Category Archives: Festival

Pearl Jam, Alabama Shakes, and Maná Set to Headline Ohana Festival’s 10th Anniversary

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Ohana-Festival-2026Ohana Festival is hitting a milestone, and the lineup reflects it. Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder & Friends, Tyler Childers, and Maná will headline the three-day event at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California, running September 25 through 27.

The 10th anniversary edition also includes Alabama Shakes, Fontaines D.C., Billy Idol, Pixies, Rilo Kiley, Jon Batiste, Men I Trust, and Bad Religion across more than 30 acts and three stages.

Since Eddie Vedder founded the festival in 2016, Ohana has become a standout on the festival circuit, mixing world-class music with environmental activism and surf culture along the Southern California coast. Pollstar named it Music Festival of the Year four times, most recently in 2026.

The Cove, a dedicated area within the festival grounds, focuses on oceans, conservation, Indigenous voices, and community action. The Storytellers Stage hosts panels with environmentalists, activists, and pro surfers, while The Cove Gallery displays hundreds of curated art pieces tied to music and board culture. Proceeds support nonprofit partners through the Vitalogy Foundation.

Ten Club presale starts Tuesday, May 12 at 10 a.m. PT. General presale follows Thursday, May 14 at noon PT. Tickets include GA, VIP, and Ultimate VIP packages. More info at ohanafest.com.

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Austin City Limits Turns 25 With Charli XCX, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and Twenty One Pilots

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austin-city-limits-2026Austin City Limits is going big for its 25th anniversary. The festival just dropped its 2026 lineup, and it’s stacked with Charli XCX, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Skrillex, Kings of Leon, and The xx headlining across two weekends.

The festival runs October 2-4 and October 9-11 at Zilker Park. Three-day tickets go on sale today at noon Central.

Beyond the headliners, the lineup pulls from every corner of the music world. Turnstile, Labrinth, The War On Drugs, and Bleachers anchor the mid-tier. Latin artists including Young Miko, rusowsky, and Rodrigo y Gabriela get real estate too. And ACL is still doing what it does best: giving rising talent a stage. Artists like Paris Paloma, Claire Rosinkranz, and Sienna Spiro are all on the bill.

Texas artists are well represented. Bo Staloch, Calder Allen, World Famous Pets, and the Huston Tillotson University Jazz Collective are among the homegrown acts playing this year.

Since 2006, the festival has funneled over $79 million into Austin’s parks through its partnership with Austin Parks Foundation. Last year alone, ticket sales contributed $8.5 million toward park improvements across the city.

For a festival that started as a PBS taping series, ACL has become one of the most important stages for indie and mainstream artists alike. Twenty-five years in, it’s still the place where careers get made.

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Art House Cinema Week Kicks Off Across New York City

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made-in-nyNew 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.

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Alfonso Cuarón Joins How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps Ahead of True/False World Premiere

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how-to-clean-a-house-in-ten-easy-stepsA new hybrid documentary backed by Alfonso Cuarón is set to debut at the 2026 True/False Film Festival.

How to Clean a House in Ten Easy Steps, the debut feature from director Carolina González Valencia, will have its world premiere at the 23rd edition of the festival, taking place March 5–8 in Columbia, Missouri. The film is executive produced by the Academy Award–winning filmmaker alongside labor leader Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

The documentary follows Beatriz Valencia, a Colombian-born domestic worker living in the United States, and her daughter Carolina — the filmmaker herself — as they create a fictional alter ego together: a writer. Blending documentary storytelling with elements of fiction, the film explores immigration, labor, family separation, and the power of imagination to reclaim personal narratives.

Structured in ten chapters, the film shifts between everyday routines, docu-fiction, and surreal moments as mother and daughter confront questions of identity, migration, and belonging.

The project was also selected as the 2026 recipient of the True Life Fund, a philanthropic initiative connected to the True/False Film Festival that supports documentary subjects.

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Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots and Mumford & Sons to Headline Oceans Calling Festival 2026

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oceans-callingThe Oceans Calling Festival is returning to Ocean City, Maryland, with Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, and Mumford & Sons set to headline the 2026 edition.

The three-day music festival will take place September 25–27 at Ocean City Inlet Beach, featuring more than 40 artists across three stages along the boardwalk. Other performers announced for the lineup include Gwen Stefani, Hootie & The Blowfish, Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls, Ludacris, Caamp, My Morning Jacket, The Head and The Heart, Shaggy, Yellowcard, Liz Phair, Third Eye Blind, All Time Low, 311, Dashboard Confessional, Violent Femmes, Hanson, OK Go, Susan Hoffs, and Jet.

In addition to music, the festival will spotlight the region’s culinary scene with live cooking demonstrations from chefs Robert Irvine and Antonia Lofaso, hosted by actor Jason Biggs.

Festivalgoers will also have access to Ocean City’s iconic boardwalk attractions, including the Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park, which will be located within the festival grounds.

A presale begins March 5 at 10 a.m. ET, with the public ticket sale opening later that day at 11 a.m. ET.

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Daughters of the Forest Set for SXSW North American Premiere After CPH:DOX Debut

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daughters-of-the-forrestThe documentary Daughters of the Forest (Hijas del bosque), directed by Otilia Portillo Padua, is set for its North American premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, following its world premiere at CPH:DOX.

The film will first debut in competition for the Dox Award at CPH:DOX (March 11–22) before screening in the Visions section at SXSW (March 12–18).

Daughters of the Forest follows Lis and Juli, two Indigenous women and trained mycologists from communities in Oaxaca and Mexico State who study the complex ecosystems of mushrooms in the forests where they live. As environmental pressures and deforestation threaten their surroundings, the pair work to bridge scientific research with ancestral knowledge to better understand and protect the fungi that sustain their communities.

Blending documentary storytelling with speculative elements, the film explores the connections between humans, nature, and knowledge systems, offering a reflective look at coexistence and ecological resilience.

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Sundance Producers Celebration Honors Apoorva Guru Charan and Dawne Langford

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sundanceThe 2026 Sundance Film Festival Producers Celebration took place January 25 in Park City, bringing together filmmakers and industry guests to recognize producing excellence across this year’s festival lineup. Presented in partnership with Amazon MGM Studios, the event was held at The Park and centered on the Sundance Institute Producers Awards.

Two producers were honored with $10,000 grants during the ceremony. Apoorva Guru Charan received the Fiction Producers Award for Take Me Home, premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, while Dawne Langford was awarded the Nonfiction Producers Award for Who Killed Alex Odeh?, debuting in the U.S. Documentary Competition. Both films are part of the 2026 Sundance program.

The celebration also featured a keynote from producer Shane Boris, whose recent work includes Navalny and Fire of Love. Boris spoke about collaboration, uncertainty, and the often unseen role producers play in sustaining creative work. The event highlighted producers as connective forces within independent filmmaking, emphasizing long-term relationships and shared risk rather than outcomes or accolades.

The Producers Celebration is an annual Sundance tradition, offering a moment to pause amid premieres and screenings to spotlight the behind-the-scenes work that brings films to the festival.

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Wregas Bhanuteja’s Levitating Set for World Premiere in Sundance World Cinema Competition

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levitatingLevitating (Para Perasuk), the latest film from award-winning Indonesian filmmaker Wregas Bhanuteja (Photocopier, Andragogy), will world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A teaser trailer and poster for the film have been released ahead of the festival.

The film stars Angga Yunanda as Bayu, a young man living in Latas Village, a suburban community known for its traditional trance rituals passed down through generations. When the village’s sacred spring central to its spiritual practices, faces eviction, Bayu sets out to become a lead spirit channeler in hopes of raising funds to save it. His journey forces him to confront the limits of ambition and the deeper meaning of spiritual responsibility.

Levitating features a prominent Indonesian cast including international music icon Anggun in her acting debut, Maudy Ayunda in her first film role since Losmen Bu Broto, as well as Bryan Domani, Chicco Kurniawan, and veteran actor Indra Birowo.

Blending cultural ritual with coming-of-age drama, Levitating continues Bhanuteja’s exploration of identity, belief, and social pressure within contemporary Indonesian life.

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New Distributor EKKL Entertainment Launches With “She Dances,” Hitting Theaters in March 2026

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She-DancesEKKL Entertainment, a newly formed distribution banner focused on values-driven, audience-friendly filmmaking, has officially launched with its first acquisition: She Dances, the feature debut of writer-director Rick Gomez. The film, co-written with Steve Zahn, will receive a North American theatrical release in March 2026.

The family drama stars Steve Zahn, Audrey Zahn, Mackenzie Ziegler, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Ethan Hawke. After premiering at Tribeca earlier this year, the film drew strong audience reaction and was recently added to the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival lineup.

EKKL is led by producer Michael Scott, known for helping establish the modern faith-based boxoffice landscape. The company plans to release roughly eight theatrical titles annually, aiming to serve audiences looking for uplifting, character-driven storytelling.

In a joint statement, Gomez and Zahn said they were “thrilled” the film would play in theaters, noting that its emotional impact is strongest when shared communally.

She Dances centers on a strained father-daughter relationship navigating loss and reconciliation during a regional youth dance competition, an intimate portrait of grief, resilience, and rediscovery.

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Documentary “More Than Santa Baby” Honors Composer Philip Springer

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The new documentary short More Than Santa Baby shines a spotlight on the remarkable life of composer Philip Springer, best known for writing the holiday classic “Santa Baby.” Directed by his daughter, Tamar Springer, the film reveals an artist whose career stretches across eight decades and far beyond his most famous song.

Running 39 minutes, the film blends archival footage, rare recordings, and interviews to trace Springer’s creative journey from 1940s Tin Pan Alley to the studio eras of New York and Hollywood. Along the way, his work connected with icons including Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Judy Garland.

The documentary has quickly become a festival favorite, premiering at Dances With Films in Los Angeles, winning the Documentary Short Audience Award, and continuing with a successful multi-city run, including the Big Apple Film Festival.

Set partly in New York City, the film serves as both a tribute to the Golden Age of American songwriting and a personal look at resilience, legacy, and lifelong creativity. Now 99, Springer continues to compose, making the film a timely portrait of enduring artistry.

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