News

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman)

Burgeoning sexuality is the basis for nearly all coming-of-age films, but with her specific eye, Eliza Hittman makes it feel like we’re watching this genre unfold for the first time. With only two features to her name, she’s captured the experience with a sensuality and intimacy nearly unprecedented in American independent filmmaking. Following 2013’s It Felt Like Love, the writer-director follows it with...

When considering a documentary film, there is a great deal to be said for setting — both in physical space and larger societal context. Vitaly Mansky, the veteran Russian documentarian, is well aware of this, having had a sort-of breakout success with last year’s Under the Sun, which was filmed under the noses of North Korean officials and edited to highlight that regime’s censorship and duplicity. Of course, not every good documentary needs a locale so extreme, and in his latest film, Mansky returns to more familiar territory. Set in the director’s native country of Ukraine, Close Relations feels at once engaged with their fraught present moment and slightly unsure of itself, a bit too divided and noncommittal to function as a unified statement.

As might be inferred from the title, Close Relations centers on members of Mansky’s close extended family, all of whom are Ukranian and...

June 20–22, 2017‘The heart of Paris beats for film industry’

Industry Week is the professional part of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival.

This label includes the Us in Progress and Paris Coproduction Village. Together they offer 24 film projects at different stages, from development to post production. More than 200 professionals from the industry, producers, international sellers, distributors, etc. are welcomed

Paris Coproduction Village Unveils Its Selection

Organized by Les Arcs European Film Festival within the frame of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival Industry Week, Paris Coproduction Village is made up of professional meetings and is also a financing platform for feature projects selected worldwide.

For its fourth edition, which will take place June 20–22, 2017 in Paris, the following projects have been selected:

“Amparo” by Simón Mesa Soto; 2016 — short film

“Madre” Official Competition Cannes, AFI Iff, Chicago Iff; 2014 — short film

“Leidi” Golden Palm Cannes, Best UK Short Award London Short Ff, Chicago Iff, Edinburgh Iff) produced...

'Top of the Lake: China Girl' will make its Australian debut at Miff.

The Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has unveiled the first 30 films on its line-up ahead of the full program launch in July..

Among the highlights at this year.s festival, to be held August 3-20, is actually a television series: the Australian premiere of Jane Campion.s series Top of the Lake: China Girl, fresh from Cannes..

All six episodes of the show, starring Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman, will play in three concurrent two-hour sessions, before the show goes on to air on Foxtel.s BBC First.

Another Aussie highlight will be documentary The Silent Eye, from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Hail, Ruin), which follows free jazz pioneer Cecil Taylor and modern dance artist Min Tanaka..

Many of the Aussie films that are screening at Sydney Film Festival will also head south for Miff, including a double bill froom Kriv Stenders,...

12 international projects to presented at event in Paris this June.

Ryota Nakano, Sharon Bar-Ziv and Mauro Mueller will be among the directors presenting projects at the fourth edition of the Paris Co-production Village in June, aimed at connecting international filmmakers with French partners.

Organised by the team behind the Les Arcs European Film Festival this year’s village runs June 20-22. It takes place within the framework of the Champs Elysées Film Festival’s industry week which also includes Us in Progress showcase.

Swiss-born New York-based director Mauro Mueller is bringing Fingerplay about a jaded middle-aged woman whose life is given fresh meaning after a mentally-challenged young man enters her life.

Israeli film-maker Sharon Bar-Ziv’s will present Love Your Neighbor about a single mother who finds herself at odds with her Jewish-Orthodox neighbours who want to take-over her flat.

It is Bar-Ziv’s second film after her well-received debut Room 514 about a young female soldier who puts...

Wednesday, May 3 “Fargo” 10 p.m., FX

Episode Title: “The Law of Non-Contradiction”

Network Synopsis: Gloria revisits her stepfather’s past to try and find some answers.

Why You Should Watch: Last season, “Fargo” proved that it could do the ’70s about as good as any modern show can. As Gloria Burgle begins to investigate the murder from this season’s premiere, she learns more about her extended family than she’d planned. (Plus, the ongoing “Fargo”-crosses-off-its-list-of-Coen-Brothers-alums phenomenon continues with a Fred Melamed appearance! That’s always fun!)

Read More: Why Do Machines Hate Carrie Coon on ‘Fargo’ and ‘The Leftovers’?

“Talk Show the Game Show” 10 p.m., truTV

Episode Title: “Milk and Cookies”

Network Synopsis: Oscar winner Diablo Cody shares her pop-goddess obsession, rock star Moby explains his name, and comedian Arden Myrin magically flashes her way to the top.

Why You Should Watch: Moby. In a trapper hat.

The 32nd Independent Spirit Awards took place on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles. Many Oscar contenders — such as “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea” — were nominated alongside smaller titles such as “American Honey” and “Chronic,” making for a truly unpredictable show.

Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Who Will Win and Who Should Win — Critics Survey

The full list of nominees is below, with winners in bold.

Best Feature

“Moonlight”

“American Honey”

“Chronic”

“Jackie”

“Manchester by the Sea”

Best Director

Barry Jenkins –”Moonlight”

Andrea Arnold –”American Honey”

Pablo Larraín –”Jackie”

Jeff Nichols –”Loving”

Kelly Reichardt –”Certain Women”

Best Male Lead

Casey Affleck –”Manchester by the Sea” as Lee Chandler

David Harewood –”Free in Deed” as Abe Wilkins

Viggo Mortensen –”Captain Fantastic” as Ben Cash

Jesse Plemons –”Other People” as David Mulcahey

Tim Roth –”Chronic” as David Wilson

Best Female Lead

Isabelle Huppert –”Elle” as Michèle Leblanc

Annette Bening –”20th Century Women” as...

A24’s drama – and the distributor itself – enjoyed a huge Saturday afternoon at Film Independent’s 32nd annual Spirit Awards ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica.

Best feature winner Moonlight won six awards and took the plaudits on an afternoon that also sends best director winner Barry Jenkins to Sunday’s Oscars in high spirits and recognised Friday night’s César winner Isabelle Huppert for Elle and Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea in the lead acting categories.

Besides best feature and director, Moonlight won screenplay for Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, cinematography for James Laxton, and editing for Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders.

The film started the ceremony as joint frontrunner with American Honey on six nominations and converted all six, including the previously announced Robert Altman Award. American Honey went away empty-handed.

It was a triumphant afternoon for A24, which made its first financing foray on Moonlight and also distributed Robert Eggers’s first...

The 32nd annual Independent Spirit Awards, sponsored by Perrier-Jouët, kicked off Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier in California, honoring the best independent films of 2016.

Oscar contenders like Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight are both nominated for awards, alongside smaller films like American Honey and Chronic, making Saturday's awards ceremony truly anyone's game.

Related: Final Oscars Predictions 2017: Here's Who Should Win and Who Will Win the Biggest Awards!

Check back for updates to see who wins big.

Best Feature

American Honey

Chronic

Jackie

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Director

Andrea Arnold –American Honey

Barry Jenkins –Moonlight

Pablo Larraín –Jackie

Jeff Nichols –Loving

Kelly Reichardt –Certain Women

Best Male Lead

Casey Affleck –Manchester by the Sea

David Harewood –Free in Deed

Viggo Mortensen –Captain Fantastic

Jesse Plemons –Other People

Tim Roth –Chronic

Best Female Lead

Annette Bening –20th Century Women

Isabelle Huppert –Elle

Sasha Lane –American Honey

Ruth Negga –Loving

Natalie Portman –Jackie

Best Supporting...

Oscar odds are looking better and better for “O.J.: Made In America,” as the sweeping epic took home the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon.

Ezra Edelman accepted the award for his in depth portrait of the trial of the century, which gripped viewers for all of its 8 hours. Produced by Espn’s 30 For 30, it has been seen by upwards of 50 million viewers, proving that quality films can have a mass appeal, especially when the subject is one that fascinated so many people.

“O.J.: Made In America” tells the story of the O.J. Simpson trial, beginning with Simpson’s college football years and ending with his the little known story of his later days, which eventually led to his being arrested for armed robbery of some of his own memorabilia. Edelman amassed a stunning number of participants, from original jurors to members of Simpson’s defense team,...

O.J.: Made in America won best documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards.

It beat out 13th (directed and produced by Ava DuVernay; produced by Spencer Averick and Howard Barish), Cameraperson (directed and produced by Kirsten Johnson; produced by Marilyn Ness), I Am Not Your Negro (directed and produced by Raoul Peck; produced by Remi Grellety and Herbert Peck), Sonita (directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami; produced by Gerd Haag) and Under the Sun (directed by Vitaly Mansky; produced by Natalya Manskaya).

Director-producer Ezra Edelman and producers Nina Krstic, Tamara Rosenberg and Caroline Waterlow took to the stage to accept the award.

"It...

We learned early last month that Nick Kroll and John Mulaney are co-hosting the Independent Spirit Awards, and now IndieWire can exclusively announce the presenters at this Saturday’s ceremony. Nine actors will be lending their talents to the proceedings: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Kerry Washington, Miles Teller, Samuel L. Jackson, Freida Pinto, Fred Armisen and Amanda Peet.

Read More: Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney Love Spending Every Waking Hour Together in New Promos

In addition, Gary Clark Jr. is serving as the one-man house band for the ceremony, the Spirit Awards’ 32nd. The awards will be broadcast live on IFC at 5 p.m. Est this Saturday. Full list of nominees below.

Read More: 2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney to Co-Host Ceremony

Best Feature:

“American Honey”

“Chronic”

“Jackie”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

Best Director:

Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”

Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

Pablo Larraín,...

‘The Salesman’ (Courtesy: Amazon Studios and Cohen Media Group)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

The one chance for the entire world to get involved with the Academy Awards has always been the best foreign language film category. Since any country can submit a film each year, though, that means the competition is intense. Let’s take a look at the countries that have snagged nominations this year and see how they’ve performed in the past in the hopes of shedding some light on what might happen come February 26.

This year the five nominees for best foreign language film are Land of Mine from Denmark, A Man Called Ove from Sweden, The Salesman from Iran, Tanna from Australia, and Toni Erdmann from Germany. The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg lists The Salesman as the frontrunner in this category — obviously due to the film’s merits and also potentially due to its director,...

Under The Sun screens Friday January 27th through Sunday January 29th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The movie starts at 7:30 all three evenings.

After years of negotiation the Russian director Vitaly Mansky was invited by the North Korean government to make a film about one girl and her family in the year she prepares to join the Children’s Union, on the ‘Day of the Shining Star’ (Kim Jong-Il’s birthday). “My father says that Korea is the most beautiful country…” says eight-year-old Zin-mi. And so it might seem as Mansky films her in joyous, patriotic school pageants and in dance class, or with her parents, eating delicious food in their picturesque apartment. But the government handlers supervising the production did not realize that Mansky kept filming even after they had shouted, “Cut.” Under The Sun is the jaw-dropping result.

The critics have been praising Under The Sun...

Edward Arentz is in a good mood. Earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, the Music Box Films managing director picked up a little Swedish comedy, “A Man Called Ove.” (That’s “oo-veh.”) No one else was much interested in the grumpy-old-man movie starring the original Wallander, Rolf Lassgård, which falls in the mold of Jack Nicholson’s “About Schmidt” or Clint Eastwood’s “Grand Torino” (without the guns).

But Arentz found himself crying, laughing, and deeply moved. And over the years he has learned to trust his gut. After all, he picked up U.S. rights to three other little Swedish films that became a worldwide phenomenon, “The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo” series ($22 million U.S. total). That experience paved the way for “A Man Called Ove.” At $3.3 million, it’s the highest-grossing foreign-language film of 2016, has landed on the foreign-language Oscar shortlist, and has a strong shot at a nomination.

Edward Arentz is in a good mood. Earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, the Music Box Films managing director picked up a little Swedish comedy, “A Man Called Ove.” (That’s “oo-veh.”) No one else was much interested in the grumpy-old-man movie starring the original Wallander, Rolf Lassgård, which falls in the mold of Jack Nicholson’s “About Schmidt” or Clint Eastwood’s “Grand Torino” (without the guns).

But Arentz found himself crying, laughing, and deeply moved. And over the years he has learned to trust his gut. After all, he picked up U.S. rights to three other little Swedish films that became a worldwide phenomenon, “The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo” series ($22 million U.S. total). That experience paved the way for “A Man Called Ove.” At $3.3 million, it’s the highest-grossing foreign-language film of 2016, has landed on the foreign-language Oscar shortlist, and has a strong shot at a nomination.

The nominees for the 32nd Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and the competition is looking fierce.

Moonlight, which tells the story of a gay African-American boy growing up in poor Miami, and the road-trip love story American Honey starring Shia Labeouf are tied for the lead with six nods, including best feature and best director for Jenkins and Arnold.

Other Best Feature nominees include Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie, and Casey Affleck’s New England-based family drama Manchester by the Sea. Those films, along with Michel Franco’s Chronic, earned five nominations in all.

Other...

Ahead of their ceremony in 2017, The Film Independent Spirt Awards handed out this year’s batch of nominations with Barry Jenkins‘ triptych drama Moonlight and Andrea Arnold‘s American Honey both making strong showings with six nominations each. Close behind was Kenneth Lonergan‘s Manchester by the Sea, which picked up five.

Rounding out the Best Feature line-up is Jackie and the unexpected pick of Chronic, which premiered at Cannes last year and just got a small release this fall. As for Best First Feature, The Childhood of a Leader, The Fits, Other People, Swiss Army Man, and The Witch were all recognized. Meanwhile, 13th, Cameraperson, I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America, Sonita, and Under the Sun all earned Best Documentary Feature nods.

Ahead of a ceremony on Saturday, February 25th, 2017, check out the full list of nominations below thanks to Variety and stream many of the below films here.

Moonlight, American Honey and Manchester by the Sea lead the 2016 Independent Spirit Award NominationsMoonlight, American Honey and Manchester by the Sea lead the 2016 Independent Spirit Award NominationsAdriana Floridia11/22/2016 1:26:00 Pm

With the first major announcement from the Independent Spirit Awards, we're officially into awards season!

It's the best time of year if you're a film fanatic, like us, as major awards bodies will start revealing their nominations, leading up to the coveted Academy Awards. While the Indie Spirits obviously highlight independent film, they're often a good indicator for whats to come at the Oscars, with their acting categories usually lining up with the Academy's choices.

Today was a big day if your movie was called Moonlight, American Honey or Manchester by the Sea, as Moonlight and Manchester picked up five nominations each, and American Honey lead with six nominations. Moonlight also was awarded the Robert Altman Award, which honours director Barry Jenkins,...

Jenny Slate and Edgar Ramírez announced the 2017 Independent Spirit Award nominations live from the W Hollywood this morning, with “American Honey,” “Jackie,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight” all doing especially well for themselves — each film was nominated for Best Feature, Director and several other awards. The ceremony itself will air on IFC on February 25. Here’s the full list of nominees:

Read More: Here’s How the Independent Spirit Awards Will Impact the Oscar Race: Analysis

Best Feature:

“American Honey”

“Chronic”

“Jackie”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

Best Director:

Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”

Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

Pablo Larraín, “Jackie”

Jeff Nichols, “Loving”

Kelly Reichardt, “Certain Women”

Best First Feature:

“The Childhood of a Leader”

“The Fits”

“Other People”

“Swiss Army Man”

“The Witch”

Best Female Lead:

Annette Bening, “20th Century Women”

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Sasha Lane, “American Honey”

Ruth Negga, “Loving”

Natalie Portman, “Jackie”

Best Male Lead:

Casey Affleck,...

An increased cash rebate and co-production boom has resulted in a strong Estonian line-up for this year’s Tallinn Black Nights.

The Estonian film industry is picking up momentum, seeing an increase in domestic film admissions as well as a selection of awards around the festival circuit.

In Berlin earlier this year, the Estonian Film Institute (Efi) announced a cash rebate for foreign productions including full length features, documentaries and television series, which has in turn prompted a spike in the number of co-productions.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is reaping the benefits with a strong line-up of Estonian films across several of their programme sections

Estonian Film Competition

Seven films are in contention for the Estonian Film Award, which grants a winning feature €3,200 in prize money to be shared between the director and the producer:

Triin Ruumet’s The Days That Confused (above), a coming-of-age story set in late 1990s Estonia, is already...

A total of 145 feature documentaries were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 89th Academy Awards.

Out of those films the members of the Academy’s documentary branch will select a shortlist of 15 features that will be announced in December, and the five nominations will be announced on January 24.

Read More: Documentary, Now: Three Rock Stars Who Run the Fast-Changing Non-Fiction World

Among the titles included in the list are Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” the Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner “Weiner” by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, Raoul Peck’s Toronto Film Festival Audience Award winner “I Am Not Your Negro,” the visually stunning “Voyage of Time: The Imax Experience” by Terrence Malik and Otto Bell’s “The Eagle Huntress.”

Read More: Oscars 2017: 10 Documentary Shorts Vie for Nominations

This year Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees’ film “Amy” about British singer Amy Winehouse...

Next month, Netflix has a wide variety of films — modern to classic, animated to live action, Oscar winners to romantic comedies — and we’ve picked seven that you should watch once they’re made available on the streaming service. Enjoy.

1. “Under the Sun” (available November 11)

Directed by Vitaly Manski, the documentary follows a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea as their eight-year-old daughter, Zin-mi, prepares to join the Korean Children’s Union on the Day of the Shining Star.

2. “The Ivory Game” (available November 14)

Directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the documentary sheds a light on the seedy underbelly of elephant poaching in Africa and black market ivory trading in China.

Read More: ‘The Ivory Game,’ Produced By Leonardo DiCaprio, Is a Shocking Look at an Underground Marketplace — Telluride Review

3. “Just Friends” (available November 14)

On a lighter note, who...

With AFI Fest just a few weeks away, film-festival season is nearly over for the year. In addition to Venice, Telluride and Toronto, another fest recently concluded: the 15th annual Pyongyang International Film Festival, to which the New York Times sent a correspondent. 60 movies from 21 countries comprised this year’s selection, with with 11 of them vying for the Best Torch Award.

Read More: Tricking the Government: How to Shoot a Documentary in North Korea

The main criterion for winning said prize, according to the Nyt: “how well they symbolized the festival’s official theme — ‘Independence, Peace and Friendship’ — and whether they articulated the ideology of juche, or self-reliance, developed by the country’s founding father, Kim Il-sung.” Kim Jong-il, the country’s Dear Leader who passed away five years ago, was a known cinephile, even going so far as to kidnap a South Korean filmmaker and actress so that they...

Films about North Korea have an unfair advantage. The country is one of such baffling oddness that films told about it are often either tragic or outrageous, two extremes that make for memorable viewing. On the other hand, the nature of North Korea’s political situation means few films are indeed made about it. Titles like Solrun Hoaas’ Pyongyang Diaries in which the Australian filmmaker ventured to a North Korean film festival and gave us a glimpse of what it means to be a traveller in this land of fake smiles and concrete, and the giddy delight of Anna Broinowski’s Aim High in Creation in which she travels to North Korea to learn how to make propaganda films from the makers themselves.

This year we can add two more entertaining docs. Both are full of surprises that beggar belief at seemingly every turn: The Lovers and the Despot and Under the Sun.

As expected, Fox Searchlight Pictures took advantage of its first and last dibs on Pablo Larraín’s hot acquisition title “Jackie” to acquire U.S. rights. “Jackie,” which tells the JFK assassination aftermath from the perspective of widow Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman), was not a Tiff debut; that honor went to Venice, where it was a hit and Noah Oppenheim won for best screenplay. However, it was Tiff’s Sunday night screening where the bidding began in earnest — and with it, the possibility that the Chilean filmmaker’s film would be an Oscar contender. (Chile has submitted his Tiff title “Neruda” as its official foreign language Oscar contender.)

Fox Searchlight will push the film into the awards season on December 9th, as they did in 2008 with “Jackie” producer Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.” (Aronofsky developed “Jackie” with Searchlight before passing the reins to Larraín.) Other distribs were bidding Sunday night...

As expected, Fox Searchlight Pictures took advantage of its first and last dibs on Pablo Larraín’s hot acquisition title “Jackie” to acquire U.S. rights. “Jackie,” which tells the JFK assassination aftermath from the perspective of widow Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman), was not a Tiff debut; that honor went to Venice, where it was a hit and Noah Oppenheim won for best screenplay. However, it was Tiff’s Sunday night screening where the bidding began in earnest — and with it, the possibility that the Chilean filmmaker’s film would be an Oscar contender.

Fox Searchlight will push the film into the awards season on December 9th, as they did in 2008 with “Jackie” producer Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.” (Aronofsky developed “Jackie” with Searchlight before passing the reins to Larraín.) Other distribs were bidding Sunday night as Portman and other Oscar entrants — including Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) and...

There’s a new music video featuring the beautifully haunting vocals of Thom Yorke, but it’s not from Radiohead.

Yorke has collaborated with English electronic musician Mark Pritchard on the track “Beautiful People,” from Pritchard’s album “Under the Sun.” The music video, which premiered at Sundance’s Next Fest, ran on The Guardian on Thursday.

Directed by documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Michal Marczak, the video follows an unidentifiable person, whose head sometimes features a holograph of Yorke, walking around a strange land that doesn’t appear to be governed by the laws of physics. Marczak has directed three documentaries, including 2012’s “Fuck for Forest” about a bizarre charity that raises money for the environmental by selling home-made erotic movies online.

“Beautiful People” has nothing to do with Radiohead, which last year wrote a tune for the James Bond film “Spectre” that sadly didn’t end up being included in the film,...

In order to examine national identity, it’s often best to use the personal as a lens into the political. Vitaly Mansky’s new documentary “Close Relations” is a personal investigation of his family’s Ukrainian roots, or lack thereof, and in the process explores the definition of national identity. Is it a passport or blood lines? What happens when an army rolls up into your city and you suddenly live in another country? Watch an exclusive trailer for the film below.

Read More: Tricking the Government: How to Shoot a Documentary in North Korea

Mansky’s family are all former Soviet citizens and Russian speakers by tradition and don’t consider themselves of any particular ethnicity or origin. However, the fault lines of the post-Soviet era create cracks in the family that have reached a breaking point with Putin’s military annexation of Eastern Ukraine. In the film, Mansky...

Mid-summer brings the biggest limited opening of 2016, with a return to form by Woody Allen as new distributor Amazon Studios and partner Lionsgate pushed “Café Society” to numbers unseen since last December. It’s not at Allen’s top level, but a huge leap above his last two films as well as anything else so far this year.

For a totally different market, Dinesh D’Souza doc “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party” had a limited opening in Middle America with strong front-loaded initial numbers. The political doc goes wider this Friday and could see a better eventual total —via an entirely different audience—than Allen’s film.

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (The Orchard) from New Zealand leads the films in wider release as it continues to build word-of-mouth success. “Captain Fantastic” (Bleecker Street) boasted a decent second weekend expansion and could end up at a...

Under the Sun, Vitaly Mansky’s new documentary about life in North Korea, was officially co-sponsored by the North Korean government, which furnished the Russian filmmaker with a script, a model Pyongyang family, and an escort of government officials, including censors. But Mansky and his team secretly duplicated their footage each day before it was reviewed, and left the country with a full copy of what they recorded.The unabridged footage is surprisingly powerful: though we only see scenes from the state’s script, which centers on a young girl named Zin-Mi, Mansky simply leaves the camera rolling between takes, while government minders attempt to direct the performers to better demonstrate how happy and productive they are. The disparity between this “behind-the-scenes” footage and the rehearsed takes is the film’s main device, per Wendy Ide at Screen Daily:Zin-Mi’s parents are shown to be high-status workers in ‘exemplary’ workplaces...

Thanks to a well-reviewed movie star, Bleecker Street took “Captain Fantastic” to a now-rare, once-common $20,000-plus limited per theater opening. With all well-oiled cylinders at work, Bleecker filled the demand for older-audience films after two failed recent attempts by others at corralling the younger market (“Swiss Army Man” and “The Neon Demon”).

Two New York-only docs, “Under the Sun” (Icarus) and Sundance opener “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” (Music Box) both attracted interest.

A wider Bollywood release, Salman Khan-starrer “Sultan” (Yash Raj), achieved something few specialized films have managed in recent months: a Top Ten placement despite playing at fewer than 300 theaters.

Meantime, The Orchard’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” expanded again to strong numbers close to last weekend’s. This word-of-mouth hit could play all summer and expand wider. There is still an audience out there: it’s just more selective.

Opening

“Captain Fantastic” (Bleecker Street) – Metacritic: 70; Festivals include: Sundance,...

To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.

Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.

See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for July 2016

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 8. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.

Wide

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Director: Jake Szymanski

Cast: Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Zac Efron

Synopsis: Two brothers place an online ad to find dates for a wedding and the ad goes viral.

The Secret Life of Pets

Director: Chris Renaud,...

Tricking the North Korean government into letting you shoot an unauthorized documentary in the communist country is punishable by decades in prison — or worse — but that’s exactly what Russian director Vitaly Mansky did for the 2015 film “Under the Sun.” Released by Icarus films, the movie had its North American theatrical premiere Wednesday at Film Forum in New York.

Read More: Under the Sun’ Review: A Terrifying Glimpse Inside North Korea’s Dictatorship

After two years of negotiations with North Korean authorities, Mansky received an invitation to document the life of an eight-year-old girl and her parents in the capital city of Pyongyang, only to learn upon arrival that every frame of his film would be scripted and controlled by state workers to create a piece of propaganda. “He realized that he didn’t have any freedom, that they wouldn’t let him go anywhere by himself, and that he...

North Korean propaganda is so ripe for satire that its darker ramifications are often lost in the laughter. “Under the Sun” literally puts them in closeup, as Russian filmmaker Vitaly Manskiy’s gripping experimental documentary follows an eight-year-old child struggling within the constraints of the country’s suffocating ideology.

Ostensibly an authorized project showcasing the state’s ebullient youth, “Under the Sun” was shot from a script provided by the regime, and footage was subjected to daily scrutiny. But Manskiy nonetheless manages to fashion this material into an ominous indictment of the country’s brainwashing tactics and absurd self-regard, mostly by just letting the camera roll. The insanity speaks for itself.

Read More: Beyond ‘The Interview’: 6 Movies About North Korea You Can Watch Right Now

The scenario for “Under the Sun” contains the flimsiest of plots: Petite young Zin-Mi endures a series of routines in the process of joining the Children’s Union,...

MoMA has fired its Assistant Curator of Film Sally Berger after 30 years at the organization, the museum’s Chief Curator of Film Rajendra Roy confirmed in an emailed statement.

“My actions reflect several complex and substantive issues, and are the result of a long and deliberative process that Sally has been part of,” Roy wrote. “As painful as this decision has been, I stand by it.”

Berger could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

MoMA spokeswoman Margaret Doyle told IndieWire the organization could not discuss the details surrounding personnel issues. Facebook posts from more than a dozen acquaintances of Berger’s seemed to suggest the reason for her termination was related to the canceling of a film that was scheduled to play at MoMA’s 2016 Doc Fortnight festival in February.

Last week, Roy issued a statement expressing regret for pulling “Under the Sun,” a documentary about North Korea, from the festival, saying that the decision was “made by the festival’s curator without my knowledge or input.” Roy called the film “a remarkable documentary that was wrongly disinvited.”

Though North Korea’s government allowed “Under the Sun” to be shot after approving the script, cast, and several other aspects, director Vitaly Mansky edited the film to reveal this manipulation, showing how the country attempted to exert control of the production, The New York Times reported.

Earlier this year, Berger wrote an email to the film’s distributor in which she expressed concern over potential retaliation from North Korea over screening the documentary. The concerns stemmed from the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures that the U.S. attributed to North Korea in response to the 2014 film “The Interview,” the Times reported. Berger wrote that the doc “simply came in too late to review all the possible ramifications of showing it.”

Former MoMA film curator Laurence Kardish told IndieWire in an email, “I no longer understand what goes on in my old stomping grounds…Doesn’t a curator have the right to pick and choose what is to be shown under his/her auspices?”

Kardish added that he also found the timing of Roy’s apology confusing. “Why is MoMA apologizing now for a film it did not show nor even announce it was going to show four months ago, and why is this newsworthy?” he wrote.

Roy wrote in his statement that MoMA “will maintain our commitment to showing the work of marginalized and under recognized communities and filmmakers and to combating censorship wherever we can.”

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The Mammoth Lakes Film festival concluded on Sunday, May 29th with the award-winning documentary Sonita, followed by a lively, music and fun-filled awards presentation at Sierra Events Center. Over 50 films were screened over the five day fest, including premieres, presentation of the first ever Sierra Spirit Award to legendary director Joe Dante, filmmaker bonding at screenings and events, including a film fest hosted trip to Bodie ghost town. Awards, detailed below, included the presentation of the physical Orson trophy, each one with its own personality, and all created by local artist Josh Slater.

Jury Award for Feature Narrative – Bodkin Ras, a first time feature by director Kaweh Modiri. This Dutch film, shot in the remote town of Forres Scotland, caught the Jury by surprise with its intriguing blend of documentary and fiction. Its lyrical images, Poetic construction and poignant performances have indelible haunting effects that stay with the viewer. Awards:...

Highlights include the UK premiere of Finding Dory and the world premiere of the 4K restoration of Highlander [pictured].Scroll down for competition titles

The line-up for the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been unveiled this morning by artistic director Mark Adams.

This year’s Eiff (June 15-26) will comprise a total 161 features from 46 countries including: 22 world premieres, five international premieres, 17 European premieres and 85 UK premieres.

Highlights include the UK premiere of Disney-Pixar animation Finding Dory, in-person events that include Us indie filmmaker Kevin Smith and Sex & The City actress Kim Cattrall, and the opening and closing gala world premieres of the previously announced Tommy’s Honour and Whisky Galore!.

Old classics will be re-imagined with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing the score to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial live at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and the world premiere of the newly-restored 4K version of Highlander, celebrating its 30th anniversary with star Clancy Brown in attendance.

The...

The festival’s industry event featured 20 work-in-progress projects.

Bulgarian filmmaker Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Thirst and the Czech directorial duo Petr Kazda and Tomás Weinreb’s I, Olga Hepnarova [pictured] were declared joint winners of the Best Film in the New Europe - New Names competition at this year’s Vilnius International Film Festival (March 31 - April 14).

Speaking at the awards ceremony in the Lithuanian capital’s historic National Philharmonic Hall, International Jury member and Chilean film critic Pamela Biénzobas explained that the splitting of the top prize was “to acknowledge the diversity of cinematographic styles.”

Other awards included best acting prizes to Thirst’s Monika Naydenova and Our Everyday Life’s Uliks Fehmiu, and Best Director to Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczynska for her feature debut The Lure.

Meanwhile, the Best Film honour in the Baltic Gaze competition was won this year by Vitaly Mansky’s documentary Under The Sun ahead of such titles as Tomasz Wasilewski’s United...

We present the winners of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff).

Young Cinema Competition

Firebird Award

Life After Life by Zhang Hanyi – Hong Kong | 2016 – 80 min.

The spirit of a deceased mother takes over her son’s body in order to oversee the task of replanting a very important tree, only after which it will be able to leave the earthly limits.

Jury Prize

Tomcat by Händl Klaus – Austria | 2016 – 114 min.

Andreas and Stefan lead a happy life: Together with their beloved tomcat Moses, they live in a beautiful old house in Vienna’s vineyards. They work as a musician and as a scheduler in the same orchestra and they love their large circle of friends. An unexpected and inexplicable outburst of violence suddenly shakes up the relationship and calls everything into question – the blind spot that resides in all of us.

Documentary Competition

Firebird Award

Behemoth by Zhao Liang – Hong Kong | 2015 – 90 min.

Zhang Hanyi’s Life After Life won the top prize in the Young Cinema Competition.

Chinese director Zhang Hanyi’s Life After Life won the Firebird Award in the Young Cinema Competition at the 40th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Mar 21 – Apr 4).

Händl Klaus’ Tomcat received the Jury Prize in the same section, which aims to discover and honour budding filmmakers.

In the Documentary Competition, the Firebird Award went to Zhao Liang’s Behemoth while the Jury Prize was awarded to Vitaly Mansky’s Under The Sun.

In the Short Film Competition, Leonor Teles’ Batrachian’s Ballad won the Firebird Award and Pimpaka Towira’s Prelude To The General took the Jury Prize.

Thai filmmaker Towira also won the Fipresci Prize for her feature film The Island Funeral.

The Signis Award, which pays tribute to films with social and humanitarian concerns, was presented to Martin Zandvliet’s Land Of Mine, while [link=nm...

The organizers of the festival have announced the films that will compete for the Korean and International Section.

This year the Korean Competition will showcase 17 films (14 fictions, 1 experimental, 1 documentary and 1 animation) and the International Competition consists of 37 films (28 fictions, 5 documentaries, 3 experimental and 1 animation). The 33rd Busan International Short Film Festival (Bisff) will take place from April 22th to 26th at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan (South Korea). We will keep you updated as soon as more information about the films is available.

Korean Competition

Ga Hyang: a road of no return by Kim Youngjae (Fiction)

The Plants: Jakarta Monorail 103 by Park Yongseok (Experimental)

My fact_or_y by Park Koonje (Documentary)

New Rapids by Choi Jungmoon (Fiction)

iLuv by Park Junghwan (Fiction)

The Transfer Student by Park Jiin (Fiction)

Bargain by Lee Chunghyun (Fiction)

Seol-hee by Bae Yeonhee (Fiction)

Fangs by Shin Jonghun (Fiction)

Like soldiers, like children by...

Simply put, the SXSW Film, Music and Interactive Festival is one of the biggest, most prestigious events in the media calendar. Taking place annually in Austin, Texas, it is beloved by film fans and filmmakers from all over the world, and has reached such heights by building a reputation for showcasing excellent content. This results in a high level of competition, with the Narrative Feature category alone having received 1442 submissions this year, and the documentary feature category having received 1,013.

The 2016 event looks to be particularly exciting, with many world premieres and feature debuts already announced. The Narrative Feature category will include Julia Hart’s Miss Stevens, Debra Eisenstadt’s Before The Sun Explodes, Joey Klein’s The Other Half, and Musa Syeed’s A Stray, among others, while the Headliner category will feature Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some.

The Narrative Spotlight category includes 9 Rides by Matthew A. Cherry; The Waiting...

The CineMart 2016 awards have been announced marking the close of the 33rd edition of the co-production market. German production "Berlin Alexanderplatz" was awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000, which is given to a project presented by a European producer. Colombian production "Birds of Passage" was awarded the €6,000 Arte International Prize and the Wouter Barendrecht Award went to Christopher Radcliff’s new project "The Strange Ones." The prize of €5,000 is given by the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation. The jury for the Arte and Eurimages awards is comprised of the Netherlands Film Fund’s Dorien van de Pas, producer Annamaria Lodato and Fabien Westerhoff, head of international licensing, production and finance company Ffwd (formerly with Hanway and WestEnd). The Wouter Barendrecht Award is decided on by representatives of the Wouter Barendrecht Film Foundation, Nelleke and Ellis Driessen.

CineMart selected 25 international projects to participate in the four day event which has been one of the most successful in recent years. Multiple conferences and panels covering topics ranging from “Making the most of a film festival” to “The Micro-Budget Talent Programmes” were held in front of packed audiences who were invited to be involved in the debates and receive advice. Mike S. Ryan (Greyshack Films), Michael Weber (The Match Factory), Winnie Lau (Jettone Films Ltd) and Bero Beyer (Director Iffr) discussing ‘The Creative Thunder of Cinema’ proved one of the highlights of Iffr 2016.

On making the announcement, Head of Industry and CineMart, Marit van den Elshout commented: “This year’s line-up was exceptional and inspiring. I speak on behalf of the entire team when I say that we could not be more proud – we have seen so many great projects, and so many talented teams behind them, the winners really exemplify this. I am also pleased to say that we hosted multiple extremely well attended panels and conversations, discussing the current state and possible future of the cinema that we love and cherish in Rotterdam.”

This year’s Eurimages Co-Production Development Award winner, "Berlin Alexanderplatz" by Burhan Qurbani (Germany) is a Sommerhaus Filmproduktion production. On the jury’s decision, Dorien van de Pas commented: “The project gives us a new and relevant view on a classic piece. The talented director has already made several films about urgent and relevant topics, that currently affect all our countries. Here he will combine elements of genre film with more political and emotional layers, which makes it accessible for a younger audience. The project leads to an ideal co-production scenario and the money of this award will be well employed for casting and further development.”

The Arte International Prize winner is "Birds of Passage" (Colombia) by Ciro Guerra, who is currently nominated for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award for "Embrace of the Serpent," produced by Ciudad Lunar Producciones and Blond Indian Films. On presenting the award, Annemaria Lodato commented: “We decided to give the Arte International Prize to a young South American filmmaker who has already produced a strong and convincing body of work. The project takes us into the heart of an indigenous community, a time and place never explored on screen.”

The Wouter Barendrecht Award winner is "The Strange Ones" (USA), directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, produced by Sébastien Aubert. "Mysterious events surround the travels of two brothers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to something more complex, dark, and potentially deadly." On presenting the award Managing Director of Fortissimo Films, Nelleke Driessen commented: “The short film on which this film project is based, convinced the jury of the potential for the feature. We trust that the makers will succeed to translate this apparent simple story into an intriguing, multi layered psychological thriller.”

Hbf+Europe Distribution Support for International Co-productions

Next to these awards, Iffr’s Hubert Bals Fund is proud to announce the first selection of its brand-new distribution scheme: Hbf+Europe Distribution Support for International Co-productions. The scheme is designed to boost the distribution of internationally co-produced films from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

The Hbf is pleased to announce that the first Hbf+Europe Distribution grant of 20.000 Euro has been awarded to Heretic Outreach from Greece to support the distribution of "Babai" by Visar Morina (Kosovo, Germany, Macedonia and France) in Greece, Bulgaria and Egypt.

Full selection list for CineMart 2016:

"The Announcement" - Mahmut Fazil Coskun - Turkey/Bulgaria - Filmotto Production/The Chouchkov Brothers "Berlin Alexanderplatz" - Burhan Qurbani - Germany - Sommerhaus Filmproduktion GmbH "Birds of Passage" - Ciro Guerra - Colombia - Ciudad Lunar/Blond Indian Films "Bloody Marie" - Guido van Driel - the Netherlands/Germany - Family Affair Films/Schiwago Film GmbH "Bootlegger" - Caroline Monnet - Canada - Microclimat Films "Dark Room" - Itamar Alcalay - Israel/Germany - Lama Films/Komplizen Film "The Devil Outside" - Andrew Hulme - UK - Ipso Facto Productions "Is this What You Were Born For?" - Radu Jude - Romania - Hi Film Productions "Jessica" - Ninja Thyberg - Sweden - Plattform Produktion "The Last Harem" - Maryam Keshavarz - France/Portugal - Neon Productions/ Ítaca Films/MaraKesh Films (Art:Film) "The Notebooks" - Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige - Lebanon/France - Abbout Productions "Over the City" - Emir Baigazin - Kazakhstan/Germany - Emir Baigazin Production/Augenschein Filmproduktion "Pompei" - John Shank, Anna Falguères - Belgium/Italy - Tarantula/Solaria Film "Rafaël" - Ben Sombogaart - the Netherlands/Italy/Belgium/Tunisia - Rinkel Film/Verdeoro/Entre Chien et Loup/Nomadis Images/Cinetelefilms "Sick, Sick, Sick" - Alice Furtado - Brazil - Estúdio Giz/Oceano "Slam" - Partho Sen-Gupta - Australia - Invisible Republic "Sleep." - Jan-Willem van Ewijk - the Netherlands - Waterland Film/Propellor Film "The Strange Ones" - Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein - France/USA - Adastra Films "Teenage Jesus" - Marie Grahtø - Denmark - Beofilm "Under the Sun" - Qiu Yang - France/China - House on Fire/Colorful Age Culture & Media "Der Unschuldige" - Simon Jaquemet - Switzerland - 8Horses "Ursa Major"- Benjamin Crotty - USA/France - AgX/Les Films du Bal "Vikings" - Daniel Hoesl - Austria - Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH "Wild Princess" - Ester Martin Bergsmark - Sweden - Garagefilm International (Art:Film) "What if Women Ruled the World?" - Yael Bartana - UK - Jacqui Davies Limited...

A Chet Baker biopic starring Ethan Hawke, a Las Vegas drug thriller co-starring Nicolas Cage and Sky Ferreira and a Korean documentary about karaoke addiction are just three of the several dozen movies that SXSW added to their previously announced lineup Tuesday. Famous for premiering both huge blockbusters (Bridesmaids) and beloved indies (Short Term 12), the 2016 edition of Austin's premiere pop culture showcase highlights a wide variety of potential breakout hits.

The Narrative Feature Competition culls 10 world premieres from a list of 1,442 different movies. In Miss Stevens, the directorial debut...