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Recent Sundance entry Heightened Scrutiny is among recipients of the Frameline Completion Fund supportingfilms centring on LGBTQ+ people and their communities.

Frameline, the media and arts nonprofit and San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival host, also announced grants toKani Lapuerta’sNiñxs, a documentary about a rural trans adolescence in Mexico that receives its world premiere next month at Visions du Réel Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland; and Brazil-set love storyOnly Good Thingsfrom Daniel Nolasco.

The award to Heightened Scrutiny marks the third time director Sam Heder has received a Frameline Completion Fund grant after Disclosure (2020) and Kate Bornstein Is A...

Chinese filmmaker Jing Zou, director of the narrative feature film “A Girl Unknown,” has been named as the winner of the fifth annual Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant from Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum (Nwff). This grant includes an unrestricted cash award of $25,000 to support her directorial debut, which follows a girl from age six through her 30s as she’s passed between multiple families and is inspired by the true story of generations of Chinese girls who were abandoned as a result of the country’s defunct one-child policy.

“I am absolutely honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2024 Lynn Shelton ‘Of a Certain Age’ award for my first feature, ‘A Girl Unknown.’ Thank you for this recognition and for your support,” Zou said in a statement. “I am committed to making the most of this award and to creating a film that honors the spirit of Lynn Shelton.

“Gladiator” fans will get an inside look at the making of Ridley Scott’s epic sequel courtesy of a behind-the-scenes special, airing Nov. 18 on CBS (at 10:30 p.m. Et/Pt) and streaming on Paramount +.

The special, titled “The Making of Gladiator II” and produced by Paramount Pictures, is said to offer “unprecedented access encompassing all aspects of production, from the grand scope of the set — including reconstructing Ancient Rome — to characters, combat training, costumes, historical accuracy, scoring and more.”

The Paramount movie, starring Paul Mescal, continues the saga of power, intrigue and vengeance set off in the 2001 Oscar best picture-winner “Gladiator.”

“Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist,” reads the film’s logline. “With...

There’s only so much you can do when you catch your spouse stepping out on you – cry, get a divorce, forgive.

In China, they’ve come up with an additional option when such circumstances present themselves (an admittedly not infrequent scenario for couples all around the world). There, you can hire someone to “intervene” in the love triangle, in surreptitious fashion.

This phenomenon is explored in Mistress Dispeller, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival before heading to TIFF for its international premiere and on to the Camden International Film Festival for its U.S. premiere. At Camden, Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast caught up with director Elizabeth Lo, who shared insights about her intriguing new film and how she negotiated its inherent ethical considerations.

At Ciff, located on Maine’s bucolic central coast, we also talked with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Petra Costa, who brought Apocalypse in the Tropics to...

Merpeople is a Netflix documentary that delves into the world of mermaiding, exploring both the art form and the passionate community behind it. The appeal of mermaiding varies among individuals, with some using it as a form of self-expression, others as a career, and some simply finding joy in being a mermaid. Mermaiding is not without its dangers and requires dedicated training. It can take years of preparation before someone is ready to become a professional mermaid.

MerPeople is a 2023 Netflix documentary series that not only explores what mermaiding is, but why so many people are passionate about it and what it means to be a mermaid within the community. The four-episode docuseries is directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Cynthia Wade, best known for directing or co-directing documentary films like Shelter Dogs, Freeheld, and The Flagmakers. Wade has not only won numerous prizes at film festivals like Sundance, but she...

MerPeople is the newest docuseries released on Netflix about a small group of individuals who aim to become professional mermaids. Directed by Cynthia Wade, the four episodes splish and splash through the trials and tribulations to become a beautiful and shimmery half-human, half-fish. While it may seem glamorous and even an easy task to obtain, viewers quickly learn that being a mermaid doesn't come without effort and even some hard times. The series comes just in time to piggyback off the hype of Disney's The Little Mermaid live-action remake, which stars Halle Bailey as Ariel.

Netflix’s MerPeople documentary series provides an in-depth look at the underwater performer industry, which generates half a billion dollars annually. The official trailer showcases the world of underwater pageants, conventions, competitions, auditions, and shows.

Oscar winner Cynthia Wade directs and executive produces along with Michael Williams, Joel Chiodi, David Collins, Rob Eric, Andréanna Seymore, and Roland Ballester.

In addition to dropping the official trailer, Netflix unveiled a new poster and photos from the four-episode docuseries. MerPeople is set to premiere on the streaming service on May 23, 2023.

Netflix released this description of the documentary series:

“MerPeople dives into the fascinating world of underwater performers who have turned their love for the mystical sea creatures into real-world careers. From putting on dazzling small-town shows in Florida to the crowning of the King and Queen of the Seas in the Bahamas, this series will take you on a journey of passion and perseverance.

“It is humbling, I feel honored and I’m also terrified,” admits director Sharon Liese, whose National Geographic film “The Flagmakers” has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Short at the 95th Oscars. “This is very new territory for me. My co-director Cynthia Wade has been here before, but I have not so it’s a whole new world, but it’s great.” Wade won an Oscar in this same category for “Freeheld” in 2008. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“The Flagmakers” poses one of today’s most pressing questions: who is the American flag for? Employee-owned Eder Flag in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, sews and ships five million American flags a year. The flagmakers – locals, immigrants and refugees – stitch stars and stripes as they wrestle with identity and belonging.

See over 200 interviews with 2023 awards contenders

“It’s a magical place and it’s a place that’s just so unexpected in terms of Oak Creek,...

Darn, those short film categories at the Oscars can be a difficult field to navigate, can’t they? Predicting the winners is one thing, but predicting the nominees in those categories can be an even bigger headache. Never fear, Derbyites, as you no longer have to worry about this since we’ve got your back covered! We’ve looked over the recently announced shortlist for Best Documentary Short Film at the 2023 Oscars and have provided you with descriptions of each one of the 15 finalists that you can use to help choose the five that you think will get nominated in our predictions center.

As a reminder, the four most recent Oscar winners in the Best Documentary Short Film category were “The Queen of Basketball” (2021), “Colette” (2020), “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)” (2019) and “Period. End of Sentence.” (2018). What will join the list this year? Here are...

Exclusive: Mark Gordon Pictures has tapped playwright John J. Caswell Jr. to adapt a stage musical of the acclaimed short documentary The Flagmakers, from Oscar winner Cynthia Wade and AFI Doc Award winner Sharon Liese. The New York Public Theater’s associate artistic director Saheem Ali is attached to direct.

The doc, from National Geographic Documentary Films, is a meditation on the American dream, following workers at the employee-owned Eder Flag in Oak Creek, Wi, the country’s largest maker of American flags and flagpoles, which sews and ships 5 million American flags per year. The flagmakers — locals, immigrants and refugees — stitch stars and stripes as they wrestle with identity and belonging. The film provides an intimate glimpse into the people whose hands make America’s most recognizable icon.

The film was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards and was awarded Best Documentary Short by the...

Eder Flag in Oak Creek, Wisc. makes American flags – a huge number of them. More than five million a year, in fact.

It sells 3’ by 5’ outdoor flags for 39.99 or 50’ by 80’ giant Old Glories for a little under 10,000, and flags of every size in between and the flagpoles to fly them on. What’s especially remarkable about Eder is not so much its annual sales, but who makes the flags. Most of the company’s workforce hails from around the world – Iraq, Tanzania, Mexico, Algeria, Serbia, Bosnia and other parts of the globe – people born under another flag.

The Oscar-contending short documentary The Flagmakers reveals the stories of many of those who sew, assemble, package and ship for Eder. The film directed by Sharon Liese and Cynthia Wade premieres on the National Geographic Channel tonight, and launches on Disney+ on December 21.

‘The Flagmakers’ directors Sharon Liese (L) and Cynthia Wade

“It...

On December 9, IndieWire will showcase some of the best Oscar-qualified short films of the year, at an event in Los Angeles co-hosted by ShortsTV and National Geographic Documentary Films. The program will also include a conversation with Oscar winner Cynthia Wade and a sneak peek at her new short film, “The Flagmakers.” Apply to attend the event here.

Acclaimed documentarians Cynthia Wade and Sharon Liese have run the merit of short films up the flagpole — Wade even won an Oscar for one, “Freeheld,” in 2007 — and discovered that shorts are superior to feature-length documentaries for one reason above all: People lose interest fast.

“We both made feature docs and series, and feature docs are just too long,” Wade said in an interview with her co-director. “Docs are the best thing in the world, but it’s a lot to ask of people. We just felt like we could be very efficient.

On December 9, IndieWire will showcase some of the best Oscar-qualified short films of the year, at an event in Los Angeles co-hosted by ShortsTV and National Geographic Documentary Films. The program, which takes place ahead of IndieWire parent company Penske Media’s LA3C festival, features around 90 minutes of shorts that have qualified for the Oscar short film categories either by winning at an Oscar-qualifying festival or receiving an awards qualifying run.

Academy Members, Guild Members, Members of the Industry and fans may apply to attend this event here. (Capacity is limited; an application does not guarantee admission.) A limited number of tickets for the short film event will be available exclusively to LA3C passholders, who will also have access to additional events the same week hosted by fellow Penske brands Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, She Media, Vibe, Variety, and Women’s Wear Daily.

The program is an international selection that includes live action,...

Titles include Taiwan’s ’Goddamned Asura’ and Croatia’s ’Safe Place’.

Screen International is hosting a series of online FYC screenings focused on the 2022-23 awards campaign.

Sign up for the screenings here or scroll down

For the third year, Screen is partnering with Archipel Market, a film market platform powered by Cascade8, enabling industry professionals to interact and replicate film market activities online, all year round.

Find out more about the titles:

Safe Place - Croatia (Juraj Lerotic)

Lerotic wrote, directed and starred in this autobiographical family drama about a man trying to save his younger, depressed brother from taking his own life.

First titles are Indian box office hit ’Gangubai Kathiawadi’, Taiwan’s Goddamned Asura and short ’The Flagmakers’.

Screen International is hosting a series of online FYC screenings focused on the 2022-23 awards campaign.

Sign up for the screenings here or scroll down

For the third year, Screen is partnering with Archipel Market, a film market platform powered by Cascade8, enabling industry professionals to interact and replicate film market activities online, all year round.

Find out more about the titles:

Gangubai Kathiawadi – India (Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

This Hindi-language crime thriller tells the true story of how a young girl became the...

IndieWire is joining forces with National Geographic Documentary Films and ShortsTV to present a special program featuring some of the best Oscar-qualifying short films of the year in Los Angeles on December 9. It will take place as an extension of LA3C, the music, art, and food festival hosted by IndieWire parent company Penske Media taking place in Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10 and 11. A limited number of tickets for the short film event will be available exclusively to LA3C passholders, who will also have access to additional events the same week hosted by fellow Penske brands Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, She Media, Vibe, Variety, and Women’s Wear Daily. Tickets are now on sale for LA3C here.

Lining up with LA3C’s mission to celebrate Los Angeles as the capital of creativity and culture, the IndieWire event will bring an international selection of short films...

Click here to read the full article.

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Cobra Kai, Pinocchio, Gutsy and Growing Up.

Pinocchio premiere

Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans and director Robert Zemeckis premiered their new live-action adaptation at the Walt Disney Studios lot on Wednesday.

Luke Evans, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo and Robert Zemeckis Alan Bergman, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Cynthia Erivo, Bob Chapek, CEO of Walt Disney Studios, and Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production

Cobra Kai season five premiere

The fifth season of Netflix’s hit martial arts series was unveiled on Wednesday at L.A. State Historic Park, with stars William Zabka, Ralph Macchio and Martin Kove.

Griffin Santopietro, Thomas Ian Griffith, Dallas Dupree Young, Khalil Everage, Hannah Kepple, Yuji Okumoto, Joe Seo,...

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for ‘Gutsy,’ the highly anticipated eight-part documentary event following Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton as they celebrate the gutsy women who inspire them.

Set to premiere on Friday, September 9. Based on The New York Times bestselling book, ‘The Book of Gutsy Women,’ the docuseries features Hillary and Chelsea as they embark on a thought-provoking journey to speak with pioneering women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes who show us what it truly means to be gutsy.

Joining the Clintons are some of their personal heroes, extraordinary, courageous and resilient women who have made an impact in their community and on the world, including Glennon Doyle, Dr. Jane Goodall, Mariska Hargitay, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Amber Ruffin, Amy Schumer, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Symone (aka Reggie Gavin), Abby Wambach, Natalie Wynn (aka ContraPoints), and many more. “Gutsy” shows...

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are playing with bees, putting out fires and rappelling down cliffs with pioneering women in the new trailer for “Gutsy,” an eight-part documentary event hitting Apple TV+ on Sept. 9.

Based the book “The Book of Gutsy Women,” the docuseries follows the mother-daughter duo as they celebrate the women who inspire them. Together, the duo hits the road to embark on a thought-provoking journey with women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes.

Joining the Clintons in their conversations are Glennon Doyle, Dr. Jane Goodall, Mariska Hargitay, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Amber Ruffin, Amy Schumer, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Symone (aka Reggie Gavin), Abby Wambach, Natalie Wynn (aka ContraPoints) and more.

The series is produced for Apple by HiddenLight Productions in association with Left/Right LLC. “Gutsy” is executive produced by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton alongside Johnny Webb, Siobhan Sinnerton, Roma Khanna,...

Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton are interviewing women they admire.

The former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State leads “Gutsy,” an eight-part AppleTV+ docuseries based on the Clintons’ New York Times bestselling book “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.” The series premieres September 9.

Throughout “Gutsy,” the Clintons’ personal heroes ranging from Kim Kardashian, Mariska Hargitay, Megan Thee Stallion, Amy Schumer, and Gloria Steinem are interviewed, plus fellow mother-daughter duo Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson. Female artists, activists, community leaders, and everyday heroes are also included, with Glennon Doyle, Dr. Jane Goodall, Amber Ruffin, Wanda Sykes, Symone (aka Reggie Gavin), Abby Wambach, and Natalie Wynn (aka ContraPoints) also appearing as guests.

“Being in front of the camera in this series was kind of a leap of faith for me,” Hillary Clinton told Entertainment Weekly about the series. “It was outside my comfort zone.

Apple TV+ has dropped the trailer for Gutsy, an eight-part docuseries that follows Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton as they celebrate the gutsy women who inspire them.

Based on The New York Times bestselling book The Book of Gutsy Women, the series features the Clintons meeting with women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes. It will premiere September 9.

Joining the Clintons are some of their personal heroes including Glennon Doyle, Dr. Jane Goodall, Mariska Hargitay, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Amber Ruffin, Amy Schumer, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Symone (aka Reggie Gavin), Abby Wambach, Natalie Wynn (aka ContraPoints) and more.

Produced for Apple by HiddenLight Productions in association with Left/Right LLC, Gutsy is executive produced by the Clintons alongside Johnny Webb, Siobhan Sinnerton, Roma Khanna, Ken Druckerman, Banks Tarver and Anna Chai, who also serves as showrunner. Producers are Kevin Vargas and Claire Featherstone,...

Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea are hitting the road in their new docuseries “Gutsy,” talking to inspiring women and trying bold new activities along the way. In the first trailer for the series, we see the former women of the White House rappelling over waterfalls, putting out fires — and bowling with Wanda Sykes.

According to Apple TV+, the series “shows Hillary and Chelsea as you’ve never seen them before, revealing their special mother-daughter bond and the unique, multi-generational way they approach the important and timely issues highlighted in each episode.” Those issues are raised as part of “a thought-provoking journey to speak with pioneering women artists, activists, community leaders and everyday heroes who show us what it truly means to be gutsy.”

We see a few of those famous faces in the footage, including Kate Hudson and her mom Goldie Hawn, Kim Kardashian and more. But, the series isn’t limited to actors.

Women In Film is accepting applications for the organization’s 2019’s Film Finishing grants, which for the 34th year will award grants in cash and in-kind gifts for films by female directors. The submission period runs through July 14. Recipients will be revealed in November.

Last year, nine grantees were chosen by an industry jury. The winners emerged from a crop of 390 feature-length narrative films, documentaries and shorts, submitted from 22 countries.

This year, Wif said 10-15 grants will be awarded. It also plans to debut a public showcase of fund recipients’ completed films in September.

Previous Wif grantees have gone on to win Oscars, Emmys and festival awards. In 2018 three recipients — Amy Adrion’s documentary Half the Picture, Christina Choe’s Nancy and Stephanie Soechtig’s The Devil We Know — bowed at Sundance. Another docu, Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s United Skates, won the audience award at Tribeca. Another, Cynthia Wade’s Freeheld,...

Oahunov Nov 8-18, 2018

Kauainov Nov 15-18, 2018

Big Island & Maui Nov 29 -Dec 2, 2018

The 38th Hawaii International Film Festival is about to start and to continue the festival’s proud tradition of showcasing content and creatives from the Pacific, Asia and North America.

The festival this year features over 180 films, talks and events from 37 countries, with 47 Us, International and World Premieres across 32 sections. 2018 continues the tradition of programming a selection of critically-acclaimed and highly-anticipated films from Asia and around the world, while also giving a platform from emerging creative talents from across the Hawaii-Pacific region.

Outstanding films are accompanied by stars and filmmakers from around the world, connecting East and West through a dedication to discussion, diversity and creativity.

We have picked the Asian titles in the Programme and they are a lot!

Let’s have a look:

Shadow – Opening Night Film

China 2018 – Director: Zhang Yimou

50 First Kisses

Spotlight On Japan – Japan...

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Kindergarten Teacher” will open the 26th Hamptons International Film Festival on Oct. 4.

Gyllenhaal portrays a kindergarten teacher uses questionable methods to cultivate the poetic talents of one of her students.

Sara Colangelo directed the film, which also stars Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, and Gael García Bernal. Colangelo is a 2013 alumna of the festival’s annual screenwriters lab. She and Gyllenhaal will both attend the festival.

“The Kindergarten Teacher” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will also be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It is scheduled to be released Oct. 12 on Netflix.

The festival will also feature works from two other alums of its screenwriters lab: 2015 participant Ísold Uggadóttir’s “And Breathe Normally,” about the blossoming relationship of two women in Iceland — one an airport worker, the other a detained refugee; and 2016 participant Cathy Yan’s “Dead Pigs,” about the...

Films by three female alumni of the Hamptons Film Festival’s screenwriters lab have been confirmed for the lineup of the festival’s 26th annual edition in October. They include Sara Colangelo’s The Kindergarden Teacher, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, which will open the 26th edition in October.

Other alums with films in the initial lineup unveiled today include a pair of pics that premiered this year at Sundance: Ísold Uggadóttir’s And Breathe Normally and Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs. Yan was also the first recipient of support from the Melissa Mathison Fund, ​which supports female writers.

The festival, to be held this year over Columbus Day weekend October 4-8, also confirmed slots for the Oscar Wilde biopic The Happy Prince, starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and Emily Watson, which will screen in the fest’s Spotlight section; and the U.S. premiere of Cannes jury prize winner Capernaum from Nadine Labaki.

Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.

– The Austin Film Society has announced three 2017 honorees of the Texas Film Hall of Fame, including “Loving” director Jeff Nichols, documentary filmmaker Hector Galan and actor Tye Sheridan. Galan will be the first ever documentarian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The honors will be presented at the 2017 Texas Film Awards on March 9, 2017, at Austin Studios.

Read More: Tom Hanks to Receive Icon Award, Stallone Sisters Named Miss Golden Globe and More

“We have watched as the Texas film scene has grown from a small group of creative, underground filmmakers to a bonafide artist hub,” Rebecca Campbell, Austin Film Society CEO said in a statement. “These three honorees couldn’t be more representative of the Texas film scene of today, and why we are so proud of it.”

– Irwin Winkler will be honored with the...

Plus: Land Of Mine triumphs at AFI Fest; Warner Bros confirms Machinima acquisition; Tooley Productions, Square One sign German deal; and more.

Women In Film has announced the recipients of its 31st annual Film Finishing Fund grant programme in support of films by, for or about women.

The narrative winners are: Solace by Tchaiko Omawale; Band Aid by Zoe Lister-Jones; Miracle by Egle Vertelyte; and The Darkest Days Of Us by Astrid Rondero.

Documentary recipients are: Amor Puro Y Duro by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi; Canary In A Coal Mine by Jennifer Brea; Farida And Gulnaz by Clementine Malpas; Mudflow by Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander; Tribe by Jordan Bryon; and When A Girl Is Born by Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra.

Martin Zandvliet’s Danish Oscar submission Land Of Mine won AFI Fest 2016’s World Cinema Audience Award, while Divines took the Breathrough Audience Award. The Future Perfect took New Auteurs Grand Jury Award. For the...

Women In Film has announced the recipients of its 31st annual Film Finishing Fund grant programme in support of films by, for or about women.

The narrative winners are: Solace by Tchaiko Omawale; Band Aid by Zoe Lister-Jones; Miracle by Egle Vertelyte; and The Darkest Days Of Us by Astrid Rondero.

Documentary recipients are: Amor Puro Y Duro by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi; Canary In A Coal Mine by Jennifer Brea; Farida And Gulnaz

by Clementine Malpas; Mudflow by Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander; Tribe by Jordan Bryon; and When A Girl Is Born by Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra.

Sundance Institute has announced its fifth class of Women at Sundance Fellows to receive mid-career support. Each fellow is paired with a mentor and will receive a stipend to attend the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The fellows are: Elyse Steinberg (Weiner producer) and Elizabeth Wood (White Girl writer-director), Cecilia Aldarondo (Memories Of A Penitent Heart director), [link...

Acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman has directed observational portraits of social institutions for almost fifty years, and at the age of 86, he shows no signs of stopping. His last film “In Jackson Heights,” which focuses on the diverse Queens neighborhood, garnered widespread acclaim for its humanistic depiction of cultural difference. Now, Wiseman has received a grant from the Sundance Institute to finish his next documentary “Ex Libris — New York Public Library,” which examines in depth how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution. Sundance funded Wiseman’s new film at the “post-production” stage.

Read More: Frederick Wiseman on ‘In Jackson Heights’ and Finding Meaning Through Editing

Wiseman has directed over 40 documentaries since 1967, including films about mental institutions, high schools, the American Ballet Theatre and the National Gallery. He has won multiple awards, such as three Primetime Emmys and a Peabody. This year,...

The documentary, “Generation Startup”, which premiered at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival, features several college graduates who have embraced their entrepreneurial skills to join start-up ventures based in Detroit, Mi. Showing this week at Laemmle’s Monica Theater in Santa Monica, the film will appeal to all entrepreneurs, young and old.

The documentary follows six young men and women who want to use their education and dedication to building a brand from scratch. 90% of startups will fail and these young adults will do everything in their power not to be part of that percentage.

Watch the trailer here.

“Generation Startup” takes us to the front lines of entrepreneurship in America, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, it’s an honest, in-the-trenches look at what it takes to launch a startup.

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

Yikes. What a terrible weekend we just had, not only for the new movies released but also for the Weekend Warrior’s predictions. Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks’ Sully won its second weekend in a row with just under $22 million, but as far as the new movies, neither Lionsgate’s Blair Witch nor Universal’s Bridget Jones’s Baby did very well, putting the last nail in the coffin (hopefully) for sequels/remakes trying to play upon nostalgia that just isn’t there. (Good luck to the Rings movie opening next month!) Blair Witch ended up with $9.6 million to take second place and both Bridget Jones’s Baby and Oliver Stone’s Snowden ended up with around $8 million, so...

It’s always been difficult to start a business, but in someways, it’s never been harder than right now. Entrepreneurship is at an all-time low in this country and the future of the American economy depends on young people who wish to innovate with vision and tact. The new film “Generation Startup” takes us to the front lines of the new generation of American entrepreneurship, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, the film honestly examines the risks and struggles of launching a startup and how no one is ever really prepared to start. “Generation Startup” celebrates bravery, urban revitalization, and diversity, while striving to inspire a whole new crop of entrepreneurs to make their own way. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Buys ‘Contemporary Color,...

After starring in director Hal Hartley's hits such as The Unbelievable Truth and Trust in the early '90s, Adrienne Shelly became known as the original indie queen and gained a huge fan following. Driven to do even more in the film world, she began writing her own screenplays and directing her own movies, including Waitress, which became a hit 2007 movie and is now a smash musical on Broadway - nominated for four Tony Awards. Even though Shelly was happily married to marketing company owner Andy Ostroy, 56, and had a daughter she adored, Sophie, now 12, the film and the...

After starring in director Hal Hartley's hits such as The Unbelievable Truth and Trust in the early '90s, Adrienne Shelly became known as the original indie queen and gained a huge fan following. Driven to do even more in the film world, she began writing her own screenplays and directing her own movies, including Waitress, which became a hit 2007 movie and is now a smash musical on Broadway - nominated for four Tony Awards. Even though Shelly was happily married to marketing company owner Andy Ostroy, 56, and had a daughter she adored, Sophie, now 12, the film and the...

Actress and director Adrienne Shelly was pregnant with her daughter, Sophie, when she worked on her hit indie film, Waitress, about an unhappy but talented pie-baking Southern woman trying to get away from an abusive husband. While Shelly, who had starred in such indie hits as Hal Hartley's The Unbelievable Truth, was happily married to marketing company owner Andy Ostroy, she had trepidations about balancing her work with motherhood, which she wove into the script. "The central theme of the film is what Adrienne felt in her own life," Ostroy, 56, tells People. "This story is about a woman who is afraid.

Actress and director Adrienne Shelly was pregnant with her daughter, Sophie, when she worked on her hit indie film, Waitress, about an unhappy but talented pie-baking Southern woman trying to get away from an abusive husband. While Shelly, who had starred in such indie hits as Hal Hartley's The Unbelievable Truth, was happily married to marketing company owner Andy Ostroy, she had trepidations about balancing her work with motherhood, which she wove into the script. "The central theme of the film is what Adrienne felt in her own life," Ostroy, 56, tells People. "This story is about a woman who is afraid.

After working on Waitress, the indie film she wrote, directed and starred in with Keri Russell, for almost two years, actress Adrienne Shelly couldn't wait to hear if the movie had won a coveted spot at the Sundance Film Festival. "When I first read the script, I told her, 'This is going to be a big film,'" her husband, Andy Ostroy, 56, tells People in the new issue. "The pages just turned themselves." Shelly would never learn that Waitress became one of the top films of the prestigious festival - or that it became a success when it hit theaters in May 2007 and now,...

After working on Waitress, the indie film she wrote, directed and starred in with Keri Russell, for almost two years, actress Adrienne Shelly couldn’t wait to hear if the movie had won a coveted spot at the Sundance Film Festival. "When I first read the script, I told her, 'This is going to be a big film,'" her husband, Andy Ostroy, 56, tells People in the new issue. "The pages just turned themselves." Shelly would never learn that Waitress became one of the top films of the prestigious festival - or that it became a success when it hit theaters in May 2007 and now,...

May be a familiar David-versus-Goliath tale, but it is also an inspiring and hugely emotional experience, due in large part to the powerful performances. I’m “biast” (pro): always eager for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

In early 2006, the freeholders — the board of local government officials — in Ocean County, New Jersey, finally gave in and agreed, after numerous denials, to let decorated police office Laurel Hester, who was dying of cancer, pass on her pension to her registered domestic partner, Stacie Andree, in the same way that a heterosexual cop would be able to pass on his or her pension to a spouse. The 2007 film of the same name about Hester and Andree, by Cynthia Wade, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short, and this Freeheld — the first feature from director Peter Sollett since his charming...

Released two weeks after premiering at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, Peter Sollet’s awards-baiting Lgbt drama Freeheld failed to command an Oscar campaign. Raking in just under six hundred thousand at the domestic office following a demure roll-out from distributor Lionsgate, this depiction of Laurel Hester’s 2005 fight for equality plays like a civil rights footnote eclipsed by more meaningful instances from the past decade. Despite some honorable performances from the likes of Julianne Moore and Michael Shannon (not to mention some woefully clichéd support from Steve Carrell), the film is fettered by its desperation to remain relevant and appealing, though it never captures the gravity clearly seen in Cynthia Wade’s documentary short, which provided the basis for this film.

As far as the importance of awareness and acceptance goes, these films are still important, now that some distance from the period allows the chance for significant introspection...

It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.

Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...

A sallow, didactic little movie that proves modesty isn't always a virtue, Freeheld portrays the real-life struggle of Laurel Hester, a brave Ocean County, New Jersey, detective who, after a diagnosis of late-stage lung cancer, attempted to ensure that her pension benefits would go to her domestic partner Stacie Andree after her death. New Jersey as a state had recognized same-sex partnerships, but this was a county matter, so Hester had to convince the five-man Board of Freeholders to agree to her request. They refused. She fought back, and her case became a cause célèbre, transforming sleepy, sparsely attended county board hearings into hotbeds of protest and controversy. The events were laid out with suspense and passion in Cynthia Wade’s short, Oscar-winning 2007 documentary Freeheld. This narrative version loses both the suspense and the passion.Okay, that's not entirely fair. For its first half-hour or so, as it depicts the...

Freeheld Summit Entertainment Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B+ Director: Peter Sollett Written by: Ron Nyswaner based on Cynthia Wade’s documentary Cast: Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, Josh Charles Screened at: Dolby88, NYC, 9/24/15 Opens: October 2, 2015 They say that the reason more than half the country is now sympathetic to gay marriage is that we Americans know people among our own families and friends who are homosexual or lesbian, and hey, they’re real human beings! It’s a small step from that insight to the belief that in certain areas people should have equality—maybe not in income, but surely [ Read More ]

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Read More: The Great Gay Hope of Ellen Page and Julianne Moore's 'Freeheld' Peter Sollett's fact-based "Freeheld" offers recent Oscar winner Julianne Moore another juicy -- and emotionally wrenching -- role to bite into, hot off her Best Actress win for "Still Alice." In the film, Moore plays tough-as-nails police lieutenant Laurel Hester, whose life is upended when she falls in love with Stacie Andree (Ellen Page). Although she is compelled to keep her personal life a secret, Laurel and Stacie embark on a love affair that they intend to last a lifetime, going so far as to purchase a home together as registered domestic partners. But when Laurel is diagnosed with cancer, she can't hide any longer and is forced to use her personal experience to make sure that Stacie can benefit from her pension long after she's gone. Hester's fight was originally put on...

Read More: The 2015 Indiewire Tiff Bible Cynthia Wade's Oscar-winning 2007 documentary "Freeheld" tracks the stirring experiences of New Jersey police officer Laurel Hester, who fought for the right to give her pension to her younger partner Stacie after Hester was struck with brain cancer. Adapting the situation into narrative form, screenwriter Ron Nyswaner takes a page from his "Philadelphia" playbook with an ultra-sentimental, by-the-book scenario pitched to many more viewers than its built-in base. Unfortunately, while Julianne Moore and Ellen Page go great lengths to make the central romance convince, Nyswaner's undercooked script and Peter Sollett's direction have the opposite effect, reducing "Freeheld" to a tired formula. "Freeheld" works best in its first act, when it sets up the successful professional life that Hester (Moore) has carried on for nearly three decades. In the field with her longtime partner (Michael Shannon), she's a...

Slated to have its World Premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, here’s a first look at the final two posters for Freeheld.

Directed by Peter Sollett, Freeheld stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Josh Charles and Steve Carell.

Based on the Oscar-winning short documentary by Cynthia Wade (80th Academy Awards), and adapted by the writer of Philadelphia (Ron Nyswaner), Freeheld is the true love story of Laurel Hester (Moore) and Stacie Andree (Page) and their fight for justice.

A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials, Freeholders, conspire to prevent Laurel from doing this.

Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), and activist Steven Goldstein (Steve Carell), unite in Laurel and Stacie’s defense, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality.

Coming on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality is a noticeable increase in the amount of Lgbt stories in mainstream entertainment. First “Fun Home” takes top honors at the Tony Awards, then film awards season frontrunners “Carol” and “Grandma” feature more strong and complicated lesbian characters. Joining Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Lily Tomlin in the awards race is Oscar nominee Ellen Page and last year’s leading actress Oscar winner Julianne Moore in what look to be two of the most powerful performances of the season. “Freeheld,” based on the real-life story of Ocean County cop Laurel Hester, is screenwriter Ron Nyswaner’s adaptation of the Oscar-winning, Cynthia Wade-directed 2007 documentary of the same name. Helmed by Peter Sollett, the film centers on Hester’s terminal cancer diagnosis and subsequent fight to have her pension benefits transferred to her domestic partner Stacie Andree. Page,...

The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...

Following up her Oscar-winning turn in Still Alice, Julianne Moore is doing it tough again in Freeheld. This time it's cancer rather than early-onset Alzheimer’s that her character, a New Jersey police ’tec, is confronted with, but the consequences are no less severe. Take a look at the film’s new trailer to see what’s at stake.Moore’s isn’t the only Oscar pedigree at work on this drama. Freeheld is based on Cynthia Wade’s 2007 Oscar-winning short documentary of the same name. Both films tell the true-life story of police officer Laurel Hester (Moore), whose world was shattered when she became terminally ill. Prevented from leaving her pension to her partner, mechanic Stacie Andree (Ellen Page), she enlists the support and help of equality activist Steven Goldstein (Steve Carell, a late stand-in for Zach Galifianakis) and an initially disapproving friend at the department, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon...