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Hollywood films are often thought of as America’s greatest export. But upon closer examination, it is rather ironic to note that many of the medium’s most significant creators were foreign-born.

David Lynch is regarded as one of the preeminent American cinematic auteurs of his generation. But since Twin Peaks — his surreal television assault on the mainstream zeitgeist, co-created with Mark Frost — debuted in 1990, the arc of his big screen filmography can take on different dimensions.

Justin Johnson, aka Justinsuperstar, is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker (Double Digits: The Story of a Neighborhood Movie Star) and entrepreneur known as ‘the internet’s first video blogger. ’ His interest in documentaries evolved during his position at YouTube, where he was hired to shoot documentaries around Europe and created content for Conde Nast, Google, Star Wars, LEGO, and General Mills.

Miscalculating one situation can lead to a chain reaction of unfortunate events that eventually destroys everything that matters. Filmmaker Tonislav Hristov’s drama The Good Driver is based on a true story about a man who gets involved in smuggling illegal immigrants.

After participating in the movie Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu, Trace Lysette returns to the big screen as the protagonist of Monica, by Andrea Pallaoro. It’s an intimate drama about a transgender woman who comes back home to take care of her dying mother.

Six and a half years after her untimely death, beloved Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher got her long overdue Hollywood Walk of Fame star – and on Star Wars Day. The posthumous honor on the famed Los Angeles tourist attraction made Fisher forever commemorated with a star near the historic El Capitan Theatre, steps away from those of fellow Star Wars co-stars Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo, and Mark Hamill, who played Princess Leia’s twin brother Luke Skywalker.

A delicate, well sketched, and emotionally substantive unpacking of the many complicated feelings attached to tending to a family member either in distress or facing an incurable disease, the documentary Unconditional lends rich if melancholic dimension to the saying that life can only be understood backwards, though it must be lived forwards. Directed by MSNBC reporter and anchor Richard Lui, and executive produced by Maria Shriver, Montel Williams, Lauren Miller Rogen and Laurie Hernandez, the film charts the journey of three families through turbulent waters of forced self-discovery.

It has been a year since Zar Amir Ebrahimi, won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. And what a year it has been for the 41-year-old Iranian actress, who rose to fame after her performance in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider was recognized by the prestigious festival.

Broadway and Hollywood are two of the biggest entertainment industries in the world, inseparable partners that constantly feed - and criticize - each other, exchanging talents, always adapting and inspiring in all ways. The Tony Award, Broadway’s main honor since 1947, and the Golden Globes, created in 1943, have always had a shared path.

When Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win an Oscar as best actress for her performance in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once last March she said, “this is proof- dream big and dreams do come true”, adding that her win “is for Asian community and anyone who has ever been identified as minority”. Although Asians have been a minority in the Hollywood film industry since its inception, compared to Hollywood, Asian cinema has seen many more female action stars who inspire both empowerment and awe.