Tag: top-stories
Daniel Tantalean & Ryan Bobkin Among Sundance Institute Names 2025 Producers Lab Fellows
Daniel Tantalean and Ryan Bobkin are part of the eleven up-and-comer indie film producers heading to the annual Sundance Institute Producers Labs next week....
A New Michel Franco Film Set for 2026 Launch?
“I already shot it and I’m editing now.” While Michel Franco is currently working on a documentary film in Poland, in a recent sit...
Wild Diamond (Diamant Brut) | Review
Teenage Wasteland: Riedinger’s Debut a Familiar Coming-of-Age Parade
All that glitters isn’t gold, but social media success can break the mould. At least that’s the...
2025 Locarno Film Festival: Radu Jude, Alexandre Koberidze, Ben Rivers, Abdellatif Kechiche & Maureen Fazendeiro in Comp
The field of Pardo d’Oro hopefuls will include the likes of Radu Jude, Alexandre Koberidze, Ben Rivers, Maureen Fazendeiro and (surprise surprise) Abdellatif Kechiche...
2025 Venice Gap-Financing Market: Ulrich Seidl, Sofia Alaoui, Emily Atef, Luis Ortega, Babak Jalali & Kamila Andini
The projects for the upcoming Venice Gap-Financing Market have been unveiled (32 feature-length fiction) and there’ll be several listed here projects that we’ll discuss...
Kill the Jockey | Review
They Kill Horse Riders, Don’t They?: Ortega Puzzles with Deadpan Metaphors
Nothing is what it appears to be in Argentinean Luis Ortega’s latest film Kill...
Hot Milk | Review
The Eternal Daughter: Lenkiewicz Ladles the Milk of Sorrows
Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz makes her directorial debut with Hot Milk, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s comically...
Interview: Ariane Labed – September Says
A pivotal figure in the Greek Weird Wave, Ariane Labed first gained attention with her role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth (2009) before delivering an...
Interview: Jessica Palud – Being Maria
In 2018, political journalist and writer Vanessa Schneider released Tu t'appelais Maria Schneider (My Cousin Maria Schneider), a deeply personal memoir exploring the turbulent...
Interview: Sarah Friedland & Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch
A work-in-progress participant at the 2023 American Film Festival in Wroclaw (which turned out to be a vintage edition with Indie Donaldson's Good One...
Mister ‘October’ – Cory Michael Smith Toplines Jeremy Saulnier’s A24 Horror Thriller Project
Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge had a wonky production narrative with the pandemic slamming into it and causing delays but the film had its day...
IndieSponge Episode: Emmanuelle (2025) Movie Review
Before our official launch, Kevin Jagernauth and I had the chance to review Audrey Diwan’s third feature film, Emmanuelle —a NEON release under their...
Missed Connections: Nanni Moretti Enlists Louis Garrel & Jasmine Trinca for “Succederà questa notte”
Recovering from his health scare back in April, Nanni Moretti is moving back into the director's chair for Succederà questa notte (“It Will Happen...
Interview: Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch (Work in Progress)
The folks at Music Box Films are releasing Sarah Friedland's award-winning Familiar Touch this Friday at the Film Forum in New York and then...
Early Sainthood: Bertrand Bonello’s Next Might be “Santo Subito”
Coming off what many consider his career best to date in The Beast (read our rare perfect ★★★★★ review), Bertrand Bonello recently spoke to...
Drive This Car: Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, Aoi Yamada, Shioli Kutsuna & Hidetoshi Nishijima Added to ‘Her Private Hell’
Nicolas Winding Refn is going for a film that'll have a truly international identity -- Deadline reports that Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Kristine Froseth,...
A Ring to Herself: Lila Pinell Begins Filming on ‘Shana’ with Eva Huault and Noémie Lvovsky
It's a debut solo feature debut film we've been tracking after French filmmaker Lila Pinell claimed the Grand Prix prize at the Prix du...
Moscow Drool: Alison Oliver & Yura Borisov Top Emily Mortimer’s Directing Debut ‘Dennis’
After three decades of performing for the camera, actress Emily Mortimer is getting into the director's chair for a project mounted with the cool...
Francisca Alegría Goes Fishing for Sophomore Project “Nacimiento”
Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría (of The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future fame - a 2022 Sundance Film Festival winner) flirted with...
Hafsia Herzi, Benoît Magimel & Bastien Bouillon to Blow Out Bday Candles in Léa Mysius’ “Histoires De La Nuit”
Lassoing the likes of Hafsia Herzi (fresh from showcasing The Little Sister in competition in Cannes), Benoît Magimel, Bastien Bouillon plus Monica Bellucci and...
Non Yuletide Spirit: Pedro Almodóvar Filming “Bitter Christmas” with Victoria Luengo & Patrick Criado
Fresh from the Croisette as producers on the Jury Prize winner Oliver Laxe's Sirât, Pedro Almodóvar is getting into the Yuletide spirit this June....
Ghost Trail | Review
The Executioner's Song: Millet’s Stabbing Debut Looks at How Control Moves Beyond Borders
If a Syrian doesn’t find himself in Syria does he still make...
The Phoenician Scheme | Review
Much Ado About Fussing: Anderson Spills More Twee
The Wes Anderson devotee cult has been searching for a way to justify his cinematic sainthood following...
It’s Non-separation for Janus Films and Hlynur Pálmason’s “The Love That Remains”
The Love That Remains emerged as one of the best-reviewed films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, with many critics arguing it deserved a...
Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” Skipping Theatrical for a Decal On Demand Release
It world premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival last year and didn't remain on the radar much long after that. Emmanuelle received...
Exclusive Clip: Adam Bessa’s Methodical Revenge in Jonathan Millet’s “Ghost Trail”
At the 2024 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, there was a break-out film from the Critics' Week section. A feature fiction debut, Jonathan...
2025 Cannes Film Festival Winners – Competition [Video]
The jury of Juliette Binoche, Alba Rohrwacher, Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, thesps Halle Berry and Jeremy Strong, South Korean auteur...
2025 Cannes Film Festival Winners – Un Certain Regard [Video]
Molly Manning Walker and her jury of Louise Courvoisier, Croatian director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Vanja Kaludjercic, Italian director, producer and screenwriter...
2025 Cannes Film Festival Winners – Directors’ Fortnight [Video]
We missed out on the award ceremony at the Critics' Week, but managed to be part of the festivities for the Directors' Fortnight and...
2025 Cannes Film Festival – Checklist of Our Reviews
IONCINEMA.com’s Chief Film Critic Nicholas Bell reviewed the entire competition and more. Here is a comprehensive guide to all the feature films across all...
Youth (Homecoming) | Review
Last Train to Zhili: Bing Brings Youth Cycle to Circular Close
Wang Bing completes his ‘Youth’ trilogy with finale Youth (Homecoming), which features the most...
Youth (Hard Times) | Review
Make the Best of Us: Bing’s ‘Youth’ Cycle Expands Into the Gloom
The middle part of Wang Bing’s Youth trilogy, Youth (Hard Times) perhaps more...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel – Laxe, Mendonça Filho, Panahi & Trier Reign Supreme
The final grades trickled in and finally, our top three has slightly changed. Instead of a firm trio, we now have a foursome as...
2025 Cannes Film Festival: Jafar Panahi’s ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Wins the Palme d’Or
He won Venice. He won the Berlinale. He now wins the Palme. With strong competition from the likes of Kleber Mendonça Filho, Oliver Laxe...
Jeunes mères (Young Mothers) | 2025 Cannes Film Festival Review
Bonjour Tristesse: The Dardenne Bros. Explore Teenage Pregnancy
In their latest neo-realist exercise on plights of the disenfranchised, the Dardenne Bros. return to gentler themes...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: ‘Sirat’ ‘The Secret Agent’ & ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Finish 1-2-3!
Tomorrow is the big day. There were twenty-two films in competition and only one will take home the big daddy prize. If it were...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 11 – Kelly Reichardt’s ‘The Mastermind’
While she has dropped world premieres at Sundance and Venice (plus Telluride), Kelly Reichardt has been flirting with Cannes on three occasions total (plus...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 11 – Dardenne Bros.’ ‘Jeunes mères’
Winner of the Palme d'Or for 1999's Rosetta (which also took Best Actress for the recently departed Émilie Dequenne) and 2005's The Child, Luc...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 10 – Bi Gan’s ‘Resurrection’
An already acclaimed filmmaker in his own right after 2015's Kaili Blues won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and 2018's Long...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 10 – Saeed Roustayi’s ‘Woman and Child’
Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee (also spelled Saeed Roustayi - I know its annoying) became part of the Cannes family when he gave us the...
Woman and Child | 2025 Cannes Film Festival Review
All the Regime Allows: Roustaee Finds a Woman Scorned
If there were ever an equivalent to the Hollywood ‘woman’s film’ genre in Iranian cinema it...
Caravan | 2025 Cannes Film Festival Review
All About My Martyr: Kirchnerová’s Debut Finds the Journey is the Destination
For her directorial debut, “Caravan,” Czech director Zuzana Kirchnerová weaves autobiographical elements into...
YES | 2025 Cannes Film Festival Review
Break My Soul: Lapid Explores Compromised Artistry During Wartime
Essentially, YES, the latest film from Israeli auteur Nadav Lapid, is a portrait of an artist...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 9 – Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value’
Everyone took notice with his 2006 debut Reprise, but it is his Cannes' Un Certain Regard 2011 sophomore feature Oslo, August 31st where this...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 9 – Oliver Hermanus’ ‘The History of Sound’
South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus might be another newbie in competition but this first trip to Cannes as he premiered 2011's Beauty in the...
2025 Cannes Critics’ Panel: Day 9 – Carla Simón’s ‘Romería’
In competition film #16 of the twenty-two offerings, and the first of a three day competition buffet, and the second com title from Spain,...
