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What’s old is very unfortunately new again for Jenelle Evans and her oldest child.

Over this past weekend, the former Teen Mom participant reportedly called 911 after getting into a major fight with her 15-year old son, Jace.

According to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, Jace ran away from home on Saturday night… only to return a few hours later.

Jenelle Evans and her oldest son on Teen Mom. (MTV)

(Last year, as many readers likely know at this point, Jace ditched home on numerous occasions.)

On Sunday morning, mother and son engaged in a “nasty fight,” the aforementioned website claims, with Evans telling the 911 operator that Jace had “smashed his door, my door, a closet door.”

“Now everything in my house is, like, smashed, and it keeps happening and the cops said they wouldn’t help yesterday [when Jace ran away the first time],” Jenelle says tearfully on the recording of this call.

Later in the call,...

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition lost a fan favorite this week. Reality TV star Eduardo Xol was found clinging to life in his California home on September 18th, and was reportedly stabbed. After a week in the hospital, Eduardo succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at just 58 years old.

Extreme Home Makeover – Cast Member Murdered

Who was Eduardo Xol? The Spanish author and home designer debuted on ABC’s Extreme Makeover series during home renovations’ heyday on television.

Xol aired on the series from Season 2 – Season 8 and was in charge of the landscaping on their renovation projects.

You can still catch reruns of Xol in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on CMT and TV Land. In 2012 ABC took the series off the air, but in 2019 home design powerhouse HGTV resurrected the show and began filming new episodes.

After his time on Extreme Makeover, Eduardo Xol went on to write a book for Harper Collins,...

Sobhita Dhulipala & Naga Chaitanya Have Been Rumoured To Be Dating For A While Now ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Sobhita Dhulipala is a force to be reckoned with. The actress is making strides in her professional life, with her Hollywood debut in Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, and is getting rave reviews for her performance. There is also chatter about her alleged relationship with Naga Chaitanya. The internet is pretty good at understanding innuendoes, and Sobhita might have just confirmed that she is indeed in a relationship.

Sobhita Dhulipala discussed being in love amid rumors about her relationship with actor Naga Chaitanya. Sobhita told a reputed magazine that she is ‘always in love.’ However, Sobhita did not specify whether she was in a romantic relationship.

All of this buzz comes to the front foot after a source recently told Hindustan Times, “Naga and Sobhita have found a happy place with each other and are dating.

Exclusive: Lionsgate has acquired world rights to under-the-radar thriller Amber Alert, which will star Golden Globe nominee Hayden Panettiere (Scream VI). Golden Globe winner Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary) co-stars.

In Amber Alert, which is in post-production, an ordinary ride share becomes a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. The story will follow Jaq (Hayden Panettiere) who is eager to get to her first day at a new job, and her driver, Shane (Tyler James Williams), who is just trying to earn a little extra at his side hustle. An alert of a child abduction on their phones will change all that when they discover they are behind a car that matches the description of the kidnapper’s. Unable to let a possible child trafficker escape, they begin a pursuit that will put their own lives at risk.

Kerry Bellessa directs the film which is written by Kerry Bellessa and Joshua Oram.

The life of Rosa Bonheur, a trailblazing feminist and artist who rose to fame in 19th century France, will be played by Melanie Laurent in a sprawling period movie directed by Fabienne Berthaud.

“Rosa Bonheur” is being produced by Carole Scotta, Barbara Letellier and Caroline Benjo at Haut et Court, the company behind “Coco Before Chanel” and “The Night of the 12th,” which won a raft of Cesar Awards last year.

The biopic reteams Haut et Court with Berthaud following her previous films, notably Diane Kruger starrer ”Lily Sometimes,” which played at Cannes’ Director’s fortnight in 2010, and 2019’s ”A Bigger World,” starring Cecile de France, which bowed at Venice. Haut et Court will also distribute “Rosa Bonheur” in France.

The movie will shoot on location in Bonheur’s well-preserved atelier at her Château de By in Thomery, where she worked and lived for over 40 years, alongside her partner Nathalie...

Indie Sales has boarded Nathalie Najem’s “No Way Back,” a timely feature debut tackling domestic violence with a cast led by Bastien Bouillon (“The Night of the 12th”) and Zita Hanrot (“Angry Annie”).

Now in post, “No Way Back” will be introduced to buyers by the banner Indie Sales at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase next week.

“No Way Back” tells the story of Laura, who is rebuilding her life after years under the toxic influence of Joachim and is raising their daughter on her own. When Joachim’s new girlfriend, Shirine, shows up at her door in dire straits, Laura realizes that they must help each other to get rid of Joachim’s harmful influence. The film appears to be in a similar vein as Xavier Legrand’s Venice prizewinner “Custody,” with an emphasis on sisterhood.

Bouillon won last year’s Cesar Award for best male newcomer for his...

French actor turned director Xavier Legrand’s superbly performed first feature, Custody, was the kind of debut that budding filmmakers can only dream about. After premiering in Venice in 2017, where it won the Silver Lion, it went on to scoop up a slew of other prizes that culminated with four César Awards in France, including best picture.

In such instances, there’s always a risk of a sophomore slump, though that’s not really the term to apply to Legrand’s second movie, The Successor (Le Successeur), a bleak and tormented psychological thriller that made its world premiere in competition at San Sebastian. Let’s call it a case of swinging for the fences and hitting a foul ball that lands somewhere far off in the upper tiers, so much does this ambitious and well-made but extremely flawed film miss its mark.

Adapted by Legrand and Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf from Alexandre Postel’s 2015 novel,...

In “The Successor” — a provocative psychological thriller with a lot more actual psychology than the genre typically offers — Paris-based fashion designer Ellias Barnès (Marc-André Grondin) stands on the precipice of a breakthrough in his career. He’s poised to take his place as creative director of the fashion house Orsino, following the death of its eponymous founder. If this were a tale of corporate ambition (à la “Succession”), or perhaps a Roman palace intrigue, here is the moment that Ellias would assume the throne. But instead of feeling victorious, he clutches his chest. The anxiety is almost too much. And then the police arrive.

It’s taken more than a decade, but Ellias has done everything he can to distance himself from his biological father. As such, there’s an ironic perversity to the news he gets right after his stunning solo show for Orsino: His dad, Jean-Jacques, is dead,...

The San Sebastian Film Festival added six movies to its competition lineup on Friday.

Joining the list of contenders for the Golden Shell award at the Spanish fest’s 71st edition are the latest films from directors Kitty Green (The Assistant), Isabella Eklöf (Holiday), Xavier Legrand (Jusqu’à la garde/Custody), Kei Chika-Ura (Complicity) and Christos Nikou (Apples), as well as the debut from Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang. Nikou’s new movie features a star-studded cast, including Riz Ahmed, Jessie Buckley, Luke Wilson, Jeremy Allen White and Annie Murphy.

They join a competition program that includes two American titles in Ex-Husbands from director Noah Pritzker (Quitters) and Raven Jackson’s first feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.

In addition, Thomas Lilti’s Un métier sérieux (A Real Job) will be part of the special screenings in the San Sabastian official selection, fest organizers said. The new film from...

Aussie filmmaker Kitty Green’s latest pic, The Royal Hotel, starring Julia Garner, and Fingernails, the latest film from Christos Nikou, with Riz Ahmed and Jessie Buckley, have been added to San Sebastian’s competition lineup.

Overall, six films have been announced as late additions to proceedings in San Seb. The other titles are Kalak (Isabella Eklöf), The Successor (Xavier Legrand), Great Absence (Kei Chika-Ura), and the debut from Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang, A Journey in Spring. Additionally, the French pic A Real Job, directed by Thomas Lilti, will play the fest’s special screenings section.

The Royal Hotel is Kitty Green’s first feature since her 2019 breakout, The Assistant. The film tells the tale of two backpackers (Garner and Jessica Henwick) who take a job in a pub in the remote Australian Outback. Neon has acquired North American rights to the film. Following his debut Apples, which played Telluride,...

Headlined respectively by “Sound of Metal” lead Riz Ahmed and “Matrix” stars Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving, Christos Nikou’s “Fingernails” and Kitty Green’s “The Royal Hotel” figure among seven newly unveiled films which will play in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival.

Also in the running are buzz titles “A Journey in Spring,” from Taiwan’s Peng Tzu-Hui, Wang Ping-Wen, and “Kalak,” directed by Denmark’s Isabella Eklöf.

Announced Friday, the new additions are comprised by one debut (“Spring”) and five second features from emerging talent ranging from Japan’s Kei Chica-ura to France’s Xavier Legrand, nominated for an Academy Award for best live action short film for 2013’s “Just Before Losing Everything.”

The new titles confirm a 2023 main competition which, including previously announced titles, frames three feature debuts – Raven Jackson’s “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Isabel Herguera’s “Sultana’s Dream...

Agnès Varda, the late New Wave cinema legend, is the subject of “Viva Varda!,” a documentary boasting exclusive archive footage and interviews by filmmakers such as Atom Egoyan and Audrey Diwan. Mk2 Films is co-representing the documentary feature with Cinétévé Sales.

“Viva Varda!” will be first portrait of the Honorary Oscar recipient that’s not directed by Varda herself. The last film she directed was “Varda par Agnes,” a documentary shedding light on her own experiences as a filmmaker. Her sprawling career and legacy will be celebrated this fall at the French Cinémathèque.

Pierre-Henri Gibert, a film buff who’s made several documentaries about filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard, explored different aspects of Varda’s life and body of work and conducted insightful interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy and Jonathan Romney, among others.

“Viva Varda!

As many as seven sets have been constructed for the song shoot of Tollywood actor Naga Chaitanya’s Telugu-Tamil bilingual project ‘Custody’. Directed by leading filmmaker Venkat Prabhu, the movie is being filmed in the Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. The song features lead pair Naga Chaitanya and Krithi Shetty. The film will have its theatrical release on May 12 this year.

Production designer Rajeevan and art director D Y Satyanarayana have come together to create the grand sets.

Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja and his son, Yuvan Shankar Raja, have scored the music for the movie and the choreography for the song is by Shekar Master. It is going to be a visual feast to watch this dance number on the big screen.

Each and every update related to the movie got a terrific response. As of now, the makers have unveiled the first-look posters of Naga Chaitanya and Krithi Shetty, besides releasing a small glimpse.

Duo are behind Dominik Moll’s ’The Night of the 12th’

Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier were named best producers of the year at the 16th annual edition of France’s Academy of Film Arts & Sciences’ Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize held on Monday night (February 14) in Paris.

The duo are notably behind Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th, which has been sweeping awards season in France, winning the Best Film Lumiere Award and nominated for 10 César awards.

A swanky gala dinner celebrated the winning pair along with the finalists for the prize,...

Xavier Legrand, whose 2017 feature debut “Custody” won two prizes at Venice and swept four Cesar Awards, is back with “The Successor.” The anticipated sophomore outing has been boarded by mk2 films (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) which will launch sales at the European Film Market.

“The Successor” will star Marc-André Grondin (“C.R.A.Z.Y.”) as the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organize his estranged father’s funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father’s weak heart.

“We don’t want to give much away but will say that ‘The Successor’ is a tense and thrilling read that we can’t wait to share with buyers,” said Fionnuala Jamison, mk2 films’ managing director.

“As much if not more than with “Custody,...

Carly Rae Jepsen is letting the “Western Wind” take her across the United States for her new So Nice Tour this fall. On Tuesday, the Canadian pop star announced her first tour in three years, accompanied by Empress Of.

“We’ve had the loneliest time… but after 3 years, the So Nice tour is coming to your city,” Jepsen wrote on Instagram, sharing the tour dates.

Jepsen last hit the road in support of her fourth LP, Dedicated, which featured tracks like “Party for One,” “No Drug Like Me,” and “Julien.

Exclusive: Mubi has acquired Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Competion entry Close for the UK, Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India.

Starring Lea Drucker (Custody), Émilie Dequenne (Our Children), Kevin Janssens (Revenge) and newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele, the film will get its world premiere on the Riviera this week.

In Close, the intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi’s mother.

The film will be released theatrically followed by an exclusive Mubi streaming release. The Match Factory is handling international sales and negotiated the deal with Mubi, its parent company.

Pic is produced by Dirk Impens and Michiel Dhont for Menuet (Be) and co-produced by Diaphana (Fr), Topkapi Films (Nl) and Versus Productions (Be).

Dhont said: “I am incredibly honored to share this film and start this collaboration with Mubi.”

Girl, Dhont’s debut feature film,...

Emmy award winning show runner Mitch Watson discusses some of the movies he saw when he was a kid that ruined him for life.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

A History Of Violence (2005)

On The Border (1998)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness celebration

E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)

Harold and Maude (1971) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Witchfinder General (1968) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Swashbuckler (1976)

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Shark Attack At Hero Complex Gallery

The Neverending Story (1984)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Videodrome (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Starship Troopers (1997)

They Live (1988)

Magic (1978)

Dead Of Night...

Arrow Films have acquired U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland rights to Berlinale title “Incredible But True,” by French writer-director Quentin Dupieux (“Mandibles”).

The quirky comedy, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, sees a husband and wife move into a suburban house of their dreams only to discover that a mysterious secret is hidden in the basement, which may change their lives forever.

The film stars Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier.

Reviewing the film at Berlin, Variety critic Jessica Kiang described the film as “a fun little trinket that unmistakably comes from Dupieux’s far-out perspective” and “charmingly eccentric.”

The film is an Atelier de Production production in co-production with Versus Production and Arte France Cinema and produced by Mathieu Verhaeghe and Thomas Verhaeghe.

Arrow Films, a U.K.-based premiere label for cult, art, horror and world cinema,...

In Being John Malkovich, an entire half-hour passes by before John Cusack’s hangdog puppeteer peaks behind his filing cabinet and finds a tunnel to another man’s brain. Incredible But True––another film about a tunnel and likely oblivion––is directed by Quentin Dupieux, a French filmmaker whose absurdist tendencies would rival even Charlie Kaufman’s. He is also better-known for his brevity. Dupieux’s two most recent films (Deerskin and Mandibles), both clocked in at less than 80 minutes. (They were also his best.) Realité, his most indulgent, asks only for 95.

Dupieux’s popularity on the festival circuit can be tied to that succinctness as much as his auteur credentials and uncanny sense of humor. His latest, another rough absurdist gem, goes one further in offering a playful, compelling twist on an enduring sc-fi trope. There is also some uneasy gender stereotyping. There is also what one medical practitioner refers to as an “iPenis.

Orange Studio, the film and TV production and distribution arm of France’s leading telco group, is launching a trio of new projects, “The Nannies,” “The Green Perfume” and “A Cat’s Life,” at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris.

“The Nannies” (“Les femmes du square”), directed by Julien Rambaldi (“Labor Day”), stars Eye Haïdara (“C’est la Vie”) as Angèle, a young undocumented woman in her thirties who lives on the outskirts of Paris. Threatened by gangsters she conned, Angèle decides to leave her neighborhood and starts working as a nanny for Hélène’s 10-year-old son in a chic Parisian area. Although she’s supposed to keep a low profile, Angèle meets other nannies, some of whom are being taken advantage of, and sets out to help them. Haïdara stars in the film opposite Ahmed Sylla (“The Climb”) and Léa Drucker (“Custody”).

“The Nannies” is produced by Les Films du Kiosque,...

WME has inked stage director, playwright, screenwriter and librettist James Lapine in all areas.

Lapine wrote the book for and directed Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion, and the multi-media revue Sondheim on Sondheim.

He also directed Merrily We Roll Along, as part of Encores at New York City Center. With William Finn, he teamed on March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, later presented on twice Broadway as Falsettos; A New Brain; Muscle, and Little Miss Sunshine.

He has also directed on Broadway David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child; The Diary of Anne Frank; Michel Legrand’s Amour, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the 2012 revival of Annie, and his stage adaptation of the famous Moss Hart autobiography Act One, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theater on the Beaumont stage.

With Frank Rich, he co-produced and also directed the HBO documentary Six...

James Lapine, stage director, playwright, screenwriter and librettist, has signed with WME for representation in all areas.

Lapine wrote the book for and directed Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Into the Woods,” “Passion” and “Sondheim on Sondheim.” He has collaborated with William Finn on “March of the Falsettos” and “Falsettoland,” later combined on Broadway as the full-length musical “Falsettos.” Lapine and Finn also worked together on “A New Brain,” “Muscle” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” On Broadway, Lapine also directed David Henry Hwang’s “Golden Child,” “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Amour,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the 2012 revival of “Annie” and “Act One.”

Lapine’s experiences on screen include co-producing and directing the HBO documentary “Six by Sondheim,” writing the film adaptation of “Into the Woods” and writing and directing the film “Custody.” He is the author of the book “Putting it Together: How...

For the very first time, Iffla is making a section of its 2021 lineup available to audiences in India, with the India Pass. For the price of Rs. 150 ($2), the India Pass will offer access to 24 films from this year’s lineup, including 6 features and 18 shorts. Most expenses associated with this pass are being underwritten by an anonymous donor.

Highlights from the India Pass selection include the Malayalam feature “Biriyaani“, with a powerhouse performance by Kani Kusruti; the poignant Rotterdam selected documentary “A Rifle and a Bag“; and the impressive debut feature “Aise Hee” (Just Like That).

Of note this year is a special program curated by the legendary Uma da Cunha, “Childhood on Edge”, with characters on the verge of the momentous transformation from childhood to adulthood. This program includes three diverse features and one short, “Kanya“.

From the shorts in the India Pass, highlights include the riveting National Award winning...

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) announced today its full lineup of narrative and documentary features, and shorts for the festival’s 19th edition, which will be held virtually and geo-blocked to California, on May 20-27.

“This is a very special year for Iffla. Taking the festival online has given us the freedom to curate programs we would not have been able to present in a physical setting. We have expanded our reach to all California residents, doubled the shorts program with a strong representation of films from the diaspora, added special programs like “Childhood on Edge”, and curated discussions on timely and pressing topics, celebrating the independent film community from India and the Indian diaspora,” said Christina Marouda, Executive Director.

Iffla will open with the Los Angeles premiere of the powerful female-centric film, Fire in the Mountains, the 2021 Sundance-selected debut feature by Ajitpal Singh that immerses audiences...

H.R. Giger’s early Xenomorph prototype from Alien, John McClane’s Zippo lighter from Die Hard, and a Walther P5 handled by Sean Connery’s James Bond are among the highlights in an upcoming auction of classic film props.

Unique items from Edward Scissorhands, Scarface, Men in Black, Tim Burton’s Batman movies, and Independence Day will also feature as part of Julien’s Auctions’ Hollywood Legends and Luminaries Auction, set for April 28th and 29th in Beverly Hills, California.

Giger’s rare full-size and near-translucent prototype Xenomorph costume for...

Gaumont is set to unveil sprawling period thriller “The Colors of Fire,” based on Pierre Lemaitre’s international bestseller.

Directed by Clovis Cornillac, “The Colors of Fire” is headlined by a prestigious cast, including Lea Drucker (pictured), the Cesar-winning actor of “Custody,” as well as Benoit Poelvoorde (“Sink or Swim”), Olivier Gourmet (“Karl Marx”), Fanny Ardant (“DNA”), Alice Isaaz (“Elle”) and Cornillac.

Set for delivery in the second half of 2021, “The Colors of Fire” is budgeted at $16 million — a big budget by French standards — and is being produced in-house by Gaumont, as part of the company’s recent mandate to fully finance and produce select films. The movie is in post and shot entirely in Paris.

Lemaitre, author of “The Colors of Fire,” previously wrote “See You Up There,” whose film adaptation directed by Albert Dupontel won five César Awards and sold more two million theatrical admissions in France.

“Although...

The Academy has added 93 more films to the members-only screening room devoted to entries in the Best Documentary Feature category, bringing the total number of eligible contenders to a record-shattering 215.

The previous record for entries was 170 in 2017. And this year’s crop of nonfiction films is expected to pass that number by an even bigger margin — at least 50 — once a final, smaller group of films is added to the screening room in January.

New eligibility rules that were passed in the wake of the Covid-19 theater closings made it easier for documentaries to qualify this year by allowing them to do so by playing at film festivals, even virtual ones, and by easing requirements for theatrical runs. In an email to members detailing the new additions, the Academy said, “The Documentary Branch Executive Committee felt it was important to be inclusive and supportive of documentary filmmakers in this unprecedented and challenging year.

Phyllida Lloyd’s previous two films are very polar opposite of one another. In 2008, she took us to the sun-soaked isles of Greece with Abba song addled movie Mamma Mia! and in 2011, she worked with Meryl Streep once more for Academy Award winning biopic The Iron Lady. A musical, a drama about Margaret Thatcher and now Lloyd, almost nine years after her last film, changes speed with tender drama Herself.

Starring Clare Dunne, Herself revolves around single mother Sandra. After leaving an abusive relationship with Gary, Sandra falls into a housing system which continuously lets her down. Struggling to provide for her children, Sandra decides to buy a plot of land and rebuild her life, literally, by building her own home. All the while, Gary is pursuing sole-custody of her children, and throwing Sandra into an intense legal battle.

Herself is a moving film that depicts real life hardships and...

Jade Springer, Léa Drucker and Philippe Katerine star in this new Aurora Films production, set to be sold by mk2 Films and coming courtesy of the same director as The Apple of My Eye. Since 26 February, Axelle Ropert has been shooting Petite Solange, her 4th feature film following on from The Wolberg Family (unveiled in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight 2009), Miss and the Doctors (2013) and The Apple of my Eye (a Locarno competitor in 2016). Starring in the cast of the film is the young actress Jade Springer, alongside Léa Drucker and Philippe Katerine.Written by the director (who also co-wrote Mrs. Hyde, Tip Top and France by...

In 2008, opera director Phyllida Lloyd’s pop-cornball big-screen debut, “Mamma Mia!,” more than earned its exclamation point, grossing more than $600 million worldwide. Three years later, her more serious-minded follow-up, “The Iron Lady,” earned Meryl Streep an Oscar. Most people would agree that was a not-too-shabby start for a helmer of any gender. But instead of making another movie, Lloyd went back to the stage, directing a trio of statement-making all-female Shakespeare productions.

Still, one wonders whether Lloyd’s sabbatical from cinema was by her own choice or by forces that seem none too keen on privileging women’s stories. Now she’s back with a movie called “Herself,” which is head-and-shoulders the strongest of the 20 Sundance films I’ve seen so far. It’s small and stars no one that anyone in Hollywood would consider “bankable,” but I’m convinced this inspirational Dublin-set drama could go all the way: . Don...

Fathom for a moment the unknowable number of domestic violence victims around the world. It’s a distressing notion, considering that even in the age of Time’s Up, countless cases in which women and children suffer at the hands of male rage go either dismissed or unreported. With sharp-eyed empathy and a disciplined sense of pacing, writer-director Raymund Ribay Gutierrez defiantly sets out to confront this reality in a cramped corner of Manila, drawing attention to one such tragic incident in his reflective feature debut “Verdict.” , where nightmarish bureaucracy gobbles up compassion and the urgent needs of the survivors take a backseat in a grueling Kafkaesque circus.

And yet, the case in question — fictional, but based on long-standing truths in the contemporary Philippines according to a statement from the filmmaker — could not be any simpler, backed by indisputable evidence every step of the way. We meet its key players...

Thriller evolves around a crazed and destructive love story between two teenagers who meet at a psychiatric hospital.

Memento Films International has boarded sales on Belgian director Fabrice du Welz’s thriller Adoration ahead of its premiere on the Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande in August.

It is the final film in du Welz’s Ardennes trilogy set against the backdrop of the rugged, forested region spanning southeast Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Germany.

It revolves around a crazed and destructive love story between two teenagers who meet at a psychiatric hospital and embark on a dangerous trip together.

The...

French writer/director Axelle Ropert is set to direct “Petite Solange,” a film that will star Léa Drucker and Philippe Katerine, who won the best acting nods at this year’s Cesar Awards for their performances in “Custody” and “Sink or Swim,” respectively.

MK2 films will handle international sales. Haut et Court has acquired rights for French distribution.

Produced by Aurora Films with a budget of 1.5 million euros ($1.675 million), “Petite Solange” follows a vibrant and sentimental 12-year-old girl whose world starts to crack when her parents’ marriage falls apart.

“‘Petite Solange’ is a gentle and tender drama with a much needed point of view; that of a young girl surrounded by love but also caught in her parents’ break up, and the impact of their divorce on her own search for love,” said Juliette Schrameck, managing director at MK2 films. “Petite Solange” is set for delivery in 2020.

Ropert, who is...

Olga Merediz, who won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway production of “In the Heights,” will reprise her role as Abuela Claudia in the upcoming film adaptation of the musical, producer Lin-Manuel Miranda announced in a tweet on Monday.

Merediz won the Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony in 2008 for her work in “In the Heights.” She’s since been a series regular on the U.K. Sky1 series “Bounty Hunters” and has also had recurring roles on “Orange is the New Black,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Shades of Blue” and “Law & Order: SVU.”

Jon M. Chu is directing the feature based on Miranda’s musical that he created with Quiara Alegría Hudes. “In the Heights” follows a bodega owner in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic after inheriting his grandmother’s fortune.

Rungano Nyoni’s UK foreign-language Oscar submission I Am Not A Witch, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-nominated Poland-set drama Cold War, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Japanese Cannes Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters will screen in the Panama International Film Festival’s International Portal strand next month.

Rungano Nyoni’s UK foreign-language Oscar submission I Am Not A Witch, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-nominated Poland-set drama Cold War, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Japanese Cannes Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters will screen in the Panama International Film Festival’s International Portal strand next month.

The programme also features Nadine Labaki’s Oscar-nominated Lebanese drama Capernaum,...

New policy means Curzon titles will no longer play in Picturehouse cinemas.

UK cinema chain Picturehouse has introduced strict theatrical windows for its venues and is now only programming films that adhere to a 16-week gap between cinema and home entertainment release.

That means any films released with shorter windows or day-and-date, such as all titles distributed by Curzon, including the forthcoming festival hits Girl and The Souvenir, can no longer play in Picturehouse cinemas.

Picturehouse Cinemas is the boutique arm of global exhibitor Cineworld, which is the UK’s second largest multiplex chain. Along with Odeon, the UK’s biggest multiplex chain,...

Domestic violence drama earns four prizes in Paris.

Xavier Legrand’s domestic violence drama Custody (Jusqu’à La Garde) was named best film at the 44th Cesar Awards in Paris on Friday (23).

Legrand’s feature directorial debut and Venice 2017 Silver Lion winner began the night on a field-leading 10 nominations alongside Gilles Lellouche’s comedy Sink Or Swim (Le Grand Bain), and also won awards for Legrand’s original screenplay, best actress Lea Drucker, and editor Yorgos Lamprinos.

Jacques Audiard was named best director for The Sisters Brothers at the ceremony in the Salle Pleyel, presided over by Kristin Scott Thomas.

Xavier Legrand’s feature debut “Custody,” a tense portrait of a family torn by domestic violence, won best film, actress (for Lea Drucker), and original screenplay at the 44th Cesar Awards, which took place at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. The awards are France’s highest film honors.

“Custody,” which marks Legrand’s follow up to his Oscar-nominated short, tells the story of a boy named Julien (Thomas Gioria), who is forced by a court ruling to split his time between his mother (Drucker) and estranged father (Denis Ménochet), whom he regards as a violent monster, amid his parents’ bitter divorce. “Custody” world-premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won two awards, and went on to play at Toronto in the competitive Platform section.

In her speech, Drucker paid homage to all the brave women who have inspired her and also dedicated the award to women who...

Update, Writethru: France’s biggest movie awards night has drawn to a close with Custody (Jusqu’à La Garde) crowned Best Picture. Originally screened in Venice and Toronto in 2017, it’s a story of domestic abuse that stars Denis Ménochet and Léa Drucker, the latter won Best Actress tonight. Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers also scored multiple recognition including Best Director.

While some of tonight’s winners in Paris were expected — during a ceremony that is forever laborious — it was a major shock to see an In Memoriam segment minus two incredibly important figures. Where was Michel Le Grand? And why was Samuel Hadida not remembered in a first segment, but the added later in the telecast? Franchement?

In any case, below is a rundown of

Previous: France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma is handing out its César Awards tonight in Paris. Nominations for the local...

Since 2011, France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma has steadfastly held its annual awards ceremony the Friday before the Academy Awards. And if launching the Césars two days before the Oscars holds a real, practical benefit — allowing those walking both red carpets time to linger over their last flutes of Champagne before boarding the 12-hour flight — it also resonates on a more figurative level.

Though both ceremonies have evolved alongside one another in recent years and have made similar changes, the César committees have consistently been just ahead of their American counterparts when introducing such shifts.

Take, for example, the overall number of nominees: In 2009, the Césars expanded its best picture field from five nominees to seven, predating the Oscars’ similar move by a year. The César chiefs were so pleased by this change that, in 2012, they opted to expand the categories of actor, actress and director to...

After winning best director at the Venice Film Festival, Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers” picked up three awards, including best film, director and cinematography, at the 24th Lumières Awards, France’s équivalent to the Golden Globes. The ceremony took place on Monday at the Institut du Monde Arabe.

Although it has not made its way into the awards season in the U.S. despite its fall festival bow, the movie is well-positioned in France where it will be vying for nine Cesar Awards, France’s équivalent to the Oscars, on Feb. 22.

Produced by Pascal Caucheteux’s Why Not, “The Sisters Brothers” stars starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly and Jake Gyllenhaal.

“The Sisters Brothers” won over Jeanne Herry’s adoption drama “In Safe Hands,” Mikhaël Hers’ “Amanda,” Alex Lutz’s “Guy” and Emmanuel Mouret’s “Mademoiselle de Joncquières.”

Xavier Legrand’s heart-pounding domestic violence drama “Custody” won best first film.

Jacques Audiard’s dark comedy western won best film and best director.

Jacques Audiard’s dark comedy western The Sisters Brothers, co-starring John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, won best film and best director at the 24th edition of France’s Lumière awards on Monday evening.

In a third prize for Audiard’s English-language debut, Benoît Debie, who was also nominated for his work on Gaspar Noé’s Climax, won best cinematography.

The Sisters Brothers was a front-runner at the nomination stage alongside comedy of manners Mademoiselle de Joncquières, adoption drama Pupille and Venice-winning divorce drama Custody although there were no stand-out favourites this year.

Gilles Lellouche’s ensemble comedy heads César award nominations Photo: UniFrance

The feel-good ensemble comedy Sink Or Swim (Le Grand Bain), directed by actor Gilles Lellouche, which opened last year’s French Film Festival UK and was shown out of competition in Cannes, has received ten nominations including Best fFilm in this year’s French Oscars, the Césars, announced in Paris today. Mathieu Amalric and Guillaume Canet headed the cast in the tale of a group of disenchanted men who find fresh self-esteem in a synchronised swimming team - the same source material as the British effort Swimming With Men earlier in 2018.

Face of this year’s Césars: Isabelle Huppert Photo: Academie des Césars

On a different register, Xavier Legrand’s parental drama Custody, about a bitter battle over a son, also had a similar number of nominations, including best film to add to its Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma unveiled its nominations for the César Awards this morning in Paris. The races for the country’s Oscar equivalent are led by Xavier Legrand’s feature debut Jusqu’à La Garde (Custody) and Gilles Lellouche’s Le Grand Bain (Sink Or Swim) with 10 mentions each. They are followed by Jacques Audiard’s English-language western, The Sisters Brothers, and Pierre Salvadori’s En Liberté! (The Trouble With You) with nine a piece. All four are in the Best Picture and Director categories.

There’s a noticeably lighter edge to the nominations this year with Le Grand Bain a sort of Full Monty à la française that sees a group of middle-aged men form a synchronized swimming team. The movie debuted out of competition in Cannes and became the 3rd highest grossing local title of 2018 with over 5M tickets sold.

Also out of Cannes,...

French actor-turned-director Gilles Lellouche’s “Sink or Swim” and Xavier Legrand’s feature debut “Custody” lead the race for this year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, with 10 nominations each, including best picture and best director.

“Sink or Swim” (“Le Grand Bain” in France), a star-driven dramedy about a men’s synchronized swimming team, world-premiered at Cannes out of competition and was released by Studiocanal. The ensemble film, which was one of the highest-grossing French films in 2018, picked up multiple nominations in the best supporting actor and actress categories, for Jean-Hugues Anglade, Philippe Katerine, Leila Bekhti and Virginie Efira.

“Custody” follows a boy named Julien (Thomas Gioria), who is forced by a court ruling to split his time between his mother (Léa Drucker) and estranged father (Denis Ménochet), whom he regards as a violent monster, amid his parents’ bitter divorce. “Custody” world-premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival,...

Lumières are the Golden Globes of France.

A mixed bag of nominations for the 24th edition of France’s Lumière awards was unveiled in Paris on Monday (Dec 17).

Jacques Audiard’s Us-set, English-language The Sisters Brothers, period comedy-drama Mademoiselle de Jonquières, adoption drama Pupille and Venice-winning relationship drama Custody came out as the front-runners with four nominations each.

Following with three nominations each were Alex Lutz’s comedy-drama Guy, about a man who discovers he is the illegitimate son of a fading variety star and decides to follow him on tour; comedy The Trouble With You, sexual abuse drama Little Tickles,...

Jacques Audiard’s “The Sisters Brothers” has been nominated for best film and director at the 24th Lumieres Awards, France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.

The Western starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly and Jake Gyllenhaal world-premiered at Venice Film Festival, where it earned Audiard a best director award.

Produced by Paris-based company Why Not, “The Sisters’ Brothers” is vying for best film against Jeanne Herry’s adoption drama “In Safe Hands,” Mikhaël Hers’ “Amanda,” Alex Lutz’s “Guy” and Emmanuel Mouret’s “Mademoiselle de Joncquières.”

“In Safe Hands” and “Mademoiselle de Joncquières” lead the nominations with four each. Mouret’s critically acclaimed French period drama, “Mademoiselle de Joncquières,” world-premiered at Toronto and was recently acquired by Netflix for most rights worldwide. The film’s star, Cecile de France, has been nominated for best actress, along with Elodie Bouchez for “In Safe Hands,” Léa Drucker for “Custody,” Virginie Efira...

Christophe Honoré’s drama “Sorry Angel,” which world premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival, won France’s prestigious Louis Delluc Prize.

Kicking off France’s award season, the Louis Delluc prize is chosen by French critics and has been described as the film equivalent to the coveted Goncourt prize for literature.

“Sorry Angel” stars French actors Pierre Deladonchamps as a jaded, HIV-positive 30-something novelist who comes across an enthusiastic aspiring writer, Arthur (Vincent Lacoste), in his early 20s. “Sorry Angel” marks the director’s comeback to Cannes’ competition 11 years after “Love Songs.”

In winning the Louis Delluc Prize, “Sorry Angel” beat out Jacques Audiard’s “The Sisters Brothers,” Emmanuel Mouret’s “Mademoiselle de Joncquières,” Gilles Lellouche’s “Le Grand Bain,” Claire Denis’ “High Life,” Pierre Salvadori’s “En liberté!”, Cedric Kahn’s “La Prière,” Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s “Mes provinciales,” and Emmanuel Finkiel’s “Memoir of War,” which represents France in the foreign-language Oscar race.

Variety will honor director Ryan Coogler at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 4th as part of the annual 10 Directors to Watch Brunch at the Parker Palm Springs. The brunch is presented by At&T.

The “Black Panther” director will receive the annual creative impact in directing award. Previous recipients of this award have included Patty Jenkins, David O. Russell, Charlie Kaufman, Jeff Nichols, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The award celebrates his career, from his groundbreaking first feature “Fruitvale Station,” to his most recent work directing ‘Black Panther,” which was recently named one of AFI’s Best Films of the Year and is nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture – drama.

“Ryan Coogler has directed one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the year with ‘Black Panther,’” said Variety co-editor in chief, Claudia Eller. “The film’s cultural significance is matched by its...