Luis Buñuel’s “Viridiana” Returns in New 4K Restoration at Film Forum

Posted on October 18, 2025 by admin

Janus Films will release a new 4K restoration of Luis Buñuel’s Palme d’Or-winning classic Viridiana (1961), opening November 14 for a one-week engagement at Film Forum in New York City.

Banned in Franco-era Spain and condemned by the Vatican upon release, Viridiana remains one of cinema’s most provocative works. The film follows a novice nun (Silvia Pinal) whose idealistic faith collides with corruption and hypocrisy when she moves in with her uncle, played by Fernando Rey, in a narrative that skewers religious dogma and human weakness.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, the film has long been regarded as one of Buñuel’s masterpieces. Co-written with Julio Alejandro and photographed by José F. Aguayo, the restoration showcases the film’s bold imagery and subversive wit for a new generation of audiences.

Viridiana runs November 14 to 20, 2025, exclusively at Film Forum.

‘Bouchra’ Directors Orian Barki & Meriem Bennani Spotlighted at NYFF and on New York Magazine Cover

Posted on October 9, 2025 by admin

Filmmakers Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani are having a standout festival moment with their feature Bouchra, which continues to draw acclaim at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) following its U.S. premiere in the Currents section.

The film’s warm reception comes alongside the duo’s appearance on the print cover of New York Magazine’s Look Book, released October 1. The feature highlights their creative partnership behind Bouchra, an 85-minute narrative exploring memory, artistic paralysis, and identity through the story of a Moroccan filmmaker in New York.

Produced by 2 Lizards, the film was financed by Fondazione Prada and executive produced by Hi Production. It marks a new chapter for Barki and Bennani, whose acclaimed animated series 2 Lizards premiered on Instagram in 2020 and was later added to the MoMA and Whitney Museum collections.

Bouchra follows its titular character as a phone call with her mother in Casablanca stirs buried memories and creative renewal. Told across Moroccan Arabic, French, and English, the film examines the intersections of family, migration, and the creative process.

The production team includes Cécile Winckler, Octavia Peissel, Ella Bishop, Pau Suris, with John Michael Boling and Jason Coombs serving as creative producers.

Japan Society to Spotlight Shiguéhiko Hasumi With October Film Series in New York

Posted on September 17, 2025 by admin

Japan Society will present Shiguéhiko Hasumi: Another History of the Movie in America and Japan, a ten-day retrospective honoring Japan’s most influential living film scholar, running October 9–18, 2025.

Curated by Hasumi, a longtime critic, theorist, and mentor to directors including Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama, the program explores the intersections of American and Japanese cinema through a personal lens. Highlights include Michael Mann’s Collateral, Makoto Sato’s 1992 documentary Living on the River Agano, and a rare pairing of shorts by Kurosawa and Aoyama.

The series will also feature Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler, Robert Aldrich’s …All the Marbles, and Mikio Naruse’s Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro. Locarno winner Sho Miyake will attend the second weekend, presenting his 2022 boxing drama Small, Slow But Steady and participating in a closing-night discussion on Hasumi’s critical legacy.

Hasumi, celebrated for his groundbreaking writings on Yasujiro Ozu and John Ford, was President of the University of Tokyo from 1997 to 2001. His work has shaped generations of filmmakers and critics, influencing both Japanese and international cinema.

“Darling” 4K Restoration to Open at Film Forum for 60th Anniversary Run

Posted on September 14, 2025 by admin

John Schlesinger’s Darling (1965), starring Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, and Laurence Harvey, returns to the big screen in a new 4K restoration for its 60th anniversary. The bittersweet satire of Swinging London will screen at Film Forum in New York from October 10 to October 23.

The film, which helped define the British New Wave, earned five Academy Award nominations, winning Best Actress for Christie, Best Original Screenplay for Frederic Raphael, and Best Costume Design for Julie Harris. Christie’s performance as ambitious model Diana Scott launched her to international stardom.

Darling also earned four BAFTAs and three New York Film Critics Circle Awards, cementing its place as a cultural landmark of the 1960s.

Marion Cotillard Leads Hadžihalilović’s Surreal Drama The Ice Tower

Posted on August 30, 2025 by admin

Acclaimed French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović (Innocence, Evolution, Earwig) returns with her fourth feature, The Ice Tower, which is set to open in theaters on October 3, 2025. The film stars Marion Cotillard, Clara Pacini, August Diehl, and Gaspar Noé.

Co-written with Geoff Cox, The Ice Tower premiered earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival. The project reunites Hadžihalilović with Cotillard, who also starred in her 2004 debut feature Innocence. Known for her surreal and unsettling narratives, the director brings her distinctive style to another collaboration with long-time creative partner Noé, with whom she co-founded the production company Les Cinémas de la Zone in the early 1990s.

Hadžihalilović’s work has previously received recognition at international festivals including San Sebastián, Toronto, and Cannes. The Ice Tower continues her exploration of atmospheric, psychological storytelling, blending elements of fantasy and existential unease.

The film will be released in U.S. theaters on October 3.

Arthouse Thriller Sweet Relief Opens June 27 in Theaters and on VOD

Posted on June 22, 2025 by admin

The indie thriller Sweet Relief, written and directed by emerging filmmaker Nick Verdi, will open for a one-week theatrical run at Laemmle Encino Town Center on June 27. The film will also be available the same day on premium VOD through Eventive.

Set in a small New England town, Sweet Relief follows two intertwining storylines: one involving teens playing an online “murder challenge” game as a joke, and another focused on a disaffected millennial couple whose boredom leads them down a dangerous path. As events spiral, the film builds toward a disturbing and unexpected climax.

The ensemble cast includes Alisa Leigh, B.R. Yeager, Adam Michael Kozack, Lucie Rosenfeld, Jocelyn Lopez, and Paul Lazar in a notable turn as Mr. McDaniel. The film was executive produced by Tribeca Award-winner Elliot Gipson (Charliebird), who launched Art Brut Films in 2023. Sweet Relief marks the label’s first feature release.

The 87-minute arthouse thriller has screened at several festivals, including the Chattanooga Film Festival, Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival, and Another Hole in the Head.

A wider VOD rollout is planned later in the year.

Disability Rights Doc “Life After” Opens July 18 at Film Forum

Posted on June 17, 2025 by admin

Life After, the Sundance-winning documentary by disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport, will open theatrically in the U.S. on July 18 at Film Forum.

The film investigates the case of Elizabeth Bouvia, a disabled woman whose 1983 legal battle to die sparked national debate. Through archival footage and contemporary stories, Life After challenges prevailing narratives around assisted dying, reframing the issue through a disability rights lens.

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Life After is produced by Multitude Films and will feature post-screening Q&As with Davenport and producer Colleen Cassingham on opening weekend.

ASL interpretation will be provided.

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague Premieres at Cannes, First Trailer Released

Posted on May 17, 2025 by admin

Richard Linklater’s latest film, Nouvelle Vague, premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking the director’s first French-language feature. Shot in black and white and entirely in French, the film is a dramatized account of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s landmark 1960 film Breathless.

Nouvelle Vague reconstructs the early days of the French New Wave through the lens of Godard’s directorial process, using a cast of mostly new French actors to mirror the spirit of the movement. Guillaume Marbeck plays Godard in his feature debut, alongside Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo. Additional cast members include Paolo Luka Noé, Alix Bénézech, and Jade Phan-Gia.

The film is co-written by Linklater with Vince Palmo, Michèle Halberstadt, Laetitia Masson, and Holly Gent, with cinematography by David Chambille. International sales are being handled by Goodfellas. The project follows Linklater’s other recent 2025 release, Blue Moon, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

The teaser trailer, now released, offers a stylized preview of Nouvelle Vague, combining footage with a French voiceover listing key elements of the story: “A pretty boy. A pretty girl. Paris 1959. A gym. A director. A camera…”

The film is expected to be released in theaters on October 8.

Watch the teaser trailer for Nouvelle Vague below:

Dag Johan Haugerud’s Sex Opens at Film Forum

Posted on May 14, 2025 by admin

The 2024 Norwegian drama Sex, directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, will have its U.S. theatrical premiere on Friday, June 13 at Film Forum in New York. The film is the second in Haugerud’s Love–Sex–Dreams: The Oslo Trilogy, a series of standalone features examining nontraditional forms of intimacy and emotional honesty in modern relationships.

Set in Oslo, Sex follows two male-identified colleagues—both in heterosexual marriages—as they confront aspects of their sexuality and identity that challenge traditional gender roles and relationship norms. One man discloses a recent sexual encounter with another man, while the other wrestles with recurring dreams involving David Bowie and questions of gender fluidity. The narrative focuses on their efforts to communicate these experiences with their wives, exploring themes of vulnerability, trust, and the complexity of love within the framework of monogamous relationships.

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, where it received the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film in the Panorama section. Haugerud, also an acclaimed novelist, is known for using restrained storytelling to depict nuanced emotional and social dynamics.

Sex is the second installment in The Oslo Trilogy. The first film, Love, opens at Film Forum on Friday, May 16, with Haugerud scheduled to appear for post-screening Q&As on Friday, May 16 (7:45 PM) and Saturday, May 17 (5:15 PM). The final film in the trilogy, Dreams, which won the Golden Bear at the 2025 Berlinale, is slated to open at Film Forum on Friday, September 12.

Each of the trilogy’s films is self-contained and can be viewed independently, though they are thematically linked by their exploration of intimacy, desire, and identity in contemporary Norwegian society.

Jia Zhangke’s “Caught by the Tides” Opens in Theaters Nationwide

Posted on May 13, 2025 by admin

Caught by the Tides, the latest film from acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, is now playing in New York and will open in theaters nationwide this weekend.

The film spans more than two decades of footage, blending archival and newly shot material to tell a love story set against the backdrop of modern China’s societal changes. Zhao Tao stars in the leading role, with the film tracing her journey through shifting landscapes and turbulent times.

Jia, known for works such as Platform, Still Life, A Touch of Sin, and Ash Is Purest White, continues his exploration of contemporary Chinese life with a focus on personal and collective memory.

Caught by the Tides has screened at major international festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, New York Film Festival, BFI London, AFI Fest, and Rotterdam. It has received praise from a range of critics, described as “a masterpiece” (New York Magazine), “deeply touching” (The New York Times), and “carefully crafted to break your heart” (Rolling Stone).

Watch the trailer below.