The Playlist

The Playlist's 15 Most Anticipated Indie Films Of The Summer

By Jessica Kiang
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May 7, 2013 11:58 AM
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6 Comments

The Playlist's 15 Most Anticipated Indies Of The Summer

Features

So perhaps the blockbusting sturm und drang of “Iron Man 3” has you slavering for more KA-BLAMMO, in which case our Most Anticipated Summer Blockbusters is the article for you. If, however, you're already getting a slight tension headache at the prospect of weeks upon interminable weeks of tentpole releases and the din of clashing opinions that attends the redistribution of billions of dollars of wealth, never fear. The gods of counterprogramming have been especially kind this year, and there's a wide selection of upcoming, smaller-budgeted, lesser-distributed gems in which the only things that collide are intersecting lives, the only ticking time bombs are repressed emotions, the only things that break are hearts, and the only things that blow up are grandiose expectations, right in some sad sack's face. You are also much more likely to get some full-on nudity.

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Göteborg Interview: Tobias Lindholm On 'A Hijacking,' 'The Hunt,' The Psychology Of European Cinema & More

By Jessica Kiang
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February 9, 2013 12:07 PM
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0 Comments

Interviews

Director of the hotly buzzed “A Hijacking” (our glowing review here) that has been doing the festival rounds since Venice last year, Tobias Lindholm is, in his own words, about to “close up the circus and start working on the next thing.” But with his two breakthrough film projects “The Hunt,” which he co-wrote with director Thomas Vinterberg, and “A Hijacking” still awaiting U.S. releases (the latter is slated for second-quarter 2013 bow through Magnolia Pictures), it is tempting to cast him as being only "on the cusp" of major international success.

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Jessica Kiang’s Favorite Films Of 2012

By Jessica Kiang
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January 4, 2013 1:56 PM
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11 Comments

Features

Step into my limousine and let’s drive around in the dead of night trying to find the corpses of 2012’s best films, shall we? Our journey will take us to the cornfields of Kansas, to tiny New England islands and to an explosion in a restaurant in Tel Aviv. We will talk to murderers and movie directors, we will celebrate friendship in Barcelona and suffer despair in the Phillippine jungle; we will get punched in the supermarket and mourn Phil Coulson. And then, just as we are sipping Fernet Branca in an Italian café, mercifully the apocalypse will arrive from below and that will be that.

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Michael Haneke's 'Amour' Dominates European Film Awards

By Cain Rodriguez
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December 3, 2012 10:44 AM
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0 Comments

News

As we head into December, we head deeper into awards season and that means accolades bestowed upon films deemed worthy. Over the weekend, the European Film Awards were handed out with Michael Haneke’s “Amour” leading the night with wins in the four major categories: best film, director, actor (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and actress (Emmanuelle Riva).

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Watch: 2 Clips From Thomas Vinterberg's Tense 'The Hunt'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 29, 2012 3:36 PM
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0 Comments

News

Though it won't be hitting screens on this side of the ocean until next year, we can say with certainty there will probably be few films in 2013 that will get under your skin as deeply as Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt." The director's lauded return to form won Mads Mikkelsen an award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance, and indeed, he's great. But the raw drama is one that is definitely a tough watch.

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10 Highlights Of The BFI London Film Festival Line-Up

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 4, 2012 11:00 AM
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1 Comment

Features

The early months of fall are pretty much stacked with film festivals. From the end of August, when Venice and Telluride kick off the season, to the prestigious and star-studded selections at Toronto and New York in September and October, to the increasingly important AFI and Rome film festivals, globe-trotting cinephiles could happily go back to back from the late summer pretty much up to Christmas hopping from one festival to another.

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'Amour,' 'At Any Price,' Rust & Bone,' 'Hyde Park On Hudson,' 'Frances Ha' & More Lead Telluride Lineup

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 30, 2012 2:06 PM
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3 Comments

News

Looks like we were a dismal 1 for 5 on our Telluride wishlist/prediction piece, but no matter as there is still a lot to get excited about. The folks out in Colorado have unveiled their slate with the festival kicking off tomorrow, and it's a great mix of premieres and gems from Venice and Cannes.

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Karlovy Vary Film Fest Review: Thomas Vinterberg's 'The Hunt' Will Come After You And Not Let Go

By Jessica Kiang
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July 5, 2012 2:05 PM
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1 Comment

Festivals

Like many directors who make a big splash with an early feature, Thomas Vinterberg did not have an easy time of it thereafter. And while we don’t particularly understand the critical opprobrium heaped on, for example, “Dear Wendy,” a film this writer admires, it’s clear that he has not fully lived up to the potential on display in his landmark 1998 film, “The Celebration.” After all, that film not only launched his career into the arthouse stratosphere, it launched a whole movement, and has arguably never been bettered as the definitive iteration of what Dogme should and could be.

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Magnolia Pictures Find Thomas Vinterberg’s Cannes Entry ‘The Hunt,’ Sundance Selects/IFC Films Pick Up Tribeca Hit ‘Una Noche’

By Charlie Schmidlin
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June 1, 2012 11:27 AM
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0 Comments

News

Fourteen years after he helped launch the Dogme 95 movement with his family drama “The Celebration,” director Thomas Vinterberg returned to Cannes this past month with his latest film, “The Hunt.” As the Croisette is wont to do, reactions were immensely divided, with some calling the film a masterpiece of near-unbearable dread, while others found the film a manipulative soap opera. Luckily for the filmmakers though, those in distribution kept a keen eye, and have now tapped the film for a future US release.

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Michael Haneke's 'Amour' Wins Palme d'Or At Cannes; Cristian Mungiu's 'Beyond The Hills' Other Big Winner At Fest

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 27, 2012 2:11 PM
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10 Comments

News

On rainy evening in the south of France, Nanni Moretti and rest of the Cannes Film Festival jury gathered at the Lumiere theater for a star-studded ceremony to hand out the awards for this year's fest. And there were some big surprises in store.

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