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Although Iran continues to hold the sceptres in the region as its largest movie industry, the cinema of other countries from the region finds an increasing numbers of way out, with Kazakhstan’s genre movies for example. At the same time, festivals all around the world continue to nurture movies from the region, whose approach is definitely of independent style, but not exactly arthouse, at least not all the time. “Songs of Adam” and “Seed of the Sacred Fig” definitely stood out this year due to their quality, just like “Sima’s Song” and “From Ground Zero” did for their significance

Without further ado, here are the best West-Central Asian (rest of Asia one could say) films of 2024, in random order. Some films may have premiered in 2023, but since they mostly circulated in 2024, we decided to include them.

15. Dastur

One of the reasons “Dastur” fared so well at the domestic...

UK sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has sold key territories on Damian McCarthy’s Oddity after a lengthy festival run.

The film has sold to France (Mediawan), Germany (Tiberius Film), Scandinavia (Night Visions Distribution), Spain (Yoda Films), Italy (Plaion Pictures), Benelux (Premiere TV), Greece (Rosebud.21), Portugal (Vendetta Filmes), Brazil (O2 Filmes) and Latin America ex. Brazil (Cine Video).

It has also sold to Poland (M2 Films), Czech Republic and Slovakia (BontonFilm), Eastern Europe (Ads Service), Middle East (Falcon Films), Vietnam (Beta Media), Indonesia (Jaikon Media), Philippines (Pioneer Films), India (BigTree Entertainment), and Thailand (Night Edge Pictures). Turkey and...

DC Comics superheroes will be delivering justice in James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted cinematic universe, but they'll be doing it on their own, at least for now. The new Dcu has been the target of countless rumors and false reports as Gunn has revealed several new upcoming projects in the franchise. DC Studios recently announced some new projects, including a Bane/Deathstroke crossover film, a Dick Grayson/Jason Todd animated movie, and a live-action Teen Titans film (finally!). Thanks in part to the latter team-up project, and the already-announced heroes appearing in the new Dcu, fans assumed that DC Studios already had plans to make a Justice League movie, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Taking on Threads, James Gunn played his favorite pastime of calling out the blatantly false rumors about the new DC Universe. In the past, the director and co-president of DC Studios...

The DC Universe has a knack for making movies with some brilliant performances, though not every great actor in the franchise is given their dues for a phenomenal character portrayal. It's easy to recall some of the DC Universe's best movie performances, with Christian Bale's Batman, Heath Ledger's Joker, and Christopher Reeves' Superman all coming to mind in the conversation. However, there are just as many unsung heroes of the various DC cinematic universes that never got the recognition they deserved for their fantastic character work.

Actors working under the DC banner have been unfairly glossed over for several reasons. Sometimes, the characters they played were undercut by choices that were no fault of the actor playing them, such as editing, writing, or even wardrobe and makeup. In other cases, their performances are simply overlooked because of the fact that they're overshadowed by other Oscar-winning DC character performances in the same movie,...

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) has selected 10 world premieres for its Critics’ Picks section, including titles from Italy, Bhutan and Kazakhstan.

Three of the features hail from Italy, including Vincenzo Alfieri’s crime thriller The Body, in which an inspector begins to question whether the businesswoman whose death he is investigating is really dead.

Scroll down for the full list of Tallinn Critics’ Picks titles

Starring Claudia Gerini and Giuseppe Battiston, it is produced by Roberto Proia with Columbia Pictures Industries handling world sales.

The section will open with Paolo Marinou-Blanco’s Dreaming Of Lions, which was previously presented...

There’s no question Carrie Coon broke out with HBO series “The Leftovers.” Landing that role was a big deal for the actress. “I had little on-camera work up to that point,” she told IndieWire over Zoom. “I had done some commercial work in Chicago. I had done one guest star on ‘The Playboy Club,’ with Laura Benanti. I didn’t have that much on-camera experience.”

But a Tony nomination for her performance as Honey in Steppenwolf’s 2012 production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opened doors to meetings with casting directors — and her husband Tracy Letts. Ellen Lewis had Coon in for an audition. “I met with Damon [Lindelof],” said Coon. “I shot the pilot, which was only one speech, and then I went off and did ‘Gone Girl,’ which I also booked off a tape in my living room. I went through David Fincher boot camp. [‘The Leftovers’] was my first series regular job.

Exclusive: UK-based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to Frontières Cannes 2024 project Above The Knee and Australian horror flick Baal.

Both films are set to debut at Beyond Fest 2024. Above The Knee is a Norwegian thriller. The film follows Amir, whose life with his beautiful girlfriend looks perfect but in reality, he is harboring a dark secret he knows no one will understand – ever since he can remember he has felt his left leg doesn’t belong to him. Plagued with visions of a rotting leg that must be amputated, he becomes determined to rid himself of this alien limb, whatever the cost may be. The film was written and directed by Viljar Bøe, and produced by Karl Oskar Åsli and Marie Waade Grønning. Lead actors Freddy Singh and Anders Fløysand also serve as executive producers.

Baal follows Grace, who returns to her small hometown...

U.K.-based Blue Finch Films has acquired worldwide rights to the supernatural horror film “A Mother’s Embrace” from director Cristian Ponce.

Set in 1996, the story follows Ana, a young firefighter responding to an emergency at a retirement home during Rio de Janeiro’s worst storm. As her team attempts to evacuate the elderly residents, Ana uncovers sinister undercurrents and must confront her own past trauma to escape.

The film marks Ponce’s second feature, following “History of the Occult,” which won awards at Mar del Plata. He co-wrote the screenplay with Gabriela Capello and André Pereira. Pereira and Mariana Muniz produced through their Lupa Filmes banner.

Brazilian actor Marjorie Estiano, known for her International Emmy-nominated role in Globo’s “Under Pressure” and Locarno winner “Good Manners,” stars alongside Chandelly Braz and Javier Drolas.

Ponce said: “For me, the idea of evil based on the presumption of good was very important.

U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has acquired worldwide rights to Indonesian horror film “The Draft!” ahead of its international premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest.

Directed by Yusron Fuadi, the film follows five college students who spend a weekend at a remote villa, only to find themselves battling a powerful dark force. The project aims to subvert familiar horror tropes in its take on the cabin-in-the-woods subgenre.

Fuadi wrote the script alongside Anindita Suryarasmi, with Richard Hames Halstead and B.W. Purba Negara as co-writers. Munandar Aji and Fani Pramuditya serve as producers.

“‘The Draft!’ is my love letter to horror, sci-fi and fantasy film,” Fuadi said. “Being a love letter, naturally I put all my passion, anger, lust, protest and obsession to this slightly underrated and somewhat overdone genre.”

Mike Chapman of Blue Finch Films called the film “a thoroughly imaginative and original entry to...

Arrow Films has acquired Kazakh thriller Steppenwolf for the US, UK and Canada from UK-based Blue Finch Films, ahead of its North American premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival.

The feature was written and directed by Kazakhstan’s Adilkhan Yerzhanov, whose credits include The Owners and The Gentle Indifference Of The World, which played at Cannes in 2014 and 2018 respectively.

His latest follows a mother, played by Anna Starchenko, who is searching for her missing son in a small town consumed by riots and violence. In an act of desperation, she hires a dubious ex-detective, played by Berik Aitzhanov, who employs...

U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has secured worldwide rights to “Zero,” an action thriller directed by Jean Luc Herbulot, known for his 2021 TIFF Midnight Madness selection “Saloum.”

The film has been selected for Sitges Film Festival’s first wave, with additional festival announcements expected.

“Zero” follows two Americans who awaken in Senegal with explosive devices attached to their bodies and a 10-hour deadline to uncover the reason. Guided by a mysterious voice on the phone, they must complete a series of tasks that inadvertently cause chaos in Dakar. Against a backdrop of growing anti-Western sentiment, the protagonists race against time for survival and redemption.

The screenplay was co-written by Herbulot and Hus Miller, with Miller also producing alongside Paméla Diop, Steven Adams and Gary Dourdan. The cast includes Miller, Cam McHarg, Moran Rosenblatt, Roger Sallah and Dourdan.

Herbulot said: “I have always admired Sergio Leone’s Westerns,...

The 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has launched its entire program for the Aug. 15-21 event, where it will screen 37 new feature films and 18 world premieres.

Ten world premieres will compete for the new Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence as the fest showcases talent from filmmakers in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Mexico, Norway, China, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Iran and beyond. Screenings will take place in the heart of Scotland’s picturesque capital at some of the city’s most iconic venues including Cameo Cinema, Summerhall, and 50 George Square.

Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, starring Saoirse Ronan, was previously confirmed as the Fest’s opening night film, with the world premiere of Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands set to close. Its Midnight Madness strand will close with the body horror The Substance, starring Demi Moore.