Rancid-Inspired Film “…And Out Comes the Wolf” Expands Into an Official Graphic Novel Universe

Posted on January 6, 2026 by admin

The upcoming punk-inspired film …And Out Comes the Wolf, based on the music and ethos of Rancid’s landmark 1995 album …And Out Come the Wolves, is expanding beyond the screen with an official graphic novel series produced by Big Newport Studios and Z2.

Adapted by writer and artist Kevin Mellon (Archer, Hit-Monkey) from the film’s screenplay by Danny Peykoff and brothers Jamie and Jason Neese (The Umbrella Academy), the graphic novel aims to deepen the story’s portrait of survival, friendship, and violence in the 1990s East Bay punk scene. The film, which recently wrapped production, is set to premiere at festivals this spring before a theatrical release later this summer.

Both the film and the graphic novel center on two best friends navigating a collapsing city shaped by poverty, drugs, and constant threat, drawing inspiration from the raw energy and working-class urgency that defined Rancid’s music. While rooted in punk culture, the story leans less toward nostalgia and more toward examining how limited choices and escalating danger shape lives on the margins.
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Oscar-Shortlisted Short Documentary Perfectly a Strangeness Sets NYC Screenings

Posted on January 4, 2026 by admin

Alison McAlpine’s short documentary Perfectly a Strangeness continues its awards-season run with two upcoming New York City screenings in January, following its inclusion on the Academy Awards’ 2026 shortlist for Best Documentary Short.

The 15-minute Canadian film, which premiered in Official Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, unfolds in a desert landscape where three donkeys encounter an abandoned astronomical observatory. Blending documentary with elements of myth, science fiction, and philosophical inquiry, the film explores perception, curiosity, and humanity’s relationship to the cosmos through a strikingly sensory approach.

Perfectly a Strangeness has earned significant critical praise, with Deadline calling it “one of the most cinematic documentaries of the year,” and The Film Verdict describing it as “a heady blend of myth, science fiction, documentary, comedy and philosophical exploration.” The film has also screened at TIFF, IDFA, and more than 70 international festivals.

The New York screenings include a January 7 showing at Quad Cinema, followed by a Q&A with critic Jordan Hoffman, and a January 10 screening at DCTV with a post-screening conversation led by filmmaker Penny Lane.

McAlpine, whose previous work includes the acclaimed feature documentary CIELO, is a Guggenheim Fellow and is currently developing her first narrative feature alongside a new hybrid documentary project.

Award-Winning Documentary ‘Natchez’ Opens at Film Forum

Posted on December 26, 2025 by admin

Suzannah Herbert’s documentary Natchez will open its U.S. theatrical run at Film Forum on January 30, following its award-winning debut on the festival circuit. The film is executive produced by Sam Pollard.

Set in Natchez, Mississippi, the documentary examines a town long known for its antebellum tourism as it confronts growing challenges to its romanticized portrayal of the Old South. Through interviews with plantation owners, tour guides, activists, and local officials, Natchez explores conflicting narratives about history, memory, and the legacy of slavery.

Natches premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, where it won Best Documentary, along with special jury awards for cinematography and editing. The film has since earned additional honors, including audience and documentary prizes at multiple festivals, and was named one of the National Board of Review’s Top 5 Documentaries of the Year.

Documentary Glendora to World Premiere at Dances With Films NY 2026

Posted on December 21, 2025 by admin

The feature documentary Glendora will make its world premiere at Dances With Films: New York 2026. Directed by Isabelle Armand in collaboration with the Glendora community, the 74-minute film screens January 16 at Regal Union Square.

Set in the Mississippi Delta, Glendora offers an intimate portrait of a small, predominantly African American town, shaped by decades of economic hardship yet sustained by strong communal bonds and cultural traditions.

Developed over five years, the documentary is told through the voices of multiple generations and captures everyday rituals that define life in the town.

Blending personal testimony with observations of daily life, the film situates Glendora’s present-day experiences within a broader American history marked by racial injustice and structural inequality, while emphasizing the community’s resilience and collective memory.

Sundance Film Festival Announces 2026 Trailblazer and Vanguard Award Honorees

Posted on December 18, 2025 by admin

The Sundance Institute has announced the recipients of its 2026 Trailblazer and Vanguard Awards, honoring filmmakers whose work continues to shape independent cinema. Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao will receive the Trailblazer Award, while Nia DaCosta and Geeta Gandbhir will be honored with Vanguard Awards for fiction and nonfiction, respectively.

The awards will be presented at Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford on January 23, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival runs January 22 through February 1, with an online program available January 29–February 1.

Zhao is being recognized for films including Songs My Brothers Taught Me, The Rider, and Nomadland, which won three Academy Awards. Her latest feature, Hamnet (2025), has earned multiple audience awards and major awards-season nominations.

The Vanguard Award for Fiction will go to DaCosta, whose recent work includes Hedda (2025), Candyman, and The Marvels. Her next film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, arrives in theaters in January 2026.

Gandbhir will receive the Vanguard Award for Nonfiction following the success of The Perfect Neighbor, which premiered at Sundance 2025 and won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.

The event will also honor Sundance founder Robert Redford, with the inaugural Robert Redford Luminary Award presented to Gyula Gazdag and Ed Harris. Proceeds support Sundance Institute’s year-round artist development programs.

“We Shall Not Be Moved” Recognized as One of the Year’s Top International Films

Posted on December 11, 2025 by admin

We Shall Not Be Moved (No nos moverán), Mexico’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards®, has been named one of the year’s Best International Films by New York Film Critics Online. The recognition comes as the acclaimed debut feature from Mexican filmmaker Pierre Saint Martin continues its U.S. theatrical rollout.

Following a strong run in New York through Cinema Tropical, the dark dramedy will screen for one week at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco beginning December 18, before heading to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in January. A U.S. streaming release is expected to be announced soon.

Shot in black and white, the film follows Socorro, a 67-year-old retired lawyer played by Luisa Huertas, whose decades-long pursuit of the soldier responsible for her brother’s death during Mexico’s 1968 Tlatelolco massacre has consumed her life and fractured her family. When a new lead emerges, she risks everything to confront the past.

The film premiered at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, winning Best Mexican Film and the Audience Award, and went on to receive four Ariel Awards, including Best First Feature and Best Actress. It has screened at more than 40 international festivals and will also represent Mexico at Spain’s Goya Awards.

Saint Martin’s debut blends dark humor with an intimate exploration of memory, trauma, and political reckoning, offering a personal lens on one of Mexico’s most painful historical chapters.

Slamdance Sets Alexandre Rockwell’s The Projectionist as Opening Night Film for 2026 Festival

Posted on December 10, 2025 by admin

The Slamdance Film Festival has named Alexandre Rockwell’s The Projectionist as the opening night film for its 32nd edition, marking the film’s world premiere. The artist-led festival returns to Los Angeles for a second year, running in person from February 19–25, 2026, with virtual screenings continuing through March 6 on the Slamdance Channel.

Produced by Quentin Tarantino and Jack Auen, The Projectionist centers on a reclusive cinema projectionist haunted by a wrongful conviction and personal loss, living in isolation inside a fading arthouse theater until his past resurfaces. The film stars Vondie Curtis-Hall, Karyn Parsons, Kasi Lemmons, David Proval, Kevin Corrigan, and Michael Buscemi.

The festival also announced a new partnership with independent studio Utopia, which will offer theatrical distribution to at least one 2026 Slamdance Grand Prize winner. Additional distribution and digital aggregation opportunities will be made available to competition films through Utopia’s platform.

Also screening in the festival’s Spotlight section is The Untitled Ruby Slippers Documentary, directed by Seth Gordon and Nikki Calabrese, a long-gestating project tied to Gordon’s early Slamdance roots.

Slamdance will once again host Market Monday on February 23, featuring panels and workshops focused on filmmaking, distribution, and audience development. The full festival lineup will be announced at a later date.

Shelly Hong to Direct and Co-Write Feature Adaptation of Getting Rid of Rosie

Posted on December 9, 2025 by admin

Filmmaker Shelly J. Hong will make her feature debut with Get Over It, a supernatural comedy based on Lynda Simmons’ novel Getting Rid of Rosie. The project, developed by Ontario-based I Crone Productions, recently completed a proof-of-concept shoot in Toronto with Tina Jung, Donald MacLean Jr., and Mimi Kuzyk. Hong co-wrote the screenplay with Simmons, expanding their partnership after the short film Ed & Alfie.

Hong, fresh from the Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab, was drawn to the novel’s mix of humor and emotional depth. The film follows Samantha Choi, who must choose the life she truly wants before midnight, guided by Karma and confronted by the ghost of Rosie Fisk, the best friend who once upended everything and refuses to move on.

An award-winning Korean-Canadian filmmaker, Hong has directed four internationally screened shorts and previously worked across acting, production, writing, and directing. Her original feature script BEAST was selected for the 2025 Whistler Screenwriters Lab.

Author Lynda Simmons, known for her work with Harlequin and Penguin, transitioned into filmmaking in 2023 and partnered with Hong on Ed & Alfie. Their latest collaboration features cinematography by Lainie Knox (Children Ruin Everything, Tallboyz).

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

Posted on December 9, 2025 by admin

Olivia 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.

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

Posted on November 23, 2025 by admin

A 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.