Spiders rank high among the iconic symbols of Halloween thanks to endless seasonal décor and their superstitious association with witches. Still, the eight-legged arachnids are frequently considered the scariest thanks to the prevalent fear of them. Spiders tend to elicit a reaction.
Most people go out of their way to avoid the eight-legged creatures, whether due to full-blown arachnophobia or just a mild unease. This week’s streaming picks capture the primal terror that spiders evoke; if you’re not arachnophobic now, these five movies might instill a new fear.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Arachnophobia – Tubi
The pinnacle of arachnophobia-based horror revolves around an arachnophobe protagonist forced to confront his fears in the worst possible way when the small town he’s just moved his family to is invaded by a new species of spider. A...
Most people go out of their way to avoid the eight-legged creatures, whether due to full-blown arachnophobia or just a mild unease. This week’s streaming picks capture the primal terror that spiders evoke; if you’re not arachnophobic now, these five movies might instill a new fear.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Arachnophobia – Tubi
The pinnacle of arachnophobia-based horror revolves around an arachnophobe protagonist forced to confront his fears in the worst possible way when the small town he’s just moved his family to is invaded by a new species of spider. A...
- 10/23/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Eurimages have announced their second wave of projects receiving some co-production funding coin. Among the filmmakers and projects that caught our eye on we find Olla filmmaker Ariane Labed‘s feature debut Sisters (an Irish-uk-Germany-Greece production) landing €350,000. This is an English-language adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s novel which follows two sisters who move to the countryside with their maniac depressive mother. Can’t wait for the casting on this one. Fauve filmmaker Jérémy Comte landed some significant coin for his debut as well for Paradise (a Canada-France production) which is expected to move into production late this year. Most Beautiful Island (2017) filmmaker Ana Asensio finally mounts her sophomore project in Goat Girl (a Spanish-Romanian production).…...
- 7/4/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
New projects from Cherien Dabis, Anders Thomas Jensen and Ameer Fakher Eldin have also been awarded
Ariane Labed’s feature-directing debut Sisters is among the 33 projects to receive funding from Eurimages second wave of 2023 co-production funding.
The French-Greek actor’s feature directing debut received €350,000 from the €9.7m pot. The Ireland, UK, Germany and Greece co-production is produced by Ireland’s Element Pictures. An English-language adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s gothic novel of the same name it follows two sisters who move to the countryside with their maniac depressive mother. Labed previously directed short film Olla which won three awards at...
Ariane Labed’s feature-directing debut Sisters is among the 33 projects to receive funding from Eurimages second wave of 2023 co-production funding.
The French-Greek actor’s feature directing debut received €350,000 from the €9.7m pot. The Ireland, UK, Germany and Greece co-production is produced by Ireland’s Element Pictures. An English-language adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s gothic novel of the same name it follows two sisters who move to the countryside with their maniac depressive mother. Labed previously directed short film Olla which won three awards at...
- 7/4/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Indie director-producer Chadd Harbold has been appointed as Head of Production at Post Film, the burgeoning independent film production and finance company led by Russ Posternak.
Harbold’s new role will have him overseeing all aspects of production for the company’s upcoming slate of films, while developing new projects for it to produce and/or finance.
Harbold’s feature producing credits include Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award; Shout! Studios’ upcoming sci-fi drama Linoleum, starring Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn; and the crime drama South of Heaven, starring Jason Sudeikis and Evangeline Lilly, as well as Post Film’s The Wrath of Becky, the sequel to its 2020 box office-topping indie action-thriller Becky, which is set to premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.
Titles directed by Harbold include the thriller Private Property, starring Ashley Benson and Shiloh Fernandez, which...
Harbold’s new role will have him overseeing all aspects of production for the company’s upcoming slate of films, while developing new projects for it to produce and/or finance.
Harbold’s feature producing credits include Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award; Shout! Studios’ upcoming sci-fi drama Linoleum, starring Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn; and the crime drama South of Heaven, starring Jason Sudeikis and Evangeline Lilly, as well as Post Film’s The Wrath of Becky, the sequel to its 2020 box office-topping indie action-thriller Becky, which is set to premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.
Titles directed by Harbold include the thriller Private Property, starring Ashley Benson and Shiloh Fernandez, which...
- 2/7/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Top Spanish arthouse distributor-producer Avalon had boarded “La niña de la cabra” (“Goat Girl”), the sophomore film by actor-director Ana Asensio whose “Most Beautiful Island” feature snagged the SXSW Grand Jury Award in 2017.
The project, which has just earned support from Spain’s Icaa film institute, is set up at Aquí y Allí Films and co-produced with Romania’s Avantpost Media. Pedro Hernández’s Aquí y Allí Films is the producer behind Antonio Méndez Esparza’s festival hits “Here and There,” a Cannes Critics’ Week winner, and “Life and Nothing More.”
An allegorical drama set in the suburbs of Madrid in the late ’80s, “Goat Girl” is scheduled to roll in 2023 and has been acquired for international sales by Paris-based Alpha Violet.
Both Avalon and Aquí y Allí share a close relationship since they teamed on Carlos Vermut’s “Magical Girl,” which scooped San Sebastian’s Golden Shell in 2016, distribution...
The project, which has just earned support from Spain’s Icaa film institute, is set up at Aquí y Allí Films and co-produced with Romania’s Avantpost Media. Pedro Hernández’s Aquí y Allí Films is the producer behind Antonio Méndez Esparza’s festival hits “Here and There,” a Cannes Critics’ Week winner, and “Life and Nothing More.”
An allegorical drama set in the suburbs of Madrid in the late ’80s, “Goat Girl” is scheduled to roll in 2023 and has been acquired for international sales by Paris-based Alpha Violet.
Both Avalon and Aquí y Allí share a close relationship since they teamed on Carlos Vermut’s “Magical Girl,” which scooped San Sebastian’s Golden Shell in 2016, distribution...
- 9/26/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Enrique Buleo’s “Still Life With Ghost,” Ana Asensio’s “The Goat Girl,” Gala Gracia’s “The Remnants of You” and Esteban Alenda Bros.’ “There Is Evil” are some of the film projects pitched at the spotlight event on Spanish cinema at Cannes’ Producers Network on Friday May 20.
Five Spanish production companies– Un Capricho de Producciones, Quatre Films Audiovisuales, Potenza Producciones, Aquí y Allí Films and Solita Films – were selected by Spain’s trade promotion board Icex and the Icaa film institute to pitch their production slates at the Marché du Film event.
As part of the Production Day, which kicked off with the Producers Network, the five Spanish producers made a video pitch with their projects – the main part of them at development stage – to encourage international partnerships with co-producers and sales agents.
Comedy is the predominant genre among the feature projects selected.
In the evening, 25 Spanish producers will...
Five Spanish production companies– Un Capricho de Producciones, Quatre Films Audiovisuales, Potenza Producciones, Aquí y Allí Films and Solita Films – were selected by Spain’s trade promotion board Icex and the Icaa film institute to pitch their production slates at the Marché du Film event.
As part of the Production Day, which kicked off with the Producers Network, the five Spanish producers made a video pitch with their projects – the main part of them at development stage – to encourage international partnerships with co-producers and sales agents.
Comedy is the predominant genre among the feature projects selected.
In the evening, 25 Spanish producers will...
- 5/20/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Larry Fessenden has been instrumental in the evolution and popularity of indie horror, not only through his own directorial efforts via Glass Eye Pix, but by supporting diverse and unique voices as well. Over nearly four decades, Larry Fessenden and Glass Eye Pix have amassed an incredible portfolio of features, shorts, and animation, and it will all be highlighted at in New York at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) March 30 through April 19. Featuring an in-person and online program, we have all the details on the special events and screenings, including the premiere of Jack Fessenden's Foxhole!
"Glass Eye Pix, the New York independent production shingle headed by art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden, is pleased to announce that a retrospective of 26 feature films along with numerous shorts, animations, and early works created during its 37 years of operation, is being presented by The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) March 30 through April...
"Glass Eye Pix, the New York independent production shingle headed by art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden, is pleased to announce that a retrospective of 26 feature films along with numerous shorts, animations, and early works created during its 37 years of operation, is being presented by The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) March 30 through April...
- 3/25/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
The career of Larry Fessenden and Glass Eye Pix, names synomonous with independent genre film, will be celebrated at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) from the end of March through to April 19th. A champion of independant horror cinema for 37 years now, we've long been fans of Fessenden's films and the directors he has brought into the Glass Eye Pix fold in that time. The retrospective will present a run of 26 feature length films, films made by the likes of Ti West, Jim Mickle, Jenn Wexler, Ana Asensio, Mickey Keating, Graham Reznick and Glenn McQuaid. Films made by Fessenden and his son, Jack, will also be part of the retrospective. Jack's second film, Foxhole, will have it's New York Premier during...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/24/2022
- Screen Anarchy
I've been raving about Tales From Beyond the Pale to anyone who will listen and I'm so glad to see their release of regular new content in the form of Tales From Beyond the Pale, The Podcast. Just in time for Valentine's Day, the podcast is back with a new episode, Die Sleeping My Sweet, by Glenn McQuaid, and next week sees the release of Who Killed Johnny Bernard? from Larry Fessenden.
We have the official press release and artwork below. To listen now and learn more, visit:
http://talesfrombeyondthepale.com/
Press Release: Tales From Beyond The Pale, The Podcast, which has been presenting new and archived content every week since October 10, 2019, is pleased to offer two brand new episodes starting with a particularly ghoulish Valentine’s Day offering, Die Sleeping My Sweet by Glenn McQuaid, dropping Thursday February 13th. The following week, Tales The Podcast celebrates its 20th episode...
We have the official press release and artwork below. To listen now and learn more, visit:
http://talesfrombeyondthepale.com/
Press Release: Tales From Beyond The Pale, The Podcast, which has been presenting new and archived content every week since October 10, 2019, is pleased to offer two brand new episodes starting with a particularly ghoulish Valentine’s Day offering, Die Sleeping My Sweet by Glenn McQuaid, dropping Thursday February 13th. The following week, Tales The Podcast celebrates its 20th episode...
- 2/13/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
One of my all-time favorite horror events was experiencing a live performance of Tales from Beyond the Pale at the Overlook Film Festival in 2016. Such an incredible amount of work is put into these horror audio dramas from the cast, sound engineer, and especially series creators Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid. If they announce any new live performances, it's absolutely worth your time to make a trip to see it, but they're giving horror fans the ability to listen to new horror audio dramas from the comfort of their home every week.
Today, we have details on the launch of a a weekly Tales from Beyond the Pale podcast that will see a mix of new stories with content from their archives, featuring an impressive cast of horror talent. Starring Clay McLeod Chapman and Larry Fessenden, the first release is a brand new audio drama called Reappraisal that will be available on multiple podcast providers,...
Today, we have details on the launch of a a weekly Tales from Beyond the Pale podcast that will see a mix of new stories with content from their archives, featuring an impressive cast of horror talent. Starring Clay McLeod Chapman and Larry Fessenden, the first release is a brand new audio drama called Reappraisal that will be available on multiple podcast providers,...
- 10/9/2019
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Odds are if you're a fan of independent genre films, you've probably come into contact with Jenn Wexler's work at one point or another. A longtime fan of horror, Wexler began her career as a producer for Glass Eye Pix, where she oversaw such projects as Mickey Keating's Darling, Robert Mockler's Like Me, Ana Asensio's Most Beautiful Island,…...
- 5/5/2019
- by Kalyn Corrigan
- JoBlo.com
One of the producers on the 2013 Sundance entry We Are What We Are, Bolivian filmmaker Rodrigo Bellott was his country’s foreign film category entry with Sexual Dependency a decade prior. Flash-forward to 2017 a personal story, that served as the basis for a book and then feature film. Starring Rossy de Palma, Rick Cosnett, Ana Asensio and Oscar Martinez, a U.S, Mexican and Bolivian co-production Tu Me Manques was shot last summer in New York and Bolivia.
Gist: Oscar Martinez plays a wealthy man from Bolivia with old school values, who learns about his gay son’s recent suicide in the U.S.…...
Gist: Oscar Martinez plays a wealthy man from Bolivia with old school values, who learns about his gay son’s recent suicide in the U.S.…...
- 11/23/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
"Each year, millions visit our national parks. Not everyone gets to leave." Jenn Wexler's The Ranger has been creating some genre buzz on its festival circuit, and soon it could be coming to a city near you, as theatrical release dates for New York City and Los Angeles have now been revealed, along with a tense new clip.
The Ranger will be released theatrically at New York's IFC Center on August 17th, followed by a September 7th release at Los Angeles' Laemmle Music Hall. Below, we have additional details on the new slasher film from Glass Eye Pix and Hood River Entertainment, as well as a new clip:
"After a run-in with the cops at a punk show goes sideways, Chelsea and her pals flee the city in search of a place to lay low. Running to the security of Chelsea's old, abandoned family cabin in the woods,...
The Ranger will be released theatrically at New York's IFC Center on August 17th, followed by a September 7th release at Los Angeles' Laemmle Music Hall. Below, we have additional details on the new slasher film from Glass Eye Pix and Hood River Entertainment, as well as a new clip:
"After a run-in with the cops at a punk show goes sideways, Chelsea and her pals flee the city in search of a place to lay low. Running to the security of Chelsea's old, abandoned family cabin in the woods,...
- 8/7/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Slasher films are a dime a dozen nowadays, so it’s always a treat when one gets released. There were high hopes walking into Jenn Wexler‘s The Ranger because of the pedigree behind it. The film is the directorial debut of Wexler, who has produced such horror gems as Mickey Keating’s Darling (my review) and Ana Asensio’s phenomenal Most Beautiful […]...
- 3/15/2018
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
The 33rd Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, March 3 in Los Angeles. The full winners list is below.
Best Feature
“Get Out”
Producers: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele
“Call Me by Your Name”
Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman
“The Florida Project”
Producers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou
“Lady Bird”
Producers: Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin
“The Rider”
Producers: Mollye Asher, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Chloé Zhao
Best Female Lead
Frances McDormand
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Salma Hayek
“Beatriz at Dinner”
Margot Robbie
“I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan
“Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima
“Oh Lucy!”
Regina Williams
“Life and Nothing More”
Best Male Lead
Timothée Chalamet
“Call Me by Your Name”
Harris Dickinson
“Beach Rats”
James Franco
“The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya
“Get Out...
Best Feature
“Get Out”
Producers: Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele
“Call Me by Your Name”
Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman
“The Florida Project”
Producers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou
“Lady Bird”
Producers: Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin
“The Rider”
Producers: Mollye Asher, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Chloé Zhao
Best Female Lead
Frances McDormand
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Salma Hayek
“Beatriz at Dinner”
Margot Robbie
“I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan
“Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima
“Oh Lucy!”
Regina Williams
“Life and Nothing More”
Best Male Lead
Timothée Chalamet
“Call Me by Your Name”
Harris Dickinson
“Beach Rats”
James Franco
“The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya
“Get Out...
- 3/4/2018
- by William Earl
- Indiewire
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.
The Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)
Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that South Korea will submit the as-yet-unreleased espionage thriller The Age of Shadows for Oscar consideration instead of Cannes hits The Handmaiden and The Wailing. Premiering out of competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, writer/director Jee-woon Kim’s return to Korean-language cinema after a brief stint in Hollywood with the Schwarzenegger-starrer The Last Stand...
The Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)
Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that South Korea will submit the as-yet-unreleased espionage thriller The Age of Shadows for Oscar consideration instead of Cannes hits The Handmaiden and The Wailing. Premiering out of competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, writer/director Jee-woon Kim’s return to Korean-language cinema after a brief stint in Hollywood with the Schwarzenegger-starrer The Last Stand...
- 1/5/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A woman working in low-wage jobs takes what looks like an easier gig involving wearing a black dress at a party in this award-winning drama
Spanish actor Ana Asensio multitasks as star, writer-director and producer of this arresting feature, a gritty, ominous thriller that’s winning awards on the festival and independent film circuit. Like a million other immigrants in New York City, Luciana (Asensio) feels she can’t go back to wherever she came from (hints are dropped about a tragic accident involving a child). But she’s not exactly thriving, working two or three cruddy low-wage jobs, from handing out flyers in the street while dressed as a chicken to babysitting bratty posh kids. Chicken-costume colleague Olga (Natasha Romanova) asks whether she could cover for her at an evening gig where all she has to do is stand around looking pretty at a party in a black dress,...
Spanish actor Ana Asensio multitasks as star, writer-director and producer of this arresting feature, a gritty, ominous thriller that’s winning awards on the festival and independent film circuit. Like a million other immigrants in New York City, Luciana (Asensio) feels she can’t go back to wherever she came from (hints are dropped about a tragic accident involving a child). But she’s not exactly thriving, working two or three cruddy low-wage jobs, from handing out flyers in the street while dressed as a chicken to babysitting bratty posh kids. Chicken-costume colleague Olga (Natasha Romanova) asks whether she could cover for her at an evening gig where all she has to do is stand around looking pretty at a party in a black dress,...
- 12/1/2017
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Title: Most Beautiful Island Director: Ana Asensio Cast: Ana Asensio, Natasha Romanova, David Little, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden, Larry Fessenden, Caprice Benedetti, Anna Myrha. Written, directed and played by Ana Asensio, ‘Most Beautiful Island,’ is an eerie tale about an undocumented young woman’s struggle for survival in the Big Apple. Luciana is from […]
The post Most Beautiful Island Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Most Beautiful Island Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/26/2017
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
It takes a herculean effort to produce a first film that’s accepted to festivals and showered with praise (and prizes – SXSW handed it the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award this past March), but first-time director Ana Asensio pulled it off in her debut Most Beautiful Island, a grounded-in-reality genre film following a Spanish immigrant who moves to New York City to start a new life. Emotionally distraught over the death of her child, Luciana (played by Asensio) works dead-end jobs—in one scene, dressing up as a chicken to promote a local poultry joint—trying to make ends meet and keep […]...
- 11/6/2017
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Winner of the 2017 Grand Jury Award at the SXSW film festival, I got to sit down with writer-director, producer and lead actress Ana Asensio at the 2017 Fantasia Intl.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 11/3/2017
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
With only two months left to go in the year, we recently rounded up where you can stream the best films of 2017. Now, it’s time to turn to the theatrical options (and a few others). This month brings a handful of festival favorites from as far back as January finally releasing, plus a few blockbusters, and much more. It should be noted that Sony Pictures Classics will be giving a one-week qualifying run to A Fantastic Woman starting Nov. 17, but we’ll return to that when it gets a proper release next February.
Matinees to See: My Friend Dahmer (11/3), A Gray State (11/3), A River Below (11/3), Murder on the Orient Express (11/10), Bitch (11/10), Wonder (11/17), The Breadwinner (11/17), Sweet Virginia (11/17), Porto (11/17), I Love You, Daddy (11/17), and Darkest Hour (11/22)
15. Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi; Nov. 3)
Synopsis: Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must...
Matinees to See: My Friend Dahmer (11/3), A Gray State (11/3), A River Below (11/3), Murder on the Orient Express (11/10), Bitch (11/10), Wonder (11/17), The Breadwinner (11/17), Sweet Virginia (11/17), Porto (11/17), I Love You, Daddy (11/17), and Darkest Hour (11/22)
15. Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi; Nov. 3)
Synopsis: Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must...
- 11/2/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s easy for Americans to look at a film like Eli Roth’s Hostel and find themselves afraid of the situation presented as one they could fall prey to if the circumstances arose. We’ve been instilled with that anxiety for decades — the notion that our freedoms at home do not transfer over when traveling abroad. It’s up to you to learn your destination’s customs and to be vigilant about your safety so as not to be the next Michael P. Fay (caned during a 1994 trip in Singapore) or Natalie Holloway (disappeared while on a 2005 vacation in Aruba). There’s an air of danger and uncertainty with every breath we take, but only when we leave the comfort of constitutional rights do we acknowledge how little control we have.
Now turn the table to witness the immigrant experience — especially today as xenophobia increases ten-fold under a regime...
Now turn the table to witness the immigrant experience — especially today as xenophobia increases ten-fold under a regime...
- 10/30/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
There’s a reason you were always warned not to let the bed bugs bite. As insidious as they are disgusting, the tiny creatures leave their mark — even in audio form. “The Mattress King,” one of two new episodes of Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid’s “Tales From Beyond the Pale” premiering this week, serves as a potent reminder of that all-too-timely fact.
Written by Clay McLeod Chapman, the 30-minute narrative is joined by Douglas Buck’s “Hidden Records.” Kevin Cline, Tony Todd, Susan Corbett, Alexandre Lazarre, and Esinam Beckley lend their voices to the latter story, which tells of a wayward teenager whose record collection includes an LP that links the worlds of the living and the dead — namely the boy’s departed father.
Read More:‘Tales From Beyond the Pale’: ‘Barricade’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ Prove That Hearing Is Believing (Exclusive)
Ana Asensio, Kate Flannery, and Martin Starr voice-act alongside Chapman,...
Written by Clay McLeod Chapman, the 30-minute narrative is joined by Douglas Buck’s “Hidden Records.” Kevin Cline, Tony Todd, Susan Corbett, Alexandre Lazarre, and Esinam Beckley lend their voices to the latter story, which tells of a wayward teenager whose record collection includes an LP that links the worlds of the living and the dead — namely the boy’s departed father.
Read More:‘Tales From Beyond the Pale’: ‘Barricade’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ Prove That Hearing Is Believing (Exclusive)
Ana Asensio, Kate Flannery, and Martin Starr voice-act alongside Chapman,...
- 10/27/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Updated, 11:11 Am: Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films have set a November 3 release date in select cities for the SXSW Grand Jury Award-winning film Most Beautiful Island from filmmaker Ana Asensio. The psychological thriller was picked up this summer by Orion and Samuel Goldwyn Films. The weekend has a number of other films going into the marketplace during a that time including A24’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Rob Reiner’s Lbj, A Bad Mom’s Christmas from Stx…...
- 9/20/2017
- Deadline
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: What fall movie are you most excited to see?
E. Oliver Whitney (@cinemabite), Screencrush.com
Is there any acceptable answer besides “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”? No, no there is not. (Unless you count December as ‘fall,’ which means the new PTA is my most anticipated.) “The Lobster” would’ve been my favorite film of last year had “Moonlight” not taken the top spot, and “Dogtooth” leaves me in a mix of amazement and horror each time I watch it. So new Yorgos Lanthimos is like a drug for me. But while I’m at it, I also can’t wait for “The Florida Project,...
This week’s question: What fall movie are you most excited to see?
E. Oliver Whitney (@cinemabite), Screencrush.com
Is there any acceptable answer besides “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”? No, no there is not. (Unless you count December as ‘fall,’ which means the new PTA is my most anticipated.) “The Lobster” would’ve been my favorite film of last year had “Moonlight” not taken the top spot, and “Dogtooth” leaves me in a mix of amazement and horror each time I watch it. So new Yorgos Lanthimos is like a drug for me. But while I’m at it, I also can’t wait for “The Florida Project,...
- 8/21/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Horror debuted in Tribeca; will open in January 2018.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has picked up North American rights to Mickey Keating’s horror film Psychopaths.
The distributor plans to release the latest horror film from Glass Eye Pix in theatres, on demand, and across digital platforms in January 2018.
Psychopaths debuted in Tribeca and tells the interwoven stories of five serial killers who converge over the course of one night. Ashley Bell stars with James Landry Hebert, Mark Kassen, Angela Trimbur, Ivana Shein, Jeremy Gardner, Sam Zimmerman, and Glass Eye Pix founder Larry Fessenden.
“It’s the most visually stunning array of cinematic brutality I’ve ever seen,” Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, said.
“To work with Samuel Goldwyn Films is an honour like no other,” Keating said. “Their passion to bring bold and innovative films out into the world is unparalleled and I am truly thrilled to be working with them to terrify audiences everywhere soon.”
Keating...
Samuel Goldwyn Films has picked up North American rights to Mickey Keating’s horror film Psychopaths.
The distributor plans to release the latest horror film from Glass Eye Pix in theatres, on demand, and across digital platforms in January 2018.
Psychopaths debuted in Tribeca and tells the interwoven stories of five serial killers who converge over the course of one night. Ashley Bell stars with James Landry Hebert, Mark Kassen, Angela Trimbur, Ivana Shein, Jeremy Gardner, Sam Zimmerman, and Glass Eye Pix founder Larry Fessenden.
“It’s the most visually stunning array of cinematic brutality I’ve ever seen,” Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, said.
“To work with Samuel Goldwyn Films is an honour like no other,” Keating said. “Their passion to bring bold and innovative films out into the world is unparalleled and I am truly thrilled to be working with them to terrify audiences everywhere soon.”
Keating...
- 8/16/2017
- ScreenDaily
On of the more intimate films that screened at Fantasia 2017 was Most Beautiful Island directed by Ana Asensio, who also wrote, produced, and starred in the film. It was a hit at SXSW and several other festivals before it finally screened with our good friends in Montreal to great reception. I got the chance to speak to Asensio about several aspects of the production. Check out the trailer below the interview. ScreenAnarchy: You wrote, directed, and starred in your feature debut, Most Beautiful Island. I can’t imagine that was easy. Would you do it all over again? Ana Asensio: It was very hard, partly because it was my first time doing it and because of the low-budget nature of the project. For part of...
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- 8/5/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
Spanish actress and triple threat Ana Asensio wrote, directed and starred in her feature film debut “Most Beautiful Island,” which won South by Southwest’s grand jury award for narrative feature, and audiences will finally be able to see the thriller, billed as being in the vein of “Eyes Wide Shut” about immigrant life in America, when Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Film release the movie this fall.
Co-starring Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden and Caprice Benedetti and produced by Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix, “Most Beautiful Island” had its New York premiere at this week’s BAMcinemaFest. The film is a psychological thriller set in the world of undocumented female immigrants hoping to make a life in New York City.
Read More: ‘Most Beautiful Island’ Review: Ana Asensio’s SXSW Winner Is a Spellbinding Thriller About Immigrant Life In AmericaShot on Super 16mm with a voyeuristic sensibility, the movie chronicles one harrowing day in the life of Luciana, a young immigrant woman struggling to make ends meet while striving to escape her past. As her day unfolds, she is whisked through a series of troublesome and unforeseeable extremes. Before the day is over, she finds herself a central participant in a cruel game where lives are placed at risk for the perverse entertainment of a privileged few.
“[Ana Asensio]is fearless in front of and behind the camera,” Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, said in a statement. “’Most Beautiful Island’ is a memorable film which captured hearts, minds, and the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW.”
Check out the rest of our weekly Acquisitions Rundown after the break.
Related storiesFilm Acquisition Rundown: Netflix Buys Drake Doremus' 'Newness,' Gravitas Picks Up 'Abundant Acreage Available' and MoreFilm Acquisition Rundown: Focus Buys Paolo Sorrentino's 'Loro,' The Orchard Picks Up 'Thumper' and MoreFilm Acquisition Rundown: Mubi Buys Philippe Garrel's 'Lover for a Day,' FilmRise Picks Up 'Women Who Kill' and More...
Spanish actress and triple threat Ana Asensio wrote, directed and starred in her feature film debut “Most Beautiful Island,” which won South by Southwest’s grand jury award for narrative feature, and audiences will finally be able to see the thriller, billed as being in the vein of “Eyes Wide Shut” about immigrant life in America, when Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Film release the movie this fall.
Co-starring Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden and Caprice Benedetti and produced by Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix, “Most Beautiful Island” had its New York premiere at this week’s BAMcinemaFest. The film is a psychological thriller set in the world of undocumented female immigrants hoping to make a life in New York City.
Read More: ‘Most Beautiful Island’ Review: Ana Asensio’s SXSW Winner Is a Spellbinding Thriller About Immigrant Life In AmericaShot on Super 16mm with a voyeuristic sensibility, the movie chronicles one harrowing day in the life of Luciana, a young immigrant woman struggling to make ends meet while striving to escape her past. As her day unfolds, she is whisked through a series of troublesome and unforeseeable extremes. Before the day is over, she finds herself a central participant in a cruel game where lives are placed at risk for the perverse entertainment of a privileged few.
“[Ana Asensio]is fearless in front of and behind the camera,” Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, said in a statement. “’Most Beautiful Island’ is a memorable film which captured hearts, minds, and the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW.”
Check out the rest of our weekly Acquisitions Rundown after the break.
Related storiesFilm Acquisition Rundown: Netflix Buys Drake Doremus' 'Newness,' Gravitas Picks Up 'Abundant Acreage Available' and MoreFilm Acquisition Rundown: Focus Buys Paolo Sorrentino's 'Loro,' The Orchard Picks Up 'Thumper' and MoreFilm Acquisition Rundown: Mubi Buys Philippe Garrel's 'Lover for a Day,' FilmRise Picks Up 'Women Who Kill' and More...
- 6/23/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
In Ana Asensio’s under-the-radar SXSW festival title Most Beautiful Island, an undocumented woman struggling in NYC is offered an opportunity she can’t refuse, but soon discovers she’s involved in a dangerous game. Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films announced today they have acquired the North American rights to the award-winning psychological thriller that our very […]...
- 6/22/2017
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Psychological thriller won grand jury prize at SXSW.
Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films have acquired North American rights to Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island.
Asensio stars alongside Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden and Caprice Benedetti.
Fessenden’s New York-based Glass Eye Pix produced Most Beautiful Island, which takes place in the world of undocumented female immigrants in New York City.
The film chronicles one day in the life of one of the young women as she becomes part of a cruel game for the perverse entertainment of a privileged few. The film won the grand jury prize at SXSW earlier this year.
Asensio wrote the screenplay and also produced with Jenn Wexler, Chadd Harbold, Fessenden, and Noah Greenberg. Peter Phok, Jose María Garcia, Ahmet Bilgen, Selim Cevikel, Christohper Todd, and Gill Holland served as executive producers.
The film receives its New York premiere on Wednesday at Bam Cinemafest.
Peter Goldwyn negotiated...
Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films have acquired North American rights to Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island.
Asensio stars alongside Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden and Caprice Benedetti.
Fessenden’s New York-based Glass Eye Pix produced Most Beautiful Island, which takes place in the world of undocumented female immigrants in New York City.
The film chronicles one day in the life of one of the young women as she becomes part of a cruel game for the perverse entertainment of a privileged few. The film won the grand jury prize at SXSW earlier this year.
Asensio wrote the screenplay and also produced with Jenn Wexler, Chadd Harbold, Fessenden, and Noah Greenberg. Peter Phok, Jose María Garcia, Ahmet Bilgen, Selim Cevikel, Christohper Todd, and Gill Holland served as executive producers.
The film receives its New York premiere on Wednesday at Bam Cinemafest.
Peter Goldwyn negotiated...
- 6/20/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Princess CydNow in its ninth season, BAMcinemaFest has become New York’s premiere festival for gems of American indie cinema, expertly culled from the best of the fests thus far this year. While hosting works from numerous local Brooklynites like Alex Ross Perry, whose Golden Exits will close the event, the intimate festival also boasts an exceptional assortment of films from across the country, this year no short on mysteries, overt and clandestine. The selection’s varying styles are all a testament to the diversity of independent filmmaking that is alive and well in America today.Director Aaron Katz returns with Gemini, a lo-fi L.A.-set noir circling around a movie starlet Heather (Zoe Kravitz) and her devoted assistant Jill (Lola Kirke). Always the expert examiner of relationships in miniature, Katz plumbs beyond the quandary of the employer-employee transactional one here to capture the fragile peculiarities and tender idiosyncrasies of a female friendship.
- 6/14/2017
- MUBI
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: With “The Mummy” opening to mostly negative reviews this weekend, Universal’s attempt to kickstart its “Dark Universe” franchise is stuck in a rut. What would you do (or recommend the studio do) to make good movies out of Universal’s classic monsters?
Violet Lucca (@unbuttonmyeyes), Film Comment
The obvious response is “don’t try,” but since we’re a few years away from getting back to using original intellectual property in film, I’ll give them a few options.
One: ditch the self-seriousness of the modern action blockbuster and revive the genre mashup of the “Abbott and Costello Meet…” series. Get Channing Tatum...
This week’s question: With “The Mummy” opening to mostly negative reviews this weekend, Universal’s attempt to kickstart its “Dark Universe” franchise is stuck in a rut. What would you do (or recommend the studio do) to make good movies out of Universal’s classic monsters?
Violet Lucca (@unbuttonmyeyes), Film Comment
The obvious response is “don’t try,” but since we’re a few years away from getting back to using original intellectual property in film, I’ll give them a few options.
One: ditch the self-seriousness of the modern action blockbuster and revive the genre mashup of the “Abbott and Costello Meet…” series. Get Channing Tatum...
- 6/12/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
If one wants to experience the best independent cinema the year has to offer this summer, one of your best bets is the well-curated line-up at Brooklyn’s BAMcinémaFest. They’ve now unveiled this year’s slate for the festival running from June 14-25, including some of of my favorite films of the year thus far (A Ghost Story, Golden Exits, Columbus, Marjorie Prime, and Landline) as well as highly-anticipated others (the SXSW hit Gemini and Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd come to mind).
“I’m incredibly proud of the program our team has put together,” says Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President, Cinema. “From the endearing comedy The Big Sick to the micro-budget Princess Cyd and Lemon, the audacious first feature from Janicza Bravo, the line-up truly reflects the breadth of American independent cinema today. Other highlights include the world premiere of Jim McKay’s, En el Séptimo Día an...
“I’m incredibly proud of the program our team has put together,” says Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President, Cinema. “From the endearing comedy The Big Sick to the micro-budget Princess Cyd and Lemon, the audacious first feature from Janicza Bravo, the line-up truly reflects the breadth of American independent cinema today. Other highlights include the world premiere of Jim McKay’s, En el Séptimo Día an...
- 5/4/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In today's Horror Highlights, we have an update and a video for Clive Barker Presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest, as well as Ghost Brothers clips, The Ranger casting details, info on the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, and a new zombie-themed song on Coolzey and Soce the Elemental Wizard's new Ep, Coolsay Too.
Clive Barker Presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest: "Are you more of a slasher fan, or would you prefer a paranormal thriller? Do you like blood and guts, or do the twists and turns of psychological horror keep you on the edge of the seat? Well, now’s the chance for you and genre fans everywhere to greenlight your next favorite horror flick.
Public voting for the “Clive Barker Presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest” from Project Greenlight Digital Studios and Shudder officially opens today!
Filmmakers have submitted one-to-three minute pitches for their original horror film concepts on projectgreenlight.
Clive Barker Presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest: "Are you more of a slasher fan, or would you prefer a paranormal thriller? Do you like blood and guts, or do the twists and turns of psychological horror keep you on the edge of the seat? Well, now’s the chance for you and genre fans everywhere to greenlight your next favorite horror flick.
Public voting for the “Clive Barker Presents: Reel Fear Horror Contest” from Project Greenlight Digital Studios and Shudder officially opens today!
Filmmakers have submitted one-to-three minute pitches for their original horror film concepts on projectgreenlight.
- 4/21/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island is a stormy, unpredictable endurance test from start-to-finish. At its core, immigration fears and female perspectives sing a plight of New York City’s rough waters. Command and circumstance manipulate those less fortunate, who will do anything to survive. Undocumented “citizens” walk alongside more entitled Americans, yet their experiences are so disconcertingly different. Do they always involve a life-threatening game of chance, as Asensio’s film engages? I would assume – maybe incorrectly – that answer is no. But still, given cinematic context, messages of tenacity are read loud and clear. Strung with tension, and heated to an aggressive boil.
Apart from writing and directing Most Beautiful Island, Asensio also stars as lead subject Luciana – a New Yorker with many responsibilities. Because she’s undocumented, most of Luciana’s work comes from odd-jobs paid in cash. Babysitting bratty kids and whatnot. Either that, or she scams...
Apart from writing and directing Most Beautiful Island, Asensio also stars as lead subject Luciana – a New Yorker with many responsibilities. Because she’s undocumented, most of Luciana’s work comes from odd-jobs paid in cash. Babysitting bratty kids and whatnot. Either that, or she scams...
- 3/29/2017
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
The South by Southwest Film Festival remains a reliable industry getaway to both catch a first look at A-list Hollywood projects and stumble upon important rising actors and visionaries. This year was no exception, and though the fest’s opening and closing films (Terrence Malick’s “Song to Song” and Daniel Espinosa’s “Life”) received lukewarm receptions, newfound gems abounded elsewhere. The SXSW Jury Awards often highlight promising indie talent, such as past winners Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Short Term 12” and Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture.” This year’s Narrative Grand Jury prize went to Ana Asensio’s “Most Beautiful Island.” Shot on super 16mm, the taut dramatic thriller tracks a few days in the life of an undocumented Spanish immigrant trying to make a living in New York City by increasingly grim means. The film, inspired by Asensio’s personal experiences, is the former telenovela actor’s feature...
- 3/21/2017
- backstage.com
“Most Beautiful Island”
A short, stressful, and utterly spellbinding debut that transforms the immigrant experience into the stuff of an early Polanski psychodrama, “Most Beautiful Island” was a worthy winner of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature, and might prove to be a breakthrough moment for a major new talent: Spanish actress Ana Asensio not only wrote, directed, and produced this fraught metropolitan thriller, she also appears in just about every frame.
It would be criminal to reveal too much about what happens to her character, a Manhattan immigrant who’s struggling to make a life for herself in the big city and in for the longest night of her life, but it’s thrilling to watch the anxiety of neo-realism as it slowly bleeds into something that resembles the suspense of the orgy sequence from “Eyes Wide Shut.” Creating a lucid sense of reality only so...
A short, stressful, and utterly spellbinding debut that transforms the immigrant experience into the stuff of an early Polanski psychodrama, “Most Beautiful Island” was a worthy winner of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature, and might prove to be a breakthrough moment for a major new talent: Spanish actress Ana Asensio not only wrote, directed, and produced this fraught metropolitan thriller, she also appears in just about every frame.
It would be criminal to reveal too much about what happens to her character, a Manhattan immigrant who’s struggling to make a life for herself in the big city and in for the longest night of her life, but it’s thrilling to watch the anxiety of neo-realism as it slowly bleeds into something that resembles the suspense of the orgy sequence from “Eyes Wide Shut.” Creating a lucid sense of reality only so...
- 3/18/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Writer/Director/Star || Ana Asensio || on || Most Beautiful Island || SXSW'17 Best Narrative Feature
Ana Asensio writes, directs, and stars in this formally astute exercise in anxiety and release. It settles on one woman's hustle, Luciana, from Spain, but acknowledges the plight of other NYC women who have migrated from their home countries for all their own reasons. Luciana, financially broke, and shattered by a past guilt that may have drawn her here, wanders Manhattan utterly vulnerable and desperate to make it.
The wrong kinds of people, or perhaps just equally desperate people, take notice and use her to their advantage. Ana draws much of Luciana's struggle in Most Beautiful Island (SXSW’17 Narrative Feature Competition Winner) from her own experience, which is at least identical emotionally.
And for a directorial debut, what a mastery of form. Every aesthetic decision has been premeditated, and every seemingly arbitrary action and pattern holds their own arc and emotional reflection.
In our discussion, I acknowledge some of these patterns.
The wrong kinds of people, or perhaps just equally desperate people, take notice and use her to their advantage. Ana draws much of Luciana's struggle in Most Beautiful Island (SXSW’17 Narrative Feature Competition Winner) from her own experience, which is at least identical emotionally.
And for a directorial debut, what a mastery of form. Every aesthetic decision has been premeditated, and every seemingly arbitrary action and pattern holds their own arc and emotional reflection.
In our discussion, I acknowledge some of these patterns.
- 3/18/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Aaron Hunt)
- Cinelinx
Hirokazu Kore-eda first established himself as a major filmmaker with a string of audacious dramas that included a harrowing portrait of modern poverty (“Nobody Knows”) and a transcendent vision of the great beyond (“After Life”). In recent years, however — at least since 2009’s “Air Doll,” a contemporary fairy tale in which Bae Doo-na plays an inflatable sex doll who comes to life — the great Japanese humanist has downshifted towards more openly sentimental slice-of-life stories, churning out low-key masterpieces with such regularity and deceptive effortlessness that it can be easy to take them for granted.
So when Kore-eda unloads another gently brilliant film full of characters so real and full of life that it feels as though could fly to Japan and visit them, it may not seem like much cause for celebration. But when one of those films is just the tiniest bit above his batting average, it’s enough...
So when Kore-eda unloads another gently brilliant film full of characters so real and full of life that it feels as though could fly to Japan and visit them, it may not seem like much cause for celebration. But when one of those films is just the tiniest bit above his batting average, it’s enough...
- 3/17/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The most remarkable thing about “T2 Trainspotting” (other than the sequel’s stupid in-joke of a title) is that all of the original film’s heroin junkie heroes are somehow still alive. It’s been 21 years since Danny Boyle first made smack look a little bit too cool, and 1996 feels several eons removed from the post-Brexit nonsense we’re dealing with now, but Scotland’s four favorite dope fiends haven’t changed nearly as much as the world around them. They’re still addicts, even if some of them have found a new drug of choice. They’re still fools, even if Boyle has made so many slick movies about the perils of romanticizing self-destruction (e.g. “A Life Less Ordinary,” “The Beach,” and “Steve Jobs”) that it’s hard to take him seriously as a voice of reason. Worst of all, they’re still a lot of fun to watch,...
- 3/16/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The hypnotic opening sequence of Most Beautiful Island — shot with a penetrating eye by Noah Greenberg in handheld Super 16mm and effectively interweaving the thrumming soundscape of New York City with the quiet strains of Jeffery Alan Jones' unsettling score — subtly identifies seven different women among the Manhattan crowds in various locations. All of them are young and attractive, though seemingly unrelated. How much you buy into the dehumanizing spider web that later draws these women together will depend on your willingness to go with writer-director Ana Asensio's lurch from lucid naturalism into queasy quasi-horror.
The no-budget indie's...
The no-budget indie's...
- 3/16/2017
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A short, stressful, and utterly spellbinding debut that transforms the immigrant experience into the stuff of an early Polanski psychodrama, Ana Asensio’s “Most Beautiful Island” is a worthy winner of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature, and — more importantly — strong evidence of a cinematic juggernaut in the making.
Asensio, a thirtysomething Spanish actress whose work is virtually unseen on these shores, not only wrote, directed, and produced this fraught metropolitan thriller, she also appears in just about every frame. And while the film might begin by suggesting that its heroine was chosen at random (a mesmeric prologue follows seven different women as they weave through the sidewalks of Manhattan, the camera picking them out of a crowd as if to wordlessly reassert that most of the Naked City’s seven million stories remain untold), Asensio’s compulsively watchable lead performance splits the difference between the specific and the representational.
Asensio, a thirtysomething Spanish actress whose work is virtually unseen on these shores, not only wrote, directed, and produced this fraught metropolitan thriller, she also appears in just about every frame. And while the film might begin by suggesting that its heroine was chosen at random (a mesmeric prologue follows seven different women as they weave through the sidewalks of Manhattan, the camera picking them out of a crowd as if to wordlessly reassert that most of the Naked City’s seven million stories remain untold), Asensio’s compulsively watchable lead performance splits the difference between the specific and the representational.
- 3/15/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Things are all kinds of eerie in the exclusive trailer for Rubén Imaz’s Mexican ghost story “Tormentero,” which recently debuted at this year’s SXSW Festival.
Read More: SXSW 2017: 10 Talents Poised to Break Out At This Year’s Festival
The film follows Romero, a retired fisherman who was rejected by his community when, years ago, he discovered an oil field in his village that caused his friends and neighbors to lose their way of life. Haunted by his past, his alcoholism, and his schizophrenia, Romero makes it his mission to reclaim the love and honor he lost decades earlier.
Read More: Zoë Kravitz and Lola Kirke Wander Through a Dreamy Los Angeles in Aaron Katz’s Hypnotic Mystery ‘Gemini’ — SXSW 2017 Review
The fantasy/drama stars José Carlos Ruiz, Gabino Rodríguez, Mónica Jiménez, Rosa Márquez, Waldo Facco, Nelly Valencia, Ausencio Valencia, and Leonardo Verdjo.
“Tormentero” recently made its North American premiere at SXSW.
Read More: SXSW 2017: 10 Talents Poised to Break Out At This Year’s Festival
The film follows Romero, a retired fisherman who was rejected by his community when, years ago, he discovered an oil field in his village that caused his friends and neighbors to lose their way of life. Haunted by his past, his alcoholism, and his schizophrenia, Romero makes it his mission to reclaim the love and honor he lost decades earlier.
Read More: Zoë Kravitz and Lola Kirke Wander Through a Dreamy Los Angeles in Aaron Katz’s Hypnotic Mystery ‘Gemini’ — SXSW 2017 Review
The fantasy/drama stars José Carlos Ruiz, Gabino Rodríguez, Mónica Jiménez, Rosa Márquez, Waldo Facco, Nelly Valencia, Ausencio Valencia, and Leonardo Verdjo.
“Tormentero” recently made its North American premiere at SXSW.
- 3/15/2017
- by Allison Picurro
- Indiewire
“Most Beautiful Island” by director Ana Asensio and “The Work” by directors Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous have taken the top prizes at the 2017 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. “Most Beautiful Island” was declared the winner of the Narrative Feature Competition, while “The Work” won the Documentary Feature Competition. Also Read: 'Baby Driver' Review: Edgar Wright Floors It Before Driving Off a Cliff The festival tonight also announced the full slate of awards by its Grand Jury. The film festival, which runs through Saturday, will screen 130 features, among them 84 world premieres. See the full list of.
- 3/15/2017
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
SXSW handed out its annual film awards tonight, naming Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island as the best narrative work of the festival, and Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’s prison therapy piece The Work as best documentary.
In addition to Asensio’s crime thriller, the SXSW jury also acknowledged the work of The Strange Ones and A Bad Idea Gone Wrong, which both received nods for performance. Miao Wang’s coming-of-age story Maineland and Nanfu Wang’s I Am Another You, about underground culture in Florida, both also won documentary awards.
You can see the full list of winners here; meanwhile, the festival also garnered strong buzz for a number of films that weren’t up for award consideration, including entusiastic reviews touting James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and Edgar Wright’s next film, Baby Driver.
[via Variety]...
In addition to Asensio’s crime thriller, the SXSW jury also acknowledged the work of The Strange Ones and A Bad Idea Gone Wrong, which both received nods for performance. Miao Wang’s coming-of-age story Maineland and Nanfu Wang’s I Am Another You, about underground culture in Florida, both also won documentary awards.
You can see the full list of winners here; meanwhile, the festival also garnered strong buzz for a number of films that weren’t up for award consideration, including entusiastic reviews touting James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and Edgar Wright’s next film, Baby Driver.
[via Variety]...
- 3/15/2017
- by William Hughes
- avclub.com
Ana Asensio's psychological thriller Most Beautiful Island took the narrative feature tonight as the SXSW fest announced its film award winners at the Paramount Theatre in Austin. Shot on Super 16, the Spain-u.S. co-production looks at the plight of undocumented female immigrants hoping to make a life in New York. Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’ The Work won the documentary feature prize. Set at Folsom Prison, it follows three men from outside as they participate in a…...
- 3/15/2017
- Deadline
At a packed Paramount Theater this evening, the SXSW Film Festival, now at the halfway mark, handed out their big film awards. The fest’s two big competition jury prizes went to director Ana Asensio’s “Most Beautiful Island” (Best Narrative Feature) and directors Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’s “The Work” (Best Narrative Feature).
Read More: Terrence Malick Makes a Rare Appearance at SXSW 2017 and Digs Deep On His Process
Asensio, a Spanish actress and filmmaker living in New York, shot her film in super 16mm. It tells the story of undocumented female immigrants struggling to start a life in New York. It is a feature film debut for Asensio, who also stars and wrote the screenplay. “Island” is being billed as a dramatic thriller and was produced by the New York horror master Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix.
The Doc Prize winner, “The Work,” is an intense...
Read More: Terrence Malick Makes a Rare Appearance at SXSW 2017 and Digs Deep On His Process
Asensio, a Spanish actress and filmmaker living in New York, shot her film in super 16mm. It tells the story of undocumented female immigrants struggling to start a life in New York. It is a feature film debut for Asensio, who also stars and wrote the screenplay. “Island” is being billed as a dramatic thriller and was produced by the New York horror master Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix.
The Doc Prize winner, “The Work,” is an intense...
- 3/15/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island, a psychological thriller about undocumented female immigrants in New York, has won the Grand Jury Award in the narrative feature competition at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The Grand Jury Award for documentary feature went to The Work, from directors Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous, which looks at a four-day group therapy session in Folsom Prison.
The SXSW Film Awards, presented by FilmStruck, were announced Tuesday night, while the film portion of the SXSW Conference and Festivals continues through Saturday. The awards were hosted by Saturday Night Live castmember Sasheer Zamata. Audience Awards will...
The SXSW Film Awards, presented by FilmStruck, were announced Tuesday night, while the film portion of the SXSW Conference and Festivals continues through Saturday. The awards were hosted by Saturday Night Live castmember Sasheer Zamata. Audience Awards will...
- 3/15/2017
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Festival brass on Tuesday evening announced jury and special award winners out of Austin, Texas.
Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island prevailed in the SXSW narrative feature competition, while special jury recognition for breakthrough performance wet to James Freedson-Jackson from The Strange Ones.
The cast of A Bad Idea Gone Wrong earned best ensemble honours.
Top documentary honours went to Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous for The Work.
The inaugural SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award in honour of a filmmaker “whose work strives to be wholly its own, without regard for norms or desire to conform” went to Assholes by Peter Vack.
In the shorts categories Forever Now won narrative shorts, while the documentary prize went to Little Potato, the Midnight Shorts prize to The Suplex Duplex Complex, and the animated shorts prize to Wednesday With Goddard.
Click here for the full list of winners. Audience award winners will be unveiled on March 18.
Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island prevailed in the SXSW narrative feature competition, while special jury recognition for breakthrough performance wet to James Freedson-Jackson from The Strange Ones.
The cast of A Bad Idea Gone Wrong earned best ensemble honours.
Top documentary honours went to Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous for The Work.
The inaugural SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award in honour of a filmmaker “whose work strives to be wholly its own, without regard for norms or desire to conform” went to Assholes by Peter Vack.
In the shorts categories Forever Now won narrative shorts, while the documentary prize went to Little Potato, the Midnight Shorts prize to The Suplex Duplex Complex, and the animated shorts prize to Wednesday With Goddard.
Click here for the full list of winners. Audience award winners will be unveiled on March 18.
- 3/14/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
"I must emphasize that everyone stay as still and as quiet as possible." A trailer has debuted for an indie film premiering at the SXSW Film Festival this month. Titled Most Beautiful Island, the film follows an undocumented immigrant living in New York City (the "island" referenced in the title) trying to figure out how to make a life in the city. Spanish actress Ana Asensio stars, and she wrote and directed it as well. It's described as "a chilling portrait of an undocumented young woman's struggle for survival as she finds redemption from a tortured past in a dangerous game." Along with the trailer there's a poster designed by Mondo artist Jay Shaw below. This trailer starts out fairly good, but gets very weird and creepy by the end. Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Ana Asensio's Most Beautiful Island, originally from The Playlist: 'Most Beautiful Island...
- 3/7/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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