News

It’s been almost a quarter-century since the death of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. But in the years since, his legendary stature has only grown, with fans and critics alike celebrating his filmography and debating the status of his many discarded or never-realized projects.

Despite a traumatic past that she could never recover from, Ethel Waters had a groundbreaking trajectory in show business. She had a thriving recording career and a string of nightclub hits.

It's known as the Italian Sundance for short-films, an annual showcase of precious little gems up in the mountains and under the snow: Cortinametraggio is as interesting as its beautiful surrounding, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the “pearl of the Dolomites,” in the Italian Alps. Cortinametraggio – a word play on Cortina and cortometraggio, or short-length movie, wrapped its 18th edition on March 25th 2023, with unequivocal success.

How much less might we know about the world without being able to watch films from different eras and different countries that we would or could never travel to? And to what extent should that reality inform a sense of global responsibility that extends beyond national borders when it comes to film preservation? Those questions inform director Inés Toharia’s absorbing documentary Film: The Living Record of Our Memory, now playing in theatrical engagements via Kino Lorber, and give her movie an emotional power that shouldn’t come as a surprise for any true cineaste. In part a celebration of the monastic profession of film archivists, laboring to preserve cinema for humankind’s future, the documentary is also a fascinating historical and sociocultural document on its own, spanning both time and the globe.

Keanu Reeves and his hunted assassin alter ego accomplished what only a few succeeded to do. On its fourth and supposedly adieu installment, John Wick: Chapter 4 demolished – just like how opponents are vanquished in the film – its predecessors’ opening records and also dealt a blow to its competition.

60 years old today, Quentin Tarantino very recently announced his tenth – and possibly last – major feature film. But can he really quit making movies? Or is our doubt merely a reflection of our deep appreciation for his art?31 years ago, an up-and-coming young director rolled into the Sundance festival with one of the most unique films anyone had ever seen.

The 62nd edition of the International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias ran from March 22 to March 28, 2023. This year, 190 titles played in various sections including shorts, documentaries, and features.

The two highest-grossing films of 2023 are Chinese. Full River Red, the Zhang Yimou-directed historical movie earned $673 million this year, followed by The Wandering Earth 2, the sci-fi action thriller directed by Frant Gwo with $600 million in receipts, both over 64 days.

In life, as in the movies, they like happy endings. This is the case of Álvaro Gago.

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) members Barbara Gasser, Gerardo Prat and this writer recently spoke on a panel at the Cartagena International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias or FICCI), in its 62nd edition at Cartagena, Colombia. The festival, which is presented from March 22 to 28 this year, was also attended by HFPA members Barbaros Tapan and Ruben Nepales.