OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Alex Lanipekun on ECHOES and the Silence Around Male Trauma

The writer-director behind the Oscar-qualified drama explores male mental health and childhood trauma with an acclaimed British cast led by Ashley Walters and Leo Gregory. Main photo by David Buttle For Alex Lanipekun, ECHOES began with conversations among male friends about something deceptively simple: why men can find it so difficult to say they need help. Those discussions became more personal when Lanipekun spoke to his father about … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Alex Lanipekun on ECHOES and the Silence Around Male Trauma

OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Cyrus Neshvad on the Journey From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright

From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker continues to explore freedom, identity and the human connections that can transcend borders Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad returns to the Oscar conversation with I Will Be Alright, a deeply human drama about a 16-year-old Iranian refugee facing the possibility of deportation to the country she fled. The film has qualified for consideration at the 99th Academy Awards after winning Best of … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Cyrus Neshvad on the Journey From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright

ECHOES Review: Alex Lanipekun Delivers a Powerful, Unflinching Drama About the Scars Men Carry

★★★★★ There are films that announce their importance loudly, and there are films that trust the audience enough to let their meaning slowly take hold. Alex Lanipekun’s ECHOES belongs firmly to the latter. Oscar-qualified and featuring an exceptional British ensemble led by Ashley Walters and Leo Gregory, ECHOES is a beautifully controlled, deeply affecting examination of childhood trauma, male friendship and the damage that can remain hidden long after … Continue reading ECHOES Review: Alex Lanipekun Delivers a Powerful, Unflinching Drama About the Scars Men Carry

‘KING OF THE IRON WILL’ Puts Shakespearean Language Behind a Modern Power Struggle: Liam James Collins and Scott Vickers on Ambition, Tyranny and Making an Epic on an Independent Budget

The filmmakers behind the HollyShorts premiere discuss reinventing Shakespearean dialogue for a contemporary audience, building a medieval world inside historic Scottish castles and what happens when the man who defeats a tyrant is handed the crown. KING OF THE IRON WILL began with an ambitious proposition: tell a story about power, revenge and the consequences of overthrowing a tyrant, but do it through the language and … Continue reading ‘KING OF THE IRON WILL’ Puts Shakespearean Language Behind a Modern Power Struggle: Liam James Collins and Scott Vickers on Ambition, Tyranny and Making an Epic on an Independent Budget

‘CERTAIN THOMAS’ Writer-Director Henry K. Hwang on Algorithmic Supremacy, the Rise of “Dataism” and Why Sci-Fi Is the New Realism: “Our Future Won’t Just Be Shaped by Data, It Will Be Governed by It”

Ahead of the film’s HollyShorts Film Festival run, the filmmaker discusses building an algorithmic totalitarian world through restraint, using Thomas as a reflection of the system around him, the visual language behind The New State and the feature film now in development. Henry K. Hwang’s CERTAIN THOMAS drops audiences into a dystopian America governed by an algorithmic totalitarian regime, but rather than explaining the mechanics … Continue reading ‘CERTAIN THOMAS’ Writer-Director Henry K. Hwang on Algorithmic Supremacy, the Rise of “Dataism” and Why Sci-Fi Is the New Realism: “Our Future Won’t Just Be Shaped by Data, It Will Be Governed by It”