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Shatara Michelle Ford’s sophomore feature Dreams in Nightmares is a Black road trip film with a big heart, full of warmth, healing, and beauty. With their debut film Test Pattern, Ford announced themselves as an essential new voice in Black cinema, with a focus on the lives and struggles of Black women. Here, Ford tackles similar themes with a wider scope that includes Black femmes, queer love, and non-monogamous relationship structures. An even mix of comedy and drama, Dreams in Nightmares is a work that feels both casual and cathartic.

Laid off from her teaching job, Z (Denée Benton) is unsure how to move forward. What’s a creative writing professor to do without students? Is teaching what she really wants, or is it time to switch gears? Z often dreams of a doorway opening into the unknown, but she always wakes before walking through it. Her loving partner...

“Dreams In Nightmares” starts from a very familiar place. Three friends go on a journey to search for a fourth, in the process discovering new truths about themselves. A main character even announces that they want “the quintessential American road trip.” But as the audience settles into what they think will be a story frequently told, Shatara Michelle Ford’s sophomore film reveals itself to be much more than that. The film, which premiered as the opening night presentation at Philadelphia’s Blackstar Film Festival, punctures those expectations to deliver something grander and more poetic.

A university professor and a business consultant who have recently been laid off from their respective jobs, Z (Denée Benton) and Tasha (Sasha Compère) are spending time together to cope with the unemployment blues. They join their friend Lauren (Dezi Bing), a poet who works odd jobs to make ends meet, on a trip to...

Three cross-coastal best friends reunite for a spontaneous road trip across the American underbelly in Dreams in Nightmares, the sophomore feature from writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford. Though a significant pivot in theme and scope from their lean yet intense debut feature Test Pattern, Ford’s latest continues to plainly indicts the oppression that finds Black, femme, queer bodies at a stark institutional disadvantage. After being laid off from their respective jobs in academia and finance, Z (Denée Benton) and Tasha (Sasha Compère) hop on the phone to reschedule a planned trip to the Dominican Republic. Instead of lounging in paradise, Tasha […]

The post “I Wanted to Make a Black, Gay Paris, Texas“: Shatara Michelle Ford on Their BlackStar-Premiering Sophomore Feature Dreams in Nightmares first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Three cross-coastal best friends reunite for a spontaneous road trip across the American underbelly in Dreams in Nightmares, the sophomore feature from writer-director Shatara Michelle Ford. Though a significant pivot in theme and scope from their lean yet intense debut feature Test Pattern, Ford’s latest continues to plainly indicts the oppression that finds Black, femme, queer bodies at a stark institutional disadvantage. After being laid off from their respective jobs in academia and finance, Z (Denée Benton) and Tasha (Sasha Compère) hop on the phone to reschedule a planned trip to the Dominican Republic. Instead of lounging in paradise, Tasha […]

The post “I Wanted to Make a Black, Gay Paris, Texas“: Shatara Michelle Ford on Their BlackStar-Premiering Sophomore Feature Dreams in Nightmares first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Rising acclaimed filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford has completed their highly anticipated sophomore feature, following their Indie Spirit- and Gothams-nominated debut “Test Pattern.” Ford (who uses they/she/their pronouns) will premiere their “Dreams in Nightmares” as the opening night film at this year’s BlackStar Film Festival on August 1.

Ford’s “Test Pattern,” a standout debut from 2019, also premiered at BlackStar that same year. The film was distributed by Kino Lorber and went on to be nominated for three Gotham Awards, including Best Picture and three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best First Feature. Billed by this writer as a “perceptive look at sexual assault and relationships,” Ford’s film was one of the finest of the year, and spelled the beginning of a very exciting career for the filmmaker.

Where as “Test Pattern” was, per today’s official announcement, “a tense thriller exploring the aftermath of a sexual assault...

Perspective is one of the building blocks of cinema. It’s often thought of as a visual tool, but it doesn’t stop there. The audience is forfeiting both their visual and auditory senses and it’s the filmmakers’ job to take them on a journey using both images and sound.

In sound world, we aren’t simply creating the literal reality of where a character is currently located; we’re using sound to give a sense of the emotional situation using the naturalistic elements of that location. It’s the process of creating an experience wherein the audience steps into the subjectivity of a character—and to create that, it isn’t always as simple as “see a dog, hear a dog.” The cut is what the audience sees and the sonic-perspective is what they feel.

Case in point: take a stressful scene, one where our hero screams out loud from angst and frustration.

The 37th Annual Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday, returning to an in-person format following last year’s virtual ceremony. Many of the biggest names in the independent film community made the trek out to the beach in Santa Monica with the hopes of taking home the most coveted prizes in indie film. While the Spirit Awards typically take place the week before the Oscars, this year’s unique Covid-influenced awards season calendar meant that they were held nearly a month in advance. Hollywood couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally served as emcees of the proceedings.

This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show...

The 37th Annual Indie Spirit Awards were at California’s Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, March 6, honoring the best American films made for less than $20 million (foreign films get their own International Feature category). Nominations were selected by film industry insiders and critics, while winners were voted on by the wider Film Independent membership. The organization includes industry professionals but also any movie aficionados who pay for membership starting at $95 per year. So who won? Scroll down for our live blog breaking down all the winners as they’re announced and their significance in this awards season.

SEEOscars 2022: 1st 6 presenters announced are Lady Gaga, Kevin Costner, Zoe Kravitz, Chris Rock, Rosie Perez, Yuh-Jung Youn

The Spirit Awards have often been a preview of the Oscars in recent years as the Oscars have more regularly honored lower-budget films like “Birdman,” “Spotlight,” “Moonlight,” and “Nomadland,” all of which won top honors at both awards.

The 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Sunday at the Santa Monica Pier, with comedy power couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally serving as hosts.

There weren’t too many surprises throughout the night. Troy Kotsur won the first award of the evening, Best Supporting Male Actor for “Coda,” very much as predicted. Taylour Paige took home Best Female Lead Actor, for “Zola,” while Simon Rex, of “Red Rocket,” walked away with Best Male Lead. Ruth Negga won Best Supporting Female Actor for “Passing,” beating out Jessie Buckley from “The Lost Daughter.”

But Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaptation of the Elena Ferrante book won the three other categories in which it was nominated — Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Feature — and was the night’s biggest victor. Gyllenhaal gave three effusive thank you speeches, spreading her appreciation around to her cast, crew, financiers, publicist, husband and mother. “Women in film!

Exclusive: 7 Days, the romantic comedy from The Resident co-creator Roshan Sethi that stars Geraldine Viswanathan and Karan Soni, now has a release date and a trailer. Cinedigm, which acquired the pic in November after its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, will release it wide in theaters March 25.

The news comes as the rom-com is up for an Independent Spirit Award this weekend for Best First Feature.

Soni (Deadpool) and Viswanathan star in the film, which was co-written by Sethi and Soni, partners in real life. The plot revolves around a pair of Indian-American twentysomethings who find themselves bonding in unusual circumstances following a dud date set arranged by their conservative parents.

Zenobia Shroff, Aparna Nancherla, Gita Reddy and Mark Duplass also star. Liz Cardenas and Mel Eslyn are producers, with Jay and Mark Duplass, Soni, Sethi and Viswanathan executive producing. Maddie Buis is co-producer.

Check out the trailer above.

Almost 2,000 Gold Derby readers have made their Indie Spirit predictions in advance of Sunday’s ceremony. Scroll down to see our official odds in all 13 movie categories based on those combined predictions. Our projected winners are highlighted in gold.

SEEOscars 2022: 20 movie reunions we would love to see happen on the ceremony, including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Titanic,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and more

The Indie Spirit Awards winners are voted on by members of Film Independent. Membership is open to any movie fans who pay $95 in yearly dues, which often leads to the highest-profile Oscar contenders winning top prizes against less widely publicized films. But this year Film Independent snubbed many of the Oscar front-runners; this is only the second time in the last 13 years that there are no Best Picture Oscar nominees among the Spirit contenders for Best Feature.

The black comedy “Zola” led the nominations with seven including Best Feature, Best...

Unlike some of its A-list competitors at the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards, Shatara Michelle Ford’s debut film “Test Pattern” was funded on nine credit cards the director took out themself.

Awards shows like the Spirits and the Gothams are known for highlighting the possibilities of indie cinema, but there isn’t always a clear through line among those filmmaker’s experiences. All contenders are labeled “low budget” projects: the Gothams set a $35 million budget cap for eligibility, and the Spirits are even stricter, stopping nominations at $22.5 million. But any discussion of “millions” still leaves a wide range — the term “micro-budget” exists for a reason — and there’s also the question of where the money comes from in the first place. For example, “Zola” and “The Lost Daughter,” two of the most nominated films at the Spirits, were financed by A24 and Endeavor Content, respectively.

“I had tried to get...

Alex Camilleri, Lizzie Shapiro and Jessica Beshir have received Film Independent’s $25,000 Spirit Awards cash grants for emerging filmmakers. The announcements were made by Ekwa Msangi (“Farewell Amor”), Gerry Kim (“I’m No Longer Here”) and Elegance Bratton (“Pier Kids”), who received the grants last year.

Camilleri, director of “Luzzu,” received the Someone to Watch Award. The prize is in its 28th year and recognizes talented filmmakers of singular vision who have not yet received appropriate recognition. Finalists for the award were Michael Sarnoski, director of “Pig,” and Gillian Wallace Horvat, director of “I Blame Society.”

Shapiro, producer of “Shiva Baby,” received the Producers Award. The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award is in its 25th year. Finalists included Brad Becker-Parton, who produced “Italian Studies,” and Pin-Chun Liu, who produced “Test Pattern.”

Beshir, director of “Faya Dayi,...

Nominees for the 53rd NAACP Image Awards are officially in, with Netflix taking the lead with 52 noms overall for titles across film and TV including The Harder They Fall, Passing, Bruised, The Upshaws and Maid.

The Harder They Fall’s nominations include for Outstanding Motion Picture, where it joins fellow nominees Judas and the Black Messiah and King Richard from Warner Bros, MGM/Uar’s Respect and Hulu’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

The show announcing marquee winners is set to place February 26 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt live on BET. The NAACP will recognize winners in non-televised categories February 21-25, with those ceremonies to stream on NAACPImageAwards.net.

The Image Awards celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color across more than 80 competitive categories spanning film, television, streaming, music, literature and podcasts. That category count is up from the 70-plus categories recognized earlier this year.

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

It’s challenging to contextualize 2021, a year that largely felt like a gradual restart to moviegoing and, maybe, a new normal. Cinema, to that end, remains largely escapist, even if some pictures like Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn and Stop and Go (nee Recovery) directly confronted some of the anxiety—perhaps even some of the absurdity—of Covid times. 2020 was slated to be a year of big films and many of those (F9 and No Time to Die) surfaced in 2021, while some (Licorice Pizza and Spider-Man: No Way Home) were freshly made under extensive safety protocols. In some ways the multiplex in 2021 felt a lot like outlet shopping: certain films were fresh and on-trend, others felt like relics from another time.

On the festival front,...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

By many metrics, 2021 was a terrible year. Whether it was the persistence of a global pandemic and the ineffectiveness of those in charge to properly manage it or the increasing inanity of Film Twitter discourse clogging one’s timeline every day, it often felt like there was nowhere to seek relief from this year’s woes. But there was salvation somewhere: inside the films themselves. Despite what some may lead you to believe, and despite the perhaps rather milquetoast quality of many of this year’s award candidates, 2021 was the best year for cinema we’ve seen in quite some time.

Whether you were able to head back to theaters at some point during the year or remained watching from the safety of your own home, there...

For our most comprehensive year-end feature we’re providing a cumulative look at The Film Stage’s favorite films of 2021. We’ve asked contributors to compile ten-best lists with five honorable mentions—a selection of those personal lists will be shared in coming days—and from tallied votes has a top 50 been assembled.

So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2021 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming weeks as we look towards 2022.

50. This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection (Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese)

Framed as an epic fable and shot like a myth, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection is another beautiful, tragic diary entry on the history and people of his home country Lesotho. His focus shifts from the metaphorical relationship of Mother, I am Suffocating, This...

The voting for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s (Lafca) best films and best performances of 2021 took place virtually on Saturday. The awards were announced via the group’s Twitter account. throughout the day. The top prizes went to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” for Best Picture, plus Best Director, Best Actor Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”), and Best Actress Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”). See the full list below.

Other top winners of the awards included Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which took runner-up in several categories, as well as the music documentary, “Summer of Soul.”

Last year’s top prize for Best Picture went to Steve McQueen’s omnibus film “Small Axe,” with eventual Best Picture Oscar winner “Nomadland” as the runner-up. Carey Mulligan won Best Actress for “Promising Young Woman,” Chadwick Boseman won Best Actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Youh-jung Youn won Best Supporting Actress for “Minari,...

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Lafca) announced the winners of their 47th annual awards on Sunday (Dec. 20). These California-based reviewers are the second major critics group to reveal their list of winners, as their New York counterparts went first last Friday (Dec. 3). The Gotham critics named the Japanese import “Drive My Car” as Best Picture and the Cali crew concurred. Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car” tells the story of a stage actor and director who is happily married to a playwright, who mysteriously disappears.

Last year the west coasters opted to award their top prize to a TV series: “Small Axe,” a 5-part anthology series that streamed on Amazon. In 2019, Lafca previewed the Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards when it went with “Parasite.” Prior to that the L.A. critics had lined up with the Oscars in both 2016 and 2017, when they foretold the upsets by...

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Lafca) voted on the best achievements in film in 2021 on Saturday, announcing its award winners through its Twitter account.

The organization named Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s breakout drama “Drive My Car” as the best film of the year, with “The Power of the Dog” taking the runner-up slot. Lafca flipped the two in the category of best director, awarding “Power of the Dog” helmer Campion with Hamaguchi as the runner-up. With its best picture win, “Drive My Car” has become one of fourteen films to win the top prize from the Lafca and New York Film Critics Circle. Each of these films has gone on to become a best picture nominee.

Other big winners included Simon Rex in “Red Rocket” for best actor, Penélope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” for best actress and Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story” for best supporting actress. Best supporting actor...

A24 is the leading film distributor with 13 nominations, followed by Neon and Netflix on nine.

Janicza Bravo’s Zola led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with seven nods, followed by Lauren Hadaway’s The Novice with five and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter on four.

All three are competing for best feature and best director, with Ninja Thyberg for Pleasure and Mike Mills for C’mon C’mon rounding out the latter category. It’s the second year in a row that four women have been nominated for best director.

The other best feature nominees are C’mon C’mon...

“Zola,” a darkly comic look at a part-time stripper’s Florida trip gone horribly wrong, topped nominations for the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards, picking up a leading seven nods.

But the film, which is based on a Twitter thread that went viral, faces fierce competition in the best feature category. It’s up against “The Novice,” a twisty thriller that scored five nominations, as well as “The Lost Daughter,” an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name, which scored four nominations. Rounding out the feature film race are “A Chiara,” an Italian-language family drama, and “C’mon C’mon,” a warm-hearted look at an uncle’s relationship with his young nephew.

The nominations were announced Tuesday by Beanie Feldstein, Regina Hall and Naomi Watts. Returning in-person in 2022 after going virtual due to Covid in 2021, the awards highlight and celebrate movies that are, for the most part, produced and...

The 31st annual Gotham Awards is a key stop in the awards season marathon, especially for lower-budget indies looking for some traction for the Oscars race. However, not every likely Oscar contender found itself up for Gothams, including “The Power of the Dog,” “Tick, Tick… Boom!” and “The Harder They Fall,” as they exceeded the $35 million budget limit for nominees.

For the first time, international documentaries were eligible in the best documentary feature category. Additionally, the new award breakthrough nonfiction series is among category updates for the year, as well as outstanding lead performance, outstanding supporting performance and outstanding performance in a new series, from the television side. Outstanding lead performance, breakthrough performance and outstanding supporting performance were all gender neutral categories, with eight men and 14 women nominated.

Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter” ran away with the evening, scoring the most amount of wins with prizes in best feature, breakthrough director for Maggie Gyllenhaal,...

The Gotham Awards were handed out on November 29 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. So who won at these annual indie film kudos from The Gotham Film and Media Institute, which streamed on YouTube and Facebook? Scroll down for the complete list of winners in all categories.

Netflix’s “The Lost Daughter” and “Passing” went in as the two most nominated films with five apiece, but that didn’t automatically mean they were the front-runners. Categories at these awards are judged by panels of just a handful of industry insiders, often leading to unexpected, under-the-radar winners. You can’t count anyone out at an event where unique juries review all the nominated material.

Seersvp now for November 30: Film producers panel with ‘Being the Ricardos,’ ‘Belfast,’ ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘tick, tick… Boom!’

That means these awards can be quite idiosyncratic — they’re independent thinkers, and not...

The Gotham Awards took place on November 29 in Lower Manhattan, back in their usual prime slot at the start of the awards season. The event marks the first significant awards ceremony of the season, ahead of most critics groups and guilds.

Films with budgets exceeding $35 million are automatically disqualified from Gotham Awards consideration. For this reason, major Oscar contenders from Netflix, such as Jane Campion’s Venice winner “Power of the Dog,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut “Tick Tick Boom,” Jeymes Samuels’ “The Harder They Fall,” and Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” did not make the cut.

Kristen Stewart received this year’s Performer Tribute thanks to her performance in “Spencer.” Other...

The Gotham Awards pave the way to the Oscars — helping elevate films and performers early on in the awards season. Focusing on the best of independent cinema, the ceremony aims to honor films with budgets of $35 million or lower.

The awards show will take place on Nov. 29 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City at 8 p.m. Et. Viewers can watch the event live on YouTube, with the livestream beginning at 7:30 p.m. Et.

One new element of this year’s show is that the organization has gotten rid of gendered awards. The best actor and best actress categories for independent feature films will instead be known as outstanding lead performance and outstanding supporting performance.

Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute, explained the decision to go gender neutral in a statement, saying, “The Gotham Awards have a 30 year history of celebrating diverse voices in independent storytelling.

The 2021 Gotham Awards, traditionally one of the first awards shows of the movie-kudos season, is set for Monday in-person at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, with the red carpet and cocktail party to launch at 7:30 p.m. Et/4:30 p.m. Pt and the ceremony to begin at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt.

The event will be streamed live on organizer Gotham Film & Media Institute’s YouTube channel and Facebook page here. Deadline will also cover the awards show live.

The 31st annual Gothams will honor the best of the year in film and TV in 12 categories. The indie-slanted event recognizes films with budgets under $35 million, which will mean some buzzy awards-season titles aren’t eligible this year. This year’s Best Feature nominees are A24’s The Green Knight, Netflix’s The Lost Daughter and Passing,...

The Gotham Awards will be the first awards body on the independent circuit to choose its winners for the year on Monday.

On the film side, two Netflix features lead the tally, both from debut women filmmakers — Rebecca Hall’s “Passing” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter.” There isn’t always an obvious blueprint to predicting this group. As we saw with last year’s two tied categories, things could get interesting at Cipriani Wall Street. The Gotham are just the start of a busy week that has a great influence on the Oscar race. After Monday’s first critics and guild screening of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and Wednesday’s unveiling of Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” Thursday brings us the National Board of Review selections before the New York Film Critics Circle weighs in on Friday.

As for the television side, the Gothams will...

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter and Rebecca Hall’s Passing, both from Netflix, swept the top nominations for the Gotham Awards this year as the independent film honors and awards-season portal unveiled its noms list Thursday morning ahead of an in-person ceremony next month.

The Lost Daughter was nominated in the Best Feature, Breakthrough Director and Screenplay for Gyllenhall, lead performance for Olivia Colman and Supporting Performance for Jessie Buckley. Passing scored four noms including Best Feature.

Others in the Best Feature category include The Green Knight (A24), Pig (Neon) and Test Pattern (Kino Lorber).

Films released from March 1-December 31, 2021 and TV series from Oct. 1, 2020-September 30, 2021 were eligible. See full list of nominations below.

A24 and Netflix each had 10 nominations overall. Others were spread across distributors. A24 titles included Red Rocket; lead performance nods to Taylour Paige...

Ahead of a ceremony on November 29, this year’s Gotham Awards nominations have been unveiled, featuring some of the year’s finest cinema. Among the nominations are some personal favorites here at The Film Stage, including Drive My Car, Faya Dayi, The Worst Person in the World (a film that still doesn’t have an actual 2021 U.S. release date), Test Pattern, and El Planeta.

This year, the Gothams made a switch to have all performance categories be gender neutral, with those categories have been restructured into Outstanding Leading and Supporting Performance categories for feature films, joining the already existing Breakthrough Performer category.

Check out the film nominations for the Gotham Awards below.

Best Feature

The Green Knight

David Lowery, director; Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, David Lowery, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, producers (A24)

The Lost Daughter

Maggie Gyllenhaal, director; Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Charles Dorfman,...

“The Green Knight,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Passing,” “Pig” and “Test Pattern” will compete for best feature film at the 31st annual Gotham Awards. The event is key stop in the awards season marathon, particularly for lower-budgeted indie fare that is looking to elbow into the Oscars race.

At the Gothams, “Passing,” a black-and-white drama that examines racism and colorist, and “The Lost Daughter,” a searing look at motherhood, led the pack with five nominations apiece. Close behind was “Coda,” a tender look at a teenager who is the only hearing member of a deaf family, earned three nominations including one of breakthrough performer for its star Emilia Jones. “Red Rocket,” the story of a washed-up porn star who returns to his hometown, also nabbed three nominations.

Nominees for the best documentary prize include “Ascension,” “Faya Dayi,” “Flee,” “President,” and “Summer Of Soul.” Best international feature is a race between “Azor,...

The annual Gotham Awards is, once again, the first prominent awards ceremony out of the gate during Oscar season, thanks to this morning’s nominations announcement. Films with budgets exceeding $35 million are automatically disqualified from Gotham Awards consideration. For this reason, major Oscar contenders from Netflix, such as Jane Campion’s Venice winner “Power of the Dog,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut “Tick Tick Boom,” Jeymes Samuels’ “The Harder They Fall,” and Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” did not make the cut.

Prior to the nominations announcement, the Gotham Awards confirmed that Kristen Stewart would be the recipient of this year’s Performer Tribute thanks to her performance in “Spencer.” Other honorees include Eamonn Bowles (who is receiving the Industry Tribute), the cast of “The Harder They Fall” (receiving the Ensemble Tribute), and Campion (who is receiving the Director’s Tribute).

The Gotham Awards don’t always line up with the Oscars,...

The 2021 Gotham Awards nominations have been revealed.

Two Netflix titles, The Lost Daughter and Passing, lead this year’s film nominees with five nominations each, followed by three nods apiece for Apple’s Coda and Kino Lorber’s Test Pattern. Double film nominees include The Green Knight, Red Rocket, The Card Counter, C’Mon C’Mon, Shiva Baby and Zola.

The Lost Daughter, Passing, Test Pattern and The Green Knight are all nominated for best feature, along with Neon’s Pig.

On the TV side, the Gotham Awards is among the first groups to recognize buzzy new series Squid Game, The White Lotus and Reservation Dogs, which each scored two nominations.

This ...

Exclusive: UTA has signed filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford, who recently made their feature directorial debut with the drama Test Pattern.

The film, which was picked up by Kino Lorber, follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit. Ford wrote the screenplay and produced the pic.

Test Pattern premiered at BlackStar Film Festival, where it won the Lionsgate/Starz Producer Award. Ford also picked up the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the deadCenter Film Festival. The film currently sits at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ford’s script, Queen Elizabeth, which landed on the 2017 Black List, is currently in development with Test Pattern producer Pin-Chun Liu and Ford attached to direct.

When writer, director, and film historian Bertrand Tavernier passed away on March 25, the art of cinema lost one of its most eloquent, passionate, and informed partisans. Thankfully, his last great work, the eight-hour documentary series Journeys Through French Cinema, is newly available on Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group and provides a beautiful summation of Tavernier’s devotion and an enlightening introduction to many of his favorite filmmakers. The documentary is a follow-up to Tavernier’s 2016 theatrical feature My Journey Through French Cinema and essentially picks up where that movie left off, exploring directors, actors, composers, and other artists Tavernier wasn’t […]

The post Journeys Through French Cinema, The Projectionist and Test Pattern: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

When writer, director, and film historian Bertrand Tavernier passed away on March 25, the art of cinema lost one of its most eloquent, passionate, and informed partisans. Thankfully, his last great work, the eight-hour documentary series Journeys Through French Cinema, is newly available on Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group and provides a beautiful summation of Tavernier’s devotion and an enlightening introduction to many of his favorite filmmakers. The documentary is a follow-up to Tavernier’s 2016 theatrical feature My Journey Through French Cinema and essentially picks up where that movie left off, exploring directors, actors, composers, and other artists Tavernier wasn’t […]

The post Journeys Through French Cinema, The Projectionist and Test Pattern: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

New Indie

When I’m once again free to move about the cabin and see movies in theaters again, I hope I get the chance to give the hilarious “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar” (Lionsgate) a second look with a rowdy and engaged audience. In the meantime, this new Blu-ray offers this comic gem for those who missed out during its streaming debut, along with plenty of extras, including deleted scenes, a fashion show, and a commentary track featuring director Josh Greenbaum and co-writers and co-stars Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig.

Also available: The provocative “Test Pattern” (Kino Lorber) mixes horror, social drama, and the zeitgeist, as a couple in search of a rape kit that hits one roadblock after another; frustrated filmmaker Gillian (played by writer-director Gillian Wallace Horvat) puts aside her documentary dreams in favor of committing the perfect murder in the dark satire “I Blame Society...

Following up his most ambitious film yet, the glorious space opera Ad Astra, James Gray is setting his sights a bit smaller for his next film. Armageddon Time is inspired by his mid-80s upbringing in Queens’ Kew-Forest School, and also involves its principal as well as board member Fred Trump. Led by Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett, Donald Sutherland, Oscar Isaac, and Anne Hathaway, the director said last summer that The 400 Blows and Amarcord were key influences on the project.

Now, he’s revealed an intriguing role for one of his actors. “Cate Blanchett is going to play Donald Trump’s sister which is the weirdest sentence I have ever said,” Gray revealed in Qumra event (via Screen Daily). “She’s only in it for three days, she’s doing me a favor. She has a really long speech to deliver, it’s a real scene-stealer. I’ve...

Last month Cinephile Game Night kicked off a brand-new season with our friends from Fangoria. We’re excited to announce that the show will return next week March 11 at 9pm/6pt with TCM Underground. The all-star lineup includes Turner Classic Movies’ Millie De Chirico, Quatoyiah Murry, Hemrani Vyas, Matthew Ownby, Benjamin Cheaves and Jacob Griswell. We’ll also be joined by special guests Shatara Michelle Ford, writer/director of Test Pattern which is playing in virtual cinemas now (check out our review here), and our brand-new host of The Film Stage Show Robyn Bahr.

Both teams will be playing in support of a charity to be announced soon and offering up some special film-related goodies to anyone who donates, details of which will be announced during the show. (One lucky viewer who donated to our featured charity last month won a stack of blu-rays and a 1-year subscription to Fangoria Magazine.

“I never ask people, just casually, for their phone number,” Evan (Will Brill) says. This is how he greets Renesha (Brittany S. Hall), a woman he met in a bar sometime before, whose number he’d asked for in front of her friends, whose shyness seemed, at the time, endearing. Now they’re two strangers in a grocery store parking lot in Texas having an awkward run-in because, it’s clear, he never called — not that Renesha expected he would. “Honestly,” he says, “I woke up in the morning and was like,...

The treasures of an extended Oscar season just keep on giving, as Venice Film Festival winner and award season favorite “Nomadland” finds its way to theaters — and Hulu subscribers. It’s a special film, about a woman (played by two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand) who pulls up stakes and travels the country by van, hitting theaters at a time when many people have been reexamining their own lives. So if there’s a safe way to see it, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option out there.

The week’s a bit thinner on conventional crowd pleasers. Channeling “The Wolf of Wall Street”-style energy on an indie scale, both “Silk Road” and “Body Brokers” offer cutting-edge takes on 21st-century crimes: a black market for illegal drugs in the former and a scheme to profit on recovering addicts in the latter. Also in the Scorsese vein, the Montreal-made...

Shatara Michelle Ford’s debut feature Test Pattern addresses sensitive material with clinically painstaking detail. The narrative begins in 2017 at an Austin bar as Renesha (Brittany S. Hall) meets Evan (Will Brill), a thirtysomething white guy whose liquid courage prompts him to ask for Renesha’s phone number. Somewhat surprisingly, the two hit it off and grow to become a loving couple.One evening, Renesha begrudgingly (she has work in the morning) meets up with a friend for drinks at a local bar, where they meet two flirtatious men who proceed to drug them. Nearing unconsciousness, Renesha is taken to an unfamiliar location […]

The post "I Had to Use Nine Credit Cards": Shatara Michelle Ford on Test Pattern first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Shatara Michelle Ford’s debut feature Test Pattern addresses sensitive material with clinically painstaking detail. The narrative begins in 2017 at an Austin bar as Renesha (Brittany S. Hall) meets Evan (Will Brill), a thirtysomething white guy whose liquid courage prompts him to ask for Renesha’s phone number. Somewhat surprisingly, the two hit it off and grow to become a loving couple.One evening, Renesha begrudgingly (she has work in the morning) meets up with a friend for drinks at a local bar, where they meet two flirtatious men who proceed to drug them. Nearing unconsciousness, Renesha is taken to an unfamiliar location […]

The post "I Had to Use Nine Credit Cards": Shatara Michelle Ford on Test Pattern first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Shatara Michelle Ford’s directorial feature debut “Test Pattern” arrives as more than a mere test run. A devastating drama concerning sexual assault, the modest 82-minute film colors how Evan and Renesha’s perfect love story is put on pause by a traumatic event. Evan (a fully felt Will Brill), cute in his awkwardness, is an amiable tattoo artist with surfer dude vibes. The type of guy who brings a tidy plant as a gift to a tidy dinner date.

Continue reading ‘Test Pattern’: Strong Performances Steady A Devastating Sexual Assault Drama at The Playlist.

There are many films out there about rape. Test Pattern, however, is something new. Quiet, matter-of-fact and focused almost entirely on the victim's perspective, it charts the aftermath of an assault and the differing responses which threaten to tear apart what previously seemed like a perfect relationship. Fissures spread out from the violence at its centre, doing most damage where the ground was already weak.

Because no secret has been made of the film's subject matter, a shadow hangs over the action from the start. We see Renesha (Brittany S Hall) on a night out with her friends, approached by a stranger (Will Brill) who asks for her phone number. Your guard might already be up, but this is Evan, who has no ill intent and whom she goes on to fall in love with. Some time later, there's another meeting. She's with a friend, drinking more than she meant to.

In Shatara Michelle Ford’s experimental thriller Test Pattern, light and dark are intertwined. The film is a staggeringly impressive debut, blending color, sound and story to create an intricate emotional tapestry.

It begins in the moment before a sexual assault occurs. We meet our main character as she is barely conscious, the glass of water in her hands tipping toward the floor. The screen glows red, letting us know that we are in for something ominous and violent. We see the perpetrator in the mirror as he gazes at his reflection before approaching his victim. This is the setup of a ...

First-time feature filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford squeezes a lot out of 82 minutes. In “Test Pattern,” a perceptive and often quite painful examination of sexual assault, relationship dynamics, racial divides, and the corrosive power of violence, the writer and director mines a dizzying amount of topical issues, tying them all up as a compelling two-hander to boot. Despite the density of their subject, Ford avoids heavy-handed platitudes and dramatic tropes, instead relying on The result is a showcase for the film’s central trio, one that resonates long after the film’s slim running time concludes.

Weaving back and forth in time, “Test Pattern” opens on the incident that will drive the bulk of the drama’s action: a woozy Renesha (Hall), still somehow managing to sit upright on a bed, a glass of water threatening to tip out of her hand. She’s not alone, and when Mike (Drew Fuller) comes into frame,...

Every new romance begins with the fantasy of everlasting happiness. Film as an art form is adept at capturing the intensity of euphoric early moments shared between two love-struck people discovering each other for the first time. Audiences know this is merely a precursor to the reality and heartbreak that comes next, but we still flock to love stories nevertheless.

Shatara Michelle Ford’s Test Pattern is one of the most unique and sobering deconstructions of this classic construct. The cutesy first act finds corporate manager Renesha (Brittany T. Hall) falling in love with hipster tattoo artist Evan (Will Brill) after they meet-cute at a bar one night. While their early conversations are stilted and groggy, the two are drawn to each other in ways that are not entirely explainable. Honeymoon phases rarely make a lick of sense.

While the good times in any fresh pairing are based on formality,...

Eighty-two minutes is not a long time. And yet Shatara Michelle Ford’s intelligent and engrossing feature debut packs an enormous amount in, while still finding room to let characters, moments and difficult, provocative issues breathe. An ostensibly small-scale drama that traces a couple of days in the aftermath of a sexual assault, it’s a remarkable display of compression and control, using one interracial relationship as a microcosm in which to observe the invisible influence of enormous, malign societal forces. “Test Pattern” — tiny, sedate yet urgent — is like the tinkling of .

The couple are Renesha (Brittany S. Hall) and Evan (Will Brill) whose first meeting, first date and first night together unfold before the title card appears, but give such a clear picture of them as individuals that it would be hard not to invest in them as a pair. Hall and Brill effortlessly summon a charming, opposites-attract chemistry...

Society’s darkest impulses come to the surface in Kino Lorber’s newest release, “Test Pattern.” In the film, a couple experiences unimaginable trauma as they navigate a system built on negative constructs. It’s a story that continues to resonate as issues centering around racism, sexism, sexual assault, policing, and patriarchy remain at the forefront. Filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford’s project is already receiving attention thanks to wins at both the BlackStar Film Festival and New Orleans Film Festival; the former seeing this psychological drama take the Lionsgate/Starz Producer Award.

Read More: 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2021

Ford is amassing an impressive list of accolades.

Continue reading ‘Test Pattern’ Trailer: Society’s Darkest Impulses Come To The Surface In This New Thriller at The Playlist.