SFFILM Announces Full Lineup for 66th San Francisco International Film Festival

Posted on March 22, 2023 by admin

Today, SFFILM announced the full lineup for the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival), the longest-running film festival in the Americas. This year’s program, curated from over 5,000 submissions and invitations, will screen exclusively in theaters across San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley from April 13–April 23.

“It is SFFILM Festival season once again and I cannot wait to share this year’s program with local audiences,” said Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. “The line-up includes a wealth of Bay Area filmmakers across all sections, and highlights new—and seminal—work from eminent filmmakers. Our curatorial team, dedicated to showcasing evocative stories, prioritized films that unite us all through cinematic expression and outstanding narrative craft. We continue SFFILM’s legacy of bringing international work to the Bay with stories from 37 countries and an exciting array of emerging artists. For the third year in a row, half of this thematically diverse program is helmed by female or non-binary filmmakers and we are so proud to share these stories with festival attendees.”

The 2023 SFFILM Festival will run in theaters across the Bay Area, including the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market, the Castro Theatre, the Premier Theater, The Walt Disney Family Museum, and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). The central hub of the Festival will be at CGV San Francisco to allow for maximum viewing; this location will also feature a hospitality lounge presented by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for guests to meet and mingle with each other in between screenings.

“We are thrilled to bring an array of exciting new films and filmmakers to our discerning and passionate Bay Area film lovers,” said Anne Lai, Executive Director of SFFILM. “Each year, our Festival unites us both inside and outside of theaters where we engage in conversations across audiences, filmmakers, industry guests, and others who help us deepen our understanding of the craft, and of the fascinating world we all share. I am particularly delighted that in addition to hosting screenings in venues across the Bay Area, we will have a Festival hub at the CGV San Francisco. We are excited to host a space this year that harnesses the energy of multiple screens. As audiences gravitate towards different fare, they will also be able to spend time in a gathering place designed to create connection, possibility, and opportunity with one another. Find your spot, and we’ll see you there.”
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“Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken”: Trailer For DreamWorks’ New Animated Feature Released

Posted on March 16, 2023 by admin

DreamWorks has unveiled the trailer for “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken”, an upcoming animated film starring Lana Condor, Jane Fonda, Toni Collette and more. The film is set for release on June 30, 2023.

The DreamWorks’ official press release: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken dives into the turbulent waters of high school with a hilarious, heartfelt action comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny, in the depths of the oceans, is bigger than she ever dreamed.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman (Lana Condor, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise) is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible.

She’s math-tutoring her skater-boy crush (Jaboukie Young-White, Ralph Breaks the Internet), who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom (Oscar® nominee Toni Collette, Knives Out), has forbade Ruby from ever getting in the water.

But when she breaks her mom’s #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother (Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda), the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” Big Winner 2023 Academy Awards

Posted on March 13, 2023 by admin

And The Oscar Goes To…. “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

The 95th Academy Awards last night dominated the Oscars last night, winning seven trophies, including best picture, best actress, best director, best editing, best supporting actor, best supporting actress and best original screenplay.

“Ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you that you are ever past your prime,” Yeoh, 60, said when accepting the best actress Oscar. “Never give up.”

Brendan Fraser was also the big winner, taking home best actor for his lead role in The Whale, winning against other nominees Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Bill Nighy and Paul Mescal.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Best Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
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New trailer for “Carmen”, A Musical Starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Released

Posted on March 12, 2023 by admin

Directed by Benjamin Millepied, “Carmen” is a gritty modern day tale, with a majestic score by Nicholas Britell, and dream-like dance sequences that evoke magic realism. Melissa Barrera plays Carmen, with Paul Mescal as Aidan. Also in the film are Rossy de Palma and Tracy “The DOC” Curry.

The story follows a young and fiercely independent woman who is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother, another strong and mysterious woman.

In the film, Carmen survives a terrifying and dangerous illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard who cold-bloodedly murders two other immigrants in her group. When the border guard and his patrol partner, Aidan—a Marine with PTSD—become embroiled in a deadly standoff, Carmen and Aidan are forced to escape together.

The film is set to be released on April 21, 2023.

Trailer For Ana de Armas and Chris Evans Action-Comedy “Ghosted”

Posted on March 11, 2023 by admin

A new trailer for the upcoming romantic action-comedy “Ghosted” has been released, which follows Chris Evan’s Cole, falling head over heels foran undercover spy named Sadie on the first date.

Evans and De Armas have previously collaborated on 2019’s Knives Out and The Grey Man in 2022. Ghosted is directed by Dexter Fletcher behind Rocketman, The Offer, and Eddie and the Eagle.

The film is set to be released in Apple TV+ next month April 21, 2023.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:
Salt-of-the-earth Cole (Chris Evans) falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie (Ana de Armas) —but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.

“Balloon Animal” Trailer Debut

Posted on March 9, 2023 by admin

First Bloom Films production has recently released the trailer for its latest film “Balloon Animal”. The film is set to be available on VOD on Friday, April 7, 2023 (U.S. & U.K.) in Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Comcast/Xfinity, Charter, Cox, etc.

Written and directed by Em Johnson, the drama film s Katherine Waddell, Ilia Volok, Erin Li, Dani Baez, and Michael David Wilson.

“Balloon Animal” follows Poppy Valentine, a young circus performer who has grown up in her family’s traveling circus, begins dreaming of what life would be like outside of its fences.

Now in her mid-20s and with more unwelcomed responsibility weighing her down, she’s desperate to figure out if this life is for her. As she slowly begins to take time for herself, finding independence and even love, she strains her relationship with those around her in the tight-knit circus community. Amidst her overprotective father, stressful circus expectations, and a blossoming curiosity for a life of her own, Poppy must decide if the risk is worth leaving everything she’s ever known behind.

A First Bloom Films production, “Balloon Animal” is written and directed by Em Johnson. Cinematography by Megan Stacey. Produced by Ruvi Leider, Monica O’Hara, and Katherine Waddell. Composed by Alexa L. Borden and Connor Cook. Edited by Gregory Tuzin.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves International Trailer Released

Posted on March 7, 2023 by admin

“5 thieves, 5 questions, so many creatures”

Paramount Pictures has released the final new international trailer for its upcoming “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”, along with new character posters.

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, from the story by Chris McKay & Michael Gilio, the film stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head and Hugh Grant.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is set to open in theaters on March 31, 2023.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.

2023 Sundance Institute Momentum Fellows Announced

Posted on March 2, 2023 by admin

Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the eight participants selected for the fifth annual Momentum Fellowship, a program designed to support and provide coaching to mid-career artists with a focus on career development during a pivotal moment in their creative practice. Created to support storytellers from historically marginalized communities who have recently achieved a noteworthy accomplishment, such as a highly regarded feature film or series, Momentum provides fellows with a full-year program of deep, customized support around the goals they have identified for themselves to level up in their craft and career. The Momentum Fellowship is a program of Women at Sundance, with support from Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The Momentum Fellowship includes an unrestricted artist grant; professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, supported by The Harnisch Foundation; connection to ELEVATE, Sundance’s professional development initiative; and bespoke year-round support from Sundance Institute staff. Additionally, as part of an ongoing partnership with Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team (GTDI), the Studio will provide additional support for up to four (4) Momentum fellows working on fiction projects. GTDI is providing select participants access to the Studio’s creative executives and producers to build career momentum and exposure to potential directing opportunities across the Company’s portfolio.

“Over the years, the fellows selected for Momentum have all experienced success with their recently completed projects. This has often been a critical moment for artists to receive creative and tactical support as they focus on a meaningful path forward,” said Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Artist Programs. “This is where Momentum is both aptly named and unique in the industry — the fellowship is customized to the needs of individual filmmakers as they move forward with their next steps, making choices that will ensure they can sustain a career that gives them exciting and timely creative opportunities.”
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The Makers of “Sharknado” Brings “Methgator”

Posted on February 28, 2023 by admin

In the tradition of the season’s surprise hit “Cocaine Bear”, comes a new film that’s similarly going viral: “Methgator”.

“Hold our bear…I mean, beer. Coming for your life this summer,” as posted from the official twitter page of The Asylum, the film studio behind the film.

In a 2019 news bulletin, police warned residents to refrain from flushing methamphetamine down the toilet to prevent “meth-gators.” Down in Sweet Water Point, Florida, they didn’t listen.

Starring Robbie Rist (Oliver from The Brady Bunch) and Patrick Labyorteaux (Little House on the Prairie), the recently recently wrapped production in the swamps of Florida, “Methgator” is set to be released this summer.

From the creators of “Sharknado”, The Asylum has long been known for their mockbusters. This year, the company kicked off their 25th Anniversary by throwing a private party on the Santa Monica Pier, attracting thousands of industry VIPs… and also a full power outage.

“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” New “Meet the Creatures” Featurette Released

Posted on February 27, 2023 by admin

Meet some of the creatures of the upcoming fantasy action-adventure film “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”, as Paramount Pictures releases an exciting new featurette.

The film stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Hugh Grant.

The film follows a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers as they undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic. But things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, the film is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on March 31, 2023.