Prospect Cottage on the beach at Dungeness, Kent was a home and sanctuary for the artist and film-maker Derek Jarman. The gardens are world famous, but the interior, shielded from public view by net curtains hung by his partner, Keith Collins, after his death, has been largely unseen. This haven has been photographed by Gilbert McCarragher, and Prospect Cottage: Derek Jarman’s House is published by Thames & Hudson...
- 4/17/2024
- by Sarah Gilbert
- The Guardian - Film News
Tilda Swinton is an Oscar-winning actress who has been a favorite of both the art house crowd and the multiplexes, consistently taking on challenging roles in both indie fare and box office hits. Let’s take a look back at 18 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1960 in London, England, Swinton got her start working with experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman, making her movie debut in the director’s “Caravaggio” (1986). She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in his film “Edward II” (1991), kicking off a decades-long romance between the actress and awards groups. She also showed her willingness to push herself in offbeat projects with daring auteurs, an edict that would lead to collaborations with Luca Guadanigno, Jim Jarmusch, Bong Joon Ho, Sally Potter, Wes Anderson and the Coen Brothers.
She took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Michael Clayton” (2007), for which she also won the BAFTA and reaped Golden Globe,...
Born in 1960 in London, England, Swinton got her start working with experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman, making her movie debut in the director’s “Caravaggio” (1986). She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress in his film “Edward II” (1991), kicking off a decades-long romance between the actress and awards groups. She also showed her willingness to push herself in offbeat projects with daring auteurs, an edict that would lead to collaborations with Luca Guadanigno, Jim Jarmusch, Bong Joon Ho, Sally Potter, Wes Anderson and the Coen Brothers.
She took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Michael Clayton” (2007), for which she also won the BAFTA and reaped Golden Globe,...
- 4/6/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
From Wim Wenders’ recent Anselm Kiefer documentary to Kirk Douglas’s tortured Van Gogh and Derek Jarman’s erotic ode to Caravaggio, cinema loves a brush with genius
Visual art, oddly, doesn’t always translate that naturally to cinema as a subject. Just as you don’t get the full impact of a painting from a coffee table book, the camera can impose a distance from the art at hand – a secondary perspective that isn’t really needed. Wim Wenders bucks that trend, however, in his marvellous Anselm Kiefer documentary Anselm (Curzon Home Cinema), which feels fully alive to the angular, nature-based textures of the German painter and sculptor’s work. It’s especially exciting as a study of process – of the grand-scale action that goes into the art’s own dynamic movement.
A large part of its reward came, on the big screen, from Wenders’ continuingly imaginative embrace of 3D technology.
Visual art, oddly, doesn’t always translate that naturally to cinema as a subject. Just as you don’t get the full impact of a painting from a coffee table book, the camera can impose a distance from the art at hand – a secondary perspective that isn’t really needed. Wim Wenders bucks that trend, however, in his marvellous Anselm Kiefer documentary Anselm (Curzon Home Cinema), which feels fully alive to the angular, nature-based textures of the German painter and sculptor’s work. It’s especially exciting as a study of process – of the grand-scale action that goes into the art’s own dynamic movement.
A large part of its reward came, on the big screen, from Wenders’ continuingly imaginative embrace of 3D technology.
- 2/10/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Tilda Swinton, the Academy Award- and BAFTA Award-winning actress most recently seen in yet another indelible role in David Fincher’s Netflix hitman pic The Killer, has signed with CAA.
One of the most esteemed screen talents currently working, Swinton has, in her nearly four-decade career, established ongoing relationships with such renowned filmmakers as Bong Joon Ho, Wes Anderson, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Luca Guadagnino, Jim Jarmusch, Fincher, and Joanna Hogg, having made eight films at the start of her career with director Derek Jarman.
Best known for roles in such films as Michael Clayton, for which she won an Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and We Need to Talk About Kevin, for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination, she also boasts credits including Orlando, I Am Love, Okja and The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, to name a few.
Swinton won the Venice Film Festival’s Best...
One of the most esteemed screen talents currently working, Swinton has, in her nearly four-decade career, established ongoing relationships with such renowned filmmakers as Bong Joon Ho, Wes Anderson, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Luca Guadagnino, Jim Jarmusch, Fincher, and Joanna Hogg, having made eight films at the start of her career with director Derek Jarman.
Best known for roles in such films as Michael Clayton, for which she won an Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and We Need to Talk About Kevin, for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination, she also boasts credits including Orlando, I Am Love, Okja and The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, to name a few.
Swinton won the Venice Film Festival’s Best...
- 1/26/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Boutique distributor Juno Films has taken North American rights to Playland, a queer genre-bender marking the first feature from writer-director Georden West. On the heels of a festival run that saw it world premiere in Rotterdam before going on to play the Tribeca Festival and others, the film is slated for a theatrical release this spring, with a digital release for Pride Month to follow in June.
Playland conjures a time-bending night in Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bar. Featuring an eclectic ensemble of queer performers, including drag icon Lady Bunny and Pose‘s Danielle Cooper, the transdisciplinary film sees music, dance, archival footage, tableaux, opera, and performance art layered into an ethereal piece subverting all boundaries. The work of queer fantasy and history takes place inside the empty husk of the Playland Café. Although the cafe shut down in the late ’90s, West stages one last...
Playland conjures a time-bending night in Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bar. Featuring an eclectic ensemble of queer performers, including drag icon Lady Bunny and Pose‘s Danielle Cooper, the transdisciplinary film sees music, dance, archival footage, tableaux, opera, and performance art layered into an ethereal piece subverting all boundaries. The work of queer fantasy and history takes place inside the empty husk of the Playland Café. Although the cafe shut down in the late ’90s, West stages one last...
- 1/11/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Tilda Swinton has built an entire career working with auteurs, from her early days with Derek Jarman to her recent work with Wes Anderson, David Fincher, and Joanna Hogg. And she’ll continue the trend in upcoming projects too, as The Film Stage reports the actress will work with Pedro Almodóvar on his next film. Moreover, she’ll also reunite with Apichatpong Weeresethakul on his next project, which is shrouded in secrecy.
Continue reading Tilda Swinton Confirms Upcoming Projects Directed By Pedro Almodóvar & Apichatpong Weeresethakul at The Playlist.
Continue reading Tilda Swinton Confirms Upcoming Projects Directed By Pedro Almodóvar & Apichatpong Weeresethakul at The Playlist.
- 12/15/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
No working actor better articulates acting an act of authorship than Tilda Swinton. Beyond her work with Lynne Ramsay, Wes Anderson, and a constellation of distinctive artists, her presence is a kind co-writing; to watch her work––or better, to watch her work at work via any making-of footage––in the films of Luca Guadagnino, Joanna Hogg, and Derek Jarman is to witness a kind of live discovery function of acting. “It’s like working with my Dp,” Guadagnino told Screen Daily. “It’s like working with someone who is actually contributing to the movie itself, not just adding her voice as a performer only, but adding her voice as a filmmaker.”
Swinton confirmed this spirit (as well as a few future projects) via Les Inrockuptibles: “The Eternal Daughter is the beginning of a new era for me, yes. And my next films, those with Julio [Torres] and Joshua [Oppenheimer], but...
Swinton confirmed this spirit (as well as a few future projects) via Les Inrockuptibles: “The Eternal Daughter is the beginning of a new era for me, yes. And my next films, those with Julio [Torres] and Joshua [Oppenheimer], but...
- 12/15/2023
- by Frank Falisi
- The Film Stage
The British Film Institute (BFI) will present English director Christopher Nolan with its highest honor, the BFI Fellowship, in recognition of the Oppenheimer filmmaker’s “extraordinary achievements and enormous contribution to cinema,” the BFI announced Monday.
The BFI Fellowship will be presented to Christopher Nolan at the BFI Chair’s Dinner in London on February 14, 2024, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards. This will be followed by an “In Conversation” event with Nolan on Feb.15 at the BFI Southbank theater and a special introduction to Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi film Tenet at the BFI IMAX.
In a statement, the BFI called Nolan the “rare director who marries his epic vision with an intelligent, unique approach to filmmaking and storytelling” and listed his many achievements for his films, which have won a total of 11 Oscars.
“I’m delighted to be honoring and recognizing Christopher Nolan with a BFI Fellowship,” said Richards. “Christopher Nolan...
The BFI Fellowship will be presented to Christopher Nolan at the BFI Chair’s Dinner in London on February 14, 2024, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards. This will be followed by an “In Conversation” event with Nolan on Feb.15 at the BFI Southbank theater and a special introduction to Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi film Tenet at the BFI IMAX.
In a statement, the BFI called Nolan the “rare director who marries his epic vision with an intelligent, unique approach to filmmaking and storytelling” and listed his many achievements for his films, which have won a total of 11 Oscars.
“I’m delighted to be honoring and recognizing Christopher Nolan with a BFI Fellowship,” said Richards. “Christopher Nolan...
- 12/4/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan is being accorded a BFI Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed by the British Film Institute.
“The fellowship recognizes Nolan’s extraordinary achievements and enormous contribution to cinema as one of the world’s most successful and influential film directors, constantly pushing the limits of what large-scale filmmaking can be whilst retaining a reverence for the history of the medium and the primacy of cinema-going,” the BFI said in a statement.
The fellowship will be presented to Nolan at the BFI chair’s dinner in London on Feb. 14, 2024, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards. This will be followed on Feb. 15, 2024, by an In Conversation event at BFI Southbank and an introduction to “Tenet” at BFI Imax. During his visit, Nolan will also visit the BFI National Archive’s Conservation Centre.
Nolan’s films, which also include “Memento,” “Batman Begins,” “Inception” and “Dunkirk,” have won 11 Oscars and grossed some $6.1 million globally.
“The fellowship recognizes Nolan’s extraordinary achievements and enormous contribution to cinema as one of the world’s most successful and influential film directors, constantly pushing the limits of what large-scale filmmaking can be whilst retaining a reverence for the history of the medium and the primacy of cinema-going,” the BFI said in a statement.
The fellowship will be presented to Nolan at the BFI chair’s dinner in London on Feb. 14, 2024, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards. This will be followed on Feb. 15, 2024, by an In Conversation event at BFI Southbank and an introduction to “Tenet” at BFI Imax. During his visit, Nolan will also visit the BFI National Archive’s Conservation Centre.
Nolan’s films, which also include “Memento,” “Batman Begins,” “Inception” and “Dunkirk,” have won 11 Oscars and grossed some $6.1 million globally.
- 12/4/2023
- by K.J. Yossman and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Tilda Swinton famously cut her acting teeth on the experimental films of late director Derek Jarman such as Caravaggio and The Garden as well as life-long friend Joanna Hogg’s debut short Caprice and Sally Potter’s Orlando.
Nearly 50 years later, she has continued to work with Hogg as well as in the experimental cinema arena, finding a new Jarman-esque kindred spirit in Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Speaking in an in-conversation event at the Marrakech Film Festival on Monday, the actress revealed how some of the big commercial studio pictures she has worked on across her career have felt personally more experimental to her than her avant-garde work.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have some adventures in worlds of filmmaking that I never thought I would be able to go into,” she said.
“When Derek died [in 1994], I was a bit high and dry… slowly… invitations came...
Nearly 50 years later, she has continued to work with Hogg as well as in the experimental cinema arena, finding a new Jarman-esque kindred spirit in Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Speaking in an in-conversation event at the Marrakech Film Festival on Monday, the actress revealed how some of the big commercial studio pictures she has worked on across her career have felt personally more experimental to her than her avant-garde work.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have some adventures in worlds of filmmaking that I never thought I would be able to go into,” she said.
“When Derek died [in 1994], I was a bit high and dry… slowly… invitations came...
- 11/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Killer is a movie directed by David Fincher starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.
The Killer is a film that bears the mark and legacy of its director, David Fincher, in every frame. Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail, Fincher’s reputation is fully justified in this gripping murder mystery.
Even in a movie centered around a character known for his flawlessness, The Killer manages to be impeccable. However, this time the protagonist fails to carry out his job flawlessly.
The Killer Film Review
The Killer serves as a blueprint for crafting a technically perfect thriller. Fincher’s obsession with perfection shines through, elevating the storytelling beyond the surface level. This cinematic exercise pushes the boundaries of Fincher’s own mastery, confirming that he is indeed a maestro.
In some ways, it feels like revisiting the atmosphere of “Zodiac” with shots that hark back to the world of...
The Killer is a film that bears the mark and legacy of its director, David Fincher, in every frame. Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail, Fincher’s reputation is fully justified in this gripping murder mystery.
Even in a movie centered around a character known for his flawlessness, The Killer manages to be impeccable. However, this time the protagonist fails to carry out his job flawlessly.
The Killer Film Review
The Killer serves as a blueprint for crafting a technically perfect thriller. Fincher’s obsession with perfection shines through, elevating the storytelling beyond the surface level. This cinematic exercise pushes the boundaries of Fincher’s own mastery, confirming that he is indeed a maestro.
In some ways, it feels like revisiting the atmosphere of “Zodiac” with shots that hark back to the world of...
- 11/10/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 10 cinema figures who will participate in its In Conversation With program at its 20th edition running from November 24 to December 2.
They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.
Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).
Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...
They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.
Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).
Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...
- 11/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
There's a wonderful little indie distributor based in NYC called Zeitgeist Films, founded in 1988. If you're a die-hard cinephile, you probably already recognize the name. They've supported amazing filmmakers and little films that deserve to be seen in US art house cinemas. From their website, they explain Zeitgeist as: "Distributed over 200 of the finest independent films from the U.S. and around the world including the early works of Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, François Ozon, Laura Poitras, Atom Egoyan and the Quay Brothers. Their catalog has also included films from the world's most outstanding filmmakers: Agnes Varda, Guy Maddin, Olivier Assayas, Jia Zhang-ke, Abbas Kiarostami, Derek Jarman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Greenaway, Philippe Garrel, Yvonne Rainer, Jan Svankmajer, Margarethe Von Trotta, Andrei Zyvagintsev and Raoul Peck." To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Metrograph is hosting screenings of some of their finest gems. "We're particularly looking forward to reuniting with some of...
- 11/6/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The recent passing of Terence Davies and the tributes that followed — tales of a steel will, impassioned budgetary battles and a host of dream projects that never materialized — give this highly personal tribute to Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas an extra and very poignant relevance as a similar story, now depressingly familiar to the British film industry, of an uncompromising talent who left us with a tantalizing promise of what might have been. Now largely unknown to the wider world but very dear to the heart of Scotland (despite the fact that he left his homeland at the earliest opportunity), Douglas is the closest thing to a Rosetta Stone in recent British independent and social-realist cinema. From his early home movies through to his last three-hour masterwork Comrades (1986), the director left an indelible imprint that still seems shockingly modern today, leaving traces in everything from Derek Jarman’s early Super-8 works...
- 11/2/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
2023’s second Hong Sangsoo release (third if The Novelist’s Film came your way a bit late) is In Water, his shortest-ever feature at 61 minutes and wildest formal gambit: the entire film is out-of-focus, hardly aswim with plot to begin with. A unique sell that Cinema Guild will heroically make by pairing In Water with Pedro Costa’s fantastic short The Daughters of Fire for a “Fire+Water” double-bill that begins its run at Metrograph on December 1. With exactly one month between now and then, there is a trailer.
As Rory O’Connor said in his review out of Berlin, “Narratively it’s nothing if not succinct, and whatever In Water lacks for plot it more than makes up for in mood and ideas, as well as a kind of raw artistic honesty––regarding his work, yes, but also his sense of mortality. All of which only makes you wonder: might...
As Rory O’Connor said in his review out of Berlin, “Narratively it’s nothing if not succinct, and whatever In Water lacks for plot it more than makes up for in mood and ideas, as well as a kind of raw artistic honesty––regarding his work, yes, but also his sense of mortality. All of which only makes you wonder: might...
- 11/1/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Distributing films by Todd Haynes, Guy Maddin, Abbas Kiarostami, Laura Poitras, Olivier Assayas, and even Jacques Demy, Zeitgeist Film has been one of the most vital caretakers of independent and international cinema in the last few decades. Founded in New York City in 1988 by Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo, they will now get a well-deserved celebration at NYC’s Metrograph beginning this Friday, November 3, with the series Zeitgeist Films at 35, and we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer.
Along with Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep, Todd Haynes’ Poison, Derek Jarman’s The Garden, Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry, Atom Egoyan’s Speaking Parts, and Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg (released in a new restoration by Zeitgeist in 1996), the series features premieres of new 4K remasters of Guy Maddin’s Archangel and Marc Rothemund’s Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, plus an exclusive series closing night Member Preview of...
Along with Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep, Todd Haynes’ Poison, Derek Jarman’s The Garden, Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry, Atom Egoyan’s Speaking Parts, and Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg (released in a new restoration by Zeitgeist in 1996), the series features premieres of new 4K remasters of Guy Maddin’s Archangel and Marc Rothemund’s Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, plus an exclusive series closing night Member Preview of...
- 10/31/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we take a look at two music videos by John Maybury. John Maybury is an actor's director. He might have started out as an avant-garde filmmaker and peer of Derek Jarman, his strongest feat as a director is the performance he gets out of his actors. Take for instance his film, Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon, about the painter Francis Bacon. It's a film that is full of painterly mise and scene, off kilter camera angles and strong editing choices, but the core is a harrowing performance of Daniel Craig in a star making turn, and a never-better Derek...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/30/2023
- Screen Anarchy
John Tilley, a longtime distribution exec and advocate for independent film at companies including United Artists Classics, Cinevista and Strand, who was instrumental in introducing the films of Pedro Almodovar to U.S. audiences, died Sunday in New York City. He was 75.
“John was always a consummate encyclopedia of knowledge of the industry, and his pool of friends and colleagues from around the globe always created a sense of family in Cannes, Berlin and more. His work at Strand Releasing was invaluable,” said Marcus Hu, co-president of Strand Releasing.
Filmmaker Ira Sachs said, “John was one of the first people I met in the film business, and he remained one of the kindest. He was open, curious, passionate, opinionated, and wise, and he knew the history of American and queer independent cinema like few others. His loss represents the passing of a generation of pioneers that created the community and industry that we know today.
“John was always a consummate encyclopedia of knowledge of the industry, and his pool of friends and colleagues from around the globe always created a sense of family in Cannes, Berlin and more. His work at Strand Releasing was invaluable,” said Marcus Hu, co-president of Strand Releasing.
Filmmaker Ira Sachs said, “John was one of the first people I met in the film business, and he remained one of the kindest. He was open, curious, passionate, opinionated, and wise, and he knew the history of American and queer independent cinema like few others. His loss represents the passing of a generation of pioneers that created the community and industry that we know today.
- 10/11/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
If there’s something you’d love to ask the daring and versatile actor, about to take on two roles in Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter, now is your chance
Activist, writer, model, performance artist: Tilda Swinton has so many strings to her bow that calling her an actor feels insufficient. Perhaps more successfully than any actor working today, she has straddled the boundary between arthouse and mainstream cinema, equally at home in a billion-dollar franchise like The Chronicles of Narnia as she is in films by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Born in London in 1960 to an aristocratic military family of Scottish descent, Swinton later rejected her conservative upbringing, embracing leftwing politics, poetry and experimental theatre. On graduating from Cambridge the filmmaker Derek Jarman became her friend and mentor, casting her in numerous films and leading to her breakout role in Sally Potter’s Orlando.
Activist, writer, model, performance artist: Tilda Swinton has so many strings to her bow that calling her an actor feels insufficient. Perhaps more successfully than any actor working today, she has straddled the boundary between arthouse and mainstream cinema, equally at home in a billion-dollar franchise like The Chronicles of Narnia as she is in films by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Born in London in 1960 to an aristocratic military family of Scottish descent, Swinton later rejected her conservative upbringing, embracing leftwing politics, poetry and experimental theatre. On graduating from Cambridge the filmmaker Derek Jarman became her friend and mentor, casting her in numerous films and leading to her breakout role in Sally Potter’s Orlando.
- 9/29/2023
- The Guardian - Film News
The bread and butter of film festivals is the unveiling of new movies. And in the case of the major festivals taking place in the late summer and early fall — Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York — the selections offer a preview of potential Oscar nominees and winners. Remember the eight-minute standing ovation Brendan Fraser received last year at Venice for “The Whale”? It kicked off his comeback and journey to a best Oscar win this year.
And with the 50th annual Telluride Film Festival kicking off August 31 at in the picturesque Colorado mountain burg, let’s take the cinematic time machine back 1993 when the fest was a mere 20 years old. John Boorman of “Deliverance” and “Hope and Glory” fame was the guest director of the festival. Jennifer Jason Leigh, then just 31 and whose latest film was Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” was honored with a tribute as was socialist British director Ken Loach,...
And with the 50th annual Telluride Film Festival kicking off August 31 at in the picturesque Colorado mountain burg, let’s take the cinematic time machine back 1993 when the fest was a mere 20 years old. John Boorman of “Deliverance” and “Hope and Glory” fame was the guest director of the festival. Jennifer Jason Leigh, then just 31 and whose latest film was Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” was honored with a tribute as was socialist British director Ken Loach,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
From the Nc-17 ménage à trois of Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Dreamers” to James Spader having intercourse with Rosanna Arquette’s leg wound in David Cronenberg’s “Crash,” producer Jeremy Thomas loves a controversy onscreen.
Cinema raconteur Mark Cousins pays homage to the Oscar-winning producer in his 2021 Cannes Classics selection, “The Storms of Jeremy Thomas.” The film follows Cousins on Thomas’ annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival — literally, the producer drove for decades from England to the fest — and a five-day road movie through France. Together, they remember Thomas’ most acclaimed and provocative films as a producer, from his Oscar-winning “The Last Emperor” to “Crash” and its scandalous opening at the festival in 1996, Nicolas Roeg’s “Bad Timing,” Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo,” plus Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch,” Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast,” and Terry Gilliam’s reviled child abuse fairy tale, “Tideland.”
The film includes Thomas’ stories of movie stars like Marlon Brando,...
Cinema raconteur Mark Cousins pays homage to the Oscar-winning producer in his 2021 Cannes Classics selection, “The Storms of Jeremy Thomas.” The film follows Cousins on Thomas’ annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival — literally, the producer drove for decades from England to the fest — and a five-day road movie through France. Together, they remember Thomas’ most acclaimed and provocative films as a producer, from his Oscar-winning “The Last Emperor” to “Crash” and its scandalous opening at the festival in 1996, Nicolas Roeg’s “Bad Timing,” Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo,” plus Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch,” Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast,” and Terry Gilliam’s reviled child abuse fairy tale, “Tideland.”
The film includes Thomas’ stories of movie stars like Marlon Brando,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The well-liked film critic is fondly remembered as a passionate supporter of arthouse films.
Figures from the UK and international industry have been paying tribute to the beloved former Guardian, Screen International and Evening Standard film critic Derek Malcolm, who died aged 91 at the weekend.
“Derek Malcolm was a great critic and a true friend of the Venice Film Festival. Even at the Lido he exercised his great curiosity and sensitivity towards global cinema. It’s a big loss for film culture,” Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Vernice Film Festival, told Screen.
Legendary US documentary maker Fred Wiseman reminisced...
Figures from the UK and international industry have been paying tribute to the beloved former Guardian, Screen International and Evening Standard film critic Derek Malcolm, who died aged 91 at the weekend.
“Derek Malcolm was a great critic and a true friend of the Venice Film Festival. Even at the Lido he exercised his great curiosity and sensitivity towards global cinema. It’s a big loss for film culture,” Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Vernice Film Festival, told Screen.
Legendary US documentary maker Fred Wiseman reminisced...
- 7/18/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
by Cláudio Alves
Sandy Powell's career has been closely tied to queer artistry since its genesis. After completing her education, the costume designer soon started collaborating with multi-hyphenated gay icon Lindsay Kemp whose stage work she had long admired, and, later, her jump from theater to film would be predicated on another queer genius, Derek Jarman. They'd work on four projects – Caravaggio, The Last of England, Edward II, and Wittgenstein – and the costumer would continue, keeping his memory alive after the director's death in 1994. Since then, even as her profile grew into the mainstream, Powell remained faithful to the idea and ideals of queerness in cinema, often joining forces with artists under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, Todd Haynes most of all.
As Pride Month 2023 reaches its end, let's remember this Academy darlings' first brush with Oscar. It was in 1993 when Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando earned Sandy...
Sandy Powell's career has been closely tied to queer artistry since its genesis. After completing her education, the costume designer soon started collaborating with multi-hyphenated gay icon Lindsay Kemp whose stage work she had long admired, and, later, her jump from theater to film would be predicated on another queer genius, Derek Jarman. They'd work on four projects – Caravaggio, The Last of England, Edward II, and Wittgenstein – and the costumer would continue, keeping his memory alive after the director's death in 1994. Since then, even as her profile grew into the mainstream, Powell remained faithful to the idea and ideals of queerness in cinema, often joining forces with artists under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, Todd Haynes most of all.
As Pride Month 2023 reaches its end, let's remember this Academy darlings' first brush with Oscar. It was in 1993 when Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando earned Sandy...
- 7/1/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Screen legend Ron Perlman looks set to take a leading role in an adaptation of Carlos Augusto Casas’s award winning novel, ‘Ya no quedan junglas adonde regresar,’ whose big screen adaptation rights have been secured by producer Álvaro Ariza’s production company, Esto También Pasará.
The novel’s cinematic adaptation will mark the debut narrative feature film as a director of Gabriel Beristain, a seasoned Mexican cinematographer known for “Agent Carter” and his work with illustrious directors such as Guillermo del Toro, David Ayer and David Mamet. His early work with Derek Jarman on “Caravaggio,” won a Silver Bear at Berlin.
The agreement was struck with literary agency Editabundo. Cadiz-based Este También Pasará Productions, headed by Ariza, has a robust portfolio of successful films and series, including ‘¡Ay, mi madre!” from Frank Ariza, Macarena Astorga’s “The Snail’s House,” and “De Caperucita a loba,” directed by Chus Gutiérrez,...
The novel’s cinematic adaptation will mark the debut narrative feature film as a director of Gabriel Beristain, a seasoned Mexican cinematographer known for “Agent Carter” and his work with illustrious directors such as Guillermo del Toro, David Ayer and David Mamet. His early work with Derek Jarman on “Caravaggio,” won a Silver Bear at Berlin.
The agreement was struck with literary agency Editabundo. Cadiz-based Este También Pasará Productions, headed by Ariza, has a robust portfolio of successful films and series, including ‘¡Ay, mi madre!” from Frank Ariza, Macarena Astorga’s “The Snail’s House,” and “De Caperucita a loba,” directed by Chus Gutiérrez,...
- 6/29/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
The BFI has set a major U.K.-wide film celebration of one of the greatest and most enduring filmmaking partnerships in the history of cinema: Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988).
The du are best known for iconic films including “The Red Shoes” (1948), “A Matter of Life and Death” (1946) and “Black Narcissus” (1947), the latter of which premiered on Wednesday at Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore as part of Il Cinema Ritrovato, screening from a new 35mm print made by the BFI.
From Martin Scorsese to Matthew Bourne, Kate Bush to Tilda Swinton, Powell and Pressburger have influenced creatives for decades and this is the largest and most wide-ranging exploration ever undertaken about the work of the legendary writer-producer-director team. The celebration will kick off this fall with the BFI Distribution re-release of “I Know Where I’m Going” (1945), recently restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation.
The du are best known for iconic films including “The Red Shoes” (1948), “A Matter of Life and Death” (1946) and “Black Narcissus” (1947), the latter of which premiered on Wednesday at Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore as part of Il Cinema Ritrovato, screening from a new 35mm print made by the BFI.
From Martin Scorsese to Matthew Bourne, Kate Bush to Tilda Swinton, Powell and Pressburger have influenced creatives for decades and this is the largest and most wide-ranging exploration ever undertaken about the work of the legendary writer-producer-director team. The celebration will kick off this fall with the BFI Distribution re-release of “I Know Where I’m Going” (1945), recently restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation.
- 6/29/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Human remains recently discovered by hikers in the Mount Baldy wilderness outside Los Angeles were identified as those of British actor Julian Sands, who had been missing since January, authorities announced Tuesday.
On Saturday morning, civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they found the remains, which were then taken to the San Bernardino County Coroner for identification.
“The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands.”
An avid outdoorsman, Sands was reported missing by his family Jan. 13 after he had gone hiking in the Baldy Bowl Trail area of the San Gabriel Mountains that day.
On Saturday morning, civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they found the remains, which were then taken to the San Bernardino County Coroner for identification.
“The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands.”
An avid outdoorsman, Sands was reported missing by his family Jan. 13 after he had gone hiking in the Baldy Bowl Trail area of the San Gabriel Mountains that day.
- 6/27/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Katherine Matilda Swinton, better known as Tilda Swinton, is a renowned British actress known primarily for her distinct roles in numerous independent films and blockbusters. She is best known for her inspiring performance as a merciless corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton, where she received the prestigious honor of earning an Academy Award for best supporting actress.
Tilda Swinton Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education
Tilda Swinton was born on November 5, 1960 (Swinton: age 62) in London, England. Her parents are Judith Balfour and Sir John Swinton, the Laird of Kimmerghame House. Swinton also has three brothers, Alexander, William and James Swinton.
Growing up in an artistic and cultured home, Swinton had become immersed in a world of creativity and innovation from a young age. She embarked on a powerful journey through the arts until ultimately uncovering something that sparked her interest and excitement.
In an exclusive video from SXSW in March 2023, Swinton...
Tilda Swinton Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education
Tilda Swinton was born on November 5, 1960 (Swinton: age 62) in London, England. Her parents are Judith Balfour and Sir John Swinton, the Laird of Kimmerghame House. Swinton also has three brothers, Alexander, William and James Swinton.
Growing up in an artistic and cultured home, Swinton had become immersed in a world of creativity and innovation from a young age. She embarked on a powerful journey through the arts until ultimately uncovering something that sparked her interest and excitement.
In an exclusive video from SXSW in March 2023, Swinton...
- 6/8/2023
- by Trevor Hanuka
- Uinterview
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we talk about one of the best actresses working today: Tilda Swinton!
Our guest is the great Dan Walber, public historian and recovering (!) film critic. Walber is also part of the @closefriendscollective, which you can find on Instagram.
Our B-Sides today are: Edward II, Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon, Possible Worlds, The Deep End, and Teknolust.
Walber speaks to her immediate exceptionalism in Derek Jarman’s ‘80s films, we marvel at her endless range (from Constantine to Snowpiercer and so on and so forth), and I gush about the work of Francis Bacon and the depths of his controversial career after falling in love with Love is the Devil. We...
Today we talk about one of the best actresses working today: Tilda Swinton!
Our guest is the great Dan Walber, public historian and recovering (!) film critic. Walber is also part of the @closefriendscollective, which you can find on Instagram.
Our B-Sides today are: Edward II, Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon, Possible Worlds, The Deep End, and Teknolust.
Walber speaks to her immediate exceptionalism in Derek Jarman’s ‘80s films, we marvel at her endless range (from Constantine to Snowpiercer and so on and so forth), and I gush about the work of Francis Bacon and the depths of his controversial career after falling in love with Love is the Devil. We...
- 6/2/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including the exclusive streaming premiere of Albert Serra’s extraordinary Pacifiction, a trio of films by Todd Haynes, two by Michael Haneke (Caché and Amour), plus works by David Cronenberg, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, and Derek Jarman.
Additional selections include Alice Rohrwacher’s Corpo Celeste, Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers, Sean Baker’s early film Starlet, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s short Mekong Hotel.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
June 1 – Is This Fate?, directed by Helga Reidemeister | What Sets Us Free? German Feminist Cinema
June 2 – Safe, directed by Todd Haynes | I Really Love You: Three by Todd Hayne
June 3 – Caché, directed by Michael Haneke | Close-Up on Michael Haneke
June 4 – Amour, directed by Michael Haneke | Close-Up on Michael Haneke
June 5 – Topology of Sirens, directed by Jonathan Davies
June 6 – Tetsuo, the Iron Man, directed by Shin’ya...
Additional selections include Alice Rohrwacher’s Corpo Celeste, Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers, Sean Baker’s early film Starlet, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s short Mekong Hotel.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
June 1 – Is This Fate?, directed by Helga Reidemeister | What Sets Us Free? German Feminist Cinema
June 2 – Safe, directed by Todd Haynes | I Really Love You: Three by Todd Hayne
June 3 – Caché, directed by Michael Haneke | Close-Up on Michael Haneke
June 4 – Amour, directed by Michael Haneke | Close-Up on Michael Haneke
June 5 – Topology of Sirens, directed by Jonathan Davies
June 6 – Tetsuo, the Iron Man, directed by Shin’ya...
- 5/23/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
HBO’s short-lived “Looking” never really stood a chance.
Creator Michael Lannan’s series about the ins and outs of three gay best friends in San Francisco ran for two seasons in 2014 and 2015, followed by a 2016 straight-to-hbo movie in place of a third season. Starring Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Russell Tovey, and a pre-“White Lotus” Murray Bartlett, “Looking” arrived on the cusp of when studios started thinking seriously with their dollars in terms of telling queer stories for the mainstream. And those hoping “Looking” would be HBO’s gay answer to “Sex and the City” might have been disappointed with what they received instead: an indie film-style dramedy that played to the often drifting rhythms of its characters’ lives, seeking love and sex in a Bay Area being swallowed by the tech boom.
Tovey, an out British actor who’s since made a name on stage (“Angels in America...
Creator Michael Lannan’s series about the ins and outs of three gay best friends in San Francisco ran for two seasons in 2014 and 2015, followed by a 2016 straight-to-hbo movie in place of a third season. Starring Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Russell Tovey, and a pre-“White Lotus” Murray Bartlett, “Looking” arrived on the cusp of when studios started thinking seriously with their dollars in terms of telling queer stories for the mainstream. And those hoping “Looking” would be HBO’s gay answer to “Sex and the City” might have been disappointed with what they received instead: an indie film-style dramedy that played to the often drifting rhythms of its characters’ lives, seeking love and sex in a Bay Area being swallowed by the tech boom.
Tovey, an out British actor who’s since made a name on stage (“Angels in America...
- 5/4/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Russell Tovey, Simon Fisher Turner, Travis Alabanza and Neil Bartlett are teaming up to reimagine the director’s final film – a narrated meditation over a static blue screen – as a ‘thank you’ to the LGBTQ+ hero
Neil Bartlett vividly remembers his first glimpse of Derek Jarman’s work: covertly watching the film Sebastiane. “How I managed to do that without my mum and dad finding out,” he marvels. “I was captivated. That’s when Derek became public property – Mary Whitehouse and her cohorts were frothing at the mouth. And my young man’s cultural gaydar went: ‘Oh, what’s this?’”
As a painter, writer and film-maker, Jarman was a unique figure in British culture: an icon of the Thatcher years who defied all they stood for. He never hid his sexuality, and nor did he hide his Aids diagnosis, despite the snarling hatred shown towards people living with the disease.
Neil Bartlett vividly remembers his first glimpse of Derek Jarman’s work: covertly watching the film Sebastiane. “How I managed to do that without my mum and dad finding out,” he marvels. “I was captivated. That’s when Derek became public property – Mary Whitehouse and her cohorts were frothing at the mouth. And my young man’s cultural gaydar went: ‘Oh, what’s this?’”
As a painter, writer and film-maker, Jarman was a unique figure in British culture: an icon of the Thatcher years who defied all they stood for. He never hid his sexuality, and nor did he hide his Aids diagnosis, despite the snarling hatred shown towards people living with the disease.
- 5/2/2023
- by David Jays
- The Guardian - Film News
As years pass by and films rack up, it’s only natural to associate directors with certain things. And none more so than Hong Sangsoo, for whom a new release usually guarantees a hit of the old. That the South Korean’s latest strips away some––if not all––of those associations is thus some kind of radical act. Premiering in Berlinale Encounters, In Water follows a director, Seoung-mo (Shin Seok-ho), his cameraman, Sang-guk (Ha Seong-guk), and actress, Nam-hee (Kim Seung-yun), as they scout locations in a seaside town. There is no Kim Min-hee, there is hardly any soju, and for the first time since Woman is the Future of Man, there isn’t a single camera zoom.
Hong’s work has never shied from self-reflection––his cinema is populated by artists and filmmakers––but with In Water he digs a little deeper. As Seoung-mo and crew look for places...
Hong’s work has never shied from self-reflection––his cinema is populated by artists and filmmakers––but with In Water he digs a little deeper. As Seoung-mo and crew look for places...
- 3/16/2023
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Potter’s 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s book remains trance-inducingly strange, stuffed full of style and stars
After 31 years, Sally Potter’s Orlando is re-released, a dreamy, swoony reverie of shapeshifting sexual identity; “gender” isn’t the word used. It is the film that confirmed Tilda Swinton in the arthouse-icon status that Derek Jarman had given her. The movie concludes with a rapturous closeup on Swinton’s face: sublime, seraphic, enigmatic, while Jimmy Somerville serenades her from heaven, a cheeky falsetto cherub fluttering in the sky.
Potter adapted the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf, a fantasy adventure inspired by her love affair with Vita Sackville-West; it was also inspired by Woolf’s slightly snobbish reverence for Sackville-West’s centuries-spanning aristocratic genealogy, and by their deliciously exciting patrician-bohemian disregard for bourgeois hetero-normality. With this film, Potter single-handedly upgraded this book from mere jeu d’ésprit, giving it literary canonical status and making...
After 31 years, Sally Potter’s Orlando is re-released, a dreamy, swoony reverie of shapeshifting sexual identity; “gender” isn’t the word used. It is the film that confirmed Tilda Swinton in the arthouse-icon status that Derek Jarman had given her. The movie concludes with a rapturous closeup on Swinton’s face: sublime, seraphic, enigmatic, while Jimmy Somerville serenades her from heaven, a cheeky falsetto cherub fluttering in the sky.
Potter adapted the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf, a fantasy adventure inspired by her love affair with Vita Sackville-West; it was also inspired by Woolf’s slightly snobbish reverence for Sackville-West’s centuries-spanning aristocratic genealogy, and by their deliciously exciting patrician-bohemian disregard for bourgeois hetero-normality. With this film, Potter single-handedly upgraded this book from mere jeu d’ésprit, giving it literary canonical status and making...
- 3/9/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Renowned British costume designer Sandy Powell will be awarded a Fellowship at the upcoming Ee BAFTA Film Awards.
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry. Powell, who is the first costume designer to receive the Fellowship, has a three-and-a-half decade-long career that spans some of the most iconic films of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Her extensive body of work ranges from period dramas like “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Favourite” to fantasy productions such as “Cinderella” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”
Powell will be working with BAFTA over the next year to inspire and nurture aspiring costume designers through their learning, inclusion and talent programs.
“I am hugely flattered to receive the BAFTA Fellowship and especially proud to be the first costume designer,” Powell said. “I am lucky in that I love what...
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry. Powell, who is the first costume designer to receive the Fellowship, has a three-and-a-half decade-long career that spans some of the most iconic films of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Her extensive body of work ranges from period dramas like “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Favourite” to fantasy productions such as “Cinderella” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”
Powell will be working with BAFTA over the next year to inspire and nurture aspiring costume designers through their learning, inclusion and talent programs.
“I am hugely flattered to receive the BAFTA Fellowship and especially proud to be the first costume designer,” Powell said. “I am lucky in that I love what...
- 2/5/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sandy Powell — the three-time Oscar-winning costume designer whose credits include Gangs of New York, Shakespeare in Love, Carol and The Irishman — is set to receive the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor.
Powell, who becomes the first costume designer to be awarded the fellowship, will be given the honor at the BAFTA film awards on Feb. 19.
“I am hugely flattered to receive the BAFTA Fellowship and especially proud to be the first costume designer,” said Powell. “I am lucky in that I love what I do and have been extremely fortunate to have collaborated with some of the most talented and inspirational people in the industry both behind and in front of the camera. I look forward to many more years to come.”
Beginning in fringe theater before meeting filmmaker and mentor Derek Jarman, Powell landed her first BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Sally Potter’s Orlando. She...
Powell, who becomes the first costume designer to be awarded the fellowship, will be given the honor at the BAFTA film awards on Feb. 19.
“I am hugely flattered to receive the BAFTA Fellowship and especially proud to be the first costume designer,” said Powell. “I am lucky in that I love what I do and have been extremely fortunate to have collaborated with some of the most talented and inspirational people in the industry both behind and in front of the camera. I look forward to many more years to come.”
Beginning in fringe theater before meeting filmmaker and mentor Derek Jarman, Powell landed her first BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Sally Potter’s Orlando. She...
- 2/5/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Powell’s credits in her 40-year career include ‘The Favourite’, ‘Shakespeare In Love’.
Sandy Powell will become the first costume designer to be awarded a Bafta Fellowship, when she receives the award at the Bafta Film Awards on February 19.
British costume designer Powell will receive Bafta’s highest award, which is given ‘in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television’, according to Bafta.
The Fellowship will be presented to Powell as part of a special commemoration of her work during the ceremony, which will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London.
Sandy Powell will become the first costume designer to be awarded a Bafta Fellowship, when she receives the award at the Bafta Film Awards on February 19.
British costume designer Powell will receive Bafta’s highest award, which is given ‘in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television’, according to Bafta.
The Fellowship will be presented to Powell as part of a special commemoration of her work during the ceremony, which will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London.
- 2/5/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Queer history cannot escape its own evanescence. Neither can queer spaces, really. To judge by the conceit behind Georden West’s fabulous, if oblique, “Playland,” such ephemerality is precisely what makes such a history and such spaces so ripe for memorializing. In this case, West has turned his attention to the Playland Café which, over its storied tenure from 1937 to 1998, became a fixture of the Boston gay scene. Rather than narrativize the bar’s own story, West opts for a collage-like approach, conjuring up figures from the bar’s many pasts in intersecting vignettes that together capture the spirit of the Playland Café, both at its glory and now following its demise.
At the center of “Playland” is an interdisciplinary sensibility. West’s film builds itself out with the use of archival images, historical audio clips, choreographed numbers and glittering tableaux vivants. This is an excavated history that requires collapsing and colliding worlds and words.
At the center of “Playland” is an interdisciplinary sensibility. West’s film builds itself out with the use of archival images, historical audio clips, choreographed numbers and glittering tableaux vivants. This is an excavated history that requires collapsing and colliding worlds and words.
- 2/2/2023
- by Manuel Betancourt
- Variety Film + TV
February, marking both Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, is the kind of stretch from which a programmer can mine plenty. Accordingly the Criterion Channel have oriented their next slate around both. The former is mostly noted in a series comprising numerous features and shorts: Shirley Clarke and William Greaves up to Ephraim Asili and Garrett Bradley, among them gems such as Varda’s Black Panthers and Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground; a six-film series on James Baldwin; and 10 works by Oscar Micheaux.
Meanwhile, the 23-film “All You Need Is Love” will cover the blinding romance of L’Atalante, the heartbreak of Happy Together, and youthful whimsy of Stolen Kisses; four Douglas Sirk rarities should leave their mark, but I’m perhaps most excited about three starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Perhaps more bracing are 12 movies by Derek Jarman and four by noir maestro Robert Siodmak. Also a major...
Meanwhile, the 23-film “All You Need Is Love” will cover the blinding romance of L’Atalante, the heartbreak of Happy Together, and youthful whimsy of Stolen Kisses; four Douglas Sirk rarities should leave their mark, but I’m perhaps most excited about three starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Perhaps more bracing are 12 movies by Derek Jarman and four by noir maestro Robert Siodmak. Also a major...
- 1/26/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Having its world premiere at the Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam, Georden West’s directorial debut “Playland” is an interdisciplinary film about the titular establishment, Boston’s oldest gay bar. “I was volunteering at an MIT event, like an archive hackathon, and I learned about People Before Highways, which was a grassroots movement against urban renewal and the construction of a highway through the middle of Boston, and they were successful,” says West of how they first came across the bones for the film. “I think it is a story of what happens when government intervention is very successful in a fringe subculture in erasing it. So I became quite impassioned, and that’s what led me initially to the archive to dig at the history project.”
Commenting on the ensemble-based format of the film, West says they were “interested in something that was polyphonic. Following a single protagonist through an...
Commenting on the ensemble-based format of the film, West says they were “interested in something that was polyphonic. Following a single protagonist through an...
- 1/26/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
While there are countless elements that make great movies work, they’re made all the more powerful by the stars lighting up the screen – captivating displays of pure acting talent. But what makes someone a truly great actor? And which big-screen performers are the greatest of all time? It’s a question that Empire put to you, our readers, a few weeks ago – and now we’re revealing the results in the 50 Greatest Actors issue – an epic celebration of the most legendary performers ever to step in front of the lens. Included in that list, and taking over the cover, is none other than Nicolas Cage – who welcomed us into his Las Vegas home for a career-spanning cover interview and dazzling photo shoot.
You can find the issue on newsstands from Thursday 22 December – and order a copy online here. But for now, take a sneak peek at the treats that await inside the issue below…...
You can find the issue on newsstands from Thursday 22 December – and order a copy online here. But for now, take a sneak peek at the treats that await inside the issue below…...
- 12/21/2022
- by Sophie Butcher
- Empire - Movies
[Editor’s note: This interview contains spoilers about the plot of “The Eternal Daughter.”]
Tilda Swinton’s career has taken some unexpected turns in the decades since she was Derek Jarman’s experimental partner-in-crime. After her acclaimed turn in Jarman’s “Edward II,” Swinton’s gender-bending performance as an Elizabethan nobleman in Sally Potter’s “Orlando” solidified her capacity for audacious onscreen transformations. It wasn’t until 15 years later, with her Oscar-winning turn in Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton,” that Swinton began to explore more commercial material.
These days, however, she has doubled down on the more singular undertakings that put her on the map, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s meditative “Memoria” to “The Eternal Daughter,” her latest collaboration with longtime friend and colleague Joanna Hogg.
“The Eternal Daughter,” which A24 released theatrically last week, merges Swinton’s performative ambition with a quasi-genre twist. She plays both Julie, a middle-aged filmmaker, and her mother Rosalind as the pair journey to a gothic country estate.
Tilda Swinton’s career has taken some unexpected turns in the decades since she was Derek Jarman’s experimental partner-in-crime. After her acclaimed turn in Jarman’s “Edward II,” Swinton’s gender-bending performance as an Elizabethan nobleman in Sally Potter’s “Orlando” solidified her capacity for audacious onscreen transformations. It wasn’t until 15 years later, with her Oscar-winning turn in Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton,” that Swinton began to explore more commercial material.
These days, however, she has doubled down on the more singular undertakings that put her on the map, from Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s meditative “Memoria” to “The Eternal Daughter,” her latest collaboration with longtime friend and colleague Joanna Hogg.
“The Eternal Daughter,” which A24 released theatrically last week, merges Swinton’s performative ambition with a quasi-genre twist. She plays both Julie, a middle-aged filmmaker, and her mother Rosalind as the pair journey to a gothic country estate.
- 12/5/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
As the leaves crunch underfoot and the wintry chill intensifies, you may realize: it’s time to think of a good gift for that friend of yours who’s already packed their shelves to the gills with Blu-rays and back issues of Cahiers du Cinéma. Have no fear. Covering books, home video, music, posters, and apparel, here are some gift ideas for the dearest cinephiles in your life.Books And MAGAZINESFireflies Press recently published Pier Paolo Pasolini: Writing on Burning Paper: a beautiful set of two complementary volumes to honor the filmmaker’s centenary. The smaller book includes a revised translation of his poem “Poet of the Ashes,” while the larger volume includes tributes from 20 contemporary artists and critics, including Catherine Breillat, Jia Zhangke, Luc Moullet, Angela Schanelec, and Mike Leigh.Written by Karen Han, Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema is a mid-career monograph covering the Korean auteur’s features,...
- 11/29/2022
- MUBI
Aaron Stewart-Ahn, writer of Mandy (yes… That Mandy), discusses a few of his favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mandy (2018)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s ’Burbs Mania
Explorers (1985)
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
Cyborg (1990)
Masters Of The Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Down Twisted (1987)
Rumble In The Bronx (1996)
Green Book (2018)
Hellraiser (1987)
Nemesis (1992)
Heat (1995)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind a.k.a. Warriors of the Wind (1984)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Star Wars (1977)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Dune (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Waterworld (1995)
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary celebration
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Do The Right Thing (1989) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Minari (2020)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mandy (2018)
The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s ’Burbs Mania
Explorers (1985)
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
Cyborg (1990)
Masters Of The Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Down Twisted (1987)
Rumble In The Bronx (1996)
Green Book (2018)
Hellraiser (1987)
Nemesis (1992)
Heat (1995)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind a.k.a. Warriors of the Wind (1984)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Star Wars (1977)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Dune (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Waterworld (1995)
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary celebration
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Do The Right Thing (1989) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Minari (2020)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review...
- 11/29/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Marrakech — Tilda Swinton, translucent, beautifully elf-ish, wearing a striped, Chanel kaftan, decked in a glittering bib of flowers. The quirky, white shirt collar and boyish, blond hair-cut, add a touch of seriousness to the Scottish actress’s original sense of style, befitting of her intelligent flow of words that roll seamlessly from her mouth to describe her career.
Swinton is being interviewed at the Marrakech Film Festival (Nov. 11-19), ahead of the closing night ceremony. Serving as the head of the festival’s jury in 2019, she has returned, this year, with her oldest friend and first director, Joanna Hogg, to show their ghost story “The Eternal Daughter.” This year, she is also a recipient of one of the festival’s honorary Golden Star awards.
Swinton sits side by side with Hogg (“The Souvenir”), for whom she plays two roles in the film, their third, consecutive collaboration, following on from Hogg’s two “Souvenir” films.
Swinton is being interviewed at the Marrakech Film Festival (Nov. 11-19), ahead of the closing night ceremony. Serving as the head of the festival’s jury in 2019, she has returned, this year, with her oldest friend and first director, Joanna Hogg, to show their ghost story “The Eternal Daughter.” This year, she is also a recipient of one of the festival’s honorary Golden Star awards.
Swinton sits side by side with Hogg (“The Souvenir”), for whom she plays two roles in the film, their third, consecutive collaboration, following on from Hogg’s two “Souvenir” films.
- 11/19/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
When “Bones and All” picked up two prizes at the Venice Film Festival — Luca Guadagnino for best director and Taylor Russell for best young actor – there was a sense that the Lido laurel had been a long time coming for the Italian director.
Guadagnino had walked the awards ceremony red carpet with his mom, Alia, after flying back to Venice from Telluride, Colorado, where the tender cannibal romancer had also been rapturously received.
After being handed the Silver Lion, he warmly thanked Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera. “I wouldn’t be here this evening if it wasn’t for Alberto Barbera who decided to invite that crazy film I made 20 years ago, ‘The Protagonists,’” Guadagnino said. “Filmmaking is my life. I’ve been doing it since I was eight with my Super 8 shorts.”
Guadagnino’s career trajectory has been a long road full of twists and turns. And it...
Guadagnino had walked the awards ceremony red carpet with his mom, Alia, after flying back to Venice from Telluride, Colorado, where the tender cannibal romancer had also been rapturously received.
After being handed the Silver Lion, he warmly thanked Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera. “I wouldn’t be here this evening if it wasn’t for Alberto Barbera who decided to invite that crazy film I made 20 years ago, ‘The Protagonists,’” Guadagnino said. “Filmmaking is my life. I’ve been doing it since I was eight with my Super 8 shorts.”
Guadagnino’s career trajectory has been a long road full of twists and turns. And it...
- 11/16/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
No performer today is as chameleonic as Tilda Swinton. Her versatility seemingly knows no bounds. Swinton's filmography spans from the metaphysical worlds of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul to the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- not to mention partnerships as disparate as collaborations with avant-garde artist Derek Jarman to a one-off appearance doing broad comedy in a Judd Apatow movie. If you're looking for one person whose career speaks to the vastness of global cinema, Swinton might well be the best representative for the last four decades.
Although Swinton continues to push artistic boundaries, her upcoming role in "The Eternal Daughter" provides a moment to reflect on the defining features of her career. "The Eternal Daughter" is another film where she's entering into a recurring partnership with a director and digging deeper into what their artistic relationship means. Playing a mother and her daughter gives Swinton the opportunity to delve into the...
Although Swinton continues to push artistic boundaries, her upcoming role in "The Eternal Daughter" provides a moment to reflect on the defining features of her career. "The Eternal Daughter" is another film where she's entering into a recurring partnership with a director and digging deeper into what their artistic relationship means. Playing a mother and her daughter gives Swinton the opportunity to delve into the...
- 11/11/2022
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slash Film
Published for the first time, Through the Billboard Promised Land Without Ever Stopping, chimes with many of the obsessions the director carried through his films
In Sebastiane, Derek Jarman and Paul Humfress’ 1976 film, the soon-to-be-martyred Roman soldier is warned by his friend Justin to stop fighting against their pagan authorities. “The truth,” Sebastiane responds, “is beautiful”. As they speak, Justin tends to the wounds of the third-century saint in an act of love that has the potential to endanger both of them if they are caught by their tyrannical overseer or their fellow soldiers. This moment of intimacy is luxuriant; where there could be a palpable sense of terror, Jarman and Humfress instead focus on the tenderness between two defiant men.
Sebastiane’s “truth” is not just his devotion to Christ in a pagan society, but also his willingness to receive and give affection in the overtly masculine, violent and...
In Sebastiane, Derek Jarman and Paul Humfress’ 1976 film, the soon-to-be-martyred Roman soldier is warned by his friend Justin to stop fighting against their pagan authorities. “The truth,” Sebastiane responds, “is beautiful”. As they speak, Justin tends to the wounds of the third-century saint in an act of love that has the potential to endanger both of them if they are caught by their tyrannical overseer or their fellow soldiers. This moment of intimacy is luxuriant; where there could be a palpable sense of terror, Jarman and Humfress instead focus on the tenderness between two defiant men.
Sebastiane’s “truth” is not just his devotion to Christ in a pagan society, but also his willingness to receive and give affection in the overtly masculine, violent and...
- 11/2/2022
- by Jessica White
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
Ian Whittaker, the British actor turned Oscar-winning set decorator known for his work on such films as Alien, Howards End, Tommy and Anna and the King, died Oct. 16 of prostate cancer, The Guardian reported. He was 94.
Whittaker also served as set dresser on Charlie Chaplin’s A Countess From Hong Kong (1967), James Clavell’s To Sir, With Love (1967), Tony Richardson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and as art director on Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer (1969) and Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979).
He collaborated with director Ken Russell on nine features, from the 1971 releases The Music Lovers, The Boy Friend and The Devils to Tommy (1975), Lisztomania (1975) — both featuring The Who’s Roger Daltrey — and the Rudolf Nureyev-starring Valentino (1977).
Whittaker received his Oscar — shared with his production designer Luciana Arrighi, with whom he...
Ian Whittaker, the British actor turned Oscar-winning set decorator known for his work on such films as Alien, Howards End, Tommy and Anna and the King, died Oct. 16 of prostate cancer, The Guardian reported. He was 94.
Whittaker also served as set dresser on Charlie Chaplin’s A Countess From Hong Kong (1967), James Clavell’s To Sir, With Love (1967), Tony Richardson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and as art director on Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer (1969) and Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979).
He collaborated with director Ken Russell on nine features, from the 1971 releases The Music Lovers, The Boy Friend and The Devils to Tommy (1975), Lisztomania (1975) — both featuring The Who’s Roger Daltrey — and the Rudolf Nureyev-starring Valentino (1977).
Whittaker received his Oscar — shared with his production designer Luciana Arrighi, with whom he...
- 10/27/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Global film greats flocked to the festival because of its dedication to the art – and because they know great pictures are nothing without great picturehouses
I remember the shock when Alfred Hitchcock died. For film fans in Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield, Thursday was a similar body blow. The city’s great cultural cinema, Filmhouse, and its august Edinburgh international film festival have both ceased trading.
Martin Scorsese, Maggie Cheung, the Coen Brothers, Andrei Tarkovsky, Lynne Ramsay, Leslie Caron, Steve Martin, Bill Forsyth, Derek Jarman, Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Powell and many others went to Filmhouse like moths to a flame, seeking what I sought when I first went in 1984: a place to come out as movie lover. An exhilaration, and a harbour in which to shelter and from which to sail.
I remember the shock when Alfred Hitchcock died. For film fans in Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield, Thursday was a similar body blow. The city’s great cultural cinema, Filmhouse, and its august Edinburgh international film festival have both ceased trading.
Martin Scorsese, Maggie Cheung, the Coen Brothers, Andrei Tarkovsky, Lynne Ramsay, Leslie Caron, Steve Martin, Bill Forsyth, Derek Jarman, Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Powell and many others went to Filmhouse like moths to a flame, seeking what I sought when I first went in 1984: a place to come out as movie lover. An exhilaration, and a harbour in which to shelter and from which to sail.
- 10/7/2022
- by Mark Cousins
- The Guardian - Film News
For the release of Billy Eichner’s groundbreaking studio gay rom-com Bros, Guardian writers discuss their best LGBTQ+ movies
Although lionised by the New Queer Cinema movement in the early 90s – then the cuttingest edge of the cutting edge – Derek Jarman in those heady days was hardly a new phenomenon; in fact (sad to say), by then he was approaching his personal endgame. His films since the mid-70s had dominated British experimental cinema – and my favourite of his films is still the first one I saw in the cinema: his mid-80s fever-dream vision of baroque painter Caravaggio, with a cast that looks even more jaw-dropping in retrospect (Tilda Swinton! Dexter Fletcher!! Sean Bean!!!).
Although lionised by the New Queer Cinema movement in the early 90s – then the cuttingest edge of the cutting edge – Derek Jarman in those heady days was hardly a new phenomenon; in fact (sad to say), by then he was approaching his personal endgame. His films since the mid-70s had dominated British experimental cinema – and my favourite of his films is still the first one I saw in the cinema: his mid-80s fever-dream vision of baroque painter Caravaggio, with a cast that looks even more jaw-dropping in retrospect (Tilda Swinton! Dexter Fletcher!! Sean Bean!!!).
- 9/29/2022
- by Andrew Pulver, Peter Bradshaw, Lisa Wong Macabasco, Jim Farber, Ryan Gilbey, Rebecca Nicholson, Charles Bramesco, Lauren Mechling, Veronica Esposito, Benjamin Lee, Adrian Horton and Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
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