Merata Mita and Graton Fellows Honored at Sundance 2026 Native Forum

Posted on January 24, 2026 by admin

The Sundance Institute recognized this year’s Merata Mita and Graton Fellowship recipients during the Native Forum Celebration at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The annual gathering brings together Indigenous filmmakers, artists, and alumni during the festival to spotlight new voices and ongoing work.

Masami Kawai was named the 2026 Merata Mita Fellow. A Ryukyuan filmmaker based in Oregon, Kawai’s work often explores identity, history, and Indigenous experience, and she has previously participated in Sundance’s Directors and Screenwriters Lab. The fellowship supports an Indigenous woman-identified filmmaker developing a feature project.

The 2026 Graton Fellows are Isabella Madrigal and Tsanavi Spoonhunter. Madrigal, a writer-director and actor, is developing her first feature, expanding a story rooted in Indigenous community performance and cultural memory. Spoonhunter, a nonfiction filmmaker and journalist, is based in Northern Nevada and focuses on documentary storytelling through her independent media company, Mahebe Media.

The Native Forum Celebration took place during the festival as a moment to recognize Indigenous-led projects across Sundance programs and to acknowledge the broader creative community gathered in Park City throughout the week.

Harry Styles Announces Global Residency Run “Together, Together”

Posted on January 24, 2026 by admin

Harry Styles is returning to the stage with Together, Together, a seven-city global residency running from May through December 2026. The Live Nation-promoted run includes 50 performances across Amsterdam, London, São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne, and Sydney, with Styles limiting his live appearances next year to those cities only.

The residency includes major stretches in New York and London, highlighted by 30 shows at Madison Square Garden, his only U.S. dates of 2026, and a six-night run at Wembley Stadium. Rather than a traditional tour, the format focuses on extended stays, turning each city into its own chapter.

The announcement comes alongside new music. Styles will release his new single “Aperture” tonight, January 22, ahead of his fourth studio album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally., arriving March 6. Select dates will feature special guests including Robyn, Shania Twain, Jamie xx, Jorja Smith, and Fousheé.

More details, including ticket information by market, are available at hstyles.co.uk/tour.

Returns to NYC in New 4K Restoration: Can She Bake a Cherry Pie

Posted on January 21, 2026 by admin

Henry Jaglom’s quietly offbeat 1983 film Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? is getting a new 4K restoration and a theatrical run at Metrograph beginning February 20.

Shot entirely on the Upper West Side, the film stars Karen Black as a woman navigating love and loneliness in Jaglom’s loose, conversational style. The movie favors lived-in moments over plot, letting scenes wander in ways that feel more like real life than scripted drama.

The film has picked up cult status over the years, helped by an unusual supporting cast that includes Orson Welles, Frances Fisher, and a pre-Seinfeld Larry David. The new restoration, sourced from a 4K scan of the original 35mm materials, preserves the film’s rough, intimate feel while giving it new clarity on the big screen.

For fans of New York–set cinema and indie films that play by their own rules, Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? is a welcome return.

Sundance Institute Announces 2026 Screenwriters Lab and Intensive Fellows

Posted on January 18, 2026 by admin

As Sundance 2026 approaches, the Institute has revealed its latest group of writers selected for its Screenwriters Lab and Screenwriters Intensive, two long-running programs focused on helping emerging filmmakers shape their first and second features.

The Screenwriters Lab, held January 17 to 21 at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, will bring together 11 projects chosen from more than 3,800 submissions. Writers will spend the week workshopping original scripts in a small, collaborative setting, guided by a group of established filmmakers and writers. This year’s lab also doubles as a nod to Sundance’s roots, honoring founder Robert Redford and the program’s origins in the early 1980s.

Running separately in March, the Screenwriters Intensive will support nine projects from 13 writers, offering a more focused, online development experience aimed at first time fiction features.

Together, the selected projects reflect a wide range of voices and genres, from intimate family dramas and political thrillers to speculative stories and dark comedies, continuing Sundance’s long-standing emphasis on risk-taking and personal storytelling.
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Iyanu Scores Three NAACP Image Award Nominations

Posted on January 17, 2026 by admin

Lion Forge Entertainment’s animated series Iyanu has picked up three nominations at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards, marking a strong moment for the growing franchise.

The series is nominated for Outstanding Children’s Program and Outstanding Animated Series, while its season-ending movie special, Iyanu: The Age of Wonders, earned a nod for Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie, Documentary or Special, recognizing writers Roye Okupe and Brandon Easton.

Based on Okupe’s graphic novel Iyanu: Child of Wonder, the series follows a teenage orphan who discovers divine powers tied to the fate of the ancient kingdom of Yorubaland. Drawing heavily from Yoruba culture and mythology, Iyanu has stood out for its world-building and perspective within children’s animation.

The show premiered in 2025 on Cartoon Network and HBO Max and has since built an international audience. A second season is already set to arrive in Spring 2026, continuing Iyanu’s journey as her powers, and the stakes around her: grow.

The 57th NAACP Image Awards will take place on February 28, 2026, with winners announced during the ceremony in Pasadena, California.

Re:ZERO Season 4 Is Officially Set for April 2026, and the Opening Theme Is a Curveball

Posted on January 17, 2026 by admin

After nearly a decade of twists, resets, and emotional damage, Re:ZERO − Starting Life in Another World is gearing up for its next chapter. Season 4 has been officially confirmed to premiere in April 2026, landing right in the middle of the series’ 10th anniversary year.

Alongside the date, the franchise dropped a wave of anniversary updates, including a new digest trailer revisiting key moments from past seasons and a second main trailer for Season 4 featuring brand-new footage. But the detail that’s getting the most attention is the opening theme: “Recollect,” performed by longtime Re:ZERO vocalist Konomi Suzuki, this time joined by Ashnikko.

It’s an unexpected pairing on paper, but one that feels very in-step with where anime music has been heading lately. Suzuki has been part of Re:ZERO since the beginning, while Ashnikko brings a very different, internet-native energy to the mix. The track is produced by Giga and TeddyLoid, a duo known for pushing J-pop and vocaloid-adjacent sounds into darker, heavier territory.

Beyond the new season, the anniversary plans lean hard into fan engagement. The official 10th anniversary site is rolling out quizzes, episode voting, and Q&A projects with the production team. There’s also a first-ever Re:ZERO exhibition scheduled to run in Tokyo this fall, offering a look back at the anime’s decade-long run.
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Grammy House Returns for an Expanded Four-Day Grammy Week in 2026

Posted on January 16, 2026 by admin

Grammy House will return during Grammy Week 2026 with its most expansive program to date, running from Wednesday, Jan. 28 through Saturday, Jan. 31 in Los Angeles. The invitation-only cultural hub, presented by the Recording Academy®, expands to four days of panels, performances, and immersive experiences leading up to the 2026 Grammy Awards, airing Feb. 1 on CBS and Paramount+.

Positioned as more than a pop-up, Grammy House continues to function as a gathering space where music, culture, technology, and community intersect. The 2026 edition introduces new programming, additional performers and panelists, and a record number of sponsors reflecting music’s growing overlap with lifestyle and tech.

One of the most notable additions this year is the first-ever Grammy U® Day, signaling a stronger focus on emerging artists and future industry professionals. Programming includes a livestreamed Grammy U Masterclass with YUNGBLUD and the debut of the Grammy U Soundstage, a multi-stage mini festival highlighting student creators and rising talent.

The schedule also emphasizes identity-driven and global perspectives through events spotlighting Best New Artist nominees, women in music, Black creators, AAPI+ artists, LGBTQIA+ voices, and international talent, underscoring how cultural representation continues to shape today’s music landscape.

Technology remains a key theme, with panels addressing artificial intelligence and the evolving role of artists, including a featured discussion moderated by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr.

“The Recording Academy serves as a microphone for the voices of today and tomorrow, and we look forward to honoring and celebrating those voices at Grammy House alongside our incredible sponsors.”

With immersive activations, branded experiences, and forward-looking conversations, Grammy House reinforces how Grammy Week has evolved beyond an awards ceremony into a broader creative and cultural platform. More information is available at GrammyHouse.com.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Joins ‘The Lake’ Ahead of Sundance World Premiere

Posted on January 15, 2026 by admin

Ahead of its Day One world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions has boarded the feature documentary The Lake as executive producer, alongside Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson.

Directed by Abby Ellis (Flint’s Deadly Water), The Lake has quickly emerged as one of Sundance’s most closely watched documentaries. The film examines the accelerating ecological crisis surrounding Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which is rapidly shrinking and exposing a toxic lakebed containing arsenic, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals—posing serious health risks to millions living along the Wasatch Front.

The documentary follows two scientists and a political insider as they race to prevent an environmental catastrophe, offering a rare look at bipartisan efforts to address a crisis with both local and global implications. As Sundance prepares for its final year in Park City, the film’s urgency has drawn significant attention.

Ellis described the project as deeply personal:

“What’s happening in Utah is a microcosm for so many environmental stories around the world… Having the support of Appian Way will only help enhance our reach with this incredibly timely and relevant story.”

Appian Way’s involvement reinforces its continued focus on environmentally driven storytelling. Jennifer Davisson noted that the film aligns closely with the company’s mission to support urgent, impact driven narratives.

Blending scientific reality with moral reckoning, The Lake moves beyond traditional environmental documentaries, asking broader questions about responsibility, complicity, and whether communities can act in time to avert disaster.

Plague House Turns the Haunted House Story Inside Out

Posted on January 15, 2026 by admin

Haunted houses aren’t exactly new territory, but Plague House isn’t interested in playing by the usual rules. The horror comic from writer Michael W. Conrad and artist Dave Chisholm takes a familiar setup and slowly mutates it into something far more unsettling.

The story centers on the aftermath of a brutal family murder in a quiet California suburb. Thirteen years later, a small group of ghost hunters moves into the abandoned home, hoping to document evidence of something supernatural. What they uncover isn’t just a haunting, but a far darker presence that feels tied to violence itself — something infectious, pervasive, and disturbingly human.

Rather than leaning on jump scares or predictable beats, Plague House builds tension through misdirection. Just when it feels like you understand what kind of story you’re reading, it shifts. The scope widens. The rules change. The horror becomes less about ghosts and more about what lingers after trauma, obsession, and belief collide.

Chisholm’s art plays a huge role here, moving between stark unease and moments of unsettling beauty, while Conrad’s writing keeps pulling the ground out from under the reader. Together, the series feels deliberately disorienting — the kind of horror that sticks around after you’ve put it down.

The newly released trade paperback collects issues #1 to 4, bringing the full story together in one volume. Plague House goes on sale January 20, 2026, from Oni Press.

.lumen Wins CES 2026 Accessibility Award for AI Glasses Designed for the Blind

Posted on January 8, 2026 by admin

CES 2026 included a wide range of accessibility-focused technology, and .lumen was among the companies recognized for its work in that area.

The European deep-tech startup received the CTA Foundation Pitch Competition for Accessibility award, which comes with a $10,000 prize. The award was given for .lumen’s AI-powered glasses designed to help blind users move independently without relying on guide dogs, smartphones, or constant internet access.

The wearable uses computer vision and on-device AI to interpret surrounding space in real time. Instead of audio prompts, it guides users through a haptic feedback system, allowing for hands-free navigation in unfamiliar environments.

Founder and CEO Cornel Amariei noted that the project grew out of personal experience and long-term exposure to accessibility challenges. He also pointed to the gap between the number of visually impaired people worldwide and the limited availability of guide dogs.

In addition to the CTA Foundation award, .lumen was named a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree. The company also received recognition last year through a U.S. Army pitch competition.