A 17-year-old girl lines up golf balls for wealthy men at an elite country club outside Manila. She wanders pristine grounds, samples luxuries meant for others, and stumbles into something dark beneath the manicured fairways.

That’s the setup for “Filipiñana,” Rafael Manuel’s debut feature that won the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at Sundance earlier this year. Executive produced by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, the film follows Isabel as she navigates the stark divide between the club’s powerful members and its subservient staff. When she tries to return a lost golf club to the club’s patriarchal director, she ventures deeper into exclusive spaces where the violent truths of privilege, power, and her own past collide.

Critics are calling it a masterwork. The New Yorker says it “opens new vistas in the future of cinema,” while NPR praises it as “an incisive, slow-burning satire of capitalism and powerful men with far too much hubris.”

Kino Lorber is releasing the film August 28 at Film Forum in New York, followed by LA and select cities September 4. Shot in Filipino, English, and Ilokano, it’s the kind of singular vision that reminds you why theaters still matter.

A filmmaker spent nearly half a century checking in on the same five people, and the final chapter is about to hit screens.

Robb Moss’ THE BEND IN THE RIVER opens August 14 at Film Forum in New York, wrapping up a trilogy that started in 1978. Moss first filmed Barry, Danny, Cathy, Jeff, and Jim during a clothing-optional rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. That became Riverdogs in 1982. He caught up with them again in 2003 for THE SAME RIVER TWICE as they wrestled with middle age. Now they’re in their 70s, and Moss weaves new footage with images of their younger selves.

The 82-minute film is executive produced by Joel Coen and Frances McDormand. It premiered at Telluride last year.

Film Forum is programming the earlier installments around the premiere. Free screenings of Riverdogs happen August 12, with Moss introducing both. He’ll do a Q&A after THE SAME RIVER TWICE on August 13, then appear for discussions following THE BEND IN THE RIVER on August 14 and 15.

Critics are calling it poignant and deeply personal. Documentary Magazine said the trilogy is “as intimate and thoughtful an evocation of the process of aging as can be found in modern cinema.”

For indie filmmakers playing the long game, this is what patience and commitment look like.

A supernatural horror film inspired by one of America’s oldest unsolved mysteries hits theaters today.

“The Town That Takes” opens in select theaters across the top 20 North American markets, distributed by Atlas Distribution Company. The film takes the disappearance of the Lost Colony of Roanoke and the cryptic word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree and spins it into a Southern Gothic thriller.

The story follows Dean Richardson, an Army veteran trying to reconnect with his twelve-year-old son Wyatt after his ex-wife’s death. Their road trip turns dark when they stop in a remote town where locals whisper about CROATOAN. After a brutal murder and Wyatt’s sudden disappearance, Dean teams up with two detectives to uncover what’s really happening.

Director Britt Bankhead, who co-wrote the script with Jon Blaze, leads a Texas-based team. The cast includes Miles Mussenden (Doom Patrol), Mike Markoff (Hit Man), Grace Patterson (Slotherhouse), and Bankhead himself.

Atlas Distribution Company president Harmon Kaslow called it “genuinely frightening” and the kind of film that belongs on the big screen.

For indie horror filmmakers, this is a solid example of taking public domain history and building something fresh around it. No IP purchase necessary, just a good story rooted in American folklore.

Fifteen years after it first shocked readers, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode is getting the anniversary treatment it deserves.

Image Comics is releasing two collectible editions this October: an expanded Luther Strode #1 Anniversary Edition and an oversized Luther Strode #1 Anniversary Treasury Edition. The anniversary edition includes the complete first issue plus an art gallery pulling from the entire Luther Strode saga. The treasury edition puts the story in an oversized format on newsprint, a nice throwback for longtime fans.

“Fifteen years ago, me, Tradd, and Felipe pitched a little book to Image,” said creator Justin Jordan. “We hoped it’d find an audience. We never expected that people would still be digging it a decade and a half later.”

The series, created by Jordan, artist Tradd Moore, and colorist Felipe Sobreiro, became one of Image’s breakout hits alongside The Walking Dead and Saga. It launched both Jordan and Moore into the big leagues, leading to gigs at Marvel and DC. They came back twice more to complete the trilogy with The Legend of Luther Strode and The Legacy of Luther Strode.

The story follows Luther, a scrawny high schooler who discovers an ancient text called “The Method” hidden in a used bookstore. It transforms him into a superhuman powerhouse, but with violent instincts he can’t control. Think superhero origin meets slasher horror.

Both editions drop October 7 at comic shops.

Lindsay Lou wants you to know something about bluegrass. Those classic songs you’ve heard a thousand times? A lot of them were written by women.

Her new album, Bluegrass Women, out August 14th, shines a light on the genre’s overlooked female songwriters. The tracklist reads like a greatest hits collection, except every song was penned by a woman. “Some of these songs I sang for many years before realizing they were penned by a wife/mother/female artist,” Lou says.

The first single, “All I Ever Loved Was You,” was written by Dorothy Skaggs, mother of Ricky Skaggs. Lou remembers hearing Ricky and Keith Whitley sing it in Ralph Stanley’s band. “The harmonies and the tenderness of it blew me away.”

Lou recruited some of bluegrass’s finest for the project. Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Laurie Lewis, and Alison Brown all appear on the record. They’re not just the best female pickers around, they’re GRAMMY winners and IBMA Award winners at the top of the field, period.

A four-part mini documentary about the making of the album drops soon. Lou also makes her Grand Ole Opry debut July 31st.

This matters because representation shapes who feels welcome in a genre. Lou’s proving women have always belonged in bluegrass.

A daydreaming undertaker’s clerk who can’t escape his Yorkshire town is heading back to the big screen in pristine 4K. Film Forum opens a new restoration of John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar on August 14 for a one-week run.

Tom Courtenay stars as Billy Fisher, a would-be comedy writer stuck between a nagging family, a pompous boss, two fiancées, and an overactive imagination. His fantasies range from addressing stadium crowds in military regalia to desperately trying to get rid of his employer’s leftover calendars. Then Julie Christie shows up, swinging her purse through town in full Mod mode, offering him a way out to London.

The 1963 British New Wave comedy marked Christie’s breakthrough before she became a superstar. Schlesinger adapted it from the West End hit (and Keith Waterhouse’s cult novel), balancing laughs with the frustration of working-class life. The BFI named it one of the 100 Greatest British Films, ranking it higher than Schlesinger’s Oscar-winning Darling.

The timing fits. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Schlesinger’s birth, making it the right moment to revisit one of the era’s sharpest comedies about wanting more than your circumstances allow.

Andy Garcia is getting honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 41st Annual Imagen Awards on August 21 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

The Cuban-American actor has spent four decades building a career that spans acting, directing, producing, and music. He earned an Academy Award nomination for The Godfather: Part III and has consistently pushed for authentic Latino representation in Hollywood, both on screen and behind the camera.

Garcia just premiered his latest film “Diamond,” which he wrote, directed, and stars in, at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The crowd gave it a nine-minute standing ovation. He’s also starring in Paramount+’s hit series Landman.

“Andy Garcia represents the very best of what the Imagen Foundation has sought to celebrate,” said Helen Hernandez, the Foundation’s founder and president. Garcia first hosted the Imagen Awards back in 1989 at its fourth annual ceremony.

Beyond his Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, Garcia has won Grammy and Latin Grammy awards for his music work. He founded CineSon Productions to develop stories that celebrate culture and Latino experiences.

The Imagen Foundation has spent 40 years recognizing authentic Latino portrayals in entertainment. This honor celebrates an artist who’s opened doors for an entire generation of Latino storytellers.

A chainsaw-wielding warrior queen slicing through space. That’s the premise of Chainkata, the new series from Daniel Warren Johnson launching at Image Comics in November.

Johnson has been on a tear. His wrestling drama Do a Powerbomb won an Eisner Award. His Transformers run dominated the charts. Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, Beta Ray Bill, and Absolute Batman cemented his reputation. Now he’s channeling all of it into something completely his own.

Chainkata follows Luma, a warrior searching for peace but finding only violence as she cuts through the cosmos. Johnson promises it’ll blend the epic sci-fi scale of his Beta Ray Bill work with the emotional depth he brought to Do a Powerbomb and Extremity.

The book has been brewing for nearly a decade. Johnson sketched Luma back in 2017 but spent nine years finding the right story for her. “I’ve wanted to make a science fiction book that truly felt different from everything already out there,” he said. “I have pushed myself narratively and artistically further than I ever have before.”

Image is rolling out the red carpet, with promotional appearances planned for San Diego Comic-Con this month. For indie creators watching Johnson’s trajectory from Space-Mullet to household name, Chainkata represents what’s possible when vision meets relentless craft.

The dungeon crawl continues. “Delicious in Dungeon Season 2” hits Netflix globally in October 2027, KADOKAWA announced at Anime Expo in Los Angeles.

The first season, based on Ryoko Kui’s manga (14 million copies sold in Japan), kicked off in 2024. Now Laios and crew are heading deeper into the dungeon to save Falin, who’s been transformed into a Chimera and controlled by the mad mage Thistle. The newly released teaser visual shows the party, now joined by Izutsumi, pushing toward the story’s core conflict.

Studio TRIGGER returns for production, with director Yoshihiro Miyajima and composer Yasunori Mitsuda leading the creative team. The voice cast includes Kentaro Kumagai as Laios and Sayaka Sembongi as Marcille.

To celebrate, “Delicious in Dungeon ~Dungeon Exploration Radio~” resumes streaming today on the KADOKAWA Anime YouTube Channel. Kumagai and Sembongi will share more details about the upcoming season.

For anime fans who love their fantasy with a side of monster cuisine, this is the next course. The blend of dungeon exploration and cooking that made the first season a hit continues, proving there’s still plenty of story left to tell in Kui’s world.

A first-time filmmaker is bringing a twisted tale of caregiving gone wrong to theaters next week.

Georgia Bernstein’s “Night Nurse” opens in select cities on July 10, starring Cemre Paksoy as Eleni, a caregiver at a luxury retirement home who gets pulled into a scam call scheme targeting residents. Things get messy when she develops an unhealthy fixation on her patient Douglas, played by Bruce McKenzie. Mimi Rogers also stars.

The film’s been drawing comparisons to Brian De Palma and early Atom Egoyan, which is high praise for an indie debut. Critics are calling it atmospheric and psychosexual, a character study that walks the line between desire and delusion.

Bernstein wrote and directed the 95-minute thriller, which explores how caregiving can twist into something darker. It’s the kind of intimate, uncomfortable premise that works best from an independent voice willing to go there.

The film opens at IFC Center and Alamo Drafthouse in New York, plus Laemmle locations in Los Angeles. Q&As with Bernstein and the cast are scheduled at IFC Center on July 8 and 9.

For indie filmmakers trying to break through with psychological drama, “Night Nurse” proves there’s still an appetite for character-driven thrillers that take risks. Sometimes the smallest settings, a retirement home, a new job, hide the biggest disturbances.