Brazilian Sociologist & Film Expert Ana Paula Sousa on the Power & Promise of the Oscar-Nominated “I’m Still Here”

One of the most striking scenes in Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here does not depict any of the violence instilled by the military regime that ruled Brazil for over two decades; nor does it show the despair of having a loved one vanish without a trace, while those so obviously responsible unashamedly deny any involvement.

Rather, it is the scene where Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres) is being photographed with her children for an article in the national magazine Manchete.

Oscar-Nominated Producer Maria Carlota Bruno on Recreating a Transcendent Heroine in “I’m Still Here”

In 1964, a coup d’état overthrew Brazilian president João Goulart, initiating a military dictatorship that lasted until 1985. The former congressman Rubens Paiva went into self-exile at the time of the coup but returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1970, where he settled into a pleasant household near Leblon Beach with his wife, Eunice Paiva, and their five children. Rubens continued quietly supporting dissident Brazilian expatriates and, in January 1971, was arrested and disappeared during a military raid.

“The Room Next Door” Production Designer Inbal Weinberg is the Architect of Pedro Almodóvar’s World

Production designer Inbal Weinberg perfected her meticulous eye over years of collaborations with filmmakers who “are serious about every detail,” including Derek Cianfrance, Luca Guadagnino, and Martin McDonagh. However, meticulousness took on a whole new level when Weinberg worked alongside renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar on his first English-language feature, The Room Next Door, which opened in Los Angeles and New York on December 20 and expands to select cities on January 10.

“The Room Next Door” Trailer Unveils Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton in Pedro Almodóvar’s Latest

It’s a trio made in film lover heaven—Spanish writer/director extraordinaire Pedro Almodóvar and Oscar-winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton teamed up for the auteur’s first English-language feature, The Room Next Door. Sony Pictures Classics has shared the first peek from Almodóvar’s latest ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2.

The Room Next Door is centered on former close friends and colleagues Martha (Swinton) and Ingrid (Moore),

“The Peasants” Co-Director/Writer Hugh Welchman on Hand Painting Real Life Hardships Into Animated Magic

Creating any animated feature film is an awesome commitment of time, talent, and resources. But the animated films of the Poland-based husband-and-wife directing team of Hugh Welchman (who is British) and D.K. Welchman (who is Polish) go well beyond the common description of “labor of love.”  For their groundbreaking debut in 2017, the Oscar-nominated animated feature Loving Vincent, the team used a hand-painted animation technique to bring the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh to life.

“The Persian Version” Writer/Director Maryam Keshavarz on the Joys of Iranian American Culture

The Persian Version won both the Audience Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S Dramatic Competition at Sundance this year, and for good reason. The film is a feel-good dramedy that combines stories of traditional Iranian culture with those of the Iranian American experience with a decidedly modern touch. The story follows Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a queer Iranian American working to keep her parents and many brothers who love her at a distance while navigating her ever more complicated personal life.

“It Ain’t Over” Director Sean Mullin on Capturing the Brilliance of Yogi Berra

Even though It Ain’t Over is about Yogi Berra, one of baseball’s preeminent figures during his 18 seasons as catcher with the New York Yankees and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, director Sean Mullin says the “last thing I wanted to do was make a sports movie.” Instead, Mullin took as inspiration the Oscar-winning 1955 film Marty starring Ernest Borgnine as an Italian-American butcher from the Bronx.

“It’s one of my all-time favorite films and a beautiful love story,” says Mullin.

“Jockey” Director Clint Bentley on Finding the Right Narrative Track

Director Clint Bentley and his co-writer Greg Kwedar always wanted Jockey to sit in that sweet spot between gritty naturalism and emotional lyricism. Coming from a documentary background, the filmmakers worked hard to “get best of both worlds,” said Bentley. It began with the old-fashioned legwork of observing the rituals and characters at the track where they shot Jockey and earning the trust of the real-life trainers and riders whose stories and lives are the backbone of the film.

“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” Directors & Writer/Producer on Relearning American History

The documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America has won numerous awards at fests across the country, including the Audience Award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, and boasts a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is based on criminal defense and civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson’s work relearning American history and sharing knowledge that includes events and episodes either erased from in history books or never included in the first place.

“Parallel Mothers” Trailer Reveals Penélope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Critically Acclaimed New Film

A new trailer for writer/director Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers is here, and it’s a deliciously mysterious second look at his critically acclaimed new film with his muse, Penélope Cruz. Parallel Mothers opened the Venice Film Festival this past September and was met with rave reviews, with both auteur and star coming in for lavish praise. The New Yorker‘s Anthony Lane wrote “Almodóvar leaves us with an overwhelming sense that the pursuit of justice,

Director Eva Husson on Capturing Grief & Trauma in “Mothering Sunday”

Loss and grief permeate Mothering Sunday, a class-crossed romance set in 1924 England as it reels from the collective trauma of the Great War. Director Eva Husson says the movie’s somber mood matched that of the cast and crew since the film was shot in 2020 between pandemic lockdowns.

“I think all of us felt deeply connected to the emotions of the story. It had an effect on us. We were going through the pandemic so it was surreal how close it mirrored the sense of grief in our lives,

“12 Mighty Orphans” Costume Designer Goes Deep on Football Helmets & Fedoras

As underdog sports dramas go, it’s hard to improve on the fact-based 12 Mighty Orphans, which tracks a team of scrawny teenagers living in a Fort Worth orphanage as they progress from dead-last in their league to the 1938 state finals under the leadership of Coach Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson). Football fans might marvel at the antique charm of the players’ homemade uniforms while vintage fashion buffs can savor a cavalcade of period-perfect hats worn by Wilson,

“French Exit” Director Azazel Jacobs on Loving His Wicked, Witty Central Character

Director Azazel Jacobs‘ French Exit won’t, on first blush, seem like a feel-good movie. Its protagonist, Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), is a ferociously acerbic fading socialite who more or less doesn’t want to live anymore. Based on Jacobs’ friend and collaborator Patrick DeWitt’s novel (and adapted by DeWitt himself), there seems no earthly reason why anyone, in the year 2021, would feel affectionate towards a privileged woman lamenting her third act turn towards insolvency by savaging everyone in her path.

Director AJ Eaton on his Lyrical new Doc David Crosby: Remember My Name

This past weekend, a new documentary played into theaters spotlighting musician David Crosby, called David Crosby: Remember My Name. He is most famous for his role in The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and most infamous for his troubles with drugs and the law. In this film, however, audiences get a raw, brutally honest look at the man from his own perspective. Crosby’s challenges, his solo work, and his insights as someone with multiple health issues and a desire to leave a legacy of love and kindness behind,

Oscar Watch: Writer/Director Nadine Labaki on her Riveting Drama Capernaum

Lebanese writer-director Nadine Labaki took to the streets to make her third feature, Capernaum, which centers on a neglected young boy. Furious with his parents after they sell his barely pubescent sister to an older man, the boy runs away from his ramshackle home. He befriends an Ethiopian refugee and then becomes the caretaker for her baby after the woman is arrested.

Playing a child who shares his own first name,

Stan & Ollie Director Revisits a Great Doubles Act

When he was a kid growing up in Scotland, filmmaker Jon. S. Baird loved Laurel and Hardy movies so much that he impersonated Stan Laurel at his school’s “fancy dress” day alongside a classmate dressed in an Oliver Hardy outfit. Three decades later, Baird pays homage to the great song-and-dance comedy team as director of Stan & Ollie. In the movie, opening wide January 11, Steve Coogan plays the duo’s rake-thin mastermind with Golden Globe-nominated John C.

Maria by Callas Writer/Director Tom Volf on Revealing the Person Behind the Legend

Maria by Callas writer/director Tom Volf discovered opera only 7 years ago, yet he very quickly found a passion for the fascinating artistic and personal life of Greek-American opera legend Maria Callas. Delving into copious research, he unearthed never-before-seen footage, photographs, recordings, and interviews. The result is a film created entirely from Callas’s own words. It is a fascinating look at art, fame, and the life of a woman of her time. We spoke to Volf about the complications of building a film in that way,

Rupert Everett on Writing, Directing & Starring in his Oscar Wilde Biopic The Happy Prince

Fans of both Rupert Everett and literary great Oscar Wilde have been patiently waiting for the release of the new film The Happy Prince, which has been 10 years in the making. The film Everett wrote, directed, and stars in is an unvarnished look at Wilde’s last few years, following his decline after release from a two-year imprisonment for homosexuality. We spoke to Everett about what inspired him as a first-time director,

Chatting With Call Me By Your Name‘s Legendary Screenwriter James Ivory

As part of our Oscars week coverage, we’re re-posting our conversations with some of this year’s Oscar-nominees, as well as publishing brand new interviews with nominees. James Ivory is nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay), alongside The Disaster Artist’s Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Logan’s Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green; Molly’s Game Aaron Sorkin; and Mudbound’s Virgil Williams and Dee Rees.

Oscar-Nominated Director Luca Guadagnino on his Lush, Lyrical Call Me By Your Name

As part of our Oscars week coverage, we’re re-posting our conversations with some of this year’s Oscar-nominees. Luca Guadagnino is nominated in the Best Picture category, alongside his producers Peter Spears, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito. The other Best Picture nominees are Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 

Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s lush and luscious love story Call Me By Your Name is an homage to the director’s love for cinema.