Screen Anarchy

Aaron Paul and Jacob Tremblay will join the psychological horror The Night House this Summer. The film is an adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s novel by the same name and will be directed by Jesper Ganslandt.   In the wake of his parents’ recent death, highschooler Richard (Tremblay) has been sent to live with relatives in the remote town of Ballantyne. One day, during an innocent prank call in a phone booth, Richard shockingly witnesses his classmate violently get sucked into the phone receiver and disappear without a trace. Police suspect Richard to be responsible, and no one believes his story except Karen – a fellow teenage outsider. As Richard and Karen try to understand their friend’s unspeakable death, they soon realise they have unleashed terrifying…

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Director Amber Fares follows comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi, who uses humor to navigate the fraught landscape of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

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Gianluca Matarrese’s documentary offers an emphatic exploration of the delicate balance between personal aspirations and systemic limitations, as seen through the humanistic lens of Dr. Maurizio Bini within Italy’s conservative healthcare system.

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Writer-director Albert Birney’s (Strawberry Mansion, Tux and Fanny, Sylvio) latest film, OBEX, an almost non-categorizable sci-fi/fantasy/comedy-drama, stands out as a vibe film through and through. If you’re on OBEX’s wavelength or frequency, i.e., attuned to its oddball charms, quirky humor, and irony-free, poignant exploration of its central themes, then OBEX will prove a deeply engaging, infinitely rewarding experience.   Set in 1987 and everything that implies low-tech wise, OBEX centers on Birney’s character, Conor, a mild-mannered type defined by his agoraphobia. Conor never leaves his home except to collect the groceries his unseen neighbor, Mary (Callie Hernandez), leaves on his front steps or his backyard to spend time outside with his longtime companion, Sandy. Sandy means everything to Conor. She’s his stalwart friend, the best…

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Our friends at Black Mandala have added Florian Frerichs’ erotic thriller Traumnovelle to their EFM lineup this year. The thriller is loosely based off of Austrian writer Arthur Schnitsler’s novella, Dream Story, the same novella that gave inspiration to Stanley Kubrick’s film, Eyes Wide Shut.     When you have a chance to watch the trailer below – in the privacy of your own home or hovel as it has suggestive scenes and mild nudity – you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought Frerichs was ripping off Kubrik unless we mentioned the tie in to Schnitsler’s novella. The… ‘themes’ are very familiar.    Still, sex is sex, and erotic thrillers have their place within the fantastic film spectrum. Who doesn’t like watching questionably attractive people do…

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There’s a startlingly disturbing moment in Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt’s brilliantly inverted fairy/folk tale, The Ugly Stepsister (orig. Den stygge stesøsteren), where the unfortunate title character, Elvira (Lea Myren), the dutiful daughter of a penniless social climber, undergoes an 18th century version of a rhinoplasty (nasal reconstruction) without an anesthetic of any kind.   As the aptly named Dr. Esthétique (Adam Lundgren), a sadistic surgeon, takes hammer and wedge to Elvira’s presumably imperfect nose, each tap echoes loudly on the soundtrack, followed by Elvira’s sharp cry of physical pain, emotional agony, and mental anguish. Following the familiar parameters of narrative cinema, the audience and Elvira, however briefly, are united in her tortured experience.   Facing her mother Rebekka’s (Ane Dahl Torp) impossible expectations, Elvira will go…

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Igor Bezinović’s hybrid docudrama tackles Gabriele D’Annunzio’s 1919 occupation of Fiume, engaging locals in site-specific meta-textual reenactments.

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Vertical has announced that they have acquired the U.S. rights to the fantasy thriller The Lost Daughter, from writer-director duo Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes (Lord Jones is Dead). The film was an adaptation of a Scottish play called Mary Rose by J.M. Barrie, the same gentleman who wrote Peter Pan.   I know!    Vertical is already hard at work on preparing a theatrical run in the coming weeks/months. Early this year as the announcement states below. Keep your eyes peeled for more information to come.   Vertical Acquires U.S. Rights to Fantasy Thriller The Lost Daughter The Andrews/Holmes Adaptation of Legendary J.M. Barrie Ghost Story   Vertical has acquired U.S. rights to fantasy thriller The Lost Daughter, a gothic mystery directed by Emmy…

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A legendary director of Roman Porno and period dramas discusses his IFFR-premiering return to the director’s chair.

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Despite the contrarian, anti-science protestations of some on the right, climate change is real. The effects thereof have been and will be felt in the years to come, including extreme weather events, such as the recent devastating wildfires that tore through Southern California, specifically Los Angeles County.   Wildfires, however, can occur practically anywhere, leaving families and communities at a complete loss, both financially and personally. Rebuilding can take not just days or weeks, but months or years.   That is the thematic and narrative focus of Max Walker-Silverman’s (A Love Song) second film, appropriately and simply titled Rebuilding. The film centers on Dusty (Josh O’Conner, Challengers, La Chimera, Aisha), an old-school, throwback cowboy who’s lost the family ranch to a Colorado wildfire, taking practically…

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