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There’s never a shortage of hidden gems in the Sundance Film Festival’s short film program. (Last year’s lineup even featured former First Daughter Malia Obama’s directorial debut.) A scan of the selections for 2025 revealed one notable project that marks a new big-screen collaboration for a Hollywood couple: Oscar-winning filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan and Emmy-nominated Succession star J. Smith-Cameron.

Writer-director Alex Heller’s Debaters is a 10-minute short that will screen this week in Park City, Utah, when Sundance rolls out Jan. 23-Feb. 2. It premieres on day one, Jan. 23, as part of the Short Film Program 1 at Library Center Theatre. The film is set in a debate chamber where affluent high school students argue a bill on minimum wage in an effort to impress two working-class adult judges, played by Lonergan and Smith-Cameron. The judges sit in the back of a class observing the competition before eventually weighing...

"Wow you're home is super nice." It might be a good idea to never meet your fans. It can be super awkward if you ever meet them – maybe even dangerous. Yet another eerie new film about parasocial relationships. Holiday House is a short film created by Alex Heller, who also directed & starred in the indie film The Year Between a few years ago. Heller describes it as "mysterious, miniature movie." A content creator feels obligated to let her internet benefactor visit her workshop. His arrival explores uncomfortable boundaries of a parasocial friendship. Starring AnnaSophia Robb as Shelley & David Brown as Marky, with Antonio Marziale & Adrienne Becker. It is very similar to the other short called Followers about a similar home invasion. I also always reference Ingrid Goes West as the original film about parasocial relationships, where people create extremely unhealthy connections to folks they only know on social media. Freaky!

Stars: Carter Shimp, Marcelo Wright, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Larry Yando | Written by Adam Davis, Will Corona Pilgrim | Directed by Justin Denton

The sin eater already enjoyed some attention and coverage in horror films, some of which, like Sin Eater (2022), have also been reviewed here. Texas native and visual-effects artist Justin Denton now makes his indie full feature debut with Curse of the Sin Eater, after whetting his appetite for film directing earlier with the shorts Beware Crimson Peak (2015) and Burlap (2016). Penned by Adam Davis (Broken Ceiling) and Marvel’s McU-collaborator Will Corona Pilgrim, Curse of the Sin Eater, while set in the here and now, thematically hearkens back to the sin-eating rituals from medieval days, as predominantly practised in British Wales and its surrounding counties.

Curse of the Sin Eater chronicles the fates of Rick Malone, a down-on-his-luck young construction worker who lives in at his old buddy Jeremy’s (Marcelo Wright; Chicago P.

Exclusive: Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter Björk previewed her manifesto from her new movie Cornucopia at Climate Week today.

The 16x Grammy nominee and Cannes Film Festival-winning actress is the creative director on the feature which is in post. The Cornucopia concert was filmed live in Lisbon, Portugal, and it illustrates the singer’s activism to address the climate crisis. Most recently, she collaborated with Rosalía on a song titled “Oral” and dedicated 100% of the proceeds to fund a series of legal actions aimed at combating intensive farm fishing. Level Forward shared the news today at their Soho House More to Talk About Residency.

Cornucopia is produced by Snowstorm, S101, Level Forward and Foobar.

The singer told Deadline, in her own words the following about the project:

“it is an emergency

in order to survive as a species we need to define our utopia

the Paris climate accord is a modern utopia impossible...

Exclusive: Carmelyn P. Malalis has been appointed as the first Head of Impact at the production company and financier Level Forward, Deadline has learned, bringing with her three decades’ experience working to advance civil and human rights.

Appointed as a member of Level Forward’s Impact Advisory Group in 2023, Malalis will now oversee all aspects of the company’s impact work including impact partnerships, activations, programming and learning workshops, impact measurement, and the Level Forward Impact Advisory Group. She reports to Adrienne Becker, Level Forward’s CEO.

Malalis is the former Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the agency tasked with combating discrimination and harassment in employment, housing, and public accommodations in New York City. During her tenure, the NYC Human Rights Law was amended over 20 times to expand protections in the City, and the Commission was known for its aggressive law enforcement; creative...

J. Smith-Cameron will appear in “Hacks” Season 3 in a recurring guest star role, Variety has learned exclusively.

Smith-Cameron’s character is being kept under wraps. She will appear in the third season of the Max series alongside stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder as well as cast members Paul W. Downs, Megan Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, and Lorenza Izzo. Previously announced guest stars include Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Bucatinsky, George Wallace, Tony Goldwyn, and Aristotle Athari.

Smith-Cameron is best known for her role in the HBO series “Succession,” for which she earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Her other TV credits include “Rectify,” “True Blood,” “Divorce,” and “Waco: The Aftermath.” In film, she has starred in features such as “The Year Between,” “Vengeance,” “Christine,” and “Nancy.” Smith-Cameron is also a Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee for her work on the stage,...

Exclusive: LA-based Bleiberg Entertainment has picked up worldwide rights to Curse Of The Sin Eater, a horror pic starring Carter Shimp, Elizabeth Laidlaw (Good Guy with A Gun), and Marcelo Wright (Chicago P.D).

Bleiberg will present the film to international distributors at the upcoming American Film Market.

Directed by Justin Denton, the pic tells the story of Rick, a poor construction worker, who makes a deal with a dying business mogul to inherit his business empire and property worth billions. The deal is that once the man dies, Rick must eat a lavish meal of the dead man’s corpse. In doing so, he unwittingly inherits the many gruesome sins and crimes the billionaire committed in order to build his fortune. Rick’s newfound wealth and lifestyle are soon interrupted by increasingly disturbing and dangerous visions of the billionaire’s victims.

Gravitas Ventures has promoted Danielle Gasher to vice president, acquisitions and international sales, and Bill Guentzler to vice president, acquisitions.

Gasher will now head Gravitas’ new international sales efforts division that will launch at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, continuing to play an integral role as a part of the acquisitions team. Guentzler will take on the role of securing titles for the company’s slate of over 200 films a year. Together, Gravitas and Guentzler will identify films for the Gravitas Premiere label that launched “Mack & Rita,” starring Diane Keaton, in 2022.

Prior to their promotion, Gasher and Guentzler were both senior directors of acquisition for Gravitas Ventures where they worked on acquiring Gravitas titles including Alex Heller’s “The Year Between” with J. Smith-Cameron and Steve Buscemi, “All the World Is Sleeping” with “Scream VI’s” Melissa Barrera, “Ocean Boy” with Luke Hemsworth and the comedic drama “Gringa...

Chicago – It’s been an amazing journey for actor and filmmaker Alex Heller with her directorial debut film “The Year Between.” The film premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and screened at the hometown Chicago International Film Festival last October. The film is being released through Video-On-Demand beginning March 3rd, 2023.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Alex Heller wrote and directed “The Year Between,” and portrays Clemence, a college drop out who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although such mental conditions are hard to capture in storytelling, Heller as Clemence takes us on the journey, coming home to torture her parents (Steve Buscemi and J Smith-Cameron) and siblings (Emily Robinson and Wyatt Oleff) as she works through the affliction.

Writer/Director/Lead Actor Alex Heller in ‘The Year Between’

Photo credit: Gravitas Ventures

In Part One an Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, writer/director Alex Heller talks about her story in associated with...

Writer-director-star Alex Heller’s debut feature is a fictive spin on the very crisis she experienced at age 19, when she dropped out of college and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Not the weightiest screen treatment of a serious mental health issue, this drolly self-deprecating portrayal nonetheless achieves a degree of poignancy and depth within a distinctive sensibility you might call Midwestern Sardonic. After a fest run, it’s opening in limited theaters and on demand March 3.

Clemence Miller (Heller) screams “trainwreck” from the moment we first see her dragging a garbage bag across campus, haranguing everyone whose path she crosses. She then turns that alienating energy on her terrified dorm roommate (Taylor Marie Blim), who says, “You’re ruining my college experience!” The roomie has, it turns out, already informed Clem’s mother that she has spiraled into “hoarding, stealing, paranoia and shrieking.” Ergo Sherri (J. Smith-Cameron) bursts through the door,...

The Year Between Trailer — Alex Heller‘s The Year Between (2022) movie trailer has been released. The Year Between trailer stars Alex Heller, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Wyatt Oleff, Emily Robinson, Kyanna Simone, Rajeev Jacob, and Waltrudis Buck. Crew Alex Heller wrote the screenplay for The Year Between. Plot Synopsis The Year Between‘s plot synopsis: “Forced to return [...]

Continue reading: The Year Between (2022) Movie Trailer: Steve Buscemi & Alex Heller Learn to Live with Bipolarism...

"I'm so tired of it never actually getting better." An official trailer has debuted for an indie film titled The Year Between, marking the feature directorial debut of Alex Heller. It is a very personal story addressing bipolar disorder, and working through it, by a filmmaker who understands what this is like. It premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and will be on VOD in March. Inspired by true events, The Year Between is the story of Clemence Miller (who is also played by writer / director Alex Heller), a college sophomore who is forced to move back home after having a mental breakdown. Faced with a surprising diagnosis of bipolar disorder and a jarring return to the Illinois suburbs, she has to learn how to live with her well-meaning but frustrated family and find balance in a world that seems hellbent on thwarting her... The cast includes J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi,...

One of the breakouts at last year’s Tribeca Festival came from Alex Heller and her first-time feature The Year Between, which she wrote, directed, and stars in, following a young woman with bipolar disorder who comes home during college break. Now set for a release next month from Gravitas Ventures, the first trailer has landed for the film starring J. Smith-Cameron and Steve Buscemi (reteaming after Nancy) along with Wyatt Oleff, Emily Robinson, Kyanna Simone, and Rajeev Jacob.

Inspired by true events, college sophomore Clemence Miller is coming home to the suburbs and a bedroom in her family’s basement. After dropping out of school with a newly diagnosed mental illness, she now faces the challenges of bipolar disorder, the responsibilities of adulthood, and her damaged relationships with family and friends. Clemence struggles to figure out what it means to heal without driving everyone around her… well, crazy. As...

Over the last several years, mental illness has become less stigmatized than ever before. That said, there are still quite a few misconceptions about those who suffer from mental illness, and this fact is showcased in the new dramedy, “The Year Between.”

As seen in the trailer for “The Year Between,” the film follows the story of a young woman struggling with bipolar disorder. Not only is she struggling through the bouts of mania and depression that come with being mentally ill, but she also has a family filled with people who seem like they want to help but honestly have no idea how to do it.

Continue reading ‘The Year Between’ Trailer: Alex Heller’s Mental Illness Dramedy Arrives In March at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the New Black) is set as the executive producer and star of the indie comedy Another Happy Day, which Nora Fiffer wrote and is directing for Red Squirrel Films, in her feature debut.

The postpartum depression comedy, currently in production in Chicago, is loosely inspired by the writer-director’s experience becoming a mother. Lapkus will play Joanna, a “total nut” who is wearing new motherhood so awkwardly that she remarks candidly “I’m not really a mom, I just have a baby, you know?” This new mom is also an artist who isn’t making any art, and feels truly terrible at taking care of her newborn, as she stumbles through her days. She can’t get her old job back, her old friends have moved on without her, her husband thinks he’s a better mother than she is, she’s terribly sleep deprived,...

Exclusive: New Line’s feature take of John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down has added three: J. Smith-Cameron, Poorna Jagannathan and Maliq Johnson. They’re joining previously announced Isabela Merced, Cree Cicchino, Felix Mallard and Judy Reyes in the HBO Max movie.

Smith-Cameron plays Professor Abbott, Jagannathan appears as Dr. Singh and Johnson portrays Mychal.

The pic tackles anxiety through its 17-year-old protagonist, Aza Holmes. It’s not easy being Aza, but she’s trying… trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, and a good student, all while navigating an endless barrage of invasive, obsessive thoughts that she cannot control. When she reconnects with Davis, her childhood crush, Aza is confronted with fundamental questions about her potential for love, happiness, friendship, and hope in the face of her mental illness. The book debuted as an instant No. 1 bestseller with rights sold in over 30 countries, and more than 2 million copies in print.