Documentary About Musician Alex Sparrow’s Recovery From Stroke Screens at DOC NYC

Posted on October 30, 2026 by admin

will-power A musician on the verge of stardom has a head-on car crash that leaves him paralyzed and unable to sing. Then he fights his way back.

WILL POWER, a new documentary from director Lauro Rocha, follows the true story of Alex Sparrow (Aleksey Vorobyov), an actor and musician who suffered a traumatic brain injury and stroke after a 2013 car accident in Los Angeles. The film screens at DOC NYC on November 15 at Village East by Angelika.

Sparrow was 17 when he broke out on the Russian version of The X Factor. He signed with Universal Music Russia in 2006 and represented Russia at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. By 2013, he’d moved to the U.S. and was working with Grammy-winning producer RedOne, known for Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.

Then came the crash. Doctors said he might never sing, act, or dance again. Filmed over several years, WILL POWER documents Sparrow’s recovery as he relearns basic skills and eventually returns to performing.

“My progress wasn’t linear, and reclaiming my life meant discovering a new version of myself,” Sparrow says.

The documentary has won awards at the Overcome Film Festival and Eurasia Film Festival. Rocha, a graduate of the AFI Conservatory and founder of Small World Films, says the film challenges assumptions about resilience and human limits.

Tickets are $20 to $22.

Dennis Hopper’s ‘Tracks’ Gets 4K Restoration, Screens November 11 in New York

Posted on October 30, 2026 by admin

A Vietnam vet escorts a fellow soldier’s body home by train, and the war won’t let him go.

Henry Jaglom’s 1976 film Tracks, starring Dennis Hopper, is getting a new 4K restoration. Hope Runs High is bringing the film back to theaters with a screening at Roxy Cinema in New York on November 11, 2026.

The film follows a sergeant, played by Hopper, who is traveling across the country by train with the remains of a fellow soldier. Haunted by what he saw in Vietnam, he encounters passengers both real and imagined. Dean Stockwell and Taryn Power, daughter of Tyrone Power, co-star.

Tracks was selected for Semaine de la Critique at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. Critics at the time called it visceral and discomforting. J. Hoberman described it as “both a terminal road film and the first post-Vietnam movie.” Variety called it “an incisive, revelatory film.”

Jaglom wrote and directed the film. Paul Glickman shot it, and Zack Norman produced. Jaglom started his career editing Easy Rider alongside Jack Nicholson, then went on to direct more than twenty films of his own.

The Roxy Cinema screening includes a post-screening Q&A with Sabrina Jaglom and Justin LaLiberty. The theater is located at 2 Avenue of the Americas in New York.

Colombia’s Oscar Entry “Rains Over Babel” Sets New York Premiere and LA Screening

Posted on October 29, 2026 by admin

A queer tropical-punk twist on Dante’s Inferno is heading to New York and Los Angeles.

Rains Over Babel, Colombia’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, will have its New York premiere at Museum of the Moving Image on December 5. The film screens in Los Angeles on November 5 at Instituto Cervantes.

Writer-director Gala del Sol’s debut feature premiered at Sundance and became the highest-grossing Colombian film of 2026 during a 14-week theatrical run. It also made history as the first Colombian feature invited to screen at Pixar Animation Studios.

Set in a retro-futuristic version of Cali, Colombia, the film follows misfits who gather at Babel, a dive bar that doubles as purgatory. La Flaca (Saray Rebolledo) presides over lost souls gambling years of their lives to outwit Death. Over one night, their stories collide. Dante searches for his forgotten past, the ghost Monet races to reclaim his body, Timbí and Uma descend through purgatory to save loved ones, and Jacob prepares for his debut drag performance.

Japanese Horror Film “New Group” Hits Shudder with Body Horror and Social Commentary

Posted on October 29, 2026 by admin

A high school student watches her world spiral into terror as those around her turn into mindless followers in “New Group,” a Japanese body horror film that lands on Shudder November 6.

Director Yûta Shimotsu transforms simple gymnastics routines into what critics call “a nightmarish dance of death.” The film stars Anna Yamada as Ai, who witnesses a cult-like mentality spread through her community.

Shimotsu, who studied mechanical engineering before moving into filmmaking, made his feature debut with “Best Wishes to All” in 2023. “New Group” screened at Fantasia International Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival before its streaming release.

Early reviews highlight the film’s blend of horror and social criticism. Rue Morgue calls it “a most entertaining slice of weirdness…braced by an underpinning of social commentary.” Bloody Disgusting labels it “an incredible, unpredictable body horror masterpiece that doubles as an indicting satire of Japan’s society.”

The 82-minute film, written by Shimotsu and Momoko Sahara, also stars Yuzu Aoki and Pierre Taki. It joins Shudder’s growing library of international horror that uses genre filmmaking to examine cultural anxieties.

IMDb Adds Michif as Official Language, a First for Métis Cinema

Posted on October 28, 2026 by admin

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.

Sundance Award-Winner Soul Patrol Opens in Theaters with Hidden Story of Vietnam’s First Black Special Ops Team

Posted on October 28, 2026 by admin

A documentary uncovering one of the Vietnam War’s most overlooked stories is coming to theaters. Soul Patrol, which won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, follows the first all-Black special operations team to operate behind enemy lines.

Director J.M. Harper sat down with the surviving members of this elite unit, who reunite in a hotel room 50 years after the war. Using raw Super 8 footage, photographs, and audio recordings from their personal archives, the film reconstructs their mission with an intimacy rarely seen in war documentaries.

The setting becomes surreal as the men grapple with memory, brotherhood, and unresolved trauma. At the core is a painful contradiction: fighting for freedom abroad while facing inequality at home.

Harper adapted the film from Ed Emanuel’s memoir. The project was produced by Sam Bisbee, Harper, Danielle Massie, Peter Bittenbender, and Nasir Jones.

Critics are calling it essential. The Hollywood Reporter praised it as “jolting and heartbreaking,” while Variety noted its contribution to understanding both the Vietnam War and Black history.

Soul Patrol opens November 6 at IFC Center in New York, then expands November 13 to LA and nationwide through Kino Lorber. For indie filmmakers tackling buried history, this is a master class in reconstruction and access.

Jet2 Partners with Adobe to Build AI-Powered Holiday Planning Tools

Posted on October 28, 2026 by admin

ADOBE-JET-2 UK tour operator Jet2 is teaming up with Adobe to bring personalized AI features to its 10 million customers.

The multi-year partnership centers on Adobe CX Enterprise Coworker, which uses AI to help Jet2 staff deliver customized travel recommendations at scale. The system will suggest destinations based on each customer’s booking history and preferences, from family resorts to city breaks, and create daily itineraries for travelers already on vacation.

Jet2 will also use Adobe’s content tools to produce on-brand material faster. Adobe Firefly Foundry lets the company build custom AI models trained on its own assets, while Adobe Brand Intelligence keeps outputs consistent across platforms.

A new joint Customer Experience Lab will bring Adobe engineers and Jet2’s digital teams together to test and build new AI services, like smarter ways to match travelers with trips that fit their style.

“Customers know they will always receive a VIP experience when they holiday with us,” said David Hills, Jet2’s chief customer officer. “Working with Adobe will enable us to serve our customers even better, using the power of AI to make every interaction more personal, more relevant, more timely and always helpful.”

Jet2 is the UK’s largest tour operator and third largest airline, flying from 14 UK airports.

Italian Horror Film The Holy Boy Hits Shudder After Fantastic Fest Wins

Posted on October 28, 2026 by admin

A tormented teacher discovers a dark secret in a too-happy Italian village in The Holy Boy, Paolo Strippoli’s new folk horror film coming to Shudder on November 27th.

The film follows Sergio, a teacher transferred to Remis, a secluded town known as the happiest place in Italy. He finds out why. Every week, villagers gather to hug Matteo, a 15-year-old whose embrace can supposedly erase pain and sorrow. When Sergio realizes the town’s devotion to the boy isn’t as benevolent as it looks, his attempt to rescue him backfires hard.

The Holy Boy won the Audience Award and New Wave Best Director at Fantastic Fest and played the Venice Film Festival and BFI London. Variety called it “a clever, creepy Italian chiller” that uses horror to investigate “the dangers of displaced grief.” Dread Central said Strippoli’s film “reaches straight through the chest to grab hold of your heart and squeeze it dry.”

Strippoli previously directed A Classic Horror Story for Netflix and won Best Director at Taormina Film Fest for it. He’s got another horror film, The Spiral, coming later this year.

The Holy Boy stars Michele Riondino and Giulio Feltri. It’s written by Strippoli, Jacopo Del Giudice, and Milo Tissone.

The Neighbourhood Announce Second World Tour With 2027 Arena Dates

Posted on October 28, 2026 by admin

The Neighbourhood are taking The Wourld Tour back on the road.

The California alternative rock band announced The Wourld Tour II on October 28, with arena shows starting March 2 in Denver and running through late July. The tour hits North America and Europe, with stops including Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Calgary, and Vienna.

An artist presale opens October 29 at 10 a.m. local time, with general on sale starting October 30. Fans can sign up at tour.thenbhd.com.

The new tour follows the band’s current sold-out global arena run, which wraps December 4 and 5 with two hometown shows at Kia Forum in Los Angeles. That run included 68 arena headlining dates across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America, and Europe.

The band also played Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza Chicago, Osheaga, and Dia De Los Deftones this year. In 2027, they’ll appear at festivals including Innings Festival in Arizona, Lollapalooza Argentina, Lollapalooza Chile, Estereo Picnic in Colombia, Lollapalooza Brazil, Pinkpop in the Netherlands, Open’er Festival in Poland, NOS Alive in Portugal, and Lollapalooza Berlin.

The Neighbourhood, Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels, Brandon Fried, Jeremy Freeman, and Mikey Margott, broke through in 2013 with their double-platinum debut I Love You and the multi-platinum single “Sweater Weather.” Their latest album (((((ultraSOUND))))) arrived on Warner Records after a five-year hiatus. The single “Private” is climbing alternative radio charts, and the album has racked up 393 million streams.

Zombie Sequel ‘Apocalypse Z: New World’ Hits Prime Video Just in Time for Halloween

Posted on October 26, 2026 by admin

The zombie apocalypse is back. Apocalypse Z: New World drops on Prime Video October 30, giving horror fans a Halloween treat courtesy of the franchise that became Prime’s most-watched international original movie.

Director Carles Torrens returns for the sequel, picking up the story in the Canary Islands, now Europe’s last refuge after the TSJ virus outbreak. When a special team heads to the mainland for supplies, Roberto tags along with his own agenda. Things go south fast.

The mission becomes a fight for survival as the crew gets caught between infected hordes and fractured loyalties. At its core, the film asks the genre’s oldest question: do you save yourself, or risk it all for what’s left of humanity?

Carlos Alcaide leads the cast, joined by Julia Martínez, Jose María Yazpik, Berta Vázquez, and Mónica López. Ángel Agudo adapted the screenplay from Manel Loureiro’s novels.

The film premiered at the 2026 Sitges Film Festival before making its US debut at Screamfest Horror Festival LA. Now it’s hitting streaming during the spookiest week of the year.

For post-apocalyptic fans who burned through the first film, this one promises more infected, more tension, and harder choices in a world that’s already fallen apart.