A Canadian program that trains underrepresented animators just announced 45 finalists for its next cohort, and one of its graduate films is heading to France.

Netflix Canada and the Animation Career Excelerator (ACE Canada) Society revealed the shortlist for ACE 5, selecting from 126 applicants across six provinces. The program focuses on animation professionals who identify as women, non-binary, and Two-Spirit, training them for senior creative roles.

The 45 shortlisted candidates will go through workshops and training before presenting to a final jury, which will select nine participants for the fifth cohort. Positions include writer, director, producer, head of story, art director, animation director, editor, composer, and production manager.

Meanwhile, ACE 4’s completed short film Rocketship Mai will screen at Annecy Film Festival on June 24 at the Imperial Palace. The private screening will include a panel on mentorship in animation and networking opportunities for the filmmakers.

“This shows how meaningful support and mentorship can elevate underrepresented filmmakers,” says founder Rose-Ann Tisserand.

ACE gives participants hands-on experience creating their own short films while receiving mentorship. The program is backed by Netflix Canada, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, Toon Boom, and others.

For mid-level animators trying to break into key creative roles, this is one of the few programs built specifically to get them there.

Patrick Kindlon and EPHK’s exploitation thriller Tigress Island is heading back to press for the fourth time. Image Comics announced they’re fast-tracking a new printing of issue #1 after selling out at the distributor level again.

The series drops washed-up starlets onto a jungle island run by a ruthless warden. Their only way out? Team up, break free, and survive the double-crosses coming from every direction. It’s grindhouse meets survival story, packed with action and attitude.

“Thank you to everyone who made word of mouth on this title as strong as it is,” Kindlon said. “We created a comic we’d want to read and were happy to learn there’s many people who share our passions.”

The fourth printing hits shops June 17, while issues #2 and #3 are already available. Issue #4 drops June 10, followed by #5 on July 15. Each comes with multiple cover variants, including NSFW polybagged editions.

This is what happens when creators swing for the fences with a bold concept and readers show up. The book’s success proves there’s still appetite for unapologetic genre storytelling that doesn’t play it safe.

A documentary about the Philippines’ most legendary rock band is coming to Netflix on May 30, and it’s not just a music story. It’s about what happens when friendships implode, egos clash, and decades later, everyone has to figure out if reconciliation is even possible.

“Eraserheads: Combo on the Run,” directed by Maria Diane Ventura, follows the four-piece from their 1989 college days at University of the Philippines Diliman through their meteoric rise in the ’90s, when they became the first Filipino band to win an MTV International Award. Their raw lyrics and fearless originality made them the Beatles of Filipino music, releasing albums nearly every year and soundtracking a generation.

Then came the breakup. The doc doesn’t shy away from the fallout, the bittersweet nostalgia, or the fans who discovered them years after their peak. But it finds its heart in their 2022 “Huling El Bimbo” reunion concert, where 75,000 people watched four old friends reconcile in a politically divided landscape.

Ventura says the film goes beyond band history. “It’s about finding ways back to each other, and about the possibility of healing, especially in a time when the world feels increasingly divided.”

The doc drops in over 190 countries. For indie filmmakers telling deeply personal cultural stories, that’s a win worth celebrating.

A woman eats human ashes to lose weight. Then things get weird.

That’s the setup for “Saccharine,” the latest from Natalie Erika James, the filmmaker behind “Relic” and “Apartment 7A.” It follows Hana (Midori Francis), a medical student desperate enough to try an obscure weight loss trend, only to find herself terrorized by something far worse than the scale.

James uses supernatural horror to dig into the toxic messaging around body image that saturates everything from casual conversation to Instagram feeds. It’s body horror with a queer perspective, tracking one woman’s spiral through shame, self-worth, and compulsion.

The film stars Francis alongside Danielle Macdonald and Madeleine Madden. Early reviews call it “sharply menacing” (The Wrap) and praise its take on “the destruction we inflict on ourselves and others” under the banner of self-improvement.

James made waves with “Relic” at Sundance 2020, earning a Gotham nomination and multiple AACTA nods. Her latest continues that momentum, made in partnership with Carver Films, XYZ Films, and Screen Australia.

“Saccharine” hits select theaters May 22. For indie horror fans watching how the genre tackles modern anxieties, this one’s worth catching.

A jilted girlfriend hacks MI6, burns it to the ground, and finds herself a getaway car that doubles as a weapon of mass destruction.

That’s the setup for Yumi: 00EX, a new four-issue series from Image Comics hitting shelves this August. Writer Doug Wagner (Plastic, Narco) teams up with artist Hoyt Silva for what sounds like Kingsman meets Fast and Furious with a K-Pop twist.

The story follows Yumi, whose MI6 boyfriend vanishes without a trace. Instead of waiting around, she storms the agency, hacks their systems, takes out their operatives, and torches everything in sight. Her only ally? A fully AI Lamborghini that’s more weapon than vehicle.

“Part The Kingsman, part K-Pop Demon Hunters, all attitude,” Wagner told Popverse. “We even tossed in an AI Lamborghini sidekick that’s built like a WMD, because with Hoyt and I involved, subtlety never really had a chance.”

The series launches August 12 with four variant covers, including work from Mirka Andolfo (Sweet Paprika) and Nicoletta Baldari. Digital versions drop the same day on Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Wagner’s built a reputation for wild, violent stories that don’t pull punches. This one looks like more of the same, just with better cars.

A family gets hacked out of their life savings and decides to take matters into their own hands. That’s the setup for “Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma,” a new horror comedy starring Chandler Riggs as Florida’s most wanted cybercriminal.

The film is based on what actually happened to director Shane Brady and producer Emily Zercher. When the Rumble family loses everything to a hacker known as “The Chameleon,” the bank can’t help and the cops are useless. So they plot their own takedown.

“I make films to turn pain, chaos, and frustration into something communal, funny, and wildly entertaining,” Brady said.

Riggs, best known for “The Walking Dead,” plays the elusive hacker. Fellow TWD alum Katelyn Nacon also stars, along with Richard Riehle (“Office Space”) and, oddly enough, NHL legend Phil Esposito.

The cast went all in. Owen Atlas got to showcase MMA skills in a fight scene with Riggs. “He was such a good sport about the whole thing,” Atlas said.

Scatena & Rosner Films is handling the North American release. Limited theatrical run hits this May, with VOD following June 2.

The film already won Best Comedy at Dunedin International Film Festival and Best Focus on Florida Feature at Gasparilla. For indie filmmakers turning personal disasters into dark comedies, this one’s proof that revenge really can be art.

Cameron Whitcomb is stepping up. The 22-year-old singer-songwriter just announced The Kingdom of Fear Tour, his largest US headline run to date, kicking off September 24 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and wrapping October 31 at Houston’s House of Blues.

The tour hits some serious rooms. Atlanta’s Tabernacle, Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom, Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, LA’s Wiltern, and Austin’s Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater are all on the itinerary. Presales start Tuesday, May 12, with general on-sale Friday, May 15. A dollar from every ticket goes to Project Healthy Minds.

This comes on the heels of Whitcomb’s new EP Deep Water, out now via Atlantic Outpost. The title track’s explosive single “Kingdom of Fear” is his highest-charting song to date in the US, Australia, UK, and Canada. He’ll perform it live on the American Idol finale May 11.

Whitcomb’s already deep into a relentless tour schedule. He’s wrapping sold-out shows across Australia and New Zealand, just finished packed rooms in Boston and New York on his Fragile Egos Tour, and he’s still supporting HARDY through the summer. Earlier this year, he took home two JUNO Awards, including Breakthrough Artist.

The BC native left home at 17 to work on a pipeline before finding music. Now he’s got 7.5 million monthly Spotify listeners and over 835 million global streams. Not bad for a kid who’s barely old enough to rent a car.