By all accounts the premiere of Izzy Lee’s debut supernatural and topical horror flick, House of Ashes, was a rip-roaring success. Word from our friend and fellow Anarchist, Lee, is that the screening at Brooklyn Horror went very well. No one left after the screening and stuck around for a Q&A that spilled out into the lobby of the cinema after their time was up. Reviews are coming in hot – far more eloquent than mine – and the love is real. Our mission today is two-fold. One, Izzy gave us an exclusive clip to share with you today. Two, remind everyone else on the festival circuit and for distributors out there who you should talk to if you want a slice of this…
2025 IFFR: First Wave of World Preems include Latest by Hicham Lasri, Daniel Hoesl & Alexander Kluge
Out of the gate early, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (30 January – 9 February 2025) have unveiled the first wave of titles that make up the upcoming 54th edition with a baker’s dozen titles populating the Bright Future and Harbour sections. The complete programme will be launched on the December 17th – a couple of weeks after Sundance unveil their edition.
- BRIGHT FUTURE
1 GIRL INFINITE (World Premiere)
Director: Lilly Hu
United States, Latvia, Singapore
Two teenage girls, Yin Jia and Tong Tong, live together in this colour-drenched vision of Changsha, China. When Tong Tong drifts away and falls in with a drug dealer, Yin Jia’s love for her means she’ll risk everything to keep Tong Tong by her side.… Read the rest
With many annual awards ceremonies, even those that brand themselves celebrators of indie filmmaking, seemingly highlighting films that don’t necessarily need the boost, it’s refreshing when one truly highlights the indie spirit. Enter The Indie Awards, “an annual event dedicated to celebrating the spirit of truly independent filmmaking,” backed by Slamdance. Ahead of a ceremony […]
The post The Indie Awards Launch With Nominees Including Free Time, The People’s Joker, and Atikamekw Suns first appeared on The Film Stage.
(The 2024 New York Film Festival (NYFF) runs September 27-October 14. Check out M.J. O’Toole’s The Shrouds movie review from the fest. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) No other mind exists in cinema like David Cronenberg’s. […]
The post THE SHROUDS appeared first on Hammer to Nail.
Soap Kitchen: Ruizpalacios Underwhelms & Over Bakes Food Drama
Making his English language debut with fourth feature La Cocina, based on the notable stage play by Arnold Wesker, Alonso Ruizpalacios presents an absurd, impulsive microcosm of oft invisible experiences. Taking place behind-the-scenes in what appears to be a mediocre tourist mainstay in Times Square (set in an era before cellphones), a teeming community of workers tossed together like a makeshift family goes about the daily grind. As circumstances dictate, the focus is one particularly grueling lunch shift in which various coinciding dilemmas come to a show stopping head.
Much like his exceptional 2018 title Museo, Ruizpalacios gravitates towards the power of process, drifting into tangentiality of the narrative to collect the milk of human experiences.… Read the rest
The folks at Slamdance have announced The Indie Awards, “an annual event dedicated to celebrating the spirit of truly independent filmmaking”. The awards focus on US and Indigenous films that are either overlooked by film festivals or go unnoticed during award season. Screen Anarchy alumnus Ben Umstead is one of the co-founders of this new event. along with Paul Rachman and Peter Baxter. Three current Anarchists also featured in this inaugural edition. Shelagh, Olga and Anki participated in two of the nomination committees, the documentary and narrative features selections. All the nominees are announced below. One title that pops out and should be familiar to our readers in Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker. The Indie Awards will be presented at the DGA Theater, Los…
At once intimate and maximalist, it suggests a mix of Thelma & Louise and Starship Troopers.
The post ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Review: A Spirited Mash of Black Humor and Grand Guignol Gore appeared first on Slant Magazine.
(Check out Kaitlyn Hardy’s Nocturnes movie review! The film opens in Los Angeles on October 25th at the Laemmle Royal. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) I never thought one of the most beautiful films I’d ever watched […]
The post NOCTURNES appeared first on Hammer to Nail.
For his first feature of two features this year, Hongsangsoo made a long-awaited reunion with Isabelle Huppert. Following In Another Country and Claire’s Camera, the duo teamed up again for A Traveler’s Needs, one of the prolific director’s best in years. Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale, Cinema Guild will now […]
The post A Traveler’s Needs Trailer: Hong Sangsoo and Isabelle Huppert’s Third Collaboration Arrives in November first appeared on The Film Stage.