Category Archives: International Cinema

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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Lionsgate Acquires TIFF Breakout ‘The Furious’ From XYZ Films

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Furious-filmLionsgate has picked up worldwide rights (excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao) to The Furious, the TIFF Midnight Madness fan favorite that drew standing ovations at its world premiere. A theatrical release is planned for 2026.

Produced by Bill Kong (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and developed with XYZ Films (The Raid franchise), the film marks the feature directorial debut of veteran action choreographer Kenji Tanigaki (Rurouni Kenshin).

The Furious follows a tradesman whose daughter’s abduction pulls him into a brutal criminal underworld. The cast includes Xie Miao, Joe Taslim (The Raid), Yayan Ruhian (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum), and Jija Yanin (Chocolate).

“We were blown away by The Furious—it redefines martial arts action,” said Lionsgate EVP Lauren Bixby.

The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill for Lionsgate and Pip Ngo for XYZ Films. Edko Films financed and will release the film day-and-date in Chinese territories.

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Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys Star in Babak Anvari’s Psychological Thriller “Hallow Road”

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Hallow-RoadGolden Globe and Emmy winner Rosamund Pike (Saltburn, Gone Girl) and Emmy and Critics Choice Award winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans) lead the cast of “Hallow Road,” the latest feature from writer-director Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow, I Came By). The film opens exclusively in AMC theaters on October 31 as part of a Halloween Double Feature presentation alongside Vincent Must Die.

Premiering at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in March, Hallow Road has since screened at major international festivals including Brussels, Melbourne, Munich, Leiden, New Horizons, and Neuchâtel, earning early acclaim for its unnerving atmosphere and emotional precision.

The psychological thriller follows parents (Pike and Rhys) who receive a late-night call from their daughter after she accidentally strikes another young woman while driving her father’s car. As they race to protect their family and contain the fallout, the night unravels into a series of chilling revelations that expose deeper secrets—and the fear that they may not be the only ones on Hallow Road.

Produced by Ian Henry, Lucan Toh, Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin, and Richard Bolger, the film marks another step in Anvari’s exploration of guilt, dread, and human fragility through genre storytelling. The filmmaker, also attached to Paramount’s upcoming Cloverfield project, continues his distinctive blend of grounded realism and supernatural unease.

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Luis Buñuel’s “Viridiana” Returns in New 4K Restoration at Film Forum

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ViridianaJanus Films will release a new 4K restoration of Luis Buñuel’s Palme d’Or-winning classic Viridiana (1961), opening November 14 for a one-week engagement at Film Forum in New York City.

Banned in Franco-era Spain and condemned by the Vatican upon release, Viridiana remains one of cinema’s most provocative works. The film follows a novice nun (Silvia Pinal) whose idealistic faith collides with corruption and hypocrisy when she moves in with her uncle, played by Fernando Rey, in a narrative that skewers religious dogma and human weakness.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, the film has long been regarded as one of Buñuel’s masterpieces. Co-written with Julio Alejandro and photographed by José F. Aguayo, the restoration showcases the film’s bold imagery and subversive wit for a new generation of audiences.

Viridiana runs November 14 to 20, 2025, exclusively at Film Forum.

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‘Bouchra’ Directors Orian Barki & Meriem Bennani Spotlighted at NYFF and on New York Magazine Cover

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By Armando

bouchraFilmmakers Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani are having a standout festival moment with their feature Bouchra, which continues to draw acclaim at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) following its U.S. premiere in the Currents section.

The film’s warm reception comes alongside the duo’s appearance on the print cover of New York Magazine’s Look Book, released October 1. The feature highlights their creative partnership behind Bouchra, an 85-minute narrative exploring memory, artistic paralysis, and identity through the story of a Moroccan filmmaker in New York.

Produced by 2 Lizards, the film was financed by Fondazione Prada and executive produced by Hi Production. It marks a new chapter for Barki and Bennani, whose acclaimed animated series 2 Lizards premiered on Instagram in 2020 and was later added to the MoMA and Whitney Museum collections.

Bouchra follows its titular character as a phone call with her mother in Casablanca stirs buried memories and creative renewal. Told across Moroccan Arabic, French, and English, the film examines the intersections of family, migration, and the creative process.

The production team includes Cécile Winckler, Octavia Peissel, Ella Bishop, Pau Suris, with John Michael Boling and Jason Coombs serving as creative producers.

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New Clip: Eugène Green’s The Tree of Knowledge Premieres Tonight at Fantastic Fest 2025

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The-Tree-of-KnowledgeIn biblical terms, the “Tree of Knowledge” represents the beginning of free will. For filmmaker Eugène Green, it serves as a metaphor for spiritual awakening in The Tree of Knowledge, which premieres tonight at Fantastic Fest 2025.

The story centers on Gaspard (Rui Pedro Silva), a teenager ensnared by the Ogre, a man who has made a pact with the Devil and uses him to attract tourists, transforming them into animals before killing them. Gaspard escapes with a donkey and a dog and encounters the spirit of Queen Maria I of Portugal, while the Ogre sets off in pursuit.

Green, born in New York and based in France, is known for Toutes les Nuits and a body of films often shown at major festivals including Cannes, Locarno, and Berlin.

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Japan Society to Spotlight Shiguéhiko Hasumi With October Film Series in New York

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japan-filmsJapan Society will present Shiguéhiko Hasumi: Another History of the Movie in America and Japan, a ten-day retrospective honoring Japan’s most influential living film scholar, running October 9–18, 2025.

Curated by Hasumi, a longtime critic, theorist, and mentor to directors including Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama, the program explores the intersections of American and Japanese cinema through a personal lens. Highlights include Michael Mann’s Collateral, Makoto Sato’s 1992 documentary Living on the River Agano, and a rare pairing of shorts by Kurosawa and Aoyama.

The series will also feature Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler, Robert Aldrich’s …All the Marbles, and Mikio Naruse’s Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro. Locarno winner Sho Miyake will attend the second weekend, presenting his 2022 boxing drama Small, Slow But Steady and participating in a closing-night discussion on Hasumi’s critical legacy.

Hasumi, celebrated for his groundbreaking writings on Yasujiro Ozu and John Ford, was President of the University of Tokyo from 1997 to 2001. His work has shaped generations of filmmakers and critics, influencing both Japanese and international cinema.

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Marion Cotillard Leads Hadžihalilović’s Surreal Drama The Ice Tower

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the-ice-towerAcclaimed French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović (Innocence, Evolution, Earwig) returns with her fourth feature, The Ice Tower, which is set to open in theaters on October 3, 2025. The film stars Marion Cotillard, Clara Pacini, August Diehl, and Gaspar Noé.

Co-written with Geoff Cox, The Ice Tower premiered earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival. The project reunites Hadžihalilović with Cotillard, who also starred in her 2004 debut feature Innocence. Known for her surreal and unsettling narratives, the director brings her distinctive style to another collaboration with long-time creative partner Noé, with whom she co-founded the production company Les Cinémas de la Zone in the early 1990s.

Hadžihalilović’s work has previously received recognition at international festivals including San Sebastián, Toronto, and Cannes. The Ice Tower continues her exploration of atmospheric, psychological storytelling, blending elements of fantasy and existential unease.

The film will be released in U.S. theaters on October 3.

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Tetsuya Mariko’s “Dear Stranger” Sets International Premiere at Busan Film Festival

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dear-strangerBusan International Film Festival has set the international premiere of Dear Stranger, the latest feature from Japanese director Tetsuya Mariko (Destruction Babies), for its 2025 edition in the “A Window on Asian Cinema” program.

Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car) and Gwei Lun-Mei (Girlfriend, Boyfriend), the Japan-Taiwan-U.S. co-production was filmed entirely in New York and follows a couple whose lives fracture after the disappearance of their young son forces them to confront buried secrets.

The film reunites Mariko with top collaborators, including cinematographer Yasuyuki Sasaki (Asako I & II), editor Matthieu Laclau (A Touch of Sin), and Grammy-winning musician Jim O’Rourke. The project was shot with a multilingual cast and crew across English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and sign language.

Mariko, who won Locarno’s Best Emerging Director Award for Destruction Babies, shifts his focus from violent social critiques to an intimate immigrant drama exploring identity, family, and loss.

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