Noticias

Exclusive: Festival regulars Joe Yanick, Hugues Barbier and Justin Timms of US specialty sales and distribution outfit Yellow Veil Pictures are in Cannes talking to international buyers about two new pickups: Australian genre titles A Grand Mockery and Salt Along The Tongue, which they will distribute in the US.

The New York- and Los Angeles-based company acquired worldwide rights, which enables the co-founders to coordinate international rollout with the US release, and share materials with their partners around the world.

“We’ve been doing more worldwide pick-ups [like this] from filmmakers so we can sell internationally and distribute ourselves in the US,...

Yellow Veil Pictures has boarded worldwide sales rights on “Mother of Flies.” The indie feature is the latest supernatural horror from the family directing trio of John Adams, Toby Poser and their daughter, Zelda Adams.

The official logline for the film reads, “When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods. But every cure has its cost.”

Poser, John Adams and Zelda Adams direct as well as star alongside Lulu Adams. Poser serves as producer. Yellow Veil Pictures will present the first footage to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival in the coming days.

Previous credits for Poser, John Adams and Zelda Adams, serving as directors and stars, include “The Deeper You Dig,” “Where the Devil Roams,” and “Hellbender.” The trio’s breakout hit “Hellbender” was acquired by horror streamer Shudder in 2021 ahead of its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

Exclusive: Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired all North American rights for Lucile Hadžihalilović’s dark fairy tale The Ice Tower, following its buzzy world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Set in the 1970s, the picture follows runaway Jeanne (Clara Pacini) who falls under the spell of Cristina (Marion Cotillard), the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film being shot in the studio where she has taken refuge.

A loose adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” Hadžihalilović’s fourth feature marks her second collaboration with Cotillard after 2004’s Innocence, and also co-stars August Diehl, Marine Gesbert, and a cameo performance from director Gaspar Noé.

Hadžihalilović’s other features are Evolution (2015) and Earwig (2021) which both world premiered at San Sebastian as did Innocence.

The deal was negotiated by Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms and Joe Yanick for Yellow Veil Pictures and Eva Diederix for Goodfellas.

Exclusive: Deva Cassel (Netflix’s The Leopard), Julien De Saint Jean (The Count Of Monte Cristo) and Romain Duris (Heartbreaker) are set to co-star in a contemporary, French-language version of Gaston Leroux’s classic Paris-set novel The Phantom of the Opera, aimed at a young adult audience and taking its cue from the Twilight franchise.

Snd, the film production, distribution and sales arm of French commercial free-to-air broadcaster M6, is co-producing and selling the ambitious project and will launch pre-sales at the EFM with a sizzle.

Alexandre Castagnetti is set to direct from a screenplay co-written with Camille Fontaine ( Coco Before Chanel).

Opéra Garnier

Filming will begin this summer at the world famous Palais Garnier opera house, or Opéra Garnier, in Paris, against the backdrop of its theatre, backstage areas, domed roof and subterranean vaulted cistern, sometimes referred to as its lake.

While the likes of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Steven Lisberger’s Tron have examined the thrills and fears of humanity’s relationship with screens since the early ‘80s, there’s been a recent, renewed interest as the number of screens in one’s life has ever-expanded. At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Jane Schoebruen explored identity-forming bonds with media and the eventual curdling nostalgia with I Saw the TV Glow. This year, Obex finds Albert Birney following Strawberry Mansion with another inventive and lo-fi adventure, but one that finds the director honing in with a more satisfying focus. Even though our main character spends every waking moment in front of a screen, this is no damning screed but an earnest, even poignant look at how entertainment can provide a sense of comfort for the most lonely souls.

It’s 1987 in Baltimore, an unlucky year in which 17-year cicadas...

Before awards season gets its annual wrap with the Oscars, the Sundance Film Festival ushers in a new year of movies every January, although it is increasingly less like the tastemaker it once was. What was once the touchstone of discovery that launched the independent film boom of the '...

Stars: Renny Grames, K.C. Clyde, Joseph Reidhead, Austin Archer, Charan Prabhakar, Barta Heiner | Written by Boston McConnaughey, Renny Grames | Directed by Boston McConnaughey

Director Boston McConnaughey co-wrote Alien Country with Renny Grames who, as well as being one of the film’s stars, is also his wife and collaborator on several shorts for their YouTube Channel. The film grew out of the making of those shorts and, from the start of writing to release, took up nine years of their lives. That’s a lot of time to invest in a project, was the finished product worth it?

Alien Country gets off to a fast start as a dirt bike rider runs from the police. Despite going off-road and jumping a river, he eventually finds himself trapped. He releases a strange glowing object from his bag before making a run for it on foot.

Nineteen years later Everly is making her own exit on foot,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Civil War (Alex Garland)

While bound to spark hundreds of think pieces, Alex Garland’s stirring Civil War will undoubtedly go down, too, as one of the most provocative films of the year. It’s also an early contender for one of the best, offering a stunning warning: no matter what the cause, war is hell. Civil War is less interested in the causes of conflict and more about front lines as the Western Forces march towards the W

Where to Stream: Max

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed (Joanna Arnow)

In The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, Ann, a lugubrious New Yorker, sleepwalks through her daily life––colorless job, perennially disappointed parents––while...

Mubi is exactly the service for people who see Mysteries of Lisbon is streaming and ask “yes but what version?” Accordingly I’m excited that September brings the extended, miniseries cut of Raúl Ruiz’s late-career triumph, which arrives alongside the notable new release that is Zia Anger’s My First Film––here programmed in a “Millennial Meltdown” series alongside Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun and Martine Syms’s The African Desperate. Take special note of Marie-Claude Trielhou’s Simone Barbés, or Virtue, which has captured cinephile attention since its restoration, probably because it’s a great film that encapsulates so much of what you’d even want in a movie.

Meanwhile, Tarsem’s 4K restoration (and slightly adjusted cut) of 2006’s The Fall makes its streaming premiere; there’s opportunity to catch up with Coralie Fargeat ahead of The Substance; recent releases Riddle of Fire and Geoff...

After the dark comedy Come to Daddy, New Zealand director Ant Timpson travels back to his home country with lead actor Elijah Wood for Bookworm, an adventure designed for all ages. In his introduction at the opening of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, Timpson cited 1970s family movies as an inspiration and admitted he wanted nothing more than to make a good, entertaining time for audiences. That aim is apparent in every moment of Bookworm, whose odd-couple pairing of an estranged father and his precocious daughter on a camping trip gone wrong feels engineered to be a broad crowd-pleaser. But Timpson, along with co-writer Toby Harvard, prefer to take the easy way for achieving their goals, the film leaning into dated comedy and a relentless charm offensive that makes its efforts too strained to fully embrace.

The film starts with Mildred (Nell Fisher), an 11-year-old girl who spends most of...

Sony is rolling out Bad Boys: Ride Or Die at 643 locations to make it the widest release in the UK and Ireland this weekend.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles as two renegade cops standing in the way of a Miami drugs cartel, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directing.

It is the fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise following the most recent, Bad Boys For Life, opening to £3.8m in January 2020, surpassing the £866,215 opening of 1995’s Bad Boys and the £3.2m of 2003’s Bad Boys II.

The Watched, known outside of UK-Ireland as The Watchers,...

Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.Find all of our Cannes 2024 coverage here.Eephus.Founded in 2011 by a group of college friends in Boston, Omnes Films is a production company that’s quietly created some of the most unique American movies of the last half-decade. Now based in Los Angeles, Omnes came to prominence in 2019 with Ham on Rye, a magical-realist coming-of-age fable set in suburban Long Island that solidified the collective’s four main players: director Tyler Taormina, cinematographer Carson Lund, producer Michael Basta, and music supervisor Jonathan Davies—all of whom have subsequently directed their own films under the Omnes banner.Omnes’s two latest projects, Eephus and Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (both 2024), directed by Lund and Taormina, respectively, both premiered in Cannes as part of this year’s Directors’ Fortnight—a programming decision further confirming the section’s renewed interest in American cinema following the inclusion of The Sweet East,...

Family fare was evidently the preferred choice during the U.K. and Ireland school half-term holidays as Paramount’s “If” bounced up the charts to the top spot.

In its third weekend, “If” collected £1.5 million ($2 million) for a total of £9.5 million ($12.2 million). In its second weekend, in second place, Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” clawed another £1.3 million and now has a total of £6.2 million.

In third place, in its fourth weekend, Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” chest thumped to a further £1 million for a total of £13.2 million.

Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” which was neck-and-neck with “Garfield” in its opening weekend, earned £963,976 in its second weekend in fourth place and now has a total of £4.5 million.

Rounding off the top five was Universal’s “The Fall Guy” that took in £524,320 in its fifth weekend for a total of £11.1 million.

There were three new entries in the Top 10. Warner Bros.

This kids’ adventure story with a faux medievalist vibe has a cute conceit and some fun sequences but the inexperience of the cast and director shows

If you’ve ever tried to make a home movie with young children, you quickly come to appreciate how hard it is to get the little monsters to remember their lines and hit their marks, let alone give good performances. It’s an education in the difference between good and bad direction, the raw, primary-teacher skill in herding cats while also managing tone, quality control and all that storytelling stuff. Just try it for yourself and you’ll realise just how good a job directors such as Garth Jennings or Taika Waititi did with child-led films like Son of Rambow or Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

At the very least, this awareness will help you be a bit more forgiving of a film like Riddle of Fire.

Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Champ Marshawn Lynch (Bottoms), Mustafa Shakir, Cam Gigandet, André Eriksen, and Lio Tipton are boarding 87North and Universal’s original action movie With Love.

They join previously cast Oscar winner winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose, as well as Daniel Wu in the pic set for release on Feb. 7, 2025. For Quan, it’s his first major leading man role post Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

The movie hails from vet stunt and fight coordinator Jonathan Eusebio who is making his feature directorial debut. Eusebio’s credits include Black Panther, The Avengers, the John Wick films, The Matrix Resurrections, Violent Night, Deadpool 2, The Fate of the Furious, Doctor Strange, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Wolverine, The Bourne Legacy and 87North’s upcoming summer kickoff title,...

The three immortal reptiles commence a journey to bake a blueberry pie for their mother in director Western Razooli’s Riddle of Fire. The scenic rural Wyoming is almost a fairyland when you see it through Razooli’s Kodak 16mm lens. This movie thrives on its sheer aesthetic, and at times it’s almost Wes Anderson-esque. The hardships the reptiles face to acquire their precious speckled egg are truly heartwarming.

Spoilers Ahead

What happens in the movie?

Hazel, Jodie, and Alice ride their motorbikes armed with paintball guns. They steal a game from the warehouse successfully, but they can’t play because their mum has set a password on the TV. With only a couple of days left for their summer vacation, Hazel and Jodie ask their sick mother Julie to tell them the password. After a long negotiation, Julie agrees to let the kids play the game for...

Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the line-up for its 56th edition running from May 15 to 23, at a press conference in Paris’ Forum des Images cultural center.

The section, launched in 1969 and overseen by the French Directors Guild, will present 21 feature films and 10 short films.

It is the second line-up overseen by Delegate General Julien Rejl, who took up the role last year.

Discoveries of his inaugural edition included Georgian director Elene Naveriani’s late coming-of-age drama Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry; U.S. indie film Riddle Of Fire by Weston Razooli, as well as Vietnamese filmmaker Phạm Thiên Ân’s 2023 Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell.

The 2024 edition will open with late director Sophie Fillières’ final feature This Life of Mine, starring Agnès Jaoui as a woman whose sense of self starts to unravel as she turns 55.

Fillières died shortly after completing the shoot and her...

Director Weston Razooli made waves at the Toronto International Film Festival last year with Riddle of Fire, which our own Joe Lipsett gave 4/5 stars in his review.

Joe wrote, “Riddle of Fire has all of the hallmarks of a classic ’80s children adventure film, mixed with the quaintness of a British fairytale.” His review continued, “In short: think Goonies meets Adventures in Babysitting with a touch of The Princess Bride‘s aesthetic.”

In this truly one-of-a-kind slice of visionary cinema, “Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.”

When will you be able to see it? Bloody Disgusting has exclusively learned that Yellow Veil Pictures & Vinegar Syndrome will bring Riddle of Fire to at-home VOD on April 12.

You can pre-order the movie via Apple TV now.

After premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, the film went on...

Long before she was a movie star, a teenage Nicole Kidman appeared in the early-’80s action comedy “BMX Bandits,” a rowdy Australian kidpic full of bicycle stunts and Scooby-Doo crime-stopping shenanigans. It’s too early to say whether any of the adorable young leads in “Riddle of Fire” will go on to have successful acting careers. Still, it’s amusing to think that two decades into the 21st century, writer-director Weston Razooli has taken inspiration from such questionable classics, along with vintage live-action Disney fare — like “Escape from Witch Mountain” and the Herbie movies, which the studio sold in puffy white VHS cases — for his own retro-spirited debut.

Spun from equal parts imagination and nostalgia, “Riddle of Fire” comes as close as any film since “Spy Kids” or “Kisses” to mirroring the kind of cinematic adventures we made in our heads as kids. Razooli remembers how it feels to...

Riddle of Fire is a whimsical kids' adventure movie with mature themes, and it's sometimes hard to tell who it's for. This film captures childhood curiosity and features excellent young actors, along with a great turn from Lio Tipton. The imaginative storytelling and lush visuals make this a compelling if sometimes frustrating watch.

Earlier this century, Maurice Sendak's iconic children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, was turned into a feature film by none other than Spike Jonze. The adaptation, however, was no kids' movie — but rather, a movie about kids. See what we mean? A similar argument could be made about Riddle of Fire, the debut feature from Utah writer-director Weston Razooli. On the surface, this lush fantasy film may seem right up your kid's alley. But ultimately, it's perhaps better suited for adults.

Hey, maybe it actually walks a fine line, and two things can be true:...

Riddle of Fire is a movie that is never lacking in charm. Unfortunately, charm can only get you so far. A film about kids who ride around on their motorbikes undertaking various quests in Wyoming that increasingly spiral out of control, it is like writer-director Weston Razooli took some of the beats and aesthetics of something like The Lord of the Rings with a dash of The NeverEnding Story, then injected it into a more modern fairy tale narrative in the tone of something like The Goonies. Wielding paintball guns, these scrappy young kids just want to have ordinary fun on their summer break only to discover the world around them is full of more lightly magical elements. It's a visually impressive feature debut for Razooli, but that is only one small part of the experience.

Q&a’s are a staple of indie opening weekends since they tend to sell tickets but Bob and Jeanne Berney’s Picturehouse has raised that bar, offering audiences seven-minute live burlesque revues before selected screenings of documentary Carol Doda Topless At The Condor. The ode to the woman, and to 1960s San Francisco where she broke out topless, opens in limited release in New York, LA, San Francisco and San Rafael. Dancers in what Bob Berney called a “Doda-esqe burlesque” will not be topless,” he said — “but pretty close.”

Dancers start in the audience then move to the front of the theater against a specially designed backdrop of image and sound on screen. “It brings you into that world immediately. You are there before the film starts,” he said.

“Eventizing” a film is great if you can do it. The box office is much better but still a bit weird since Covid.

Weston Razooli knows that he broke all the rules on his first movie. While some directors ease themselves into feature filmmaking by telling intimate stories that can be confined to one location and a handful of experienced actors, Razooli swung for the fences with “Riddle of Fire.”

The anachronistically nostalgic adventure saga follows three pals who spend a summer afternoon searching for the perfect blueberry pie ingredients in a world filled with witches, fairies, and scheming huntsmen — all with the hope of convincing a bedridden mother to let them get back to playing video games.

The film captures the whimsy of a childhood summer adventure on a scale that manages to feel epic to its pint-sized protagonists and charmingly intimate to adult audiences. But Razooli’s distinct vision forced him to navigate the kinds of logistical challenges that could derail a massive studio production — like shooting on 16mm film with...

Plot: Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.

Review: Magical realism is a tough challenge for even the most skilled of filmmakers. There’s a fine line to walk in order to anchor anything fantastical to a layer of reality. Writer/Director Weston Razooli makes the choice to set the film in modern day, while avoiding most modern technology. Even the leads have a timelessness to them that could put this film in any decade going back a century. All of these elements add up to make Riddle of Fire one of the more interesting independent features of the year.

Taking place in the mountains of Wyoming, Riddle of Fire follows three children Hazel, Alice, and Jodie as they go on an adventure. They’re on a mission to get the ingredients for a blueberry pie, to make their ailing mother feel better.

A beguiling “neo-fairy tale” that effectively splits the difference between the high fantasy of “Legend” and the lo-fi drift of “L for Leisure,” Weston Razooli’s “Riddle of Fire” tries to capture the magic inherent to even modern childhood by stretching a simple fetch quest into an epic adventure. Perhaps a little too epic, it turns out.

Despite kicking off with a heist sequence that crystallizes the miscreant fun of a late summer afternoon and tees up a Tolkien-worthy plot in the clearest possible terms, Razooli’s increasingly languorous debut soon proves to be easier to appreciate than it is to enjoy. It’s a light and singular concoction of sick-ass vibes in dire need of something — anything — to weigh them down. I couldn’t wait for it to end, but that’s partially because I’m already so impatient to see what Razooli does next.

Set in rural Wyoming...

In the recent decades of Hollywood exporting slapped-together “children’s movies” to appease parents just looking to take their kids to anything that can pass the time, any film with an actual sense of youthful wonder in cinema feels like a lost artifact. For his directorial debut Riddle of Fire, director Weston Razooli creates such a utopia, following a group of mischievous children who embark on a woodland odyssey to deliver a pie, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman, befriend a fairy, and become best friends forever.

Though filmed in the Sundance headquarters of Park City, where Razooli grew up, the film premiered at Cannes Directors Fortnight last year and stopped by TIFF Midnight Madness. Ahead of the theatrical opening this Friday, I spoke with Razooli about capturing his neo-fairytale set on 16mm, being influenced by Hayao Miyazaki and Zelda, finding the right tone, what it was like working primarily with child actors,...

Yellow Veil Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome have released the hypnotic and beautifully meditative trailer for Riddle of Fire, a movie that was included in the lineup at last year’s Fantastic Fest and Midnight Madness at TIFF. The trailer plays like a fever dream as writer and director Weston Razooli takes you on a unique journey through the eyes of children as they make their way through the forest and encounter many threatening figures, which plays out like a dark fairy tale.

The official synopsis reads,

“This neo-fairytale set in Wyoming, USA follows three mischievous children as they embark on an odyssey when their mother asks them to run an errand. On the hunt to obtain her favourite blueberry pie, the children are kidnapped by poachers, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman, befriend a fairy, and bond together to become best friends forever.”

Skyler Peters, Phoebe Ferro, Charlie Stover and...

The spice must flow, and take over most theaters. While Denis Villeneuve’s gargantuan-sized blockbuster will suck up much of the oxygen when it comes to discussions around March’s releases, there’s plenty more to uncover. From adventurous festival favorites to micro-sized productions to a would-be blockbuster relegated to streaming, here are my picks for what to see next month.

15. Road House (Doug Liman; March 21)

While his recent output hasn’t touched the entertainment value of Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity, or Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Doug Liman seems quite confident in the crowdpleaser appeal of his Jake Gyllenhaal-led Road House remake. While he won’t be getting the theatrical release he believes he deserves, those at SXSW will at least be able to experience it in a crowd before it lands on Prime Video soon after.

14. Yuni (Kamila Andini; March 22)

One of our favorite undistributed films...

"I'm gonna get your kids!" Yellow Veil Pictures has launched the full official trailer for an indie gem titled Riddle of Fire, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Weston Razooli. This first premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival, with stops at tons of other festivals. Now set for a US theatrical release this March. It's about a trio of kids on an adventure. Here's the Fantastic Fest one-liner intro: "Three children go on an epic quest to uncover the password for their TV, finding themselves in their own video game-like adventure in the real world." A neo-fairytale thriller shot in Wyoming, following three mischievous children as they embark on an odyssey when their mother asks them to run an errand to to get the TV password. On the hunt to obtain her favorite blueberry pie, the children are kidnapped by poachers, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman, befriend a fairy,...

When you see an indie film focusing on the friendship between young kids, you automatically think you have it figured out—this is clearly a coming-of-age tale that we’ve seen a million times over. Well, “Riddle of Fire” might be a film about three young children growing up in Wyoming, but nothing about it is typical.

Read More: ‘Riddle Of Fire’ Review: Weston Razooli’s Whimsical Fantasy Feature Debut Struggles To Sustain Its Magic [TIFF]

As seen in the trailer, “Riddle of Fire” follows three kids as they go run an errand for their mother.

Continue reading ‘Riddle Of Fire’ Trailer: Three Kids Go On A Quest In Weston Razooli’s Neo-Fairytale at The Playlist.

A selection at Cannes Directors Fortnight and TIFF Midnight Madness last year, Weston Razooli’s singular debut Riddle of Fire follows a group of mischievous children who embark on a woodland odyssey to deliver a pie, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman, befriend a fairy, and become best friends forever. Picked up by Yellow Veil and Vinegar Syndrome, the first trailer has now arrived for the 16mm-shot fantasy film, set for a theatrical release on March 22.

Ankit Jhunjhunwala said in his review, “Films with child protagonists present a unique tonal challenge. If overly saccharine whimsy can alienate an adult audience, having precocious kids delivering mannered performances can seem too stylized and divorced from reality––what, say, Wes Anderson has a skill for, many others do not possess. With his debut feature Riddle of Fire, director Weston Razooli tries locating the balance between extremes to uneven results. On paper, this is a kids’ fantasy,...

One of the surprise breakout hits of the 2023 film festival circuit, Weston Razooli’s directorial debut “Riddle of Fire” charmed audiences around the world by blending the aesthetics of classic family adventure movies with a modern midnight movie sensibility. After premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, the film went on to close the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival and screen at Fantastic Fest. Now, thanks to Yellow Veil Pictures and the legendary boutique Blu-ray label Vinegar Syndrome, the film will receive a domestic theatrical release this spring.

The official synopsis for “Riddle of Fire” reads: “This neo-fairytale set in Wyoming, USA follows three mischievous children as they embark on an odyssey when their mother asks them to run an errand. On the hunt to obtain her favorite blueberry pie, the children are kidnapped by poachers, battle a witch, outwit a huntsman,...

Mister Smith Entertainment has clinched first key international sales on Weston Razooli’s “Riddle of Fire.”

Among major territories, Mister Smith has closed Japan (Klockworx), France (ASC Distribution) and Spain (Flamingo Films). Deals build on a co-u.S acquisition by Yellow Veil Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome, which plan a domestic theatrical bow in early 2024, releasing the film on 35mm.

“Riddle of Fire” has also been sold to Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Greece (Odeon) and Femeway/The Film Group and Front Row Filmed Entertainment for the Middle East, Singapore (the Shaw Organization), ex-Yugoslavia (Blitz Film) and worldwide airlines and ships (Anuvu).

Razooli’s first feature made its debut in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and its North American premiere as the Toronto Festival’s Midnight Madness closing-night film.

A highlight on Mister Smith’s AFM slate, “Riddle of Fire” has additional territories in negotiations, which Mse will attempt to close in Santa Monica.

Shot...

Weston Razooli’s “neo-fairy tale,” Riddle of Fire, was like unearthing buried treasure while battling corpses and unthinkable horrors at this year’s Fantastic Fest. For Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, the monsters were just as fun, but Razooli’s feature directorial debut stood out for its more whimsical, kid-centric narrative and his “stylized fairy tale” vibes, all captured on 16mm.

In less than a week our amigos y familia at Morbido will be hosting the sixteenth edition of their famed genre film festival. This year genre icons Eli Roth and Ted Raimi will be attending the festival to present their films, Thanksgiving and Failure! respectively.   Festival alumni Gigi Saul Guerrero will be in town to present V/H/S/85 and LG White will be back to present her doc, Tripping the Dark Fantastic, the documentary about composer Simon Boswell with performance footage and interviews with the likes of Argento and Jorodowsky.    Carlota Pereda's new film, The Chapel, is a must-see part of the program as is Demian Rugna's When Evil Lurks. Don't miss Weston Razooli's Riddle of Fire either.    Morbido Film Fest Celebrates 16 years...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Films with child protagonists present a unique tonal challenge. If overly saccharine whimsy can alienate an adult audience, having precocious kids delivering mannered performances can seem too stylized and divorced from reality––what, say, Wes Anderson has a skill for, many others do not possess. With his debut feature Riddle of Fire, director Weston Razooli tries locating the balance between extremes to uneven results. On paper, this is a kids’ fantasy, action-adventure film, yet it’s difficult to discern the precise audience to whom it may appeal.

Rabble-rousing rascals Hazel (Charlie Stover), Alice (Phoebe Ferro), and Jodie (Skyler Peters) spend their summer vacation zooming around Ribbon, Wyoming, on dirt bikes. They carry paintball guns and beaded necklaces as members of their self-created “Reptiles” gang. One day they steal a new video game console from a local factory but are unable to run it because Hazel and Jodie’s mom has password-protected the TV.

There’s something ethereal about Weston Razooli’s Toronto Midnight Madness closer, Riddle of Fire. It’s whimsical, but in a rough-hewn sort of way that puts it somewhere in the aesthetic neighborhood of Avalon Fast’s 2022 Slamdance discovery, Honeycomb. Both films exist in a world parallel to ours, but not unfamiliar or unrecognizable. While Honeycomb chooses a darker direction when compared to Riddle of Fire’s Little Rascals-esque childish escapades, they both occupy a world in which adults exist, but more as impediments to adventure instead of figures of authority. Razooli’s film exudes joy from every delicate 16mm frame, making it the perfect gateway for those weirdo young children looking for representation in a world of high gloss influencers and YouTube celebs. Right from the jump, Riddle of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

There’s nothing quite like a throwback film – whether it’s driven by nostalgia or executed as a creative exercise, it’s fun to see how creatives handle the material.

Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire has all of the hallmarks of a classic ’80s children adventure film, mixed with the quaintness of a British fairytale. This is evident from the film’s opening scene, which features ethereal folk music, heavily stylized cursive font, and fairytale language: “Are ye a knight or are ye a squire? Can ye solve the Riddle of Fire?”

Like the best examples from the ’80s, however, there’s a persistent undercurrent of peril as the child characters are repeatedly put in danger with antagonists who won’t hesitate to harm or even murder them. In short: think Goonies meets Adventures in Babysitting with a touch of The Princess Bride‘s aesthetic.

One of the great...

The "Coolest debut from Cannes," according to AnOther Magazine, the poster for American indie cult-film-to-be, Riddle Of Fire, exudes rural middleschool cool. The key art is awash in warm peachy tones and early 70s pre-Amblin 'latch-key kids' vibes. Note the mushrooms and the flames, the chunky, almost Druidic font for the title card, and the green pop of colour for the writer-director. Beside the pull quote, genre festival logos adorn the top, while the credit block and production distribution logos are nicely centred at the bottom.  Little golden stars indicate the character names, the setting, and the promise of a Neo-Fairytale film. Not many film posters label their sub-genre so explicitly. The Wyoming background looks less like a post card or landscape, and more like a treasure...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ah, the years of one’s youth— a topsy-turvy, illogical rollercoaster of emotions, hormones, and boundless wonder. The finest films that capture this spirited chaos often use their child characters as conduits, letting them revel in the sheer essence of being a kid. They turn simple tasks into wild adventures, offering glimpses of the magic and mayhem that is growing up. Enter “Riddle of Fire,” the debut feature from director Weston Razooli.

Continue reading ‘Riddle Of Fire’ Review: Weston Razooli’s Whimsical Fantasy Feature Debut Struggles To Sustain Its Magic [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Domestic distributor Bleecker Street is in negotiations to acquire rights to “Fackham Hall,” a British spoof of “Downton Abbey” and other costume dramas. Sales outfit The Veterans is pre-selling international territories. And as international buyers face a potential drought of Hollywood product due to strikes, the market is offering other promising presale titles.

WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...

"The prince of the mountain forever grants to those with hearts rich." An early festival promo trailer is out for an indie genre film titled Riddle of Fire, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Weston Razooli. This originally premiered in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and it's now set to play at the big three genre fests this fall: Toronto, Fantastic Fest, and the Sitges Film Festival in Spain. It's about some kids on an adventure. Here's the Fantastic Fest one-liner intro: "Three children go on an epic quest to uncover the password for their TV, finding themselves in their own video game-like adventure in the real world." Over at TIFF, they also describe it as: "Three rascal children run afoul of an enigmatic coven in Weston Razooli’s whimsical neo-fairytale, which evokes a menagerie of esoteric genres and dreamy cult-film vibes." This stars Lio Tipton,...

Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...

Yellow Veil Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome announced have co-acquired North American rights for “Riddle of Fire,” the feature debut of writer and director Weston Razooli. The movie follows three mischievous children as they embark on an odyssey when their mother asks them to run an errand.

The film was also an official selection at this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and will screen on the closing night of the Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness section. It stars Lio Tipton, Charles Halford, Charlie Stover, Skyler Peters, Phoebe Ferro, and Lorelei Olivia Mote. The film is produced by David Atrakchi, Sohrab Mirmont, Razooli and Tipton. Executive producers are Marlow Griffin Lyddon, Brendon Griffin Lyddon, David Wiener, Kate Wiener, Jay Van Hoy, Sophie Meister, and Donna Gruneich. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling worldwide sales.

This is the first time that the two distributors have partnered. Yellow Veil and Vinegar Syndrome are planning...

Toronto — The Toronto International Film Festival® is thrilled to announce the 2023 selections for the Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes. The infamous Midnight Madness lineup features 10 titles, 7 of which are World Premieres. The Discovery lineup, which primarily boasts World and International Premieres, includes 26 titles. Notably, 13 female filmmakers representing 50% of the total programme are featured in this year’s Discovery programme.

Midnight Madness and Discovery provide a cornucopia of original and unexpected work. Midnight Madness is a fan favourite, iconoclastic programme highlighting the weird and the wicked, while the Discovery programme offers a window to contemporary international cinema and introduces the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.

“We’re excited to be showcasing new voices, audacious vision, and genre-bending cinema,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “TIFF’s Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes for 2023 will once again prove to be the ultimate destination for tastemakers and experience seekers.

A bit of Cannes (Weston Razooli‘s Riddle of Fire and Jason Yu‘s Sleep), one significant title heading over to Venice in Harmony Korine‘s Aggro DR1FT plus the world premieres to the long-awaited A24 Larry Charles‘ film in the newly titled Dicks: The Musical and a title we though was heading to next year’s Sundance in Hell of a Summer – the debut by actor Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk are among the ten titles selected for the Midnight Madness programme. Here is the 10-film line-up:

Aggro DR1FT Harmony Korine | USA (North American Premiere)

Boy Kills World Moritz Mohr | Germany/South Africa/USA

Dicks: The Musical Larry Charles | USA – Opening Film

Hell of a Summer Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk | USA/Canada

Kill Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | India

Naga Meshal Aljaser | Saudi Arabia – World Premiere

Riddle of Fire Weston Razooli | USA (North American Premiere) – Closing Film

Sleep Jason Yu | South...

TIFF announces the lineups for its 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery programs today, following documentary, Platform, as well as gala and special presentation titles. 10 films make up the Midnight Madness roster this year, featuring seven world premieres. Larry Charles’s Dicks: The Musical will serve as the opening night film, while Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire, which we covered out of Cannes, will close out the program. This year’s Discovery slate is comprised of 26 films, 23 of which are world premieres, across 25 different countries. The opening night Discovery title will be actress Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl. […]

The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineups first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

TIFF announces the lineups for its 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery programs today, following documentary, Platform, as well as gala and special presentation titles. 10 films make up the Midnight Madness roster this year, featuring seven world premieres. Larry Charles’s Dicks: The Musical will serve as the opening night film, while Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire, which we covered out of Cannes, will close out the program. This year’s Discovery slate is comprised of 26 films, 23 of which are world premieres, across 25 different countries. The opening night Discovery title will be actress Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl. […]

The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineups first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place from September 7th through the 17th, and yesterday they invited film fans to guess which ten movies they’ll be screening in their Midnight Madness lineup this year. The hints were the titles of ten movies that could be compared to the films in the lineup in some way. They were Trey Parker’s Orgazmo, Geoff Murphy’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Jimmy Wang Yu’s Fantasy Mission Force, Charles Martin Smith’s Trick or Treat, Stan Brakhage’s Dog Star Man, Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar, Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf, and Theodore J. Flicker’s Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. Now TIFF has announced the full lineup for both their Midnight Madness and Discovery programmes, and...

The Toronto International Film Festival announced today the 2023 selections for the highly regarded Midnight Madness program.

The infamous Midnight Madness lineup features 10 titles, 7 of which are World Premieres, and highlight the weird and the wicked of film.

“Sides will be split — both figuratively and literally (on screen) — as Midnight Madness returns to the Royal Alexandra Theatre with another stimulating concoction of unpredictable shock and ‘y’arr!’ cinema,” said Peter Kuplowsky, TIFF International Programmer, Midnight Madness. “Featuring two timely satiric provocations from Saudi Arabia (Naga) and Serbia (Working Class Goes to Hell) — nations that are making their section debut — this year’s madness infectiously ignites with 11 o’clock numbers that go all the way to midnight courtesy of Larry Charles’ bonkers and bawdy Dicks: The Musical. A menagerie of tastes will be sated, so bottoms up!

“There are so many fantastic genre films playing the festival circuit that it is always...