Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
The African Desperate (Martine Syms)
Early into Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Mfa finalist Palace (Diamond Stingily) sits for her last exam in an upstate New York art school tucked deep in the woods. It’s the end of a three-year voyage, the kind of moment that should trigger swaths of pride and relief. But Palace, a Black student in an exceedingly white college, is frustrated, tired, on the verge of a breakdown. Her art has already shown at the Venice Biennale, a feat her all-Caucasian examiners don’t really know how to respond to. Even after they christen her a Master of Fine Arts, the mix of animosity and envy lingers acridly in the room. “There are lots of female artists...
The African Desperate (Martine Syms)
Early into Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Mfa finalist Palace (Diamond Stingily) sits for her last exam in an upstate New York art school tucked deep in the woods. It’s the end of a three-year voyage, the kind of moment that should trigger swaths of pride and relief. But Palace, a Black student in an exceedingly white college, is frustrated, tired, on the verge of a breakdown. Her art has already shown at the Venice Biennale, a feat her all-Caucasian examiners don’t really know how to respond to. Even after they christen her a Master of Fine Arts, the mix of animosity and envy lingers acridly in the room. “There are lots of female artists...
- 10/21/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Emelie Mahdavian didn’t set out to subvert the tropes of the campfire western. The documentary filmmaker (Sundance 2019 entry “Midnight Traveler”) had been living off-grid for three years near Mackay Idaho, reviving a local independent cinema with her husband. She’d been looking for a way to explore the rural residents’ relationship to the land when she met Hollyn Patterson, a woman who cowboyed for a living. When she heard Patterson planned a cattle drive that summer with a friend, Colie Moline, Mahdavian talked the two women into letting her shoot it.
The result was “Bitterbrush,” which debuted at Telluride and makes its way to PVOD today. (Magnolia gave it a week’s head start in theaters.) From the start, Mahdavian was forced to confront her assumptions about cowboys. She found Patterson to be “weirdly stylish,” and both women are not only skilled horse and dog trainers who grew up on the range,...
The result was “Bitterbrush,” which debuted at Telluride and makes its way to PVOD today. (Magnolia gave it a week’s head start in theaters.) From the start, Mahdavian was forced to confront her assumptions about cowboys. She found Patterson to be “weirdly stylish,” and both women are not only skilled horse and dog trainers who grew up on the range,...
- 6/24/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Bitterbrush (Emelie Mahdavian)
Watch an exclusive clip above.
While they don’t know it yet, this is, for friends Colie Moline and Hollyn Patterson, the end of five years range riding together in the American Pacific Northwest. It’s also their most comfortable after trading the usual camper for an old cabin this summer. With only themselves and a crew of herd dogs for assistance, they take to the Idahoan plains in search of the beef cattle and calves they’ve been contracted to reclaim. The work is tiring and tenuous in consistency, but also spiritually and physically rewarding—if not financially. Colie and Hollyn have grown close: an easy rapport and trust that allows director Emelie Mahdavian (and us) a glimpse into their personal lives,...
Bitterbrush (Emelie Mahdavian)
Watch an exclusive clip above.
While they don’t know it yet, this is, for friends Colie Moline and Hollyn Patterson, the end of five years range riding together in the American Pacific Northwest. It’s also their most comfortable after trading the usual camper for an old cabin this summer. With only themselves and a crew of herd dogs for assistance, they take to the Idahoan plains in search of the beef cattle and calves they’ve been contracted to reclaim. The work is tiring and tenuous in consistency, but also spiritually and physically rewarding—if not financially. Colie and Hollyn have grown close: an easy rapport and trust that allows director Emelie Mahdavian (and us) a glimpse into their personal lives,...
- 6/24/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Mubi Go, which has helped buoy NYC’s arthouse market by offering members a free movie ticket a week at participating theaters, expands to LA today where the biz could really use a boost. The films are curated and the first is Apple’s Cha Cha Real Smooth.
Mubi, a global streaming service, production company and film distributor, launched Mubi Go in New York last fall and will continue expanding to major markets through 2022 with Chicago next. “We’re being very careful and methodical about the rollout,” said distribution chief Chris Wells.
Mubi members get Mubi Go as a perk. The company doesn’t release subscriber numbers but Wells said its NYC base jumped by 30 after it added Mubi Go.
Movie picks include its own releases, like Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, but mostly from other distributors from Drive My Car, The Power of the Dog and Passing to We’re...
Mubi, a global streaming service, production company and film distributor, launched Mubi Go in New York last fall and will continue expanding to major markets through 2022 with Chicago next. “We’re being very careful and methodical about the rollout,” said distribution chief Chris Wells.
Mubi members get Mubi Go as a perk. The company doesn’t release subscriber numbers but Wells said its NYC base jumped by 30 after it added Mubi Go.
Movie picks include its own releases, like Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, but mostly from other distributors from Drive My Car, The Power of the Dog and Passing to We’re...
- 6/17/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Though director Emelie Mahdavian planned some of the story structure for her latest film, Bitterbrush, well in advance, there was only so much she could anticipate when it came to making a documentary about two young female range riders responsible for hundreds of cattle over the course of one summer. Chasing the women with a camera as they rode on horseback around mountainous terrain in Idaho, filming them in a harsh snowstorm and encountering one character’s unexpected pregnancy ensued.
“There’s a certain leap of faith that you have to take whenever you’re making a film that is basically observational,” Mahdavian says. “You make a decision that the people are interesting and then you decide that if you stick around and listen to them, something will come about that’s interesting.”
Bitterbrush, which ended up as a feature-length film that premiered...
Though director Emelie Mahdavian planned some of the story structure for her latest film, Bitterbrush, well in advance, there was only so much she could anticipate when it came to making a documentary about two young female range riders responsible for hundreds of cattle over the course of one summer. Chasing the women with a camera as they rode on horseback around mountainous terrain in Idaho, filming them in a harsh snowstorm and encountering one character’s unexpected pregnancy ensued.
“There’s a certain leap of faith that you have to take whenever you’re making a film that is basically observational,” Mahdavian says. “You make a decision that the people are interesting and then you decide that if you stick around and listen to them, something will come about that’s interesting.”
Bitterbrush, which ended up as a feature-length film that premiered...
- 6/17/2022
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While they don’t know it yet, this is, for friends Colie Moline and Hollyn Patterson, the end of five years range riding together in the American Pacific Northwest. It’s also their most comfortable after trading the usual camper for an old cabin this summer. With only themselves and a crew of herd dogs for assistance, they take to the Idahoan plains in search of the beef cattle and calves they’ve been contracted to reclaim. The work is tiring and tenuous in consistency, but also spiritually and physically rewarding—if not financially. Colie and Hollyn have grown close: an easy rapport and trust that allows director Emelie Mahdavian (and us) a glimpse into their personal lives, thoughts, and aspirations. It’s western living sans artifice.
Accordingly, Bitterbrush won’t be for everyone. Beautiful landscapes and endearing lead duo aside, there’s not much here as far as narrative thrust beyond the task at-hand.
Accordingly, Bitterbrush won’t be for everyone. Beautiful landscapes and endearing lead duo aside, there’s not much here as far as narrative thrust beyond the task at-hand.
- 6/14/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Bitterbrush Trailer — Emelie Mahdavian‘s Bitterbrush (2021) movie trailer has been released by Magnolia Pictures. The Bitterbrush trailer stars Colie Moline and Hollyn Patterson. Crew Name wrote the screenplay for Bitterbrush. Curtiss Clayton and Emelie Mahdavian conducted the film editing for the film. Derek Howard and Alejandro Mejía crafted the cinematography for the film. Bitterbrush Trailer — [...]
Continue reading: Bitterbrush (2021) Movie Trailer: Emelie Mahdavian’s Doc on Two Lady Range Riders Herding Cattle in Idaho...
Continue reading: Bitterbrush (2021) Movie Trailer: Emelie Mahdavian’s Doc on Two Lady Range Riders Herding Cattle in Idaho...
- 5/11/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Two women, hundreds of cows, and one wide-open landscape: The documentary “Bitterbrush” follows cattle ranchers Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline as they spend their last summer herding cattle in remote Idaho. IndieWire exclusively premieres the trailer, below.
Off the grid with only their dogs (and horses and cows) as companions, Hollyn and Colie look toward their next steps, with dreams of owning their own ranch someday dwarfed by the money, tenacity, and grit necessary to fund their own futures.
Emelie Mahdavian (“After the Curtain”) directs the feature film, which premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival. “Bitterbrush” premieres in theaters on June 17, followed by a VOD release on June 24. The feature is distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
“Bitterbrush” was deemed an “under-the-radar documentary gem” by IndieWire’s Eric Kohn coming out of Telluride. Director Mahdavian’s non-fiction study of the stereotypical cowboy genre through the eyes of two cowgirls challenges the archetypes for the Western genre,...
Off the grid with only their dogs (and horses and cows) as companions, Hollyn and Colie look toward their next steps, with dreams of owning their own ranch someday dwarfed by the money, tenacity, and grit necessary to fund their own futures.
Emelie Mahdavian (“After the Curtain”) directs the feature film, which premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival. “Bitterbrush” premieres in theaters on June 17, followed by a VOD release on June 24. The feature is distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
“Bitterbrush” was deemed an “under-the-radar documentary gem” by IndieWire’s Eric Kohn coming out of Telluride. Director Mahdavian’s non-fiction study of the stereotypical cowboy genre through the eyes of two cowgirls challenges the archetypes for the Western genre,...
- 5/10/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The red desert and horses draw from a familiar playbook, but almost everything else in Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” upends expectations. The writer-director’s triumphant first feature in 12 years transforms Thomas Savage’s novel into a riveting and immersive study of Western motifs, along with the boundaries that have limited it for generations. She’s on brand and on schedule: Campion is the kind of visionary auteur who deserves to work at her own pace, and “The Power of the Dog” arrives as the Western faces fresh scrutiny through a slew of new works.
Returning to the sexual inquisitiveness of “The Piano” and “Sweetie,” the New Zealand filmmaker uses the ambiguous dynamic between her characters to build a tapestry rich with thematic implications (read Anne Thompson’s interview with the director here). Though ranch owner Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) initially bullies the openly gay Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee...
Returning to the sexual inquisitiveness of “The Piano” and “Sweetie,” the New Zealand filmmaker uses the ambiguous dynamic between her characters to build a tapestry rich with thematic implications (read Anne Thompson’s interview with the director here). Though ranch owner Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) initially bullies the openly gay Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee...
- 9/7/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
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