Mat Hames has spent more than 20 years chasing stories where history refuses to stay buried. His latest might be his most personal yet.

The Austin documentarian’s new film, Home from the Vietnam War, follows decorated Army Lt. Lee Alley back to Vietnam over 50 years after the war. Joined by his friend John Nguyen, who fled the country as a child, Alley confronts wounds he spent most of his life avoiding. The journey leads to one of the war’s bloodiest battle sites, where Alley comes face to face with the Vietnamese soldiers he once fought.

Home from the Vietnam War premieres at Heartland Film Festival on October 16, then screens at St. Louis International Film Festival on Veterans Day. Wyoming PBS will host a special screening with Lt. Alley and fellow veterans the same day. The film streams November 12 on Wyoming PBS’s YouTube channel before hitting national PBS distribution.

Hames has built a quiet but formidable résumé. His work has aired twice on PBS’s Independent Lens, screened at SXSW and Hot Docs, and earned 12 regional Emmys. He was even knighted by the King of Belgium for his World War II documentary Last Best Hope.

While Home from the Vietnam War starts its run, his mountain guide film A Life Outside wraps its own festival circuit. His next projects include a doc on Texas governor Bill Clements and season three of Power Trip: The Story of Energy.

For indie filmmakers grinding it out, Hames proves longevity beats hype every time.

A film about two friends hiking 330 miles through the Scottish Highlands is hitting theaters next month, and it was made the hard way.

Writer-director Bart Schrijver took his tiny crew onto Scotland’s West Highland Way and Cape Wrath Trail, carrying their own gear and sleeping outdoors. No lighting equipment. Fewer than six people on the trail at any time. They shot chronologically, with Schrijver rewriting scenes at night based on what they encountered that day.

The result is “The North,” which follows Chris (Bart Harder) and Lluis (Carles Pulido), two thirtysomethings who reunite after a decade apart to tackle the grueling trek. It’s a reunion story set against lush, unpredictable terrain, filled with rain, wildlife, and fellow hikers on their own journeys.

There’s no musical score. The sound design relies entirely on wind, rain, footsteps, and ambient noise from the trail.

Picturehouse is releasing the film theatrically on October 9 in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. But first, it gets a sneak preview on October 5 at over 100 Dolby Cinema locations, where dual 4K laser projection and Dolby Atmos sound will amplify the film’s immersive quality.

The film has already been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. For indie filmmakers trying to capture the raw feeling of being outdoors, this is one to watch.

Parlour Magic is pivoting hard. The NYC synth-pop project just announced “Japanese Bonus Track,” a disco-laced club anthem that ditches the guitar sound of its recent album The Embassy and leans into full electronic mode. It drops September 25.

Producer and composer Luc Bokor-Smith wrote the track with Bailey Kislak, bringing in Fab Dupont to mix and Brian Lucey to master. The result is lush strings, a massive singalong chorus, and a sound clearly aimed at the dancefloor.

The music video, directed by NYC filmmaker Lloyd Lenox, was shot over five nights across Tokyo, from Shimbashi to Nakano Broadway. Lenox pulled heavy inspiration from ’80s and ’90s Japanese variety TV, anime opening sequences, bold typography, and the chaotic energy of that era. The concept started as an attempt to recreate Human Tetris, then got weirder.

Lenox made a point to avoid the typical Western gaze when filming in Japan, steering clear of tourist traps and working with a local crew to keep things culturally grounded.

Parlour Magic has racked up over six million streams and grown from Bokor-Smith’s solo project into a full live band. The group plays a hometown show at Berlin in New York on September 25, then heads to Germany.

This one’s a bridge track, and a loud signal of what’s next.

A new teaser trailer just dropped for “Littermates,” an 88-minute absurdist horror film making its world premiere at Fantastic Fest this week before hitting theaters November 6 as a Drafthouse exclusive.

The feature debut from co-directors Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson follows two disoriented survivors, Liam and Mel, who wash up bloodied and speechless at an isolated English cottage during a mysterious war. Their caretaker Chester takes them in, teaching them to speak again and rewarding good behavior with “nifties,” tokens they can trade for karaoke sessions, hot tub time, and dance parties.

But while Liam settles into Chester’s carefully controlled world, Mel grows restless. She’s drawn to the woods beyond the locked gate, to the larger world Chester insists is too dangerous. When her curiosity pushes past his rules, their fragile makeshift family starts to crack.

Tinkham, a Minnesota native whose short film “24 Hours After Reading Tuesdays with Morrie” premiered at SXSW 2025, co-directs with Woloson, a Las Vegas-born cinematographer based in LA. The film stars Joey Bader, Oliver Woolf, and Kaylee McGregor.

“Littermates” screens Sunday, September 20 at 2pm at Alamo Drafthouse Lamar in Austin. For indie filmmakers chasing festival buzz and theatrical deals, this one’s worth watching.

When Meriem Sakrouhi’s father died, she didn’t stop calling him.

The Moroccan filmmaker had called her dad every day since moving to the US. He was her invisible passenger, listening to wild dreams and silly complaints during routine commutes. When he passed, the urge to share didn’t go away. So one day, she hit record instead of dial.

“Mon Taxi” is the 8½-minute documentary that came from those voice notes. Eleven calls recorded over 18 months, visualized on screen. It’s a love letter to conversations that refuse to end, even when death draws the line.

The short premiered at Tribeca and has been racking up festival wins ever since. Grand Jury at RIFF for experimental documentary, sold out screenings at HollyShorts, honorable mention at SaluteYourShorts. It screens next at Edmonton International on September 25, Calgary International on September 27, and makes its European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 13 and 17.

Sakrouhi, an architect turned filmmaker, directed, edited, and produced the film herself. Her debut, “Inner Selves,” won awards. This one feels more personal, grief rendered through the small ritual of a phone call that goes nowhere but still needs to happen.

Because sometimes love just refuses to let the conversation end.

A killer’s back on campus. Lionsgate Limited is bringing the 2009 slasher Sorority Row to 4K for the first time, available now in a limited-edition steelbook.

The film follows the sisters of Theta Pi at Rosman University, haunted by a prank gone wrong. When graduation arrives, someone starts picking them off one by one. The cast is stacked with mid-2000s talent: Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Audrina Patridge, and the late Carrie Fisher.

Director Steward Hendler’s horror mystery gets a proper upgrade with Dolby Atmos audio and a 2.40:1 presentation. The release includes fresh retrospective featurettes like “Reconsidering Sorority Row” and “The Making of a Queen B***h with Leah Pipes,” plus legacy extras from the original release, including director and cast commentary, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Lionsgate Limited continues its mission of giving cult favorites the collector’s treatment. For fans of early 2000s horror who grew up with this era of slashers, this is the definitive way to revisit Theta Pi’s bloodiest night.

A feature debut is headed to one of the world’s most prestigious genre festivals.

Astrolatry, David Gordon’s first feature as director, will premiere at the 59th Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia this October. The film stars Ethan Daniel Corbett as Elliot, an obsessive outcast whose fixation on a beauty cream model spirals into violent delusion.

Gordon wrote, directed, shot, and edited the psychologically driven satire, which blends character study and horror to examine toxic masculinity and the “nice guy” trope. Cole Paxton co-produced.

For Corbett, it’s a career moment. “I had always dreamed of attending Sitges at some point in my career,” he says. “Playing Elliot was surprisingly healing for me, having people close to me who struggle with mental health.”

The film previously made waves at Cannes, where it was selected from a record 124 submissions for the Frontières Buyers Showcase in May.

Sitges, founded in 1968, has launched careers for Tarantino, Raimi, and del Toro. This year runs October 8-18, with Robert Eggers receiving the festival’s Time Machine Award.

Corbett, raised in Santa Clarita with family ties to Warner Bros., has built momentum on the festival circuit with roles in FACES and OUTtv’s Laid Bare. He recently launched vertical western West of My Heart under his production banner Upright Pictures.

Why it matters: Independent genre filmmakers still break through at festivals like Sitges, where bold storytelling finds its audience.

Agata Trzebuchowska is stepping behind the camera. The actress who starred in the Oscar-winning IDA has made her feature directorial debut with SICK, and it’s already generating buzz.

Berlin-based Pluto Film just picked up worldwide sales rights ahead of the film’s world premiere at Fantastic Fest this month, with a European bow at Sitges Film Festival following in October.

SICK follows sixteen-year-old Maks and his older sister Emma, who are sent to rural Poland to care for their ailing grandmother during summer break. Trapped in the oppressive heat and isolation, their sibling relationship shifts into something darker and more disturbing. It’s billed as “the horror of growing up,” not your typical coming-of-age tale.

Trzebuchowska wrote and directed the film, which stars Konrad Kąkol, Katarzyna Łubik, Monika Niemczyk, Julian Świeżewski, and Eliza Rycembel. Patryk Sielecki and Adrianna Rędzia produced through Polish company Lumisenta.

After earning an EFA nomination for IDA, Trzebuchowska’s shorts HEAT and VACANCY screened at Sundance and festivals worldwide. She’s already prepping two more features: THIS IS NO PLACE FOR YOU, a Polish-French co-production, and URKE, a surreal mockumentary.

For indie filmmakers looking to break through with bold, unconventional stories, this is a solid blueprint: start with shorts, build festival cred, then go all in on something uncompromising.

Comic shops opening at midnight on October 7 just got one more reason to stay up late.

Image Comics revealed a special midnight variant cover for Avengelyne #1, featuring art by series creator Rob Liefeld. The cover joins an already stacked lineup for the series relaunch.

“Thrilled to welcome spooky season with this wicked Avengelyne #1 Midnight Variant,” said Liefeld. “The countdown to an all new mission for our avenging angel starts at midnight.”

Liefeld teams with artist Daniel Mainé to bring back the iconic ’90s character with a fresh start. The story follows a faith-questioning priest whose world turns upside down when a mysterious angel appears. That angel, Avengelyne, draws the attention of Belisle, a wealthy demon lord, and becomes a target for demonic forces trying to recruit her.

The book launches ahead of an already-in-development film at Warner Bros.

In total, Avengelyne #1 will feature eight variant covers, including work by Diógenes Neves, Shannon Maer, Dan Lawlis, Andy Park, and Ben Bradi. One variant comes polybagged and labeled NSFW.

For Youngblood and ’90s comics fans, it’s a homecoming. For new readers, it’s a solid jumping-on point with a beloved character finally getting her moment again.

By Armando

20th Century Studios just released a new trailer for “Whalefall,” hitting theaters October 16.

The studio’s tagline for the film? “Survivors survive.” Not much else to go on yet, but the October release date puts it squarely in prime fall movie season, when studios typically roll out their major films.

Based on the acclaimed 2023 novel by Daniel Kraus, the film follows a young diver who descends into the ocean to search for his deceased father’s remains, only to find himself swallowed alive by a sperm whale and forced to fight his way out from the inside.

It’s a survival story in the most literal sense, and the source material already has a devoted following among readers who called it one of the most viscerally intense books recently. 20th Century Studios has been ramping up its theatrical slate after years of Disney+ changes, so a mid-October wide release signals a major pivot.

The film is directed by James Watkins, known for “The Woman in Black” and the HBO series “McMafia”. The trailer is live now across the studio’s social channels and presumably attached to prints in theaters.

Mark your calendars for October 16 if you’re into survival stories or just curious what 20th Century has cooking this fall.