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By the looks of it, Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield are among the few intrepid Hollywood producer-director gay husbands to strike a significant cultural chord. The real-life married couple has been a significant force behind the scenes in The Chi, Showtime’s powerhouse coming-of-age series, especially in season six, which is currently streaming and delivers another layer of LGBTQ+ representation in an upcoming episode that's available to stream beginning Sept. 1.

The series hails from Chicago native and Emmy-winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and revolves around a group of South Side Chicago residents curiously linked to each other and all looking for some kind of connection, and some kind of justice. Season six ventures into new territory while still tracking the ups and downs and in-betweens of beloved characters like Emmett (Jacob Latimore), Kiesha (Birgundi Baker), Douda (Curtis Cook), Trig (Luke James), Kevin (Alex R. Hibbert), Jake (Michael Epps), Jada (Yolanda Ross), and more.

According to his fellow costar Rosie O’Donnell, American Gigolo lead Jon Bernthal was more than pleased that Showtime’s neo-noir crime drama was a one-and-done series.

“Jon Bernthal was not happy with the show, and it was very clear,” the actress and former daytime talk show host told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. “It’s difficult to work that way on a set. He was never happy that he was playing a gigolo. And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s called American Gigolo.'”

More from TVLineJon Bernthal Confirmed to Reprise Punisher Role in Daredevil: Born AgainShowtime Cancels...

Who’s up for a date with American Gigolo?

Showtime’s series reboot of the 1980 movie will premiere on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 9/8c, the premium cabler announced Thursday. The network also released a trailer that gives us our first extended look at Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) as Julian Kaye, the role Richard Gere originated in the film.

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The series follows Julian after he...

Fox announced that lawyer, journalist and former “The View” co-host Star Jones has been appointed judge of the first-run syndicated series “Divorce Court,” starting in September.

As television’s longest running court show, “Divorce Court” dates back to the late 1950’s, when actors used to reenact actual divorce proceedings. Today, the program features real people and real cases — ranging from divorce court proceedings to other domestic disputes.

Judge Faith Jenkins will continue through the end of Season 23 and Jones will join for Season 24. Jones, a former assistant district attorney in New York and former legal correspondent on NBC’s “Today Show,” “Nightly News” and more, said that she will “offer the parties before ‘Divorce Court,’ as well as viewers, a no-nonsense approach to the law and a decision driven by my proven legal expertise, compassion and empathy, personal experiences and hard-earned common sense.”

“Divorce Court” is produced by Lincolnwood Productions...

Master of None Emmy winner Lena Waithe returns to her hometown for new series The Chi, which she created and executive produced. Co-executive produced by fellow Chicago native and rapper Common along with Elwood Reid, the show's first season was entirely shot in its namesake city and its new trailer features vivid street scenes and introduces its ensemble cast.

In addition to serving as an executive producer, Common is also a costar. The cast includes Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton), Jacob Latimore (Sleight), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Treme,...

Chicago – Dystopia has been dissed out. Mining the negative vibe future world can’t seem to touch the rich creative vein any more and the reserves seem dry. Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour may have an element within her interpretation that is hard core, but it’s not enough to understand the overall vision of her tomorrow world, except that we’re all part of “The Bad Batch.”

Rating: 3.0/5.0

A vision of the future world, explored in films as diverse as (just the B’s) “Battlefield Earth” (2000), “Blade Runner” (1982) and “A Boy and His Dog” (1974), always had the desolation, the strange/mean characters and oddball counter-nirvana that develops as a reaction to the dread. “The Bad Batch” does not sway from this formula, and in fact embraces it, but its lack of original feeling is fairly apparent. However, it does have an interesting female protagonist, horror situations that are uniquely stomach-turning,...

Chicago – The dystopia – or negative future world – is a genre staple, from “Soylent Green” to “Max Max.” The latest film to ponder the possibilities is “The Bad Batch,” from writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour. This is her sophomore feature, after “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” and features Suki Waterhouse in the lead role.

“The Bad Batch” is set in Texas, where persons branded with the film title are banished into a desert-like existence. A young woman name Arlen (Waterhouse), struggles to survive after her banishment, and finds out that a renegade society has formed within the harsh environs. She is captured, and is tortured into bodily harm, but manages to escape to another place-within-the-place, run by a leader named The Dream (Keanu Reeves). Arlen becomes intent on revenge, and in that state of emotion gains an enemy, the mysterious Miami Man (Jason Mamoa). The world is also populated with characters portrayed by Diego Luna, Giovani Ribisi and Jim Carrey, which means the Bad Batch just got badder.

Suki Waterhouse of ‘The Bad Batch’

Photo credit: Neon

The mind of writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour is awash in alternative subjects. Her first feature film, after a number of short film efforts, was “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014), and was described as “the first Iranian vampire Western.” Amirpour’s family has roots in Iran, but she was born in England and raised in the United States. She had been making films since she was 12 years old, and graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. HollywoodChicago.com talked to her during a promotional tour of Chicago for the film, and divides that talk between a Q&A transcript and an audio portion, that both delve into her one-of-a-kind perspective.

HollywoodChicago.com: There have been many dystopian societies in art, from ‘Brave New World’ to ‘Mad Max.’ When you were creating your take on it, how did you want to characterize it that distinguished it from any other fictional dystopia?

Ana Lily Amirpour: I don’t consider it dystopia, I look at it as reality. Everything is dystopia, and there is no such thing as utopia. Works like ‘Brave New World’ and ‘The Handmaiden’s Tale’ develop their atmosphere from a movement or a revolution, as if the world has ended and has come out to this other side. When I wrote ‘The Bad Batch,’ I thought that the world outside the gates that confine the ‘bad’ characters is simply our world today. So if we’re pushed a little bit farther, in the sense of protection or resources, who are we? How do we define what is good or bad? What is the morality of human behavior?

HollywoodChicago.com: There are parallels to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in this film. What do you think is most surreal in this particular rabbit hole, and what instinct do you believe Arlen uses best in her need to survive?

Amirpour: I only noticed this after I had finished the film, and watched it again a few months later… she is kind of like a shark because she keeps on moving forward. I do feel that in modern society that still is the best way to survive. Whatever it is, just keep doing something, because complete stillness or inactivity is more like death than death. But sometimes it’s reckless, and sometimes Arlen moves forward before thinking, that is the thing about her.

HollywoodChicago.com: The lead role of Arlen needed a lot of particular performance qualities. What did Suki Waterhouse bring to you in her audition that nailed those undefined qualities that was necessary for Arlen, as you created her?

Amirpour: I don’t personally do that many castings, in this film and in my first film. But I did get involved in “The Bad Batch,” because we couldn’t think of an actress that was a 3-D embodiment of the character. But when I saw Suki on tape, I knew she was ‘it.’ And I can’t describe that any more than to say that I never had to really express to her the the ideas that were on the page, she just instinctively embraced it. She was Arlen, and I didn’t want to f**k it up. Her instinct was just it.

Director Ana Lily Amipour (in Pink) Sets the Scene in ‘The Bad Batch’

Photo credit: Neon

HollywoodChicago.com: One of the more interesting lines in the film is in regard to the ‘economy of comfort’ that develops in the bad batch society. Since that economy also makes a fortune for pharmaceuticals, the liquor industry and legal/illegal marijuana trade in our current society, what do you think the economy of comfort says about us?

Amirpour: That’s a big question, and I don’t have the answers, even though I ask the question in the film. It involves human colonization, how it develops, and it’s an observation based on that development. I don’t have an answer, but it just the way things work. It’s cool that you bring it up, because I find that most participants in that economy don’t think beyond it.

HollywoodChicago.com: You had many notable stars in smaller, almost cameo roles. What intrigued them all about participating in this film, did you get feedback as to why, for example, Jim Carrey decided to take the role?

Amirpour: I believe that every character I create is in their own film, that happens to overlap with the main film. There are complete and real characters, even though we only spend only a little time with them. In the approach to what those entities are, that always appeals to an actor. What are they, since they are going to embody this character? I knew that Jim was going to do it, for example. It’s that thing about the character, where he was that thing. He became the kind, gentle soul of this universe.

It was the same with Keanu. When I came up with the concept of ‘The Dream,’ on the surface he just seemed like another creepy bad man or villain. It had to be played by someone larger than life, but not malicious. And Keanu is that person to me, and he was The Dream like I wanted The Dream. [laughs]

In the audio portion of the interview, Ana Lily Amirpour talks more in-depth on the themes in her created society of “The Bad Batch,” her family background from Iran to America, and the source of her personal philosophy.

“The Bad Batch” has a nationwide release on June 23th, including in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 North Southport. See local listings for theaters and show times. Featuring Suki Waterhouse, Diego Luna, Jason Momoa, Yolanda Ross, Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey. Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. Rated “R”

By Patrick McDONALDWriter, Editorial CoordinatorHollywoodChicago.compat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2017 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com...

Neon has released the second trailer for their upcoming indie thriller entitled The Bad Batch, the second film from heralded indie filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night). After a critically-acclaimed debut at the Venice Film Festival last fall, where the writer-director won a Special Jury Prize, and subsequent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, Neon will release The Bad Batch in theaters this summer. While it may not be a big-budget affair, this low-budget indie seems to have what it takes to become an instant cult classic and a sleeper hit, with a diverse all-star cast.

Neon has debuted this new trailer, which offers new scenes and a glimpse at this crazed ensemble, including a peek at Jim Carrey's Hermit, who is practically unrecognizable. He's seen trudging through the wasteland, wearing sunglasses made out of cardboard. It seems that he's dragging something through the desert,...

“See what Hollywood’s biggest stars are wearing as they head into the Independent awards show, hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney “The Mindy Project” and “Jackie” actress, Beth Grant “The Witch” director Robert Eggers with Alexandra Shaker “The Get Down” actress, Yolanda Ross “Morris From America” director Chad Hartigan “Grimm” star Bitsie Tulloch “Boys Don’t Cry” director Kimberly Peirce “Transparent” actress Trace Lysette “Life, Animated” director Roger Ross Williams “Waste Land” director Lucy Walker “Veep” star Sam Richardson Spirit Awards hosts John Mulaney and Nick Kroll “Carlos” star Edgar Ramirez “Pulp Fiction” actress Rosanna Arquette Shohreh Aghdashloo...

After The Bad Batch debuted at the Toronto Film Festival this past fall, buyers sparked a bidding war for the film that was produced by Megan Ellison's Anapurna Pictures and Vice Media. Today we have the first trailer for The Bad Batch, which will be released by Neon, Tim League's new distribution venture, on June 23. This trailer showcases a dystopian world set within a Texas wasteland that has distanced itself from every aspect of society, with a cast lead by newcomer Suki Waterhouse and Jason Momoa.

The highly anticipated follow-up to Ana Lily Amirpour's acclaimed directorial debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, The Bad Batch follows Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) as she is unceremoniously dumped in a Texas wasteland fenced off from civilized society. While trying to orient her unforgiving environment, she is captured by a savage band of cannibals and quickly realizes she'll have to...

Come get your Q on starting this Friday! The Ninth Annual QFest St. Louis, presented by Cinema St. Louis, runs April 24-28 at the Hi-Pointe Backlot Theatre. The St. Louis-based Lgbtq film festival, QFest will present an eclectic slate of 28 films – 13 features (seven narratives and six documentaries) and 15 short subjects. The participating filmmakers represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. The mission of the film festival is to use the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the lives of Lgbtq people and to celebrate queer culture.

The 2016 QFest St. Louis begins on Sunday, April 24, and runs through Thursday, April 28. Tickets are on sale now for all shows. Cost is $12 each or $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members with valid and current IDs. All screenings will be held at the Hi-Pointe Backlot Theatre, located at 1002 Hi Pointe Place, directly behind the Hi-Pointe Theatre. Advance sales...

It’s almost time to get your Q on, St. Louis!! The Ninth Annual QFest St. Louis, presented byCinema St. Louis, runs April 24-28th at The Hi-Pointe Backlot (1002 Hi Pointe Place)

The St. Louis-based Lgbtq film festival, QFest will present an eclectic slate of films from filmmakers that represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. The mission of the film festival is to use the art of contemporary gay cinema to illustrate the diversity of the Lgbtq community and to explore the complexities of living an alternative lifestyle.

All screenings at the Hi-Pointe Backlot, 1002 Hi Pointe Place, St. Louis, Mo 63117. Individual tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members with valid and current photo IDs.

Advance tickets may be purchased at the Hi-Pointe Backlot box office or website. For more info, visit the Cinema St. Louis site Here

http://www.cinemastlouis.

Did Whitney Houston have a secret lesbian relationship?

On Saturday night, the Lifetime original movie Whitney fueled speculation that the singer had an affair with her longtime friend and rumored romantic partner Robyn Crawford, played by Yolanda Ross.

In the film, directed by Angela Bassett, a jealous Robyn fights to protect Whitney (Yaya DaCosta) from Bobby Brown and also intimately comforts the superstar before she hits the stage. Was Robyn's affection more than platonic?

Exclusive: Yaya DaCosta Channels Whitney Houston In the Studio

"I can’t tell you," Bassett says. "There always has been [rumors] and they still persist and I don’t know. But, there was always the speculation, so my thing was, let it remain. But it'd be however the audience sees it. If they read into it, that's what they read into [regarding] their life – two women who are close and love each other and support one another."

Though Bassett's film opens with Robyn lovingly grabbing...

Since Lifetime’s announcement of its forthcoming Whitney Houston biopic, fans have wondered how the cable channel will depict the singer’s dramatic life and those around her.

Part of that answer arrived when TheWrap broke the news that Yolanda Ross had been cast as Robyn Crawford, Houston’s longtime friend, personal assistant and alleged lesbian lover.

The movie, directed by celebrated actress Angela Bassett, portrays Houston as a woman who was naïve about romantic love and who was perhaps never able to properly express herself due to her strict upbringing. Although the film does not go so far as...

John Sayles’ latest film, Go For Sisters, receives an unceremonious DVD release from Freestyle Digital Media. While it snagged Yolonda Ross a supporting Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards after a muted theatrical release, it seems there will be less ado championing the home viewing release. Denied a Blu-ray option, Edward James Olmos still takes top billing even though the film belongs to actresses Ross and LisaGay Hamilton. Despite the continuation of this maligned marketing, with a little luck, Sayles’ best film in years will hopefully reach the broader audience it deserves.

An independent filmmaker who has been directing films without studio backing since 1979, infamously securing financing through penning genre screenplays (Piranha; Alligator). As such, one can often look forward to the offbeat flavor of his work, a true master of developing the unexpected in relationships between people, often crafted against delirious narratives that are sometimes labyrinthine in scope and...

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" was the big winner at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards taking home 5 trophies including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Female for Lupita N'Yongo, Screenplay for John Ridley, and Cinematography for Sean Bobbitt.

The pair of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto of "Dallas Buyers Club" continued to top their respective categories of Best Actor and Supporting Actor.

Cate Blanchett took home the Best Actress trophy for Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine."

Here's the complete list of winners of the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature:

Winner: "12 Years A Slave"

"All Is Lost"

"Frances Ha"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Nebraska"

Best Lead Female:

Winner: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"

Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"

Gaby Hoffman - "Crystal Fairy"

Brie Larson - "Short Term 12"

Shailene Woodley - "The Spectacular Now"

Best Lead Male:

Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"

Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years A Slave"

Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Michael B.

• Garrett Hedlund, who starred in Tron: Legacy and has a small role in Inside Llewyn Davis, has been offered the role of Hook in Anna Karenina director Joe Wright’s Pan. The Warner Bros. project, penned by Jason Fuchs (Ice Age: Continental Drift), will have a new take on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan tale. In the origin story, Hook is (initially at least) Pan’s ally. According to the report, Hedlund beat out Jack Huston and Ezra Miller for the role. Hugh Jackman is still in contention for the part of Blackbeard. The film is already set for a June 26, 2015, release.

March 2014 will be one of the biggest months for the industry next year, with the Oscars held on March 2nd. The day before is equally one of the biggest days for the independent side of the industry, playing host to the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.

The full list of nominations was announced this week, and leading the charge with an impressive seven nods out of fifteen categories is Steve McQueen’s acclaimed 12 Years a Slave. Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is not far behind with six to its name, followed by J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost with four nominations.

Given the independent nature of the awards, some of the films featuring below are inevitably very different to those you can expect to see come January’s Academy Awards nominations announcement, and it’s great to see such titles getting the recognition they deserve on a platform like this.

Equally inevitably, there...

The Film Independent Spirit Awards, which aim to celebrate the best work in American films that cost roughly $21 million or less, are usually good for a few surprises when they reveal their annual nominations. Their 29th set were announced this morning and proved to be no exception: if you predicted a best actress nom for Gaby Hoffmann for her work opposite Michael Cera in Crystal Fairy and/or a best supporting actress nom for Yolanda Ross for her turn in indie icon John Sayles' Go for Sisters, then you should probably catch the next plane to Vegas, because nobody else

read more...

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave is in contention for seven Spirit Awards followed closely by Alexander Payne’s Nebraska on six as Film Independent top brass announced nominees on November 26.

McQueen earned a director nomination and will compete against Alexander Payne for Nebraska, Jc Chandor for All Is Lost, Jeff Nichols for Mud and Share Carruth for Upstream Color.

Not surprisingly given the strength and depth of this awards season, the categories are strong across the board.

Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty is among a mighty crop of international contenders that includes Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt and A Touch Of Sin from China’s Jia Zhang-Ke.

12 Years A Slave’s Chiwetel Ejiofor will contest the lead actor race with veterans Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Robert Redford for All Is Lost, as well as...

There are independent filmmakers and then there’s writer-director John Sayles, whose Twitter avatar and biography (“Original Independent”) could scarcely say it better. For more than three decades, he’s used his often lucrative work as a for-hire script doctor to help fund autonomous screen visions that explore a wide range of themes, from race, class and crime to political corruption and labor union turmoil. His latest film, his 18th, is “Go For Sisters.” The movie stars Lisa Gay Hamilton as Bernice Stokes, a no-nonsense Los Angeles parole officer whose path crosses with Fontayne Gamble (Yolanda Ross), an old high school friend. When her adult son goes missing, Bernice leans on her [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: John Sayles Talks Go For Sisters, Filmmaking appeared first on Shockya.com.

Lisa Gay Hamilton has had a successful career spanning stage, film and TV, and played more than her fair share of characters of authority — principals, attorneys and the like, including Rebecca Washington for 145 episodes of “The Practice” from 1997-2003. But on screen, at least, she hasn’t had a lead role, she says. That changes with the release this week of writer-director John Sayles’ “Go For Sisters,” a complex border drama about friendship, redemption and moral relativism. Hamilton stars as Bernice Stokes, a no-nonsense Los Angeles parole officer whose path crosses with Fontayne Gamble (Yolanda Ross), an old high school friend. When her adult son goes missing, Bernice leans on her wayward friend’s [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Lisa Gay Hamilton Talks Go For Sisters appeared first on Shockya.com.

Childhood friends Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolanda Ross) have been out of touch for a few years. When they reconnect, during an early sequence in John Sayles’ 18th feature film Go For Sisters, it is over a desk. Bernice, a parole officer, sits before folders of rap sheets to one side; Fontayne, a former junkie and criminal, fidgets on the other. It doesn’t take long, however, for the circumstance to turn from professional to personal. When Bernice’s drug running son vanishes near the Mexican border, she calls on Fontayne to help track him down. The two women head South, […]...

Childhood friends Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolanda Ross) have been out of touch for a few years. When they reconnect, during an early sequence in John Sayles’ 18th feature film Go For Sisters, it is over a desk. Bernice, a parole officer, sits before folders of rap sheets to one side; Fontayne, a former junkie and criminal, fidgets on the other. It doesn’t take long, however, for the circumstance to turn from professional to personal. When Bernice’s drug running son vanishes near the Mexican border, she calls on Fontayne to help track him down. The two women head South, […]...

Sister Act: Sayles Returns With Glorious Blend of Genre and Character Study

Independent filmmaker John Sayles has been directing films without studio backing since 1979, infamously securing financing through penning genre screenplays (Piranha; Alligator). As such, one can often look forward to the offbeat flavor of his work, a true master of developing the unexpected in relationships between people, often crafted against delirious narratives that are sometimes labyrinthine in scope and undaunted by mainstream expectations of running time restraints. While not every film is a success (his last feature, 2009’s Amigo was one of the few that saw Sayles unable to successfully overcome his budgetary constraints), he’s back with a breath of fresh, effervescent air with Go For Sisters, a character study lodged in a dime store immigration thriller where nothing seems very simple if you take the time to look twice.

We meet Bernice (Lisa Gay Hamilton), a controlling...

As previously announced, AMC Theatres is partnering with newcomer, 306 Releasing, to bring Joshua Sanchez's Independent Spirit Award-nominated drama Four to a theater near you, starting next month. An adaptation on an off-Broadway play by Christopher Shinn, Four stars Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame, alongside Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla and Yolanda Ross, in a tale about of a married black man who steps out on his family, on the night of the Fourth of July, with a much younger white man whom he met online, and the way his family quietly deals with his duplicitous life. The film's script was both...

As previously announced, AMC Theatres is partnering with newcomer, 306 Releasing, to bring Joshua Sanchez's Independent Spirit Award-nominated drama Four to a theater near you, starting next month. An adaptation on an off-Broadway play by Christopher Shinn, Four stars Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame, alongside Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, E.J. Bonilla and Yolanda Ross, in a tale about of a married black man who steps out on his family, on the night of the Fourth of July, with a much younger white man whom he met online, and the way his family quietly deals with his duplicitous life. The film's script was both...

As previously announced in July, AMC Theatres is partnering with newcomer, 306 Releasing, to bring Joshua Sanchez's Independent Spirit Award-nominated drama Four to a theater near you, starting next month. An adaptation on an off-Broadway play by Christopher Shinn, Four stars Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame, alongside Aja Naomi King, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Yolanda Ross, in a tale about of a married black man who steps out on his family, on the night of the Fourth of July, with a much younger white man whom he met online, and the way his family quietly deals with his duplicitous life. The film's script was both...

Announced via press release, AMC Theatres is partnering with newcomer, 306 Releasing, to bring Joshua Sanchez's Independent Spirit Award-nominated drama Four to a theater near you.  An adaptation on an off-Broadway play by Christopher Shinn, Four stars Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame, alongside Aja Naomi King, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Yolanda Ross, in tale about of a married black man who steps out on his family, on the night of the Fourth of July, with a much younger white man whom he met online, and the way his family quietly deals with his duplicitous life. Four will be released, beginning September...

For decades now, John Sayles has written and directed movies rooted first and foremost in sharply conceived characters. More recently, even as his scrappy, self-financed productions have varied in quality, this central aspect has remained in place. "Go For Sisters," like the filmmaker's previous features "Amigo" and "Honeydripper," sustains a feeble premise with richly defined characters and strong performances, yielding an underwhelming but nonetheless sustainable viewing experience. Stepping away from the period drama territory of his last two movies, Sayles returns to noir turf, with serious-minded parole officer Berenice (LisaGay Hamilton) heading south of the border with estranged old friend Fontayne (Yolanda Ross) in a bid to find Berenice's missing son, the suspect in a criminal investigation. The two women reconnect in the movie's opening scene, which finds the semi-reformed drug addict Fontayne assigned to Berenice during her parole. As echoes from early days of their...

It screens at the at the 3rd annual New Voices In Black Cinema Festival, presented by BAMcinématek and ActNow Foundation, which runs from February 15 - 18, at Bam Rose Cinemas, but ahead of that news, announced this evening, Joshua Sanchez's Four, an adaptation on an off-Broadway play by Christopher Shinn, has been acquired for distribution by Wolfe Releasing. Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame, stars in the film, alongside Aja Naomi King, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Yolanda Ross. The film's script was both a 2007 Tribeca All Access award recipient, and a 2008 No...