Lightdox Boards Monica Stromdahl's ‘Flophouse America' Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
The film follows 12-year-old Mikal, who shares a small room in a cheap hotel, commonly known as a flophouse, with his parents and their cat, Smokey. Their home is marked by chaos and alcohol abuse, but also by love and the hope for a better future.
More from Variety
How Do Political Docs Stay Alive in New Trump Era? Key Documentary Players Meet at CPH:DOX to Ponder Alternatives After 'Streamers Went to the Right'
Putin Assassination Target Christo Grozev on Why Life Has Become Even More Dangerous: 'The Bad Guys Now Are Seen as Being OK in the U.S.'
Raina Acquires 'King Matt the First,' Exploring the Bond Between Two Sisters, Ahead of Hot Docs Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Strømdahl spent years traveling across the U.S., documenting life in these hotels. Eight years ago, she met Mikal, one of many children growing up in this environment. This coming-of-age documentary follows him over three years, capturing the pain of a fractured childhood alongside the warmth and complexity of his family.
Lightdox's Anna Berthollet said: 'This extraordinary film unveils the raw and heartbreaking reality of a young boy's fight for hope amidst the chaos of poverty and addiction. Through Monica Strømdahl's compassionate yet unflinching lens, we witness the fragility of life on the margins and gain a powerful perspective on struggles too often overlooked.
'We are committed to defending this film and sharing Mikal's story with the world, as it has the potential to spark much-needed conversations about inequality and the vulnerable children facing these challenges every day.'
Siv Lamark is the co-writer and editor. The film is produced by Fri Film's Beathe Hofseth and Siri Natvik. Basalt Film's Eline van Wees is a co-producer. Exec producers are David Sutherland, and Joshua Seftel and Eric Nicols at Smartypants.
Norsk Filmdistribusjon is handling distribution in Norway; and Cinema Delicatessen is handling distribution in the Netherlands. Broadcasters on board include RBB/Arte.
Best of Variety
The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Denzel Washington Says ‘Who Cares' When Asked If He Worries About Being Canceled: ‘You Can't Be Canceled If You Haven't Signed Up'
Denzel Washington has his own take on the cancel culture debate. While discussing his latest film, 'Highest 2 Lowest,' with Complex News, the actor posed the question, 'What does that mean — to be canceled?' when asked if he ever worries about being 'canceled.' More from Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Box Office: 'Nobody 2' Picks Up $1.3 Million in Thursday Previews Denzel Washington Says 'I'm Not Interested in Oscars' and 'Don't Care' About Them: 'They Won't Do Me a Bit of Good' When I Die When told by the interviewer, Jillian Hardeman-Webb, 'it means you lose public support,' Washington replied, 'Who cares?' Sitting with frequent collaborator and 'Highest 2 Lowest' director Spike Lee, Washington continued, 'What made public support so important to begin with?' Hardeman-Webb replied that 'followers now are currency,' to which Washington answered with a emboldened response. 'I don't care who's following who,' he said. 'You can't lead and follow at the same time, and you can't follow and lead at the same time. I don't follow anybody. I follow the heavenly spirit. I follow God, I don't follow man. I have faith in God. I have hope in man, but look around, it ain't working out so well.' He added, 'You can't be canceled if you haven't signed up. Don't sign up.' While laughing and stretching his arms, he told Lee, 'Don't get me started. You know, chest is getting tight talking about it.' Having a similar attitude, Lee added, 'I could care less.' This isn't the first time Washington has expressed how he's unaffected by public opinion. In a conversation with journalist Jake Hamilton on 'Jake's Takes,' the Oscar winner shared he does not care about winning Academy Awards. 'I don't do it for the Oscars,' he said. 'I really don't care about that kind of stuff.' Washington continued, 'I've been at this a long time, and there's times when I've won, shouldn't have won, didn't win, should have won. Man gives the award. God gives the reward. I'm not that interested in the Oscars. People say, 'Well, where do you keep it?' I say, 'Next to the other one.'' 'I'm not bragging. I'm just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, it ain't going to do me a bit of good,' he finished. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in August 2025
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
Denzel Washington reveals that he doesn't care about cancel culture
Denzel Washington is canceling cancel culture. While promoting "Highest 2 Lowest" alongside Spike Lee, the Hollywood icon was asked if he cared about cancel culture in a recent Complex News interview with host Jillian Hardeman-Webb – and he had a surprising answer. "Do you guys consider being 'canceled'?" the host asked before Washington replied, "What does that mean, being canceled?" She responded, "It means you lose public support." "Who cares? What made public support so important to begin with?" Washington said. Hardeman-Webb responded that it was "because followers now are currency." Washington wanted none of that, claiming, "I don't care who's following. You can't lead and follow at the same time, and you can't follow and lead at the same time." Cancel culture is defined by Merriam Webster as "the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure." It typically affects celebrities and public figures during widespread backlash over controversies. A post shared by Complex Pop (@complexpop) After adding that he only follows his faith, Washington later insisted that "you can't be canceled if you haven't signed up, don't sign up." Another thing Washington doesn't care about? The Academy Awards. The two-time Oscar winner – who boasts 10 total nominations – admitted to entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton during a recent "Jake's Takes" interview that the sought-after trophies aren't that important to him. "I don't do it for Oscars," Washington said. "I really don't care about that kind of stuff. I've been at this a long time. There's times when I won and shouldn't have won, and shouldn't have won and won ... Man gives the award. God gives the reward." "I'm not that interested in Oscars," he continued. "You know, people will ask me, well, where do you keep it? I say, next to the other one. I'm not bragging. I'm just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, it ain't gon' do me a bit of good." Washington won his first best supporting actor Oscar in 1990 for his role in "Glory" and the 2002 best actor in a leading role award for his performance in "Training Day." His latest nod came in the best actor category in 2022 for his portrayal of the title character in "The Tragedy of Macbeth."
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Denzel Washington: ‘I'm Not That Interested' in Winning Oscars
Denzel Washington has adopted a post-Oscars mentality after spending decades in the Hollywood machine. The two-time Academy Award winner said during a recent appearance 'Jake's Takes' while promoting his latest film 'Highest 2 Lowest' that awards don't mean that much to him. 'I've been at this a long time, and there's times when I've won, shouldn't have won, didn't win, should have won,' Washington said in the below video. 'Man gives the award, God gives the reward. I'm not that interested in Oscars.' More from IndieWire How 'Night Always Comes' Cracks Action Sequences Wide Open 'Dry Leaf' Review: Alexandre Koberidze's Latest Is Low-Resolution and Hard Going And he isn't even that big of a fan of the two he already has: 'People say, 'Well, where do you keep it?' I say, 'Next to the other one,'' he said of his pair of Oscars. 'I'm not bragging. I'm just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, it ain't going to do me a bit of good.' Washington won Best Supporting Actor for 'Glory' in 1990 and Best Actor for 'Training Day' in 2002. He has also been nominated for his work in 'Cry Freedom' (1987), 'Malcolm X' (1992), 'The Hurricane' (1999), 'Flight' (2012), 'Fences' (2016), 'Roman J. Israel, Esq.' (2017), and 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' (2021). He was notably snubbed in 2024 for 'Gladiator II.' Washington's 'Malcolm X' lose has since been deemed by many as one of the biggest Academy snubs of all-time (Al Pacino won the Best Actor award for 'Scent of a Woman' instead in 1993). Washington previously told Esquire that, after losing for 'Malcolm X,' he asked his wife Pauletta Washington to start voting in his place for the Academy Awards. 'I went through a time then when [my wife] Pauletta would watch all the Oscar movies — I told her, I don't care about that,' he said. ''They don't care about me? I don't care. You vote. You watch them. I ain't watching that.' I gave up. I got bitter. My pity party.' Washington has also been outspoken about his 'Gladiator II' and 'American Gangster' auteur Ridley Scott never having won Best Director. 'Ridley is overdue,' Washington told The Hollywood Reporter. 'How can he not have won an Oscar? That doesn't even make sense. I don't believe it, actually.' Washington also told 'BBC Radio 1' that Scott not having an Oscar is proof that the Academy can't do their 'job' recognizing deserving talent. 'Would you tell somebody how can this man not have an Academy Award? Do your job,' he said. 'I mean seriously, though. … Believe me, and I'm not talking out a turn, he doesn't give a…' Washington's frequent collaborator Spike Lee, who directed the actor in both 'Malcolm X' and 'Highest 2 Lowest' among many other films, previously said, 'We don't do our work for awards, which are nice, but it's the work that is going to stand above all awards.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
