Noticias

No two ways about it: April’s a great month for the Criterion Channel, which (among other things; more in a second) adds two recent favorites. We’re thrilled at the SVOD premiere of Hamaguchi’s entrancing Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, our #3 of 2021, and Bruno Dumont’s lacerating France, featuring Léa Seydoux’s finest performance yet.

Ethan Hawke’s Adventures in Moviegoing runs the gamut from Eagle Pennell’s Last Night at the Alamo to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, while a 14-film John Ford retro (mostly) skips westerns altogether. And no notes on the Delphine Seyrig retro—multiple by Akerman, Ulrike Ottinger, Duras, a smattering of Buñuel, and Seyrig’s own film Be Pretty and Shut Up! That of all things might be the crown jewl.

See the full list of April titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.

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3 Bad Men, John Ford, 1926

Aar paar, Guru Dutt,...

Rogue Pictures pre-emptively bought film rights to an upcoming vampire comic book titled Blood on the Tracks, setting Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon to write and direct the adaptation. Michael Zoumas is on board to produce via his Zoom Entertainment, while Barry Levine is producing via his newly formed company Blatant Pictures. Blood revolves around a series of killings in the New York subway system. While at first it is thought to be the work of a serial killer, it later is revealed that the murders are the work of a vampire who has been living in the tunnels of the city from the days when it was still New Amsterdam. CAA agent John Levin, who reps Levine's company, came up with the initial concept and pitched it to Levine. Levine was setting up a comic book company named Radical Comics that also would produce movies via an arm called Blatant Pictures. He took it to author/comic writer David Tischman, who shares co-creator credit. Tischman will exec produce. Phillip Bond will do the art for the comic.

The second annual Filmmaker Forum, organized by Film Independent, is expanding into a two-day seminar to be held in late October at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The forum will kick off Oct. 26 with a preview screening of Phillip Noyce's political thriller Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke, at the Mann Festival Theatre in Westwood. A Q&A with Noyce, screenwriter Shawn Slovo and producer Robyn Slovo and an opening reception at the Hammer Museum will follow the screening. Participants in the two days of panel discussions on Oct. 27 and 28 will include Peter Broderick (Paradigm Consulting), Micah Green (CAA), Rena Ronson (William Morris Independent), Anne Thompson (The Hollywood Reporter) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight) as well as filmmakers Stephanie Allain, Anna Boden, Neill Dela Llana, Kirby Dick, Ryan Fleck, Sean Furst, Ian Gamazon, Sam Kitt, Peggy Rajski and Wash Westmoreland.

The second annual Filmmaker Forum, organized by Film Independent, is expanding into a two-day seminar to be held in late October at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The forum will kick off Oct. 26 with a preview screening of Phillip Noyce's political thriller Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke, at the Mann Festival Theatre in Westwood. A Q&A with Noyce, screenwriter Shawn Slovo and producer Robyn Slovo and an opening reception at the Hammer Museum will follow the screening. Participants in the two days of panel discussions on Oct. 27 and 28 will include Peter Broderick (Paradigm Consulting), Micah Green (CAA), Rena Ronson (William Morris Independent), Anne Thompson (The Hollywood Reporter) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight) as well as filmmakers Stephanie Allain, Anna Boden, Neill Dela Llana, Kirby Dick, Ryan Fleck, Sean Furst, Ian Gamazon, Sam Kitt, Peggy Rajski and Wash Westmoreland.

NEW YORK -- Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana's Philippines-set ransom thriller Cavite was named best feature Sunday at the sixth annual Woodstock Film Festival. Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani's The Devil's Miner, about two Bolivian silver miners, took home best documentary honors. The indie-focused fest gave its first Trailblazer Award to Cinetic Media producer John Sloss; it was presented by his longtime collaborator Ethan Hawke. Actor/director Steve Buscemi received the Maverick Award from friend Aidan Quinn.