleck, original screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan, and breakthrough...
- 11/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The National Board of Review has named Kenneth Lonergan’s heartbreaking drama “Manchester By the Sea” the best film of 2016, while also awarding the filmmaker the Best Original Screenplay award for his script. Star Casey Affleck also pulled in the Best Actor win, while Amy Adams was awarded Best Actress for her turn in “Arrival.”
Best Director was awarded to Barry Jenkins for his indie favorite “Moonlight,” while his star Naomie Harris was given the Best Supporting Actress win. Another indie standout, “Hell or High Water,” earned a Best Supporting Actor win for Jeff Bridges. “Manchester” standout Lucas Hedges picked up the Breakthrough Performance (Male) accolade, while “The Fits” star Royalty Hightower picked up the Female version of the award.
Read More: National Board of Review Wins For ‘Manchester’ Can Mean Oscar Momentum, But It’s Not a Lock — Analysis
Other big awards were handed out to “Kubo and the Two Strings...
Best Director was awarded to Barry Jenkins for his indie favorite “Moonlight,” while his star Naomie Harris was given the Best Supporting Actress win. Another indie standout, “Hell or High Water,” earned a Best Supporting Actor win for Jeff Bridges. “Manchester” standout Lucas Hedges picked up the Breakthrough Performance (Male) accolade, while “The Fits” star Royalty Hightower picked up the Female version of the award.
Read More: National Board of Review Wins For ‘Manchester’ Can Mean Oscar Momentum, But It’s Not a Lock — Analysis
Other big awards were handed out to “Kubo and the Two Strings...
- 11/29/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
On the heels of Cahiers du cinéma’s top 10 films of the year, the National Board of Review has now revealed their picks for the best of the year, topped by Kenneth Lonergan‘s Manchester by the Sea.
For those unfamiliar with the organization, “for 107 years, the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of domestic and foreign cinema as both art and entertainment. This year, over 250 films (studio, independent, foreign-language, animated, and documentary) were viewed by this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students.”
Check out their winners below.
Best Film: Manchester by the Sea
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress:Amy Adams, Arrival
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese,...
For those unfamiliar with the organization, “for 107 years, the National Board of Review has dedicated its efforts to the support of domestic and foreign cinema as both art and entertainment. This year, over 250 films (studio, independent, foreign-language, animated, and documentary) were viewed by this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students.”
Check out their winners below.
Best Film: Manchester by the Sea
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress:Amy Adams, Arrival
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jay Cocks and Martin Scorsese,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" (and one of my favorite films of the year) was the big winner at the 26th Annual Gotham Awards taking home Best Feature and Screenplay trophies along with Ensemble and Audience awards.
Here's the complete list of nominees and winners (highlighted) of the 26th Annual Gotham Awards:
Best Feature
.Certain Women.
.Everybody Wants Some!!.
.Manchester by the Sea.
.Moonlight. (Winner)
.Paterson.
Best Documentary
.Cameraperson.
.I Am Not Your Negro.
.O.J.: Made in America. (Winner)
.Tower.
.Weiner.
"Manchester By The Sea"
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Robert Eggers for .The Witch.
Anna Rose Holmer for .The Fits.
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for .Swiss Army Man.
Trey Edward Shults for .Krisha. (Winner)
Richard Tanne for .Southside with You.
Best Screenplay
.Hell or High Water,. Taylor Sheridan
.Love & Friendship,. Whit Stillman
.Manchester by the Sea,. Kenneth Lonergan
.Moonlight,. Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Screenplay by Barry Jenkins (Winner)
.Paterson,...
Here's the complete list of nominees and winners (highlighted) of the 26th Annual Gotham Awards:
Best Feature
.Certain Women.
.Everybody Wants Some!!.
.Manchester by the Sea.
.Moonlight. (Winner)
.Paterson.
Best Documentary
.Cameraperson.
.I Am Not Your Negro.
.O.J.: Made in America. (Winner)
.Tower.
.Weiner.
"Manchester By The Sea"
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Robert Eggers for .The Witch.
Anna Rose Holmer for .The Fits.
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for .Swiss Army Man.
Trey Edward Shults for .Krisha. (Winner)
Richard Tanne for .Southside with You.
Best Screenplay
.Hell or High Water,. Taylor Sheridan
.Love & Friendship,. Whit Stillman
.Manchester by the Sea,. Kenneth Lonergan
.Moonlight,. Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Screenplay by Barry Jenkins (Winner)
.Paterson,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Drama wins feature, screenplay and audience prizes. Manchester by the Sea’s Casey Affleck is best actor and Elle’s Isabelle Huppert best actress.
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight (pictured) won a record four awards at the Independent Filmmaker Project Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York on Monday.
The acclaimed drama, which last week got six Film Independent Spirit Award nominations, won the Gotham Award for best feature and its script, with a story by Tarell Alvin McCraney and a screenplay by Jenkins, won in the screenplay category.
The film also won the Gotham Audience Award and cast members Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders were presented with the previously announced Special Jury for Ensemble Performance.
In other Gotham Award categories, Casey Affleck was named best actor for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, another leading awards contender, and [link=nm...
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight (pictured) won a record four awards at the Independent Filmmaker Project Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York on Monday.
The acclaimed drama, which last week got six Film Independent Spirit Award nominations, won the Gotham Award for best feature and its script, with a story by Tarell Alvin McCraney and a screenplay by Jenkins, won in the screenplay category.
The film also won the Gotham Audience Award and cast members Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders were presented with the previously announced Special Jury for Ensemble Performance.
In other Gotham Award categories, Casey Affleck was named best actor for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, another leading awards contender, and [link=nm...
- 11/29/2016
- ScreenDaily
And we’re off to the races! The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) officially kicked off the 2016-17 awards season with this evening’s 26th Annual Gotham Awards, which took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
The ceremony’s nomination list was studded with some of the year’s most beloved indies, including “Manchester By the Sea,” “Certain Women,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” and “Paterson,” but the evening’s biggest winner was Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” which pulled in four awards, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay, the Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance, and the Audience Award.
Other winners included Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” for Best Documentary, Casey Affleck for Best Actor for his turn in “Manchester By the Sea,” and Isabelle Huppert’s surprise win for Best Actress for her work in “Elle.”
Read More: Gotham Awards 2016: ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Leads With Four Nominations,...
The ceremony’s nomination list was studded with some of the year’s most beloved indies, including “Manchester By the Sea,” “Certain Women,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” and “Paterson,” but the evening’s biggest winner was Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” which pulled in four awards, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay, the Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance, and the Audience Award.
Other winners included Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” for Best Documentary, Casey Affleck for Best Actor for his turn in “Manchester By the Sea,” and Isabelle Huppert’s surprise win for Best Actress for her work in “Elle.”
Read More: Gotham Awards 2016: ‘Manchester By The Sea’ Leads With Four Nominations,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Each year one of our awards traditions is to help fellow Bfca members choose more wisely when it comes to the "Young Performer" category by sharing an eligibility list. The lazy nominations each year prove that help is needed. Here's the thing: it can be difficult to even think of who is eligible when you're filling out a ballot because you don't get a list of choices and it's not a category people campaign for or one that the internet talks about. So we solve that problem right here. Our other belief, which is why we do this, is that if you actually pay attention there are enough worthy performances each year to divvy this category up into male and female as the other acting categories are divvied up. But, yes, you have to be paying attention beyond 5 or 6 movies and leading roles to notice the truly special work.
Ballots...
Ballots...
- 11/17/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Exclusive: Laurence Fishburne will star alongside Royalty Hightower in Ruby In Murdertown, a crime thriller that marks the feature directorial debut of Leah Rachel, who wrote the script. Production on the indie is slated for next year. Fishburne is producing with Cinema Gypsy partner Helen Sugland and Jp Sarni, who heads development for Cinema Gypsy. Hightower, the 11-year old who had a breakout turn in the Sundance film The Fits (she was just nominated by the Gotham…...
- 11/15/2016
- Deadline
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Complete Unknown (Joshua Marston)
Armed with two top-notch leads and a compelling premise, Joshua Marston‘s third feature, Complete Unknown, spends a lot of time hinting at which direction it will go, without going anywhere at all. Tom (Michael Shannon) is living with his wife Rehema (Azita Ghanizada) in New York City, spending the majority of his days drafting agricultural policy emails in a cramped government office. It is...
Complete Unknown (Joshua Marston)
Armed with two top-notch leads and a compelling premise, Joshua Marston‘s third feature, Complete Unknown, spends a lot of time hinting at which direction it will go, without going anywhere at all. Tom (Michael Shannon) is living with his wife Rehema (Azita Ghanizada) in New York City, spending the majority of his days drafting agricultural policy emails in a cramped government office. It is...
- 10/28/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Kenneth Lonergan’s drama declared its awards season credentials on Thursday with four nods for the 26th annual Ifp Gotham Awards.
Manchester By The Sea is in the running for best feature, best screenplay for Lonergan, best actor for Casey Affleck and breakthrough actor for Lucas Hedges.
The film premiered at Sundance, when Amazon Studios acquired North American rights and Universal picked up the rest of the world.
Meanwhile Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight from A24 continued to build up a head of steam following its recent world premiere in Telluride and subsequent Toronto presentations, picking up a nomination for best feature and the special jury award for ensemble cast.
“We wish to offer our hearty congratulations to the 2016 Gotham Awards nominees, all of whose unique and exciting artistic achievements represent the very best in independent storytelling,” said Joana Vicente, executive director of Ifp and the Made In NY Media Center.
Ifp members will determine the Gotham Independent Film Audience...
Manchester By The Sea is in the running for best feature, best screenplay for Lonergan, best actor for Casey Affleck and breakthrough actor for Lucas Hedges.
The film premiered at Sundance, when Amazon Studios acquired North American rights and Universal picked up the rest of the world.
Meanwhile Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight from A24 continued to build up a head of steam following its recent world premiere in Telluride and subsequent Toronto presentations, picking up a nomination for best feature and the special jury award for ensemble cast.
“We wish to offer our hearty congratulations to the 2016 Gotham Awards nominees, all of whose unique and exciting artistic achievements represent the very best in independent storytelling,” said Joana Vicente, executive director of Ifp and the Made In NY Media Center.
Ifp members will determine the Gotham Independent Film Audience...
- 10/20/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Kicking off the onslaught of awards this year, as always, is the Gotham Independent Film Awards, which celebrates its 26th anniversary. Usually a strong slate highlighting some of the year’s best films, 2016 is no different as Manchester by the Sea leads the pack with four nominations. Close behind is Moonlight (which will also pick up a special ensemble award) and Paterson with three each overall.
Rounding out the Best Feature line-up, along with the three aforementioned films, is Certain Women and Everybody Wants Some!!. As for the Best Documentary line-up, Cameraperson, I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America, Tower, and Weiner all made the cut. With Krisha, The Witch, The Fits, Elle, Morris From America, Jackie, and more also getting nods, the list makes for the ideal what-to-watch-before-the-year-is-over rundown.
Check out the full list of nominations below.
Best Feature
Certain Women
Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino,...
Rounding out the Best Feature line-up, along with the three aforementioned films, is Certain Women and Everybody Wants Some!!. As for the Best Documentary line-up, Cameraperson, I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America, Tower, and Weiner all made the cut. With Krisha, The Witch, The Fits, Elle, Morris From America, Jackie, and more also getting nods, the list makes for the ideal what-to-watch-before-the-year-is-over rundown.
Check out the full list of nominations below.
Best Feature
Certain Women
Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino,...
- 10/20/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Let the race begin! The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) has officially kicked off the 2016-17 awards season with this morning’s nominations for the 26th Annual Gotham Awards, which will take place November 28 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. While not the largest awards show of season, the Gothams are one of the most important platforms for indies looking to get a real jump start in the race. Just look at nominations for amazing films like “The Fits,” “Krisha” and “Love & Friendship” to see why the Gotham Awards are so essential.
This year, Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed drama “Manchester By The Sea” leads the pack with four nominations, including Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Best Picture, where it will be joined by “Certain Women,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Moonlight” and “Paterson.” The latter two, which are some of the most acclaimed indies of the year, cleaned up nicely as well with multiple nominations.
This year, Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed drama “Manchester By The Sea” leads the pack with four nominations, including Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Best Picture, where it will be joined by “Certain Women,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Moonlight” and “Paterson.” The latter two, which are some of the most acclaimed indies of the year, cleaned up nicely as well with multiple nominations.
- 10/20/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Almost Holy (Steve Hoover)
The most fascinating part of Steve Hoover‘s latest documentary Almost Holy is how its subject Gennadiy Mokhnenko parallels the life of well-known Russian cartoon Krokodil Gena. The latter deals with a lonely crocodile zoo worker named Gena and his friend Cheburashka: a young, abandoned creature rejected by the establishment employing him. The two therefore construct a home for the lonely as...
Almost Holy (Steve Hoover)
The most fascinating part of Steve Hoover‘s latest documentary Almost Holy is how its subject Gennadiy Mokhnenko parallels the life of well-known Russian cartoon Krokodil Gena. The latter deals with a lonely crocodile zoo worker named Gena and his friend Cheburashka: a young, abandoned creature rejected by the establishment employing him. The two therefore construct a home for the lonely as...
- 8/19/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
In the opening shot of The Fits, the slender frame of 11-year-old tomboy Toni glides in and out of a static medium shot as she counts off sit-ups while peering down the center of the camera’s lens. The image embodies the distinctive dichotomy of the film’s style – a mixture of neorealism and abstract lyricism that taps into the simultaneous horror and yearning of adolescence. The influence of neorealism is found in the cast of non-actors (led by Royalty Hightower as Toni) and the setting, a community center in Cincinnati where a mysterious wave of seizure-like fits strikes the dance […]...
- 6/28/2016
- by Matt Mulcahey
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
What if Hollywood refused to release any more movies after June 30th, leaving audiences and Oscar voters to pick from what washed in with the tide from the first six months of 2016? Yikes. Last year at this time, we'd already had Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside Out, Love & Mercy and Ex Machina. This year's pickings are, well, slimmer. Amid the furor over the degrees of suckitude in Batman v Superman, the lack of laughs delivered by Kevin Hart in Ride Along 2 and Central Intelligence, and the franchise fatigue brought...
- 6/21/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Anna Rose Holmer was browsing through a book on medieval history when she stumbled upon a passage involving seizures. It wasn't just one or two isolated individuals; entire townships were apparently gripped by these convulsive fits. The former Nyu film student suddenly found herself wondering: Do these sort of mass epidemics still happen? "I started looking into it," she says, sitting in a downtown New York coffee shop near her alma mater. "And I found some recent occurrences of hysteric outbreaks — a made-up disease shows up on a soap opera,...
- 6/10/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The Fits has been on the festival circuit since last year, including a trip to the Nashville Film Festival that has Nathaniel singing its praises. Well, add me to the fan club, because I found myself even more taken by this ferocious and emotionally intelligent debut.
Set in and around a recreation center for Cincinnati youths, the film follows Toni (captivating newcomer Royalty Hightower) as she transitions from her brother's boxing studio into the militaristic, successful all-girl dance crew down the hall, without any dance ability to her credit. As Toni begins to improve her skill, her sense of otherness is further enervated by the growing outbreak of unexplained seizures on the team. Blending themes of gender performance, isolation, and feminity, The Fits packs a huge punch in a brisk 72 minutes unlike anything you've experienced this year.
Set in and around a recreation center for Cincinnati youths, the film follows Toni (captivating newcomer Royalty Hightower) as she transitions from her brother's boxing studio into the militaristic, successful all-girl dance crew down the hall, without any dance ability to her credit. As Toni begins to improve her skill, her sense of otherness is further enervated by the growing outbreak of unexplained seizures on the team. Blending themes of gender performance, isolation, and feminity, The Fits packs a huge punch in a brisk 72 minutes unlike anything you've experienced this year.
- 6/4/2016
- by Chris Feil
- FilmExperience
If only more debut films were like The Fits, the world would be a much better place.
The first film from filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer, The Fits is an achievement of the highest order, a first feature that is truly unlike anything in theaters right now. Starring the effervescent Royalty Hightower (who both gives one of the year’s best performances and is absolutely a presence unlike any we’ve seen from an actor this young), the film introduces us to Toni, a young woman who spends most of her day sparring with her brother at a local gym where they also act as makeshift janitors. A superb boxer in her own right, she begins to spend less and less time in the ring after becoming ensnared in the world of dance, after catching a practice held by a local troupe in the same gym.
Finding something profound in the...
The first film from filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer, The Fits is an achievement of the highest order, a first feature that is truly unlike anything in theaters right now. Starring the effervescent Royalty Hightower (who both gives one of the year’s best performances and is absolutely a presence unlike any we’ve seen from an actor this young), the film introduces us to Toni, a young woman who spends most of her day sparring with her brother at a local gym where they also act as makeshift janitors. A superb boxer in her own right, she begins to spend less and less time in the ring after becoming ensnared in the world of dance, after catching a practice held by a local troupe in the same gym.
Finding something profound in the...
- 6/4/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Anna Rose Holmer.
First-time feature director and Sundance breakout Anna Rose Holmer will appear in conversation in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, screening her film The Fits as part of the Essential Independents: American Cinema Now Film Festival.
Holmer's film premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival.
The filmmaker was previously one of three recipients of the 2014 Venice Biennale College, winning a $187,000 grant to make The Fits, a coming of age story that follows 11 year-old tomboy Toni (the magnificently named Royalty Hightower) and is set mostly in a housing estate community centre..
The film was recently selected to play this year.s New Directors/New Films festival, which introduces emerging filmmakers from around the world and has previously put the spotlight on the likes of Pedro Almódovar, Christopher Nolan and Spike Lee. .
Holmer will be in Melbourne for the festival's opening night at Palace Cinema Como on May 18, and will take...
First-time feature director and Sundance breakout Anna Rose Holmer will appear in conversation in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, screening her film The Fits as part of the Essential Independents: American Cinema Now Film Festival.
Holmer's film premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival.
The filmmaker was previously one of three recipients of the 2014 Venice Biennale College, winning a $187,000 grant to make The Fits, a coming of age story that follows 11 year-old tomboy Toni (the magnificently named Royalty Hightower) and is set mostly in a housing estate community centre..
The film was recently selected to play this year.s New Directors/New Films festival, which introduces emerging filmmakers from around the world and has previously put the spotlight on the likes of Pedro Almódovar, Christopher Nolan and Spike Lee. .
Holmer will be in Melbourne for the festival's opening night at Palace Cinema Como on May 18, and will take...
- 5/17/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
One day I will figure out to keep up with the cinematic madness but April contained none of those days. A week ago the Nashville Film Festival wrapped and I have yet to share with you the prizes my jury bestowed! Not that you've been clamoring to read about films you've never heard of but one of the joys of film festivals is in the discoveries. Hence my great thrill to be asked to sit on the "New Directors Jury". Let's survey a handful of the competitors starting with the two winners, both of which made one step closer to theaters this week.
Honorable Mention The Fits (2016)
I'm starting with this one because it's out very soon (June 3rd in NYC / June 10th in Los Angeles) and you absolutely shouldn't miss it. I'm already eager to see it again. We need directors with fresh voices and a unique gaze and...
Honorable Mention The Fits (2016)
I'm starting with this one because it's out very soon (June 3rd in NYC / June 10th in Los Angeles) and you absolutely shouldn't miss it. I'm already eager to see it again. We need directors with fresh voices and a unique gaze and...
- 4/29/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
After 11-year-old Toni (newcomer Royalty Hightower) joins a dance group with older girls, the team begins to experience mysterious spasms. It’s a wholly original – if unlikely – premise for a film and, in the case of The Fits, it succeeds as a compelling meditation on coming-of-age. Written and directed by Anna Rose Holmer, one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, The Fits premiered at the Venice Film Festival and also played Sundance earlier this year. It will hit theaters on June 3rd courtesy of Oscilloscope. Check out the intriguing trailer above.
- 4/28/2016
- by Paula Bernstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
"Five, six, seven, eight." Oscilloscope Labs has unveiled the first official trailer for Anna Rose Holmer's The Fits, an outstanding indie film that has been playing at festivals all over the world to plenty of acclaim. The Fits stars newcomer Royalty Hightower as Toni, an 11-year-old tomboy girl who starts to notice older girls in a dance troupe getting sick. It's hard to describe the film since the whole thing is very mesmerizing but that's why this is such an effective and attention-grabbing trailer - all the quotes are excellent and I love the way it plays without any dialogue, only sounds from the film and the very eerie music. Even if you don't know anything about this, give it a look - it's worth watching. I've seen the film and definitely recommend it. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Anna Rose Holmer's The Fits, direct from Oscilloscope's...
- 4/27/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of our favorite films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Anna Rose Holmer‘s debut feature The Fits. Following a girl’s journey growing up in Cincinnati, more specifically at a rec center, we were taken aback by it’s visual approach, as seen in the first trailer, which debuted today. Thanks to Oscilloscope, they’ll be released in in June, making it one of the must-see films of the summer.
We said in our review, “An exploration of movement, motion, liminality, childhood and racial politics, The Fits is a fascinating psychological study of Toni (fearlessly played by Royalty Hightower), an 11-year-old living in Cincinnati’s West End. Set almost entirely within the walls of the neighborhood Lincoln Rec Center, we first find Toni taking up boxing, trained by older brother Jermaine (Da’Sean Minor). Abandoning the rigor of the boxing — requiring sprints across an overpass after...
We said in our review, “An exploration of movement, motion, liminality, childhood and racial politics, The Fits is a fascinating psychological study of Toni (fearlessly played by Royalty Hightower), an 11-year-old living in Cincinnati’s West End. Set almost entirely within the walls of the neighborhood Lincoln Rec Center, we first find Toni taking up boxing, trained by older brother Jermaine (Da’Sean Minor). Abandoning the rigor of the boxing — requiring sprints across an overpass after...
- 4/27/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
For her debut feature film, director Anna Rose Holmer isn't lacking in ambition, mixing a coming-of-age story based around the world of dancing with a little bit of the supernatural. The result is "The Fits," which made some waves at Sundance and Venice, and the propulsive new trailer welcomes you to the unique drama. Read More: Sundance Review: Anna Rose Holmer's 'The Fits' Starring Royalty Hightower Starring Royalty Hightower, the story follows a young girl who transitions from the world of boxing, to the realm of dancing, but once there, she encounters the titular "fits," mysterious spasms that start affecting everyone on the dance team. Here's the official synopsis: Toni trains as a boxer with her brother at a community center in Cincinnati’s West End, but becomes fascinated by the dance team that also practices there. Enamored by their strength and confidence, Toni eventually joins the group,...
- 4/27/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Oscilloscope Laboratories has set a summer 2016 USA release for its portrait of female adolescence, "The Fits," from director Anna Rose Holmer, her feature film debut, based on a script she co-wrote with Saela Davis and Lisa Kjerulff. Told from the perspective of a young tomboy, "The Fits" follows Toni, an 11-year-old assimilating into a tight-knit dance team in Cincinnati’s West End, when a mysterious outbreak of fainting spells plagues the team, and her desire for acceptance is twisted. The festival darling, and critically-acclaimed drama (which made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year) stars Royalty Hightower, Alexis...
- 4/27/2016
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The River Run International Film Festival wrapped its 18th edition in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with its narrative feature award going to Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits, which was, in the words of the jury, “an audacious debut from a promising American talent.”
Best documentary feature went to Mike Plunkett’s Salero, about one of the last salt gatherers in Bolivia. The jury praised that film “for its astonishing visuals, narrative acuity and ability to showcase characters that go against the grain.”
The Fits, a Venice Biennale College project that also played at Sundance, also won best actress for its impressive young newcomer Royalty Hightower.
Interestingly, there is a link between the two top winners — debutant director Holmer from The Fits also served as a producer on Salero.
The jury’s best ensemble performance went to Jackson Martin, Nick Serino and Reece Moffett in Sleeping Giant, with best director honours for Romania’s Radu Muntean for One...
Best documentary feature went to Mike Plunkett’s Salero, about one of the last salt gatherers in Bolivia. The jury praised that film “for its astonishing visuals, narrative acuity and ability to showcase characters that go against the grain.”
The Fits, a Venice Biennale College project that also played at Sundance, also won best actress for its impressive young newcomer Royalty Hightower.
Interestingly, there is a link between the two top winners — debutant director Holmer from The Fits also served as a producer on Salero.
The jury’s best ensemble performance went to Jackson Martin, Nick Serino and Reece Moffett in Sleeping Giant, with best director honours for Romania’s Radu Muntean for One...
- 4/17/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
BehemothAs more prominent film festivals gear up for spring, a smaller though by no means slighter affair begins in New York. New Directors/New Films, curated by Museum of the Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center, unfurls its carefully considered program of 27 features and 10 shorts, with its premise and draw on emerging voices in cinema. Indeed, the festival may very well be a last stop for filmmakers on the rise before they are introduced to wider audiences. Nd/Nf has brought us in the recent past Fort Buchanan and Diary of a Teenage Girl, and longer ago films by Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Chantal Akerman. Most of this year’s selection has premiered at festivals, many have been covered by this very site, and all are compelling. Here are several highlights.***With a narrative rooted loosely on Dante’s Divine Comedy, Zhao Liang’s documentary Behemoth depicts the...
- 3/17/2016
- by Elissa Suh
- MUBI
Exclusive: Royalty Hightower, the 10-year-old who made her feature film debut as a young boxer who decides to join a dance team in the Sundance Film Festival pic The Fits, has signed with Paradigm in a competitive situation. Hightower plays 11-year-old tomboy Toni in The Fits, the debut feature from director Anna Rose Holmer that Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired just before the pic had its North American premiere in the Next lineup in Park City. Toni is bewitched by the…...
- 2/17/2016
- Deadline
Yesterday, Nicholas Bell and I issued our Top 10 New Voices, and now we launch into our New Faces. They range in age, amount of screen time, and in this year’s batch of New Faces made memorable turns in supporting or principle character roles. Narrowly breaking into our top ten list we have names such as Sand Storm‘s Lammis Ammar and Spa Night‘s Haerry Kim. Here is our top ten countdown.
#10. Royalty Hightower – The Fits.
Move over Creed. The youngest featured actress to be profiled in our ten set was embraced in Park City as the next “it” personality and for good reason. In Anna Rose Holmer’s debut, Royalty Hightower’s Toni has a lot of volume – she physically inhabits a character who is at odds with her burgeoning teenagehood (a transition that is not always welcomed) in a performance that empathically comes across as non-actingly natural.
#10. Royalty Hightower – The Fits.
Move over Creed. The youngest featured actress to be profiled in our ten set was embraced in Park City as the next “it” personality and for good reason. In Anna Rose Holmer’s debut, Royalty Hightower’s Toni has a lot of volume – she physically inhabits a character who is at odds with her burgeoning teenagehood (a transition that is not always welcomed) in a performance that empathically comes across as non-actingly natural.
- 2/5/2016
- by IONCINEMA.com Contributing Writers
- IONCINEMA.com
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