Category Archives: Independent Films

Film Forum Set To Premiere Agnieszka Holland’s “Green Border”

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green-borderWinner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, “Green Border” immediately drew controversy from the Polish government for its depiction of the European migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border.

Shot in stark black-and-white, this riveting thriller explores the intractable conflict from multiple perspectives: a Syrian family fleeing ISIS caught between cruel border guards in both countries; young guards instructed to brutally reject the migrants; and activists who, at great risk, aid the refugees.

Holland (three-time Academy Award® nominee for Angry Harvest, Europa Europa, and In Darkness) brings an unflinching eye and deep compassion to this blistering critique of a humanitarian calamity that continues to unfold.

The Museum of the Moving Image will present a series of films by Agnieszka Holland from June 7–21, 2024.

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Release Date And Trailer Premiere For “Kill Your Lover”

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Kill-Your-LoverDark Sky Films has released the trailer for “Kill Your Lover”, a horror film from writer-director-producers Alix Austin and Keir Siewert.

The film stars Paige Gilmour, Shane Quigley Murphy, May Kelly, Chloe Wigmore, and Joshua Whincup.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

Dakota and Axel’s relationship is a toxic mess. She knows it, everybody does…except Axel. The only thing is, until Dakota tries to break up with Axel, she doesn’t know how truly toxic it will become. The mere idea of splitting up causes Axel to become intensely ill, sprouting grotesque black veins and excreting a strange sticky liquid. His touch burns flesh and his need to hang onto Dakota becomes irrationally powerful.

Nobody is going to take her away from him, not even the paramedics that Dakota calls to deal with Axel’s rapidly worsening condition. The two grapple with what remains of their once passionate relationship – and how what was built on sexual passion and punk rock could end with blood spilt, lives lost and at least one heart broken, literally.

Kill Your Lover is set to be released in select theaters and nationwide on digital platforms and VOD on June 7th from Dark Sky Films.

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Indie Film Legend Jeff Lipsky’s “Goldilocks and the Two Bears” To Make World Premiere

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Goldilocks-and-the-Two-BearsJeff Lipsky’s Goldilocks and the Two Bears will debut and start its theatrical run where the majority of the film was shot: in Las Vegas/Summerlin. The screening will be both a homecoming and kickoff to a planned multi-city run throughout the U.S. this summer.

The film stars Claire Milligan, Bryan Mittelstadt and Serra Maiman. Lipsky also wrote the film.

“The movie’s title was a natural: this city is something out of a fairy tale, awash in dreams and nightmares, happy endings and aspirations, sometimes dashed in the twinkle of an eye. I’d seldom before been so juiced about finishing a script and getting a movie made as I was while living in the desert,” director Jeff Lipsky said.

“Against all odds I managed to amass an extraordinarily dedicated and talented local crew (save for two New Yorkers and two Californians), people who’d lived here their entire lives. Who knew? So it was that in late 2022 we all masked-up and determined to collaborate on what I believe could be my best film to date.”

Goldilocks and the Two Bears is the tale of two young people, hitchhiking and homeless travelers who’ve all but given up on futures that might have been glorious, who are discovered by another young woman on the run from her own demons, at an empty condo she is moving into. An unexpected relationship develops between the trio that brings with it both the promise of a fresh new start for each of them. However, the harrowing possibility of something darker looms.

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Tribeca Festival 2024 Announces Return Of Music Lounge At Baby’s All Right In Brooklyn, June 6-9

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tribeca-festival-music-loungeThe 2024 Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, today announced its third annual Music Lounge at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, featuring four days and nights of exclusive performances, special guest appearances, and more. The Music Lounge is open to the public from June 6-9 and offers Tribeca Festival attendees the opportunity to intimately experience the music celebrated in a selection of this year’s films.  
 
The 2024 Tribeca Music Lounge includes a rare performance by pop hitmaker Linda Perry, sharing the stage with Stella Rose following the world premiere of the documentary Linda Perry: Let It Die Here; the first-ever tribute to Genesis P-Orridge with members of Psychic TV, following the world premiere of S/He Is Still Her/e – The Official Genesis P-Orridge Doc; and an intimate set by Kneecap, the Irish language rapping trio who will be celebrating the New York premiere of their self-titled spotlight narrative film. Rounding out the weekend will be audiovisual performances by Actress, the stage name taken by British electronic artist Darren Cunningham, and Lower East Side multi-instrumentalist and Onyx Collective founder Isaiah Barr, who will present his project “THE RED ZONE.”
 
“This year’s music films showcase a wide variety of artists and genres, and we sought to bring diversity to our Music Lounge through unique events,” said Tribeca Curator of Music Programming Vincent Cassous.  “There is something for every music fan on our lineup, from pop to experimental.”
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“The Girl In The Trunk”: Claustrophobic Thriller Set for US & Canada Digital Release This May

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The-Girl-In-The-TrunkWednesday 1st May, London, UK: Sunrise Films have announced the release of their upcoming claustrophobic horror/thriller The Girl in the Trunk. The film is set to be available on all major digital platforms in the USA & Canada from 28th May.

Starring Caspar Phillipson (Jackie, Blonde) and Katharina Sporrer (Genius), this thriller is written and directed by Jonas Kvist Jensen.

In the film, a woman finds herself kidnapped and entrapped in the enclosed space of a speeding car’s trunk, wearing her wedding dress, and with her phone as the only available tool. The situation deteriorates gradually as a failed escape attempt costs the life of an innocent bystander.

With the clock ticking towards a slow death from heat exhaustion in the Texas desert, a psychotic kidnapper at the wheel, Amanda is forced to make her own luck in the end. A dangerous game of questions and deadly consequences – to be played over the phone with the mysterious kidnapper – seems the only way to maybe discover his true identity, getting help or simply fighting her painful way towards a fleeting chance of escape.

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Doris Duke Foundation Announces $1M Grant to Sundance Institute Expanding Commitment to Uplifting Muslim Storytelling

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Sundance-Doris-Duke-FoundationThe Doris Duke Foundation is pleased to announce its  continued commitment to uplifting Muslim stories through a $1 million grant to Sundance Institute. Through a three-year commitment, the grant establishes the Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund. The fellowship aims to provide financial and creative resources, mentorship, and support to filmmakers, producers, and other creators focused on telling Muslim-related stories while also offering community and network support with other creatives in the industry. The Completion Fund for features, shorts, and episodic content will offer non recoupable grants to support the launch of Muslim-focused films and episodic content. The fellowship and fund not only foster creativity but also equip fellows with the necessary skills and financial resources to navigate the entertainment landscape.

“Great stories change hearts and minds — but only those hearts and minds they can reach,” said Sam Gill, President and CEO of Doris Duke Foundation. “The Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund will elevate the fresh voices and stories we so desperately need in our fractured society.”

“For nearly 20 years, the Doris Duke Foundation has worked to create inclusive spaces for artists and creators to tell authentic Muslim stories,” said Zeyba Rahman, Director of the Building Bridges Program at the Doris Duke Foundation. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with the Sundance Institute and Islamic Scholarship Fund to create the Building Bridges Fellowship program, ensuring these emerging talents have access to the very best the industry has to offer and greater opportunities to bring their stories to life. The Building Bridges Completion Fund aims to reduce the barriers for filmmakers to connect with their audiences to ensure that their stories reach and resonate with them.”
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“Robot Dreams”, Whimsical Oscar®-Nominated Animated Feature Opens May 31 at Film Forum

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Robot-DreamsFilm Forum is set to present the US theatrical premiere of Pablo Berger’s “Robot Dreams”, a NEON release, on Friday, May 31.

A tender, affecting tale of friendship, the animated “Robot Dreams”, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon – is set in a 1980s NYC populated solely by pigs, birds, cats, and other animal clans. Yet Dog leads a lonely existence, eating TV dinners in his East Village walkup.

When he sees an infomercial for a robot-building kit, he seizes the chance for the perfect city buddy: Dog and Robot eat hot dogs together on 5th Avenue, roller skate in Central Park, venture to Coney Island — to the groove of their song, Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” But when Robot gets stranded at the beach, Dog is helpless to rescue him; and, as the seasons change, they both endure a separation that will change them forever.


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“Faceless After Dark” Official Trailer And Poster Art Released

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FACELESS-AFTER-DARKThe latest from Dark Sky Films is directed by Raymond Wood. It is written and starring Jenna Kanell from the Terrifier franchise and Todd Jacobs.

“Faceless After Dark” is set for release nationwide in select theaters and on digital platforms on May 17th.

Also in the film are Danny Kang (Insatiable, NCIS Hawai’i), Danielle Lyn (Mayfair Witches, Single Drunk Female), Max Calder (Stranger Things,Jungle Cruise), Michael Aaron Milligan (TV’s Outer Banks, TV’s The Purge), Kathrine Barnes (Average Joe, Queer as Folk), Jason MacDonald (The Vampire Diaries, NCIS), Israel Vaughn (The Righteous Gemstones).

Here’s the official synopsis:

Following her breakout success as the star of a killer clown horror flick, Bowie now finds herself struggling to capitalize on its success. But when she is suddenly held hostage by an unhinged fan posing as that same killer clown, horror becomes her reality as she fights to survive the night and escape before he completes his sinister plan to recreate the film’s fatal plot.

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Japan Society Announces May Screening Events: Sans Soleil, Lumberjack the Monster, and Tampopo

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tampopo-janus-filmsJapan Society, a 116-year-old nonprofit organization bridging the U.S. and Japan, today announced it will host three special screenings in May spanning classic Japanese cinema, a lauded documentary, and a major North American premiere. Japan Society is a storied institution that has presented Japanese art and culture for over a century, and its robust Film Program presents over 60 screenings from the silent era through to contemporary cinema all across the year.

Japan Society’s May events begin on May 1 with French filmmaker Chris Marker’s influential 1983 documentary Sans Soleil presented on rare imported 35mm. Driven by the desire to “capture life in the process of becoming history,” Marker traveled the globe and made a sprawling body of work that ruminates on the nature of memory and time. Of the several films he made in Japan, Sans Soleil remains the late director’s greatest achievement.

An unnamed woman narrates the poetic letters and philosophical reflections of an invisible world traveler accompanied by footage of Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Iceland, Paris, San Francisco, and, most significantly, Tokyo—a city whose people, streets, malls, and temples inspire the traveler’s richest observations.
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Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative Spotlights Three SFFILM Festival Titles

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SFFILM-2024Today, SFFILM announced the program slate of the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative at the 67th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) which runs April 24–28. Presented in partnership between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and SFFILM, this year’s programs include three films and participation by Sloan Fellows and grant recipients at events throughout the Festival. 

“We are thrilled to partner with SFFILM on our continuing Science in Cinema initiatives,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “This year’s program features three original films, each of which recounts a very personal journey that links to broader scientific themes and addresses universal questions. We’ll be joined on the ground by the 2023 SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Fellows, and recipients of our Stories of Science Development Fund grantees who are all at the screenwriting phase of filmmaking. I am excited to have filmmakers from every part of the process together to benefit from each other and from audience interaction.”

Curated programs include three titles, selected by Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. “It is thrilling to present such a strong slate of Sloan titles at the festival.
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