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"What do animals have to do with this war?" Nothing - they deserve better. Abramorama has unveiled an official trailer for a documentary film titled Checkpoint Zoo, the latest by award-winning doc filmmaker Joshua Zeman (also of The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52). The film premiered last year at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and also played at tons of other film festivals, and will be released in theaters around the US starting this August. Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped inside a zoo behind enemy lines during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These brave people risk everything to save over 5000 animals from the Feldman Ecopark animal sanctuary in Kharkiv. Drawing from first-hand footage, Zeman's doc film showcases a story of human compassion, bravery, and sacrifice during Ukraine's darkest hours. shining...

Exclusive: When Russia launched its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, among the first defenseless victims were animals in a zoo in Kharkiv, very close to the Russian border. Big cats, bears, wolves, orangutans, kangaroos, birds and many other species – all dependent on humans for survival – endured unimaginable terror as Russian shells exploded around them and the skies filled with tracer fire.

Animals possibly in the hundreds were reportedly killed, as well as three zoo workers who stayed behind to feed their charges. The assault triggered a desperate attempt to evacuate surviving animals, a dramatic story told in the documentary Checkpoint Zoo. Appian Way Productions – the company founded by Leonardo DiCaprio — is teaming up with Osmosis Global and Abramorama for a late summer theatrical release in North America for the film directed by Joshua Zeman.

We have your first look at the film in the exclusive trailer above.

Abramorama

“In...

Maryse Legagneur’s drama The Last Meal (Le Dernier Repas) has earned the top prize at the Miami Film Festival, winning the $15,000 Marimbas Award in international competition. The award, chosen by a jury, goes to a narrative feature film that “best exemplifies richness and resonance for cinema’s future.”

“After 20 years of silence, a dying Reynold asks his estranged daughter, Vanessa, to share his final meals,” notes a description of The Last Meal. “As she prepares the traditional Haitian dishes of his youth, the familiar flavors unlock painful, buried memories of his life and suffering under the Duvalier dictatorship.

“Set against this backdrop of shared history, The Last Meal is a poignant tale of reconciliation, exploring the power of food, cultural memory, and confronting the past to heal fractured family bonds within the Haitian experience. A beautifully crafted film about legacy, healing, and the stories we carry in our bodies and kitchens.

It’s always interesting to see which films are able to keep up their film festival momentum after buzzy premieres at early-in-the-year fests like Sundance and SXSW. Two to keep an eye on? Cole Webley’s Sundance premiere “Omaha” and Xander Robin’s SXSW crowdpleaser “The Python Hunt,” both of which just notched new wins over the weekend at the 2025 Miami Film Festival.

“The Python Hunt” picked up the Made in Mia Feature Film Award, sponsored by Panavision, which is designed to honor films “of any genre that prominently feature South Florida in their story, setting, and filming location, and best utilize South Florida’s story and theme for universal resonance.” Robin’s film, a documentary about snake-hunters in the Everglades, sure sounds like it fits the bill.

And Webley’s deep-feeling John Magaro-starring family drama, “Omaha,” earned the Jordan Ressler First Feature Award, created by the South Florida...

The Best International Feature Film award went to the Brazilian film “I’m Still Here,” which was the festival’s surprise winner. The festival, which took place from January 2 to 13, 2025, featured 165 films from 71 countries, including 35 films competing for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category.

“I’m Still Here,” directed by Walter Salles, gives a touching view of life as a regime takes hold. The international jury applauded the film for its strong story, which highlighted its intimate portrayal of a mother’s fight to keep her family safe and maintain her dignity during a crucial historical moment. The jury noted that Salles shows this truth clearly and effectively without being overly dramatic.

Zoe Saldaña won the Fipresci Prize for Best Actress for her strong performance in the movie Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. Even though her part was meant to be supportive, the jury recognized her impressive acting skills. They...

Updated with additional winners: Tinā (Mother) [Best Narrative Feature Audience Award] and Checkpoint Zoo [Best Documentary Feature Audience Award]. Previously: The 36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival announced awards Sunday, honoring I’m Still Here with the Fipresci Prize chosen from among 35 films submitted for the Oscars’ International Feature Film category.

A special jury of international film critics determined the winner of the Fipresci Prize, praising the drama directed by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles “for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.”

Zoe Saldaña in ‘Emilia Pérez’

I’m Still Here bested several other Oscar-shortlisted International Feature Film contenders including Emilia Pérez, but that innovative musical comedy directed by Jacques Audiard doesn’t leave Palm Springs empty handed. Co-star Zoe Saldaña...

Following Fernanda Torres’ surprise Golden Globe win last Sunday, Walter Salles’ political bio-drama “I’m Still Here” is picking up steam going into Oscars voting as it has now also received the Fipresci Prize for Best International Feature Film at the 36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Salles’ film is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir of the same name and follows a mother and activist as she comes to terms with the forced disappearance of her husband, a dissident politician fighting against the dictatorship in Brazil at the time.

Of the film, the Palm Springs jury said in a statement, “To ‘I’m Still Here,’ for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival on Sunday revealed its 2025 juried award winners, which includes Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here, Zoe Saldaña and the documentary No Other Land.

The juried categories include the Fipresci Prize for films in the international feature film Oscar submissions program, the best documentary award and the New Voices New Visions Award, among others.

The festival took place between Jan. 2 and Jan. 13 and screened 165 films from over 71 countries.

See below for a full list of juried winners.

Fipresci Prize for Best International Feature Film

I’m Still Here (Brazil), Director Walter Salles

Jury Statement: “To I’m Still Here, for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.

In tallying up the casualties of war, there’s seldom a thought for the animal kingdom beyond our own two-legged species. It’s assumed that Mother Nature will simply “adapt,” her less-evolved populations abandoning old habitats and finding new ones on their own when forced. “Checkpoint Zoo” trains its lens on 5,000 or so beasts who didn’t have that option — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine left them trapped in cages or pens on a no man’s land between enemy forces, terrorized and sometimes killed by missile strikes.

Joshua Zeman’s documentary chronicles the courageous efforts to save them, first from starvation, then via transport to new homes. There’s no lack of suspense, human interest or unique animal footage in this engrossing feature, whose broad appeal should ensure wide exposure — at least among allied nations.

Wealthy businessman Oleksandr Feldman founded Feldman Ecopark outside his native Kharkiv to share a...

Netflix’s This Is the Zodiac Speaking spills some shocking facts about the case that continues to haunt America. The Zodiac killer was an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the ’60s. The killer mailed taunting messages to regional newspapers, with his last letter claiming that he had killed 37 victims. The new documentary focuses on the only suspect that authorities named publicly, Arthur Leigh Allen.

A still poster of This Is The Zodiac Speaking | Credits: Netflix

According to the documentary, people who knew Allen claimed that he had told them that he was the Zodiac killer. These people also revealed that Allen drugged them as children and may have even brought them along to his crimes. The documentary included interviews with David and Connie Seawater and several other former pupils who knew Allen.

Robert Graysmith, the journalist who wrote the book about the serial killer and was...

From horror-documentaries, to ghost stories, and more, Fear Factory brings the horror.

It’s time to bring the fear with Fear Factory – a horror film streaming service you can add to Prime Video that focuses exclusively on independent and underground horror movies. With indie horror titles like “Killer Legends, “Adaline,” and “13th Child: Jersey Devil,” there’s always something strange and terrifying to find off the beaten path with Fear Factory. Keep reading to see if this is the right horror movie streamer to add to your streaming library.

7-Day Free Trial $2.99+ / month Fear Factory via amazon.com Everything You Need to Know About Fear Factory

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Fear Factory is a budget-friendly streaming service dedicated to horror films, available as...

The 32nd Hamptons International Film Festival (Hiff) has officially unveiled its 2024 winners.

The festival, which took place from October 4 through October 14, marked the U.S. premiere of John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” with screenings of “Nightbitch,” “A Real Pain,” “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” and R.J. Cutler’s Martha Stewart Netflix documentary “Martha” among the acclaimed features.

Now, IndieWire can exclusively announce the films that the Hiff jury and audience members selected for the top awards. “Armand,” also Norway’s 2025 Oscar submission, won the Hiff Award for Best Narrative Feature. “Armand” stars “A Different Man” and “Worst Person in the World” breakout Renate Reinsve as a mother of a seemingly disturbed six-year-old; the film debuted at Cannes before screening at Hiff. “Armand” is directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, the grandson of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman. IFC Films has U.S. distribution rights for “Armand.”

“’Armand’ is...

Checkpoint Zoo offers a unique perspective on war through the lens of a dramatic animal rescue during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Normal people facing a war-torn reality in Kharkiv take center stage in this documentary, highlighting the impact on daily life. The film's release amidst ongoing conflict serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle and resilience of the people of Ukraine.

Checkpoint Zoo is a new documentary premiering at Tribeca Film Festival 2024, and Screen Rant has a first look at the poster. The film is the latest documentary by Joshua Zeman, whose past work includes the true crime documentary Cropsey and the unique nature documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52. Checkpoint Zoo details an attempt to rescue 5,000 animals from a zoo in Kharkiv, Ukraine during the early days of Russias unprovoked invasion of the country.

Screen Rant is happy to debut the official poster for Checkpoint Zoo,...

Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. To kick off the campaign, we’re re-posting a few of our most popular blogs.

Among other consumer benefits, one major upside to the increasing niche-ification of popular culture has been the continuing emergence of esoteric micro-genres of film and TV. Twenty years ago, you might not necessarily think of “horror documentaries” as its own subgenre. Sure, there were documentaries that maybe fell a little more on the creepy/unsettling side, but it was rare that a nonfiction film would be tailored to appeal to a horror-first genre audience. Now, of course, things are different. In recent years, a robust tradition of terrifying nonfiction films have emerged, many as terrifying – or even more eerie – than their traditional narrative counterparts.

Joshua Zeman’s latest feature documentary “Checkpoint Zoo,” an inspiring story that unfolds in a war-torn part of the world, has wrapped principal photography. The film tells the story of the daring rescue of over 5,000 animals that were trapped in a wildlife park behind enemy lines during the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian War.

“Checkpoint Zoo” was produced by Zeman and Zach Mortensen for Ghost Robot, with Ian Davies and Torquil Jones for Noah Media Group, which is also financing the project. UTA Independent Film Group has signed on to lead worldwide sales of the picture.

In the early days of the war, a beloved animal refuge known as Feldman Ecopark, located in Ukraine’s second largest city, was in a precarious position. On one side of the park was the invading Russian army; on the other sat the Ukrainian front line. With thousands of animals trapped with little food and water,...

Exclusive: UTA has signed director, producer and writer Joshua Zeman — a leading voice in the true-crime storytelling space — with plans to find him new opportunities in documentary filmmaking, narrative directing, digital content and more.

Zeman is best known for his critically acclaimed debut feature Cropsey, as well as such series as The Killing Season (A+E Networks), Murder Mountain (Netflix) and The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (Netflix).

Co-directed with Barbara Brancaccio, Cropsey watches as the filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances. The Killing Season sees Zeman and Rachel Mills examine unsolved serial killer cases, while Murder Mountain looks at crime surrounding the marijuana industry in Humboldt County, California. And then, there’s The Sons of Sam, which looks at journalist Maury Terry’s conspiratorial thinking surrounding the infamous Son of Sam murders.

Zeman most recently departed from...

To celebrate the release of the stunning documentary The Loneliest Whale:The Search for 52 coming to all major UK digital download platforms from 4th April, we are giving away DVD copies to 5 lucky winners!

Directed by Joshua Zeman, Finding 52 is a cinematic quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude, calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As we search for this elusive creature, we will explore the phenomenon of human reaction to its plight, while revealing its connection to the growing epidemic of loneliness in our interconnected world.

Buy The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 here now: https://amzn.to/3JklkK6

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only

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The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 will be available on digital download from the 4th April

The Small Print

Open to...

Joy in nature and scientific geekery fuel this documentary quest for an elusive whale, whose unique song was first detected 30 years ago

The world’s loneliest whale was discovered in 1989 when his mating call was picked up by US Navy underwater surveillance designed to detect Russian submarines. The frequency of the whale’s singing, at 52Hz, was much higher than other large whales. Was this guy the first of his kind, or the last? Could other whales understand him, or was the 52 a lonesome wanderer, crossing the ocean looking for love, singing into the darkness? The story went viral in 2004 after an article in the New York Times, inspiring hashtags – #TheSaddestThingEver! – and back tattoos.

Now comes this documentary, directed by Joshua Zeman and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Zeman charters a boat called Truth and assembles a crack team of oceanographers to solve the mystery of the 52. Spotting the whale...

Exclusive: Dominick Montiglio, who was at the center of one of the most vicious mafia crews in history, is telling his mob story.

Montiglio is telling the story of his involvement in the notorious DeMeo Crew, part of the Gambino crime family who became some of New York’s most dangerous hitmen, in eight-part audio series Mafia Tapes from Investigation Discovery (ID).

After spending years trying to escape his birthright and returning from serving in Vietnam, Dominick Montiglio finally succumbs and joins his family’s “business”— the American Cosa Nostra. His job? Keep an eye on the DeMeo Crew. When things go south, Dominick must choose between his oath of loyalty to the Mafia and his own survival.

Mafia Tapes is hosted by Celia Aniskovich, who has worked on TV series including Netflix’s How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Fear City: New York vs the Mafia as well...

Photo: ‘The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52’/Bleecker Street In the year 1989 oceanographer Dr. William Watkins identified a biologic phenomenon. Watkins was working with the United States Navy on Sosus (Underwater Sound Surveillance) when he first observed an unidentified sound and labeled it as a whale's call. This call was different to any other whales on Earth, a frequency lower than other Blue or Fin whales, this means it is literally incapable of communicating with other whales. Whales can hear the 52 Hertz call, but they cannot understand it, essentially making a different language. The discovery of this call created a worldwide movement as people began sympathizing with the lonely creature. 52, as the whale is called in shorthand, has never been seen by the human eye, never been videotaped, never photographed, and almost everything about the whale is shrouded in mystery. Related article: ‘In the Heights’ – Behind the Scenes and Full...

Questlove’s Summer of Soul (…Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) will hit a cumulative $1.4 million rising to an estimated $1.47 million Monday with a $375,000 second-week gross in 752 theaters. The best performing documentary so far this year “may possibly get to $2 million, that’s our goal,” said Searchlight Pictures head of distribution Frank Rodriquez.

In a weird Covid transition year where major studio releases have recently started to pile up and lots of product is day-and-date – including Summer of Soul, on Hulu – or close to it, the other biggest docs so far are Sundance darling The Sparks Brothers (Focus Features) at about $650,000 and Rita Moreno: The Girl Who Just Decided To Go For It (Roadside Attractions). Both opened June 18. Roadside didn’t not report estimates today and will do Monday afternoon. The last cume is $243,851 in North America but that doesn’t include this past weekend.

The Sparks...

Moviegoers not far removed from the isolating strains of lockdown may find The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 strikes a chord. Distributor Bleecker Street and director Joshua Zeman hope so as the doc, a shift from the helmer’s true crime roots, opens in 75 theaters.

Digital release is set for July 16.

The film is a cinematic quest for the 52 Hertz Whale, which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other of its species. The whale, discovered in 1989, became a global sensation over the past three decades — including songs about it by British indie rock band Amber Run and K-pop’s BTS.

Zeman, who said he had childhood ambitions to be a marine biologist and loved Jacques Cousteau, was floored by the story and spent ten years trying to make the...

A shot from the documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52. Courtesy of Bleecker Street

A whale, apparently the only one of its kind, wandering the Pacific and persistently calling with no answer, is the subject of Joshua Zeman’s documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52, or more precisely, a search for the whale no one had ever seen. That search of the seas aboard a ship named Truth is the framing devise, but director Zeman also examines at the human response to the whale’s plight, anthropomorphized reaction reflecting at a time when people were talking about social media and loneliness, as well as a brief exploration of humankind’s history with whales. Aboard a ship named Truth It adds up to a mix of sea-going adventure,

In 2004, the New Times posted an article about a whale that struck a chord with many people. “For many years,...

The social lives of animals enthrall the human mind. Finding qualities that resemble us in other species has the power, it seems, to make us feel connected to something beyond our mortal insignificance. It also amplifies our compassion for those creatures.

Proof of this obsession to anthropomorphize them, or at least to reflect ourselves in those traits, is that this year alone we’ve already seen two documentaries on the song of whales: A middling effort in last month’s “Fathom,” and an infinitely more engaging exploration of the history of our interactions with the cetaceans in director Joshua Zeman’s “The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52.”

To map out the broader topics of this human-whale relationship, Zeman anchors his narrative on a single whale that has caused an online frenzy and puzzled scientists for decades. No one has seen it, but they’ve heard it. Nicknamed “52” because its song registers at 52 Hertz,...

Director Joshua Zeman never forgot the first time he saw a whale. He was a teen then, humbled by the majestic sight, reminded of the earth’s awe-inspiring power. With “The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52,” he harnesses the cavernous passion he formed for the ocean and marine life at an impressionable age and pours it into a spirited yet naive personal quest to find a specific cetacean no one has ever laid eyes on. The result is .

At the center of it is the titular whale, often referred to as “52” due to the singular sounds he diffuses at 52 hertz, a mysterious and apparently one-of-a-kind acoustic frequency for these aquatic mammals. The film’s pragmatic opening moments recap that the unidentifiable sound was first detected by the United States Navy in 1989, thanks to a classified underwater surveillance system designed in the Cold War era, at the height of the Soviet paranoia,...

“Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness” is streaming now on Netflix

Netflix dropped its four-part limited series “Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness” on Wednesday, and it’s chock-full of new and disturbing details in the Son of Sam serial killer case.

Produced by reporter Joshua Zeman, “Sons of Sam” centers on investigative journalist Maury Terry and his decades-long search for what he believed to be the truth behind the murders of six people in New York City during the summer of 1977. Namely, Terry believed that convicted murderer David Berkowitz didn’t act alone in the slayings and was part of a satanic cult that ordered him to kill his victims.

Each episode of “Sons of Sam” tracks Terry’s journey through more than two decades of research into the Son of Sam case — an investigation that took him from New York to South Dakota and eventually (as...

We may soon begin to run low on famous cases from the past to reframe into true-crime series. Following on recent series about the Night Stalker and the Ted Bundy murders, Netflix now drops “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness,” about the Son of Sam killings in New York City in the late 1970s. That the title and subject differ by a letter is the engine of this story: We follow the late investigative journalist Maury Terry through his belief that the murders, for which David Berkowitz was convicted, have their roots in a grander conspiracy, rooted in a cult with possible ties to other crimes and to the Manson family.

Terry died in 2015, but filmmaker Joshua Zeman had access to his notes and has cast Paul Giamatti to read them in voice-over. The picture that emerges from Giamatti’s committed performance is that of a person who...

Netflix‘s new docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness aims to restructure a deeply ingrained story. New York City’s most notorious serial murderer wasn’t a serial murderer after all. If David Berkowitz was part of a team of street level satanic power brokers, the entire story is a false narrative.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness is an impressive entry in the true crime documentary premiere run at Netflix. It focuses on the work of journalist Maury Terry, whose investigation into the Son of Sam case was criminally sidelined. Terry was convinced that convicted lone serial killer David Berkowitz was part of “a highly motivated and well-organized cult group whose various criminal enterprises included the .44 homicide.”

Terry’s 1987 book The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, is a must read. But it got lost in the Satanic Panic,...

From the get-go, it's clear that the focus of Netflix's true-crime docuseries The Sons of Sam is investigative journalist Maury Terry, but just exactly who was Terry? We'd have to first talk about David Berkowitz, the infamous Son of Sam. From 1976 to 1977, a terror was unleashed in New York City when someone who dubbed themselves the Son of Sam started shooting in random places with a .44 caliber gun. The police eventually caught Berkowitz, who immediately confessed to killing six people and injuring seven others that year. However, Terry would make a career out of trying to prove that Berkowitz did not, in fact, act alone and that he was part of a widespread satanic cult linked to Scientology and Charles Manson.

When the Berkowitz case cropped up in 1976, Terry was in his early 30s working as an in-house editor at Ibm in Yorktown. He previously worked as a cub...

The new Netflix true-crime docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness draws heavily from the works of investigative journalist Maury Terry. Terry didn't believe that convicted serial killer David Berkowitz, the notorious "Son of Sam" killer, acted alone, despite the official narrative given to the press. From 1976 to 1977, a shooter - or shooters - injured seven and killed six people in New York City with a .44 caliber gun. The docuseries presents the story through Terry's own words, as he spent his career going down multiple rabbit holes to connect Berkowitz to a widespread satanic cult. But who's the narrator of the story? The documentary's narrator isn't exactly a neutral and omnipresent one. It's Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti as Terry, and he's drawing from an adapted version of Terry's book, The Ultimate Evil, as well as other records.

At the beginning of the docuseries, director Joshua Zeman explains that...

“There’s obviously enough doubt to suggest that it’s worth looking into,” Zeman says

Netflix’s “Sons of Sam: a Descent Into Darkness” docuseries begins streaming May 5, and it tells the story of true crime reporter Maury Terry’s crusade to prove to the world that convicted serial killer David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz didn’t act alone in killing six people in the summer of 1977.

“Sons of Sam” director Joshua Zeman told TheWrap he believes there’s evidence that Berkowitz wasn’t the only killer responsible for the New York City slayings in the summer of 1977.

“There’s a preponderance of evidence to suggest that Berkowitz didn’t act alone,” Zeman said, adding that he knows the names of some potential suspects but is keeping them anonymous.

“I have been told the names of those individuals, some of whom are still alive. So, you know, that remains to be seen…...

Journalist Maury Terry was already neck-deep into trying to prove that David Berkowitz, a.k.a. the Son of Sam, did not act alone in his New York City killing spree when he received a letter from the serial killer in 1981, postmarked Attica Correctional Facility. “I am guilty of these crimes,” Berkowitz wrote, “But I didn’t do it all.”

Berkowitz went on to tell Terry that he was part of a cult, as the journalist had suspected, and that there was more than one Son of Sam, even naming his neighbor John Carr,...

Netflix’s next documentary will examine one of the nation’s most infamous murderers via the upcoming “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness” docuseries. The streaming service released the trailer for the four-part series Wednesday.

The docuseries, which consists of four hour-long episodes, will premiere May 5 on Netflix. Here’s Netflix’s synopsis:

The hunt for the “Son of Sam” captivated the world in the late 1970s, but the story behind one of America’s most notorious serial murderers is all but forgotten — until now. While the arrest and conviction of David Berkowitz brought the nightmare to an end for many New Yorkers, for journalist and “Ultimate Evil” author Maury Terry, the real mystery was just beginning. Terry, convinced Berkowitz had not acted alone, would go on to spend decades attempting to prove that the web of darkness behind the murders went deeper than anyone imagined — and his...

Netflix’s “Sons of Sam” docuseries explores the theory that David Berkowitz, ak.a. the Son of Sam, did not act alone. So you can imagine how chilling the trailer is.

Or, really, don’t just imagine — watch it via the video above.

Below is Netflix’s description for its four-episode “Sons of Sam” docuseries.

The hunt for the “Son of Sam” captivated the world in the late 1970s, but the story behind one of America’s most notorious serial murderers is all but forgotten — until now. While the arrest and conviction of David Berkowitz brought the nightmare to an end for many New Yorkers, for journalist and “Ultimate Evil” author Maury Terry, the real mystery was just beginning. Terry, convinced Berkowitz had not acted alone, would go on to spend decades attempting to prove that the web of darkness behind the murders went deeper than anyone imagined – and his...

Netflix has released a new trailer for its upcoming docuseries, The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness, which will premiere May 5th.

Directed by Joshua Zeman, the series revisits the infamous string of murders that shook New York City in the late Seventies but also explores the argument that David Berkowitz wasn’t a lone killer. To that end, the series delves into the work of journalist Maury Terry, who became convinced Berkowitz hadn’t acted alone and spent decades trying to prove it.

In an email to Rolling Stone,...

Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming superhero series “Jupiter’s Legacy,” premiering globally on May 7.

The show follows the children of the first generation of superheroes, hungry to prove their worth but struggling to live up to their parents’ legendary public reputations. The cast features Josh Duhamel, Ben Daniels, Leslie Bibb, Elena Kampouris, Andrew Horton, Mike Wade, Matt Lanter and Ian Quinlan. Mark Millar, Frank Quietly, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Dan McDermott, Steven S. DeKnight, James Middleton and Sang Kyu Kim executive produce.

Also in today’s TV news roundup, the third season of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” will premiere June 9 on BET. The one-hour drama will pick up right where the Season 2 finale left off, in the aftermath of Gary (Chido Nwokocha) being shot. The show follows a group of single Black women as they navigate love, careers and friendship in their 30s, with a cast that includes Kj Smith, Mignon,...

Bleecker Street has secured North American rights to “The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52,” a new documentary from Joshua Zeman. The film will be released in theaters on July 9.

The documentary centers on the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale.

“The team of scientists and filmmakers take the audience on a wild search for this mysterious creature,” said Andrew Karpen, CEO of Bleecker Street. “They follow in the steps of the great intrepid explorers searching for nature’s wonders, but also a greater understanding of man’s place in the world and what we must do to ensure its survival.”

Bleecker Street recently released the “The World to Come,” a historical romance with Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, as well as the Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci drama “Supernova” and the Julia Garner drama “The Assistant.

Bleecker Street has taken North American rights to Joshua Zeman’s documentary, The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52.

A theatrical release is set for July 9 followed by VOD.

The docu follows the quest to find the 52 Hertz Whale, which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale.

The pick-up deal was brokered between Kent Sanderson and Avy Eschenasy of Bleecker Street with CAA Media Finance and Evan Krauss of Eisner, Llp on behalf of the filmmakers.

“The team of scientists and filmmakers take the audience on a wild search for this mysterious creature,” said Andrew Karpen, CEO of Bleecker Street in a statement. “They follow in the steps of the great intrepid explorers searching for nature’s wonders, but also a greater understanding of man’s place in the world and what we must do to ensure its survival.

Bleecker Street has taken the North American rights to documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52, which counts Leonardo DiCaprio as an executive producer.

Joshua Zeman is behind the doc that chronicles the quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As the film embarks on this engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us — not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other.

The film will be released in ...

Bleecker Street has taken the North American rights to documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52, which counts Leonardo DiCaprio as an executive producer.

Joshua Zeman is behind the doc that chronicles the quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As the film embarks on this engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us — not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other.

The film will be released in ...

Exclusive: We’ve learned that Escape Artists, the Sony-based production company run by partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, and David Bloomfield, has inked New York based production company ShowKat Productions, run by producer Jonathan Shukat, to a first look deal covering both film and TV projects.

Escape Artists and ShowKat already have multiple projects in development including the Black List script bio-pic Let Her Speak from writer Mario Correa (Dark Waters). Under the deal, Shukat will focus on discovering new writer voices and expanding its slate of projects with Escape Artists.

Shukat formed ShowKat in 2010 to focus on commercial independent and studio projects across all genres in addition to scripted TV. He previously co-produced the Sundance Film Festival screened documentary Life 2.0 alongside Andrew Lauren Productions and served as Ep on Dancing in Jaffa which was released theatrically by IFC/Sundance Selects. In addition to Let Her Speak,...

While the SXSW Film Festival is kicking off in Austin this week, the Tribeca Film Festival will continue to shine a spotlight on upcoming genre films in April and May, including Joe Begos' Bliss, Ant Timpson's Come to Daddy (starring Elijah Wood and Stephen McHattie), and Something Else (directed by Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella).

From the Press Release: "New York – March 5, 2019 – The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by At&T, today unveiled its feature film lineup. Continuing its tradition of elevating exceptional storytelling rooted in today’s global film communities, the 18th annual Festival will showcase debut works from emerging talent and new works from notable filmmakers. The program includes discoveries, comedies, music-centered, political and social films. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 24 - May 5.

The feature program includes 103 films from 124 filmmakers. The films selected in the three competition sections consist of 50% women directed films. The lineup includes 81 World Premieres,...

LA92 producer Lightbox is keeping its attention on California with a true crime doc set in the remote region of Humboldt County for Netflix. The company, which also made Captive for the Svod service, is producing six-part series Murder Mountain.

The doc series, which will launch on December 28, is set in the county north of San Francisco and close to the Oregon border, a place of incredible natural beauty and dark secrecy, where marijuana has become the dominant local industry. It’s also a place where dozens of people have gone missing in the last few years – more than any other county in California.

It will focus on 29-year-old Garret Rodriguez, who went missing in 2013. His disappearance, and the events surrounding the investigation into his whereabouts, expose a wild, lawless place, and forever changes the local community. Murder Mountain provides viewers with an exclusive look at Humboldt’s marijuana farms,...

Netflix has picked up “Murder Mountain,” a true-crime murder-mystery documentary series from the team behind “Man on Wire” and “La 92.” The six-part series examines a series of murders that took place in a remote California community.

The Lightbox-produced series bowed on U.S. cable net Fuse earlier this year. Netflix has will launch it globally, including the U.S., as an original on Dec. 28.

The series is set in Humboldt County, California, where marijuana is the dominant local industry, and dozens of people have gone missing in the last few years – more than any other county in California.

“Murder Mountain” focuses on the disappearance of 29-year-old Garret Rodriguez in 2013. The investigation into his whereabouts, the producers said, exposes “a wild, lawless place.” The series shows Humboldt’s marijuana farms, both legal and illegal, and the farmers and dealers associated with the industry.

“’Murder Mountain’ is a riveting tale...

On A&E’s The Killing Season tonight, the team investigate the Daytona Beach serial killer — and end up uncovering a horrific threat involving truck-stop prostitutes across the country. Documentarians Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills are in Florida as they probe the unsolved Daytona Beach case, in which three prostitutes and a fourth woman were killed between December 2005 and December 2007. All four are thought to have been victim to the same killer, along with three other possible victims. During filming, Zeman and Mills have a chance encounter with the daughter of one of the victims — which leads them to investigate the...read more...

The remains of five young women were found in the marshes alongside Gilgo Beach, a remote spit of land on the south shore of Long Island, between December 2010 and March 2011. Parts of five more bodies were discovered in the same area the following month. Detectives theorized the murders were the work of a serial killer but turned up no suspects. The cases went cold and stayed cold. Police were accused of obfuscation and corruption, charges that would later prove true.

But there was something else, perhaps, hindering the investigations. The first five victims were identified as escorts, women who advertised their services online. Did police slack on solving the cases because they considered sex workers culpable for their own murders? How do you square a TV crew member, reporting on the search at Gilgo Beach, being overheard to say, “I can’t believe they’re doing all this for a...

One of the most unsettling aspects about the world in which we live is that a huge number of murders will always remain unsolved. Director Joshua Zeman has a fascination behind uncovering how such horrific crimes are never accounted for,… Continue Reading →

The post Exclusive: Joshua Zeman Talks The Killing Season, Scary Clowns, Police/FBI Conflicts, and Lots More appeared first on Dread Central.

A&E Network To Premiere New Original Docu-series “The Killing Season” Saturday, November 5th At 9Pm Filmmakers Josh Zeman And Rachel Mills Delve Into The Unsolved Long Island Serial Killer Case And Others With The Help Of Amateur Cyber-sleuths Executive Produced By Academy Award-winning® Filmmaker Alex Gibney A&E Network’s gritty new docu-series “The Killing Season” …

The post New Docu-series “The Killing Season” Saturday, November 5th at 9pm first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

"I'm scared to death of that man," says a woman in reaction to a photo. The chilling moment is captured in an exclusive clip from The Killing Season, a new documentary series that premieres on A&E Network with back-to-back episodes Saturday, November 12 at 9:00 p.m. E.S.T. Here's the official verbiage: A&E Network's gritty new docu-series The Killing Season from Executive Producer Alex Gibney follows documentarians, Joshua Zeman (Cropsey) and Rachel Mills as they investigate one of the most bizarre unsolved serial killer cases of our time -- ten dead sex workers discovered on Gilgo Beach, Long Island. Authorities believe these killings are the work of the Long Island Serial Killer, who after five years remains at large. Forging relationships with cyber-sleuths, journalists and victim's...

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

"There are far more serial killers than we ever imagined in our nightmares." A&E has released a new preview for their upcoming series The Killing Season. The docuseries follows filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills "as they investigate one of the most bizarre unsolved serial killer cases of our time -- ten dead sex workers discovered on Gilgo Beach, Long Island."Read More…...