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Irish filmmaker Brendan Canty’s debut feature Christy will open the 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca on June 13.

The coming-of-age-story had its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section where it won the section’s Grand Prix for best film.

The film will be launching TIFF’s new competitive section, Teen Spirit, dedicated to exploring youth culture through fiction and documentary films, with the winning film being decided by a jury made up of local teenagers aged 16 to 20.

The screening of Christy on Cluj-Napoca’s Unirii Square will be preceded...

The Beijing International Film Festival has developed a reputation for putting a spotlight on female voices in cinema.

Its 15th edition, running April 18-26, is continuing that trend with its sixth annual “Women’s Voice” section, featuring the likes of Walter Salles’ Oscar winner I’m Still Here, the political autobiographical drama starring Fernanda Torres as a Brazilian woman whose dissident husband disappears, and Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, his depression comedy-drama with Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

“In recent years, female creators and their stories have continued to emerge, and the voices of women on screen have become more diverse and powerful,” the Beijing festival highlights. “These works continue to break boundaries in form and theme, bringing us richer and more multidimensional female expressions.”

This year’s lineup “brings together masters and emerging creators from all over the world” who “show the complex faces of women” in various situations. “This is not only a cinematic feast,...

Looking for bold new work from first- and second-time feature filmmakers? Look no further than New Directors/New Films, the New York City festival that annually highlights them. Now in its 54th year, New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf) returns to New York April 2 through 13, hailing from the Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center.

Sarah Friedland’s debut feature, “Familiar Touch,” will open the festival with its New York premiere. The drama centers on a dementia-suffering octogenarian Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), who has a surreal experience after relocating to an assisted-living facility. The film nearly swept the 2024 Venice Film Festival Orizzonti Competition, winning Lion of the Future, Best Director, and Best Actress for Chalfant.

The festival closes with the post-Sundance New York debut of the stylish “Lurker,” directed by Emmy-winning “Beef” and “The Bear” writer and producer Alex Russell. Théodore Pellerin stars as a retail worker who becomes...

About an hour into Familiar Touch, Sarah Friedland’s feature directorial debut, a subtle yet striking stylistic rupture occurs. The effects of dementia on octogenarian Ruth Goldman (Kathleen Chalfant) grow gradually more pronounced as her stay in assisted living stretches on. In gentle gestures—most frequently a pronounced pause—Chalfant renders what the disease takes from her character by making present an overwhelming sense of absence.

But when the camera surveys Ruth in a doctor’s chair, following Chalfant’s hands downward as she caresses her chest and arms, the film shifts out of its thus-far straightforward perspective. The scene jumps unexpectedly away from the room to a moment of tender hand-holding that Ruth shares with her doctor at the facility before returning to Ruth grasping her wrist. The tactile has supplanted the temporal, and it jolts the film into an enthralling new register.

This sensorial, rather than sensationalist, approach...

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Theo Angelopoulos, Lynne Ramsay, Tsai Ming-liang, Michael Haneke, Lee Chang-dong, Terence Davies, Shōhei Imamura, Bi Gan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Wong Kar-wai, Yorgos Lanthimos, Denis Villleneuve, Céline Sciamma, Guillermo del Toro, Kelly Reichardt, and RaMell Ross––those are just a few of the filmmakers introduced to New York audiences at New Directors/New Films over the last half-century.

Now returning for its 54th edition at Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art from April 2-13, this year’s lineup features 33 new films, presenting acclaimed titles from Berlinale, Cannes, Locarno, Sundance, Rotterdam, and more. Ahead of the festival kicking off next week, we’ve gathered our recommended films to see, and one can explore the full lineup and schedule here.

Blue Sun Palace (Constance Tsang)

Shot largely on location in Queens, Blue Sun Palace explores a hidden culture and milieu.

The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center has announced the full lineup for the 54th edition of New Directors/New Films, unspooling at MoMA on April 2–13.

The event, presenting 24 features and nine short films — including 20 North American or U.S. premieres — will open with Sarah Friedland’s Venice award-winner Familiar Touch and close with Alex Russell’s Lurker from Sundance and Berlin. Both are New York premieres.

Familiar Touch, Friedland’s debut, won three top prizes in the 2024 Venice Film Festival Orizzonti Competition and showcases an astonishing performance by Kathleen Chalfant.

Russell’s feature debut Lurker, is a tense thriller about the darker side of pop-star worship.

Films in the Nd/Nf program probe a diverse array of themes, including community and co-existence, family histories, the lives of artists, global political issues, and the complexities of youth and coming of age. A number of works experiment with hybrid forms,...

Sarah Friedland’s Venice Film Festival prize-winning grand slam debut Familiar Touch is set to open the 54th edition of New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf) and Alex Russell‘s Lurker – a 2025 Sundance and Berlinale selection will be bookending the fest which takes place between April 2nd through April 13th. A true mixed bag of most first time efforts, we have films going back to last year’s Cannes in Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang and the Un Certain Regard film The Village Next to Paradise by Mo Harawe. Here is the line-up.…...

After showcasing work from the likes of Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Kelly Reichardt, Pedro Almodóvar, Souleymane Cissé, Jia Zhangke, Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar-wai, Agnieszka Holland, Denis Villeneuve, Luca Guadagnino, and more, New Directors/New Films is back for their 54th edition, taking place from April 2-13 at Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. The 2025 lineup has now been unveiled, including Sarah Friedland’s Opening Night selection Familiar Touch, Alex Russell’s Closing Night selection Lurker, as well as more acclaimed features such as Invention, Drowning Dry, Fiume o morte!, No Sleep Till, Two Times João Liberada, Timestamp, and more.

Dan Sullivan, 2025 Nd/Nf Co-Chair and Flc Programmer, says, “The lineup for this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films inevitably reflects the uncertainties and tragedies of our global situation in 2025, yet it also evinces the sheer resilience of cinema and the...

The 54th annual New Directors/New Films festival is almost here. IndieWire can unveil this year’s lineup of the beloved program from theMuseum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center. The 2025 New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf) will take place April 2 – April 13.

Sarah Friedland’s debut feature “Familiar Touch” will open the festival with its New York premiere. The drama centers on octogenarian Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant) who has a surreal experience after relocating to an assisted-living facility. The feature earned three awards in the 2024 Venice Film Festival Orizzonti Competition, including the Lion of the Future, Best Director, and Best Actress for Chalfant.

Nd/Nf will close with the New York premiere of buzzy Sundance 2025 film “Lurker,” directed by “Beef” and “The Bear” writer and supervising producer Alex Russell. Théodore Pellerin stars as a retail worker who becomes obsessed with an up-and-coming musician (Archie Madekwe). “Lurker” is Russell’s feature directorial debut.

Heading towards next month’s Academy Awards, Sean Baker’s Anora has been on a complete rebound, taking over awards season via the WGA, DGA and PGA. Now, it has added the Independent Spirit Awards to that list, taking home three at yesterday’s ceremony: Best Feature, Best Director for Baker and Best Lead Performance for Mikey Madison. Going in, it co-led the nominees with five, tying with I Saw the TV Glow.

Check out the full list of winners from the 40th Independent Spirit Awards below:

Best Feature: Anora

Best First Feature: Didi

John Cassavetes Award: Girls Will Be Girls

Best Director: Sean Baker, Anora

Best Screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain

Best First Screenplay: Sean Wang, Dìdi

Best Lead Performance: Mikey Madison, Anora

Best Supporting Performance: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Best Breakthrough Performance: Maisy Stella, My Old Ass

Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, Nickel Boys

Best Editing: Hansjörg Weissbrich,...

Film Independent handed out its 2025 Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon (February 22), in a Santa Monica ceremony that saw Anora claim three prizes for best feature, director Sean Baker, and lead performance Mikey Madison in the gender-neutral category.

Sean Wang’s Didi took two prizes for best first feature and first screenplay, whileGints Zilbalodis’s Latvian animation Flow won international film and No Other Land was named best documentary. A Real Pain also nabbed two awards for screenplay and supporting actor Kieran Culkin.

While it is too late for the Spirit Awards to have any bearing on the Oscars next weekend...

Kieran Culkin took home the win for best supporting performance at the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday.

Presented by Kathryn Hahn, Culkin won the honor for his work in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, marking his first Spirit Award ever. Culkin — who is starring in Glengarry Glen Ross, which opens March 10 on Broadway — was not present at the Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday, but Hahn accepted the award on his behalf.

His win at the 2025 Spirit Awards came a little over a month after he won the award for best supporting actor at the 2025 Golden Globes. Culkin, too, became a first-time Oscar nominee this year with a nod in the same category for his portrayal of Benji Kaplan in A Real Pain.

The Succession star was nominated for best supporting performance at the Spirit Awards alongside Yura Borisov (Anora), Joan Chen (Dìdi), Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson...

The 40th annual Independent Spirit Awards took place in Santa Monica on Feb. 22, with Aidy Bryant as host for the second year in a row.

“Anora” was the biggest winner of the day, being named best feature while Sean Baker and Mikey Madison took home individual trophies for best director and lead performance. “Baby Reindeer” also won big, with Richard Gadd, Nava Mau and Jessica Gunning clinching the awards for lead, supporting and breakthrough performance, though “Shogun” won best new scripted series. And Sean Wang’s “Dìdi” clinched both awards in the debut film category: best first feature as well as best first first screenplay.

See the full list of winners below.

Best Feature

“Anora” (Winner)

“I Saw the TV Glow”

“Nickel Boys”

“Sing Sing”

“The Substance”

Best First Feature

“Dìdi” (Winner)

“In the Summers”

“Janet Planet”

“The Piano Lesson”

“Problemista”

John Cassavetes Award – Given to the best feature made...

Film Independent handed out its 2025 Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon (February 22), in a Santa Monica ceremony that saw Anora claim three prizes for best feature, director Sean Baker, and lead actor Mikey Madison in the gender-neutral category.

Sean Wang’s Didi took two prizes for best first feature and first screenplay, while Gints Zilbalodis’s Latvian animation Flow won international film and No Other Land was named best documentary. A Real Pain also nabbed two awards for screenplay and supporting actor Kieran Culkin.

Baker gave an impassioned speech calling for higher upfront fees for independent directors who he said take...

Paris-based sales outfit Memento International has rebranded as Paradise City Sales and will operate under Emilie Georges and Naima Abed’s Paris and London-based Paradise City banner moving forward.

The sales arm aims to board projects from early stages produced by Paradise City like Anthony Chen’s 2023 Sundance title Drift starring Cynthia Erivo, and Hailey Gates’ Sundance Jury Grand Prize-winning Atropia, on which Paradise City is a producer. It will continue to acquire some 10 films per year from independent producers and balance emerging talent with established filmmakers.

Paradise City Sales is at EFM with Hungarian filmmaker Lili Horvát’s English-language...

Exclusive: UTA has inked filmmaker and choreographer Sarah Friedland whose movie Familiar Touch made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last fall.

Friedland’s debut feature film received both the Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Debut Film and the Horizons Award for Best Director at Venice.

The pic which stars Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen with H. Jon Benjamin follows an octogenarian woman who transitions to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers amidst her shifting memory, age identity, and desires. Chalfant received the award for Best Actress, making Familiar Touch the most awarded film selected for the Horizons category in the festival’s history.

On the heels of her success at Venice, Friedland was also honored with an Independent Spirit Award in the Someone to Watch category.

Friedland’s previous work has been...

On Saturday, the Spirit Awards returned to the beach. Casa Del Mar Hotel Santa Monica hosted our annual Spirit Awards Nominees Brunch to celebrate all the 2025 nominees and their films. The ultimate power brunch. Yes, there was fashion, yes there was shmoozing, yes there was eggs benedict, but more importantly there were the FilmIndependent Spirit Award Emerging Filmmaker Awards. These three awards celebrate emerging filmmakers with a total of $75,000 in unrestricted grants, as well as some see-through oblong hardware.

The awards were hosted by the great Karen Pittman of The Morning Show and the upcoming Netflix series, Forever, that can be seen later this year. This year’s prizes included the Producers Award, the Someone to Watch Award and the Truer Than Fiction Award. Watch the winners’ full acceptance speeches and learn more below:

The Producers Award

The Producers Award, in its 28th iteration, went to Sarah Winshall for her...

As per usual, well before the actual film awards show takes place (February 25th) – three lucky people in three categories are offered cash prizes rather trophyware by the Film Independent Spirit Awards folks – its that little extra nudge to push the future of cinema into the right direction. The The Producers Award, Someone To Watch Award and Truer Than Fiction Awards were handed out this past weekend and two indie folks we’ve been tracking (both happen to be at the U.S in Progress in Wroclaw last October) were given some cold hard cash. Sarah Friedland who premiered Familiar Touch at Venice (winning a trio of major awards) grabbed the Someone to Watch Award (her debut will be in contention at the ceremony in 2026), while Smudge Films producer Sarah Winshall who returns to Sundance this year after preeming I Saw the TV Glow and Good One at the fest...

At its annual Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch on Saturday, Film Independent honored three up-and-coming directors. The event held to honor the late head of the group, Josh Welsh, was both sad and happy.

Brenda Robinson, chair of the Film Independent board, opened the event by speaking from the heart. She got everyone to stand up and honor Welsh, who died on December 31 after a five-year fight with colon cancer.

Robinson told the audience, which included entertainment industry stars like Mikey Madison and Mark Eidelstein from “Anora,” Demi Moore from “The Substance,” and filmmaker RaMell Ross, whose film “Nickel Boys” was recently praised by the National Society of Film Critics.

Robinson thanked the community, saying, “I’m so thankful to be surrounded by such a beautiful group of people, our wonderful staff, leadership, and board.” “I want to lift Josh,” she said, inviting everyone to celebrate Welsh’s life. I’d like to praise him.

Film Independent announced the winners of its three Emerging Filmmaker Awards at its annual Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch on Saturday. Winners for the remaining categories are set to be announced on Feb. 22.

Opening remarks were delivered by Brenda Robinson, chair of the board at Film Independent, who remembered the organization’s late president Josh Welsh during her speech.

Welsh died on Dec. 31 after a five-year battle with colon cancer.

Robinson said, “We’re handing out a lot of free hugs this week.” She went on to say, “We’re in quite a moment today, and I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such a beautiful group of people, our wonderful staff and leadership and board. This has been a week of introspection for me and so many of us.”

“Anora” stars Mikey Madison and Mark Eidelstein, “The Substance” star Demi Moore, RaMell Ross whose film “Nickel Boys” was named...

The Film Independent Spirit Awards have given three $25,000 cash grants to emerging filmmakers Sarah Winshall, Rachel Elizabeth Seed and Sarah Friedland at its annual Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees Brunch, which took place on Saturday at Casa Del Mara in Santa Monica. Karen Pittman hosted.

Nominations in the three categories, the only Indie Spirit Award categories that offer cash prizes rather than trophies, were announced with the rest of the Indie Spirit nominations on Dec. 5, but the winners are revealed in advance of the Feb. 25 ceremony.

Winshall received the Producers Award, which is given to an emerging producer working with limited resources. Friedland was given the Someone to Watch Award, which salutes “a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.” And Seed received the Truer Than Fiction Award, which goes to an emerging director of nonfiction features.

The annual Nominees Brunch is typically a festive...

The fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia brought out big stars, from Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh to Jeremy Renner, Michael Douglas and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as new movies from the Middle East, Asia and Africa along with festival favorites of the year.

It also presented an opportunity to bring together six filmmakers who have made names for themselves as game changers and innovators for the second annual Hollywood Reporter roundtable at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Rsiff 2024 jury president Spike Lee took time out of his busy festival schedule to take part in the discussion at the historic Nassif House Museum in Jeddah’s Old Town Al-Balad. Representing host nation Saudi Arabia was Meshal Al Jaser, whose humorous thriller Naga, which tells the story of a young woman who sneaks out for a date that goes wrong, screened...

Last week the Sffilm Rainin Grant announced the recipients of much-needed coin support (see the complete list of finalists), and today we learn the identity of this year’s 2024 Rathaus Film Grant recipient: Arrielle Sadé Mock. The coin will go towards developing Mock’s short film. Founded by Madeleine Askwith, Alexandra Byer, Shabier Kirchner, and Kevin Steen, Rathaus is a production company based in Brooklyn and Detroit who’ve helped produced films such as Tim Sutton’s Dark Night and this year’s big Venice Film Festival winner in Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch. More info available here.

From the jury:

“Arrielle represents the very best of Detroit’s artistic spirit—a powerful blend of creativity and activism that has been woven into the city’s history for generations.…...

Music Box has acquired North American rights to “Familiar Touch,” Sarah Friedland’s feature debut which won three major awards in Venice including the Lion of the Future prize.

Represented by Memento International, “Familiar Touch” also won best actress for Kathleen Chalfant, and best director in the Horizons section at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Friedland is now nominated in the “Someone to Watch” award category ahead of the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards.

“Familiar Touch,” which could be described as a “coming-of-old age film,” stars Ruth as Chalfant, an older woman who faces dementia and transitions into assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship with herself and her caregivers amidst her shifting memory, age identity and desires. Chalfant stars in the film opposite Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen and H. Jon Benjamin.

“Music Box has been a steadfast champion of bold, artist-driven, independent cinema and I’m delighted to...

After a great debut at the Venice Film Festival, a poignant indie movie about ageing and memory is gaining notice in the international film market. Sarah Friedland directed “Familiar Touch,” which has gained critical acclaim and significant distribution deals, making it a remarkable hit in independent film.

The film portrays the story of an octogenarian woman living in an assisted living facility and dealing with the realities of dementia. This intimate portrayal has sparked interest among festival juries and international distributors alike. At the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, “Familiar Touch” received three major awards: the Lion of the Future for Best Debut Film, Best Director for Friedland, and Best Actress for lead actress Kathleen Chalfant.

Friedland directed the film and wrote and produced it alongside Alexandra Byer of Rathaus Films and Matthew Thurm of Go For Thurm. Their collaborative approach featured genuine residents and staff from Villa Gardens,...

Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch, which won a trifecta of awards when it premiered at Venice, has been picked up for key territories.

Memento International has closed sales for Spain (Flamingo Films), China (HugoEast), Indonesia (Pt Falcon) and airlines (Skeye). It was previously acquired by Gulf Film for the Middle East and will screen at the Red Sea International Film Festival this week.

The story follows an octogenarian woman adjusting to life in an assisted living facility as her dementia causes her to shift between age identities. It won a trifecta of trophies when it premiered in Venice’s Horizons...

Sean Baker’s Anora and Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow lead the 2025 Independent Spirit Award nominations with six each.

Both films were nominated in best feature, best director, best lead performance, best supporting performance and the producers award while I Saw The TV Glow also picked up best screenplay.

Sean Wang’s Didilanded four nominations including best first feature and best first screenplay. The Apprentice is up for three awards – best directing, best editing and best lead performance for Sebastian Stan.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Santa Monica on February 22, 2025.

Earlier this week...

Memento International has soldGuillaume Nicloux’s The Divine Sarah Bernhardtto Immina in Canada, Rialto for Australia and New Zealand, Aurora in Poland, Panda in Austria, BestFilm in the Baltics and KinoArt Pro for Cis.

These follow more than 20 territories previously sold ahead of the film’s French release on December 18 via Memento’s distribution arm.

The Divine Sarah Bernhardt starsSandrine Kiberlain as the actressnicknamed “La Divine”, who appeared in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was considered to be the world’s first celebrity.Laurent Laffite and Amira Casar also star.

“Home” is the theme of the 4th edition of the Red Sea Film Festival as it returns to its original location, but in a sleek custom-built venue, in the recently renovated Al-Balad district in Jeddah, a Unesco World Heritage site.

Kaleem Aftab, the fest’s head of international programming, says that home is a fitting theme for this year’s edition since the festival increasingly serves as a key platform for Africa, Arab and Asian cinema, and its impact is now all-year-round through the work of the Red Sea Film Foundation.

“We’re focusing on what we can achieve as a foundation rather than just as a festival,” he explains, adding that 11 of the 122 films screening at this year’s edition have been developed within the Red Sea eco-system, including the opening film, “The Tale of Daye’s Family,” which is a Saudi Egyptian co-production.

“We are the best place...

Lithuanian drama Toxic, the debut feature of Saule Bliuvaite, has picked up the Golden Peacock award for best film at the 55th International Film Festival of India.

At the closing ceremony of the festival in Goa, the film also scooped the best actress award, shared between co-leads Vesta Matulyte and Ieva Rupeikaite.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Toxic follows two teenage girls from a bleak industrial town who join an extreme local modelling school. Featuring a cast of non-actors, it premiered at Locarno in August where it won the Golden Leopard for best film as well as the best first feature award.

Lithuanian filmmaker Saulė Bliuvaitė’s “Toxic” took home the best film award at the 55th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) in Goa. The jury, headed by Indian director Ashutosh Gowariker, recognized the film for its portrayal of adolescence and economic hardship.

Previously, at Locarno, “Toxic” won not only the Golden Leopard for Best Film in the fest’s premier International Competition — from a jury chaired by Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner — but also, in an unusual double, the top prize in the separately juried First Feature Competition.

Variety‘s positive review of “Toxic” described the film as “sobering but not without glimmers of tenderness and humor as female friendship takes root in a hopeless place,” adding that its “alternation between chilly composure and kinetic movement roughly corresponds with [the protagonist’s] wavering sense of self.”

Romanian director Bogdan Muresanu nabbed the best director prize for “The New Year That Never Came,” a multi-narrative feature set during a revolution.

Miles Levin’s drama “Under the Lights” received the coveted Polish Film Institute Award at the American Film Festival’s industry event U.S. in Progress, as well as $50,000 cash prize for post-production in Poland.

“It has been an incredibly rewarding and inspiring project to work on. Miles is a force of nature with a clear vision and relentless drive to bring this story to life,” said Natalie Metzger, VP of production and development at Vanishing Angle.

“I’m so honored to have produced it and for it to be part of U.S. in Progress. There’s nothing like this program in America, so we are very grateful it exists. It’s much needed for American indie filmmakers.”

Levin added: “This film has been a 10-year journey and to have the support of U.S. in Progress to help it shine has been very meaningful.”

Miles Levin and Natalie Metzger

In the film,...

Alain Guiraudie’s “Misericordia,” Carlos Marqués-Marcet “They Will be Dust” and Yeo Siew Hua’s “Stranger Eyes” all won big at Spain’s auteurist haven Valladolid Film Festival on Saturday, in a second edition under José Luis Cienfuegos whose prizes served as a vindication of the changes he has wrought at the festival as well as an indication of some ways European arthouse is going.

All three directors’ awards build on prior upbeat reception. Playing Cannes Premiere, “Misericordia,” which scooped Valladolid’s best picture Golden Spike and its screenplay trophy, was hailed by Variety as a “darkly comic backwoods fable of pansexual desire and small-town sociopathy” which marks a “welcome re-embrace of the streamlined murdery perversities of his terrific ‘Stranger by the Lake.'”

The Valladolid jury, made up of Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Spanish actress Aida Folch, critic and editor Devika Girish, German producer Ingmar Trost and Spanish director and writer Luis López Carrasco,...

The Red Sea International Film Festival is holding its fourth edition from December 6 through 14 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The festival aims to bring acclaimed international movies to Arab audiences while also providing a stage for regional filmmakers. This year’s selection of “Festival Favorites” demonstrates how the event highlights African and Arab storytelling alongside global cinema.

The line-up features 18 films that have stood out on the international festival circuit. Leading the selections is the British crime thriller “Santosh” by director Sandhya Suri. The movie was chosen as the UK’s entry for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category. Two Egyptian films made the cut: Hala Elkoussy’s allegorical “East of Noon” and Jaylan Auf’s “Inevitable Journey of a Wedding Dress.” Both titles were fresh from screenings at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival.

African cinema takes the spotlight with movies from Nigeria. “The Legend of the Vagabond:...

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has unveiled a first batch of titles that will screen as part of its “Festival Favorites” lineup, showcasing the cream of the international fest crop for Arab audiences.

Besides including recent Cannes standouts such as Sandhya Suri’s crime thriller “Santosh” (pictured) –which will represent the U.K. in the international Oscars race — and Chinese auteur Guan Hu’s noir “Black Dog,” this year’s selection has a strong accent on titles from Africa and the Arab world.

Arabic titles span from Tunisian auteur Ala Eddine Slim’s atmospheric drama “Agora,” which launched from Locarno, to Egyptian director Hala Elkoussy’s allegorical tale “East of Noon” and Jaylan Auf’s drama “Inevitable Journey of a Wedding Dress” that is bowing from Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival.

African entries being showcased include two films that bowed in Toronto: “The Legend of the Vagabond: Queen of Lagos,...

Venice Prize Winner ‘Familiar Touch’, ‘ ‘Black Dog & ‘Eephus’ Set For Red Sea Fest

In the first film program announcement for its upcoming edition, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the 12 titles in its Festival Favourites line-up. The sidebar celebrates films that have enjoyed a high-profile outing on the festival circuit in recent months such as Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch, which won the Luigi de Laurentiis prize for best first film at Venice, and Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Black Dog by Guan Hu. The other titles comprise Agora (Tunisia), East Of Noon (Egypt), Eephus (U.S.), Freedom Way (Nigeria), The Inevitable Journey To Find A Wedding Dress (Egypt), The Legend Of The Vagabond Queen Of Lagos, Little Jaffna (France), Quiet Life (Greece), Santosh (UK) and U Are The Universe (Ukraine). “This year’s selection continues to demonstrate our commitment to showcasing diverse...

The Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has picked 12 movies for its Festival Favorites selection of standouts from the fest circuit, including U.K. Oscar submission Santosh, an Indian police procedural about two women who form an unlikely alliance directed by Sandhya Suri; and Chinese auteur Guan Hu’s Black Dog, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes.

Representing the U.S. in the lineup is Familiar Touch from director Sarah Friedland whose synopsis reads: “Arriving at an aged care facility, Ruth thinks she is in a fancy hotel on a date — with a man who is actually her son. Gradually, she reconciles herself to the life she has now.” The film had its world premiere in the Horizons lineup of the Venice Film Festival.

The Festival Favorites program also includes two films from Africa that played at the Toronto International Film Festival: The Legend...

The Valladolid International Film Festival celebrates its 69th edition from Nov. 18, and according to fest director José Luis Cienfuegos, it’s one of the most modern and international editions the festival, known locally as Seminci, has ever hosted.

Nestled snuggly into an autumn lull after the breakneck run from Venice through Toronto and into San Sebastian, Seminci has long stood out as a bastion for independent cinema in Spain, while San Sebastian has often catered to more big-name, big-budget fare, especially in recent years.

Set in the capital city of the Spanish region Castilla-Leon, Valladolid’s 69th edition is the second under director Cienfuegos, who boasts an illustrious nearly 30-year career as a festival director at the Seville European Film Festival (2012-2023) and Gijon Intl. Film Festival (1995-2011).

“Valladolid is a city absolutely dedicated to the festival that demands and needs to open the doors to a new generation of filmmakers,...

The 2024 fall film festivals — Venice, Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF — are behind us, but critics deliberating their riches continues. IndieWire has polled 66 critics who attended one or more of these festivals to name their picks for best film, best screenplay, best director, and best first feature, and the results are fascinating, if not exactly shocking.

No films that played at Cannes or festivals earlier than Venice were eligible for consideration here. That means that “Anora,” which won best film, best screenplay, and best director on our Best of Cannes 2024 Critics Survey, was not eligible here. Nor was “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” or “The Substance,” other films that a few of the critics tried to sneak in on their ballots.

But looking at just the films that actually premiered at the fall fests, there was a clear victor: Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” received the most overall votes for both Best Film and Best Director,...

While there’s a few more fall film festivals popping up in the next month, the major ones are behind us, which means we have a strong sense of the films to have on your radar in the coming months and even through 2025. We’ve asked our writers from across the globe to weigh in on their favorite world premieres from Locarno Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.

Our coverage will continue with a few more reviews this week, and far beyond as we provide updates on the journey of these selections, so continue to explore all of our festival coverage here. In the meantime, check out top picks from our writers below and return soon for our extensive year-end coverage.

Soham Gadre (@SohamGadre)

1. April (Dea Kulumbegashvili)

2 and 3. Youth (Homecoming and Hard Times) (Wang Bing...

Festival hits Anora, Emilia Perez and Maria, a new Stockholm Series strand for TV works, and a theme of ‘Men in Crisis’ are among the highlights of this year’s Stockholm International Film Festival (November 6-17), the programme of which has been announced today (October 9).

The international feature competition includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Berlin title La Cocina; RaMell Ross’ Telluride premiere Nickel Boys; and Gustav Moller’s Denmark-Sweden-France co-production Sons. It has an even split of 10 titles directed by women, and 10 by men.

Scroll down for the full list of Stockholm Competition titles

The 16-title documentary competition includes the world premiere of Garbo: Leave Me Alone,...

Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch, about a woman adjusting to life in an assisted living facility, has sold widely in Europe and the Middle East for Memento International following a trifecta of wins in Venice including the Lion of the Future award for best debut film.

The film has been scooped up by Arizona Distribution in France, Fandango in Italy, Vedette in Benelux, Edge in Scandinavia and the Baltics, Imovision in Brazil and Gulf Film for the Middle East.

Familiar Touch debuted in the Horizons section at Venice in September. Friedland won the best director prize in the section and...

Familiar Touch Photo: Courtesy of Venice Film Festival London Film Festival starts on October 9 and there are plenty of eye-catching films in the line-up, from Cannes winners Anora and All We Imagine As Light to celebrated Sundance film Sujo and Berlin Golden Bear winner Dahomey. When it came to selecting these films to catch, we've chosen some of those which, at the time of writing, still have tickets remaining, so you have the opportunity to judge for yourself. The festival runs until October 20 - and you can see all the films that still have ticket availability left here.

Familiar Touch

As populations age globally, memory loss continues to provide a rich seam for filmmakers and Sarah Friedland's quietly observational and moving drama is one of the best from recent years. Veteran star Kathleen Chalfant has arguably never been better as she takes centrestage as Ruth. Once a cookbook author -.

Antonio Vivaldi, the Italian Baroque composer and violinist who penned “The Four Seasons,” will be portrayed in “Primavera,” the feature debut of Damiano Michieletto, a leading opera director. Memento International has boarded the film which begins shooting this month in Rome and Venice.

“Primavera” was penned by Ludovica Rampoldi, the award-winning screenwriter of movies such as “The Traitor” and “Gomorrah – the series,” among others. The script is loosely adapted from Tiziano Scarpa’s critically acclaimed novel “Stabat Mater.”

Set in 18th century Venice, “Primavera” follows Cecilia, a 20-year-old violin virtuoso who lives at the Pièta orphanage. Despite her talent, Cecilia remains confined within the orphanage, knowing that marriage is the only way out. Yet, her life takes a turn after she meets Antonio Vivaldi, a brilliant and ambitious composer who becomes the new violin teacher. Guided by Vivaldi and his music, Cecilia “finds the strength to challenge the destiny that once seemed inevitable,...

Paddy Duffy’s The UnHolylands starring James Nesbitt is among the world premieres at the 24th Belfast Film Festival (October 31-November 9).

Duffy’s coming-of-age comedy sees two brothers attempt one last house party before their university days are over. It also stars Ciaran McCourt, Peter Jeffries and Sean Daly.

Further world premieres include Michael Head’s comedy The Spin starring Derry Girls’ Tara Lynne O’Neill and Will McConnell’s experimental drama Beautiful And Loud And Clear.

Competition

Eight films comprise Belfast’s third annual international competition including Xiaoxuan Jiang’s To Kill A Mongolian Horse, winner of best directing and...

Following a standout 2023 edition, where critically acclaimed films like India Donaldson’s Good One premiered at Sundance and Cannes, and Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch swept three major awards in Venice, the U.S. in Progress team in Wrocław continues to elevate American indie cinema on the global stage. The fourteenth edition of the U.S. in Progress co-production forum will take place from November 7-9, 2024, as part of the fifteenth American Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland. Among the eight selected projects are new works by filmmakers such as Amanda Kramer (Please Baby Please), Pete Ohs (Jethica), and Mark Webber (The Place of No Words), who will profile their projects alongside films from emerging first-time directors including Under the Lights by Miles Levin with the backing of the Vanishing Angle folks.…...

Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.The first film I saw on the Lido this year wasn’t a feature but a twenty-minute VR project: Mammary Mountain. Playing in the Venice Immersive sidebar, and directed by Tara Baoth Mooney, Camille C. Baker, and Maf’j Alvarez, it promised an “embodied haptic experience” of breast cancer treatment, as remembered by a few survivors. I’d never worn a VR set before, much less a mammography gown, which was strapped around my chest after a nurse sat me down to explain the procedure and its possible complications. I signed the consent form, followed her into another room, and pressed play. All through the film, a multi-sensorial journey designed to stoke the fantasy of being in someone else’s body, I kept thinking about Roger Ebert’s characterization of cinema as an empathy machine. The voices of chemotherapy patients, discussing their relationship with the illness and its treatment,...

Depicting aging and diminishing mental acuity, with increasing candor about same, essentially has become its own subgenre—the drama of descent or disappearance. Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch feels like something different, eschewing the conventions of linear decline to stay rooted in the present-tense bodily experience of its protagonist: Ruth Goldman, played by a galvanizing Kathleen Chalfant. Beyond the subjective design of the filmmaking—comprising not just what we hear, but how we understand the premise of any given scene—this is a catalyzing collaboration between Chalfant, storied veteran of both stage (Wit) and screen, and Friedland, a student of choreography who sought out […]

The post “We Ascribe this Cuteness to Older Women”: Sarah Friedland on Familiar Touch first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Depicting aging and diminishing mental acuity, with increasing candor about same, essentially has become its own subgenre—the drama of descent or disappearance. Sarah Friedland’s Familiar Touch feels like something different, eschewing the conventions of linear decline to stay rooted in the present-tense bodily experience of its protagonist: Ruth Goldman, played by a galvanizing Kathleen Chalfant. Beyond the subjective design of the filmmaking—comprising not just what we hear, but how we understand the premise of any given scene—this is a catalyzing collaboration between Chalfant, storied veteran of both stage (Wit) and screen, and Friedland, a student of choreography who sought out […]

The post “We Ascribe this Cuteness to Older Women”: Sarah Friedland on Familiar Touch first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

by Nathaniel R

Pedro Almodóvar and his actresses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton working on The Room Next Door which is now a Golden Lion winner

The 81st annual Venice Film Festival has ended and the two perceived frontrunners The Brutalist and The Room Next Door took home major prizes, as did Babygirl, The Quiet Son, and Brazil's possible Oscar submission I'm Still Here. The "Competition" films are the headlining titles of course but they aren't the only films that get major mileage from applause and kudos as any festival wraps up. Outside of the main competition films like Familiar Touch (US), Familia (Italy), Iddu (Italy),  Mon Inséparable (France), Paul and Paulette Take a Bath (UK) and The New Year That Never Came (Romania) all won fanbases if the awards that flew around this week are indication.

The prizes went like so... ...