Category Archives: Independent Films

Colman, Lithgow, and Breakout Aud Mason-Hyde Anchor Tender Family Drama Jimpa

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JimpaOlivia Colman and John Lithgow lead Jimpa, a new queer family drama from filmmaker Sophie Hyde. The film follows Hannah, played by Colman, as she travels with her trans nonbinary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit Frances’ gay grandfather, affectionately known as Jimpa, portrayed by Lithgow. What begins as a simple family trip turns into a deeper emotional journey when Frances expresses a desire to stay abroad for a year.

The film explores the shifting dynamics across three generations as Hannah confronts the stories she has long held about her family, Frances wrestles with the disappointment of discovering their heroes aren’t perfect, and Jimpa faces the realities of aging in a community that once never imagined growing old.

Inspired by Hyde’s own experiences in a queer family, Jimpa blends humor, tenderness, and lived authenticity. Hyde directs from a script co-written with Matthew Cormack, continuing her track record of intimate character-driven storytelling seen in works like Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and 52 Tuesdays.

The cast also includes Daniel Henshall, Kate Box, Eamon Farren, and Cody Fern. The film features cinematography by Matthew Chuang, editing by Bryan Mason, and music composed by Nick Ward.

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“One Battle After Another” Dominates National Board of Review Awards

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national-board-of-reviewPaul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another continued its awards-season surge, leading the 2025 National Board of Review honors with five major wins, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor for Benicio Del Toro, and Breakthrough Performance for Chase Infiniti.

The strong showing follows the film’s recent victories at both the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle, positioning the Warner Bros. title as one of this season’s most formidable contenders.

Rose Byrne was named Best Actress for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, continuing her streak across multiple critics groups. Other notable winners included Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value, Ryan Coogler for Sinners (Best Original Screenplay), and Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar for Train Dreams (Best Adapted Screenplay).

NBR also recognized Arco as Best Animated Feature, It Was Just an Accident as Best International Film, and Cover-Up as Best Documentary. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning earned the group’s stunt artistry honor, while Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw received Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.

As usual, the organization released additional top-ten lists spanning films, international selections, documentaries, and independent features, which continue to serve as an early barometer of industry consensus.

The winners will be celebrated at the NBR’s annual gala on January 13, 2026, in New York City.

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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 Fantasy Hybrid ‘Adrianne & The Castle’ to Debut on VOD

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adrianne-and-the-castleA genre-blending portrait of love, grief, and artistic devotion, Adrianne & The Castle will be released on VOD beginning December 5, 2025. Directed by Shannon Walsh, the film follows Illinois artist Alan St-George as he continues work on Havencrest Castle, the elaborate, hand-built home he created with his late wife, Adrianne.

Part documentary and part musical fantasy, the film recounts the couple’s decades-long partnership, their shared creative world, and the ornate, theatrical environment they constructed together. After Adrianne’s passing in 2006, St-George continued their project, transforming the castle into both a memorial and an evolving work of art.

Walsh incorporates staged musical sequences and fantastical imagery alongside archival material and interviews, creating a tone often described as a real-life fairytale. The film explores St-George’s process, his coping with loss, and the way imagination shapes his ongoing tribute.

Adrianne & The Castle will be available on digital platforms starting December 5.

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Time-Loop Horror Manor of Darkness Sets December Digital Release

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manor-of-darknessThe indie horror film Manor of Darkness will arrive on U.S. digital platforms on December 9. Directed by Blake Ridder and produced by Ridder Films in association with Lucas A. Ferrara, the feature blends supernatural mystery with a repeating-day structure.

The film follows Laura, who reconnects with her estranged brother for a last-ditch plan to steal a rumored artifact from a secluded English manor. Posing as a documentary crew, the group gains access to the estate and meets the reclusive owner, whose stories hint at a troubled past. After breaking open a sealed chest in the basement, the crew becomes trapped in a time loop as an unseen force begins to tighten its grip.

Only Laura remembers each reset, pushing her toward the truth behind the manor’s curse as the group relives escalating variations of the same day.

Ridder, who also appears in the film, describes the project as an exploration of psychological repetition and dread rather than straightforward scares. Producer Lucas A. Ferrara calls the film a tension-driven “meta-horror” that plays with the anxieties inherent in filmmaking and ambition.

Manor of Darkness stars Sarah Alexandra Marks, Kim Lysette Spearman, Louis James, Blake Ridder, and Stuart Wolfe Murray. The film will be available through Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube Movies.

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Short Documentary The Hemingway Offers an Unfiltered Look at Life With ALS

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hemingwayA new short documentary titled The Hemingway is drawing attention on the festival circuit for its candid, darkly humorous portrayal of life with ALS. The nine-minute film centers on Patrick Sean O’Brien, who lives with near-total paralysis but maintains an active, sharply observant internal monologue.

The film uses Patrick’s private thoughts as a narrative device, contrasting the difficult physical realities of ALS with his blunt, often funny inner commentary on daily routines, relationships, and moments of vulnerability. The result is a portrait that blends honesty and irreverence, avoiding sentimentality while highlighting the emotional complexities of the disease.

The Hemingway features O’Brien alongside J.R. Reed, Scott Murphy, Rose Julien, and Paula Mackael. It was written by O’Brien, directed by O’Brien and Evan Mathis, and edited by Doug Pray.

O’Brien, known for the autobiographical documentary TransFatty Lives, continues to create work despite living with advanced ALS, while Mathis brings a background in Emmy-winning creative direction.

The Hemingway is currently screening at festivals worldwide.

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Award-Winning Animated Documentary Endless Cookie Opens in NY and LA Theaters December 5

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The acclaimed animated documentary Endless Cookie, created over eight years by brothers Seth and Peter Scriver, arrives in New York and Los Angeles theaters on December 5 from Obscured Releasing.

The film is a vivid, surreal portrait of the Scriver family, blending autobiography, memory, and playful imagination. Through colorful, shifting animation, the brothers revisit their upbringing in Toronto’s Kensington Market and Peter’s current life in a remote First Nations community in Northern Manitoba. Their stories overlap with family recollections, turning the film into both a family chronicle and a meditation on creativity.

Seth is a Toronto-based artist and animator known for the TIFF-winning feature Asphalt Watches. Peter is a First Nations carver, poet, mechanic, and storyteller whose real-life heroism in rescuing a neighbor from a house fire underscores the film’s themes of resilience and connection.

Endless Cookie has earned major honors worldwide, including the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki, the Contrechamp Jury Award at Annecy, the Rogers Audience Award at Hot Docs 2025, and awards or mentions from Sitges, Dok Leipzig, Guadalajara, and Calgary Underground Film Festival.

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Emmy-Winning Filmmaker Nick Davis Explores Acts of Courage in Documentary “This Ordinary Thing”

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this-ordinary-thingEmmy-winning filmmaker Nick Davis brings together an extraordinary cast to tell a story of courage and compassion in his new documentary This Ordinary Thing, opening December 5 at Cinema Village in New York City, with a wider theatrical and VOD release to follow.

The film revisits the real stories of non-Jewish individuals who risked their lives to save Jewish people across Europe during the Holocaust. Blending archival footage with readings performed by some of the world’s most celebrated actors, the documentary illuminates acts of quiet heroism from those who never considered themselves heroes at all.

The ensemble cast includes Helen Mirren, F. Murray Abraham, Jeremy Irons, Ellen Burstyn, Carrie Coon, Stephen Fry, and more than thirty others, collectively representing dozens of Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys. Each voice performs excerpts from original testimonies that reveal moments of moral clarity amid overwhelming fear.

This Ordinary Thing poses a question that still resonates today: What would you have done? With music composed by Tony Award winner Adam Guettel, the film underscores the power of empathy and the capacity for good in the darkest of times.

Directed by Nick Davis (You Had to Be There) and executive produced by Albert M. Tapper, the film joins a growing body of contemporary Holocaust documentaries focused on individual moral choices and human connection.

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Tiffany Hsiung Joins Documentary Feature Spring After Spring as Executive Producer

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Spring-After-SpringAcclaimed filmmaker Tiffany Hsiung has joined Jon Chiang’s debut feature documentary Spring After Spring as Executive Producer. The film will have its world premiere at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival on November 7, followed by a theatrical run timed to Lunar New Year 2026 and a later broadcast on Knowledge Network.

Produced by Chifa Studios, Spring After Spring follows three Chinese Canadian sisters who defy their late mother’s wishes to become dancers. After her death, they reunite to lead Vancouver’s Chinatown Parade and must decide how to honor their heritage while forging their own paths.

“Spring After Spring captures something profoundly human in how grief and love intertwine,” said Hsiung, whose credits include The Apology, Sing Me a Lullaby, and Apple TV’s JANE. “It speaks to the courage of redefining legacy while carrying the weight of expectation.”

Director Jon Chiang, a Chinese-Peruvian filmmaker based in Vancouver, said the story grew from his own reflections on culture and identity. “In Chinese-Canadian culture, emotions are often private, yet Lunar New Year becomes the most public expression of them,” he explained. “Working with Tiffany is a privilege. Her perspective and experience mirror the heart of this film.”

The film is written, directed, and produced by Jon Chiang, with Joanna Wong producing and Lynn Booth and Tiffany Hsiung serving as Executive Producers. The cast features Anabel Ho, Val Ho (Ms. Vee), Lisa Ho, and Maria Mimie Ho.

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Rising Sun Media Brings Yakutian Cinema to Amazon Prime Video with Four Landmark Films

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Rising-Sun-MediaFour acclaimed films by Yakutian filmmaker Stepan Burnashev (Black Snow, Our Winter, Cursed Land-Fate, and Aita) are now streaming globally on Amazon Prime Video through Rising Sun Media, marking a milestone for Sakhawood, the independent film movement from Russia’s Sakha Republic in Siberia.

Known for their emotional depth, poetic realism, and Indigenous storytelling, Burnashev’s works are often created on small budgets with local non-professional actors. His films explore survival, identity, and spiritual resilience set against the stark Siberian landscape.

Among the four titles, Aita stands out for its political resonance. It was banned in Russia in 2023 for being “contrary to the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia,” which Burnashev described as proof of the film’s power to “disturb systems of silence.”

“This is what independent filmmaking is about,” said Nadav Streett of Rising Sun Media. “Creating despite the odds and finding new audiences who are ready to listen to voices from the periphery.”

Founded in 2007 in Los Angeles, Rising Sun Media is known for bringing bold international and independent films to major digital platforms.

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