Ioncinema

For his sophomore feature film, Icelandic filmmaker Elfar Adalsteins adapts from Icelandic author Jon Kalman Stefansson’s novel. This comes after 2019’s End of Sentence – the shot in Ireland drama starring John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger, Summerlight… and Then Comes the Night had stops at Reykjavik International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Juno Films are releasing the film in New York September 20th at IFC Center and in Los Angeles September 27th at Laemmle Monica followed by a nationwide release. Here is a clip:

After dreaming in Latin, a successful manager decides to ditch his career and glamorous wife, in exchange for books and stargazing, while the beautiful seamstress Elisabet cuts a surprisingly svelte path.… Read the rest

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Consequences of Grief: Kent’s Stunning Debut Wades Through Primordial Fears

Satisfying genre films are generally few and far between these days, so it’s with absolute delight to discover something as genuinely impressive as Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut, The Babadook. Expanded from her 2005 short film, “Monster,” it’s not so much that Kent’s premise is anything revolutionary, but her ability to tap into base human fears and without the aid of cheap or excessive frills only makes this simplistic narrative all the more potent. Additionally, Kent’s built her scares around a strong, emotional core, examining the frazzled relationship between a single mother and her son as they struggle to come together after a terrible tragedy.… Read the rest

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French filmmaker Anna Cazenave Cambet was setting up shop for her sophomore feature with Vicky Krieps and Antoine Reinartz (Anatomy of a Fall fame) in the early mix. Now we learned that production has began with filmmaker-actress Monia Chokri and Ji-Min Park (lead in Return to Seoul) joining the top billing. Cambet’s Love Me Tender is an adaptation of the 2020 novel by Constance Debré — essentially this is the story of the writer as she loses custody of her son and her concept of love is shaken. the catch here is that the mother who leaves her past behind discovers her homosexuality at the age of 40.… Read the rest

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The Face of Another: Schimberg Scrutinizes the Pratfalls of Face Value

Those familiar with his 2018 sophomore film Chained for Life will likely notate director Aaron Schimberg’s fascination with circuitous identity crises in A Different Man. The title is but one of many ironic instances in this lightly sardonic tale about a fantastical transformation, which ultimately reveals the meaninglessness of perceived beauty—at least, only when it’s skin deep. Reuniting with his muse Adam Pearson, whose neurofibromatosis is a condition the aspect of which again informs this highly specified and nightmarishly layered plot about an actor who transforms from an ugly duckling into a swan.… Read the rest

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It would be the longest hap between films and certainly his most ambitious project to date (it was rumored to span all the continents but the pandemic would have changed plans), Argentinean filmmaker Lisandro Alonso‘s Eureka (which premiered in the Cannes Premiere section) does indeed have connective tissues to his last feature (Un Certain Regard selected Jauja). In his sixth feature film, Alonso delves into the lives of indigenous peoples and communities, emphasizing the importance of pausing, reflecting, and reconsidering our perceptions of these individuals, particularly in the context of time and the screen. At the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival I got to ask him about the thought process behind some of the metaphysical elements, the myth of the American West, representation, and if there are any updates on The God Beside My Bed – a project that would team him with Rick Alverson.… Read the rest

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A recent casting notice reveals that French filmmaker Alice Winocour, whose last film Revoir Paris was selected for Directors’ Fortnight in 2022, is in pre-production for her fifth feature film. The project is being developed under Charles Gillibert‘s CG Cinema, and we would not be surprised if this is presented later in 2025. With Jarmusch’s Father, Mother, Sister, Brother gunning for a a Cannes competition showcase, Gillibert’s company is also likely going to release Kristen Stewart’s feature debut The Chronology of Water and Bi Gan’s Resurrection next year. Winocour’s upcoming film will be shot in Paris, with production scheduled from November through January.… Read the rest

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Friends Forever: Radwanski Reteams With Deragh Campbell For Another Captivating Character Study In Close-Up

The tension between a friendship that’s too close for comfort and a marriage in stasis lies at the heart of Kazik Radwanski’s beautifully messy Matt and Mara. Reteaming with his Anne At 13,000 Ft. star Deragh Campbell, the pair have once again crafted a compelling and knotty character, this time studying a woman willingly running headlong into an unresolved past. Beneath its loose, breezy surface, the film explores what it means to be truly emotionally fulfilled and the compromises we make for a more settled life.… Read the rest

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The Parent Trap: Elizabeth Olsen Tries Not to Break In Fleur Fortuné’s Debut The Assessment

The one thing you can count as the world gets worse is a government bureaucracy aimed at making life even more difficult. That’s the general premise of The Assessment, a heady sci-fi dramedy in which even the upper echelon of the 1% don’t find sanctuary from the unseen hand around their necks. The feature debut by music video director Fleur Fortuné is, expectedly, not short on style, but there is only so much the filmmaker can do to hold back a script that is so overstuffed with ideas it eventually overwhelms the carefully calibrated timbre of the picture.… Read the rest

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This marks the world premiere week for Panama City-based Ana Endara‘s fiction feature debut at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (Centerpiece programme selection) with it’s European premiere set for San Sebastian next week. After cutting her teeth in the docu format, Endara digs into themes of isolation, connection and companionship with Beloved Tropic (aka Querido Trópico). Paulina García and Jenny Navarrete share the top-billing in the drama.

Set in Panama City and starring acclaimed Chilean actress Paulina García (Gloria), Querido Trópico explores the evolving relationship between two dissimilar lonely souls who form a touching and unexpected bond. Ana María (played by Jenny Navarrete, The Other Son) is a Colombian immigrant facing status and financial challenges while harboring a secret.… Read the rest

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After cutting her teeth for just under two decades with films such as The Orphanage (2007), Transsiberian (2008) and Cell 211 (2009), Spanish film producer Elena Manrique moved into the directors’ chair last year embarking on her directorial debut in Fin De Fiesta (The Party’s Over) — at 2024 Toronto Intl. Film Festival selection in the Discovery programme. Before concluding its three public screening showcase at the festival we are pleased to premiere an exclusive clip for the film produced by Sandra Hermida, Belén Atienza, Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, Hans Everaert and Carlos Rosado Sibón.

Having arrived illegally in Spain, young Senegalese immigrant Bilal is pursued by the police.… Read the rest

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