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Stars: Kellen Raffaelo, Chris Galust, Lauren Benanti, Dylan McTee, Sam Duncan, Michael Boatman, Mariel Molino | Written and Directed by Tyler Chipman

A young boy witnesses the suicide of his father, and the appearance of the cowled, faceless figures that come to claim his soul. It’s a nightmare that plagues twenty-year-old Ryan who has recently lost his father to suicide. Nightmare is a term that could be applied to his waking life as well.

His mother Renee has buried herself in her work and his older brother Jason has gone off to college and has not returned. That leaves Ryan to take care of his younger sibling James while also attending classes, working, and seeing his therapist Dr. Huston and finding time for his girlfriend Alex.

It’s been hard for him to juggle all of these responsibilities, and now he faces another challenge. His brother has left school under...

Tyler Chipman’s “The Shade” (2023) revolves around a 20-year-old man struggling with anxiety issues since his father’s death. He suffers from panic attacks and tries to keep it together in his regular life. His mother and younger brother live with him. The guy’s older brother stays away and is intentionally distant for reasons that gradually become clear in the film. After Benjamin Barfoot’s “Daddy’s Head” for Shudder, this is another psychological horror film exploring the emotional burden of loss and grief. “The Shade” tries to tie together its haunting themes in its final moments. If you can’t make sense of the ending, find the explanation here.

Spoilers Ahead

The Shade (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Directed by Tyler Chipman, “The Shade” follows 20-year-old Ryan Beckman, who struggles with anxiety issues following his father’s passing, and starts battling some demons that haunt his entire family and threatens to destroy them.

The Shade The Family Secret Is Out For Blood A grieving young man struggles to protect his family from an unspeakable darkness. Available On Demand 11.22.24 Trailer 127 Min | Thriller | Horror | Drama | Psychological Thriller | Nr TV-14 Multiple Festival Award Winner! Winner Best Special Effects – Days of the Dead Film Festival Winner …

The post The Shade starring Chris Galust, Laura Benanti, Dylan McTee, Brendan Sexton exclusively On Demand Now! appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Tyler Chipman’s debut feature The Shade tells a deeply moving story. We meet Ryan, still grieving the loss of his father to suicide while also coping with mental health struggles of his own.

Just as he begins finding his footing again, older brother Jason returns home from college exhibiting strange behaviors. Ryan soon realizes an unexplained presence has been haunting his family for generations and connected to the male relatives’ wellbeing.

As Ryan works to uncover the truth, the entity tormenting him takes on increasing significance. Through Chris Galust’s nuanced lead performance, we experience Ryan’s anguish as he faces trauma both in his mind and from an emerging supernatural threat.

Flashing between mundane family moments and chilling visions, director Chipman keeps viewers unsettled yet empathetic. A sensitive yet unflinching examination of grief, The Shade portrays mental illness with care, avoiding simplistic tropes for a hauntingly real depiction...

The Op Games Brings the Fun With Clue®: What We Do in the Shadows: "The Op Games, a leading creator of board games including the TikTok sensation Tapple, is happy to announce the release of Clue®: What We Do in the Shadows (Msrp: $44.99). This exciting new edition of the classic board game brings the hilarious world of Staten Island’s favorite vampire roommates to board game enthusiasts and fans of the show alike, offering a fresh and amusing way to solve mysteries. The sixth and final season of FX’s critically acclaimed comedy, “What We Do in the Shadows,” premieres Monday, October 21 at 10pm Et/Pt and streams the next day on Hulu.

For decades, Clue® has captivated players with its engaging gameplay and intriguing scenarios. With this edition, players can immerse themselves in the quirky and supernatural universe of the series, navigating the darkly comedic environment while uncovering clues,...

"The family secret... is out for blood." How's that for a tagline? Level 33 Ent. has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror thriller titled The Shade, which marks the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Tyler Chipman. This one originally premiered at last year's Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and also played at the FogFest Horror Festival. Following the loss of his father, a grieving 20-year-old struggles to hold his family together as an unspeakable darkness plagues his older brother. He must confront this dark secret to save his family. The horror film stars Chris Galust, Laura Benanti, Michael Boatman, Mariel Molino, and Dylan McTee. Based on Tipman's own short film from 2020. This will have an exclusive theatrical release on screens in the US and Canada in September. Early reviews describe it as "an empathetic, deep dive into suicidal grief" highlighting the film's portrayal of the "bond between its brothers and...

The Shade, a supernatural horror film starring Chris Galust and Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti, has been acquired for North American distribution by Level 33 Entertainment. A family finds themselves dealing with more than grief in the new, exclusive trailer.

Writer/Director Tyler Chipman’s feature debut will have an exclusive theatrical release on several hundred screens in the U.S. and Canada this Fall ahead of its release across all digital platforms.

Look for the film to arrive in theaters on September 20, 2024.

The Shade follows, “twenty-year-old Ryan Beckman (Chris Galust) in the aftermath of the tragic loss of his father. Ryan lives with his mother Renee (Laura Benanti), and spends his days apprenticing at a local tattoo shop and looking after his younger brother James (Sam Duncan). The grieving college student struggles to hold his family together as an unspeakable darkness plagues his older brother Jason (Dylan McTee)—a collegiate...

Level 33 Entertainment has secured North American distribution rights to “The Shade,” a supernatural horror film starring Chris Galust and Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti.

The indie thriller is set for a theatrical release on several hundred screens across the U.S. and Canada this fall, followed by a digital platform rollout.

“The Shade” marks the feature directorial debut of Tyler Chipman, who also wrote the script. David Purdy produced the film for Red King Cinema.

The film explores themes of mental health, family dynamics and generational trauma. It follows Ryan Beckman (Galust), a 20-year-old grappling with his father’s recent death. As Ryan struggles to support his mother Renee (Benanti) and younger brother James (Sam Duncan), an ominous presence begins to haunt his older brother Jason (Dylan McTee), a college athlete who has unexpectedly returned home.

The distribution deal was negotiated by Purdy for the filmmakers and Andreas Olavarria, president...

Family Portrait.“You can’t always trust photographs,” may just be one line out of many in Lucy Kerr’s decisively polyphonous Family Portrait (2023). It is also a meta-statement encapsulating the film’s source of narrative tensions—that glaze of artificiality over every family portrait ever taken. Kerr’s debut feature stars Deragh Campbell as the protagonist, Katy. She and her boyfriend, Olek (Chris Galust), are the youngest couple in Katy’s big family—not to mention unmarried and childless—which makes them undeclared outsiders. There is no dramatic reason for them to be so eager to leave the holiday home, and yet they should get going. It’s late morning. The breakfast is lavish, with just the right amount of chaotic buzz. Olek is tasked with taking a family portrait, which will become this year’s Christmas card, but something feels off. Tensions mount as whispers of a recently...

Lucy Kerr delivers a surreal and tense twist on the dysfunctional family genre with Family Portrait. With a combination of natural lighting and tricky sound design, the movie keeps viewers guessing about how a seemingly innocuous family get-together holds something far darker. Despite the captivating atmosphere and direction, the movie's lack of major story and character development are sure to leave some underwhelmed, even with its short 78-minute runtime.

The art of surrealist filmmaking is one that has become a rare commodity in the modern cinematic landscape, with filmmakers like David Lynch having a more infrequent presence. With Family Portrait (2023) , however, debuting writer-director Lucy Kerr looks to revive this mysterious and ominous atmosphere through the similarly innocuous titular gathering. And while it does succeed in creating a bizarre atmosphere that captures plenty of simmering tension, it's trapped between being a proof-of-concept short film and a feature-length effort.

Family Portrait (2023)

Director...

Lucy Kerr’s unnerving debut, “Family Portrait,” opens with a sequence where a character is intent on materializing the title in literal fashion. Katy (Deragh Campbell), a 20-something, tries to wrangle adults and children to take a group photo together on a calid afternoon among the greenery in the family’s vast estate. As her relatives walk towards the chosen spot, the camera moves horizontally while bodies come in and out of the frame. Katy, wearing a frustrated expression, struggles to get them to cooperate. Their scattered movement and Katy’s exasperation give the scene a dreamlike uncanniness.

Could these images be Katy’s unconscious preemptively anxious about the task ahead? For the subsequent scenes, Kerr fragments the large group into smaller cohorts settled throughout the property, each having exchanges ranging from the perils of office life to long-established anecdotes. But while free-floating and airy in its construction, the film’s deceiving familiarity slowly erodes,...

Lucy Kerr’s vivisection of suburban naïveté, Family Portrait, opens with what could be a television advertisement for heart medication. Somewhere in Texas, late summer or early fall, a family meanders in a languid long take down to the riverbank to have their photograph taken for a Christmas card—three generations dressed in clean, bright clothes, flashing each other adoring smiles, the children weaving around the adults.

Except that this vision of togetherness, belonging, normality, comfort, is rendered unreal by the muted soundtrack, muddying the family’s dialogue past the point of intelligibility. As they all crowd into the frame, the adults corralling the children and forcing them into incongruous Santa hats, their voices become more distinct, and the scene abruptly cuts off. Not with the expected freeze frame of a camera flash, but before the family has struck a pose.

The rest of Family Portrait takes place at the...

One of the most acclaimed debuts at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival was writer/director Lucy Kerr’s debut “Family Portrait,” a disquieting drama about a family gathering where the matriarch goes missing. Kerr won the Boccalino d’Oro for Best Director at the Swiss festival. Now, Brooklyn-based indie distribution outfit Factory 25 has acquired worldwide rights to the film, with a theatrical run set to begin at New York City’s Metrograph on June 28. Further engagements and a digital release to follow. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.

Set at the dawn of Covid, “Family Portrait” follows Katy as she searches for the mother who can’t be found, the film weaving from one member of the family to another. The idyllic summer day setting descends into a more surreal environment as everyone starts to lose their sense of time and place. Kerr uses intimate Steadicam cinematography to blur...

Texas, late summer, a family in the dozen: with only a few simple building blocks, artist-filmmaker Lucy Kerr rearranges domesticity into eeriness in her feature debut, Family Portrait. It all begins with a ritual, the yearly “model family” Christmas card photo, the taking of which is already an ordeal. Katy (Deragh Campbell) is in a hurry to get it over with so she and her boyfriend Olek (Chris Galust) can depart. But suddenly the mother goes missing, her absence putting everything on hold. Over a seemingly endless day Katy asks after her mom, combing through all the places she could be at to no result. Throughout its slim runtime at 78 minutes the film shapeshifts again and again; its tone moves from jovial to unnerving to anxiously oneiric as we follow Katy deeper into herself in the hope to, paradoxically or not, meet her mother halfway.

Family Portrait deals with inexplicable loss,...

“Write about what you know,” the saying goes, and the same rule of thumb often applies to independent movies, with many a debuting filmmaker turning the camera on their own lives and families to create their first dramas. Such features as Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun and even Ari Aster’s Hereditary are prime examples of the genre, and there are surely countless others.

Writer-director Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait could be added to that list, except there’s a catch: If there’s drama, it exists somewhere beneath the surface, in a movie that’s filled with anxiety and foreboding without ever showcasing much of a plot. There is, in fact, a bare-bones narrative about a family coming together for their annual group photo — per the press notes, this happens just before the start of the Covid pandemic — but Kerr is less...

“Family Portrait,” written and directed by Lucy Kerr, has debuted its trailer ahead of its world premiere in Locarno Film Festival’s Cineasti Del Presente section. World sales are being handled by Flavio Armone at Lights On.

“Family Portrait” follows a sprawling family on a morning when they have planned a group picture. After the mother disappears and one of the daughters becomes increasingly anxious to find her and take the picture, the rest of the family appears to resist any attempt to gather.

“Initially presenting itself as a realistic portrayal of a family on an idle but hectic summer day, the film progressively descends into a realm where time and space lose their grip, transforming the family portrait into a solemn and enigmatic ritual of transition,” according to a press statement.

In a statement, the director said: “In ‘Family Portrait,’ the family denies the collective mourning experience, and thus,...

Marks the feature directorial debut of Singapore’s Nelson Yeo.

Italian sales agent Lights On has picked up world rights for Singapore director Nelson Yeo’s feature debut Dreaming And Dying and US filmmaker Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait, which will receive their world premieres in competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).

Both are set to play in Locarno’s competitive Cinema of the Present section, which spotlights new talent.

Fantasy drama Dreaming And Dying revolves around three middle-aged friends who reunite after years apart. But their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives...

Lights On, the Turin-based world sales company, has made a double swoop on Locarno titles, taking international sales rights to Lucy Kerr’s “Family Portrait” and “Dreaming & Dying” (“Hao Jiu Bu Jian”), written and directed by Singapore’s Nelson Yeo.

Both play in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presenti Sierra, focused on new talent. Locarno’s 2023 lineup was announced July 5.

‘Family Portrait’

The first feature from Kerr, a Texas-born filmmaker and video and installation artist, “Family Portrait” turns on a sprawling Texas family that gets together on a morning to take a group picture.

The mother disappears; the rest of the family seem reluctant to take the photos; one of the daughters, Katy, sets off to find her. Doing so, the synopsis says, she loses herself and her family.

Written by Kerr, “Family Portrait’s” key cast includes Deragh Campbell, Chris Galust “Give Me Liberty”), Rachel Alig (“Girl Next”) and Katie Folger (“Day 5”). Insufficient Funds,...

"If you're gonna fish, don't do it alone." Blue Fox Ent. has revealed an official trailer for an indie film titled Mending the Line, directed by Joshua Caldwell. This premiered at a few festivals in 2022, and is opening this summer. Mending the Line is a story about finding something to make living worthwhile. John Cotler, a wounded veteran, returns home still carrying the demons of war, hauntingly disturbed by the everyday expectations of friendships and love interests. In Livingston, Montana, he meets Ike, a surly, headstrong fly-fisherman more than twice his age, and Lucy, a talented photographer turned librarian who reads aloud to veterans, both struggling in their own way. Colter wants only to re-enlist, to have something to die for. But the real challenge is finding something to live for. Brian Cox stars with Sinqua Walls, Perry Mattfeld, Chris Galust, Patricia Heaton, & Wes Studi. This looks better than it sounds,...

Exclusive: Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired North America rights to the indie drama Mending the Line, starring Golden Globe winner Brian Cox (Succession) and Sinqua Walls (White Men Can’t Jump), slating it for release in theaters nationwide on June 9th.

The story follows Colter (Walls), a marine who has just returned home after being wounded in Afghanistan on his last patrol. His doctor (Patricia Heaton) at the Va hospital introduces him to a Vietnam War veteran (Cox) who has been treated at the facility for decades and teaches him to fly fish, hoping it will help the young man deal with his physical and emotional trauma.

Mending the Line opened the 2022 Woodstock Film Festival and later played the San Diego Film Festival, where it won the Valor Award, given to a military-themed film that conveys the impact of war while unfolding the emotional layers and the human condition of fighting a war.

Exclusive: Wes Studi (Hostiles), Patricia Heaton (The Middle), Perry Mattfeld (In the Dark), Chris Galust (Give Me Liberty) and Irene Bedard (The Stand) have joined the cast of Mending the Line.

They’ll appear in the film, which is currently in production in Montana, alongside previously announced cast members Brian Cox (Succession) and Sinqua Walls (Resort to Love).

The drama directed by Joshua Caldwell (Infamous) centers on a Marine injured in Afghanistan who makes his way to a Va hospital in Montana. There, he meets a damaged Vietnam vet who teaches him fly fishing as a means of coming to terms with his physical and emotional trauma.

Stephen Camelio penned the script for the feature, and is producing alongside Caldwell, Artimage Entertainment’s Carl Effenson, August Point Productions’ Kelly McKendry and Ckm Entertainment’s Scott MacLeod.

Cox and Walls are exec producing with Mark Comora, Kyle David Crosby, Roger Goff,...

Training Day meets the Exorcist in this satanic horror as a nattily dressed cleric reveals the ways of evil to a young acolyte

As a Guy Pearce stan, I would happily watch him read a vacuum cleaner instruction manual for two hours. So there was a delicious thrill in discovering he co-stars in this reasonably compelling horror feature as a nattily dressed hipster priest, sporting a plaid coat that looks designed by Gucci.

The idea is that Pearce’s character, Father Peter, learned the hard way during the pre-credits sequence just how nasty a business exorcism can be when he was an apprentice in the 1990s (the character played by Chris Galust for the purposes of a flashback) and saw a young boy burnt by the hellish force of evil. Fast forward to the present day, and Peter is assigned to teach a promising young pup fresh out of exorcism school,...

Stars: Clair Catherine, Jake Horowitz, Emily Sweet, Chris Galust, Kika Magalhães, Genti Kame, Klodian Hoxha | Written by Kathy Charles | Directed by Tate Steinsiek

The original Castle Freak was released in 1995 and directed by cult horror director Stuart Gordon who is best known for the highly entertaining Re-Animator and Dolls. Starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, Castle Freak was also well received and has since picked up a cult following. A following big enough for it to receive this 2020 remake.

Now I’m not as anti-remake as many filmgoers seem to be. The horror genre has plenty of them but it has plenty of good ones too. From The Thing to The Fly to Let Me In and Dawn of the Dead, I could carry on and name more but these prove enough that remakes can be great. Unfortunately Castle Freak is far from great.

The story covers the basic same plot points as a character,...

Clair Catherine and Chris Galust

One of those horror films that leaves a lingering impression, Stuart Gordon’s 1995 Castle Freak made a huge impact on audiences and remains a firm favourite with many genre fans. Now there’s a new Castle Freak out there courtesy of director Tate Steinsiek, and it’s also causing a stir. Tate had a lot to tell me in our recent interview, including his hope that this film will open the gates for a series of new cinematic ventures into the world of Hp Lovecraft, but I began by asking him if he experienced any trepidation about taking on such a well established genre work.

Castle Freak 1995 poster

“It's a strange thing. You know, it's something that I kind of got to experience the first time when I did the puppets for Puppet Master, you know, because those are characters that are are so loved.

"Whatever's hiding in the walls – I think it lives here." Rlje Films has revealed the official trailer for an indie horror remake called Castle Freak, a brand new update of the original 1995 cult classic horror also titled Castle Freak directed by Stuart Gordon. The film is a "reimagining" of the original, starring Barbara Crampton (who is producing this new one). An Albanian castle with bloodthirsty creatures is inherited by a young woman. She must unravel her family's mysterious history before she too falls prey to the Castle Freak. This new Castle Freak stars Clair Catherine, Jake Horowitz, Chris Galust, Kika Magalhaes, Emily Sweet, Elisha Pratt, and Omar Shariff Brunson Jr. This looks uber creepy and extra gory, it also looks incredibly cliche and derivative, offering nothing but the same old horror tropes. Stay away from this castle. Here's the new official trailer (+ poster) for Tate Steinsiek's Castle Freak, direct...

A reimagining of the 1995 film from Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli, Tate Steinsiek's Castle Freak is coming to Shudder on December 3rd, followed by a VOD and Digital HD release on December 4th, and the official trailer has been revealed ahead of its forthcoming debut.

Directed by Steinsiek, written by Kathy Charles, and produced by Barbara Crampton, the new Castle Freak film stars Clair Catherine, Jake Horowitz, Chris Galust, Kika Magalhaes, Emily Sweet, Elisha Pratt, and Omar Brunson.

You can check out the official trailer, synopsis, and poster below:

"After she’s permanently blinded in a tragic car accident, Rebecca’s receives some bizarre news: her long-lost-mother has recently passed away, leaving her their family’s ancestral castle. Traveling to the estate with a group of friends, Rebecca hopes it will be an opportunity for her to reconnect with a past she never knew—and a mother who seemingly left her behind.

Exclusive: After the theatrical release off its horror-comedy Porno was cancelled due to coronavirus theater closures, horror brand Fangoria is attempting to re-create some form of that experience by setting a ‘virtual premiere’ for tomorrow (April 10).

From 12:00 Am, screenings will be hosted online where viewers can select a movie theater they want to support, and then purchase online tickets via Vimeo. Tickets are $12 a piece and will last for 48 hours after purchase, the window will run until May 1 before the movie heads onto VOD May 8.

More from DeadlineStephen Lang, Keith David & Chris Galust Join Guy Pearce In Exorcism Horror 'The Seventh Day'Mexican Star Vadhir Derbez Joins Guy Pearce In Exorcism Horror 'The Seventh Day'Fangoria Buys World Rights On SXSW Comedy-Horror 'Porno'

Participating theaters include Gateway Film Center, FilmBar, The Frida Cinema, Pfs at The Roxy, Screenland Armour, and 23 Alamo Drafthouse markets.

Exclusive: Ellen Wander’s La-based sales firm Film Bridge International is launching a horror label called Film Bridge After Dark, i.e. F-bad.

Film Bridge has picked up a slate of movies from Dallas Sonnier’s (Bone Tomahawk) Cinestate, owner of the Fangoria and Rebeller labels. Among the titles which will be sold internationally are Castle Freak and Porno.

More from DeadlineStephen Lang, Keith David & Chris Galust Join Guy Pearce In Exorcism Horror 'The Seventh Day''Evil' Star Mike Colter Joins Jason Sudeikis & Evangeline Lilly In Thriller 'Till Death'Mexican Star Vadhir Derbez Joins Guy Pearce In Exorcism Horror 'The Seventh Day'

The former, a re-imagining of Stuart Gordon’s 1995 film about a horrific creature lurking within the shadows of a castle, is directed by Tate Steinsiek and written by Kathy Charles. The film is set to be released in North America by Rlje and Fangoria in summer 2020.

Horror-comedy Porno...

Exclusive: In the wake of taking the John Cassvetees award at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards for their comedy Give Me Liberty, the pic’s director/co-scribe Kirill Mikhanovsky and scribe Alice Austen have inked with Wme.

Give Me Liberty was nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards this year including Best Editing, Best Male Lead (Chris Galust) and Best Supporting Female (Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer). The movie made its world premiere at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen in the Directors’ Fornight at last year’s Cannes. Made for less than $500K, Give Me Liberty centers around medical transport driver Vic who risks his job to shuttle a group of rowdy seniors and a Russian boxer to a funeral, dragging a young woman with Als, along for the ride. The pic notched a 91% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Previously, Mikhanovsky wrote Gabriel and...

The Chattanooga Film Festival is a must-attend event for genre fans every year and 2020 is no exception, with the initial lineup including Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's Synchronic and the world premiere of the new Castle Freak!

To learn more about the fest and purchase tickets, visit:

https://www.chattfilmfest.org/

Press Release: Chattanooga, Tn - The Chattanooga Film Festival (Cff) is hard at work solidifying its film and event programming for their 2020 installment and is excited to share the first small wave of titles and events. Taking place April 16 - 19 at Chattanooga’s Songbirds Guitar Museum, a gorgeous new venue that’s quickly established itself as one of the Scenic City’s premier entertainment destinations, Cff promises four days filled to the brim with films, special events and workshops.

Opening night will have attendees lined up for the profoundly moving sci-fi drama Synchronic, starring Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie.

Uncut Gems wins best lead actor, directing, editing.

Lulu Wang’s The Farewell was named best feature at the Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday (8) in a night that recognised female directing talent in stark contrast to tomorrow’s Oscars.

Olivia Wilde won best first film for Booksmart, and American Factory, co-directed by Julia Reichert, (alongside Steven Bognar), won best documentary.

Renée Zellweger won best actress for Judy and has virtually swept the boards this awards season ahead of Sunday’s expected win at the Academy Awards.

Adam Sandler was a popular winner for Uncut Gems, which took home...

Fans of Josh and Benny Safdie’s nail-biter “Uncut Gems” have been eager to see Adam Sandler lauded for his performance as scumbag bling jeweler Howard Ratner since one of the earliest screenings of the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, where an audience member yelled “An Oscar for Sandman!,” creating a refrain repeated throughout awards season. Despite all the acclaim for his performance, Sandler didn’t land an Academy Award nod. But on Saturday he received a redemption of sorts when he won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

In his acceptance speech, Sandler went into character, as he previously did when introducing the Safdies at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, offering a self-aware reflection on what it meant for him to win.

“Hello my name is Adam Sandler,” he began in the goofy voice he would use for duration of the speech. “Thank you.

Adam Sandler is coming out on top.

The comedian, 53, picked up the best male lead 2020 Independent Spirit Award for Uncut Gems after being snubbed in the Oscars category. Sandler’s dramatic turn in the hectic Safdie Brothers film brought him critical acclaim. The Murder Mystery star plays a jewelry store owner deep in gambling debt who places all he has left on the sale of a rare gem.

Sandler beat out Robert Pattinson for The Lighthouse, Chris Galust for Give Me Liberty, Kelvin Harrison Jr. for Luce and Matthias Schoenaerts for The Mustang.

“I’d like to give a shout-out...

Adam Sandler has taken home the 2020 Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead thanks to his critically acclaimed performance in Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Uncut Gems.” Sandler earned the best reviews of his career for his performance as Howard Ratner, a self-destructive New York City gambler whose escalating addiction to gambling derails his personal and professional career. The Spirit Award victory gives Sandler his second major Best Actor prize of the 2019-20 awards season. Sandler previously won Best Actor at the National Board of Review awards. Sandler won the Spirit Award over fellow 2020 nominees Chris Galust (“Give Me Liberty”), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Luce”), Robert Pattinson (“The Lighthouse”), and Matthias Schoenaerts (“The Mustang”).

Despite the Spirit Awards prize, Adam Sandler will not be repeating his victory at the 92nd Academy Awards as he was shut out of the race in favor of nominees Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), Leonardo DiCaprio...

As you’re reading this, the 35th Independent Spirit Awards are being held. Oscar will have their say tomorrow evening, but today, it’s the indie films getting their turn! Will this awards show honor the likes of The Farewell, The Lighthouse, Marriage Story, or Uncut Gems? Maybe some combination of them all? We’ll know in a few hours, that’s for sure. What this space for the Spirit Award results once the show is over. A number of deserving movies and performances are about to have one last moment in the sun, before the Academy Awards suck up the last bit of awards season oxygen. If nothing else, it’s a fun, more casual moment, before the pomp and circumstance of the Oscars… Leading the way was Uncut Gems, which took home Best Actor for Adam Sandler, Best Director for Josh Safdieand Benny Safdie, Best Editing for Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie.

The 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Saturday in recognition of the best in indie films from 2019.

Willem Dafoe won the first award, Best Supporting Male, for his role in “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” won Best Editing, while the Best Documentary award went to “American Factory.” Best Cinematography went to Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse.”

Kelly Reichardt was awarded The Bonnie Award, which recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant. The John Cassavetes Award, given to the best feature made for under $500,000, was given to “Give Me Liberty.”

Also Read: Independent Spirit Awards 2020: Aubrey Plaza's Best Jokes (So Far)

“Parasite” won Best International Film. Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female for her role in “The Farewell.” “Marriage Story” won Best Screenplay. Adam Sandler won Best Male Lead for his performance in “Uncut Gems” and Renée Zellweger received the Best Female Lead for her role in “Judy.

The winners of the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards are being announced live during today’s ceremony, hosted for the second year in a row by Aubrey Plaza (fresh off rave reviews from Sundance for her performance in the indie “Black Bear”). Unlike the Oscars where Netflix is the most-nominated studio, the Spirit Awards are dominated in 2020 by A24. The indie distributor boats 18 nominations across four movies: “The Lighthouse,” “Waves,” “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems,” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” The Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” and Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” lead all movies with five nominations each. Both of these films are nominated for Best Feature along with Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” and Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency.”

Last year’s big Spirit Award winner was Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which won prizes for Best Feature,...

Who won at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 8? Aubrey Plaza returned to host the 35th annual ceremony from Santa Monica beach, which honored the best in independent films for the 2019 calendar year. The top feature race included one Oscar contender, “Marriage Story,” as well as “Uncut Gems,” “The Farewell,” “Clemency” and “A Hidden Life.” Scroll down to see the full list of 2020 Indie Spirits champs. How did they compare to Gold Derby’s predictions?

SEEIndependent Spirit Awards live blog 2020: All the big winners as they happen [Updating Live]

The Spirit Award nominations were decided by committees made up of film industry members including critics, programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees/champs, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors. The award winners were chosen by all members of Film Independent who pay yearly dues of $95.

Leading the list of Spirit nominations at five apiece...

The 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards aired live coast-to-coast Saturday, February 8 on IFC, aka the day before the Oscars. If you missed the ceremony on TV, worry not — Gold Derby has you covered with our informative play-by-play. Below, follow along with our updating live blog as we reveal all of the 2020 Spirit Awards winners as they happen. Funny lady Aubrey Plaza returned as host for the second consecutive year.

The main feature category included one Oscar nominee for Best Picture, “Marriage Story,” as well as “A Hidden Life,” “Clemency,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems.” The director race recognized these handful of auteurs: Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse”), Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”), Julius Onah (“Luce”), Safdie Brothers (“Uncut Gems”) and Lorene Scafaria (“Hustlers”).

SEEThis is how he wins: Adam Sandler will shine at Spirit Awards with a victory for ‘Uncut Gems’

As for the lead acting races, the Best Actor lineup consisted...

The 35th annual Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent cinema, took place Saturday in Santa Monica.

Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” won best picture, while Adam Sandler and Renee Zellweger took home the top acting prizes.

Full list of winners.

Best Feature

A Hidden Life

Clemency

The Farewell (Winner)

Marriage Story

Uncut Gems

Best Director

Robert Eggers – The Lighthouse

Alma Har’el – Honey Boy

Julius Onah – Luce

Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Lorene Scafaria – Hustlers

Best First Feature

Booksmart (Winner)

The Climb

Diane

The Last Black Man In San Francisco

The Mustang

See You Yesterday

Best Female Lead

Karen Allen – Colewell

Hong Chau – Driveways

Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell

Mary Kay Place – Diane

Alfre Woodard – Clemency

Renée Zellweger – Judy (Winner)

Best Male Lead

Chris Galust – Give Me Liberty

Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce

Robert Pattinson – The Lighthouse

Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems (Winner)

Matthias Schoenaerts – The Mustang

Best Supporting Female

Jennifer Lopez...

Aubrey Plaza will return to host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica.

The 35th annual Spirit Awards are set to air live on the IFC Channel beginning at 5 p.m. Et/2 p.m. Pt. The network will live stream the ceremony on its website, though audiences will need a cable login to watch. TV subscribers can also watch the show live on IFC app’s, available on iOS and Android, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox, and Android TV devices.

This year’s top Spirit Award nominees include Robert Pattinson’s “The Lighthouse” and Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems,” with five nods each. Shia Labeouf’s “Honey Boy” and Kirill Mikhanovsky’s scored four nominations.

“Uncut Gems,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” are up for best feature.

Here’s the full...

Who will win at the Independent Spirit Awards on February 8? Scroll down to see our predictions in 13 categories listed in order of our racetrack odds, with projected winners highlighted in gold.

More than 2,600 Gold Derby users have placed their bets here in our predictions center as of this writing. That includes Expert journalists from top media outlets, the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s Spirit Award winners and the All-Star Top 24 Users who got the highest scores when you combine prediction results from the last two years.

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The Spirit Award nominations were decided by committees made up of members of the film community including film critics, film programmers, producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, actors, past nominees and winners, and members of Film Independent’s Board of Directors.

Unlike his “mama,” Adam Sandler did not get an Oscar nomination for “Uncut Gems,” but he could still have a golden weekend, because as Howard Ratner would say, “This is how I win.” With 16/5 odds, Sandler is the overwhelming favorite to take home Best Actor at Saturday’s Independent Spirit Awards.

The potential victory would be a consolation prize for the Sandman, who earned some of the best reviews of his career for his riveting turn as a gambling addict and jeweler. He racked up a bunch of critics awards, but was overlooked by the main precursors, the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ultimately the Oscars in what was, to be fair, one of the most competitive Best Actor fields.

Luckily for Sandler, none of the Best Actor Oscar nominees are Spirit nominees. Adam Driver was ineligible because “Marriage Story” is receiving the Robert Altman Award, which...

In two days, the Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out. By now, we all know how different the Spirit Awards are than Oscar. That goes without saying. This year, the Academy Awards largely went in a separate direction, so there’s less crossover than usual. So, that means we can worry less about if these voters will reject/simulate the Academy, and just focus on how the vote might go. I’ve tinkered a bit with my picks, though ultimately I think it could be a really good night for Uncut Gems. Watch out for The Farewell (or Marriage Story) in the top category, while The Lighthouse could end up spoiling in several categories. It’s going to be interesting, the results, that much I can assure you of… Enough talk. You’ve read my thoughts on this race already in the very recent past. Time for what...

The night before the Academy Awards, the Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out. Obviously, the indie equivalent to the Oscars is not a predictable precursor, but it has another charm to it. Namely, it’s that this is the final chance to cite some of the beloved movies of 2019 that the Academy snubbed. Films that came close to Oscar nominations but missed, as well as ones that never sniffed a nomination, they both compete equally here. Other years have had more flicks that line up with the big boys, but it’s an interesting mix here. In fact, it’s very hard to tell how the Indie Spirit Awards will go this time around, but I’m about to try, that’s for sure. Take a look now at my predictions for the Spirit Awards. We’ll have another update before the show, but for now, this is my preview…...

Exclusive: Cast has been rounded out on The Seventh Day, the horror pic starring Guy Pearce and Mexican actor Vadhir Derbez in the story of a renowned exorcist who teams up with a rookie priest for his first day of training.

Joining them are Stephen Lang (Avatar), Keith David (The Thing), Chris Galust (Give Me Liberty), Robin Bartlett (City Of Angels), and Brady Jenness (The Sinner).

Lang will co-star as serious and deeply pious archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of New Orleans. David will portray Father Louis, a mentor to Father Peter (Pearce) in his youth. Bartlett is set to portray Helen, a New Orleans social worker. Galust will play young Father Peter, and Jenness will portray Charlie Giroux, a young boy accused of a heinous crime while allegedly under the influence of demonic possession.

The project is shooting next month in Dallas and New Orleans. Justin P. Lange is directing from his own script,...

Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’ dominated Monday’s 29th annual IFP Gotham Awards with four wins, including Best Feature and Best Actor for Adam Driver.

The ceremony, celebrating the best in indie cinema and television, was held Monday evening at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City and was presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project.

Acting awards went to Driver, to Awkwafina for “The Farewell” (Best Actress) and to Taylor Russell for “Waves” (Breakthrough Actress).

“American Factory” was named the year’s best documentary, while Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre won in the Breakthrough Director category for “The Mustang.”

In the television categories, prizes went to the Netflix miniseries “When They See Us” and the Hulu sitcom “PEN15.”...

“Marriage Story,” a drama about a painful divorce between a loving Hollywood couple, won best feature at the Gotham Awards in downtown Manhattan on Monday night.

The annual event in early December, hosted by the Independent Filmmakers Project, resembles the Iowa caucus as the first stop on the long and tangled road of awards season. And like in Iowa, many campaigners put on a brave face — in the middle of a snowstorm this year — as they delivered carefully scripted speeches, designed to win approval and gain votes.

The biggest winner of the night was Netflix, which released “Marriage Story.” The streaming giant managed to wrestle away six trophies (out of 10 that were handed out) for a celebration that is supposed to be devoted to independent story tellers.

“Marriage Story” won four of those prizes. In addition to best feature, the movie also took home best actor for Adam Driver, best...

The 2019 Gotham Independent Film Awards honored the best in independent cinema this year. From blockbuster success stories like “Hustlers” to festival darlings such as “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems,” this year’s nominees kept with the Gothams’ tradition for highlighting top Oscar contenders (“Marriage Story”) and indie film underdogs (“Waves”).

The Gotham Awards nominations were led by “Marriage Story,” “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems,” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” all four of which earned three nominations. The latter three were A24 releases. “Marriage Story” was produced and distributed by Netflix. Films such as “Clemency,” “Diane,” and “High Flying Bird” received two nominations each. Nominated television series include Ava DuVeray’s Netflix limited series “When They See Us” and Hulu’s breakout freshman comedy series “Pen15.”

It was a huge night for Netflix with six wins, including four for “Marriage Story.” The Noah Baumbach film won Best Feature. Other...

Awards season is officially underway!

The 2019 Gotham Awards, which honors the best in independent cinema, is being held tonight in downtown New York. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Et. Watch the full live stream above.

This year’s Gotham nominees include “Marriage Story,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems,” which each received three nominations each. “The Last Man in San Francisco,” a drama that premiered at Sundance and opened over the summer from A24, also scored three nominations: breakthrough director (Joe Talbot), best screenplay and breakthrough actor (Jonathan Majors).

Expected to attend are Awkwafina, Noah Baumbach, Sterling K. Brown, Adam Sandler, Adam Driver, Constance Wu, and Will Ferrell, among many others.

Here’s the full list of Gotham nominations:

Best Feature

“The Farewell” (A24)

“Hustlers” (STXfilms)

“Marriage Story” (Netflix)

“Uncut Gems” (A24)

“Waves” (A24)

Best Documentary

“American Factory” (Netflix)

“Apollo 11” (Neon and CNN Films)

“The Edge of Democracy” (Netflix...