Netflix has bolstered its slate of Oscar short hopefuls with the acquisition of “Three Songs for Benazir.”
Directed by Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei, the 22-minute docu tells the story of Shaista, a young man who is a refugee living in modern-day Afghanistan. Newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul, Shaista struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with pressure from his father and brother to start a family.
“Three Songs for Benazir,” which is set to stream on the service in 2022, is qualified for Academy Award consideration in the documentary short category.
The directing duo, who are married and split their time between California and Afghanistan, filmed the short during a four-year period.
“We’re thrilled to add ‘Three Songs for Benazir’ to our Original Documentary Shorts slate,” says Chloe Gbai, Netflix manager,...
Directed by Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei, the 22-minute docu tells the story of Shaista, a young man who is a refugee living in modern-day Afghanistan. Newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul, Shaista struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with pressure from his father and brother to start a family.
“Three Songs for Benazir,” which is set to stream on the service in 2022, is qualified for Academy Award consideration in the documentary short category.
The directing duo, who are married and split their time between California and Afghanistan, filmed the short during a four-year period.
“We’re thrilled to add ‘Three Songs for Benazir’ to our Original Documentary Shorts slate,” says Chloe Gbai, Netflix manager,...
- 12/2/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
So far 2021 is turning out to be quite the year for documentaries unearthing long-buried or unknown musical treasures of the ’60s. The current Summer of Soul highlights a series of Harlem-based concerts with iconic Black artists, a kind of African American Woodstock stuck in someone’s basement for half a century and now getting a much-acclaimed film directed by Questlove made from those tapes. Edgar Wright’s fascinating The Sparks Brothers, the story of the quirky band Sparks featuring brothers Russell and Ron Mael, gives this cult musical act a long-deserved place in the sun. And now, just premiered out of competition today at the Cannes Film Festival, comes director Todd Haynes’ feature documentary debut on the avant garde rock/punk band The Velvet Underground in a movie of the same name that shows why this ’60s creation from the world of Andy Warhol has made such an impact decades...
- 7/7/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Velvet Underground” is a rock ‘n’ roll documentary that doesn’t really follow the normal rules for rock-docs — but then, a film about the Velvets wouldn’t be satisfying if it was conventional, and following normal rules is definitely not an approach that would give Todd Haynes a reason to make his first documentary.
Haynes, the uncommonly sensitive and provocative director of “Carol,” “I’m Not There” and “Far From Heaven,” among others, isn’t here to give us a blow-by-blow account of the New York band that was adopted by Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. The Velvets proved to be far too extreme to enjoy mainstream success, but extreme enough to inspire acolytes who, as Brian Eno once famously pointed out, all formed their own bands.
But “The Velvet Underground,” which premiered on Wednesday in an out-of-competition slot at the Cannes Film Festival, doesn’t spend too much time...
Haynes, the uncommonly sensitive and provocative director of “Carol,” “I’m Not There” and “Far From Heaven,” among others, isn’t here to give us a blow-by-blow account of the New York band that was adopted by Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. The Velvets proved to be far too extreme to enjoy mainstream success, but extreme enough to inspire acolytes who, as Brian Eno once famously pointed out, all formed their own bands.
But “The Velvet Underground,” which premiered on Wednesday in an out-of-competition slot at the Cannes Film Festival, doesn’t spend too much time...
- 7/7/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Heavy Metal, the iconic science fiction and fantasy magazine, is making its first moves into television with an adaptation of Blake Northcott’s trilogy of novels Arena Mode Saga.
The company is adapting the books for the small screen with the first book in active development after optioning the rights to the sci-fi thriller.
Heavy Metal, which was first published in 1977, is known for its blend of dark fantasy, science fiction, erotica and steampunk. It is responsible for the illustrated magazine, a slate of comics, a podcast network and the 1981 feature film Heavy Metal, which featured the voices of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman.
Heavy Metal Entertainment CEO Matthew Medney, Tommy Coriale, and Canadian author Northcott will develop and produce the series. Northcott is set to discuss plans for the Arena Mode adaptation at the Heavy Metal Creators WonderCon virtual panel on Saturday.
The first...
The company is adapting the books for the small screen with the first book in active development after optioning the rights to the sci-fi thriller.
Heavy Metal, which was first published in 1977, is known for its blend of dark fantasy, science fiction, erotica and steampunk. It is responsible for the illustrated magazine, a slate of comics, a podcast network and the 1981 feature film Heavy Metal, which featured the voices of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman.
Heavy Metal Entertainment CEO Matthew Medney, Tommy Coriale, and Canadian author Northcott will develop and produce the series. Northcott is set to discuss plans for the Arena Mode adaptation at the Heavy Metal Creators WonderCon virtual panel on Saturday.
The first...
- 3/26/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
"Heavy" is a 'revenge thriller' feature, directed by Jouri Smit, starring Sophie Turner ("Game of Thrones"), Matias Varela and Daniel Zovatto, releasing February 9, 2021:
"...set in New York City, a dealer and his girlfriend live it up in the high-end drug scene, but they land in hot water when the guy tries to help an old childhood friend...."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...set in New York City, a dealer and his girlfriend live it up in the high-end drug scene, but they land in hot water when the guy tries to help an old childhood friend...."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 2/6/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Nate Parker’s politically charged drama “American Skin” is set to play at the 45th edition of the Deauville American Film Festival following its world premiere at Venice.
“American Skin,” which tells the story of a Gulf War veteran whose son is killed by a police officer, marks Parker’s first feature film since the news resurfaced that he had once been charged and acquitted of rape. His debut film, “The Birth of a Nation,” won a prize at Sundance in 2016 but flopped at the box office.
Parker directed and stars in “American Skin.” News of the film’s inclusion in Deauville’s lineup comes a day after it was revealed that “A Rainy Day in New York” by Woody Allen, who has also confronted allegations of sexual assault, would open the festival.
At the same time, Deauville will showcase six films directed by women, the most in the feet’s history,...
“American Skin,” which tells the story of a Gulf War veteran whose son is killed by a police officer, marks Parker’s first feature film since the news resurfaced that he had once been charged and acquitted of rape. His debut film, “The Birth of a Nation,” won a prize at Sundance in 2016 but flopped at the box office.
Parker directed and stars in “American Skin.” News of the film’s inclusion in Deauville’s lineup comes a day after it was revealed that “A Rainy Day in New York” by Woody Allen, who has also confronted allegations of sexual assault, would open the festival.
At the same time, Deauville will showcase six films directed by women, the most in the feet’s history,...
- 8/22/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After moving to Nashville from Ohio in 2011, Caroline Spence nannied, waited tables and wrote songs. It took her two years to come up with one she felt was good enough to play around town: “Whiskey Watered Down,” a gently savage kiss-off to a flaky musician. “You think you’re a big deal with that guitar in your hands,” she sings. “But you’ll never be Parsons, Earle, or Van Zandt.”
“I had been making myself a student [of those famous musicians],” the 29-year-old country singer says of her songwriting process. “The tagline of the...
“I had been making myself a student [of those famous musicians],” the 29-year-old country singer says of her songwriting process. “The tagline of the...
- 8/14/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
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