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A “Friends”-themed exhibition and experience is setting up home permanently in London. Inspired by the iconic sitcom, The Friends Experience is set to open in a purpose-built location at London’s ExCel center this summer ahead of the show’s 30th anniversary this year.

The experience features full-scale recreations of the show’s sets, from Monica and Rachel’s apartment to the infamous “Pivot!” scene complete with couch, as well as costumes, backdrops, props and memorabilia. Guests can recreate some of their favorite on-screen moments and enjoy themed food and drinks as well as exclusive merch.

It has been created by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment, Original X Productions and Warner Bros. Television Group and is operated by U.K.-based The Luna Entertainment Group. Tickets can be purchased at www.FriendsTheExperience.com/London.

Homecoming

Philippines-born filmmaker Isabel Sandoval (Venice title “Lingua Franca”) has wrapped principal photography on her new film “Moonglow.

In the five years since her breakout Lingua Franca, Isabel Sandoval has jumped into shorts and TV directing, but now she’s finally set her feature follow-up. Kicking off production next month in the Philippines, her fourth feature is the romantic noir Moonglow, which the director describes as “in the vein of In a Lonely Place and Casablanca” and combines “the gritty world of Philippine crime and politics” with “lush romanticism”.

Starring Arjo Atayde, the 1960s-set film takes place in Manila and follows “a jaded female police detective, who unbeknownst to her colleagues is the mastermind behind a successful heist, but who is paired up with an obsessively truth-seeking detective partner to crack the very crime that she orchestrated,” Deadline reports.

“In the midst of my involvement in various U.S. projects, my storytelling always finds its way back to the heart of my homeland,” said Sandoval. “The film is...

Exclusive: US-based Filipino filmmaker Isabel Sandoval is returning to the Philippines to shoot her fourth feature, Moonglow, starring Arjo Atayde.

Sandoval, who is known for her award-winning 2019 feature Lingua Franca and directing series in the U.S., is scheduled to start shooting the noir crime thriller on April 9.

Set in 1970s Manila, the film follows a jaded female police detective, who unbeknownst to her colleagues is the mastermind behind a successful heist, but who is paired up with an obsessively truth-seeking detective partner to crack the very crime that she orchestrated.

The film is produced by Alemberg Ang of the Philippines’ Daluyong Studios, with Tan Si En of Singapore’s Momo Film Co, Takahiro Yamashita of Japan’s Yaman Films and Ria Atayde of the Philippines’ Nathan Studios.

Arjo Atayde also stars in upcoming Abs-cbn crime series The Bagman and has recent credits including psychological series Cattleya Killer...

Catering directly to my interests, the Criterion Channel’s January lineup boasts two of my favorite things: James Gray and cats. In the former case it’s his first five features (itself a terrible reminder he only released five movies in 20 years); the latter shows felines the respect they deserve, from Kuroneko to The Long Goodbye, Tourneur’s Cat People and Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers. Meanwhile, Ava Gardner, Bertrand Tavernier, Isabel Sandoval, Ken Russell, Juleen Compton, George Harrison’s HandMade Films, and the Sundance Film Festival get retrospectives.

Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.

See the lineup below and learn more here.

Back By Popular Demand

The Graduate,...

The Marrakech Film Festival’s sixth Atlas Workshops kicks off today under the fresh curation of former indie film sales agent and publicist Hédi Zardi.

Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.

Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.

Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.

After eight years on the sales circuit,...

South Asia Competition jury also includes David Michod, Isabel Sandoval and Marianne Khoury.

Acclaimed India-born filmmaker Mira Nair is to preside over the main South Asia Competition of the upcoming Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival (October 27-November 5).

She will be joined by Australian writer/director David Michod, Filipina filmmaker and actress Isabel Sandoval and Egyptian producer and director Marianne Khoury, who was named artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival in June.

Jio Mami revealed its full lineup yesterday, confirming that it had dropped its international and India Gold competitive sections in favour of a South Asia Competition, to...

Located betwixt Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation and kitsch Missouri family fun destination Branson, Northwest Arkansas’s Bentonville is one of the great cultural destinations of the SEC region. In addition to its thriving theaters, museums and local artist community, the city has announced itself as a burgeoning cinema hub, thanks to the emergence of the Bentonville Film Festival.

Founded in 2015 by activist and Oscar winner Geena Davis, in partnership with producer and businessman Trevor Drinkwater, the annual June festival is the centerpiece event for the year-round BFFoundation, providing a safe space and exhibition venue for emerging creators and visual storytellers hailing from underrepresented backgrounds—sounds familiar!

But don’t worry, we’re not being paid off by Big Arkanite to say nice things. Next week, Film Independent kicks off Festival Visions, a Film Independent Presents summer spotlight series featuring—online and for free—some of the best indie films programmed...

Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Peabody Award-winning narrative change collective, has picked up rights to the feature drama Learn to Swim for the U.S., the UK, Australia and New Zealand, slating it for release on select screens and on Netflix on August 15.

The first feature from director Thyrone Tommy dives into the world of contemporary jazz with a musical meditation on love and loss, following the doggedly private and talented saxophone player Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and a vivacious, but less experienced singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). When the two meet, sparks fly, but their respective emotional baggage and temperaments make the road to romance bumpy at best.

An official selection of the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, Learn to Swim was written by Tommy and Marni Van Dyk, with Alona Metzer producing.

“With Array Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn To Swim, we are thrilled to...

Exclusive: Big Beach has announced that it will produce the upcoming feature Tropical Gothic from Lingua Franca‘s Isabel Sandoval.

Set in the 16th-century Philippines, Tropical Gothic is an allegory on Western colonialism about a Native Priestess who convinces her Spanish master that she is possessed by the spirit of his dead bride, in order to manipulate him into returning the farmland that the Spaniards seized from the native community.

Sandoval and producer Carlo Velayo launched the project in 2020 at the Locarno Open Doors Hub—an international platform for feature projects within Latin America and the Caribbean looking for international collaborations. The pair received the Vff Talent Highlight Award at the Berlinale Talent Project Market in March, with the associated prize money going toward the film’s development. Sandoval will direct from her script and star, with Michael B. Clark and Alex Turtletaub producing for Big Beach, alongside Velayo. Production kicks off later this year.

Days after my episode of “Under The Banner of Heaven” premiered, I received a private message on Twitter from a Mormon consultant on the show though we never managed to connect during the shoot. “I just wanted you to know how beautiful your episode turned out. The response here in Utah has been epic. Every day I’m receiving texts from ex-Mormons (and some current Lds) who absolutely loved it. So many people are resonating with how beautifully you and Andrew [Garfield] captured the pain of a faith crisis.”

The response feels both remarkable and especially rewarding to me, who is neither Mormon nor born and raised in Utah. I was born (and grew up) in the Philippines, the only predominantly Catholic country in Asia. I had a Catholic education from kindergarten to college. As a grade-schooler, I had a phase of being so devout that for years I was a...

Producer will work on original films and branded content at the documentary company.

Exclusive: Producer Nicole Cosgrove has been appointed head of production at People’s Television, the New York- and Washington DC-based documentary and branded content company.

Cosgrove, previously head of production for Vice Media, was an executive producer on 2019 Venice festival feature Lingua Franca. She also served as head of production at Vayner Media and has worked in branded content and commercials.

In her new post, Cosgrove’s work will include overseeing production on both original films and branded content.

People’s Television made 2021 SXSW Audience Award-winning documentary Not Going Quietly...

Production is under way on “Asian Persuasion,” a feature film that marks the directorial debut of three-time Tony-Award and Grammy-winning producer Jhett Tolentino.

Set in New York, romantic comedy “Asian Persuasion” features a diverse, primarily Asian cast and seeks to elevate, inform and inspire the Asian narrative.

The story follows a down-on-his-luck chef who cooks up a crazy scheme to marry off his ex-wife in an attempt to avoid his substantial alimony obligations. With the help of his trusted wingman, the chef gets off to a hot start, but belatedly realizes he wants a second chance with his ex.

Asian Persuasion is produced under the Jhett Tolentino Productions banner with Tolentino and screenwriter Mike Ang serving as producers. Cinematography is by Andrea Walter with production and costume design by Dedalus Moving Pictures’ Sheena Alexis (“Caretakers”). The music score is by Eunike Tanzil (“Be Somebody”) with casting by Bess Fifer.

“Asian Persuasion...

In an exclusive newsbreak, Deadline has announced that the upcoming "Batgirl" movie has added Ivory Aquino to the cast, and those who speculated the character calling for "Alanna" was actually for the comic book character Alysia Yeoh have been proven correct. Aquino joins the cast which includes Leslie Grace ("In the Heights"), J.K. Simmons ("Spider-Man: No Way Home"), Brendan Fraser ("The Mummy"), Michael Keaton ("Batman"), and Jacob Scipio ("Bad Boys for Life"). Aquino is playing Barbara Gordon's best friend, Alysia Yeoh, with the film based on the "Batgirl" DC comics from writer Gail Simone and artist Ardian Syaf.

The post HBO Max's Batgirl Movie Has Cast Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: Ivory Aquino has joined the cast of Batgirl, the upcoming superhero film that Bad Boys for Life‘s Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing for HBO Max.

Aquino will star alongside previously announced cast members including Leslie Grace, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Michael Keaton and Jacob Scipio.

Batgirl is based on the DC comics created by writer Gail Simone and artist Ardian Syaf. While specifics with regard to the film’s plot are being kept under wraps, it will center on Gotham City police commissioner Jim Gordon’s (Simmons) daughter, Barbara (Grace). Aquino will play Barbara’s best friend, bartender Alysia Yeoh—the first major transgender character ever to appear in a live-action film adaptation of DC comics.

Fraser is portraying the villain Firefly, as previously announced, with Keaton reprising his role as Batman from Tim Burton’s 1989 film...

Maricel Soriano will star in Rain Valdez’s upcoming trans-led romantic comedy “Re-Live: A Tale of an American Island Cheerleader,” Variety has learned exclusively. As previously reported, “Re-Live” co-writers Rachel Leyco and Valdez star as sisters Rochelle and Rowena, respectively. Soriano will play their mother, Thelma. Jhett Tolentino (“Lingua Franca”) will executive produce in association with Shant Joshi’s Fae Pictures.

“Re-Live” tells the story of Rowena, a transgender movie star who returns to her home in Guam for her high school reunion’s “do-over week.” Rowena’s plan to live out her childhood dream of being a cheerleader falters when her mother’s cancer begins to worsen, and she learns to value the family she left behind. The film marks Valdez’s feature directorial debut.

“Having a legendary Filipino actress like Maricel Soriano strengthens our commitment to telling our stories from our authentic experiences and for our Filipinx diaspora,...

Isabel Sandoval has been tapped to direct an episode of the upcoming FX drama series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Sandoval is currently in Calgary filming her episode. Based on the Jon Krakauer novel of the same name, the series follows a devout detective whose faith is tested as he investigates a brutal murder that seems to be connected to an esteemed Utah family’s spiral into Lds fundamentalism and their distrust in the government. Production on the series recently began in Calgary. The cast includes Andrew Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell, and Gil Birmingham.

Sandoval made history with the feature “Lingua Franca,” which was the first film directed by and starring a trans woman of color to screen in competition at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019. Ava DuVernay’s Array Now acquired the film for distribution and it is now available to stream on Netflix.

Actor, writer, director and trans icon Isabel Sandoval wants trans characters in film and TV to be layered, complex and multidimensional.

Speaking to Variety during the BFI London Film Festival, where she is the president of the first features jury, the Philippines-born, U.S.-based Sandoval said that a lot of studios and producers relegate trans characters to the periphery.

“It’s important that when you do have trans characters and trans narratives in your films or TV series, these characters have to be layered and complex, and multi dimensional,” Sandoval said.

In 2011, Sandoval directed and starred in “Señorita,” an expansion of her 2009 short. She played a trans woman who tries to leave sex work by taking care of a friend’s son and joining a mayoral campaign, but she’s hindered by an old client. Sandoval directed “Apparition” (2012), a tale about nuns living in a remote convent during the Marcos years.

“Madeleine Collins,” the buzzy psychological drama directed by France’s Antoine Barraud (“Portrait of the Artist”) and toplined by popular Belgian actress Virginie Efira who plays the lesbian nun in Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” is among ten competition titles set to launch from the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Venice Days section.

The Venice section modeled around the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight is largely made up of international first works this year. All entries are world premieres.

Besides “Madeleine” in which Efira (pictured) plays a woman who leads a double life –– and which also features Nadav Lapid, who is also the Israeli director of “Synonyms” and also Jacqueline Bisset –– the three other pics competing in Venice Days that are not first works are: the drama “Private Desert,” by Brazilian director Aly Muritiba (“Rust”) that is centered around a 40-year-old-cop’s Internet love interest who goes missing; “Dusk Stone,” by Argentina...

Exclusive: Former Avalon manager Olivia Wingate has launched the solo production company Wingate Media, bringing all her projects and team with her, we hear.

The company will be headquartered in New York, focused on developing, incubating and producing premium and cutting-edge projects aimed toward a worldwide audience, and committed to prioritizing unique and underrepresented artists and perspectives.

A London native, Wingate has been New York based, with a presence in Los Angeles and London, for more than 25 years. Her career has spanned theater, film, comedy, documentary and scripted drama. Wingate Media combines all her experience to incubate and elevate stories that will aim to inspire and provoke debate.

Prior to starting the company, Wingate was SVP Scripted Development at Left/Right, the studio that behind Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, Joe Mande’s award-winning Standup Special (Netflix) and more. Before that, Wingate ran Avalon’s New York office and represented clients including Marc Maron,...

Romantic comedy Asian Persuasion will shoot next year in New York.

Jhett Tolentino, producer of 2019 Venice festival entry Lingua Franca, is to make his feature directing debut on Asian Persuasion, a romantic comedy set to shoot in summer 2022 in New York City.

Dante Basco and Filipino star Toni Gonzaga will star in the story of an underachiever who comes up with an outlandish plan to avoid alimony obligations to his fashion designer ex-wife.

Mike Ang wrote the script and Filipino American record producer Illmind will score the film and write original songs to be performed by Asian American artists.

New...

by Nick Taylor

I am both tremendously enthusiastic and a bit disappointed that I Carry You With Me is finally getting a theatrical release. Enthused because it’s a goddamn gem that ranks among the best films of last year, and sits right alongside Lingua Franca and Welcome to Chechnya as one of the very best queer films. The disappointment comes from the fact that, as far as anyone's concerned, this is a 2020 film. Distributor Sony Pictures Classics went out of its way to give this an awards-qualifying run despite pushing its wide release date further and further back. As with the aesthetically entrancing documentary Gunda or the tonally triumphant, richly acted French Exit (both also distributed by SPC), it’s a bit mystifying that this was seen as the superior strategy rather than letting I Carry You With Me’s reputation build over the course of this year. Art doesn’t need awards,...

We’re excited to announce that Cinephile Game Night will return for our next episode Thursday, June 10th at 9pm Et/6pm Pt with Mubi. The lineup includes Mubi’s Kira Newmark, Chris Wells, Dylan Polacek, Maria Clara Bruno, Marc Nemcik, and Michael Lieberman. We’ll also be joined by special guest Isabel Sandoval, writer/director and star of acclaimed dramas like last year’s Lingua Franca (check out our review and interview here), as well as her most recent short Shangri-La, which is currently streaming on Mubi.

In case you didn’t have a chance to check out the show, Cinephile Game Night is a series where film critics, podcasters, filmmakers and more go head-to-head to see who is the ultimate cinephile. Hosted by The Film Stage crew, including Jordan Raup, Conor O’Donnell, Dan Mecca, and Cinephile creator Cory Everett, each episode features a rotating guest list of cinephiles...

While gems like “Lingua Franca,” “Tangerine,” and “Pose” have given face to transgender women of color through open, real love stories, trans romance movies are still in short supply. Director Danielle Lessovitz, a queer woman, attempts to expand that scope with her film “Port Authority,” starring Fionn Whitehead and Leyna Bloom.

Continue reading ‘Port Authority’ Leaves Its Trans-Led Love Story Stranded [Review] at The Playlist.

As an accomplished filmmaker whose shorts have played True/False, HotDocs, the Toronto International Film Festival, and New York’s Museum of the Moving Image, Sophy Romvari understands the short film market. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty small one. Not only are there limited opportunities for shorts to be seen outside the insular but prestigious scope of the festival circuit, but there are even fewer opportunities to monetize the work. For now, however, Romvari has cooked up a solution to the former, and hopes to eventually figure out the latter as well.

Her Exquisite Shorts Program is “a space that allows filmmakers an opportunity to highlight work they care about, are inspired by, or that they simply believe deserves a platform,” according to a shiny new website, which Romvari launched earlier this month. “Our unique process of curation will encourage communication and support between filmmakers, as the baton is passed...

Consider your Mother’s Day viewing plans sorted. Hitting select theaters and streaming on Netflix staring Thursday, May 6 is Shantrelle P. Lewis’ feature directorial debut “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” a loving, insightful, and inspirational look at the relationships between mothers and daughters. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival, winning the Shine Award for Best Film.

Last month, Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing picked up the film as part of its growing selection of films focused on films by people of color and women. Array’s president Tilane Jones explained the documentary’s obvious appeal in an official statement: “‘In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love. Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro)

Crimson Peak works as many things: a melodramatic romance; both the recreation of a period and a revival of the way movies have made us perceive it; a genre-jumping comedy; and a critique of capitalistic excess. It does these things earnestly and without compromise, and it’s far braver — far more admirable — for having done so. What Guillermo del Toro’s film doesn’t work as: a haunted-house picture. Although the director will personally tell you it’s not meant to fit this mold, the genre’s shape and intended impacts are certainly identifiable enough to spring to mind. The extent to which it fails here is rather clear,...

Minari, Sound Of Metal deliver best supporting actor prizes.

Nomadland was named best feature and Chloe Zhao best director while Carey Mulligan and Riz Ahmed took lead acting honours at the virtual 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Thursday night (April 22).

Searchlight Pictures’ Nomadland won four prizes on the night including Joshua James Richards for cinematography, and editing for Zhao, who was one of four women nominated in the directing category and has enjoyed a magnificent awards season.

Amazon Studios’ Sound Of Metal earned three awards for Ahmed, supporting actor Paul Raci, and first feature for Darius Marder.

Focus Features’ Promising...

The last major awards show before the Oscars has finally arrived, the 36th Independent Spirit Awards. The virtual ceremony aired Thursday, April 22 on IFC at 7 p.m. Pt/10 p.m. Et and was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” star Melissa Villaseñor. The Spirit Awards celebrated the best in indie filmmaking for the 2020 calendar year, and this year they invited TV shows to the party, too. Don’t forget, only American-made fare with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration. Winners were chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who signed up for membership.

Heading into the ceremony, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” was the nominations leader with seven overall bids. “Minari” came in right behind it with six noms, followed by “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Nomadland” (the Oscar front-runner) with five bids each. On the TV side, both “Little America” and...

The 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards are finally upon us, after the nominations were announced three months ago, and the ceremony is taking place just a few days ahead of the Academy Awards. This year, the Spirit Awards won’t be held midday in a hangar in Santa Monica, but will instead live-stream on IFC on Thursday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. Pt/10:00 p.m. Et. In addition to the linear broadcast, the Spirit Awards will also stream simultaneously on AMC+. Following the broadcast, the full awards ceremony will be made available on demand across AMC+ and IFC platforms starting Friday, April 23. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by “Saturday Night Love” comedian Melissa Villaseñor.

If you’re cord cutter who doesn’t have cable, you can watch IFC live with one of these streaming services, many of which offer a free trial: Philo, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV,...

The independent film community is not assembling under a billowy white tent for the 36th Independent Spirit Awards on the Saturday before the Oscars. Mounting a live awards show on the Santa Monica beach just wasn’t going to happen. Yes, the Oscars will give it a try April 25 via two Los Angeles hubs and another dozen or so satellite feeds around the world, but the Academy has millions to spend on safety protocols. Nonprofit arts organization Film Independent will hold the annual awards ceremony as a IFC primetime live broadcast April 22 at 7pm Pt, 10pm Et.

More people voted for the Spirits this year than ever before: Film Independent has grown to over 7,000 members, adding more international voters. Spirits have a $22.5 million budget cap; international film qualification is based on the writer, director, and producer’s country of origin. A foreign-language with an American story is not an international film; nor is “The Father.

The independent film community is not assembling under a billowy white tent for the 36th Independent Spirit Awards on the Saturday before the Oscars. Mounting a live awards show on the Santa Monica beach just wasn’t going to happen. Yes, the Oscars will give it a try April 25 via two Los Angeles hubs and another dozen or so satellite feeds around the world, but the Academy has millions to spend on safety protocols. Nonprofit arts organization Film Independent will hold the annual awards ceremony as a IFC primetime live broadcast April 22 at 7pm Pt, 10pm Et.

More people voted for the Spirits this year than ever before: Film Independent has grown to over 7,000 members, adding more international voters. Spirits have a $22.5 million budget cap; international film qualification is based on the writer, director, and producer’s country of origin. A foreign-language with an American story is not an international film; nor is “The Father.

Chloé Zhao’s Oscar frontrunner “Nomadland” won best film and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was named best LGBTQ Film at the Dorian Awards (Galeca: The Society Of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics) during a virtual ceremony.

“Nomadland” was also named most visually striking film, and Zhao took home the award for best director.

The three-hour Dorians Film Toast was broadcast on LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry. Karel served as the ceremony’s host.

The late Chadwick Boseman continued with his posthumous honors, winning best actor for his role as Levee in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Co-star Colman Domingo accepted on his behalf, saying: “[He was] such an incredible human, scholar, humanitarian and a really wonderful actor. Creating complex roles about the African American experience, and about people who are marginalized in society and trying to stand up and have a strong voice, fighting for representation—that is Chadwick Boseman’s legacy.”

Carey Mulligan won best actress.

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: The Cinerama Dome in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Decurion has announced that it won't be reopening its Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations. The theater chain's most famous location is its Hollywood Arclight multiplex on Sunset Boulevard, home to the Cinerama Dome. Arte France Cinéma will be co-producing three new features: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's Les amandiers (starring Louis Garrel), Arnaud Desplechin's Brother and Sister (which stars Marion Cotillard and Melvil Poupaud), and Pietro Marcello's L'envol (the filmmaker's first feature in France). The Workers of the Cinemateca Brasileira have released a manifesto calling attention to the many risks facing the Cinemateca's unattended collection, equipment, and facilities due to its "current state of abandonment" by the Ministry of Tourism. Backed by TCM, documentarian Josh Grossberg and his...

Schitt’s Creek with its last hurrah repeated at Outstanding TV Comedy at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, which acknowledge the fairness, accuracy, inclusiveness, boldness, originality, impact and overall quality of LGBTQ representations in the media.

Star Trek: Discovery, which in Season 3 introduced its first non-binary and transgender characters (respectively played by Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander), and I May Destroy You in turn took the prizes for best drama and limited series.

More from TVLineGLAAD on TV's LGBTQ Representation: Too Few Shows Do Too Much of the WorkShonda Rhimes: Being the Only Straight EP Singled Out by GLAAD...

Filmmaker Isabel Sandoval has been named as the first recipient of Galeca’s (The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics) Trailblazer award.

The writer-director-star of the acclaimed transgender-themed film “Lingua Franca” was chosen by the group’s board and propelled by a groundswell of support within the general membership. The special accolade was created to honor entertainment figures who stand out for creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity.

Sandoval will receive the award virtually in a special interview segment of Galeca’s Dorians Film Toast, a two-hour awards special which will debut on LGBTQ+ streaming TV network Revry on April 18.

Sandoval’s film garnered much critical acclaim on the festival circuit. In 2019, she made history as the first trans woman of color to direct and star in a film screening in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where “Lingua Franca” premiered. The film was acquired and released by Ava DuVernay...

Array Releasing has acquired the documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” which marks filmmaker Shantrelle P. Lewis’ directorial debut.

Array president Tilane Jones announced the acquisition on Thursday, along with news that the film will be released in select theaters and begin streaming on Netflix on May 6.

“’In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love,” Jones said in a statement. “Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.”

The documentary debuted at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival and subsequently earned the Shine Award for best film. The movie features interviews with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; Tina Farris (tour manager for talent including The Roots and Chris Rock); cultural critic Dr. Brittney Cooper (Rutgers University); Rev. Dr. Theresa S.

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired the documentary In Our Mothers’ Gardens, the feature film debut of director, curator, and author Shantrelle P. Lewis. The film is set to debut theatrically in select cities and on Netflix starting fittingly on Mother’s Day, May 6.

In Our Mothers’ Gardens celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex, and often times humorous, relationship between mothers and daughters. The film pays homage to Black maternal ancestors while examining the immediate and critical importance of self-care, and the healing tools necessary for Black communities to thrive.

The film features a variety of interviews from #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; The Roots and Chris Rock tour manager Tina Farris; cultural critic Dr. Brittney Cooper of Rutgers University; Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames of Princeton University; holistic lifestyle maven Latham Thomas; photographer Adama Delphine Fawundu and NPR’s Senior Director for Programming Yolanda Sangweni.

Further prizes awarded to Isabel Sandoval and Marcelo Martinessi projects.

Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has won the top prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market to develop her upcoming feature The Oblivion Theory.

The Eurimages co-production development award of €20,000 went to the project, which was presented at the market by France’s Incognito Films and Germany’s One Two Films.

Adapted from José Eduardo Agualusa’ novel A General Theory Of Oblivion, the film relocates the drama to Gaza City in 1987, during the first Palestinian Intifada. Jacir is known for directing When I Saw You, which won the Netpac award when it...

Further prizes awarded to Isabel Sandoval and Marcelo Martinessi projects.

Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has won the top prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market to develop her upcoming feature The Oblivion Theory.

The Eurimages co-production development award of €20,000 went to the project, which was presented at the market by France’s Incognito Films and Germany’s One Two Films.

Adapted from José Eduardo Agualusa’ novel A General Theory Of Oblivion, the film relocates the drama to Gaza City in 1987, during the first Palestinian Intifada. Jacir is known for directing When I Saw You, which won the Netpac award when it...

“Lingua Franca” filmmaker Isabel Sandoval has signed with CAA.

In 2019, Sandoval made history as the first trans woman of color to direct and star in a film screening in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where “Lingua Franca” premiered. The film was acquired and released by Ava DuVernay’s Array and is now streaming on Netflix.

Sandoval directed, wrote, edited, produced and acted in “Lingua Franca,” which she shot in 16 days in Brooklyn, New York. Eamon Farren and the late Lynn Cohen also star in the film, in which Sandoval portrays an undocumented Filipina trans woman who secures a job as a live-in caregiver for an elderly Russian woman named Olga (Cohen) in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. But when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Farren), issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threaten her very existence.

Since its debut, the critically acclaimed project...

Exclusive: Tilane Jones, President of inclusive film collective Array, was honored with the Slamdance Founders Award on Saturday during a virtual presentation. The award is Slamdance’s highest accolade and Jones is the fifth recipient to receive the award. Previous winners include Chris Nolan, The Russo brothers and Steven Soderbergh.

The Founders Award is given to an individual that supports the filmmaker community of Slamdance well into their careers.

“Tilane has helped our community of artists grow through recognizing talent, launching and sustaining careers,” said Peter Baxter, President and co-founder of Slamdance. “We recognize she has worked tirelessly, with great dedication to nurture emerging artists who become the next generation of filmmakers. We want to thank Tilane and her company Array for her ongoing support of these artists, inspiration and being part of Slamdance’s community. For these reasons, we are honored to present Tilane Jones with Slamdance’s Founders Award.

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard kicked off the virtual Sundance panel “Array 10: A Decade of Disruption” by chatting with Array founder and Emmy-winning Ava DuVernay, President Tilane Jones and VP of Public Programming Mercedes Cooper about the origin of the narrative change collective which puts shine on creators and artists of color as well as women filmmakers.

Leonard and DuVernay reminisced about special dinners of Sundance past where, at the first one DuVernay hosted included “more Black folks in the room than at Sundance” as a whole. The conversation shifted to a dinner party icebreaker which Leonard loves to ask his guests: “What is your guilty pleasure movie?”

Cooper claimed the classic Mahogany as her guilty pleasure while Jones said Breakfast at Tiffany’s was hers — DuVernay quickly intervened.

“These are not guilty pleasures ladies!” said DuVernay. “A guilty pleasure is a film you slightly feel hesitant to share — which I will share.

GLAAD has announced the full list of nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The organization announced 198 nominees in 28 categories, including two new categories: Outstanding Children’s Programming and Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist.

“During an unprecedented year of crises and isolation, the nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards reached LGBTQ people with powerful stories and inspired countless others around the world with bold looks at LGBTQ people and issues,” GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. “As GLAAD continues to lead the fight for LGBTQ acceptance, this...

Netflix continues to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the awards front.

GLAAD unveiled its nominations for 2021, and the streamer came out on top with 26 total nominations.

HBO Max garnered nine nominations, followed by HBO, Amazon and Hulu (which nabbed four each). Among broadcast networks, only ABC and NBC earned nods, with two each.

Harley Quinn, The Umbrella Academy, and Saved by the Bell were among this year’s first-time contenders.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Big Mouth (Netflix)

Dead to Me (Netflix)

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)

Harley Quinn (HBO Max)

Love, Victor (Hulu)

Saved by the Bell (Peacock)

Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV)

Sex Education (Netflix)

Superstore (NBC)

Twenties (BET)

Outstanding Drama Series

9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox)

Killing Eve (BBC America)

P-Valley (Starz)

Ratched (Netflix)

Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)

Supergirl (The CW)

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

Vida (Starz)

The Wilds (Amazon Prime...

On Thursday morning, Josie Totah (Saved By The Bell), D.J. ‘Shangela’ Pierce (We’re Here), and Jonathan Bennett (The Christmas House) took to GLAAD’s TikTok page to unveil the nominees for the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards. The winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony scheduled for April 2021.

Among the nominees are many film and TV series about LGBTQ people of color including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, I May Destory You, Lingua Franca, The Half of It, P-Valley, The Craft: Legacy, Twenties, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Love, Victor, Superstore, Star Trek: Discovery, Vida, among others.

The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues. During the livestream, Totah, Pierce and Bennett announced a staggering 198 nominees in 28 categories, including two new categories: Outstanding Children’s Programming and Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist. This year, several categories increased from five to ten worthy nominees to...

Nominees have been announced for this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, which acknowledge the fairness, accuracy, inclusiveness, boldness, originality, impact and overall quality of LGBTQ representations in the media.

Josie Totah (of Peacock’s Saved by the Bell), D.J. “Shangela” Pierce (HBO’s We’re Here), and Jonathan Bennett (Hallmark Channel’s The Christmas House) announced the nominees on GLAAD’s TikTok page. This year’s award ceremony will be held (virtually) in April.

More from TVLineShonda Rhimes: Being the Only Straight EP Singled Out by GLAAD 'Is Not Ok,' Points to Diversity ProblemGLAAD: TV's LGBTQ Representation Dipped Amid Pandemic,...

GLAAD announced the nominations for its annual media awards on Wednesday, with “Schitt’s Creek,” “The Prom” and Lady Gaga among the nominees.

Streaming dominated the nominations for 2021, with films like Netflix’s “The Half of It” and Hulu’s “Happiest Season” among the film nominees and “Love, Victor,” “Dead to Me,” “Saved by the Bell” and “The Umbrella Academy” being recognized in the TV categories.

Netflix led with a total of 26 nominations, followed by HBO Max with nine. Amazon, Hulu and HBO all received four nominations, with Disney+ and PBS each receiving three. In total, streaming services account for 58 of the nominees, with cable receiving 29 and broadcast coming in at 14.

“During an unprecedented year of crises and isolation, the nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards reached LGBTQ people with powerful stories and inspired countless others around the world with bold looks at LGBTQ people and issues,” GLAAD President...

Ava DuVernay is reuniting with “When They See Us” composer Kris Bowers for the documentary short “A Concerto Is a Conversation.”

DuVernay will executive produce the film, which was co-directed and produced by Bowers and Ben Proudfoot. “A Concerto Is a Conversation” was selected to premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which has shifted to a virtual model amid the ongoing pandemic. The 13-minute short, positioned to be an early Oscar contender, will begin screening at the fest on Jan. 28.

The film is currently streaming exclusively at NYTimes.com, as part of the New York Times Op-Docs series. It centers on the relationship between Bowers and his 91-year-old grandfather Horace Bowers Sr., as the virtuoso jazz pianist traces his family’s lineage. The film’s title refers both to the way Kris describes the term “concerto” to his grandfather as a conversation between orchestra and soloist, but also the back...

Minari earns six nods including feature, director, two for supporting actress.

Focus Features’ Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with six nods on Tuesday (January 26) including best film and director, and female lead.

A24’s Minari placed second on six nods including best feature in a field that includes Nomadland, First Cow, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always.

Women dominated the directing category as Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) picked up nods alongside the sole male, Lee Isaac Ching for Minari.

Minari earns six nods including feature, director, two for supporting actress.

Focus Features’ Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with six nods on Tuesday (January 26) including best film and director, and female lead.

A24’s Minari placed second on six nods including best feature in a field that includes Nomadland, First Cow, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always.

Women dominated the directing category as Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) picked up nods alongside the sole male, Lee Isaac Ching for Minari.