Latest news with #Lightdox
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ryan Reynolds and Colin Hanks' Documentary ‘John Candy: I Like Me' to Open Toronto Film Festival's 50th Edition
'John Candy: I Like Me,' a documentary from director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds, will open the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. It's set to screen on Sept. 4 at Roy Thomson Hall. Candy was a Toronto-born comedian who rose to fame on Canada's sketch comedy show 'SCTV' and went on to star in films such as 'Spaceballs,' 'Uncle Buck,' 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' 'National Lampoon's Vacation' and 'Little Shop of Horrors.' He unexpectedly died of a heart attack at age 43 in 1994. More from Variety 'The Shadow Scholars,' Executive Produced by Steve McQueen, Debuts Trailer Ahead of North American Premiere at Tribeca (EXCLUSIVE) Bill Murray to Topline Second Annual Croatia International Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE) 'Welded Together' Acquired by Lightdox Ahead of Sheffield DocFest Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'Comedy fans all over the world grew up on John Candy's humor,' said Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF. 'We love that John's global career started in Toronto. Colin Hanks has made a hugely entertaining film packed with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, but like John, this movie is all heart.' 'John Candy: I Like Me' presents an unvarnished look at the funnyman's life on and off camera, featuring home videos and candid interviews with his family, friends and collaborators. According to the official logline, 'it's the story of a son, husband, father, friend, and professional driven to bring joy to audiences and loved ones while battling personal ghosts and Hollywood pressures.' Amazon MGM is backing the film, which will debut on Prime Video in the fall. 'When you hear the name John Candy, your face lights up. He wasn't just a great actor; he was an even better person,' Hanks and Reynolds said. 'People loved his everyman qualities, but they didn't know how relatable John really was. He went through the same struggles we all do, except now we talk about them. We are incredibly honored to have gotten to know the man better through this process and to bring the real John Candy to audiences starting with his hometown of Toronto.' Other than the opening night film, TIFF's lineup hasn't been released. This year's festival will take place from Sept. 4 through 14. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lightdox Boards Monica Stromdahl's ‘Flophouse America' Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Sales agency Lightdox has boarded Monica Strømdahl's 'Flophouse America,' which has its world premiere on Wednesday in the main competition section of Copenhagen's documentary festival CPH:DOX. 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
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Documentary Filmmakers Blast Proposal to Shut Down Miami Beach's O Cinema: ‘An Attack on Freedom of Expression'
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner's March 13 proposal to shut down the city's nonprofit art house cinema, O Cinema, following screenings of the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' is not sitting well with the members of the doc community. On Monday, 752 members of the international filmmaking community including doc feature Oscar winners Michael Moore, Laura Poitras, Ezra Edelman and Alex Gibney signed an open letter to the city of Miami Beach that stated, in part, that the Mayor's threat to shut down the O Cinema is 'an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment.' More from Variety Controversial 'White Gold of Greenland' Doc Finds Distribution After Being Pulled in Denmark Amid Trump Bid for Arctic Island 'Agatha's Almanac' Acquired by Lightdox Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) CPH:DOX Chief and Head of Industry on Their Program, Standing Up for Values and Sticking Together (EXCLUSIVE) Alfred Spellman, who co-founded Rakontur with Billy Corben in 2000, also signed the letter. The Miami Beach native has produced over 15 docus, including 'From Russia With Lev' and 'Cocaine Cowboys.' 'This is a case that is definitional of what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against, which is government encroachment on speech,' Spellman told Variety. 'The Mayor is trying to claim that the content of the documentary is anti-semitic, but that doesn't matter. So long as it is not legally obscene, the mayor has no business interfering with what the O Cinema chooses to program.' The story of the resistance of Palestinian activists against forced displacement and settler expansion in the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, 'No Other Land' debuted at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Documentary Award and Panorama Dokumente Audience Award. Directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists: Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra, it went on to play widely on the fest circuit, winning a slew of other awards prior to the Oscar. Meiner characterized the film as 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents' and has introduced legislation to terminate the lease for the O Cinema, a city-owned property. In addition to asking Miami Beach commissioners to end the theater's lease, Meiner is also asking the city to 'immediately discontinue' approximately $40,000 in city grant funding. 'The problem here is that there is an attempt to shift the discussion to the merits or the demerits of the film and the filmmaking and the issues surrounding it,' said Spellman. 'If you are a committed free speech advocate, none of that matters.' Together Films founder and CEO Sarah Mosses also signed the open letter sent to Meiner and Miami Beach commissioners. 'The censorship we are seeing in Miami is what we usually see in other regions led by dictators,' says Mosses, who is selling the 2024 abortion doc 'Zurawski V Texas' to international markets. 'We should be very concerned with this rhetoric.' Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt told Variety that she was 'flabbergasted' by Meiner's attempt to censor O Cinema. 'I'm not at all surprised that we are getting the outpouring of very distressed citizens, both residents of Miami Beach and beyond, saying basically, what the holy hell are you doing?,' said Bhatt. 'So, I'm also thrilled that we are getting the response we are getting because censorship is never the right answer to challenging issues.' The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Community Justice Project are representing O Cinema. On Tuesday, Vivian Marthell, the CEO of O Cinema, held a press conference in Miami Beach with representatives from the ACLU, the Miami Light Project, and the Community Justice Project to discuss the First Amendment concerns and O Cinema. 'The Mayor's threats were patently unconstitutional, but they sparked a global conversation about the importance of arts in our civic life and the importance of free expression to our democratic ideals, Florida ACLU legal director Daniel Tilley told members of the media. Though 'No Other Land' was sold by Autlook to dozens of foreign territories — including the United Kingdom and France — it has struggled to find a home in both the U.S., where it has been self-released by the filmmakers. The doc had its U.S. theatrical release on Feb. 2 on a single screen and grossed $26,000. Since then, the film has expanded to 120 U.S.-based screens and grossed over $1.2 million. O Cinema is set to screen 'No Other Land' again on Wednesday and Thursday. Both screenings are sold out. 'This has come as a complete shock and surprise to us,' O Cinema co-founder and chair of the board of directors Kareem Tabsch told Variety. 'In the organization's nearly 15 years, we have never heard from an elected official who has questioned or challenged a film we have shown, and we've operated in multiple municipalities.' Tabsch said that while there has been 'a modest uptick' in theater donations, if Meiner's resolution passes, the O Cinema will 'become homeless.' 'I have been able to lead the city forward, with the support of my colleagues, in so many meaningful ways this last year,' said Bhatt. 'We have increased grants to all kinds of cultural institutions to (help them) continue doing the work that they do because we recognize how important it is to our schools, to our community, to our tourism, and to the narrative of what Miami Beach is all about. To have it undone based on one person's opinion is heartbreaking to me. It's devastating to what we're trying to build.' At the Oscar ceremony earlier this month, 'No Other Land' directors received a standing ovation when they were announced as the winner of the best documentary feature category. Co-director Abraham, an Israeli journalist, spoke about the power of the film being a collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. 'Together, our voices are stronger,' he said. 'We see each other — the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.' Meiner was elected to the nonpartisan mayoral position in November 2023. Miami Beach commissioners will vote on Meiner's O Cinema proposal on Wednesday. To overturn Meiner's resolution, there needs to be a four-person majority. If commissioners vote to overturn O Cinema's lease, Bhatt said that she will be very concerned. 'If it happens here in Miami Beach, what does it mean for the rest of the country?' Best of Variety 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 What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Controversial ‘White Gold of Greenland' Doc Finds Distribution After Being Pulled in Denmark Amid Trump Bid for Arctic Island
Timely doc 'The White Gold of Greenland' is sparking controversy in the Nordic film and TV community just as U.S. President Donald Trump has set his sights on the Arctic island's mineral wealth. Directed by Claus Pilehave and Otto Rosing – the latter is known for directing 'Nuummioq,' considered the first locally produced feature film ever made in Greenland – 'White Gold of Greenland' delves into the colonial relationships between Greenland and Denmark. More from Variety 'Agatha's Almanac' Acquired by Lightdox Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) CPH:DOX Chief and Head of Industry on Their Program, Standing Up for Values and Sticking Together (EXCLUSIVE) 'Coexistence, My Ass!,' About Israeli Comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, Wins the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival The doc – initially aired by Denmark's national broadcaster DR – claims that between 1854 and 1987 Danish mining companies operating on Greenland's west coast extracted the equivalent of nearly $59 billion worth of a precious mineral called cryolite that is crucial for producing aluminium, without pumping much of that wealth back into Greenland's economy. That claim sparked an uproar. Two weeks after going on air in February 'White Gold of Greenland' was pulled by DR and the broadcaster's editor-in-chief Thomas Falbe was reportedly forced to step down. Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said in a Facebook post that the doc's directors had failed to make clear 'the difference between revenue and profit.' Engel-Schmidt further noted that 'White Gold of Greenland' came 'at the worst moment' with Trump raising the prospect of trying to annex Greenland and make it part of the United States. Enter the International Sámi Film Institute in nearby Kautokeino, Norway, which has come to the rescue. The film organization dedicated to the Sámi people and to other Indigenous people in the Nordic countries has now decided to make 'White Gold of Greenland' available to stream on its platform in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Canada, and Germany. 'We are publishing the film because we want to showcase the Indigenous perspective,' said Sámi Film Institute chief Anne Lajla Utsi, adding that 'We have not independently analyzed the parts of the film that led DR to remove it from its platform, but we have watched it and believe others should have the opportunity to do the same,' she added, noting that 'The filmmakers are reputable professionals.' Other titles on the institute's platform include Sámi classics such as Nils Gaup's 'Pathfinder,' and 'The Kautokeino Rebellion' and Amanda Kernell's 'Sami Blood.' Best of Variety 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 What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
