Author: CWB News Department

MEXICO CITY, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The chief executive of streaming giant Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab on Thursday announced a $1 billion investment to produce some 20 films and TV series in Mexico annually over the next four years. Speaking at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference in Mexico City, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said he looked forward to entering more partnerships with producers in the Latin American nation. Sheinbaum said the investments in the film industry should produce many jobs beyond immediate production needs, such as hospitality for actors and crew members, fashion designers and also spur tourism. “It’s an…

Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s performance is too reel and too real. Maybe it’s because this is Black History Month that the complete Oscar lock-out of Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths seems so wrong. (It almost hurts more than the dismissal of Better Man.) Hard Truths was also overlooked for the Image Awards given by the NAACP, which is equally troubling. Both omissions reveal the worst about contemporary film culture. This isn’t simply a matter of actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s being ignored (despite already winning most of the season’s critics’ prizes). Fact is: Mainstream opinion has degraded. It would be an exaggeration to frame the Oscar and NAACP inadequacies as injustice;…

The film “Singing for Justice” is a 60-minute documentary about the incredible life of Faith Petric (1915-2013), known as the godmother of the San Francisco folk music scene. Affectionately dubbed a “Geritol gypsy,” Faith was a charismatic performer, political radical, worker, mother and grandmother who packed many lifetimes into her 98 years. In particular, she is recognized for the using the power of music to inspire social change by combining folk music and activism. The February 22 San Francisco screening of the award-winning film at the Roxie will feature a live sing-along and Q&A with co-directors, Stanford History Professor Estelle…

Having previously chalked up metaphysical and reflective dramas along the lines of The Place , Superheroes and The First Day of My Life , Paolo Genovese is returning to comedy, the genre which gave him his greatest international hit, Perfect Strangers . Much like that movie of 2016, which has been remade no less than 25 times around the world, everything happens over the course of a single evening in Madly, around a table laid for dinner in a comfortable Roman apartment. And this film, too, boasts a striking, stellar cast: ten of the most popular Italian actors lend their services to this brilliant comedy, which feels…

The Golden Globes hosted a gathering at the China Club during the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale),  along with Bvulgari, with the evening highlighting the importance of major festivals in shaping international cinema and fostering cultural exchange. Berlinale continues to discover groundbreaking films and talents as well as showcasing works from established artists. The Golden Globes has always maintained close ties with major film festivals, discovering films that later become Golden Globes submissions and winners. Helen Hoehne, president of the Golden Globes, emphasized, “The Berlinale deserves a global stage that honors the industry’s finest talents. Our collaboration with Bvlgari…

URBANA – The third annual C-U International Film Festival (CUIFF) brought film enthusiasts together to celebrate the art of filmmaking and diverse storytelling around the world. The sold-out festival took place Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Spurlock Museum in Urbana. It received submissions from every continent except Antarctica. This year’s event featured films from the U.S., Brazil and Hungary. Max Libman, founded CUIFF when he was in high school, and has continued to celebrate the art of filmmaking each year. “I wanted to really inspire the next generation of filmmakers to tell stories,” said Libman, who’s now a freshman in…

War, and its aftermath, leave deep scars, both physical and psychological, that last generations. Written, produced, and directed by Iranian filmmakers Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani, In the Shadow of the Cypress is a beautiful, minimalist, hand-drawn 2D animated short film, made without dialogue, which explores themes of family, sacrifice, and the trauma of war. Created under immense political and economic hardship, the film tells the story of a former ship captain, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who lives with his daughter in a humble house located by the Persian Gulf. Together, they have to confront the challenges of a harsh,…

Amel Guellaty’s debut feature-length Where the Wind Comes From screened at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the just ended Sundance Film Festival. The film, one of the scanty African films selected and Tunisian’s sole selection at the festival, subtly directs our gaze to the ongoing political tension and tragedy in Tunisia and, by extension, Africa. Quite similar in tone to Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhaj, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed and Phil Cox’s documentary, Khartoum, which screened at the World Cinema Documentary Competition, Guellaty’s feature film is made, partly, in response to the ongoing political atmosphere of her country, Tunisia. In Tunisia, an unprecedented political, social, and economic crisis bedeviling Tunisians. Amidst this indescribable horror,…

As ever, there is no shortage of anticipated movies in contention. Indeed, one leading producer we spoke to remarked that 2025 is looking like “a particularly tough year, a much stronger year than 2024”. The surprise to us during our research for this piece is just how many big movies look like they will push to fall rather than launch on the Croisette. That’s not to say that Cannes won’t be box office. It remains the gold standard. The importance of both Cannes and Venice as launchpads is at an all-time high. Just look at how many Oscar nominees now…

A charity-run cinema in Glasgow has been urged to show support for Palestinians amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza as staff and well-known figures from the arts called for the venue to support a boycott. The Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) has been served with an open letter urging it to take actions in line with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign in support of Palestinian liberation. The letter, co-ordinated by the campaign group Art Workers for Palestine (AWFP), has so far been signed by 600 people, including famous figures, local campaigners, and the cinema’s own workers. Unite Hospitality’s GFT branch…