IMDb just made history for Indigenous filmmakers. The platform officially added Michif to its list of recognized title languages, giving the Métis language the same structural standing as English or French.

The update comes after years of advocacy led by Métis filmmaker Jordan Waunch, whose anti-western series Shadow of the Rougarou is now the first production credited with Michif as an official title language on the site. Set during the 1885 North-West Resistance, the series features dialogue in Michif, Cree, and Chinook Wawa, weaving a dark story of survival rooted in oral tradition.

“For a long time, Michif has been absent from the systems that catalogue and classify screen work,” Waunch says. “Seeing it recognized on IMDb gives our language a visible place in the global record of cinema.”

He credits the milestone to Elders and Language Keepers including Stella Erasmus Johnson, Bruce Dumont, Don Campbell, Theodore Starr, Lisa Shepherd, Douglas Robertson, and Ray G. Thunderchild.

But the work isn’t done. Waunch says the next step is getting IMDb to recognize distinct Michif dialects and other Indigenous languages still left off the platform.

Shadow of the Rougarou was backed by the Indigenous Screen Office, Creative BC, the Bell Fund, and APTN. The series streams now on APTN+.

This matters because language preservation starts with visibility, and for indie Indigenous creators, that means showing up in the same databases as every other film.

The boutique fitness boom wasn’t all good vibes and motivational playlists.

SPIN WARS, a new documentary from director Philip Byron, digs into the messy, billion-dollar rise of indoor cycling studios like SoulCycle, Flywheel, and Peloton. The film premiered at Tribeca and pulls back the curtain on an industry built on ambition, betrayal, and what Byron calls “toxic sweat.”

It’s a high-energy look at how spinning went from niche workout to cultural phenomenon, and the ugly side of “mind, body, soul” branding that came with it. The doc features Katie Couric, comedians Heather McMahan and Mary Beth Barone, author Jill Kargman, and creators Brandon Kyle Goodman and Anna Roisman.

Byron co-wrote the film with James Thayer and produced it alongside Jillian A. Goldstein.

SPIN WARS releases this December. For an industry that sold empowerment and community, the real story behind the scenes is a lot sweatier than anyone let on. Independent filmmakers continue proving that the best stories aren’t always feel-good ones.

Sean Ono Lennon is stepping behind the camera for the first time with “threeASFOUR: FULL CIRCLE,” a documentary about three designers who’ve been challenging the fashion world for over 25 years.

The film follows Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil, the trio behind avant-garde fashion collective threeASFOUR. They’ve built a cult following by creating clothes inspired by natural forms and pioneering techniques. Their work has landed in global museum exhibitions and on the backs of Björk and Chloë Sevigny.

But acclaim doesn’t pay the bills. The doc shows the constant struggle to survive in an industry obsessed with commerce when you’d rather focus on creativity and collaboration. It’s a moving portrait of artists trying to make it on their own terms.

Lennon co-directed with Brian C. González, who also handled cinematography. Jenny Golden wrote and edited the film, with Beth Levison producing.

“threeASFOUR: FULL CIRCLE” opens at New York’s Film Forum on November 13 before rolling out nationwide this fall.

For independent creators fighting to balance art and survival, this one hits close to home. It’s a reminder that even designers with museum shows and celebrity fans still face the same battle, staying true to their vision when the system wants something easier to sell.