#TCM, #TCMFF, 31 Days of Oscar, TCM Classic Film Festival, television

The Bad and The Beautiful (Vincente Minnelli, 1952): U.S.A.

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Written and reviewed by Larry Gleeson during the annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), directed by Vincente Minelli and music by David Raskin, tells the story of an ambitious producer, Jonathan Shields, portrayed by Kirk Douglas. Minelli utilizes flashbacks with voice over narration from the individuals who had worked with Shields; Writer James Lee Bartlow, portrayed by Dick Powell, a star Georgia Lorrison, portrayed by Hollywood starlet, Lana Turner, and Director Fred Amiel, portrayed by Barry Sullivan.

Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner

Interestingly, The Bad and The Beautiful seems to loosely imitate Akira Kurasowa’s Rashomon, winner of the 1951 Golden Lion, the top prize at the oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The film world was taken awestruck by Kurasowa’s work and style. Furthermore, the use of the voice-over-narration, especially in the first act of The Bad and The Beautiful, Minelli employs the technique in a fashion closely resembling Billy Wilder’s use in Double Indemnity.

While The Bad and The Beautiful is typically regarded as a drama, I argue it is on the cusp of being a melodrama with the stereotypical characters, exaggerated emotions, and simplistic plot. Raskin’s musical score is impressive, and it supports the musical styles in melodramas such as Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows. What sets The Bad and The Beautiful apart is its cinematography by Robert Surtees, A.S.C., a three-time Oscar winner for Best Cinematography [King Solomon’s Mines (1951), The Bad and The Beautiful (1952), Ben Hur, 1960)]. Nevertheless, even the New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther provides a melodramatic opening to his review:

“The widely circulated notion that there are monsters in Hollywood, aside and apart entirely from the grim and ghoulish get of Frankenstein, is given unqualified endorsement, with no reservations and no holds barred, in Metro’s “The Bad and the Beautiful,”…

Back to the film. After the beginning credits roll with Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas receive top billing – in that order, the film transitions to black and a diegetic ringing is heard. The opening frame is of a solitary black rotary phone, the camera slowly pulls out as a man in a gray suit moves towards the phone and answers it. Meanwhile, the camera continues to pull out to a high angle “god shot” revealing a row of light stands spread out across the top of a large shelving apparatus above the phone.

Boom

The man answers the phone with, “Stage Five…Mr. Amiel’s on a camera boom rehearsing right now.” The film cuts to a moving elevated lift (boom) mounted with a camera, and Mr. providing direction. Also, an entire crew comes into frame as the boom moves in for a close up of a blonde-haired woman in a vertical position. Amiel directs the woman to move her hand up around her throat.  The gray-suited man comes into frame with the phone announcing, “transatlantic, Paris, Jonathan Shield calling you. the camera moves into a tight-medium frame shot revealing a studio camera and Mr. Amiel operating it. Amiel doesn’t take the call and instead calls out direction for the next shot.

Camera Operator/Cinematographer

In my opinion, this is the film’s overwhelming strength. Minelli provides the viewer with an inside look at how films were made in the 1950’s and the people who are involved in the filmmaking process – everything from stories to scripts, producing, financing, make up, costuming, directing, and effectively handling the sensitivities of Hollywood stars in the era. The film is shot in black and white which helps with the idea of moral business ethics – one of the underlying themes of The Bad and the Beautiful. Stylistically, the film is very easy on the eyes with terrific lighting, attractive and alluring actors, and interesting mise-en-scen. Very warmly recommended, unless you’re a Lana Turner fan, then it’s highly recommended!

 

 

#TCM, #TCMFF, 31 Days of Oscar, television

Powell and Francis create Magic in One Way Passage

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Written and posted by Larry Gleeson

February 5th, 2025, The annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar is featuring notable films in a category, Best Original Story, that fell by the wayside in 1956. Best Original Story is often correlated with a film’s treatment. Today the Academy of Motion Pictures bestows Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Out of the seven films screening today ; The Doorway to Hell (1930), One Way Passage (1932), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), Action in the North Atlantic (1943), The Stratton Story (1949), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), and The Brave One (1956), I selected  One Way Passage (1932), a Pre-Code film based on the story by Robert Lord.

One Way Passage is a Warner Brothers Production, directed by Tay Garnett, that tells the doomed story of a dying heiress, and a charming and sophisticated criminal who meet and fall in love on an ocean voyage to San Francisco without knowing each other’s secret. William Powell (The Thin Man (1935), My Man Godfrey (1937), portrays the criminal, Dan Hardesty, and Kay Francis (Passion Flower (1931), Trouble in Paradise (1932), portrays, the terminally ill heiress, Joan Ames. Powell and Francis made six films together with One Way Passage being their final film. Many dedicated cinephiles consider One Way Passage their finest work and one of the great love stories on the big screen.

Dan and Joan initially meet in a Hong Kong bar over a spilled drink. One of the dynamics that make the opening of the film so special is the cinematography and camera movement showcasing the idiosyncratic bar performers and bartender and it’s capped off with Joan turning around so the camera captures her in a stunning Hollywood medium close up. The two engage highbrow dialogue. And “trust that luck will come again.”

As Joan and Dan begin to separate with a troubled look overtakes her face and she quickly turns away. Dan is left standing with a bewildered and rueful look before turning and walking out of frame. The camera cuts back to Joan as she slowly watches Dan walk away. In a reverse angle shot Dan turns and looks over the swinging bar door. The camera cuts to a close up of Dan looking towards Joan before tipping his hat. Joan looks ecstatic waving as her friends call out her name to rejoin the group. She does to the chagrin of Dan who turns with a gun poking his ribs. Dan is caught by Steve Burke (Warren Hymer) after eluding arrest in Berlin. Burke has strict orders to return Dan in handcuffs to San Francisco aboard a luxury liner, the S.S. Maloa.

Once on board the S.S. Maloa, in a cunning move, Dan manages to have his handcuffs removed and reconnects with Joan. The luck has come back. Seeing Francis and Powell acting together is magic. In what could have been a tragic, sad, and grim story, Garnett manages to soften it with a touch of camp and a bit of screwball comedy through character development and snappy dialogue. In addition to Dan, Joan, and Steve, Frank McHugh (Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), The Roaring Twenties (1939) portrays Skippy, one of those character types that adds those colors as is Barrel House Betty, pretending to be a countess, portrayed by Aline MacMahon, (Gold Diggers of 1933, Kind Lady (1935). With a runtime of 68 minutes One Way Passage utilizes impressive pacing that doesn’t miss a beat. What unfolds is an elegant, highly watchable, Pre-Code, Depression-era film with an unpredictable conclusion. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

Slamdance

Agnieszka Zwiefka’s timely documentary Silent Trees screening at Slamdance

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

One of the incredibly timely documentaries screening at Slamdance (February 20-26) this month is Agnieszka Zwiefka’s Silent Trees. The film, which will make its U.S. Premiere, shines a light on the global refugee crisis. The film follows a Kurdish teen and her family as they find their lives on the cusp of being forfeited due to a dirty political power play between Belarus and Poland. Due to their circumstance, she has no choice but to assume the role of an adult well beyond her years if they are to survive in their new home.

Zwiefka said, “We are thrilled to be making our film festival debut in the United States at Slamdance, which is noted for frequently featuring films that tell the story behind the story, challenging audiences on the perspectives they had prior to having access to films filling out the details in the picture, like ours.” She added, “This film began as a refusal to remain silent. As many others, I have watched the refugee crisis unfold in Europe until it landed at my doorstep. Hopefully, we are providing an intimate look at the stories of so many out there by focusing on one family’s journey, and one girl’s efforts to rise above it all and keep hope alive where most others would give up.”

Producer Zofia Kuwajawska said, “For me this film has always been a fight for human dignity. Our main drive, from the very beginning, was to give a face to the nameless statistic, and show the humanity and spirit that we saw in Runa and ] her family, that represented countless others.”

Silent Trees screened previously at prestigious international documentary film festivals CPH: DOX and Hot Docs, effectively establishing the film’s journey to reach audience saround the world via the top film festivals via its  first three outings (including Slamdance). The film introduces us to Runa, a 16-year-old Kurdish refugee and her family who have been stranded in an icy forest in the Belarusian-Polish border, denied entry into either country. Runa is forced into responsibilities beyond her years, caring for her younger brothers and being a support for her father after her pregnant mother dies due to the harsh conditions. Eventually placed within a Polish refugee camp, the family grapples with the trauma of their loss while struggling to adapt to a new life in a new country.

While her father desperately tries to find work to feed and take care of his family while hampered by language barriers and other seemingly insurmountable hurdles, Runa finds comfort in drawing, which the film morph into animated sequences that capture her dreams and nightmares. Silent Trees is a remarkable coming-of-age story and harrowing journey of one family among countless others fighting to survive and keep the hope of a better future despite the daily horrors of the global refugee crisis.

One of the things that adds to the style and art of the film is its use of animation. Animating Runa’s drawings provides Silent Trees with stark imagery, offering a glimpse into the abyss she and her family faces each day, as well as finding a hopeful light in that darkness, and giving the telling of her story another depth via the illustration of her thoughts and fears. Zwiefka said, “Runa’s animated sketchbook serves as the perfect vehicle to portray the unfilmable aspects of her world, akin to the style of Marjane Satrape’s Persepolis.”

Agnieszka Zwiefka will attend the screening and participate in a post-screening Q&A and provide more on-the-ground detail about the European refugee and the experience of working to capture the story of Runa and her family with heart and sensitivity. At a time, when this country’s government is seemingly looking to turn a blind eye toward the global refugee crisis, Slamdance’s screening of the film and discussion afterward take on an entirely greater level of import.

 

 

#TCM, #TCMFF, 31 Days of Oscar, television

Adventure awaits with Alfred Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent

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Written and posted by Larry Gleeson

Foreign Correspondent (1940), part of TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar, is directed by Alfred Hitchcock and tells the story of a reporter caught up in an assassination of a Dutch Diplomat.  Joel McRae (Sullivan’s Travels, The Barbary Coast) portrays John Jones in the film’s lead. Jones is a news reporter who has garnered a reputation for himself by running down a payroll robbery while beating up a police officer “in the line of duty.”

The film opens with a scrolling text dedicating the picture to the Foreign Correspondents, “the intrepid ones who went across the seas to be the eyes and ears of America. To those forthright ones who early saw the clouds of war while many of us at home were seeing rainbows…” Then, opens up to reveal a New York setting as the camera pulls out and then pushes in toward a window a dissolve reveals a newsroom for the New York Globe.

A cable gram has come in from London dated August 13th, 1939, reading that no war is imminent due to bad crops. This gets the ire of the Globe’s head man, Mr. Powers, who has an instinct Europe is under great stress. He wants facts not a daily guess, “a reporter who doesn’t know the difference between an ism and a kangaroo. A good honest crime reporter.” Powers is convinced a terrible crime is being committed in Europe when the light bulb goes on and Powers decides to send Jones, an “ideal person to go to Europe.” Powers is hell-bent on getting news out of Europe not correspondence.

As the narrative moves forward, Jones has a myriad of experiences on a steamship, at London Station, and inside a bar, before meeting Van Meer. Van Meer is the Dutch ambassador who reportedly has a treaty clause that can keep the peace in Europe. Much like the narrative in Hitchcock’s 39 Steps (1935), the clause becomes a McGuffin of considerable interest and moves forward the budding love romance between Jones, and Carol Fisher, portrayed by Laraine Day (Those Endearing Young Charms, The Locket). Carol Fisher is the daughter of Stephen Fisher, an international peace seeker. As with any Hitchcock film things aren’t always what they seem.

The pacing and spectacle, however, of Foreign Correspondent is vastly quicker and more extravagant than the 39 Steps. In particular, a stunning scene in the Dutch countryside occurs in an area with three enormous windmills. A master of suspense, Foreign Correspondent‘s scene inside one of the windmills is one of Hitch’s best. The action coupled with non-diegetic music helps the scene to not only create suspense, but it also causes tension. Truthfully, the windmill scene is where the action takes off and doesn’t stop until the denouement. It is also at the beginning of Act 2 in the film’s classical Hollywood three-act narrative.

Foreign Correspondent received six Oscar nominations in 1940 for Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Having come to the United States from Great Britain at the onset of WWII, Foreign Correspondent was Hitchcock’s second film under the start of his US production. Interestingly, Hitchcock’s first American production, Rebecca, nominated for Best Picture alongside Foreign Correspondent, is the only film of his to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Nevertheless, Foreign Correspondent has tremendous spectacle, witty repartee, head-spinning plot twists, and it ends with a symbolic gesture that would make Donald Trump proud. Highly recommended.

#TCM, #TCMFF, television

Algiers – Stay out of there!

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Reviewed by Larry Gleeson during TCM 31 Days of Oscar

February 3rd brought out the criminals for TCM 31 Days of Oscar featuring fan favorites, The Sting (1973), Bonnie & Clyde (1968), Double Indemnity (1944), The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and the lesser-known Algiers (1938), directed by John Cromwell and introduced Heddy Lamarr, portraying Parisian Gabby, to the big screen. Lamarr was proclaimed to be the most beautiful woman to appear before a camera. Not to be outdone, Charles Boyer turns in a tantamount performance in the lead role of Pepe le Moko, a jewel thief hiding out in the Casbah, a terraced labyrinth of interconnected walkways and living spaces in Algiers “where drifters and outcasts from all over the world have come. ..Criminals come to the Casbah find a safe hiding place from the long arm of the law.”

Hedy Lamarr as Gaby

 

Algiers opens with non-diegetic, tense-inducing music and scrolling text informing the viewer of the Casbah quoted above. A landscape image of the Casbah is visible behind the text. Rod Crawford’s storyline on IMDb reads: “Pepe Le Moko, a thief who escaped from France with a fortune in jewels, has for two years lived in, and virtually ruled, the mazelike, impenetrable Casbah, “native quarter” of Algiers. A French official insists that he be captured, but sly Inspector Slimane knows he need only bide his time. The suave Pepe increasingly regards his stronghold as also his prison, especially when he meets beautiful Parisian visitor Gaby, who reminds him of the boulevards to which he dares not return…and arouses the mad jealousy of Ines, his Algerian mistress.”

Charles Boyer as Pepe le Moko

 

What Crawford leaves out is what make Algiers the film it is. For starters the cinematography is exquisite with a multitude of shots and camera angles. Vignetting is seen in portraiture close-ups of the characters. And when Pepe and Gabby meet the cinematography and editing move into extreme closeups with reverse angles culminating in a screen full of Pepe’s smoky eyes and Lamarr’s luscious lipstick-red lips. The energy from the cinematography and editing was quite palpable. Furthermore, as the French Police Commissioner and his team of twelve are in pursuit of Pepe in the Cashbah, Cinematographer James Wong Howe juxtaposes a series of high and low angle shots to great effect. Furthermore, the use of shadows and light seemed like a precursor to the early 1940’s noir style that will come to the forefront of the film industry in just a few years.

Sigrid Gurie as Ines

 

There is a lot going on in this character-driven narrative. While the story surrounds Pepe, the orbital characters and their relationships to Pepe are well-developed and add depth. In addition to Lamarr’s beautiful Gaby, Sigrid Gurie portrays the jealous Ines with a firecracker temperament and a steel cold, penetrating gaze. Joseph Calleia embodies and personifies with costume specificity the cunningly patient, Inspector Silmane. Gene Lockhart, turns in an Oscar-nominated Best Supporting Actor in a rather macabre performance as Regis. In addition to the stellar acting, costuming, cinematography, and Arabesques musical score, Algiers’ production design augmented and aided my suspension of disbelief. The film had a fast runtime of one hour and thirty-six minutes and was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Personally, I really, really enjoyed the artistic presentation of Algiers. Highly recommended!

 

 

#TCM, #TCMFF, TCM Classic Film Festival, television

The Life of Emile Zola (1937) kicks of the 2025 TCM 31 Days of Oscar

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Posted and written by Larry Gleeson

Paul Muni as a young, struggling Emile Zola.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937) kicked off the 2025 Turner Classic Movies annual “31 Days of Oscar,” with an introduction from TCM host, Ben Mankiewicz. The Life of Emile Zola is set in Paris, 1862, signified by an extraordinary opening frame coupled with a Gothic alphanumeric text overlay. For his work Anton Grot received an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction. Moreover, the impeccable mise-en-scen follows the story’s timeline to a T within the trajectory of Zola’s life. The film stars Paul Muni {Scarface, 1932) in the title role and is directed by William Dieterle (The Life  of Louis Pasteur, 1936). The film opens inside an artist loft containing French impressionist painter, Paul Cezanne, portrayed by Vladimir Sokoloff, and Zola, with a whimsical, non-diegetic score from Max Steiner, (nominated for Best Score, Music). Zola is in love with Paris and intends to write about her. Cezanne, on the other hand is much more pessimistic saying, “it’s hopeless.”

The film leaps forward from where the opening loft scene ended with Alexandrine Zola, portrayed by Gloria Holden, announcing Zola came into a job that would allow him to marry. Zola imagined time to write, finishing his book and publishing it. After Alexandrine implores Emile to ask for an advance to meet the rent, Emile is questioned by a police officer over his new controversial book, “The Confessions of Claude,” as well as assaulting Emile’s critical writings about the current state of French society. The police officer orders Emile to stop writing as his writings have upset the prosecutor. The situation results in Emile’s discharge from his employer. Emile thanks his employer for now allowing him to write critically full-time and proclaims to continue his critical writings “until the stench is strong enough that something will be done about it.”

Zola, one of France’s most significant 19th century writers, enters a period of great literary productivity and comes to a point where he concludes his work is complete. He is well-respected having received a letter of admittance to the French Academy, a legendary council established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu to protect and purify the French language in all matters pertaining to the French. Without much ado, then with great consternation, Zola risks his own well-being as he sees his Cezanne portrait, and undertakes the cause of Alfred Dreyfus, portrayed by Joseph Schildkraut. Dreyfus is a French Army Captain falsely accused of treason and is serving out a life sentence on France’s infamous Devil’s Island (Papillon, 1973). With Zola’s pen what unfolds becomes known as the Dreyfus Affair, an historic, unjust moment in French history, that culminates in a restoration of France’s shining commitment to truth, liberty and justice.

The Life of Emile Zola is an exceptional work that stands the test of time. Zola is shot on 35mm black and white film stock, with a runtime of one hour and fifty-seven minutes and has the distinction of being the first Warner Brothers film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture as noted in Mankiewicz’s introduction.  In addition, Schildkraut garnered an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as did the writing team of Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald, and Geza Herczeg, for Best Screenplay. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, a record at the time, and is still considered one of the greatest biographical, big screen films of all time. Interestingly, the film uses dissolves in editing to show the passing of time. The make up and costuming support the narrative as well. But what really caught my eye was the film’s camera work and its subtle panning and tracking shots.  The Life of Emile Zola is a highly recommended film.

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AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES AFI FEST 2025 PRESENTED BY CANVA TO TAKE PLACE OCTOBER 22-26

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Posted. by Larry Gleeson

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES

AFI FEST 2025 PRESENTED BY CANVA TO TAKE PLACE

OCTOBER 22-26

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Los Angeles, CA, January 29, 2025 — Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced the dates for AFI FEST 2025 presented by Canva. The 39th edition of the Institute’s annual film festival will take place October 22–26 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood and feature a curated selection of Red Carpet Premiere screenings, Special Screenings, World Cinema, Documentaries and Short Films.

 

“For nearly 40 years, AFI FEST has been the place for artists and audiences to gather in the heart of Hollywood to celebrate the very best of global cinema,” said Todd Hitchcock, Director of AFI FEST. “In these challenging times for our community, AFI promises to fill the fall with films that will prove the power of the art form to inspire hope, empathy and joy.”

 

AFI FEST is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for the Live Action, Animated and Documentary Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®. AFI FEST is also a qualifying festival for consideration for the British Short Film categories of both the BAFTA Film Awards and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).

 

Entries for the AFI FEST 2025 Short Film Competition program open today. Short films that have been completed after October 1, 2024, are eligible for submission to AFI FEST 2025. Filmmakers are invited to submit fiction, documentary and animated short films.

 

SHORT FILM SUBMISSION DATES

Early Deadline – March 1, 2025

Official Deadline – April 12, 2025

Final Deadline – May 31, 2025

 

Learn more about submitting to AFI FEST at FEST.AFI.com or submit via Film Freeway at https://filmfreeway.com/AFIFEST. Filmmakers can email fest.programming@AFI.com for more information about the submissions process for short films.

 

Program highlights from AFI FEST 2024 presented by Canva included screenings of nine Best International Oscar® Submissions (including I’M STILL HERE and THE SEED OF THE SECRET FIG), ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT, HARD TRUTHS, HERETIC, JUROR #2, MARIA, MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS, NICKEL BOYS, NIGHTBITCH, A REAL PAIN, THE ROOM NEXT DOOR, SEPTEMBER 5, THE SUMMER BOOK, UNSTOPPABLE, WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL and more. Of the official selections 48% were directed by women and non-binary filmmakers and 26% were directed by BIPOC filmmakers. The festival also presented two special events: Directors Spotlight: Robert Zemeckis in Conversation with Tom Hanks and Pitch Perfect: Crafting Impactful Visual Decks from a Storyteller’s Perspective. Guests at the festival included JJ Abrams, Amy Adams, Paul Bettany, Leslie Bibb, Jacqueline Bisset, Laurent Bouzereau, Tommy Chong, Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Jennifer Connelly, Ryan Coogler, Merlin Crossingham, Ted Danson, Julie Delpy, Zoey Deutch, Mati Diop, Hugh Grant, Tom Hanks, Nicholas Hoult, Ron Howard, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Barry Jenkins, Jharrel Jerome, Angelina Jolie, Caleb Landry Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Pablo Larraín, Philippe Lesage, Jennifer Lopez, John Magaro, Cheech Marin, Charlie McDowell, Malcolm McDowell, Selton Mello, Rachel Morrison, Mark Mothersbaugh, Nick Park, RaMell Ross, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Schrader, Jurnee Smollet, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Fernanda Torres, John Turturro, Lulu Wang, Robert Zemeckis, Wallace & Gromit and more.

 

AFI is a nonprofit, donor-powered organization. Join AFI’s Premiere Circle to support the American Film Institute and enjoy access to exclusive one-of-a-kind opportunities at AFI events, including AFI FEST. To learn more, email Advancement@AFI.com.

 

Canva, the all-in-one visual communication and collaboration platform, returns as the exclusive Presenting Sponsor of AFI FEST 2025. Designed to empower entertainment professionals to visualize their ideas into impactful film and TV projects, Canva will be integrated throughout AFI FEST including hosting industry networking events, hands-on training workshops for filmmakers, and powering the festival’s digital and printed materials. Entertainment professionals can explore resources to pitch projects, plan shoots, and bring creative visions to life at canva.com/entertainment.

 

About the American Film Institute (AFI)

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked as one of the top film schools in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at increasing diversity in the storytelling community, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, X.com/AmericanFilm, TikTok.com/@americanfilminstitute and Instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.

 

About AFI FEST
Now in its 39th year, AFI FEST is a world-class event, showcasing the best films from across the globe. This year’s edition takes place in Los Angeles from October 22-26, 2025. With an innovative slate of programming, the five-day festival presents screenings, panels and conversations, featuring both master filmmakers and new cinematic voices. AFI FEST includes high-profile films with Q&As featuring the films’ cast and crew and a robust lineup of fiction and nonfiction features and shorts, providing a one-of-a-kind experience for movie fans. Additional information is available at FEST.AFI.com. Connect with AFI’s film festival at Facebook.com/AFIFEST, Twitter.com/AFIFEST, Instagram/AmericanFilmInstitute, TikTok/@AmericanFilmInstitute and YouTube.com/AFI.

 

About Canva

Launched in 2013, Canva is the world’s leading all-in-one platform for visual communication and collaboration. Built to empower everyone to design, the company serves the creative and design needs of enterprises, small businesses, consumers, and students in more than 190 countries worldwide.

 

Whether you’re a novice taking your first steps in design, or a creative professional seeking powerful tools, Canva ensures users have what they need to transform an idea into something beautiful. Underpinned by the world’s most comprehensive library of designer-made content, Canva is powered by a suite of products and proprietary AI tools which elevate how individuals and teams create, collaborate, and communicate with ease.

Press contact:

American Film Institute: Shari Mesulam, shari@themesulamgroup.com

American Film Institute

AFM® is coming back to Los Angeles for its 46th edition (November 11-16, 2025)

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

 

AFM® is coming back to Los Angeles for its 46th edition (November 11-16, 2025).

 

After an extensive evaluation of multiple venues across Los Angeles to meet the industry’s specific needs and size, the IFTA® Board of Directors has selected the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City as the new home of the  American Film Market (AFM).  It is ideally situated just minutes from Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Westwood and next door to the AMC Century City 15 for screenings. Newly renovated, the Fairmont is a perfect blend of prestige, accessibility, amenities, and pricing consistent with recent years.

(Photo courtesy of Fairmont Century Plaza)
(Photo courtesy of Fairmont Century Plaza)

AFM’s return to Los Angeles holds special significance in the aftermath of the recent devastating fires. It will be heartening to gather as colleagues here once again, where AFM started, and in doing so to take part in the rebuilding of the city that is a vital hub of our industry.

Over the decades, AFM has evolved from solely a transactional space into an essential event where industry leaders come together to launch the latest films and projects, assess the marketplace, share insights, and stay abreast of the rapid changes shaping our business. Your feedback has underscored the importance of AFM as a gathering space and of Los Angeles as the optimal location. The Fairmont offers the location that best responds to that call for an elegant setting that maximizes convenience and encourages productivity.

Details about exhibition opportunities, registration, and the event’s agenda will be available shortly.

 

 

(News release courtesy of Jennifer Garnick)

Jennifer Garnick | VP, Communications
Independent Film & Television Alliance
jgarnick@ifta-online.org | +1.310.446.1006
Documentary, Slamdance, World Premiere

Cameron Mitchell’s DISPOSABLE HUMANITY set to make its World Premiere at Slamdance 2025

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

Written by John Wildman

Cameron Mitchell’s DISPOSABLE HUMANITY set to make its World Premiere at Slamdance 2025

 

Disposable Humanity which looks at the dark history of the Nazi Aktion T4 program, where hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals deemed “unworthy of life” were systematically exterminated. will make its world premiere at Slamdance 2025.

With Sundance around the corner, the brand new appearance of the Slamdance Film festival in Los Angeles has begun to give rise to announcements of films set to make their debuts at the fest in February. One of those anticipated world premieres will be Cameron Mitchell’s poignant documentary feature Disposable Humanity which looks at the dark history of the Nazi Aktion T4 program, where hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals deemed “unworthy of life” were systematically exterminated.

Executive produced by Steve Way (Co-star of Hulu’s Ramy), Disposable Humanity follows Cameron Mitchell’s family, Disability Studies scholars and filmmakers who have researched the Nazi Aktion T4 program since the 1990s. Through conversations with memorial directors, disabled people, and relatives of T4 victims, they uncover the horrifying truth: that the Nazi Aktion T4 program, was in fact the program where the Nazis trained killing staff and designed the apparatus of mass murder that led to the Holocaust. Disabled people were the first victims to be killed under the Third Reich and in this investigative documentary, we see how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.

In Disposable Humanity, an investigative documentary, we see how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.

Mitchell said, “We are thrilled to be making our debut at a film festival, like Slamdance, which is noted for showcasing work that goes beyond basic expectations, challenges audiences on the perspectives of disability they had prior to entering the theater and offers opportunities to foster vigorous discussion about that work and the films’ subjects.” He added, “Disposable Humanity is not just a film; it is a film counter-monument. By confronting the brutal legacy of the Aktion T4 program, we seek to raise awareness about the contemporary implications of viewing individuals through a lens of disposability. It is crucial to confront these histories of erasure to ensure that such atrocities never occur again and to continue to question the dividing lines between people with disabilities and those without.”

 

Disposable Humanity features a diverse array of international voices (Robert Jay Lifton, author of the Nazi Doctors; Patricia Heberer Rice, Senior Historian at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum; and Susanne Knittel, author of The Historical Uncanny among them)

The documentary features a diverse array of international voices (Robert Jay Lifton, author of the Nazi Doctors; Patricia Heberer Rice, Senior Historian at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum; and Susanne Knittel, author of The Historical Uncanny among them) articulating the lived experiences of individuals facing societal neglect, including those living with disabilities, mental health conditions, and systemic discrimination. With powerful testimonials and striking visuals, Disposable Humanity underscores the urgent need for compassion and understanding in evaluating human worth.

The filmmaking team consists of accomplished Disability Studies scholars, artists, and activists who bring both academic rigor and personal passion to the project. According to David T. Mitchell, a producer, writer, and original researcher of the film, “The expertise of the diverse participants ensures that the film will educate viewers about people in psychiatric institutions and the historical injustices they face and also engage them in critical conversations around the rights and indignities spawned by societal neglect, abuse, and extermination involving disabled individuals today.”

Mitchell, Way, additional participants in the film, and advocates for the right of people with disabilities, will attend the screening and participate in a post-screening discussion that will be aimed to use the post-screening Q&A to promote a call-to-action toward a community-driven approach to addressing human rights and social justice.

The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place, February 20-26, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif., and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under US$1 million. 

 

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PARAMOUNT PICTURES ANNOUNCES ENSEMBLE CAST OF CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NEW YORK TIMES YA NOVEL

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

PARAMOUNT PICTURES ANNOUNCES ENSEMBLE CAST OF CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NEW YORK TIMES YA NOVEL

HOLLYWOOD, CA (January 22, 2024) _Paramount Pictures today announced the principal cast of the feature film, Children of Blood and Bone. Leading the action fantasy film are Thuso Mbedu (The Woman King) as Zelie; Amandia Stenberg (The Hate U Give) as Amari; Damson Idris (“Snowfall”) as Inan; and Tosin Cole (“Supacell”) as Tzain. The movie, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), is based on the #1 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Tomi Adeyemi. The movie releases January 15th, 2027 in IMAX.

Also confirmed are Academy Award® winner Viola Davis (The Woman King, G20) as Mama Agba; Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) as Admiral Kaea; Idris Elba (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) as Lekan; Lashana Lynch (Bob Marley: One Love) as Jumoke; and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) as King Saran.

Regina King (Photo cr. Tym Shutchai Buacharern)

In negotiations are Academy Award® winner Regina King (Shirley) as Queen Nehanda; Diaana Babnicova (Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot) as Folake; and Bukky Bakray (Rocks) as Binta.

Forthcoming will be additional castings from an open casting call for actors living in Nigeria.

Production is set to begin filming in South Africa in the coming weeks.

Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Entertainment, together with Karen Rosenfelt of Sunswept Entertainment – the filmmaking team behind the Twilight series – will produce, alongside Matt Jackson of Jackson Pictures. Adeyemi and Reggie Rock Bythewood will executive produce. Adeyemi and Prince-Bythewood co-wrote the script.

Paramount Pictures President & CEO Brian Robbins, along with Motion Picture Group Presidents Daria Cercek and Mike Ireland, acquired the rights to the trilogy in a highly competitive bidding war.

Said Prince-Bythewood, “I am so honored and excited to bring Tomi’s Children of Blood and Bone and the vibrant world of Orisha to life. Our incredible ensemble reflects the whole of the diaspora. This is where our magic lies.”

In Children of Blood and Bone, in an African fantasy kingdom, a young woman goes on a quest to reclaim the magic that was violently stolen from her people. She and her brother ally with the daughter and son of the king to fight back against his brutal rule.

The book series has become an instant classic, with the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy spending a combined 175 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, including four weeks at #1 on the Young Adult Hardcover list for Children of Blood and Bone; five weeks at #1 on the Young Adult Hardcover list for Children of Virtue and Vengeance; and one week at #1 on the Children’s & Young Adult Series list for Children of Anguish and Anarchy. In total, the series has sold almost three million copies worldwide and garnered critical acclaim, with Children of Blood and Bone being featured as a Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time; a New York Times Notable Children’s Book; and a Kirkus Prize Finalist, among other distinctions.

About Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Paramount Pictures has some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, and Paramount Players. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

 

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