We also interviewed the film’s audacious director, writer, producer, and star, the Emmy-nominated Cherien Dabis (dir: Ozark, Ramy, Only Murders in the Building).

Here’s the synopsis:

After a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the family story of hope, courage and relentless struggle that led to this fateful moment.

Ruffalo was struck by the film’s multi-generational portrait of overcoming trauma with grace.

He’s the type of artist who doesn’t mind delving into darker, messier projects about human nature, like Foxcatcher and HBO’s I Know This Much Is True.

And that’s part of what attracted him to partner with Cherien Dabis.

Dabis shared the wild process of making her film. Having to cancel the shoot two weeks before production and move to a new country, the finished product is a seamless combination of four crews from four countries, three assistant directors, and two cinematographers.

Yet, it doesn’t miss a beat. Here is the trailer:

Clarkson has acted in:

• The Untouchables (1987)

• Jumanji (1995)

• The Green Mile (1999)

• Far from Heaven (2002)

• The Station Agent (2003)

• Dogville (2003)

• Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

• Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

• Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

• Shutter Island (2010)

• Easy A (2010)

• The Maze Runner series (2014-2018)

• House of Cards (2017-2018)

Here’s Lilly’s synopsis:

A courageous factory worker fights for justice when cheated and mistreated by her company. Based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter.

Variety included it on its list of “The Best Overlooked Films of 2025.”

Here is the trailer:

Now available on Netflix.

Edgerton has acted in:

• King Arthur (2004)

• Warrior (2011)

• The Thing (2011)

• Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

• The Great Gatsby (2013)

• Midnight Special (2016)

• Loving (2016)

• It Comes at Night (2017)

• Apple TV+’s Dark Matter (2024)

• Train Dreams (2025)

Here’s The Plague’s synopsis:

A socially awkward tween endures the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer.

Edgerton plays the head water polo coach, but his character may as well be a wet noodle.

Edgerton expanded:

“It was about creating an adult figure who was almost not necessarily just purely hopeless, but a little bit failed in his own way and well-meaning, but at the end of the day, there's a set of rules that children create that they self-govern, that no parent, no matter how sturdy, can come in and dismantle their created legal system or social system.”

In Edgerton’s absence, the camp devolves into a Lord of the Flies-esque social experiment where a single boy is ostracized to such an extreme level that it bends into mythology.

Here is the trailer:

In select theaters on December 24th.

Synopsis:

After a tragic loss, a grieving father tries to raise his young sons whilst dealing with an unlikely, unpredictable, and uninvited houseguest.

Southern has previously directed a trio of music docs:

• Showtime’s Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022)

• Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)

• No Distance Left to Run (2010)

The Thing With Feathers is a wonderful departure. It had the best filmmaking of any film I saw this year at Sundance.

In theaters now.

Here’s the trailer:

Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise trilogy. Clerks. Not too many others.

Joining this club is The Brothers McMullen, which won Sundance in 1995. The sequel is The Family McMullen, which HBO is releasing today.

I sat down with the director, writer, and co-star of both films, Edward Burns, as well as the lead in both films, Connie Britton (White Lotus S1). The films, using much of the same cast, show how family values evolve and erode over the course of a generation.

Britton, who made her acting debut in The Brothers McMullen, shared:

“This [sequel] reflects wisdom, earned wisdom of age, even though we have all these young characters… As we grow older and wiser, there actually is a releasing of cynicism.”

The cynicism burrowed in much of the first film is that the brothers are terrified of getting tied down by marriage.

That’s the wonderful irony of The Family McMullen, Burns explained:

“None of those relationships from the first film worked out, but maybe that isn’t for the worse. Maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Because in the end, you’re older, you’re wiser, you discover…”

The charm of the film is that each character, in their own way, overcomes their stasis and finds love, whether for the first time or 2nd… or 3rd time.

But while most characters escape their bad habits, Ed Burns’ character is tinged with the trauma of his upbringing. In fact, he parrots a line to his children that his father said to him in The Brothers McMullen:

“The only thing I want to hear out of you is nothing.”

It’s said slightly in jest, but it’s a haunting moment that we can’t fully outgrow the imprints of our youth.

For More:

The Brothers McMullen trailer

The Family McMullen trailer.

Book Synopsis:

A-list actor Peter Compton and producing partner Marci Levy exist in the rarefied air of Hollywood’s elite. Their status as a married power couple is unmatched, their presence in any room transformative and god-like. But as their private jet lands in Atlanta to begin production on a tentpole superhero movie, even their privileged position will come under threat by the massive pressures of such an undertaking.

Tim Blake Nelson’s Superhero is a window into the film industry. A perspective drawn from working with the top artists in the film industry.

He’s been directed by:

• Steven Spielberg

• Terrence Malick

• Guillermo del Toro

• Coen brothers

He’s acted opposite:

• Daniel Day-Lewis

• Tom Cruise

• George Clooney

• John Turturro

He’s directed and written films starring:

• Edward Norton

• Kristen Stewart

• Martin Sheen

• Josh Hartnett

For anyone who is in the industry, Tim’s Superhero is a hell of a read.

At its core, Superhero gets to what we all secretly wonder. Does our work matter? And how do we prevent the power structures of the business of filmmaking from corrupting us?

During the event, Tim shared his philosophy and methodology for filmmaking and story creation.

And, on an incredible personal note, he shared two conversations that changed his life. One from his mother, the other from Joel Coen.

Superhero is now available to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Tim-Blake-Nelson/dp/1961884623

During the interview, I became convinced that Welcker should win an Oscar for his work.

The technical and creative challenges on this project were immense:

• Capturing clean audio of an actor singing and playing the guitar while in a moving, open-top Model T driving along a gravel road. No greenscreen or VFX was used.

• Figuring out how to provide synchronized dialogue and motion cues for Michael B. Jordan, who plays twins in the film. The timing had to be just right to correspond to the Technocrane’s camera move.

• Working with the composer, music editor, and playback operator live on set during the surreal montage sequence, as we see the past, present, and future of music with a multitude of different instruments, performances, and styles.

Welcker details the process steps for all the above. It’s a fascinating deep dive, and I learned an incredible amount.

Here’s the Sinners trailer:

Welcker’s previous production sound mixer credits include:

• Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025)

• Spinal Tap 2 (2025)

• Carry-On (2024)

• Rebel Ridge (2024)

• Queen and Slim (2019)

• The Old Man and the Gun (2018)

• The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Sinners is now streaming on HBO.

Melissa Leo is one of the most talented actresses of our time, having acted in:

• 21 Grams (2003)

• Frozen River (2008)

• The Fighter (2010)

• Flight (2012)

• Oblivion (2013)

• Prisoners (2013)

• The Equalizer (2014)

• The Big Short (2015)

Recently, she’s starred in films from Swab, including:

• Body Brokers (2021)

• Ida Red (2021)

• King Ivory (2025)

King Ivory synopsis:

Based upon extensive research with law enforcement, gangs, inmates, migrants, and addicts, an exposé on fentanyl trafficking, and its effect on all walks of life.

In addition to Leo, the film stars James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Michael Mando, and Academy Award Nominee Graham Greene.

The interview is a deep dive into how Leo and Swab’s working relationship has evolved over time. From Swab first getting Leo’s email in a very interesting way, to Leo passing on his first film, to them developing a shorthand over many features.

What I love about this interview is how Melissa Leo became a teacher to John Swab, and they’re both very humble and transparent about how much they’ve developed.

Here’s the King Ivory trailer:

In theaters November 14th.

In the following interview, I deep dive with Dillane:

• How he developed the character for the audition (and one massive mistake he made the night before)

• How he evolved the character after getting cast

• How he worked with the director on set

Dillane’s performance is spectacular. And if you don’t recognize his name, you’ve likely seen him before in:

• AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead

• A young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

• ITV’s recent series Joan, in which he co-starred with Sophie Turner

Urchin is a must-watch for any actor.

Trailer:

Across 9 feature films, he’s directed:

• Rachel McAdams

• John Lithgow

• Isabelle Huppert

• Ben Whishaw

• Rebecca Hall

• Chris Cooper

• Patricia Clarkson

• Pierce Brosnan

• Greg Kinnear

• Alfred Molina

• Marisa Tomei

• Brendan Gleeson

In directing each of these actors, he’s crafted consistent standout performances.

In the interview, Sachs details his methodology for working with actors.

For Sachs’ latest film, Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall, which premiered at Sundance, he prepped Whishaw by filling him in on his character's biography, supplying him with voice recordings, and providing in-depth info on the 57 people mentioned in the film.

But what was most surprising was what Sachs withheld:

“I’m not interested in talking about subtext with an actor. I feel like subtext, once it’s revealed becomes text and that’s not what I want.”

He continued:

“But I’m aware if they don’t seem connected to certain words. Like if they seem like there is a gap between their kind of embodiment of a word and what I’m hearing.”

Sachs’ role is to be a good listener, almost like an analyst, tuned into the material with a masterful eye for staging like Ozu or Fassbinder (two of his idols).

Here’s the trailer for Peter Hujar’s Day:

Janus Films releases Peter Hujar’s Day releases November 6th in NYC and LA.

This is one of the stealthiest edited films ever, both literally and figuratively. Etminan cut much of the film on Adobe Premiere while in hiding from the police. But also on screen, much of It Was Just an Accident is composed of long takes.

Etminan takes us through how he sculpted the long takes both visually and sonically to preserve the rhythm of director Jafar Panahi, whom he holds in the highest regard.

For me, the film is about retribution by people with a lot of heart. It’s about an eye for an eye with someone who has lost a leg.

Trailer:

Etminan previously cut the director Jafar Panahi’s film No Bears (2022), which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice.

Tyler has scored a number of docs centered on Hollywood legends, including:

• Netflix’s Sly (2023)

  • Subject: Sylvester Stallone

  • Trailer

• HBO’s Faye (2024)

  • Subject: Faye Dunaway

  • Trailer

Each of these three biographical documentaries is heavily driven by music. And in each, Strickland uses a powerful orchestral score to capture each performer’s essence.

He shared how he found the right tone for the John Candy doc:

“We talked about doing the score for John Candy with a lot of like synths and having it be more 80s music driven, just to kind of put us in that place in time that he was dominating the market.”

When Strickland saw the interview footage with Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, and Steve Martin, being so heartfelt, he knew the synth pop wasn’t going to work.

Strickland stated:

"Then the score [became] mostly orchestral. And we really wanted to treat John like this Hollywood icon, so it was like, let’s give him a Hollywood score.”

The film has a grandeur to it that paints Candy as glowing with love. But as often happens, Candy forgets to project that inwards and hides a lot of pain. And this leads to his slow unraveling.

Check out the interview above for a deep dive into how Tyler scored the film. We also talk about how he broke into film composing, how he likes to work with directors, and his thoughts on AI-generated music.

Now available to stream on Prime.

Cox has acted in:

• Michael Mann's Manhunter (1986)

• Braveheart (1995)

• Rushmore (1998)

• The Bourne Identity (2002)

• 25th Hour (2002)

• Adaptation (2002)

• The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

• Zodiac (2007)

• Succession (2018-2023)

We also interviewed some of Glenrothan’s cast, including Alexandra Shipp (Barbie, The Good Half) and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones Diary series, Harry Potter series).

Here’s the Glenrothan synopsis:

After 35 years in the United States, Donal (Alan Cumming) returns to his family-owned whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands. When he left, his dear mother had died and, on the very day of her funeral, he and his brother Sandy (Cox) wound up in a violent exchange with their father.

All those years away provided Donal with the chance to become the version of himself that his chaotic family would never allow, but the wounds from that terrible time have never fully healed.

Now, with the survival of their treasured family business on the line, Donal hopes to make amends with Sandy — and to find some desperately needed inner peace — before it’s too late.

In Glenrothan, Alan Cumming and Brian Cox play feuding brothers, who are cantankerous to their core. However, my favorite scene in the film is when they are at their most childish. In a delightful moment, the brothers’ resentment escalates into a physical fight. And we watch two of the most legendary actors of our generation, tussling on the ground like children.

First look still:

This is their feature directorial debut. Notably, Tom, who also wrote the script, penned another film headed to TIFF, Carolina Caroline, starring Samara Weaving.

Here’s the Charlie Harper synopsis:

Harper and Charlie try to build a life together. While Harper strives to carve out a career as a chef, Charlie is stuck. Facing challenges in their relationship, they struggle to prove they are meant for each other, but will it be enough?

The film features two stellar performances by CODA’s Emilia Jones as Harper and Nick Robinson (Love, Simon) as Charlie.

There’s an interesting non-linear element in the film that allows us to ricochet between the couple’s idealized first year together and their contentious present, 5 years into the relationship.

Dean shared:

“That was the core idea from which this relationship story blossomed. Feeling nostalgic for memories that you don't want to return to.”

The idealization of the past pushes Jones and Harper to cling to each other well after it is toxic.

The film has shades of Blue Valentine and even Certified Copy.

Check out the interview below for a deep dive into how they crafted their first feature film.

Vigalondo directed/wrote one of the best time travel films ever made: Timecrimes (2007).

It is a time loop film about self-sabotage, an analogy for the protagonist’s moral decay, specifically the destructive downward spiral of jealousy in a relationship.

His second feature, Extraterrestrial, distributed by Focus Features in the US, centers on a man who wakes up after a one-night stand to discover that there has been an alien invasion.

His 3rd feature, Colossal (2016), was Neon's first film. It stars Anne Hathaway as the accidental puppet master for a giant alien monster.

His 4th feature is Daniela Forever starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Grannò (White Lotus).

The film shares visual language with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with a liminal dream space that is both invasive and, at times, more real than reality.

What is spellbinding is watching Henry Golding fall to pieces, who has previously been burned into our minds as the shining buttoned-up man with a soft spot in Crazy Rich Asians.

Here’s the synopsis:

As her mother Sandy (Gretchen Mol) grapples with an uncertain diagnosis, autistic 22-year-old Margarita (a revelatory Lillian Carrier) must reluctantly grow up.

We deep dive into how she put together the budget for the film and her approach to line producing.

Her course is also tailored to those looking to become a producer, line producer, UPM, production supervisor, or creative producer.

Learn how to Schedule and Budget your film.

Click here for more info: https://www.filmparliament.com/

• ABC's Detroit 1-8-7 (co-producer)

• ABC's Revenge (producer)

• A&E's Bates Motel (supervising producer)

  • Star: Vera Farmiga

• NBC's Shades of Blue (consulting producer)

  • Stars: Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta

• Prime's Hunters (co-showrunner, EP)

  • Star: Al Pacino

• Paramount+’s The Offer (showrunner, EP)

  • Star: Miles Teller, Juno Temple

Her latest project is the Long Bright River, a Peacock Original starring Amanda Seyfried, where she serves as showrunner, co-creator, writer, director, and EP.

Here’s the synopsis:

A Philadelphia police officer searches for her sister, an addict who has gone missing.

That shouldn’t be surprising.

In 2020, she co-starred opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat 2 and somehow managed to be even zanier and more unhinged than him in her portrayal of his pathologically sheltered daughter.

Her staunch commitment to the bits, which involved dehumanization, embarrassment, and high-risk, was handled with such confidence that watching the film, I truly believed she was the character:

But she’s not just great at playing bombastic.

She also has an immense ability to glide through scenes, like in her icy portrayl of Ivana Trump in The Apprentice (2024), where she bullies and charms Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.

The first scene where she meets Trump (Stan) is shocking in how unreactive she is, which really winds him up. And then later we watch the soft shades of her crippling pain as the relationship tanks.

During our interview about her recent film Electra, a modern retelling of the Greek myth of the same name, Bakalova unpacks how she delivered a raw portrait of a performance artist who feeds off the megalomaniacal energy of a music star (Spencer’s Jack Farthing).

The film is highly improvised, and during the interview, Bakalova is as comfortable unpacking improv techniques as she is dishing on her love of Dogma 95.

Electra premieres in theaters today, May 2nd.

There are some horror stories, there are some great examples, and some strategies that you can implement in your filmmaking and acting.

Vanessa Hope is the director and producer behind the recent documentary Invisible Nation (2024), an official selection at CPH:DOX and IDFA and winner of the audience award at the Middleburg Film Festival.

She excels at giving the oppressed a voice. Like much of her work, Invisible Nation finds t…

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