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The melancholy of coming of age is captured in the whimsically dark “Bonjour Tristesse,” based on Françoise Sagan’s 1954 novella whose title translates to “Hello, Sadness.”

“Palm Trees and Power Lines” standout star Lily McInerny plays 18-year-old Cécile who is vacationing with her father Raymond (Claes Bang) and his lover Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune). However, their summer takes a twisted turn when Anne (Chloë Sevigny), a friend of Cécile’s late mother, drives down from Paris to pay the family a visit.

As the synopsis teases, “Cécile’s world is threatened and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences. The three embark on an incredible journey of deceit, lust, compassion, and unconditional love against the backdrop of an unforgettable French summer.” Aliocha Schneider also stars.

“Bonjour Tristesse” is writer/director Durga Chew-Bose’s directorial debut; the film premiered at 2024 TIFF.

The...

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired Durga Chew-Bose’s directorial debut, Bonjour Tristesse, starring Chloë Sevigny (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans), Claes Bang (The Square), and Lily McInerny (Palm Trees and Power Lines), on the heels of its premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Based on the acclaimed 1954 novel from Françoise Sagan — which Otto Preminger previously adapted into a BAFTA-nominated feature — pic will hit U.S. theaters next summer via Greenwich as Elevation releases it in Canada. The film has sold to Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo) Mena (Falcon), Cis (Nashe Kino), Former Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom), Bulgaria (Cinelibri), and Airlines (Skeye), with Universal Pictures distributing internationally.

A Babe Nation Films and Elevation Pictures production, Bonjour Tristesse follows 18-year-old Cécile (McInerny), who at the height of summer, is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, Raymond (Bang), and his lover, Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune), when the arrival of her...

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired US rights to Toronto premiere Bonjour Tristesse starring Chloë Sevigny and Claes Bang, which has scored territory sales through Films Constellation.

Durga Chew-Bose directed the Babe Nation Films and Elevation Pictures production, based on Françoise Sagan’s novel.

Films Constellation has licensed rights to Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo) Mena (Falcon), Cis (Nashe Kino), former Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom), and Bulgaria (Cinelibri), with Universal Pictures distributing in other key territories.

Greenwich will release Bonjour Tristesse theatrically in summer 2025 and Elevation distributes in Canada.

Lily McInerny plays 18-year-old Cécile, who is spending the summer by the French seaside...

Daniel Zolghadri is best known for his roles in independent films and television. He started gaining attention for his role in the movie ‘Eighth Grade’ (2018) and later starred in ‘Funny Pages’ (2022), where he played a quirky aspiring cartoonist.

For our readers, however, the actor is recognizable for his role in ‘American Horror Story,’ and Prime Video’s ‘Tales from the Loop.’

Now according to Deadline, the actor will star in a new horror movie with an interesting premise. Zolghadri is apparently negotiating for the lead role in The Temple, a sci-fi horror movie by Canadian writer-director team Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas.

Not much is known about the movie but the basic premise: In the indie gearing up for a shoot up north, an orphaned millionaire (Zolghadri) dedicates his life and considerable fortune to finding the ghosts of his parents with the help of a skeptical radiation scientist.

Katie Bird Nolan...

Actor Daniel Zolghadri, star of upcoming disaster comedy Y2K and American Horror Stories guest star, is currently negotiating for the lead role in sci-fi horror movie The Temple, Deadline reports today.

Temple hails from the Canadian writing and directing duo Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas.

The sci-fi horror film follows “an orphaned millionaire (Zolghadri) dedicates his life and considerable fortune to finding the ghosts of his parents with the help of a skeptical radiation scientist.”

There’s not much to go on here, but what little there is intrigues. A ghost-seeking millionaire? A radiation scientist? It sets up the potential for an interesting cross between science and the supernatural.

Zolghadri also recently appeared in Prime Video’s Tales from the Loop and A24’s Funny Pages.

Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott will produce for their Babe Nation Films, alongside the writer-director duo’s Lisa Pictures. Production is gearing up to begin soon,...

Exclusive: Daniel Zolghadri, star of A24’s Funny Pages and upcoming Y2K, is negotiating for the lead role in The Temple, a sci-fi horror film from the Canadian writing and directing duo of Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas.

In the indie gearing up for a shoot up north, an orphaned millionaire (Zolghadri) dedicates his life and considerable fortune to finding the ghosts of his parents with the help of a skeptical radiation scientist.

Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott will produce for their Babe Nation Films, alongside the writer-director duo’s Lisa Pictures.

An in-demand talent on the indie scene, Zolghadri garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance for his work in Funny Pages, A24’s 2022 coming-of-age comedy written and directed by Owen Kline and produced by the Safdie brothers, which was named one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2022 by the National Board of Review.

1958 was quite the year for French novelist Françoise Sagan, who had not one but two film versions of her works given the Hollywood treatment: A Certain Smile and Bonjour Tristesse. The latter was directed by Otto Preminger to mixed reviews despite a starry cast including David Niven, Deborah Kerr and newcomer Jean Seberg who had made her debut in Preminger’s Saint Joan the year before. She was enthralling, but the Preminger take of Sagan’s coming-of-age tale set on the French Riviera is largely forgotten today. Both studio films had the feel of a lavish soap so popular for these widescreen romantic dramas of the time. Now we have a new take.

Though Bonjour Tristesse has also since been made a couple of times for French TV, this is the first major international film version since Preminger’s, and it is a gorgeous-looking, quite lilting tale of an 18-year-old...

Intoxicating ocean views and cascading sunshine at a seaside villa welcome audiences into Durga Chew-Bose’s feature directorial debut, “Bonjour Tristesse.” The beauty creates a too-good-to-be-true environment — the perfect setting for summer romance, youthful exploration and, also, somehow, something dark and unnerving.

“Bonjour Tristesse” premieres Sept. 5 at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where Chew-Bose is also receiving the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by Amazon MGM Studios honor at the Sept. 8 TIFF Gala.

Adapted from the controversial 1954 novel of the same name by Françoise Sagan, who was just 18 when she penned it, the film follows a young Cécile (Lily McInerny) and her widowed father Raymond (Claes Bang) spending the summer in the south of France along with his latest partner, Elsa (Nailia Harzoune). A seemingly perfect holiday is disrupted when Anne ( Chloë Sevigny), an old friend of Cécile’s parents, comes to visit.

Chew-Bose’s rendition is only mildly transformed for modern audiences,...

London and Paris based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation have revealed the first look of “Bonjour Tristesse,” which just wrapped principal photography. The adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s novel is directed by Durga Chew-Bose. Film Constellation is showing exclusive first promo footage to buyers during the European Film Market.

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globes winner Chloë Sevigny stars alongside Claes Bang with rising talent Lily McInerny in the role of Cécile. McInerny received a best breakthrough performance nomination at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

This contemporary adaptation also stars Aliocha Schneider (“Greek Salad”) and Naïlia Harzoune (“Patients”).

The film is produced by Babe Nation Films’s Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott, Elevation Pictures’ Noah Segal and Christina Piovesan, Wolfgang Mueller and Benito Mueller of Barry Films and Cinenovo’s Julie Viez. Executive producers are Fabien Westerhoff for Constellation Prods., Suzanne Court, Elevation’s Omar Chalabi, Jesse Weening and Emily Kulasa,...

Exclusive: Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry), European Film Awards best actor winner Claes Bang (The Square), Sundance 2022 breakout Lily McInerny (Palm Trees and Power Lines) and French actress Nailia Harzoune (Gone For Good) are leading an English-language contemporary adaptation of French writer Françoise Sagan’s classic novel Bonjour Tristesse.

London and Paris-based outfit Film Constellation is launching sales in Cannes on the project written and to be directed by newcomer Durga Chew-Bose. UTA Independent Film Group is repping domestic sales alongside Film Constellation and Elevation Pictures.

The story follows Cécile (McInerny), a young woman spending the summer in a villa in the south of France with her widowed father Raymond (Bang) and his latest love interest, Elsa (Harzoune). Theirs is a lived-in compatibility—a world of ease and languor. But all that soon changes with the arrival of Anne (Sevigny), an old friend of Raymond and Cécile’s mother.

A year and a half has gone by since we heard that filming was underway on the psychological thriller Alice, Darling, which had Anna Kendrick (Stowaway) in the lead and director Mary Nighy at the helm, making her feature directorial debut. Now we’re very close to the film’s theatrical release date: Alice, Darling will reach theatres in Los Angeles on December 30th, with a nationwide release – exclusively in AMC theatres – to follow on January 20th. With those dates just weeks away, a trailer for Alice, Darling has arrived online. You can check that out in the embed above. Along with the trailer comes the unveiling of a poster, which you can see at the bottom of this article.

Kendrick is joined in the cast by Wunmi Mosaku (His House), Kaniehtiio Horn (Possessor), and Charlie Carrick (Trench 11). Scripted by Alanna Francis (The Rest of Us), Alice, Darling centers on...

Anna Kendrick’s “Alice, Darling,” directed by Mary Nighy, has released its first trailer.

Nighy, the daughter of “Living” star Bill Nighy, brought her directorial debut to Toronto Film Festival back in September for its world premiere. The psychological thriller also stars Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick and Wunmi Mosaku.

Nominated for an Academy Award for “Up in the Air” (2009), Kendrick stars in “Alice, Darling” as a woman pushed to the breaking point by her psychologically abusive boyfriend, Simon. While on vacation with two close girlfriends, Alice rediscovers her essence and gains some much-needed perspective. Slowly, she starts to fray the cords of codependency that bind her. But Simon’s vengeance is as inevitable as it is shattering — and, once unleashed, it tests Alice’s strength, courage, and the bonds of her deep-rooted friendships.

Kendrick has continued her pursuit of new and interesting roles such as “A Simple Favor” (2018) and HBO Max...

Canadian actor and filmmaker Aaron Poole shared the first details of his arthouse father-daughter road movie “Dada” with Variety this week, shortly after wrapping principal photography of the film on Manitoulin Island, located north of Toronto in Lake Huron.

Working steadily in North American TV (“Most Dangerous Game”) and film since the late 1990s, Poole, a classically trained actor, stepped behind the camera for his Toronto-premiering “Oracle” (2020), which was nominated for best narrative short at Slamdance and won the top prize at Montreal’s Festival Du Nouveau Cinéma.

In “Dada,” Poole’s feature directorial debut, James Gilbert and newcomer Ciara Alexys play a divorced father and teenage daughter who drive around the perimeter of a nuclear facility on the eve of the girl’s 16th birthday, playing nonsense games and reading things.

“The story is a love letter and a suicide note,” Poole told Variety. “It was written in response...

Exclusive: Lionsgate is giving an Oscar-qualifying run to the psychological thriller Alice, Darling on December 30 before the pic’s nationwide release in 2023.

The film, which made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival where it notched a near 90 on Rotten Tomatoes, stars Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick as a woman woman pushed to the breaking point by her psychologically abusive boyfriend, Simon. While on vacation with two close girlfriends, Alice rediscovers the essence of herself and gains some much-needed perspective. Slowly, she starts to fray the cords of codependency that bind her. But Simon’s vengeance is as inevitable as it is shattering – and, once unleashed, it tests Alice’s strength, her courage and the bonds of her deep-rooted friendships.

Alongside Kendrick, Alice, Darling stars Wumni Mosaku, Kaniehtiio Horn and Charlie Carrick. The pic reps the directorial debut of Mary Nighy, and was written by Alanna Francis and produced by Katie Bird Nolan,...

Plenty of us have experienced helicopter parenting, but how many have had their dad’s film premiere hovering over their own?

First-time feature director Mary Nighy, for one. On Sept. 11, she’ll attend the Toronto Gala world premiere of her psychological thriller “Alice, Darling” just hours after her actor dad Bill Nighy’s drama “Living” has its Canadian debut that afternoon.

“He was joking that I’ve got the ‘cool’ time slot — we were laughing about that,” she says. “‘Living’ is beautiful, and I’m so proud of his work. He watched ‘Alice’ and is really excited for me. I think it will be lovely to do this together.”

But that’s where the synergy ends. Nighy’s parentage (her mom is actress Diana Quick) had nothing to do with Lionsgate financing “Alice” at the script stage. Their confidence stemmed from her early shorts, episodes of the U.K. crime...

Lionsgate is partnering with Babe Nation Films, Elevation Pictures and Castelletto Films on the upcoming psychological thriller “Alice, Darling,” which stars Anna Kendrick, the studio announced Monday.

The film is currently in production in Canada and also stars Wunmi Mosaku, Kaniehtiio Horn and Charlie Carrick.

“Alice, Darling” is directed by Mary Nighy in her feature film directorial debut. The thriller is written by Alanna Francis; produced by Katie Bird Nolan, Lindsay Tapscott, Christina Piovesan and Noah Segal; and executive produced by Kendrick and Sam Tipper-Hale.

“Alice, Darling” centers on Alice (Kendrick), who is behaving strangely and keeping secrets about her mercurial boyfriend (Carrick) from her two best friends (Mosaku and Horn). When the three friends take a girl’s trip out of town, all secrets are revealed when a local girl goes missing and Alice’s boyfriend arrives unannounced.

Lionsgate will handle worldwide distribution of the film, except in Canada,...

Exclusive: Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick is reteaming with Lionsgate for the psychological thriller Alice, Darling, which is now in production in Canada.

Kendrick previously starred for Lionsgate in the Paul Feig dark comedy hit A Simple Favor which grossed close to $100M WW.

The pic reps the feature directorial debut of Mary Nighy and follows Alice (Kendrick) who is behaving strangely, keeping secrets about her mercurial boyfriend (Charlie Carrick) from her two best friends (Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn). When the three friends take a girl’s trip out of town, all secrets are revealed when a local girl goes missing and Alice’s boyfriend arrives unannounced. Alanna Francis wrote the screenplay which is produced by Katie Bird Nolan, Lindsay Tapscott, Christina Piovesan, and Noah Segal, and executive produced by Kendrick and Sam Tipper-Hale.

Alice, Darling is a Babe Nation Films, Elevation Pictures, and Castelletto Films production. The film is...

Anna Kendrick has nabbed the lead role for Alice, Darling, a psychological thriller from director Mary Nighy and Lionsgate.

Kendrick plays Alice, who is behaving strangely, keeping secrets about her mercurial boyfriend (Charlie Carrick) and her two best friends (Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn). Lionsgate is partnering with Babe Nation Films, Elevation Pictures and Castelletto Films on Alice, Darling, which is now shooting in Canada.

The script is by Alanna Francis and the film is produced by Katie Bird Nolan, Lindsay Tapscott, Christina Piovesan and Noah Segal; and executive produced by Kendrick and Sam Tipper-Hale. Lionsgate will handle worldwide distribution of the film,...

Anna Kendrick has nabbed the lead role for Alice, Darling, a psychological thriller from director Mary Nighy and Lionsgate.

Kendrick plays Alice, who is behaving strangely, keeping secrets about her mercurial boyfriend (Charlie Carrick) and her two best friends (Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn). Lionsgate is partnering with Babe Nation Films, Elevation Pictures and Castelletto Films on Alice, Darling, which is now shooting in Canada.

The script is by Alanna Francis and the film is produced by Katie Bird Nolan, Lindsay Tapscott, Christina Piovesan and Noah Segal; and executive produced by Kendrick and Sam Tipper-Hale. Lionsgate will handle worldwide distribution of the film,...

Roster of participants includes 44 female producers out of 73 in total.

The latest projects from producers of French Exit and The Babadook are among the roster at the virtual 15th Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) set to run from September 13-14.

The co-financing and co-production market takes place in association with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and serves international and Canadian producers developing mostly English-language projects.

The two-day schedule includes networking opportunities for producers with international sales agents, financiers, distributors, agents, and executive producers, as well as an exclusive state-of-the-industry panel discussion, producer drop-in sessions, and access to a TIFF case study on co-productions.

Roster of participants includes 44 female producers out of 73 in total.

The latest projects from producers of French Exit and The Babadook are among the roster at the virtual 15th Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) set to run from September 13-14.

The co-financing and co-production market takes place in association with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and serves international and Canadian producers developing mostly English-language projects.

The two-day schedule includes networking opportunities for producers with international sales agents, financiers, distributors, agents, and executive producers, as well as an exclusive state-of-the-industry panel discussion, producer drop-in sessions, and access to a TIFF case study on co-productions.

Roster of participants includes 44 female producers out of 73 in total.

The latest projects from producers of French Exit and The Babadook are among the roster at the virtual 15th Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) set to run from September 13-14.

The co-financing and co-production market takes place in association with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and serves international and Canadian producers developing mostly English-language projects.

The two-day schedule includes networking opportunities for producers with international sales agents, financiers, distributors, agents, and executive producers, as well as an exclusive state-of-the-industry panel discussion, producer drop-in sessions, and access to a TIFF case study on co-productions.

The female-led drama is set for a February theatrical and on-demand launch.

Gravitas Ventures has acquired Us rights to recent Toronto festival premiere The Rest Of Us from sales agent Voltage Pictures.

The drama-comedy about the complicated relationships between two women and their daughters stars Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour and Abigail Pniowsky. Aisling Chin-Yee directed from a script by Alanna Francis.

Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott of Babe Nation Films, William Woods of Woods Entertainment, and Emma Fleury served as producers. Executive Producers are Damon D’Oliveira and Patrice Theroux.

Gravitas, part of the Europe-based multi-national Red Arrow Studios group,...

Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature directorial debut centres on tragedy that unites two women.

Voltage Pictures has launched worldwide sales excluding Canada on The Rest Of Us starring Heather Graham, which receives its world premiere in Tiff Discovery tomorrow (6).

Graham stars in Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature directorial debut as a children’s author and illustrator who invites her ex-partner’s wife and daughter into her life when tragedy strikes.

The cast includes Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour, and Abigail Pniowsky (Arrival). Alanna Francis makes her feature screenwriting debut.

levelFILM will distribute The Rest Of Us in Canada. Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott...

Five established producers and seven up-and-comers are in the running.

The Canadian Media Producers Association (Cmpa) has named the nominees for its 2019 Indiescreen Awards.

Up for the Established Producer Award are: Christina Piovesan, from First Generation Films (American Woman); Felize Frappier, from Max Films Media (Kuessipan); Jessica Adams, from Ja Productions (Tammy’s Always Dying); Judy Holm, from Markham Street Films (Level 16); and Lori Lozinski, of Violator Films (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open).

Nominated for the Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Award are: Julie Strifler, of Endgame Films (Easy Land); Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott, from Babe...

Martin Donovan, Kacey Rohl and Amber Anderson have been set to star in Baldy, an indie drama written and directed by Toronto-based Amy George and The Oxbow Incident duo Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis. The movie, from Film Forge Productions and Lisa Pictures in association with Babe Nation Films, is now shooting in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario.

The plot centers on a popular yet desperate university dance major (Rohl) who is faking cancer. Through her counterfeit fundraising, she has become a campus celebrity and found the community she always dreamed of: a close-knit group of friends and a passionate relationship with her girlfriend (Anderson). After applying for an academic scholarship, she learns she has one week to present medical records proving she has cancer or else she won’t receive the funding. Over the course of five days, she struggles to keep her lie hidden in order to defraud friends,...

Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Redick will become the league’s first active player to host his own weekly podcast when “The Vertical Podcast with J.J. Redick” launches as part of Yahoo Sports NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski’s new project. Wojnarowski broke the news on “Garbage Time with Katie Nolan” while discussing his new site The Vertical, which launches on Friday. “He is going to talk to players in the league, teammates, coaches … there’s never been an active player who has taken on something like this,” Wojnarowski told Nolan. Also Read: ABC Host Sage Steele Says New...

Popular sports talk radio personality Mike Francesa is set to depart New York’s Wfan at the end of next year. “I’m not saying I’m leaving the business. I’m leaving Monday to Friday, five and a half hours, F-a-n,” Francesa told Katie Nolan on “Garbage Time.” “I am not saying I’m not going to work again. I’m not saying I’m not going to do anything ever again. What I’m saying is, that part of my life, at the end of ’17, that is ending.” His departure will mark the end of a 30-year run with Wfan,...

Tracy Morgan returned to Saturday Night Live this past weekend for the first time since his debilitating car accident, and it was a glorious thing to behold. Even beyond seeing the former SNL star do comedy again — surrounded at one point, poignantly, by his old 30 Rock castmates — the episode as a whole was a reminder that life is short, and maybe it's better to spend whatever TV time we have left watching people we already know we like. And that includes you, Larry David, who kicked off the show with...

With 2-year-old Riley Curry already holding court, how can there possibly be room for more cuteness in Stephen Curry's family? So, Fox Sports' Katie Nolan decided to get to the bottom of what the new Curry on the block will bring to the table. Nolan interviewed Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr about his star player's newborn daughter, Ryan Curry. The hilarious scouting report was posted to YouTube, in which Nolan asks Kerr, "Ryan Curry, what can we expect from her?" Kerr says, "She's what, 6 days old?" When Nolan confirms, Kerr continues, "She'll be quick, good shooting touch, excellent at press conferences. I'm interested to see if she overshadows her older...

After making plans with Katie Nolan on Twitter, Arrow star Stephen Amell made his first appearance on Fox Sports 1's Garbage Time With Katie Nolan last Sunday and while he primarily came on to talk hockey, he also teased a little about the upcoming season three finale of Arrow and also shared an update on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 shoot. He honestly didn't reveal anything too substantial, but he did share a funny Green Arrow-related story and also recited a few famous sports lines in the Arrow voice. Check out the video below: The Heart-stopping Season Finale — Everyone’s lives are in danger as Ra’s al Ghul (guest star Matt Nable) puts forth his final plan. Oliver/Al Sah-him (Stephen Amell) must decide if he’s strong enough to take on this new role and what it will mean for everyone on Team Arrow, and his soul.

A pair of media companies have announced their plans for some sports-related teamwork. AOL has agreed to distribute shows produced by Fox Sports, and the two partners will work together to develop content based around "major sporting events throughout the year," according to a press release.

As part of the deal, AOL will broadcast videos from existing Fox Sports programs, such as The Buzzer and Garbage Time With Katie Nolan. The latter show is a particularly intriguing option, given its young age (it debuted on March 15th) and the online video success Nolan has seen with some of her other videos:

AOL and Fox Sports did not mention any specific events around which they plan to create content, but the latter company airs some of the most important sporting events of the year, including baseball's World Series, soccer's UEFA Champions League, and football's Nfc Playoffs

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Last year, RADiUS scored at the box office and in Awards Season with its documentary 20 Feet From Stardom (nearly $4.95 million and Best Documentary Feature Oscar win). This year, it may have another non-fiction awards behemoth, hitting theaters this weekend.

Citizenfour, directed by journalist and filmmaker Laura Poitras, tells the story of Nsa leaker Edward Snowden as he disclosed massive domestic U.S. government spying. The film unfolds in real time as Poitras and Guardian colleague Glenn Greenwald, working on a long-term project about government surveillance, were contacted online by a mysterious source calling himself “Citizenfour.” The film, completed in secret while Poitras was in self-imposed virtual exile, alleges even more Nsa overreaching at home and abroad than just what came out of the massive pile of U.S. documents Snowden leaked.

Another potential awards contender also arrives in U.S. theaters this weekend: Sweden’s entry for Foreign Language Oscar,...