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“Las Culturistas” hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers and “Saturday Night Live’s” Ego Nwodim were among the winners of the fifth annual Ambies, the kudos handed out by The Podcast Academy to recognize audio entertainment.

Wondery, Audible, iHeart Media, Audacy, NPR, the CBC, Pineapple Street Studios, Higher Ground Productions and Crooked Media led the platforms and production banners that were honored across 28 categories. The awards were presented Monday evening at Chicago’s McCormick Convention Center as part of the annual Podcast Movement conference.

Podcast of the year honors went to “Hysterical,” the investigative story of a mystery ailment that spread through teenage girls in LeRoy, N.Y., a small town about 30 miles east of Rochester. The seven-part series hails from Wondery, Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios. “Hysterical” also won the laurel for best reporting for the work of host and producer Dan Taberski. “Las Culturistas” (iHeart/Big Money Players...

Tonight, The Podcast Academy (Tpa), the preeminent professional podcast organization, announced winners at its Fifth Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio (The Ambies®) from the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, which was hosted by multi-hyphenate comedian Tig Notaro. Additionally, Ira Glass was honored with the esteemed Governors Award, which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling influence they’ve had on the industry; and Sam Sanders received the Impact Award, which recognizes an individual or podcast that has made a significant, positive effect on its listeners.

The Ambies celebrate excellence in podcasting and elevate awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling and expression. The ceremony highlighted 199 nominees across 28 categories with winners selected by every voting member of Tpa. A full list of the 2025 nominees may be found here.

Fifth annual Awards for Excellence in Audio winners Podcasts Detail Podcast of the year: Hysterical; Wondery,...

The fifth Ambie Awards, honoring the best podcasts of the year, had a recurring theme throughout Monday’s ceremony: standing up for truth.

“I just want to put in a word for the facts,” This American Life host and producer Ira Glass said during his speech accepting the Governors Award for his and his show’s influence on the medium. “We’re in a war over facts, and we have to stand up for them.

Presenter Ronan Farrow made a similar case in handing out the award for best news podcast, which went to the kid-focused The Ten News. “If we want to live in a reality-based world … and want truth to survive,” Farrow said, support for the kind of journalism the nominees in the news category do, as well as local media, is essential.

The Ambies, which took place Monday evening at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center, weren’t completely serious,...

Thanks to the long Fourth of July holiday weekend ahead, it’s a light week for horror. But that doesn’t mean we’re not getting new releases to add to your watchlists.

Here’s all the new horror releasing July 1 – July 5, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

A drunk driving mistake turns into a harrowing nightmare for a couple when a stranger suddently appears in Cold Blows the Wind, available now on VOD.

In writer/director Eric Williford‘s horror film, “After hitting a jogger on the road, a couple chooses to bury the body. When a mysterious stranger appears, things spiral out of control as the body count rises.”

Cold Blows the Wind stars Victoria Vertuga, Jamie Bernadette, Danell Leyva, and Torrey Lawrence.

Out in select theaters from Vertical on Friday, July 5, is Dead Whisper. In it, a grief stricken father is...

Michael Groom’s “Between the Lights” and Leon Lozano’s “A Little Hope for Chicago” were two of the grand jury prize winners of Dances With Films: LA. The celebration, hosted at the Tcl Chinese Theatre on June 30, saw “Between the Lights” (pictured) win best narrative feature and “A Little Hope for Chicago” take home best documentary feature.

The indie film festival lineup included 232 films, with 117 making world, international, North American or U.S. premieres.

The full award list for Dances With Films: LA is as follows:

Grand Jury – Narrative Features

“Between the Lights”

Director/Writer: Michael Groom

Producers: David Groom, Michael Groom

Honorable Mentions:

“Dreaming of You”

Director/Writer: Jack McCafferty

Producers: Bridgett Greenberg, McCafferty

“Tallywacker”

Director/Writer: Brendan Boogie

Producers: Jeremy Dubs, Chris Goodwin, Boogie

Grand Jury – Documentary Features

“A Little Hope for Chicago”

Director: Leon Lozano

Writers: Kevin Nichols, Lozano

Producers: Garrett E.B. Thompson, Kevin Nichols, Lozano...

Vertical has acquired Conor Soucy’s directorial debut “Dead Whisper” and will debut it in select theaters on July 5, and on AppleTV and Prime Video, beginning July 9.

The horror/thriller film “Dead Whisper” stars Samuel Dunning (“Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox”) and marks the first on-screen role for Rob Evan, whose previous credits include Broadway’s “Les Misérables,” and “Jekyll & Hyde.” The rest of the cast’s ensemble includes Tana Sirois, Samantha Hill, Codey Gillum, Chris Goodwin, Dhane Ross, Hester Wilkinson and Bruce Winant.

According to an official logline, the film “follows Elliot Campbell, (Dunning) a Cape Cod lawyer drawn to a mysterious island, where he faces the temptation of reuniting with his dead daughter at the peril of his soul.”

The film is produced by Conor Soucy, Birk Gran and Ben Grant. The cinematography is also by Grant and a live orchestral score is by Nikhil Koparkar.

Exclusive: Dreamscape Productions’ creature feature comedy Round the Decay has finalized its cast – with The NeverEnding Story actress Melody Kay returning to film and Breaking Bad actor Phil Duran tapped for a key role.

The film, which is Dreamscape’s second feature, will follow Kenzie (Victoria Mirrer) as she gets entangled in a sinister plot in the sleepy town of Newport Valley to get closure on her broken engagement. Damian Maffei, Sarah Nicklin, and Roger Clark (Red Dead Redemption II) also star.

Plot reads: When prominent locals take in a lost hiker (Alexis Saroyan), Kenzie, newcomer Roz (Sienna Hubert-Ross) and mysterious outsider Munroe (Maffei) find themselves caught between the leaders of the town’s factions and entangled in an ancient sinister plot dating back to its founder (Clark) that threatens the survival...

In the dead of winter, the time of their lives has just run out in Everwinter Night. The indie horror-comedy is described as Midsommar meets Chasing Amy by way of The Shining.

Watch an exclusive clip from the film’s 1994-set prologue below, along with Marc Schoenbach’s retro-inspired poster art.

The unique blend of slow-burn tension, quirky humor, and chilling horror is directed by Adam Newman from a script he co-wrote with Chris Goodwin. Victoria Mirrer, McKenna Parsons, Goodwin, Jamie Dufault, and indie horror darling Sarah Nicklin star.

“Lifelong best friends Maddy and V set out for a relaxing vacation. When their old college clique hijack their plans, V finds herself at a remote ski lodge where a group of mysterious wealthy men throw a celebration a century in the making.”

The unconventional production was the result of a different movie being cancelled at the last minute due to unforeseen complications.

Fwifs, now in it's fourth season, has quickly become a filmmaker and fan favorite. The Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase just announced their award winners for their 2017 festival. Highlights of this year's festival included: The Last Beautiful Girl by James Christopher, The Fandango Sisters by José Juan Sauceda, Prepper by Andrew Patterson, Ghost Note by Troy Hart, Red by Branko Tomovic, Elijah’s Ashes by Ryan Barton-Grimley, On the 7th Date by Chris Goodwin and many more. The goal of the Fwifs is to promote grassroots collaboration between and among filmmakers. It calls attention to the quality work produced within the independent film movement and provides a platform for independent artists to share their work and unique voices, to network and gain encouragement from their peers. See the complete list of winners on: http://www.fwindie.com/2017-awards/...

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

Entering it’s fourth season, Fwifs is quickly becoming a filmmaker and fan favorite. The Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase kicks off this week and they just announced the nominations for their 2017 festival. Highlights of this year's festival include: The Last Beautiful Girl by James Christopher, The Fandango Sisters by José Juan Sauceda, Prepper by Andrew Patterson, Ghost Note by Troy Hart, Red by Branko Tomovic, Elijah’s Ashes by Ryan Barton-Grimley, On the 7th Date by Chris Goodwin and many more. The goal of the Fwifs is to promote grassroots collaboration between and among filmmakers. It calls attention to the quality work produced within the independent film movement and provides a platform for independent artists to share their work and unique voices, to network and gain encouragement from their peers. See the complete...

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