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Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Peabody Award-winning narrative change collective, has picked up rights to the feature drama Learn to Swim for the U.S., the UK, Australia and New Zealand, slating it for release on select screens and on Netflix on August 15.

The first feature from director Thyrone Tommy dives into the world of contemporary jazz with a musical meditation on love and loss, following the doggedly private and talented saxophone player Dezi (Thomas Antony Olajide) and a vivacious, but less experienced singer named Selma (Emma Ferreira). When the two meet, sparks fly, but their respective emotional baggage and temperaments make the road to romance bumpy at best.

An official selection of the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, Learn to Swim was written by Tommy and Marni Van Dyk, with Alona Metzer producing.

“With Array Releasing’s summer acquisition of Learn To Swim, we are thrilled to...

Consider your Mother’s Day viewing plans sorted. Hitting select theaters and streaming on Netflix staring Thursday, May 6 is Shantrelle P. Lewis’ feature directorial debut “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” a loving, insightful, and inspirational look at the relationships between mothers and daughters. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival, winning the Shine Award for Best Film.

Last month, Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing picked up the film as part of its growing selection of films focused on films by people of color and women. Array’s president Tilane Jones explained the documentary’s obvious appeal in an official statement: “‘In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love. Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.

Array Releasing has acquired the documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” which marks filmmaker Shantrelle P. Lewis’ directorial debut.

Array president Tilane Jones announced the acquisition on Thursday, along with news that the film will be released in select theaters and begin streaming on Netflix on May 6.

“’In Our Mothers’ Gardens’ is a beautiful tribute to the complex relationships between Black women connected by lineage and love,” Jones said in a statement. “Released in celebration of Mother’s Day, we are honored to present Ms. Lewis’ feature debut highlighting important bonds between daughters, mothers and grandmothers told by a dynamic group of women.”

The documentary debuted at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival and subsequently earned the Shine Award for best film. The movie features interviews with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; Tina Farris (tour manager for talent including The Roots and Chris Rock); cultural critic Dr. Brittney Cooper (Rutgers University); Rev. Dr. Theresa S.

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard kicked off the virtual Sundance panel “Array 10: A Decade of Disruption” by chatting with Array founder and Emmy-winning Ava DuVernay, President Tilane Jones and VP of Public Programming Mercedes Cooper about the origin of the narrative change collective which puts shine on creators and artists of color as well as women filmmakers.

Leonard and DuVernay reminisced about special dinners of Sundance past where, at the first one DuVernay hosted included “more Black folks in the room than at Sundance” as a whole. The conversation shifted to a dinner party icebreaker which Leonard loves to ask his guests: “What is your guilty pleasure movie?”

Cooper claimed the classic Mahogany as her guilty pleasure while Jones said Breakfast at Tiffany’s was hers — DuVernay quickly intervened.

“These are not guilty pleasures ladies!” said DuVernay. “A guilty pleasure is a film you slightly feel hesitant to share — which I will share.

Three feature projects celebrating diverse voices and stories awarded up to $50,000 each.

Filmmakers First Fund, a Los Angeles-based fund and studio space supporting full-length narrative and documentary projects in early development, has announced its first round of awards.

Fund co-founders Martin Marquet, a producer and former international publicist who produced 2020 Sundance World Cinema – Documentary grand jury prize winner Epicentro, Tony-winning Broadway producer Rebecca Gang (Hadestown), and producer/actor/artist Gale M. Harold III invited a majority women-led board to select three projects.

The awardees will each receive grants of up to $50,000, as well as 12 months of access to the Fund...

Jack Ryan and The Wire alum Wendell Pierce announced on Monday he'll be playing blues legend B.B. King in the upcoming biopic The Thrill Is On. Fans of King will likely spot the biopic's title as a riff on one of King's most treasured hits, "The Thrill Is Gone." This will be Pierce's first film role in a hot minute, with his most recent movie appearances in Burning Cane and Clemency occurring in 2019 and The Thrill Is On likely not hitting theaters until at least 2021. Pierce is no stranger to portraying real-life …...

The New York Times put prestigious specialty home-video distributor The Criterion Collection under a microscope late last week, and the headline said it all: “How the Criterion Collection Crops Out African-American Directors.” The report looked at all 22 years and more than 1,000 titles in the Criterion’s revered selection of Blu-rays and DVDs of films, finding that only four African Americans are represented: Oscar Micheaux (“Body and Soul”); William Greaves; Charles Burnett (“To Sleep With Anger”); and Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing” and “Bamboozled”).

It’s a glaring omission for a company that prides itself on licensing and releasing what it describes as “important classic and contemporary films,” but also reflective of an industry-wide practice of shutting out Black filmmakers.

Despite America’s changing demographics, the industry’s most powerful leaders have been slow to respond to a demand for films that reflect cultural and racial shifts that have long been underway.

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing is adding to its library of inclusive narratives with the critically acclaimed drama Lingua Franca directed, written, produced, edited by and starring Isabel Sandoval. The film will debut on Netflix and open theatrically in select cities on August 26.

Lingua Franca made history at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival Venice Days program as the first film directed and starring an openly trans woman of color to screen in competition. The film follows the story of an undocumented Filipina trans woman Olivia (Sandoval) who is the live-in caregiver for Olga (the late Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Olivia’s main priority is to secure a green card to stay in America, but when she unexpectedly becomes romantically involved with Olga’s adult grandson Alex (Eamon Farren), issues around identity, civil rights and immigration threatens Olivia’s very existence.

“The release...

Wendell Pierce, the fan favorite actor from “The Wire” and recent star of “Clemency” and “Burning Cane,” has launched a social media campaign to be the new voice actor of Cleveland on “Family Guy.” Mike Henry, the original voice of Cleveland, announced last week he would be stepping away from the long-running Fox animated sitcom over the racial insensitivity of his casting.

“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on ‘Family Guy’ for 20 years,” Henry wrote on social media. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.”

Henry’s “Family Guy” exit followed in the footsteps of Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell leaving their respective animated shows “Big Mouth” and “Central Park” over similar issues. Both actresses voiced biracial characters on their series. Pierce took to social media to say he is interested in being the new voice of Cleveland.

Ava DuVernay’s Array is presenting its fourth filmmaker tweet-a-thon, Array Film Fellowship. The annual daylong social media event is set to kick off on April 30 at 9 am Pt and will run for a staggering 10 hours and feature the voices of over 50 directors.

From Academy Award winners to veterans to legends to new voices the Twitter takeover will feature Guillermo Del Toro, Patty Jenkins, Jon M. Chu, Julie Dash, Jill Soloway, Patricia Cardoso, Mira Nair, George Tillman, Victoria Mahoney, Diane Paragas, Nisha Ganatra, Prentice Penny, Numa Perrier and many more.

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The filmmakers will wax poetic on the social media platform and share details about their craft, latest projects, take questions from film lovers...

Get ready for more “Amazing Stories,” because Apple TV+ has just unveiled a new trailer for the web series reboot of Steven Spielberg’s beloved 1980s anthology show. Executive-produced by Spielberg along with new blood in the form of Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey, this version of “Amazing Stories” will premiere as five episodes on Apple TV+ on March 6. Watch the trailer below.

Developed in partnership between Universal TV and Amblin Television, “Amazing Stories” features familiar names and faces both in front of and behind the camera, aiming to “transport the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors, and writers.” Episodes will include “The Rift” with Austen Stowell (“Bridge of Spies”), Kerry Bishé (“Halt and Catch Fire”), and Edward Burns, with Mark Mylod of “Game of Thrones” directing; “Signs of Life,” with Jacob Latimore (“The Chi”) and Sasha Lane...

Uncut Gems wins best lead actor, directing, editing.

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was named best feature at the Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday (8) in a night that recognised female directing talent in stark contrast to tomorrow’s Oscars.

Olivia Wilde won best first film for Booksmart, and American Factory, co-directed by Julia Reichert, (alongside Steven Bognar), won best documentary.

Renée Zellweger won best actress for Judy and has virtually swept the boards this awards season ahead of Sunday’s expected win at the Academy Awards.

Adam Sandler was a popular winner for Uncut Gems, which took home...

As you’re reading this, the 35th Independent Spirit Awards are being held. Oscar will have their say tomorrow evening, but today, it’s the indie films getting their turn! Will this awards show honor the likes of The Farewell, The Lighthouse, Marriage Story, or Uncut Gems? Maybe some combination of them all? We’ll know in a few hours, that’s for sure. What this space for the Spirit Award results once the show is over. A number of deserving movies and performances are about to have one last moment in the sun, before the Academy Awards suck up the last bit of awards season oxygen. If nothing else, it’s a fun, more casual moment, before the pomp and circumstance of the Oscars… Leading the way was Uncut Gems, which took home Best Actor for Adam Sandler, Best Director for Josh Safdieand Benny Safdie, Best Editing for Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie.

The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Saturday in recognition of the best in indie films from 2019.

Willem Dafoe won the first award, Best Supporting Male, for his role in “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” won Best Editing, while the Best Documentary award went to “American Factory.” Best Cinematography went to Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse.”

Kelly Reichardt was awarded The Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000, was given to “Give Me Liberty.”

Also Read: Independent Spirit Awards 2020: Aubrey Plaza's Best Jokes (So Far)

“Parasite” won Best International Film. Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female for her role in “The Farewell.” “Marriage Story” won Best Screenplay. Adam Sandler won Best Male Lead for his performance in “Uncut Gems” and Renée Zellweger received the Best Female Lead for her role in “Judy.

The winners of the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards are being announced live during today’s ceremony, hosted for the second year in a row by Aubrey Plaza (fresh off rave reviews from Sundance for her performance in the indie “Black Bear”). Unlike the Oscars where Netflix is the most-nominated studio, the Spirit Awards are dominated in 2020 by A24. The indie distributor boats 18 nominations across four movies: “The Lighthouse,” “Waves,” “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems,” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” The Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” and Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” lead all movies with five nominations each. Both of these films are nominated for Best Feature along with Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” and Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency.”

Last year’s big Spirit Award winner was Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which won prizes for Best Feature,...

Who won at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 8? Aubrey Plaza returned to host the 35th annual ceremony from Santa Monica beach, which honored the best in independent films for the 2019 calendar year. The top feature race included one Oscar contender, “Marriage Story,” as well as “Uncut Gems,” “The Farewell,” “Clemency” and “A Hidden Life.” Scroll down to see the full list of 2020 Indie Spirits champs. How did they compare to Gold Derby’s predictions?

SEEIndependent Spirit Awards live blog 2020: All the big winners as they happen [Updating Live]

The Spirit Award nominations were decided by committees made up of film industry members including critics, programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees/champs, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors. The award winners were chosen by all members of Film Independent who pay yearly dues of $95.

Leading the list of Spirit nominations at five apiece...

The 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards aired live coast-to-coast Saturday, February 8 on IFC, aka the day before the Oscars. If you missed the ceremony on TV, worry not — Gold Derby has you covered with our informative play-by-play. Below, follow along with our updating live blog as we reveal all of the 2020 Spirit Awards winners as they happen. Funny lady Aubrey Plaza returned as host for the second consecutive year.

The main feature category included one Oscar nominee for Best Picture, “Marriage Story,” as well as “A Hidden Life,” “Clemency,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems.” The director race recognized these handful of auteurs: Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse”), Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”), Julius Onah (“Luce”), Safdie Brothers (“Uncut Gems”) and Lorene Scafaria (“Hustlers”).

SEEThis is how he wins: Adam Sandler will shine at Spirit Awards with a victory for ‘Uncut Gems’

As for the lead acting races, the Best Actor lineup consisted...

The 35th annual Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent cinema, took place Saturday in Santa Monica.

Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” won best picture, while Adam Sandler and Renee Zellweger took home the top acting prizes.

Full list of winners.

Best Feature

A Hidden Life

Clemency

The Farewell (Winner)

Marriage Story

Uncut Gems

Best Director

Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse

Alma Har’el – Honey Boy

Julius Onah – Luce

Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Lorene Scafaria – Hustlers

Best First Feature

Booksmart (Winner)

The Climb

Diane

The Last Black Man In San Francisco

The Mustang

See You Yesterday

Best Female Lead

Karen Allen – Colewell

Hong Chau – Driveways

Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell

Mary Kay Place – Diane

Alfre Woodard – Clemency

Renée Zellweger – Judy (Winner)

Best Male Lead

Chris Galust – Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce

Robert Pattinson – The Lighthouse

Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Matthias Schoenaerts – The Mustang

Best Supporting Female

Jennifer Lopez...

Aubrey Plaza will return to host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica.

The 35th annual Spirit Awards are set to air live on the IFC Channel beginning at 5 p.m. Et/2 p.m. Pt. The network will live stream the ceremony on its website, though audiences will need a cable login to watch. TV subscribers can also watch the show live on IFC app’s, available on iOS and Android, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox, and Android TV devices.

This year’s top Spirit Award nominees include Robert Pattinson’s “The Lighthouse” and Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems,” with five nods each. Shia Labeouf’s “Honey Boy” and Kirill Mikhanovsky’s scored four nominations.

“Uncut Gems,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” are up for best feature.

Here’s the full...

Oscar weekend begins with the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards, hosted by Aubrey Plaza. The awards ceremony is celebrating its 35th year in 2020 and as always the show will be broadcast live from the beach in Santa Monica, California. Plaza is returning as Spirit Awards host after her successful stint emceeing the 2019 show, in which Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” dominated with wins for Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress. The ceremony will once again be broadcast on IFC channel starting at 5:00pm Et/2pm Pt. IFC will offer up various ways for moviegoers to live stream both the red carpet and the awards ceremony online.

The official 2020 Spirit Awards red carpet arrivals show, hosted by Catt Sadler, will be presented live exclusively on Twitter (@filmindependent) starting at 3:00pm Et/12:00pm Pt. The awards ceremony can be live streamed online at IFC.com for cable and satellite subscribers.

Who will win at the Independent Spirit Awards on February 8? Scroll down to see our predictions in 13 categories listed in order of our racetrack odds, with projected winners highlighted in gold.

More than 2,600 Gold Derby users have placed their bets here in our predictions center as of this writing. That includes Expert journalists from top media outlets, the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Spirit Award winners and the All-Star Top 24 Users who got the highest scores when you combine prediction results from the last two years.

Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

The Spirit Award nominations were decided by committees made up of members of the film community including film critics, film programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees and winners, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

In two days, the Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out. By now, we all know how different the Spirit Awards are than Oscar. That goes without saying. This year, the Academy Awards largely went in a separate direction, so there’s less crossover than usual. So, that means we can worry less about if these voters will reject/simulate the Academy, and just focus on how the vote might go. I’ve tinkered a bit with my picks, though ultimately I think it could be a really good night for Uncut Gems. Watch out for The Farewell (or Marriage Story) in the top category, while The Lighthouse could end up spoiling in several categories. It’s going to be interesting, the results, that much I can assure you of… Enough talk. You’ve read my thoughts on this race already in the very recent past. Time for what...

This year, the Independent Spirit Awards are really indie. A24 dominates the field with 18 Spirit Award nominations over five films. Of that group, only “The Lighthouse” scored an Oscar nod, for Best Cinematography.

That means several high-profile contenders who did not land Oscar nominations will get strong Spirit sympathy votes. “The Lighthouse” and “Uncut Gems” have five nominations each, so Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, and Adam Sandler are strong acting contenders. In the Supporting Female race, there’s no way Jennifer Lopez doesn’t win the Spirit for Oscar-snubbed “Hustlers,” fresh from her Super Bowl triumph.

“Uncut Gems” goes up against Netflix’s Best Picture Oscar nominee “Marriage Story” for Best Feature, which is already taking home the Robert Altman Ensemble Award for Noah Baumbach’s high-wattage cast. That’s why the movie has only three nomination, and could lose Best Feature to the Safdie brothers’ popular thriller.

On the other hand,...

This year, the Independent Spirit Awards are really indie. A24 dominates the field with 18 Spirit Award nominations over five films. Of that group, only “The Lighthouse” scored an Oscar nod, for Best Cinematography.

That means several high-profile contenders who did not land Oscar nominations will get strong Spirit sympathy votes. “The Lighthouse” and “Uncut Gems” have five nominations each, so Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, and Adam Sandler are strong acting contenders. In the Supporting Female race, there’s no way Jennifer Lopez doesn’t win the Spirit for Oscar-snubbed “Hustlers,” fresh from her Super Bowl triumph.

“Uncut Gems” goes up against Netflix’s Best Picture Oscar nominee “Marriage Story” for Best Feature, which is already taking home the Robert Altman Ensemble Award for Noah Baumbach’s high-wattage cast. That’s why the movie has only three nomination, and could lose Best Feature to the Safdie brothers’ popular thriller.

On the other hand,...

The night before the Academy Awards, the Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out. Obviously, the indie equivalent to the Oscars is not a predictable precursor, but it has another charm to it. Namely, it’s that this is the final chance to cite some of the beloved movies of 2019 that the Academy snubbed. Films that came close to Oscar nominations but missed, as well as ones that never sniffed a nomination, they both compete equally here. Other years have had more flicks that line up with the big boys, but it’s an interesting mix here. In fact, it’s very hard to tell how the Indie Spirit Awards will go this time around, but I’m about to try, that’s for sure. Take a look now at my predictions for the Spirit Awards. We’ll have another update before the show, but for now, this is my preview…...

Exclusive: Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired the coming-of-age drama Jezebel directed, written, produced by and co-starring Numa Perrier. The film is set to stream on Netflix starting January 16, 2020, and will open theatrically in New York, Los Angeles and other select cities that same month.

Jezebel made its world premiere at SXSW this year and details Perrier’s real-life experiences. The film follows 19-year-old Tiffany (Tiffany Tenille) as she navigates her dying mother’s financial struggles. By working as an Internet fetish cam girl in the ’90s, the young woman uses her fantasy world as an escape from her real-life circumstances.

As Perrier’s feature debut, Jezebel won Best Director and Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival as well as the Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

“Numa Perrier’s directorial debut delivers a beautiful balance of poignancy and humor to reveal truths about women,...

Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’ dominated Monday’s 29th annual IFP Gotham Awards with four wins, including Best Feature and Best Actor for Adam Driver.

The ceremony, celebrating the best in indie cinema and television, was held Monday evening at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City and was presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project.

Acting awards went to Driver, to Awkwafina for “The Farewell” (Best Actress) and to Taylor Russell for “Waves” (Breakthrough Actress).

“American Factory” was named the year’s best documentary, while Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre won in the Breakthrough Director category for “The Mustang.”

In the television categories, prizes went to the Netflix miniseries “When They See Us” and the Hulu sitcom “PEN15.”...

“Marriage Story,” a drama about a painful divorce between a loving Hollywood couple, won best feature at the Gotham Awards in downtown Manhattan on Monday night.

The annual event in early December, hosted by the Independent Filmmakers Project, resembles the Iowa caucus as the first stop on the long and tangled road of awards season. And like in Iowa, many campaigners put on a brave face — in the middle of a snowstorm this year — as they delivered carefully scripted speeches, designed to win approval and gain votes.

The biggest winner of the night was Netflix, which released “Marriage Story.” The streaming giant managed to wrestle away six trophies (out of 10 that were handed out) for a celebration that is supposed to be devoted to independent story tellers.

“Marriage Story” won four of those prizes. In addition to best feature, the movie also took home best actor for Adam Driver, best...

The 2019 Gotham Independent Film Awards honored the best in independent cinema this year. From blockbuster success stories like “Hustlers” to festival darlings such as “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems,” this year’s nominees kept with the Gothams’ tradition for highlighting top Oscar contenders (“Marriage Story”) and indie film underdogs (“Waves”).

The Gotham Awards nominations were led by “Marriage Story,” “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems,” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” all four of which earned three nominations. The latter three were A24 releases. “Marriage Story” was produced and distributed by Netflix. Films such as “Clemency,” “Diane,” and “High Flying Bird” received two nominations each. Nominated television series include Ava DuVeray’s Netflix limited series “When They See Us” and Hulu’s breakout freshman comedy series “Pen15.”

It was a huge night for Netflix with six wins, including four for “Marriage Story.” The Noah Baumbach film won Best Feature. Other...

The 2019-2020 movie awards season got underway on Monday night, December 2, with the presentation of the Gotham Awards for independent film. Presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp), these prizes are decided by juries of industry peers and have honored Oscar winners like “Sideways” (2004), “Capote” (2005), “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “Spotlight” (2015) and “Moonlight” (2016). So who took top honors this year? Scroll down for the complete list in all 10 categories, updated live as they were announced.

“Marriage Story,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems” led the nominations with three apiece. Those three films were up for Best Feature along with “Hustlers” and “Waves.”

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“Marriage Story” was the highest-profile Oscar contender among those nominees, but did that mean it was a surefire winner? The jury voting process opens the door for underdogs and left-field choices like last year’s champ “The Rider,” which beat Oscar...

The 2019 Gotham Awards will be handed out tonight, December 2, during a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. So who will the winners be? Scroll down for our official predictions in nine categories. Those predictions are based on the combined forecasts of more than 1,000 Gold Derby users who have placed their bets here in our predictions center. Nominees are listed in order of their racetrack odds with our project winners highlighted in gold.

These kudos are handed out by the Independent Filmmaker Project, a nonprofit that supports indie films. But individual categories are decided by small juries of industry peers, and we think they’ll find in favor of “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach‘s lacerating drama about a couple’s divorce. It’s the front-runner to win Best Feature, though we think voters will spread the wealth in other categories.

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As indie darlings and awards season contenders like Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse, Waves and Dark Waters continue to impress, the Thanksgiving weekend has a handful of offerings when it comes to the specialty box office.

This week will see the premiere of Michael Apted’s 63 Up, the latest installment of his acclaimed Up Series. The BritBox documentary is part feature, part anthropologic study as it asks “whether or not our adult lives are pre-determined by our earliest influences and the social class in which we are raised.”

“63 Up is a landmark film and BritBox is proud to be the theatrical distributor, supporting Michael Apted and his lifetime of documentary filmmaking,” said Soumya Sriraman, President and Founder, BritBox.

The journey started in 1970 with 7 Up which spotlighted a group of British-born children. This served as the foundation for the series as Apted...

Burning Cane, a hard-edged tale of rural Louisiana, now on Netflix, is a remarkable feature debut by Youmans. And he’s just 19…

What were you doing when you were 17? A lot, probably: it’s a busy time, after all. But between school, university applications and partying, chances are that making a feature film wasn’t high on your to-do list. Had it been, even greater chances are that it wouldn’t have been much cop.

New Orleans-born Phillip Youmans, on the other hand, is the obstinate exception. Now 19 and in his first year at New York University, he has a whole film under his belt, made in his final year of high school and already amply travelled and rewarded on the festival circuit. It slipped quietly on to Netflix earlier this month, with little fanfare, as if fully formed films by teenagers come along all the time and merit no special fanfare.

Best international film nominees include Parasite, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and The Souvenir.

Uncut Gems and The Lighthouse have emerged as the top contenders for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards with five nods apiece while A24 leads the distributor pack on 18 nominations.

Adam Sandler from Uncut Gems will face off against The Lighthouse’s Robert Pattinson and others for best lead male and the Safdie brothers and Robert Eggers are among the best director nominees for each film, respectively.

Other best feature nominees announced on Thursday (21) are A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell and Marriage Story.

Best international film nominees include Parasite, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and The Souvenir.

Uncut Gems has emerged as the top contender among nominees for this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards, with the Adam Sandler drama getting nominations in five categories including best feature.

Other best feature nominees are A Hidden Life, Clemency, The Farewell and Marriage Story.

The Lighthouse also got five Spirit Award nominations and other films with multiple citations included Give Me Liberty and Honey Boy with four each and Clemency, Hustlers, The Last Black Man In San Francisco, Luce, Marriage Story and The Third Wife with three each.

The 2020 Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced Thursday, November 21. So who made the cut at these kudos, which celebrate the best in American independent films? Scroll down to see the full list of nominees for the 2020 Indie Spirits. Remember, only American-made movies with budgets under $20 million were eligible for consideration.

These Spirit contenders were decided by nominating committees that included film critics, film programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees and winners, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

Winners will be chosen by all of Film Independent’s eligible members, including industry insiders and any movie fans who sign up for membership starting at $95 per year.

These awards have come to be a significant preview of the Oscars as the motion picture academy embraces more independent films. Five of the last six Spirit champs for Best Feature went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Two dark and unruly films released by A24, Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” and the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” led all films in nominations for the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Film Independent announced on Thursday.

In the Best Feature category, “Uncut Gems” was joined by Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story.”

“Uncut Gems” was the only film nominated in both the Best Feature and Best Director categories, though “Marriage Story” was nominated in the former category and was also voted the special John Cassavetes Award, which goes to a film’s director, cast and casting director.

Also Read: 'Marriage Story,' 'The Farewell,' 'Uncut Gems' Top Gotham Award Nominations

“Honey Boy” and “Give Me Liberty” received four nominations each, while “Hustlers,” “Clemency” and “Luce” received three.

As usual, the Spirit Awards’ system of...

With the release of 19-year-old Philip Youmans’s acclaimed festival hit Burning Cane on Netflix, here’s a look at other intimidatingly young directors

There are few things the film industry loves more – at least in the short run – than a hot young director. Of course, few would-be auteurs go on to replicate the long-term success of one-time wunderkinds like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Paul Thomas Anderson, or Ava DuVernay, but, hey, at least they got their movie made and seen. As anyone who’s ever tried to direct a film can testify, that’s no small feat.

Related: 'I had to make this happen': how a 19-year-old director wowed Hollywood...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.

The Biggest Little Farm (John Chester)

After getting evicted from their apartment in Los Angeles due to taking in a stray dog, filmmaker John Chester and food writer Molly Chester decide to try and cultivate a storybook farm in The Biggest Little Farm. The latest entry into the canon of films exploring food and ecosystems, like Aube Giroux’s Modified and Andrew Grace’s Eating Alabama, the documentary works as well as it does because of a reliance on its relatable subject and the director as its narrator. – John F. (full review)

Where to Stream: Hulu

Burning Cane (Phillip Youmans)

Helen Wayne (Karen Kaia Livers) can...

Even with just a 75-minute runtime, watching writer-director Phillip Youmans’ feature film debut, “Burning Cane,” a meditation on compromised faith among black Southerners, is an arduous experience. It’s dark (both narratively and visually), sluggish, and relentlessly bleak. But this all seems to be the filmmaker’s intention.

Inspired by his own upbringing in the Southern Baptist church, Youmans offers an unfiltered look at black protestant life in the hollows of Louisiana. Just as he does with each character, Youmans launches the film by dropping the audience into Helen Wayne’s (Karen Kaia Livers) story already in progress. From her lengthy opening monologue, we gather that her dog is very sick and covered with rashes, but she refuses to give up faith in his recovery.

She’s frustrated that professionals want her to put him down, or “shoot him between the eyes” as she echoes with disgust. We listen to...

If it’s a Saturday after a busy week, that can only mean one thing, right? Yes, it’s time for another review round-up to help catch us all up on some of the smaller releases hitting theaters this weekend. As per the usual, we have three very different films to look at. This time, it’s the drama Burning Cane, as well as two different science fiction outings, one being the high concept Paradise Hills, while the other sci-fi offering is the anthology tale Portals. Are any of these worth your time? Are all of them? Read on to find out what I thought… Burning Cane Marvel at this fact for a moment. Phillip Youmans, the filmmaker behind Burning Cane, is a teenager. Yes, for real. He’s nineteen years old. Consider for a moment how unwatchable most teenagers’ attempts at cinema would be. Even with the greats, many...

Movie awards season is officially here!

The first nominations of the 2020 season arrived Thursday thanks to the 29th Annual Ifp Gotham Awards, which are voted on by a select group of New York City-based journalists. The awards also focus on independent films and don’t count big studio offerings in the mix.

Hustlers received a nomination for best feature after opening to critical acclaim in September. The STXFilms release exceeded expectations to open to an estimated $33.2 million across 3,250 theaters. It’s since gone to on gross over $100 million at the U.S. box office.

The movie, based on a New York Magazine article,...

The 2019-2020 movie awards season is underway with the 2019 Gotham Award nominations, which were announced on October 24. These awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) and honor the best indie achievements of the year as decided by small committees of film journalists and festival programmers. Their nominees for Best Feature are “The Farewell,” “Hustlers,” “Marriage Story,” “Uncut Gems” and “Waves.” Scroll down to see the complete list of contenders.

Ifp executive director Jeffrey Sharp said in a statement, “We congratulate the 2019 Ifp Gotham Award nominees and are excited to recognize these artists on December 2nd here in New York, a city known for its great tradition of independent storytelling. This year has been filled with brilliant performances and dynamic work across film and television and we look forward to celebrating these achievements together.”

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The winners will be presented...

Also up for best feature are Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers and Trey Edward Shults’ Waves.

Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems and Lulu Wang’s The Farewell lead this year’s Ifp Gotham Awards nominations, with three nods apiece.

They are each up for best feature alongside Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers and Trey Edward Shults’ Waves.

Netflix’s Marriage Story and A24’s Uncut Gems have also earned best actor nominations for Adam Driver and Adam Sandler respectively. They will compete against Willem Dafoe for The Lighthouse, Aldis Hodge for Clemency and André Holland for High Flying Bird.

Phillip Youmans isn’t sure if he’s returning to New York University. He’s a sophomore at the venerable institution, but he took the fall semester off because he’s a little busy. Last spring, during the second semester of his freshman year, the filmmaker’s debut feature, Burning Cane, won three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival: Narrative Feature, Cinematography (for him), and Actor for co-lead, the estimable Wendell Pierce. Its executive producer is Benh Zeitlin, of Beasts of the Southern Wild, and it’s being released by Ava Du Vernay’s Array, who arranged a two-city theatrical release before its Netflix drop on November […]...

Phillip Youmans isn’t sure if he’s returning to New York University. He’s a sophomore at the venerable institution, but he took the fall semester off because he’s a little busy. Last spring, during the second semester of his freshman year, the filmmaker’s debut feature, Burning Cane, won three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival: Narrative Feature, Cinematography (for him), and Actor for co-lead, the estimable Wendell Pierce. Its executive producer is Benh Zeitlin, of Beasts of the Southern Wild, and it’s being released by Ava Du Vernay’s Array, who arranged a two-city theatrical release before its Netflix drop on November […]...

“Marriage Story,” “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems,” “Hustlers” and “Waves” have been nominated as the best independent films of 2019 by the 29th annual Ifp Gotham Awards, the Independent Filmmaker Project announced on Thursday.

“Marriage Story,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems” each received three nominations in the seven Gotham film categories to lead all films. “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” also received three, though it was not nominated in the Gothams’ top category.

“Waves,” “High Flying Bird,” “Midsommar” and “Clemency” received two nominations each and were the only other films with multiple nominations.

In the acting categories, nominees included Willem Dafoe for “The Lighthouse,” Adam Sandler for “Uncut Gems,” Adam Driver in “Marriage Story,” Awkwafina in “The Farewell,” Florence Pugh in “Midsommar” and Elisabeth Moss in “Her Smell.”

Also Read: Female Directors Dominate in Ida Documentary Awards Nominations

The Gotham Awards’ only directing category is the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award,...

Per tradition, the 2019-2020 awards season got its first major nominations announcement with the batch of this year’s Gotham Awards, which include Sundance sensations, fall festival darlings, and at least one indie blockbuster that has earned over $100 million at the U.S. box office. The awards ceremony, presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp), consists of 10 awards given to independent features and television series.

While the Gotham Awards don’t always overlap with the Oscars, as the first ceremony of the season, they often play a key role in elevating films into the overall awards conversation. Last year’s acting winners Ethan Hawke (“First Reformed”) and Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) had their champions all Oscar season but failed to get a nomination, while Best Feature winner “The Rider” got a significant boost in awards buzz after taking the top Gotham prize.

The 2019 Gotham Awards nominations are dominated by “Marriage Story,...

Helen Wayne (Karen Kaia Livers) can’t cure her dog of mange. Everyone tells her their surefire remedies and she attempts them all—one month with borax, another vegetable oil. Sometimes the dog gets better and other times he gets worse. She won’t give up on him, though. Her love for his kind soul that doesn’t deserve the pain and suffering he’s endured keeps her looking for another solution. She’ll do anything but go to the doctor because she knows he’ll simply tell her that the time has come to put him down. But that’s not true. It can’t be if God hasn’t done so already. This is therefore a test for Helen and her pet to prove their righteousness. They’ll withstand this hardship and pray for better days.

That doesn’t necessarily guarantee better days are coming as much as...

What were you doing with your life at 19 years old? Were you winning the top honors at the Tribeca Film Festival and being hailed as a bright rising filmmaker who directed one of the best black films of the year? Very few people can pull off those accomplishments, but 19-year-old Nocca graduate Phillip Youmans pulled that […]

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