L to R, top row: New Directors Awardee: INK WASH, Global Visions Awardee: ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU. L to R, bottom row: Cine Latino Awardee: BELOVED TROPIC, Kirby Walker Documentary Award Awardee: SEEDS Seeds. Courtesy of SFFILM and rights holders.
Today, SFFILM announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Awards competition and the Audience Awards at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival). Since the Festival’s first edition in 1957, the prestigious Golden Gate Awards have served as a launching pad for internationally renowned filmmakers who are early in their careers and have grown to include Audience Awards as well as serving as a qualifier for films under 40 minutes for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). In 2025, Academy Award-qualifying honors presented at the Festival included Narrative Short, Documentary Short, and Animated Short.
Golden Gate Awards were given in the feature film categories of New Directors–Ink Wash, Global Visions–All That’s Left of You, Cine Latino–Beloved Tropic, and the newly named Kirby Walker Documentary Award–Seeds.
Honoring the best documentary feature, the Kirby Walker Documentary Award celebrates the legacy of Kirby Walker, beloved Bay Area activist and filmmaker, whose profound curiosity about the lives of others and the world in general sparked a lasting love and respect for documentary filmmaking that allows audiences to develop their own informed viewpoint. Continue reading →
Cinépolis, the leading film exhibition company in Mexico and Latin America, and the Sundance Institute, the nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences and host of the Sundance Film Festival, have partnered for the second edition of Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2025, as well as upcoming editions in 2026 and 2027. This year’s festival will take place from May 29 to June 1, 2025 in Mexico City, with Cinépolis Diana as the main venue, complemented by Cinépolis Carso, Cinépolis Mítikah, and Cinépolis Oasis Coyoacán.
“Following the launch of Sundance Film Festival: CDMX last year, we are delighted to be returning to audiences in Mexico City and further engaging with the local film community,” said Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO. “Along with our valued partner Cinépolis, it is an honor to be celebrating independent cinema together again in 2025, and for upcoming editions, as we present this remarkable convening of artists and audiences to discover visionary voices and participate in compelling conversations.”
“The Sundance Film Festival’s return to CDMX in 2025 showcases Cinépolis’ dedication to fostering environments where independent films can reach broader audiences,” said Alejandro Ramírez, CEO of Cinépolis. “We are motivated by the chance for these exceptional movies to inspire future filmmakers and to broaden the dialogue around cinema as a powerful medium for expression and change. And we are proud that our partnership with the Sundance Institute to host Sundance Film Festival: CDMX is extending through 2027.” Continue reading →
“You’re hunting something that can’t be killed,” character Thia says in the trailer.
The first look at the upcoming action sci-fi “Predator: Badlands” has been released, following the descriptions of film arrived at CinemaCon earlier this month.
The film is from director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison. “Predator: Badlands” stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Koloamatangi, who plays a young Predator.
The film is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
“Predator: Badlands” is set for release on November 07, 2025 20th Century Studios.
Sony released the trailer for “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, the fourth film in the I Know What You Did Last Summer film franchise, which began with the release of the original in the 1997 slasher film of the same name.
The film’s cast includes Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Hauer-King, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Billy Campbell, Lola Tung, Nicholas Alexander Chavez.
Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is set to hit theaters July 18.
Here’s the film’s synopsis and the new trailer below:
When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they’re forced to confront a horrifying truth: someone knows what they did last summer… and is hell-bent on revenge. As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.
Entitled “Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell”, the first authorized doc on Hollywood’s Blonde Bombshell Mamie Van Doren is in the works. The feature film is an intimate and unprecedented look inside the life of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars, and will reveal intimate never-before-shared secrets of Van Doren’s enigmatic, scandalous, and fiercely private personal life.
Production is currently taking place in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, and will be completed by the end of 2025.
Van Doren is on board as Executive Producer. Producers are Alan Eichler, Stephen Israel and Marc Saltarelli, who also directs – the same team that brought audiences the award-winning 2024 documentary “Studio One Forever.” They are also developing a narrative feature based on her published memoirs.
Van Doren in a swimsuit photoshoot in 1955 (source: wikipedia)
Said Van Doren, “I have been fiercely private my whole life, and at ninety-four I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and reveal intimacies, secrets, and never before shared moments from my incredible life as the last original Hollywood Blonde Bombshell. Marc Saltarelli and his exceptional team are truly talented stewards of my documentary life story. Together we’re going to reveal and celebrate a provocative, entertaining, and indelible life journey.” Continue reading →
Jugaad Sisters Inc. announced today that their four-part docu-series Not Your Butter Chicken directed by Priyanka Desai (House Special) will be available to stream for free on CBC Gem starting Thursday, May 1st, 2025 as part of the Asian Heritage Month collection. The series celebrates the recipes, untold stories and life lessons of South Asians in Canada through the eyes of celebrated Vancouver culinary mind, Shiva Reddy.
Over the course of four episodes, Not Your Butter Chicken takes us from Vancouver to Kamloops and Kelowna, BC, and Lethbridge and Fort McMurray, Alberta, while host Shiva Reddy explores her culture with other South Asians to fill in the gaps that come with being a second-generation Canadian. Once a competitive hockey player, Reddy grew up to be one of the first South Asian women to make it in the world of wine and fine dining in Canada. Now, grappling with her mother’s battle with dementia, Reddy is on a journey to piece together the story of her Indian heritage through food and community.
“Everyone knows Butter Chicken, but not the culture that created it. The title is a playful invitation to discover all the ways Indian culture is more than this go-to dish,” says Reddy, who is also a sommelier at Michelin star restaurant Burdock & Co. in Vancouver. “Because my mom is my connection to my Indian heritage, her dementia meant we were slowly forgetting our stories and recipes. For me, this show was a way to make new memories even as my mother was losing hers. For our viewers, I hope this show inspires you to collect the stories that mean the most to you.”
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.” Continue reading →
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).
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.
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.
