Drama Desk Awards Announces Nominees for 70th Anniversary Ceremony

Posted on April 30, 2026 by admin

The Drama Desk Awards revealed nominations for its 70th edition, returning to The Town Hall on May 17 after the venue went dark during the 2020 shutdown.

Beau the Musical and Mexodus lead with 10 nominations each, followed by The Seat of Our Pants with nine. Death of a Salesman and Ragtime also scored big, with eight and six nods respectively.

The Drama Desks stand apart as the only major theater award honoring work across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway. This year’s nominees span from big revivals to scrappy originals, with contenders including Preston Max Allen’s Caroline, Jordan Tannahill’s Prince Faggot, and the immersive Masquerade reimagining of Phantom of the Opera.

The ceremony will honor Tom Schumacher, former Disney Theatrical Productions president, with the Harold S. Prince Award. Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire receive the William Wolf Award for their decades of collaboration and mentorship.

Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and John Lithgow compete for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, while Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz are up for Musical honors.

Tickets are available now at DramaDesks.com. For a full nominations list and the complete announcement video, visit the Drama Desk website.

Spike Lee’s Apartheid Story “Apart” Heads to Tribeca

Posted on April 22, 2026 by admin

Spike Lee co-wrote an animated short about friendship under apartheid, and it’s making its world premiere at Tribeca Festival next month.

“Apart” follows two boys, Themba and Joel, whose bond is tested by the violence and racism of apartheid-era South Africa. The film was directed by Pola Maneli, a South African artist whose work has appeared on the cover of The New Yorker and hangs in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Grammy-winning South African musician Black Coffee supervised the music, while fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo designed isiXhosa-inspired wardrobe for the characters.

The 15-minute short blends traditional 2D animation, cutout, 3D, and 2.5D techniques. Over 600 days, a crew of 266 people produced 18,000 frames using 14 different software tools. The animation style nods to woodcut prints, the DIY art form used to spread anti-apartheid messages and evade censorship.

The entire film was made by human artists, no AI involved.

“Apart” screens twice at Tribeca as part of the Animated Shorts program curated by Whoopi Goldberg: June 6 at Spring Studios and June 13 at AMC 19th Street East.

For indie creators, it’s a reminder that handmade animation still matters, especially when telling stories rooted in history and cultural resistance.

Lorenzo de Felici’s RED ROOTS Gets the Robert Kirkman Stamp of Approval, Plus Variant Covers That’ll Make You Drool

Posted on April 3, 2026 by admin

Robert Kirkman doesn’t throw praise around lightly, but he’s calling *Red Roots* “the comic series you’ve been waiting your whole life for.” That’s a hell of an endorsement.

Lorenzo de Felici, the artist behind *Oblivion Song* and *Void Rivals*,is stepping up as both writer and artist for this new ongoing series from Image Comics. And if you know de Felici’s work, you know this is going to be something special.

The premise? A professional killer and a high school teacher whose lives get tangled up in some terrifying, mysterious force. Yeah, we’re already in.

But let’s talk variants for a second. *Red Roots* #1 is launching with an absolutely stacked lineup of covers. Ryan Ottley (*Invincible*). Mike Mignola (*Hellboy*). Luana Vecchio (*Lovesick*). Riley Rossmo (*The Moon is Following Us*). Jason Howard (*The Astounding Wolf-Man*). This is basically a who’s who of badass comic artists.

De Felici made waves when *Void Rivals* became one of the biggest launches of 2024, it’s on its 12th reprint and still selling like crazy. His creative partnership with Kirkman on that book and *Oblivion Song* proved he’s got the chops. Now he’s going solo, and the hype is real.

*Red Roots* #1 drops April 29 at your local comic shop. Nine different covers to choose from, including a 1:25 black-and-white virgin cover by de Felici and a 1:50 B&W Mignola variant. Yeah, you’re gonna want to talk to your shop about this one early.

This is what indie comics should be — bold swings from creators who’ve earned their stripes. De Felici’s got the talent and the momentum. Now we get to see what he can do when he’s calling all the shots.

Art House Cinema Week Kicks Off Across New York City

Posted on March 20, 2026 by admin

New York City is shining a spotlight on independent film as the first-ever Art House Cinema Week New York begins today, running March 20–26.

The citywide initiative, backed by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and Art House New York, brings together nearly 30 independent theaters for a week of special programming, discounted tickets, and community-focused screenings.

The event also includes 5,000 free tickets funded by the city, aimed at making art house cinema more accessible. Additional perks include discounted memberships and concessions, with select groups—such as students, teachers, veterans, and SNAP/EBT cardholders—eligible for free admission at participating locations.

Designed to encourage audiences to reconnect with local theaters, the week highlights the role of independent cinemas as cultural and community hubs across the city.

More details and full programming are available at arthouseny.org.

VR Documentary Lacuna to Make International Premiere at SXSW

Posted on March 14, 2026 by admin

Studio Biarritz

The VR documentary Lacuna will make its international premiere at SXSW as part of the festival’s XR Spotlight section.

Directed by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga Broeren and produced by Corine Meijers, the immersive project invites viewers into the fragmented memories of Sonja, as she reflects on a moment of loss during the Second World War. The experience combines conversations with Sonja, animation, 3D modeling, and personal footage to explore how memory—and the absence of it—can shape identity.

Lacuna previously world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Immersive program and is designed as both a remembrance project and a broader reflection on how people reconstruct the past through imagination.

The VR experience will be available during SXSW’s XR Spotlight Experiences, running daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin through March 17.

Film Forum to Present Ernst Lubitsch Retrospective The Lubitsch Touch in April

Posted on March 10, 2026 by admin

Film Forum

Film Forum will celebrate legendary filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch with a special 13-film retrospective titled The Lubitsch Touch, beginning Tuesday, April 7 in New York.

The series will feature weekly screenings of some of Lubitsch’s most influential films, including Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, Trouble in Paradise, Heaven Can Wait, Design for Living, Cluny Brown, and To Be or Not to Be, among others.

Known for his sophisticated humor and subtle visual storytelling, Lubitsch helped shape the modern romantic comedy and movie musical after moving from Germany to Hollywood in the early 20th century. His distinctive style became widely known as “The Lubitsch Touch.”

The series will run Tuesday evenings with select additional screenings, highlighting Lubitsch’s enduring influence on classic Hollywood cinema.

Berlin Silver Bear Winner Living the Land Opens at Film Forum April 3

Posted on March 4, 2026 by admin

The Berlin International Film Festival award-winning drama Living the Land will have its U.S. theatrical premiere at Film Forum on April 3.

Directed by Huo Meng, the film earned the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival and marks the filmmaker’s second feature. The coming-of-age story unfolds in rural China during the early 1990s, a period of rapid industrial change.

The film follows Chuang, a sensitive 10-year-old boy whose parents leave their wheat-farming village to seek work in the city. Left in the care of his extended family, Chuang witnesses the rhythms of rural life through the guidance of his outspoken great-grandmother and independent-minded aunt.

Told from the child’s perspective, Living the Land captures a community at the edge of transformation as traditional village life begins to disappear.

Following its Berlin premiere, the film has also screened at international festivals including Vancouver, Valladolid, and the International Film Festival of India. The film is distributed in the United States by Film Movement.

Mistress Dispeller Streams on Criterion Channel, Unpacking China’s Infidelity Industry

Posted on February 26, 2026 by admin

Elizabeth Lo’s documentary Mistress Dispeller is now streaming exclusively on the Criterion Channel.

The film follows Wang Zhenxi, a professional “mistress dispeller” hired to preserve marriages by breaking up extramarital affairs — a growing industry in China. With rare, intimate access, the documentary observes a real marital crisis unfold as Wang works to steer a couple back from collapse.

As loyalties shift between husband, wife, and mistress, Mistress Dispeller explores how emotion, pragmatism, and cultural expectations shape modern relationships. Critics have described the film as both haunting and unexpectedly tender.

Mistress Dispeller is available now on the Criterion Channel.

Radu Jude’s Kontinental ‘25 Opens March 27 at Film Forum

Posted on February 19, 2026 by admin

Radu Jude’s latest feature, Kontinental ‘25, opens March 27 at Film Forum in New York.

The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, where Jude won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.

Set in the Romanian city of Cluj, the story follows Orsolya, a Hungarian immigrant and municipal employee whose routine eviction of an elderly man sets off a personal reckoning after he takes his own life. As she revisits the event through conversations with friends, family, and clergy, the film examines questions of responsibility, guilt, and the systems that shape individual choices.

Jude, known for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn and Don’t Expect Too Much From the End of the World, continues his sharp, often uncomfortable look at contemporary European life.

Kontinental ‘25 begins its U.S. theatrical run at Film Forum on March 27.

Franco Nero to Present Silent Life Final Cut in Hollywood

Posted on February 11, 2026 by admin

Franco Nero, Silent Life: The Rudolph Valentino Centennial Final Cut

Franco Nero will present a special Hollywood preview of Silent Life: The Rudolph Valentino Centennial Final Cut on Monday, February 16 at the Hollywood Forever Masonic Lodge.

The screening will be followed by a Q and A moderated by film critic Leonard Maltin. The event comes days after Nero receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 12.

Directed by Vladislav Alex Kozlov, Silent Life revisits the life and legacy of silent film star Rudolph Valentino on the centennial of his death. Nero, who portrayed Valentino in 1975’s The Legend of Valentino, lends his voice to the role in the new film. The cast also includes Terry Moore, Isabella Rossellini, Sherilyn Fenn, Paul Rodriguez, and Monte Markham.

The 2026 version is described as a newly completed director’s cut. The film has previously screened at festivals including Sedona, WorldFest Houston, and Rhode Island International Film Festival. A limited number of tickets are available for the February 16 event.