More than 50 years after it hit theaters and ushered in a new and more sexually daring style of on-screen entertainment, “Midnight Cowboy” continues to rank among the greatest American films ever made. It’s still the first and only best picture winner at the Oscars to be rated X, an indication of just how barrier-breaking the movie was when it debuted.
Now, a new documentary from Nancy Buirski will explore the behind-the-scenes odyssey to get the story of two small-time grifters produced, as well as the tumultuous era in which the movie was released and embraced. Glenn Frankel’s acclaimed book, “Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation and the Making of a Dark Classic,” will be the basis of the untitled film. “Midnight Cowboy” was directed by John Schlesinger and starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. It focused on Ratso Rizzo, a tubercular con man, and Joe Buck, a wannabe street hustler,...
Now, a new documentary from Nancy Buirski will explore the behind-the-scenes odyssey to get the story of two small-time grifters produced, as well as the tumultuous era in which the movie was released and embraced. Glenn Frankel’s acclaimed book, “Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation and the Making of a Dark Classic,” will be the basis of the untitled film. “Midnight Cowboy” was directed by John Schlesinger and starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. It focused on Ratso Rizzo, a tubercular con man, and Joe Buck, a wannabe street hustler,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Shout! Studios has acquired worldwide rights to Emmy-winning director Nancy Buirski’s documentary A Crime on the Bayou, the third in her trilogy of films that explore vital stories from the Civil Rights era.
Shout! Studios, the distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, plans a theatrical release for A Crime on the Bayou later this year, followed by a rollout on VOD, digital, broadcast and home entertainment. Egot-winner John Legend is an executive producer of the film that revisits the case of Gary Duncan, who as a Black teenager in 1966 was arrested in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in a racially-charged incident.
Duncan’s “crime” was to break up a fight between white and Black youths outside a newly-integrated school, during which he “gently [laid] his hand on a white boy’s arm,” setting in motion a prosecution for assault on a minor. Duncan was defended by Richard Sobol, a young Jewish attorney,...
Shout! Studios, the distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, plans a theatrical release for A Crime on the Bayou later this year, followed by a rollout on VOD, digital, broadcast and home entertainment. Egot-winner John Legend is an executive producer of the film that revisits the case of Gary Duncan, who as a Black teenager in 1966 was arrested in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in a racially-charged incident.
Duncan’s “crime” was to break up a fight between white and Black youths outside a newly-integrated school, during which he “gently [laid] his hand on a white boy’s arm,” setting in motion a prosecution for assault on a minor. Duncan was defended by Richard Sobol, a young Jewish attorney,...
- 4/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In a Gold Derby exclusive, we have learned the category placements of the key Emmy Awards contenders for Starz. For this season, the premium network has newcomer “Now Apocalypse” (Kelli Berglund), “Counterpart” (J.K. Simmons), “Outlander” and “Vida” and limited series “The Spanish Princess” (Charlotte Hope) as part of their 2019 campaign.
Below, the list of Starz lead, supporting and guest submissions for their comedies, dramas and limited series. More names might be added by the network on the final Emmy ballot. Also note that performers not included on this list may well be submitted by their personal reps.
SEESam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are gorgeous in green in this first photo from ‘Outlander’ Season 5
“America To Me”
Documentary or Nonfiction Series
“American Gods”
Drama Series
Drama Actor – Ian McShane, Ricky Whittle
Drama Supporting Actress – Yetide Badaki, Emily Browning
Drama Supporting Actor – Crispin Glover, Orlando Jones, Bruce Langley, Pablo Schreiber
Drama Guest Actress – Laura Bell Bundy,...
Below, the list of Starz lead, supporting and guest submissions for their comedies, dramas and limited series. More names might be added by the network on the final Emmy ballot. Also note that performers not included on this list may well be submitted by their personal reps.
SEESam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are gorgeous in green in this first photo from ‘Outlander’ Season 5
“America To Me”
Documentary or Nonfiction Series
“American Gods”
Drama Series
Drama Actor – Ian McShane, Ricky Whittle
Drama Supporting Actress – Yetide Badaki, Emily Browning
Drama Supporting Actor – Crispin Glover, Orlando Jones, Bruce Langley, Pablo Schreiber
Drama Guest Actress – Laura Bell Bundy,...
- 5/13/2019
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) starrer Love Sonia, from Life Of Pi and Deepwater Horizon producer David Womark, has been picked up for UK distribution by Modern Films.
The U.S.-Indian drama, about a young girl’s journey to rescue her sister from the devastating world of international sex trafficking, stars newcomer Mrunal Thakur in the title role, Richa Chadda, Demi Moore, Pinto, Mark Duplass, Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Anupam Kher and Adil Hussain. Tabrez Noorani co-wrote, co-produced and directed.
The Hindi and English-language film opened the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival in June. Noorani was previously line producer on Slumdog Millionaire and co-producer of Julian Schnabel’s Miral. He met Womark on Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi.
The project had support and guidance from two of the world’s largest anti-trafficking NGOs. Executive producers include Pravesh Sahni from his and Noorani’s India Take One Productions,...
The U.S.-Indian drama, about a young girl’s journey to rescue her sister from the devastating world of international sex trafficking, stars newcomer Mrunal Thakur in the title role, Richa Chadda, Demi Moore, Pinto, Mark Duplass, Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Anupam Kher and Adil Hussain. Tabrez Noorani co-wrote, co-produced and directed.
The Hindi and English-language film opened the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival in June. Noorani was previously line producer on Slumdog Millionaire and co-producer of Julian Schnabel’s Miral. He met Womark on Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi.
The project had support and guidance from two of the world’s largest anti-trafficking NGOs. Executive producers include Pravesh Sahni from his and Noorani’s India Take One Productions,...
- 11/30/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Boat Rocker Media has acquired unscripted production company Matador Content, which is behind Paramount Network’s Lip Sync Battle. Following the cash and stock transaction, Matador founders Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin remain at the helm as the company joins the Boat Rocker group. This deal marks Boat Rocker’s largest expansion into the Us market.
Founded in early 2013, Matador has produced such series as Emmy nominated Lip Sync Battle, Boy Band (ABC), What Would Diplo Do? (Vice), The Rape of Recy Taylor (The Orchard), The Who Was? Show and Fight World (Netflix), Master of Arms (Discovery Channel), Banksy Does New York (HBO), and Lip Sync Battle Shorties (Nickelodeon). As part of Boat Rocker Media, Matador is expected to ramp up its development slate across all genres and get access to new sources of financing for pilots and series going forward.
This deal marks Boat Rocker’s third acquisition in...
Founded in early 2013, Matador has produced such series as Emmy nominated Lip Sync Battle, Boy Band (ABC), What Would Diplo Do? (Vice), The Rape of Recy Taylor (The Orchard), The Who Was? Show and Fight World (Netflix), Master of Arms (Discovery Channel), Banksy Does New York (HBO), and Lip Sync Battle Shorties (Nickelodeon). As part of Boat Rocker Media, Matador is expected to ramp up its development slate across all genres and get access to new sources of financing for pilots and series going forward.
This deal marks Boat Rocker’s third acquisition in...
- 11/8/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney’s ‘Patrick’, Warner’s ‘Tag’, Stx’s ‘Adrift’, Vertigo’s ‘The Bookshop’ among new openers.
With the weather poised to once again be hot and sunny and the football World Cup moving into the knockout stages, UK distributors face a challenge on two fronts this weekend.
New openers are relatively sparse, and Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom could regain its weekend box office crown from Warner Bros’ heist comedy Ocean’s 8. The former dropped 55% last weekend with £3.2m, while the latter opened with a £2.3m Fri-Sun period (boosted by four days of previews to a total of £4.3m...
With the weather poised to once again be hot and sunny and the football World Cup moving into the knockout stages, UK distributors face a challenge on two fronts this weekend.
New openers are relatively sparse, and Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom could regain its weekend box office crown from Warner Bros’ heist comedy Ocean’s 8. The former dropped 55% last weekend with £3.2m, while the latter opened with a £2.3m Fri-Sun period (boosted by four days of previews to a total of £4.3m...
- 6/29/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Tiffany Bartok at Lincoln Center on Kevyn Aucoin when he worked with performers that included Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston: "Each person was reflected in him." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the first installment of my conversation with Tiffany Bartok, the director of Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, we start out with her fascination for impostors, the recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and how each person was reflected in Kevyn Aucoin and "when there was no one left, then he had to just look at himself."
Bartok's revelatory documentary on the famous make-up artist's life and legacy is alluringly illustrated through interviews with Brooke Shields, Cher, Tori Amos, Paulina Porizkova, Carol Alt, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Veronica Webb, Isaac Mizrahi, and the footage shot by Eric Sakas.
Isabella Rossellini in Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story...
In the first installment of my conversation with Tiffany Bartok, the director of Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story, we start out with her fascination for impostors, the recent deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and how each person was reflected in Kevyn Aucoin and "when there was no one left, then he had to just look at himself."
Bartok's revelatory documentary on the famous make-up artist's life and legacy is alluringly illustrated through interviews with Brooke Shields, Cher, Tori Amos, Paulina Porizkova, Carol Alt, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Veronica Webb, Isaac Mizrahi, and the footage shot by Eric Sakas.
Isabella Rossellini in Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story...
- 6/25/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Ali Abbasi’s fantasy feature won best film in Un Certain Regard.
Streaming service Mubi and fledgling distribution and production outfit Modern Films are teaming up on the UK and Ireland release of Ali Abbasi’s Border.
The film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard programme, winning the section’s top prize.
It tells the story of a border guard played by Eva Melander who has the ability to smell human emotions and catch smugglers. When she comes across a mysterious man with a smell that confounds her detection, she is forced to...
Streaming service Mubi and fledgling distribution and production outfit Modern Films are teaming up on the UK and Ireland release of Ali Abbasi’s Border.
The film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard programme, winning the section’s top prize.
It tells the story of a border guard played by Eva Melander who has the ability to smell human emotions and catch smugglers. When she comes across a mysterious man with a smell that confounds her detection, she is forced to...
- 6/21/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
As part of its celebration of the best of independent moviemaking from around the world, including from the U.S., this year’s Munich Film Festival will include works highlighting some of today’s defining issues: the MeToo debate, racism, the increasingly troubling nature of social media and the impact of ever-growing surveillance.
The festival, which runs June 28 to July 7, opens with Joachim A. Lang’s “Mackie Messer — Brechts Dreigroschenfilm,” a fictional tale inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 play “The Threepenny Opera,” and Kurt Weill’s song “The Ballad of Mack the Knife,” in which the famed playwright seeks to adapt his work to film without blunting its political edge.
For festival director Diana Iljine, the film is particularly timely: “Just like the famous first words of ‘Mack the Knife’ — ‘And the shark, he has teeth’ — one might say: This film, it has teeth. At a pivotal moment in recent history,...
The festival, which runs June 28 to July 7, opens with Joachim A. Lang’s “Mackie Messer — Brechts Dreigroschenfilm,” a fictional tale inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 play “The Threepenny Opera,” and Kurt Weill’s song “The Ballad of Mack the Knife,” in which the famed playwright seeks to adapt his work to film without blunting its political edge.
For festival director Diana Iljine, the film is particularly timely: “Just like the famous first words of ‘Mack the Knife’ — ‘And the shark, he has teeth’ — one might say: This film, it has teeth. At a pivotal moment in recent history,...
- 6/21/2018
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
limited
The Breadwinner
A young girl (voiced by Saara Chaudry) in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan disguises herself as a boy in order to support her mother and sister. Directed by Nora Twomey; written by Anita Doron.
my review | find cinemas
The Rape of Recy Taylor
Nancy Buirski writes and directs this documentary about unsung pioneer of the American civil rights movement Recy Taylor, a black woman raped by white men in Alabama in 1944 who dared to demand justice.
my review | find cinemas
Zama
Lucrecia Martel writes and directs this historical drama about a (male) Spanish officer in 17th-century South America.
find cinemas
Edie [pictured]
Sheila Hancock stars as a woman who has devoted her entire life to others who now sets off on a physical adventure solely for herself. Cowritten by Elizabeth O’Halloran. (male director)
my review | find cinemas
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran
Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla cowrites this historical docudrama about...
The Breadwinner
A young girl (voiced by Saara Chaudry) in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan disguises herself as a boy in order to support her mother and sister. Directed by Nora Twomey; written by Anita Doron.
my review | find cinemas
The Rape of Recy Taylor
Nancy Buirski writes and directs this documentary about unsung pioneer of the American civil rights movement Recy Taylor, a black woman raped by white men in Alabama in 1944 who dared to demand justice.
my review | find cinemas
Zama
Lucrecia Martel writes and directs this historical drama about a (male) Spanish officer in 17th-century South America.
find cinemas
Edie [pictured]
Sheila Hancock stars as a woman who has devoted her entire life to others who now sets off on a physical adventure solely for herself. Cowritten by Elizabeth O’Halloran. (male director)
my review | find cinemas
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran
Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla cowrites this historical docudrama about...
- 5/25/2018
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
In her new documentary The Rape of Recy Taylor, director Nancy Buirski tells the story of one of the most harrowing events in the history of the American civil rights movement. Recounting the traumatic gang rape of a young black woman by six white men, the film follows the subsequent campaign after the authority refused to bring any charges against her rapists. The campaign which saw the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) send its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, to rally support for the victim, triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice and against the racist system which absolved the accused of any wrong doing simply because they were white and their victim happened to be a woman of colour.
On September 3 of 1944, Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old sharecropper, was on her way home from church when she was kidnapped by a group of white men in a...
On September 3 of 1944, Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old sharecropper, was on her way home from church when she was kidnapped by a group of white men in a...
- 5/24/2018
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Modern Films takes UK rights to Cannes Competition title.
Alice Rohrwacher’s 2018 Cannes Competition title Happy As Lazzaro has scored a UK distribution deal with Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films.
The film won Cannes’ screenplay prize for writer-director Rohrwacher (in a tie with Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar for 3 Faces).
Starring Adriano Tardiolo, Luca Chikovani, Alba Rohrwacher and Agnese Graziani, the Italian-language drama is about a young peasant assumed, in his isolated village, to be simple-minded, and a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Screen’s review described it as ”a delirious brew of modernism, folktale and fabulist invention”.
Netflix...
Alice Rohrwacher’s 2018 Cannes Competition title Happy As Lazzaro has scored a UK distribution deal with Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films.
The film won Cannes’ screenplay prize for writer-director Rohrwacher (in a tie with Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar for 3 Faces).
Starring Adriano Tardiolo, Luca Chikovani, Alba Rohrwacher and Agnese Graziani, the Italian-language drama is about a young peasant assumed, in his isolated village, to be simple-minded, and a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Screen’s review described it as ”a delirious brew of modernism, folktale and fabulist invention”.
Netflix...
- 5/24/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Director Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack) marks her second feature with this story of an all-girl skater crew.
Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen, which premiered to good buzz at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, has been picked up for UK distribution by Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films.
The film, Moselle’s follow-up to her Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary The Wolfpack, is a narrative feature following a group of female skateboarders in New York City.
Gabereau struck the deal with Carole Baraton of French sales agent Charades. Magnolia Pictures previously took Us rights.
The project is produced by Rt Features...
Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen, which premiered to good buzz at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, has been picked up for UK distribution by Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films.
The film, Moselle’s follow-up to her Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary The Wolfpack, is a narrative feature following a group of female skateboarders in New York City.
Gabereau struck the deal with Carole Baraton of French sales agent Charades. Magnolia Pictures previously took Us rights.
The project is produced by Rt Features...
- 4/10/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical Star Wars: The Last Jedi (sci-fi sequel; Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran; rated PG-13) The Rape of Recy Taylor (documentary; Tommy Bernardi, Cynthia Erivo, John L. Payne; not rated) All I Wish (comedy-drama; Sharon Stone, Tony Goldwyn, Ellen Burstyn; available 3/30 on cable Mod and in select theaters; rated...
- 3/29/2018
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
UK distributor and production outfit takes Venice documentary.
Source: Wide House
The Rape Of Recy Taylor
Eve Gabereau, the long-time head of UK distributor Soda Pictures (now Thunderbird Releasing) who left the company last year, has officially launched her new outfit Modern Films.
The London-based distribution and production company has made its first acquisition with The Rape Of Recy Taylor, Nancy Buirski’s documentary that premiered at Venice last year.
Modern has UK and Ireland rights to the feature, which tells the story of 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper Recy Taylor, who was gang-raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. Despite being at serious risk, she decided to speak up and identify her attackers, with the civil rights organisation the NAACP sending its chief rape investigator, and activist Rosa Parks, to support the young women.
The story was one of the era-defining civil rights moments and still has a legacy today. In Oprah Winfrey’s celebrated...
Source: Wide House
The Rape Of Recy Taylor
Eve Gabereau, the long-time head of UK distributor Soda Pictures (now Thunderbird Releasing) who left the company last year, has officially launched her new outfit Modern Films.
The London-based distribution and production company has made its first acquisition with The Rape Of Recy Taylor, Nancy Buirski’s documentary that premiered at Venice last year.
Modern has UK and Ireland rights to the feature, which tells the story of 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper Recy Taylor, who was gang-raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. Despite being at serious risk, she decided to speak up and identify her attackers, with the civil rights organisation the NAACP sending its chief rape investigator, and activist Rosa Parks, to support the young women.
The story was one of the era-defining civil rights moments and still has a legacy today. In Oprah Winfrey’s celebrated...
- 1/31/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Oprah Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes on Sunday and in her passionate acceptance speech, she referenced the late Recy Taylor.
Taylor, an African-American woman who died in December at age 97, was raped by six white men in Alabama while walking home from church in 1944. She was 24 at the time of her sexual assault.
Referencing the evening’s show of support for the Time’s Up initiative, Winfrey noted of Taylor’s rapists, “Their time is up. And I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many...
Taylor, an African-American woman who died in December at age 97, was raped by six white men in Alabama while walking home from church in 1944. She was 24 at the time of her sexual assault.
Referencing the evening’s show of support for the Time’s Up initiative, Winfrey noted of Taylor’s rapists, “Their time is up. And I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many...
- 1/8/2018
- by Dana Rose Falcone
- PEOPLE.com
It seemed preordained. On a night when so many members of the entertainment industry came together to make their dedication to female-centric movements like #TimesUp and #MeToo, one of Hollywood’s most prolific pioneers would be on hand to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her massive contributions to the world. Oprah Winfrey was announced as this year’s recipient of the award back in December, but tonight’s speech couldn’t have been more timely.
The HFPA’s version of a Lifetime Achievement award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award is given to recipients for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” Named after the legendary director of such films as “Cleopatra,” “Samson and Delilah” and “The Ten Commandments,” the award was first given out in 1952 and has been doled out continuously since, save for the 1976 and 2008 ceremonies, where it was not awarded to anyone.
Read More:Golden Globes 2018 Winners...
The HFPA’s version of a Lifetime Achievement award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award is given to recipients for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” Named after the legendary director of such films as “Cleopatra,” “Samson and Delilah” and “The Ten Commandments,” the award was first given out in 1952 and has been doled out continuously since, save for the 1976 and 2008 ceremonies, where it was not awarded to anyone.
Read More:Golden Globes 2018 Winners...
- 1/8/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sexual violence against women of color in the 40s went largely unpunished and a new film aims to shed light on one of the most courageous figures from the era
The titular crime in The Rape of Recy Taylor and the miscarriage of justice that follows occurred in 1944 and the spring of 1945. But amid a wave of sexual assault claims that is sweeping powerful men off their perches, the modern analogues are hard to miss. Specifically, the question of where this moment leaves women with no power, no leverage, no fame.
Director Nancy Buirski’s timing was an accident, but one she is grateful for.
The titular crime in The Rape of Recy Taylor and the miscarriage of justice that follows occurred in 1944 and the spring of 1945. But amid a wave of sexual assault claims that is sweeping powerful men off their perches, the modern analogues are hard to miss. Specifically, the question of where this moment leaves women with no power, no leverage, no fame.
Director Nancy Buirski’s timing was an accident, but one she is grateful for.
- 12/14/2017
- by Molly Redden
- The Guardian - Film News
MaryAnn’s quick take… Enraging, and eye-opening, the beginning of the antidote for how black women’s lives get erased in America. Tells a story that we should recognize as epic. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m desperate for movies about women
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
The ways in which the work, stories, and lives of black women get erased in America are legion, and infuriating. Example of the moment: It was a black woman, Tarana Burke, who started the #MeToo campaign more than a decade ago, but it didn’t get any attention until well-off white women appropriated it just a few months ago, and now, suddenly, people are listening. Burke is not featured on the cover of Time magazine for its Person of the Year designation awarded to “The Silence Breakers” over sexual harassment, though Burke is mentioned,...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
The ways in which the work, stories, and lives of black women get erased in America are legion, and infuriating. Example of the moment: It was a black woman, Tarana Burke, who started the #MeToo campaign more than a decade ago, but it didn’t get any attention until well-off white women appropriated it just a few months ago, and now, suddenly, people are listening. Burke is not featured on the cover of Time magazine for its Person of the Year designation awarded to “The Silence Breakers” over sexual harassment, though Burke is mentioned,...
- 12/10/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
You may not know the name Recy Taylor, but you’ve definitely heard her story. It’s one of rape, lies, and cover-ups. It’s one of irreparable physical and psychological damage that still affects her family more than seventy years later. And it’s also one about a woman her refused to be silenced, who came home the night of September 3, 1944 to tell her father and husband everything about the six men that brutalized her. She was twenty-four at the time, a mother one of and partial caretaker of her siblings considering she helped raise them once their mother passed away. Threatened at gunpoint, her house set on fire, and the victim of constant abuse during Jim Crow in Abbeville, Alabama, Recy never stopped her quest for justice.
So why haven’t we heard about her? Why haven’t we heard about one of the few black women in...
So why haven’t we heard about her? Why haven’t we heard about one of the few black women in...
- 12/5/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Nancy Buirski’s documentary The Rape of Recy Taylor premiered its first trailer today to paint a tragic picture of the titular Taylor and her story that rings true to today’s treatment of women — black women in particular. The Orchard announced today that they have acquired the digital right to the film which bowed at the Venice Film Festival, where it was rewarded the Human Rights Nights Special Prize for Human Rights. The docu puts the spotlight on the Jim Crow South…...
- 11/21/2017
- Deadline
One hundred seventy features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 90th Academy Awards. That’s 25 more than 2016. Assuming they all book their qualifying runs in New York and Los Angeles, the members of the documentary branch have just a few more weeks to see as many films as possible and file their votes for the shortlist of 15 to be announced in December. They’re each supposed to watch an assigned list of about 20 films, plus as many more as they can.
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature
It’s possible for documentaries to also vie for Best Picture, although it is rare. Among this year’s most lauded features are “City of Ghosts,” “Faces Places,” “Jane,” “Kedi” and “One of Us.”
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“Aida’s Secrets”
“Al Di Qua”
“All the Rage...
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature
It’s possible for documentaries to also vie for Best Picture, although it is rare. Among this year’s most lauded features are “City of Ghosts,” “Faces Places,” “Jane,” “Kedi” and “One of Us.”
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“Aida’s Secrets”
“Al Di Qua”
“All the Rage...
- 10/27/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
One hundred seventy features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 90th Academy Awards. That’s 25 more than 2016. Assuming they all book their qualifying runs in New York and Los Angeles, the members of the documentary branch have just a few more weeks to see as many films as possible and file their votes for the shortlist of 15 to be announced in December. They’re each supposed to watch an assigned list of about 20 films, plus as many more as they can.
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature
It’s possible for documentaries to also vie for Best Picture, although it is rare. Among this year’s most lauded features are “City of Ghosts,” “Faces Places,” “Jane,” “Kedi” and “One of Us.”
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“Aida’s Secrets”
“Al Di Qua”
“All the Rage...
Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Documentary Feature
It’s possible for documentaries to also vie for Best Picture, although it is rare. Among this year’s most lauded features are “City of Ghosts,” “Faces Places,” “Jane,” “Kedi” and “One of Us.”
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“Aida’s Secrets”
“Al Di Qua”
“All the Rage...
- 10/27/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
- 10/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Coming off strong showings at both the Venice and New York Film Festivals, Nancy Buirski’s Augusta Films has set an awards-qualifying run for the filmmaker’s new documentary “The Rape of Recy Taylor.” The film, which debuted at Venice last month and went on to screen at Nyff, will open in New York and Los Angeles this December to qualify for the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
In a statement, Buirski said, “We were stunned by reviews that not only recognized the hidden story of black women physically abused in Jim Crow South, but by how powerfully our film resonates today. From a president who gropes women to white supremacy in Charlottesville to women who courageously speak up against predatory celebrities and mogals, this film is smack in the public square. Though we’re throwing our hat in the ring late, we felt this coud not wait! An Academy...
In a statement, Buirski said, “We were stunned by reviews that not only recognized the hidden story of black women physically abused in Jim Crow South, but by how powerfully our film resonates today. From a president who gropes women to white supremacy in Charlottesville to women who courageously speak up against predatory celebrities and mogals, this film is smack in the public square. Though we’re throwing our hat in the ring late, we felt this coud not wait! An Academy...
- 10/19/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The following essay was produced as part of the 2017 Nyff Critics Academy, a workshop for aspiring film critics that took place during the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival.
Tragedy begets tragedy. And in 2017, the global infrastructure’s threshold for human suffering seems to be testing its limits: environmental catastrophes are ravaging the Global South, refugees are fleeing war and persecution only to be met with xenophobic policies. Yet, in the shadow of the 24/7 news cycle, keeping up with current events can prove challenging. As the landscape for film exhibition follows technology’s rapid adaptation, offering new ways to watch movies outside of the traditional theater experience, the role of a film festival continues its evolution: extending its cinematic influence over the industry and the audience, and if lucky, offering a platform that can push the culture forward.
There’s no other place one can better witness that...
Tragedy begets tragedy. And in 2017, the global infrastructure’s threshold for human suffering seems to be testing its limits: environmental catastrophes are ravaging the Global South, refugees are fleeing war and persecution only to be met with xenophobic policies. Yet, in the shadow of the 24/7 news cycle, keeping up with current events can prove challenging. As the landscape for film exhibition follows technology’s rapid adaptation, offering new ways to watch movies outside of the traditional theater experience, the role of a film festival continues its evolution: extending its cinematic influence over the industry and the audience, and if lucky, offering a platform that can push the culture forward.
There’s no other place one can better witness that...
- 10/12/2017
- by Rooney Elmi
- Indiewire
Christopher B. Landon’s “Happy Death Day” doesn’t break out its first “Groundhog Day” joke until well into its third act, but the Jason Blum-produced horror film wears its cinematic pedigree with seeming pride. You can practically hear the pitch that sold the film: it’s the classic Bill Murray comedy, but as a horror film — and centered on a bratty co-ed who gets brutally murdered every night, and is forced to relive the whole thing the next day.
Even the most basic of building blocks are in place, from an initially unlikable protagonist to a generous serving of montages and even an overarching message about the power of being a good person (at one point, a character screams, “love is love!” and it’s both totally endearing and hilariously out of place). But while such a formula has been memorably applied to other genres with strong results — earlier this year,...
Even the most basic of building blocks are in place, from an initially unlikable protagonist to a generous serving of montages and even an overarching message about the power of being a good person (at one point, a character screams, “love is love!” and it’s both totally endearing and hilariously out of place). But while such a formula has been memorably applied to other genres with strong results — earlier this year,...
- 10/11/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The parallels are obvious. Multi-hyphenate Greta Gerwig grew up in Sacramento, attended a private Catholic high school, and did her damnedest to bust out and make her way to the bright lights of New York City once she graduated. In her solo directorial debut “Lady Bird,” Gerwig’s eponymous lead character (Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, played by a disarmingly flinty Saoirse Ronan, in one of her most distinct roles yet) goes through the very same growing pains. But don’t call “Lady Bird” an autobiographical film, because as Gerwig is quick to note, Lady Bird’s story is very much its own.
At a New York Film Festival press conference held this morning, Gerwig was open about how a years-long writing process allowed her to craft her story and evolve it out beyond her own experience. Her initial screenplay for “Lady Bird” stretched into the 350 page mark — there were a...
At a New York Film Festival press conference held this morning, Gerwig was open about how a years-long writing process allowed her to craft her story and evolve it out beyond her own experience. Her initial screenplay for “Lady Bird” stretched into the 350 page mark — there were a...
- 10/6/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
So deeply rooted in metaphor and allegory that it might as well be called “father!,” Alex and Andrew Smith’s “Walking Out” is a strong coming-of-age adventure that buries its vaguely biblical underpinnings beneath the heavy snows of a Jack London epic. Updated from a short story by naturalist David Quammen, it begins as a movie about the circle of life, and then thaws into a movie about survival. But while that might seem like a counterintuitive transition or even a contradiction in terms, this ruggedly elemental journey subsists on the raw knowledge that can be found in the space between the virtues we decide and the values we inherit. Many viewers could be left cold — especially as the Smith men track their characters with a hunter’s patience, and wait until the last possible moment to pull the trigger on the tragedy that defines them — but those interested in...
- 10/6/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Though the titular crime happened in 1944, there’s a sense of urgency to Nancy Buirski‘s “The Rape of Recy Taylor.” Like last year’s “13th” and “I Am Not Your Negro,” this documentary centers on the past, but its pertinence to today’s culture is striking – and utterly devastating. The tragedy of what happened to Taylor can cause the kind of tears that leave your face swollen and sore, but it’s all the more painful given the current events in America.
Continue reading The Past Haunts The Present In ‘The Rape Of Recy Taylor’ [Nyff Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading The Past Haunts The Present In ‘The Rape Of Recy Taylor’ [Nyff Review] at The Playlist.
- 10/4/2017
- by Kimber Myers
- The Playlist
On a quiet late summer night in tiny Abbeville, Alabama, a car full of young white men cruised the streets, searching. They were looking for a mark, Nancy Buirski’s wrenching documentary “The Rape of Recy Taylor” tells us, eventually settling on a trio of black neighbors walking home from evening church services. Recy Taylor, then just 24-years-old, a wife and mother to a nine-month-old, a local sharecropper with ties to the community, was one of them. The car’s passengers — seven of them, including the sons of some of the town’s most notable residents — took Taylor to a secluded stand of trees, forced her to strip naked, and then raped her. (One voiceover tells it plainly without the need for details: “What they did to her? They didn’t need to live.”)
Buirski’s latest documentary, a worthy companion to her lauded “The Loving Story,” tells Taylor’s story in expressive detail,...
Buirski’s latest documentary, a worthy companion to her lauded “The Loving Story,” tells Taylor’s story in expressive detail,...
- 10/3/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It’s that time of year again. With fall festivals like Tiff and Venice now in the rear view mirror, the film world is focused squarely on the Mecca that is New York City, for arguably the year’s most interesting festival, Nyff. Running, this year, from September 28-October 15, the lineup includes not only the 25 Main Slate releases, but numerous others spread over sections ranging from experimental features to groundbreaking shorts and even a Robert Mitchum retrospective.
So how does one go about processing all of these films, or even where to begin when setting your own viewing schedule? Well, you could stick to the well known directors or the highly buzzed about properties that are making a stop on their long festival journey from as early as Cannes or Berlin of this year. But where’s the fun in that? How about a few genuine discoveries? That’s where...
So how does one go about processing all of these films, or even where to begin when setting your own viewing schedule? Well, you could stick to the well known directors or the highly buzzed about properties that are making a stop on their long festival journey from as early as Cannes or Berlin of this year. But where’s the fun in that? How about a few genuine discoveries? That’s where...
- 9/28/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
With the 2017 edition of the New York Film Festival kicking off tonight, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland, and David Ehrlich trade thoughts on the quality of this year’s lineup — and who the festival is supposed to serve.
Eric Kohn: Among the 15 of the 25 films I’ve seen in the Nyff main slate — not counting the additional titles in Projections and Spotlight on Documentary — nothing stands out to me as a truly provocative choice. But before I get into that, I should point out that this is not a knock on the bulk of Nyff’s neatly curated lineup, which showcases some of the most exciting new work from many of the world’s strongest auteurs.
Read More: 13 Films We Can’t Wait to See, From ‘Lady Bird’ to ‘Last Flag Flying’
For those of us lucky enough to catch film festival highlights throughout the year, it’s an...
Eric Kohn: Among the 15 of the 25 films I’ve seen in the Nyff main slate — not counting the additional titles in Projections and Spotlight on Documentary — nothing stands out to me as a truly provocative choice. But before I get into that, I should point out that this is not a knock on the bulk of Nyff’s neatly curated lineup, which showcases some of the most exciting new work from many of the world’s strongest auteurs.
Read More: 13 Films We Can’t Wait to See, From ‘Lady Bird’ to ‘Last Flag Flying’
For those of us lucky enough to catch film festival highlights throughout the year, it’s an...
- 9/28/2017
- by Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
We're in the thick of the fall movie season now, with the Toronto Film Festival finishing up this weekend. I attended my first Venice Film Festival this year (read about my experience at the fest) and saw a total of 26 films across 10 days. There are still many scenes floating through my mind, many great moments from these films. To wrap up my coverage of Venice, let's recap my favorite films of the festival as well as my two of favorite performances. I only had a chance to see three documentaries (Human Flow, Jim & Andy, The Rape of Recy Taylor) this year, so I won't be singling out one of them. Instead, I'll be talking about my two favorite films and a few others that stood out. As always, there's plenty to discuss. Let's begin, shall we? The Venice Film Festival is a wonderful film festival that has a great legacy.
- 9/13/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Nancy Buirski, the director of By Sidney Lumet and The Loving Story, is headed to the Venice Film Festival with her latest project, The Rape Of Recy Taylor. The documentary about a woman who defied the times to stand up against the physical abuse of black women in the 1940s south, is running in the Horizons section and screens next week. It will have its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival in October. See a first-look clip above. This is the…...
- 8/28/2017
- Deadline
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