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Children of the Church Steps (Os Quatro da Candelária) dropped on Netflix today. It is inspired by events that took place in Rio, Brazil, in 1993 in what has come to be known as the Candelária Massacre. Eight homeless people – aged between 11 and 19-years-old – were killed when scores of street kids living outside the Candelária Chruch in Rio were attacked. Several of the group that launched the assault were found to be police officers.

The fictionalized account tells the stories of four children in the 36 hours leading up to one of Brazil’s most tragic events. It blends the story of their lives in a harsh urban setting with dreamlike sequences. A predominantly Black cast includes breakout talent Samuel Silva, Patrick Congo, Andrei Marques and Wendy Queiroz. Established stars including Antônio Pitanga, Péricles, Leandro Firmino, Bruno Gagliasso, Maria Bopp and Stepan Nercessian also appear.

Creator Luis Lomenha and Márcia Faria share...

Die Hofer Filmtage legen in diesem Jahr einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf das afrikanische Filmschaffen. Die eingeladenen Werke aus Ghana, Malawi, Tansania und Kenia, bei denen auch deutsche Kreative beteiligt sind, zeigen dabei eindrucksvoll gesellschaftliche und politische Entwicklungen des Kontinents auf.

Afrika-Schwerpunkt in Hof: „The Thoughts of Our Ancestors“, „Nawi“ und „The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Laos“

Die 58. Internationalen Hofer Filmtage, die in diesem Jahr vom 22. bis 27. Oktober stattfinden, präsentieren in diesem Jahr einen größeren Schwerpunkt auf afrikanische Filme. Drei Langfilme und ein Kurzfilm bereichern das Programm. Zu sehen sind sowohl Spielfilme als auch Dokumentarfilme aus Ghana, Malawi, Tansania und Kenia, in denen vielschichtige gesellschaftliche und politische Themen beleuchtet werden.

„Es geht um Zugehörigkeit, Wut, Hoffnung und Entscheidungen. Erlebnisse, die sehr aufwühlen und gleichzeitig mitreißen“, heißt es vom Festival zu den ausgewählten Filmen. Es sei ein wichtiger Schritt, um die kulturelle Vielfalt und das filmische Schaffen dieses Kontinents zu würdigen.

Building on a legacy that profoundly shaped national culture, ‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ had a significant challenge to face: not only honoring the original film’s narrative but also updating the story to reflect more contemporary issues. City of God ‘City of God’ (2002) is a critically acclaimed Brazilian crime drama set in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund. The film is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Paulo Lins, which was inspired by real events of the rise of organized crime in the neighborhood called “Cidade de Deus” (City of God). Based on the work of the original novel’s writer Paulo Lins, the spin-off takes place twenty years after the events of the feature film, in the early 2000s. Based on the memories of Buscapé “Rocket” (Alexandre Rodrigues), the production portrays the impact of conflicts between rival gangs,...

Sometimes, you watch a film and just tell yourself that they should have made a documentary instead. João Wainer’s 2024 film Outlaw (originally titled Bandida: A Número Um) is no different. The director has tried to shoot the film in a documentary format to make it look as realistic as he can, but a disjointed narrative ruins it all. You can clearly see that there is no story at all. The screenplay conveniently jumps across time periods to show different stages in the protagonist’s life and after a point, it becomes quite evident that nothing much happened in between. At the end of the day, Outlaw looks more like a home video edited on a Windows Movie Maker using all the filters available in the software. I haven’t read the non-fiction book by Raquel de Oliveira, on which the film is based, but as much as I grasped from the movie,...

In the first sequence of “Mother Mother” a herd of camels cry out in the dark. Their guttural sounds are their own kind of haunting music as we are drawn into the world of two camel herders in rural Somalia: widow and force-of-nature Qalifo and loyal only son Asa (newcomers Maan Youssouf Ahmed and Elmi Rashid Elmi).

Written and directed by Somali-Canadian hip hop artist K’naan Warsame, the film is a slowburn drama, observational in its visual footprint and spare in its narrative tendencies. At the same time the film — which bills itself as “the first Somali film produced by a major Hollywood studio” — is replete with bursts of cinematic energy that keep one curious.

Shot entirely on location in Kenya and the autonomously-run Somali region of Puntland, Warsame’s collaboration with “City of God” and “The Constant Gardener” (also shot in Kenya) cinematographer César Charlone is a get that,...

Peacock Announces “Based on a True Story” Season 2 Premiere, Releases First Look

The Bartletts are back on the case. Peacock has announced the Season 2 premiere date for its hit comedy-thriller series “Based on a True Story,” starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina. The series follows Ava (Cuoco) and Nathan (Messina), a married couple feeling the weight of life and work amidst endless bills, marriage squabbles, mounting work pressures, and a baby on the way. But their lives get a shake-up when, spurred by Ava’s passion for true crime, she realizes that plumber-turned-family friend Matt (Tom Bateman) is the serial killer behind a string of unsolved murders in L.A. and the pair blackmail him into co-creating a podcast about his “work.”

Watch the “Based on a True Story” Season 2 date announcement teaser below:

In Season 2, Ava and Nathan are three months into parenthood, and Ava is determined to resist her true-crime obsession,...

On the heels of its series debut on August 25, HBO has renewed City of God: The Fight Rages On for a second season.

The sequel series follows the characters 20 years after the events of the award-winning 2002 film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again. The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.

The six-episode first season continues with weekly releases every Sunday at 8 pm Et/Pt on HBO Latino and streaming on Max. The second episode will debut on Sunday, September 1.

Directed by Aly Muritiba, the HBO Original series is produced by O2 Filmes, with a script by Maíra Oliveira, Patricia Andrade, and Paulo Lins. On behalf of O2 Filmes,...

The HBO Original series City of God: The Fight Rages On has been renewed for a second season. The series is a sequel to the award-winning 2002 film.

City of God: The Fight Rages On had its global debut on HBO and Max on Sunday, August 25. Details of the second season will be announced at a later date.

The series’ plot follows the characters 20 years after the events of the renowned film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again.

The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias, and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.

The cast includes Alexandre Rodrigues, Roberta Rodrigues, Thiago Martins, Sabrina Rosa, Kiko Marques, Edson Oliveira, Andréia Horta, Marcos Palmeira, Eli Ferreira, Luellem de Castro,...

“City of God: The Fight Rages On” has been renewed for Season 2.

The news comes just days after the series debuted on HBO Latino and Max on Aug. 25. The six episode first season will continue to drop new episodes weekly on Sundays at 8 p.m. Et/Pt. The second episode will air on Sept. 1.

Per the official description, the series “follows the characters 20 years after the events of the renowned film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again. The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.”

Alexandre Rodrigues reprised his role as Wilson from the original “City of God” film, which was itself based on the novel of the same name by Paulo Lins.

It almost invariably is a pet peeve of mine when something’s said to counter a critique, and this might be the first time I’m about to do the same. Most critics’ complaint that City of God: The Fight Rages On isn’t as fiery as the original is practically holding the spin-off accountable for being authentic to the sociopolitical scenario of Brazil. And how ironic is it that when Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund’s film came out, it was widely condemned for fetishizing violence when all it did was stay grounded in reality? And then there’s the factor that, as a 2-hour long movie, City of God could afford to be one kill after another with intervals for other criminal activities. How fair would it be to expect the show to pack just as much punch while also allotting enough time to develop the characters that...

It’s only normal that there’s skepticism aplenty about the soon-to-be-out HBO original City of God: The Fight Rages on. If you’re a fan of the 2002 City of God, you’d know how much of its edge would need to be blunted for the spin-off to be palatable in today’s time. If Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund’s film was condemned for over-exploitation of violent themes back when people had stronger stomachs, the world’s certainly not ready for something in the same line now. But there’s a silver lining in City of God getting a spin-off series under a banner as reliable as HBO and Max. It’s been a while since the original masterpiece has been a part of the Zeitgeist. So, if it takes an HBO original to bring it back to the forefront again, aside from the fact that this is...

When Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God came out in 2002, it was generally acclaimed — countless Top 10 lists, four Oscar nominations, etc. But it did not go without criticism. There were some who found the violent coming-of-age drama to be exploitative, fetishizing poverty and crime in the Brazilian favelas without digging deeper than misery.

In very meta terms, it’s a duality that haunts the lead of HBO Latino and Max’s new spinoff series, City of God: The Fight Rages On. Wilson (Alexandre Rodrigues) grew up in the sprawling lower-income suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and, after watching many of his friends and rivals die in the film’s escalating violence, found his escape through his camera. Though he’s become one of the country’s most famous photojournalists, even he’s exhausted by how much of his success has come from capturing images of death.

Wilson...

What’s that Taylor Swift lyric? Something about August TV pairing well with a bottle of wine? She gets it. As the official summer TV season slips away, a variety of new shows will debut across platforms, from docuseries to movie sequels to true crime, and more.

Netflix and BBC’s “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” based on the YA book of the same name, kicks off an otherwise light month on the platform. The same day marks the premiere of two Prime Video originals, “Batman: Caped Crusader” and the panel format talk show “Influenced.” Later in the month, Steph Curry makes his Peacock debut alongside Adam Pally, followed by the film industry deep dive “Hollywood Black. Vince Vaughn makes his Apple TV+ debut with a trained monkey, and for those especially interested in primate programming, there’s also HBO’s “Chimp Crazy” docuseries. The final week of the...

Beat the summer heat with the latest additions at Max! This August, truth is stranger than fiction, and HBO will premiere multiple documentary series and films, including the four-part Original “Chimp Crazy,” a new installment of the Emmy-winning “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears,” and the streaming premiere of the recent Cannes and Tribeca entrant “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes.”

The rest of the month at Max includes the Season 3 premiere of the HBO/BBC One finance industry drama “Industry,” returning after a two-year hiatus, and the surprise “City of God” follow-up series “City of God: The Fight Rages On.” All of the new titles, from new series premieres to classic films joining the library, as well as any new games and matches available this month on Bleacher Report, will be available on either an ad-supported Max plan beginning at $9.99 per month or an ad-free plan beginning at $16.99 per month.

This August, Paramount+ is bringing you a lot of entertainment with the highly anticipated streaming release of the biographical film Bob Marley: One Love and a very weird but humorous and heartfelt film Sasquatch Sunset, which follows the daily lives of a Sasquatch family. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Paramount+ this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Paramount+ in August 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Airplane! (August 1)

Airplane! is a disaster absurdist comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David, and Jerry Zucker. Based on the 1957 drama film Zero Hour! by Arthur Hailey, Hall Bartlett, and John Champion, the 1980 film follows Ted Striker, a former pilot with a fear of flying as he finds himself in the impossible situation of landing a...

As House of the Dragon Season 2 comes to an end on August 4, Max subscribers will be wondering about what’s next. The Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service has a lot to offer in the upcoming month including as many classic and new content comes out on the service. Just like every month there is a lot of content on the way and just like every month, we have sorted out the best movies and TV shows you should invest your time in. So, here are the 7 best movies and TV shows coming to Max in August 2024.

Beetlejuice (August 1)

Beetlejuice is a fantasy comedy horror movie directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay co-written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren. The 1988 film follows the story of a ghost married couple Barbara and Adam, who lead a peaceful life but when their house gets sold to new people, they call on the...

Beth and John’s romantic journey has come to an end.

Hulu has cancelled the Amy Schumer-led dramedy Life & Beth after two seasons, TVLine has learned. The show’s sophomore finale, which dropped on Feb. 16 with the rest of Season 2, now serves as its series finale.

More from TVLineAmerican Rust Cancelled (Again) After Rescue by AmazonTVLine Items: Kardashians Renewed, City of God Series Trailer and MoreHulu, Disney+ and Max's Streaming Bundle Has Launched - Find Out How Much It Costs

Life & Beth premiered on the streamer in March 2022 and starred Schumer as Beth, a woman who realized...

City Of God: The Fight Rages On is a television sequel to the acclaimed 2002 film, City Of God. Here’s the trailer.

City Of God is a modern classic, insofar as 2002 can be considered modern. Written by Bráulio Mantovani and directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, the film received praise for its stark depiction of the lives of its characters and for filming in real favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It went on to be nominated for four Oscars and is often cited as one of the best films of the 21st century.

A spin-off television drama, City Of Men, ran for four series in 2002 to 2005, which was adapted into a film in 2007.

Back in the present, City Of God: The Fight Rages On is described as a direct sequel to the film, with Alexandre Rodrigues – who played budding photographer Rocket in the original 2002 film – reprising his role.

The...

“City of God: The Fight Rages On” is a 6-episode sequel to a 2002 ‘crime drama’ series, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Roberta Rodrigues, Thiago Martins, Sabrina Rosa, Kiko Marques, Edson Oliveira, Andréia Horta, Marcos Palmeira, Eli Ferreira, Luellem de Castro, Jefferson Brasil, Otávio Linhares, Rafael Lozano, Leandro Daniel, and Luiz Bertazzo, streaming August 25, 2024 on Max:

“…two decades have passed as a photojournalist finds himself dropped into an ongoing drug war. The battle for control over the ‘City of God’ rages on, as ‘Rocket’ finds himself caught up in a daily fight that only seems to escalate.

“Then a young drug dealer from prison puts ‘Cidade de Deus’ right back into conflict. As residents become ensnared between drug traffickers, militias and public authorities, the need to escape this cycle makes the community unite to face the oppression…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

"Someone needs to tell this story." HBO has revealed the first official trailer for a streaming series called City of God: The Fight Rages On, a long-awaited legacy sequel to the iconic masterpiece Brazilian film City of God (from 2002). There was already a sort-of-sequel made in 2007 called City of Men, but it had mixed reviews and didn't make much of an impact. This new series follows the very same kid, Rocket (aka Buscapé), and stars Alexandre Rodrigues bringing him back 22 years after starring in the original. The series will follow in the footsteps of the film by Fernando Meirelles and will also be based on Paulo Lins’ book "City of God”. It's set two decades after that of the original, following the current lives of the characters seen in the 2002 film – showing what happened to them. With excerpts used in flashbacks to reconstruct memories and affective recollections. The cast includes: Roberta Rodrigues,...

The I.P. proverb remains true: if you’ve got a popular film brand, a spin-off on television seems inevitable. While it’s more than 20 years later, “City Of God: The Fight Rages On” is a spin-off series based on the Oscar-nominated “City Of God” crime thriller which launched the career of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (though it was also co-directed by Kátia Lund).

Continue reading ‘City Of God’ Trailer: ‘The Fight Rages On’ In New TV Spin-Off Of Beloved Oscar-Winning Film at The Playlist.

Brazilian social impact entertainment company Maria Farinha Films is expanding stateside by opening a Los Angeles office operated by U.S. producer Miura Kite, formerly EVP of global television at Participant, who is joining as president of global content.

Kite’s producer credits at the now-shuttered Participant include the upcoming Taiki Waititi-directed show “Interior Chinatown” that will premiere on Hulu this fall. She previously worked with Maria Farinha Films on “Esperanza,” an adventure drama jointly developed with Participant that tracks the crew of the titular vessel as they fight for environmental and social rights around the world, with award-winning director Fernando Meirelles as co-showrunner.

For the São Paulo-based company that is a leading Latin American studio, known for its hit Globoplay Original “Aruanas,” setting up a Los Angeles outpost is part of a broader expansion plan.

Maria Farinha Films last month announced it had taken a minority stake in Joanna Natasegara...

Principal photography has commenced on the Arab underworld thriller “Boomah” (“The Owl”), written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan and marking the Jordanian filmmaker’s second feature following his critically acclaimed “Daughters of Abdul Rahman.”

Previously announced in December, Rakeen Saad is set to play the titular role of the female thug Boomah. Saad rose to acclaim for her central roles in hit shows “The Giza Killer” and the Netflix original “Al Rawabi School for Girls,” and will next be seen as the lead in a new Netflix series production “Echoes of the Past” and “The Way of the Wind,” the biblical drama by Terrence Malick.

“Boomah” — now shooting in Jordan — reunites Saad with Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida who will play the role of her best friend and confidant Anoud. Arida will next appear in “Laura H,” a Dutch TV series based on the bestseller by journalist Thomas Rueb. Rounding...

The cast of upcoming Arab crime thriller Boomah has been revealed as director Zaid Abu Hamdan begins filming in Jordan.

As previously reported, the title role is to be played by Rakeen Saad, star of Netflix hit AlRawabi School For Girls and who will next be seen in Netflix series Echoes Of The Past and Terrence Malick’s biblical drama The Way Of The Wind.

Boomah will see Saad reunite with Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida, who will play the role of her best friend and confidant Anoud. Arida will next be seen in Dutch TV series Laura H.

Rounding out the cast are Majd Eid,...

Zaid Abu Hamdan has begun principal photography in Jordan on new film Boomah which is being positioned as an Arab world thriller with a similar gritty edge as City of God, Gomorrah and La Haine.

Boomah marks Jordanian director Abu Hamdan’s second feature after his critically acclaimed female focused drama Daughters of Abdul Rahman.

The Giza Killer and Al Rawabi School For Girls actress Rakeen Saad stars in the titular role of a female thug, who goes by the name of Boomah. The actress is also soon to be seen as the lead in new Netflix series production Echoes of the Past, as well as in Terrence Malick’s biblical drama The Way of the Wind.

She will be joined by Rawabi co-star Joanna Arida in the role of Boomah’s best friend and confidant Anoud. Rounding out the cast are Majd Eid, Nabil Al Raee and Hanan Al Hilo, who previously starred in Daughters of Abdul Rahman.

The new film is billed as an “expansive crime thriller” set against the backdrop of Jordan’s underworld. Protagonist Boomah is notorious and knife-savvy female gang member who becomes embroiled in a power struggle between street thugs and religious extremists while battling the traumas of her harrowing orphaned past.

The film is produced by Front Row Productions with Ahmad Abu Koush and director Abu Hamdan’s Jordan-based Bounce Productions.

Also on board is Amman-based production company Bayt Al Shawareb, which worked on 2014 Oscar-nominated film Theeb and the 2023 Cannes Critics’ Week breakout Inshallah a Boy.

A joint venture between Mena distributors Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment, Front Row Productions’ previous credits include Netflix originals Perfect Strangers, The Sandcastle, starring Nadine Labaki and Ziad Bakri, and the upcoming Cliffhanger reboot.

“We’re proud to be a part of this project, supporting Jordanian and Levantine talent during this extremely difficult and trying period, with so much risk inherent in cinema and arts coming out of this region,” said Front Row Productions partners Gianluca Chakra and Mario Jr. Haddad.

“Zaid is an outstanding young and ambitious director with a very bright future ahead, a true visionary and difference-maker. His understanding of the nuances of Jordanian street culture is exceptional,” they added.

“We are concentrating on a script and storytelling that transcends borders and nationality while looking to break the limits of background and identity to bring Boomah to a wide Arab audience and beyond. We see Boomah positioned as a film with Arab and international appeal, as a crime thriller reminiscent of great underworld juggernaut works like City of God, Gomorrah, La Haine and others.”...

Exclusive: Limonero Films has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Blue Carbon, an innovative environmental-themed documentary produced by Make Waves Media that features the participation of Grammy-nominated music producer and DJ Jayda Guy, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, and Brazilian musician Seu Jorge. Limonero, based in London and Barcelona, will launch sales of the film at Sunny Side of the Doc, the world’s largest documentary-focused market, which kicks off today in La Rochelle, France.

Blue Carbon, directed by Emmy and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Nicolas Brown (The Serengeti Rules) and executive produced by Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles and Sarah Macdonald, premiered on CNN earlier this year.

‘Blue Carbon’

“Filmed in the USA, Senegal, Vietnam, France, Colombia and Brazil, the documentary explores the relatively newly-discovered potential of oceans to absorb much more carbon from the atmosphere than even tropical rainforests,” notes a description of the documentary. “This ‘Blue Carbon’ as scientists are now calling it,...

As we approach the halfway point of 2024 and the start of Emmy nomination voting, IndieWire’s craft team picks the best cinematography of series that premiered so far this year. Only halfway into the year, we already have had a tremendous amount of well-made television to select from, and there were a handful of projects that could have made this list and still might when we revisit later this year. For this early version, we weren’t seeking the slickest looking eye candy, nor even the most elegantly shot series (although many of these projects are striking), but instead sought titles in which the cinematography was integral to the vision of its creator and elevated the storytelling of some of the year’s best shows.

While the long and repeated grind of television production can make the art of cinematography more of a team sport working under the umbrella of a series’ visual bible,...

Exclusive: M88 has signed filmmaker Alexandre Moratto for representation.

Moratto’s debut feature film Socrates, made with Unicef on a budget of $20k with a cast and crew of teenagers from São Paulo’s low-income communities, earned him the ‘Someone to Watch’ Independent Spirit Award.

The film follows the titular character, a Black teen from the coast of Brazill and his journey to overcome poverty, grief following his mother’s death and homophobia. It was produced by directors Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Fernando Meirelles (City of God), who also produced his sophomore feature Netflix’s 7 Prisoners.

The film, starring Christian Malheiros and Rodrigo Santoro, follows Mateus, a poor 18-year-old from rural Brazil who leaves home for what sounds like a solid opportunity—a job at a metal scrapyard in São Paulo, earning enough money to help support his mother and sisters back home. Matheus and a small...

"City of God" is so much more than just Brazil's answer to "GoodFellas,". One of the most acclaimed Brazilian films of all time, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's 2001 masterpiece is a portrait of Rio de Janeiro and its reality, the ugly and the beautiful sides of it. Set in the favelas of Rio in the '70s, the film centers on two men, each following a different path they say is forced on them by their Dickensian circumstances. One becomes a photographer documenting the drug-related violence that is rapidly increasing in the neighborhood, while the other becomes an ambitious drug dealer climbing the ladder.

In addition to gathering universal acclaim for its acting, cinematography, writing and portrayal of the favelas, "City of God" also got four nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. Now, over 20 years after the release of the original, Max has announced a sequel series.

If Heat and The Insider are agreed upon as Michael Mann’s all-time best films, what is the director’s most underrated feature to date? Is it Thief? The Keep? Manhunter? Public Enemies? Nah. There’s only one acceptable answer: 2004’s criminally overlooked nocturnal neo-noir Collateral. Featuring a rare villainous turn by Tom Cruise and a restrained Oscar-nominated performance by Jamie Foxx, the L.A. crime story was the first film in history to utilize the Viper FilmStream High Definition Camera. The digital format that David Fincher would later adopt for use on Zodiac and Benjamin Button. Beyond the cutting-edge technology, the remote locations Mann and his production team gave viewers a much different glimpse of Los Angeles away from the glamor of Hollywood and into the seedy, sinister parts of town rarely seen on the big screen.

Believe it or not, Collateral was conceived by screenwriter Stuart Beattie when...

Buenos Aires-based production, sales and distribution company FilmSharks has picked up all worldwide rights to the new crime thriller by Argentina’s Sebastian Schindel, “A Silent Death” (Una muerte silenciosa”), to which it has sold Latin American theatrical rights to Disney’s Star Distribution, slated for release later in the year.

Said FilmSharks CEO Guido Rud: “This is likely to become one of the biggest Latin American films of the year. Sebastian Schindel has earned his stripes as the Master of Crime after the huge international success of his films ‘The Boss,’ ‘Anatomy of a Crime,’ ‘Crimes that Bind’ and ‘The Wrath of God.’”

“There is a huge appetite for crime films across all platforms,” noted Rud who also holds the remake rights to the film.

Starring Joaquín Furriel, Soledad Villamil (“The Secret in Their Eyes”) Alejandro Awada (“Nine Queens”) and Maria Marull (“Wild Tales”), the psychological thriller is...

In Hollywood, director Fernando Meirelles is known for critically acclaimed films like “City of God” and “The Constant Gardner.” His TV work had been confined to Brazil, which, he discovered while shooting the Apple TV+ series “Sugar,” was nothing like American TV production.

“My first impression [was] the size, the scale of the whole thing, it’s a big circus,” Meirelles told IndieWire. “You’re tied into this big machine, and you’re piloting the machine, but the machine is also taking you. It’s an interesting experience, much different from what I was used to, but I really enjoyed it.”

Meirelles description makes it sound like he was an important cog in the big wheel of TV production, which, of course, is common for directors who enjoy more autonomy of smaller films. Except “Sugar” does not move, look, or feel like anything on American TV. The coverage and cutting patterns are anything but conventional.

Few companies in the world have had such as impact on their local film industry than Globo Filmes, the feature co-production arm of Brazilian giant Globo, which is Latin America’s biggest communications conglomerate. Over the last 25 years, Globo Filmes has backed more than 500 movies, almost all through co-production.

Those films have collectively sold 260 million cinema theater admissions, an average of over 10 million admissions a year, accounting for more than 70% of Brazilian market share from 1998-2024.

Globo Filmes greenlights more than 20 movies a year, powering up by far the biggest production slate of any company in Brazil, thanks to article 3A of the country’s audiovisual law, which allows it to tap tax incentives for investing in feature films.

Launching in 1998, Globo Filmes helped accelerate the Brazilian film industry’s recovery after President Fernando Collor de Mello shuttered state film agency Embrafilme in 1990, paralyzing production. Twenty-five years later, after a...

A key driver in Brazil’s late 1990s cinema resurgence, Globo Filmes has co-produced iconic box office blockbusters, Oscar and “A” Fest plays, arthouse breakouts. movies sparking big TV spin-offs. A brief selection of milestones in its storied history:

1990

President Fernando Collar’s government closes state owned film company Embrafilme, decimating Brazilian film production.

1993

A new Audiovisual Law offers companies income tax deductions for investment in Brazilian movies as Brazil’s Resurgence – economic and cultural recovery – lifts off.

1997

Globo Filmes is founded. Recalls Daniel Filho, its guiding spirit, in early years: “I started working in Globo TV but I always said: “I want to make cinema.’ I was on my way to close a deal with exhibitor Luis Severiano Ribeiro to launch a film production house when I got a call from Globo to launch Globo Filmes. I agreed: Globo had to do what French and British channels were doing: Participate in films.

Dark Matter releases on Apple TV+ on May 8th, 2024.

The Multiverse is undeniably dominating the world of pop-culture. With Everything Everywhere All At Once sweeping the Oscars in 2023, Spider-Man: No Way Home bringing fan favorite web-slingers back to the big-screen and The Flash… well, perhaps it’s better not to talk about that one. Audiences fascination with the multi-verse has slowed down in 2024. Deadpool and Wolverine is set to “save the MCU” by bringing the Merc with a Mouth into the biggest cinematic universe in history and teaming him up with Hugh Jackman’s highly celebrated Wolverine; however, the multi-verse isn’t exclusive to superhero levels of extravagance.

Dark Matter uses the endless possibilities of parallel universes for deeper exploration. The new series, adapted from the 2016 novel written by Blake Crouch — who also acts as an executive producer and writer here — utilizes the sliding doors theory to tackle elements of love and regret.

The writer of Sugar from Apple TV+, Mark Protosevich, is known to viewers as the screenwriter of Thor, I Am Legend and The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez. Most of the episodes were directed by Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian director whose City of God earned him an Academy Award nomination for directing.

Colin Farrell, one of the most prominent actors right now, not only stars but also executive produces. What could go wrong?

Sugar Episode 6 Big Twist Turned the Show on Its Head

Until the finale of the sixth episode, Sugar looks like a quality detective story, filled with quotes from old movies, which then takes a sharp turn and takes on a new and completely unnecessary dimension.

A person who speaks Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, and many other languages, has the reflexes of a superhero, loves people, and sincerely wishes the best for everyone – isn't he in a coma or maybe...

For British rapper Skepta, music was just the beginning of his creative pursuits.

Earlier this year, the multi-hyphenate released his first short film, “Tribal Mark,” in the U.K., followed by a SXSW screening and premieres in L.A. and New York last month. The short follows Mark (Jude Carmichael), a teenaged Nigerian immigrant who is adapting to life in London when he is introduced to the world of the undercover Black Secret Service. Skepta appears in the film as an older Mark, once he has taken up his anti-hero alias of Tribal Mark.

Skepta co-directed the short with Dwight Okechukwu, his partner in production company 1Plus1, and hopes that it will draw attention to important social issues surrounding non-eu immigrants, including mental health and racial prejudice.

“Being the child of immigrants, when I come across other children of immigrants from around the world, I relate to them a lot.

On Sunday, April 28, Apple TV+ held a special Emmys FYC event for the new drama series “Sugar.” Gold Derby associate editor Latasha Ford was there to chat with the show’s Oscar-nominated star Colin Farrell as well as executive producer Audrey Chon. The invite-only event was held at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Watch the exclusive red carpet interviews above.

In the eight-episode series, Farrell portrays American private investigator John Sugar, a man assigned to look into the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As he tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.

SEEColin Farrell movies: 19 greatest films ranked from worst to best

The series also stars Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“Sandman”), Amy Ryan (“The Wire”), James Cromwell (“Succession”), Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”), Dennis Boutsikaris (“Better Call Saul”), Nate Corddry (“Mindhunter...

The new Apple TV+ series “Sugar” isn’t shy about announcing its influences: It’s steeped in the traditions of film noir.

Creator Mark Protosevich leaned into the tropes of detective stories by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett when creating private investigator John Sugar (Colin Farrell), who himself is obsessed with classic Hollywood film noirs. Director Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”) and editor Fernando Stutz went so far as to edit in clips from those classic films, drawing parallels between Sugar’s investigation into the disappearance of Olivia Siegel (Sydney Chandler) to Humphrey Bogart’s spin as Phillip Marlowe in “The Big Sleep.”

“I wanted a character who carried themselves in a classic style, that this is a person who doesn’t necessarily seem from this time,” Protosevich told IndieWire. He wondered how out of place the noble heroes of classic ’30s and ’40s Hollywood movies would feel in modern...

Get ready for a gritty noir mystery thriller series set in Los Angeles created by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) and directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God). Apple TV+’s latest series titled Sugar is an original story and it follows the titular character Private Detective John Sugar, who goes to LA to find a missing girl named Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As he digs deeper into the case he finds some secrets the Siegel family would have liked to keep buried.

While the critical reception of Sugar is not as good as I would have hoped, it is still an impressive series and worth your time. So, if you want to lose yourself in the dirty underbelly of LA with Pi John Sugar, here are the dates for the series’ upcoming episodes.

Sugar – Episode Guide (When Will The New Episodes Air?) Credit...

“I don’t like to hurt people,” John Sugar (Colin Farrell) says at the beginning of Sugar, the Apple TV+ series created by Mark Protosevich (The Cell) and directed for the most part by Fernando Meirelles (City of God). He means it.

As an onscreen private investigator, Sugar is atypical. He’s disarming and warm, even kind. The guy’s multilingual and speaks fluent Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish. And he’s patient — and that’s with everyone, mind, even violent types who pull guns on him or slash open his tailored suit jacket. Women invite him to bed; he tucks them in and goes home. Sugar also likes movies — he subscribes to Sight And Sound and Cahiers du Cinéma, among other notable mags — and, just to be thorough, he’s very fond of dogs and cats. Mike Hammer, he is not.

Before his mid-career upswing — starting either with “The Lobster” or “The Beguiled” and running through recent scorchers like “After Yang” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” — it’s worth remembering that Colin Farrell used to make bad movies, too. Now, his hot streak includes an Oscar nomination and a successful blockbuster franchise (soon with its own TV spinoff), but back then, for every “New World” and “In Bruges,” there was a “London Boulevard” and “Dead Man Down.” “Disappointing” may be a better descriptor of his star-forming era, with the “Total Recall” and “Fright Night” reboots, as well as earlier flops like “Alexander,” “The Recruit,” and “S.W.A.T.” But no matter how you remember them (if you remember them), Farrell’s early career offered uncertain quality. Of course, TV fans needn’t be reminded that Farrell’s charming Irish talents have gone to waste in projects unworthy of his efforts. We shan’t...

“The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl will serve as the president of this year’s Canneseries competition jury, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Danish actor kickstarted her career with the 1986 film “Barndommens gade” (“The Streets of My Childhood”) and is known for her TV roles including “The Killing,” “Nikolaj og Julie” and “Taxa.”

Joining Gråbøl on the jury are “Madame Hollywood” director, screenwriter and producer Olivier Abbou; “Four Daughters” composer Amine Bouhafa; “City of God” actor Alice Braga; “Blancanieves” actor Macarena García; and “Samber” actor Alix Poisson.

Together, the jury will judge the eight series in competition and unveil the winners on April 10. The series competing in the festival’s main lineup include “Dark Horse” (Denmark), “Dumbsday” (Norway), “Living on a Razor’s Edge” (Brazil), “Moresnet” (Belgium), “Operation Sabre” (Serbia), “This Is Not Sweden” (Spain and Sweden), “To the Wonder” (China) and “The Zweiflers” (Germany).

“This upcoming edition feels like the...

The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl is leading the Canneseries jury.

Gråbøl will be joined by Olivier Abbou, Amine Bouhafa, Alice Braga, Macarena García and Alix Poisson in the six-strong jury judging a strong competition lineup that includes the likes of Denmark’s Dark Horse, Euro co-pro This is Not Sweden and Beta Film’s Operation Sabre.

Multi-award-winner Gråbøl is best known as the star of Scandi noir smash The Killing, in which she played the role of police inspector Sarah Lund, which brought her international fame. Past credits include breakout Early Spring, Taxa and Nikolaj og Julie.

She is joined by Abbou, the director and producer of a number of series and movies including Madame Hollywood, Territories and Get In, along with Braga, the Brazilian actress who has starred in internationally-acclaimed City of God and Hollywood movies such as The Suicide Squad.

García, meanwhile, made her film debut with Pablo Berger...

Actor Colin Farrell has been a prominent figure in the entertainment industry since the early 2000s. While he has appeared in numerous films over the years, many now primarily recognize him for his portrayal of Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, better known as The Penguin, in the 2022 film The Batman.

A still from The Batman

There are a lot of things to be said about the city of Los Angeles when it comes to its significance in the world of TV shows and cinema in general. Sugar, the new mystery series on Apple TV+, starring Colin Farrell, does a great job of capturing the essence of the City of Angels, especially the ugly underbelly. In this atmospheric backdrop, Farrell assumes a new enigmatic persona, embodying the essence of the city’s moody ambience.

Colin Farrell Incorporates A New Mysterious Character For The New Show Sugar Sugar

In a clip from the upcoming series called Sugar,...

The Festival Agency are proud to announce the re-release of Fernando Meirelles’ iconic masterpiece City of God in UK cinemas now. To celebrate we are giving away a bundle of City of God goodies including a limited edition City of God skateboard, t-shirt and poster to a lucky winner!

Twenty-one years after dazzling audiences on its original release, this visually stunning and gripping story of life on the mean streets of Rio, returns to the big screen for an unforgettable cinematic experience.

A searing adaptation of Paulo Lins’ novel, based on real events, City Of God weaves together the compelling stories of a group of kids growing up in the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio from the 1960s to the 80s. The narrator Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), tries to avoid being drawn in to the usual spiral of violence and crime to become a photographer and win over the beautiful Angélica (Alicia...

Everything old is new again when it comes to TV detective shows. First, Natasha Lyonne did her best Columbo on Peacock’s quirky Poker Face, then Clive Owen resurrected iconic gumshoe Sam Spade on AMC’s sleek Monsieur Spade. Now Colin Farrell is taking a shot at the old-school private eye game with Apple TV+’s Sugar — and what do you know, this one works, too. A stylishly shot throwback to classic film noir with lean and mean storytelling and smart and lively dialogue, Sugar (premiering Friday, Apr. 5; I’ve seen four of the eight episodes) doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel…...

A stylishly engaging and crisp neo-noir steeped in the hardboiled detective tradition, Apple TV+’s “Sugar,” starring Colin Farrell, is rather terrific—that is, until it’s not. Created by Mark Protosevich (“I Am Legend”) and fabulously directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (“City Of God”) and Adam Arkin (“The Offer”), “Sugar” is initially sleek and captivatingly crafted in its depiction of L.A.

Continue reading ‘Sugar’ Review: Colin Farrell’s Detective Noir Is Stylishly Terrific Until Its Terrible Wtf? Twist at The Playlist.

Pop quiz: Which of these Apple TV+ shows is real? "Dear Edward," "Acapulco," "Liason," or "Swagger?" Trick question -- the answer is all of them. I'm not trying to dunk on those specific shows, just illustrating the point that since Apple TV+ is still not a super heavy hitter in the streaming game, a lot of great stuff can easily fall through the cracks. But if you like compelling television, you won't want the new series "Sugar" to fall through the cracks. 

Created by Mark Protosevich and executive produced and frequently directed by Fernando Meirelles, the series is a noir mystery starring Colin Farrell as John Sugar, a private investigator who is tasked with tracking down a missing girl in Los Angeles. You've seen that premise a thousand times in movies featuring guys like Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, and Dana Andrews. But "Sugar" not only welcomes those comparisons, it actively...

India’s B62 Studios has an early 2024 hit with February release “Article 370,” and also has an ambitious slate lined up with plans for expanding into eastern Asia.

B62 was launched by the brothers Dhar — Lokesh and Aditya — and is named after their address in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar neighborhood, where they grew up watching the best of Bollywood alongside arthouse cinema. Lokesh Dhar went on to a flourishing career in film marketing, distribution and syndication before turning to producing, while Aditya Dhar directed military action film “Uri: The Surgical Strike,” one of the biggest Indian box office hits of 2019.

B62 has already completed its next 2024 release, “Baramulla,” directed by “Article 370” helmer Aditya Suhas Jambhale and, like that film, also set in Kashmir. “People do spy universe, people do superhero universe, we are doing Kashmir universe,” laughed Aditya Dhar. “Baramulla” is a supernatural thriller Aditya Dhar wrote in 2015-...