Film

After his internationally acclaimed documentary To Be and to Have (2002), French director Nicolas Philibert returns to the cinema news headlines with On the Adamant. This movie is a captivating exploration of the human condition, that delves into the lives of individuals with intellectual disability who meet daily in a floating day-care center on the Seine in Paris.

As Outfest prepares to launch its 41st edition on July 13, over two hundred filmmakers anxiously await to see how the Los Angeles crowds will respond to the dramas, comedies, shorts and documentaries programmed for the film festival that will be covering all aspects of the LGBTQ+ community. With a mission statement that proclaims an agenda to “give artists, filmmakers and entertainment professionals the opportunity to discover their voice, provide the pathways to the visibility of their work by all members of the public, and assure that their legacy will live on for generations to come,” Outfest is excited about its latest edition.

One of the great British directors, Ken Loach, now 87, known for such cinematic gems as I, Daniel Blake (2016), Sorry We Missed You (2019) and the 60s classic Kes, now presents what he suggests is his final film, The Old Oak. If true, the film wraps a career during which he has long focused on championing the working class and shining a light on social inequality.

Nonfiction filmmaking has the capacity to open up all manner of wonderful avenues, taking viewers to new worlds by exploring under-told stories and shining a light on under-represented communities. Still, while the genre’s commercial footprint has undeniably expanded with the proliferation of streaming services, its narrative adventurousness has largely receded.

Julie Cohen is a highly acclaimed documentary filmmaker known for her impactful work. From exploring social issues to shedding light on untold stories, Cohen's films have brought attention to important topics and sparked conversations that have resonated and inspired viewers.

The 13 minutes short film Let Liv recently had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival, after having been selected from more than 8,000 competitive entries. Directed by Erica Rose, and written by and costarring Olivia Levine, it tells the story of a young woman who begrudgingly agrees to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with her new partner, using humor to deflect the anxiety she feels about it.

Panayotis Evangelidis is a Greek novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker whose documentaries are known for their intensely personal view on LGBTQ life and issues, in Greece and in America. Among others, his latest, The Tilos Weddings, chronicles the struggles of the Greek  LGBTQ community to legalize same-sex marriage from 2008 up to now; They Glow in the Dark looks at the aftermath of the AIDS crisis through the lives of a couple of older gay men who move to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and try to make ends meet by selling trinkets; Irving Park follows the unconventional family of four gay men in their sixties who design and lead their lives unapologetically according to their own desires.

As the founder of the International Fine Arts Consortium (IFAC) – an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the arts on a global scale – Lee Wells has been immersed in the world of creativity for decades. An artist in his own right, he recently did something that went beyond what’s ordinary: premiering his first AI movie, Marcel Duchamp and His Girlfriend Love to Eat Spaghetti out of the Toilet and Laugh, with no screening room needed.

As a waning moon rose over the medieval cathedral, Gianluca Farinelli took to the stage in front of the giant screen welcoming the several thousand strong audience to another free screening in Bologna’s main square. Farinelli is the director of Cineteca di Bologna and the driving force behind Cinema Ritrovato – the yearly celebration of classic cinema that has taken place in the Italian city every summer for the last 37 years.