film Archives

Sep172025 by cineverseNo Comments

Busan, San Sebastián Title ‘Shape of Momo’ Boarded by Celluloid Dreams (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Naman Ramachandran According To The variety Celluloid Dreams has acquired worldwide sales rights to “Shape of Momo” (“Chhora Jastai”), the debut feature from India’s Tribeny Rai. The film is world premiering at the Busan International Film Festival and will have its European premiere in the New Directors section at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Set in the Himalayas, “Shape of Momo” follows Bishnu as she returns to her mountain village after quitting her job, only to face mounting family pressures and societal expectations. As tensions rise with her pregnant sister’s arrival and a budding relationship with a “suitable” boy from her community, Bishnu must choose between conforming to tradition or claiming her independence. The project marks a feature debut fo...

Sep162025 by cineverseNo Comments

Toronto Hit ‘The Condor Daughter,’ a High Andes Drama, Gets a First Trailer From Bendita Film Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

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By John Hopewell According To The variety Arguably the biggest buzz title at Ventana Sur and well received by those who caught it on its Sept. 9 world premiere at last week’s Toronto Festival, Bolivian identity drama “The Condor Daughter” (“La Hija del Condor”) now has a trailer, shared in exclusivity with Variety by the film’s sales agent, Spain’s Bendita Film Sales. Written, directed and produced by Empatia Cinema’s Álvaro Olmos Torrico, a key figure on Bolivia’s cinema scene, “The Condor’s Daughter” was chosen by Variety among 20 International Titles to Track at TIFF. Produced by Empatia Cinema, with Peru’s Ayara Producciones and Uruguay’s LaMayor Cine, “The Condor Daughter” turns on Clara, 16, part of the Totorani Quechua community and her midwife moth...

Sep132025 by cineverseNo Comments

Hamnet,’ ‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘No Other Choice’ to Screen Texas Premieres at Austin Film Festival – Film News in Brief

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By Jazz Tangcay, Leia Mendoza, Andrew McGowan, Giana Levy According To The variety Austin Film Festival has announced the second wave of screenings set to premiere during this year’s festival lineup. The festival will run Oct. 23 to Oct. 30. Newly added Texas premieres will include Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” and the U.S. premiere of “Sacrificios.” his year’s world premieres are Kelly Kipscomb’s “Bite To Bite,” Jared Bonner and Josh Flanagan’s “Pickleheads,” following the world of pickleball, “Armadillo Man: The Trips of Jim Franklin,” the short bio-documentary about a concert poster artist who helped create the Austin musi...

Sep92025 by cineverseNo Comments

Geek Girl’ Star Emily Carey, ‘A Kind of Spark’s’ Lola Blue Lead Autistic-Centered ‘The Birth of a Mall Goth’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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By Naman Ramachandran According To The variety Two prominent autistic actors, Emily Carey (“Geek Girl“) and Lola Blue (“A Kind of Spark”), topline the short film “The Birth of a Mall Goth,” marking a rare project where neurodiverse talent controls the creative process both on-screen and off. Writer-director Samantha Locock developed the script around her fascination with goth subculture, though she didn’t realize until after receiving her autism diagnosis that the story reflected her own neurodivergent experience of seeking understanding in an often confusing world. “When I wrote this script, I don’t think I fully understood why I was so deeply intrigued by why people suddenly become goths,” Locock said. “Now, I see the film as the autistic need to try and make...

Sep32025 by cineverseNo Comments

Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ Selected by Korea for Oscars

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By Naman Ramachandran According To The variety The Korean Film Council has selected Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” as the country’s submission for best international feature at the 98th Academy Awards. The move positions the acclaimed filmmaker — whose credits include “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden” and “Decision to Leave,” which was shortlisted in the category, — for a fresh run at Oscar glory. The dark comedy, adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s novel “The Ax,” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it is competing for the Golden Lion. Lee Byung-hun, best known globally from “Squid Game,” takes the lead as Yoo Man-su, a paper-industry veteran pushed to desperate, murderous extremes after 25 years of loyalty is abruptly discarded. Critics have hailed “No Other Cho...

Sep32025 by cineverseNo Comments

Dead Man’s Wire’ Review: Gus Van Sant and Bill Skarsgård Turn a Freak Hostage Incident from 1977 Into a Miniature ‘Dog Day Afternoon’

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By Owen Gleiberman According To The variety It was “Dog Day Afternoon” in miniature, though with more loony-tunes firepower. On Feb. 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis, a disgruntled resident of Indianapolis, walked into the offices of the Meridian Mortgage Company and took one of its executives, Dick Hall, hostage. He wired the sawed-off muzzle of a 12-gauge Winchester shotgun to the back of Hall’s head. One end of the wire was connected to the trigger; the other end was wrapped around Hall’s neck. This meant that if a police officer tried to shoot Kiritsis, or if Hall tried to escape, the gun would go off and kill him. With that gun poised, at any moment, to blow Hall to smithereens, Kiritsis then walked him out of the building and into a car (trailed by random onlookers and a news camera), and t...

Aug312025 by cineverseNo Comments

Preparation for the Next Life’ Review: A Bittersweet Immigrant Love Story Thrives on Two Terrific Performances

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By Carlos Aguilar According To The variety The spark between two soon-to-be lovers ignites inside a Latin nightclub in New York City, as the pair dance with clumsy playfulness to the Spanish romantic ballad “Un Velero Llamado Libertad” (A Sailboat Named Freedom). Their origins and struggles couldn’t be more disparate: She is an undocumented immigrant who’s part of China’s persecuted Uyghur ethnic minority; he’s a white Army veteran with no clear direction and a chronic case of PTSD. Holding on their comforting stares and unspoken exchanges with only Emile Mosseri’s sonic drizzle of a score as company, filmmaker Bing Liu (best known for his Oscar-nominated documentary “Minding the Gap”) delicately traces their blossoming and improbable romance in his first foray into fiction...