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It is often through specific places and memories that we try and re-connect with our past, a chance encounter or perhaps a missed opportunity, However, as these concepts change, we are often left disappointed when comparing what we associate with the place to the way it is in reality, and how it has been shaped by time and people over the years. This is one of the themes which is at the core of Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s feature “Hill of Freedom”, which premiered during the 71st Venice Film Festival and also won Best Film at the 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Award. Combining his sense of place and realism, which is a common feature in his body of work, Hong Sang-soo tells a story about a man who is trying to re-connect with a past love in a place that was once very special to both of them,...

Grasshopper Film has acquired U.S. rights to Camilo Restrepo’s critically acclaimed feature debut, “Los Conductos,” which won the best first film award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

“Los Conductos” — represented in international markets by Brussels-based Best Friend Forever — was expected to have its North American premiere at New Directors/New Films but the festival was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. The movie world-premiered as part of the Berlinale’s new competitive section Encounters.

Exploring the shattered psyche of a man on the run, “Los Conductos” is a Spanish-language film set in Medellin, Colombia, and loosely based on the true story of Pinky, who freed himself from the grip of a religious sect and gets a job in a T-shirt factory. Misled by his own faith, he tries to to get his life back on track, but is haunted by the violent memories of his past.

The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.

“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”

Available today, Projectr will function as both a...

The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.

“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”

Available today, Projectr will function as both a...

This is the biggest weekend yet for new movies. Not only are more cinemas re-opening nationwide, but three relatively huge titles from big-name directors — Judd Apatow, Spike Lee and Kenneth Branagh — find their way straight to streaming as well, offering movie buffs myriad options to feed their appetite.

The largest of these new releases is “The King of Staten Island,” which was supposed to open the SXSW Film Festival back in March, until that event was canceled by the coronavirus outbreak. Universal has since decided to go the same “home premiere” route that it did with “Trolls World Tour,” pricing digital rentals at $19.99.

But the movie of the moment is Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” which coincides with nationwide demonstrations over the death of George Floyd. The drama interweaves the largely untold story of Black servicemen in the Vietnam War with a modern-day adventure plot, as four veterans return...

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.

Ad Astra (James Gray)

A testament to the immaculate scope that can be realized when a director with a specific vision is given the resources to convey it, Ad Astra is a masterclass in detail. In this Brad Pitt-led story of a space odyssey, one gets the sense that every miniscule touch was carefully considered, culminating in the most purely pleasurable time I had at a theater last year (a feeling invigorated by one of the biggest IMAX screens in the world). The nearly indescribable sensations Gray is able to conjure by going for more subdued grace notes make the awe-inspiring moments all the more sublime.

"Shall we drink anyway?" The Cinema Guild has released an official Us trailer for yet another Hong Sang-soo film titled Yourself and Yours, which first premiered at the Toronto & San Sebastian Film Festivals in 2016. This is the third Hong Sang-soo film being released this year along with Hill of Freedom and The Woman Who Ran. The story follows a couple that splits one night after an argument about the woman being seen with another man. The next day, she has a series of encounters with other men. But to them it seems she’s not herself... It's described as a "comic mystery" and "delightfully drunken riff on Abbas Kiarostami". Starring Ju-hyuk Kim, Yoo-Young Lee, Kwon Haehyo, Yu Junsang, and Kim Euisung, Yourself and Yours is a "pleasing puzzle full of mistaken identity, excessive drinking and lots of he-said, she-said. As the rumors pile up, Hong asks: In a relationship, how...