SFFILM Celebrates Scientific Excellence in Lee Isaac Chung’s “Twisters” with $20,000 Sloan Science in Cinema Prize

Posted on April 19, 2025 by admin

Today, SFFILM announced the program slate of the Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival), which runs April 17–27.

A Festival Talk, free to the public, will feature director Lee Isaac Chung accepting the Sloan Science in Cinema Prize for his latest film, Twisters, followed by a special onstage conversation on the integration of science and cinematic tools to depict extreme weather. Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, The Mandalorian) will be joined onstage by Director of the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL), Kevin Kelleher, who spent 26 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and served as technical consultant on both Twister (1996) and Twisters (2024); Tapio Schneider, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; Twisters’ supervising sound editor and sound designer Al Nelson (Jurassic World, Top Gun: Maverick) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects supervisor Florian Witzel (Avengers, The Mandalorian).

“We are thrilled to award this year’s Sloan Science in Cinema Prize to Lee Isaac Chung’s hit film Twisters and this year’s Sloan Science on Screen Award to Cyprien Vial’s thought-provoking film Magma,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “While taking some liberties with the science, these two disaster films feature credible scientists as major protagonists and are based on the latest scientific research. They join a nationwide program that has supported over 850 science and film projects with 20 partners and, in addition to supporting screenwriters at SFFILM, has honored outstanding films such as Oppenheimer, Don’t Look Up, and Hidden Figures.”
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Dark Sky Films Neo-Noir/Horror “A Desert” Sets Premiere

Posted on April 18, 2025 by admin

The Dark Sky horror/thriller has set its LA Premiere at the American Cinematheque Los Feliz 3 – May 1st (with the cast in attendance), New York City: Roxy Cinema – Tribeca May 2nd, Los Angeles, Leammle Glendale on May 2nd.

“A Desert” is described as a sun-bleached neo-noir horror film about time, the chaos of our world, and the relevance of images in the cultural desert we are faced with today.

In the movie, a past his prime photographer heads out on a road trip across the American Southwest to recapture the magic and success of his previous work. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the dark and chaotic underbelly of America and unwittingly drags his wife and a shady private detective down into this nightmare world with him.

With music by Ty Segall whose new album Possession comes out May 30th, A DESERT stars David Yow (Dinner in America, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), Kai Lennox (Green Room, The Girl from Plainville), Sarah Lind (A Wounded Fawn, Die, My Love), Zachary Ray Sherman (Under the Banner of Heaven, The CW’s 90210) and Ashley B. Smith (Off Ramp, Extremity).

“A Desert” is the first feature film from director Joshua Erkman, a writer, director, and musician living and working in Los Angeles. He has directed a number of music videos for various rock ‘n roll/punk groups, which have been featured in Rolling Stone, Spin, and Pitchfork.

The film stars David Yow (Dinner in America, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), Kai Lennox (Green Room, The Girl from Plainville), Sarah Lind (A Wounded Fawn, Die, My Love), Zachary Ray Sherman (Under the Banner of Heaven, The CW’s 90210), Ashley B. Smith (Off Ramp, Extremity), Rob Zabrecky (Lost River, A Ghost Story) & S.A Griffin (Free LSD, California Scheming).

Official Trailer for “Winter Spring Summer Or Fall”

Posted on April 14, 2025 by admin

Paramount Movies has released an official trailer for an indie romance film titled Winter Spring Summer or Fall.

The film reunites former Wednesday actors Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White, and marks the feature directorial debut of writer Tiffany Paulsen.

The film follows Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, who meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.

It stars Jenna Ortega, Percy Hynes White, Adam Rodriguez, Marisol Nichols, Elias Kacavas, Jacqueline Emerson, John Raymond Barker, Kate Rachesky, Alireza Mirmontazeri, Kylee Anderson.

“Winter Spring Summer Or Fall” had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival on June 6, 2024.

THE MOOGAI: Sundance Horror from the “Talk To Me” Team Sets Release

Posted on April 12, 2025 by admin

Having premiered at Sundance Film Festival with a festival run including screenings at SXSW and Sydney Film Festival, the “Moogai” is set for theatrical release on May 9, 2025.

THE MOOGAI is an Australian horror story produced by Causeway Films, the team behind breakout hits THE BABADOOK and TALK TO ME.

In the film, Sarah and Fergus, a hopeful young Aboriginal couple, give birth to their second baby. But what should be a joyous time of their lives becomes sinister when Sarah starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. Fergus, who can’t see it but desperately wants to believe her, grows increasingly worried as she becomes more unbalanced. Is the child-stealing spirit real or is she in fact the biggest threat to the safety of their family?

Written and directed by Jon Bell, the film stars Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose, Clarence Ryan, with Toby Leonard Moore and Bella Heathcote.

Film Adaptation of “Love Everlasting” In The Works With Sony Pictures Entertainment

Posted on April 11, 2025 by admin

The epic, time-bending Eisner and Harvey Award nominated graphic novel series, Love Everlasting by Eisner Award winning writer Tom King (Batman, The Vision, Mister Miracle) and fan-favorite artist Elsa Charretier (November, The Infinite Loop) will be adapted for film from Sony Pictures Entertainment. According to last week’s exclusive scoop at DEADLINE on the news, “Room helmer Lenny Abrahamson attached to direct and Jane Goldman writing the script. Emma Watts and Element’s Ed Guiney are producing.”

The Love Everlasting comic book series follows main character Joan Peterson who discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance.” A problem to be solved, a man to marry—and every time she falls in love she’s torn from her world and thrust into another teary saga. Her bloody journey to freedom and revelation is both breathtaking and groundbreaking.

Since its launch, Love Everlasting has garnered a slew of accolades including rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Foreword Reviews, and more. It was even called out in a TikTok post by the Washington Post about the resurgence in Romance comics.

René Clément’s “Forbidden Games” New 4K Restoration At Film Forum

Posted on April 10, 2025 by admin

“Forbidden Games”, the 1952 French war drama by René Clément based on François Boyer’s novel Les Jeux Interdits, will run in a new 4K restoration at Film Forum from Friday, May 9 to Thursday, May 15.

“Michel! Michel! Michel!” France 1940, as a refugee column trudges along a country road, a dog makes a break for it, with its tiny blonde mistress in pursuit — and then the German fighters strike. But if 5-year-old Brigitte Fossey’s understanding of death is limited as she strokes her mother’s cold face, at least she can bury the dog discarded by her peasant rescuers, aided by 11-year-old farm boy Georges Poujouly. As they build a special, secret friendship, their pet cemetery steadily grows, topped by crosses stolen from graveyards, even as the adults play their own games of grotesque peasant feuds… And then Fossey (“in a performance that rips the heart out” – The New York Times) shouts his name again.

A masterpiece of French post-war cinema by director René Clément (who would make the classic thriller Purple Noon, starring Alain Delon, eight years later), adapted by the legendary team of Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost from Boyer’s successful novel, with a haunting hit score played by guitar virtuoso Narciso Yepes, the ultimately beautiful, hilarious and disturbing “Forbidden Games” initially did so-so box office and screened only on the fringes of the Cannes Festival, then nearly got shut out of Venice — where it promptly won its top prize, the Golden Lion — and then became a worldwide art house smash and Clément’s second Best Foreign Film Oscar winner (following the previous year’s The Walls of Malapaga).

Stanley Nelson’s Soulful Doc “We Want The Funk!” To Stream on PBS and YouTube

Posted on April 9, 2025 by admin

Directed by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London, a new documentary explores the roots of funk.

Distinctly rooted in joy, funk music reflected a post-Civil Rights Movement sensibility. “We Want the Funk!” examines the symbiotic relationship between the explosion of funk music out of the Midwest and the political and racial dynamics in 1970s inner-city America.

A syncopated and star-studded voyage through the journey of funk music, the film delves into the genre’s influence on contemporary music, fashion, and freedom of expression as well as its role in the rise of hip-hop. At the heart of the film are the first-hand stories, recollections, and experiences of the people who created and defined along with additional perspectives from Questlove and Thomas DeFrantz.

The film also features archival interviews with musical icons, including James Brown, Elton John, David Bowie, and more.

“We Want The Funk!” is set to premiere on April 08, 2025.

Final Trailer for G20: Starring Viola Davis

Posted on April 7, 2025 by admin

Amazon Prime Video has released the final trailer for director Patricia Riggen’s action drama “G20“, ahead of its arrival on the streamer this coming Thursday.

The film features Viola Davis as the president of the United States.

In the film, after the G20 Summit is overtaken by terrorists, President Danielle Sutton (Viola Davis ) must bring all her statecraft and military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.

Also in the film are Anthony Anderson, Marsai Martin, Ramón Rodríguez, Antony Starr, Douglas Hodge, Elizabeth Marvel, Sabrina Impacciatore, Clark Gregg, Christopher Farrar.

“G20” will premiere directly on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

Here’s the final official trailer for G20:

M3GAN 2.0 Debuts First Trailer at CinemaCon

Posted on April 6, 2025 by admin

New footage has been released for M3GAN 2.0, the Blumhouse movie sequel to the the 2023 smash hit sci-fi horror.

Director Gerard Johnstone returns, along with producers James Wan, Jason Blum, and star Allison Williams; M3GAN 2.0 picks up two years after the first film’s bloodbath.

In the sequel, after the underlying tech for M3GAN is stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, M3GAN’s creator Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal.

The film stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis, Amie Donald, Ivanna Sakhno, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, Jemaine Clement.

A spinoff movie, titled “Soulm8te,” is also set to release Jan. 2, 2026, from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, which is set to star “Evil Dead Rise” star Lily Sullivan as its lead.

“M3GAN 2.0” releases in theaters on June 27. Watch the trailer below.

David Mamet’s New Feature Film “Henry Johnson” Sets Release

Posted on April 3, 2025 by admin

Starting Friday May 9th, the film is set to open at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as to rent on HenryJohnsonMovie.com. Additional theater listings is set to follow.

The film star Evan Jonigkeit, Shia LaBeouf, Chris Bauer, Dominic Hoffman. The film adaptation is Pulitzer Prize winner’s first movie in a decade.

Written and Directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, HENRY JOHNSON follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (LaBeouf) — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.

David Mamet is an award-winning playwright, filmmaker and author. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Glengarry Glen Ross — currently on Broadway in a revival starring Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr — as well as Academy Award nominations for his screenplays of Wag the Dog and The Verdict. His feature film directorial credits include The Spanish Prisoner, Oleanna, House of Games, State and Main, Heist, Spartan, The Winslow Boy, Redbelt and Phil Spector.