Before Election and Sideways made him an indie darling, Alexander Payne kicked off his career with Citizen Ruth, a dark comedy that ripped into the culture wars with zero mercy. Now Film Forum is bringing back his 1996 debut in a new 4K restoration, running October 30 through November 5.

Laura Dern stars as Ruth Stoops, a drug-addicted woman with four kids already taken away by the state. When she gets pregnant again while locked up, a judge gives her an ultimatum: get an abortion or face a felony charge. What follows is a brutal tug-of-war between pro-life and pro-choice activists, both desperate to use her as a poster child for their cause. Ruth doesn’t care about either side. She just wants to survive.

The film premiered at Sundance in 1996 and introduced Payne’s signature style, sharp satire with uncomfortable truths baked in. Critics at the time loved Dern’s performance, calling her “a revelation” and “weirdly lovable” despite playing someone you probably shouldn’t root for.

Payne went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Election three years later, but Citizen Ruth remains a boldly irreverent first swing. The restoration was handled by IndieCollect, working with Criterion and Paramount. If you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance.

Paweł Pawlikowski is back with another black-and-white stunner. His new film “Fatherland” premieres October 23 at Film Forum in New York, and it’s already racking up serious attention.

The film stars Sandra Hüller (fresh off “Anatomy of a Fall”) as Erika Mann, daughter of legendary author Thomas Mann, played by Hanns Zischler. Set in 1949, they’re driving through a bombed-out Germany after years of exile in the U.S. Mann’s returned as a Nobel Prize winner with celebrity status, but the country he knew is gone. Erika’s coordinating his trip while dealing with her own family trauma, trying to break through her father’s distant facade.

Pawlikowski won Best Director at Cannes for this one. It’s also Poland’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature. If you know his work, the pedigree checks out. “Ida” won the Oscar in 2014, and “Cold War” scored three nominations including Best Director.

The reviews are glowing. Critics are calling it “a perfectly cut jewel” and praising cinematographer Łukasz Żal’s gorgeous monochrome work. At just 82 minutes, Pawlikowski keeps it lean and devastating.

For indie cinema lovers, this is the kind of restrained, visually striking filmmaking that reminds you why arthouse matters. Film Forum’s the place to see it first.

Jordan Firstman is bringing his feature directorial debut to San Francisco before it hits theaters nationwide. SFFILM just announced a special 35mm screening of Club Kid at the Castro Theatre on November 2, with Firstman sticking around for a post-screening Q&A.

The film made waves at Cannes before A24 scooped it up. Firstman wrote, directed, and stars as Peter, a New York City club promoter whose party-heavy lifestyle gets flipped upside down when a 10-year-old son he didn’t know existed shows up at his door. The ensemble includes Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Reggie Absolom, and Colleen Camp.

“The anarchic humor, incredible ensemble, and unexpected tenderness make this a distinctive film,” said Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. She called out the needle drops as “thrillingly precise” to the characters and story.

SFFILM Executive Director Anne Lai pointed out the fitting venue. “For decades, gathering to see movies at The Castro has been at the heart of San Francisco’s queer culture and history.”

Tickets go on sale to SFFILM members September 22 at 10 am, with general public access starting September 24. General admission is $35, members pay $30. Club Kid opens in select cities November 6.

Jet2, the UK’s largest tour operator, is teaming up with Adobe to overhaul how 10 million customers plan and book their holidays. The multi-year deal brings Adobe’s AI tools into Jet2’s booking system, promising smarter recommendations and faster, more personalized service.

At the core is Adobe CX Enterprise Coworker, which uses agentic AI to help Jet2 staff deliver custom experiences at scale. The tech will analyze each traveler’s booking history and preferences, then serve up destination ideas, resort picks, and daily itineraries that actually match what they’re looking for, whether that’s a family getaway or a solo city break.

Jet2 will also use Adobe Firefly Foundry to create on-brand content faster, and Adobe Brand Intelligence to keep everything consistent across channels. The goal is to meet customers where they are, especially as more people turn to AI search to research trips.

The two companies are launching a joint Customer Experience Lab, where Adobe engineers and Jet2’s teams will work side by side to test and build new AI-driven services. Jet2’s chief customer officer David Hills says the partnership will let them “make every interaction more personal, more relevant, more timely.”

For the indie travel world watching the big players lean into AI, this is a clear signal: personalization at scale is the new baseline.

Jet2, the UK’s largest tour operator, is teaming up with Adobe to give its 10 million customers a more personalized way to plan their vacations.

The multi-year partnership will use Adobe’s AI tools to help Jet2 deliver tailored destination ideas, offers, and trip recommendations based on each traveler’s preferences and booking history. Think family-friendly resort suggestions or curated daily itineraries once you’re on the ground.

Adobe CX Enterprise Coworker sits at the center of the deal. It’s agentic AI tech that helps Jet2 teams create on-brand content faster and serve up the right message at the right moment, whether you’re browsing flights or checking into your hotel.

The two companies are also launching a joint Customer Experience Lab, where Adobe engineers and Jet2’s digital team will build and test new AI-powered services. The goal is to match travelers with holidays that actually fit what they’re looking for, not just what’s being pushed that week.

“Customers know they will always receive a VIP experience when they holiday with us,” says David Hills, Jet2’s chief customer officer. “Working with Adobe will enable us to serve our customers even better.”

For indie creators and small studios watching how tech giants flex their tools, this is a peek at how AI is being embedded into consumer-facing platforms at scale.

UK travel giant Jet2 is teaming up with Adobe to give its 10 million customers smarter, more personalized holiday planning.

The multi-year partnership will use Adobe’s AI tech to help Jet2 deliver custom vacation recommendations based on each traveler’s preferences and booking history. Think family-friendly resort suggestions or curated daily itineraries while you’re already on vacation.

At the center of it all is Adobe CX Enterprise Coworker, which uses what Adobe calls “agentic AI” to help Jet2 staff quickly build personalized experiences at scale. The system will pull from customer data to send the right offer at the right time, whether that’s a city break idea or a last-minute deal.

Jet2 will also tap Adobe Firefly Foundry to create on-brand content faster, using custom AI models trained on the company’s own assets. That means quicker responses to travel trends and shifting customer demand.

A new Jet2 x Adobe Customer Experience Lab will bring engineers and travel specialists together to test and build new AI services, like better ways to match customers with trips that actually fit their style.

“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do,” says David Hills, Jet2’s chief customer officer. “Working with Adobe will enable us to serve our customers even better, using the power of AI to make every interaction more personal, more relevant, more timely.”

For indie creators and travelers alike, it’s a glimpse at how AI is reshaping the experience economy.

UK tour operator Jet2 is teaming up with Adobe to bring AI-powered personalization to its 10 million customers. The multi-year partnership will use Adobe’s customer experience tech to help travelers plan and book holidays based on their preferences and past trips.

Adobe CX Enterprise Coworker, which uses agentic AI, will let Jet2 staff create personalized offers and recommendations at scale. Customers could see destination ideas tailored to their style, whether they’re looking for family resorts or city breaks, plus curated itineraries once they’re on vacation.

The partnership includes a new Jet2 x Adobe Customer Experience Lab, where Adobe engineers will work directly with Jet2’s digital and tech teams to build AI-powered services. The goal is to match customers with holidays that fit their travel history and what they’re actually looking for.

Jet2 will also use Adobe’s content tools to create on-brand holiday content faster. Adobe Firefly Foundry will build custom AI models using Jet2’s brand assets, while Adobe Brand Intelligence keeps everything consistent across channels.

David Hills, Jet2’s chief customer officer, says the partnership will make every customer interaction more personal and timely while staying true to what sets Jet2 apart.

For indie travel creators and smaller operators, this signals where the industry is headed, AI as the baseline for customer experience, not a luxury feature.

The zombie apocalypse is back, and this time it’s going bigger.

Prime Video just dropped the teaser for Apocalypse Z: New World, the sequel to last year’s surprise international hit. The film hits the platform October 30, right in time for Halloween scares.

Director Carles Torrens returns to expand the post-apocalyptic universe, this time shifting the action to the Canary Islands, Europe’s last refuge after the TSJ virus outbreak. When a supply mission heads to the mainland, things go sideways fast. The crew gets caught between hordes of infected and their own conflicting loyalties.

The ensemble cast includes Carlos Alcaide, Julia Martínez, and Mónica López. Jose María Yazpik reprises his role as Pritchenko, and Berta Vázquez returns as Lucía. Even Pedrito the cat is back, playing fan-favorite Lúculo.

The first film became Prime Video’s most-watched international original movie, second only to Your Fault. That kind of response gave the sequel room to scale up the action and widen the scope.

Before streaming, New World gets its world premiere at Spain’s Sitges Film Festival on October 10, then screens at Screamfest in LA on October 13.

For genre filmmakers grinding away at zombie stories, this franchise proves there’s still appetite for fresh takes on the undead, especially when you lean into character-driven survival drama.

A long-lost Michael Apted documentary is coming back. The Long Way Home: Remastered and Expanded drops on major streaming platforms October 20 in the U.S., Canada, and UK.

The film follows Boris Grebenshchikov, the Soviet underground rock icon who became the first Russian artist to record in the West during Glasnost. Shot in the late ’80s, it captures Grebenshchikov working with Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, and members of Crosby, Stills & Nash. But it also shows the cost: his longtime band Aquarium felt abandoned, and Russian fans weren’t sure what to make of his English-language material.

The doc premiered at Sundance and aired in the UK decades ago, then vanished. Now producer Steven Lawrence has restored it from the only surviving 16mm print. He and editor Susanne Rostock also added a new epilogue tracking Grebenshchikov’s life after his U.S. album Radio Silence flopped, including his exile and his public criticism of Putin’s war in Ukraine. Apted wanted to make a sequel before his death in 2021. This epilogue is the closest we’ll get.

For indie musicians navigating crossover dreams or political pressure, this one hits close to home. It’s a reminder that freedom and creative risk don’t always pay off the way you hope.