Latest news with #VisionsduRéel
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oscar Winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin to Exec Produce Doc About the Fight to Save Utah's Great Salt Lake (EXCLUSIVE)
Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's Little Monster Films and Sandbox Films have signed on to executive produce 'Terminal,' a documentary about the fight currently being waged to save Utah's Great Salt Lake. Directed by Abby Ellis ('Flint's Deadly Water'), the doc, currently in production, follows scientists and politicians from both sides of the aisle who are battling to save the Great Salt Lake – the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere – as it rapidly vanishes. Beneath the drying lakebed of Great Salt Lake lies a toxic reservoir of heavy metals – arsenic, lead, mercury, and more – poised to become airborne, endangering the millions of people living in the metropolitan region of Utah called the Wasatch Front. More from Variety 'Couples Therapy' Season 4 Part 2 Sets Release Date, Debuts New Trailer (EXCLUSIVE) 'The Carters' Director Soleil Moon Frye on Capturing Angel and Nick Carter's First Conversation About Losing Aaron, Going 'All In' on Mental Health Awareness Women Make Movies' Debra Zimmerman Slams U.S. Grant Cuts at Visions du Réel 'We often tell stories about environmental crises after they have unfolded,' says Ellis. 'What makes this film unique is that, here in Utah, there's still time to change course.' In addition to Vasarhelyi and Chin, Anna Barnes from Little Monster Films will exec produce 'Terminal' (working title) along with Jessica Harrop, Caitlin Mae Burke from Sandbox Films. Geralyn Dreyfus ('Icarus) and Heather Kahlert will also serve as exec producers. 'The DNA of many of our films includes a celebration of our incredible planet as well as showcasing ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, so to be able to use our voices to bring attention to this felt not just like a great opportunity to work with this talented film team, but also a responsibility, and one we take very seriously,' says Vasarhelyi. Across the globe, more than 100 saline terminal lakes exist, but history has shown that salt lakes that go into decline have never been able to be saved. Utah now stands at a pivotal moment – an unprecedented opportunity to defy the odds, rewrite the narrative, and create a model for environmental resilience. ''Terminal' follows science being done in real time at a make-or-break moment in Utah's environmental history, and Abby is tackling the story in an incredibly cinematic and engaging way,' says Harrop.'Our mission at Sandbox is to illuminate the art and beauty of scientific inquiry, and this film is a bullseye for the type of content we are thrilled to support.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump Says He's ‘Honored' to Be Suing ‘60 Minutes' and CBS in Latest Truth Social Rant, Urges FCC to ‘Impose Maximum Fines and Punishment'
President Donald Trump has once again slammed '60 Minutes' and CBS in a rant on Truth Social amid his $20 billion lawsuit over the news program's pre-election interview with Kamala Harris. In a post on Sunday night, Trump lashed out about the latest '60 Minutes' episode, which featured an interview with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelesnkyy and a segment about the president's interest in acquiring Greenland. More from Variety Epic 'SNL' Trump and 'White Lotus' Mashup Includes Scarlett Johansson, Several 'SNL' Alumni and a 'Lotus' Castmember Keith Olbermann Slams Bill Maher for 'Prostituting Himself' Over Trump Dinner Praise: 'This Is So He Can Keep His HBO Show' Women Make Movies' Debra Zimmerman Slams U.S. Grant Cuts at Visions du Réel 'Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name 'TRUMP' in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend's 'BROADCAST' tops them all,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. He proceeded to claim that the war in Ukraine 'would never have happened if the 2020 Election had not been RIGGED, in other words, if I were President,' and said the story on Greenland cast 'our Country, as led by me, falsely, inaccurately and fraudulently.' He continued: 'I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting.' Representatives for CBS and '60 Minutes' did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment. Trump sued CBS, which is owned by Paramount, a few days before the November election, alleging that the '60 Minutes' interview with Harris was deceptively edited and therefore violated a Texas consumer protection law. He then expanded the lawsuit earlier this year, alleging an additional claim under the federal Lanham Act and seeking at least $20 billion in damages. In March, Paramount and CBS filed two motions to throw out the lawsuit, calling it an 'affront to the First Amendment.' And on April 7, their lawyers filed another motion asking the plaintiffs to produce the documents requested in discovery. 'Despite their insistence that discovery move forward, Plaintiffs have shown very little desire to produce their own documents, relying on unfounded objections and delay tactics,' the Paramount and CBS legal team said. Last week, it was reported that lawyers for Paramount Global and Trump had agreed on a mediator to pursue a settlement in the suit. Meanwhile, Paramount is seeking to merge with Skydance Media, a move that is still pending approval by the FCC. The agency's Trump-appointed commissioner, Brendan Carr, has said that the '60 Minutes' case will be a consideration in the review of the merger. However, in a previous statement, a Paramount Global spokesperson said that Trump's '60 Minutes' lawsuit 'is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.' In his Truth Social post, Trump said he hopes the FCC 'will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.' Trump's rant comes as he is facing backlash for imposing tariffs on goods from countries across the world, including up to 145% on those from China. Though the president has argued this will protect U.S. jobs and boost manufacturing, it has sent the world economy into a tailspin. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Keith Olbermann Slams Bill Maher for ‘Prostituting Himself' Over Trump Dinner Praise: ‘This Is So He Can Keep His HBO Show'
Media firebrand Keith Olbermann has unleashed a scathing rebuke of comedian and HBO/Max host Bill Maher for Maher's praise for President Donald Trump following a dinner set up by Kid Rock. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Olbermann dismissed the dinner as a transactional move to preserve Maher's career, directly attacking Maher's character and motivations. More from Variety Women Make Movies' Debra Zimmerman Slams U.S. Grant Cuts at Visions du Réel Bill Maher Praises President Trump as 'Gracious' and 'Not Fake' Recounting His White House Visit: 'Everything I've Ever Not Liked About Him Was Absent' Donald Trump Laughs Off China Reducing U.S. Movies Amid Tariff Drama: 'I Think I've Heard Worse Things' 'BTW don't overanalyze Maher prostituting himself to Trump,' Olbermann wrote in a post. 'Maher works for the same fascists at Warner who took over and corrupted CNN.' Olbermann, who has had a long and often combative career in media, claimed personal knowledge of Maher stretching back nearly five decades. 'I've known Bill since 1978. He was a shameless opportunist with no real principles then and he remains so,' he added. 'This is so he can keep his HBO show.' The outburst came in response to Maher's recent monologue on his late night show 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' in which the host attempted to downplay the dinner with Trump — arranged by musician Kid Rock — as anything more than a social encounter. Maher opened his segment by mocking the media and public for blowing the meeting out of proportion: 'Let me first say that to all the people who treated this like it was some sort of summit meeting, 'You're ridiculous,'' Maher said on his show. The remarks signaled a softening or at least a personal re-evaluation of Trump from Maher, who's previously critical of the former president. It was only two weeks ago, on a March 28 episode, that he delivered a segment titled 'Trump Devotion Syndrome,' when the 69-year-old comedian mocked and skewered MAGA. But that nuance was lost on Olbermann, who interpreted the meeting and Maher's remarks as little more than damage control to maintain his standing within the Warner Bros. Discovery media company, which oversees HBO and CNN —both of which Olbermann accuses of ideological drift. Whether Maher's dinner with Trump will have long-term consequences for his credibility or ratings remains to be seen. But in the court of public opinion, the battle lines are already being drawn, and Olbermann has made it clear which side he's on. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘The Big Chief' Director Investigates Soviet Spy Ringmaster Leopold Trepper and Antisemitism in Communist-Era Poland
Tomasz Wolski's documentary 'The Big Chief,' which world premiered this week at Visions du Réel, follows the life of Soviet spy ringmaster Leopold Trepper. Variety speaks to Wolski about the film. Trepper, a Polish-Jewish communist, ran a network of Soviet spies across Western Europe, named by the Germans as the Red Orchestra, from the mid-1930s until 1942, when he was captured by the Gestapo and then escaped. When he returned to Moscow after the war he fell out of favor and was imprisoned for 10 years. When he went back to Poland, he led the country's Jewish community for some years, but was persecuted, and denied permission to emigrate to Israel. More from Variety Visions du Réel Crowns 'The Prince of Nanawa' as Grand Prix Winner, 'The Vanishing Point' Claims Burning Lights Award Raoul Peck on His Cannes-Bound George Orwell Documentary and the Threat of Dictatorship: 'Terror Comes Slowly' 'The Golden Swan' Director on Bringing to Screen Her Brother's 'Journey From Hate to Reconciliation' Before Murder by Terrorists In 2016, Wolski was researching another film, 'An Ordinary Country,' in Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, which holds documents and footage from the Nazi occupation through the decades of Soviet domination that followed. 'I was preparing a film about Poland through the eyes of secret service officers,' he says. 'And, at some point, I found documents and film reels that were labelled Leopold Trepper.' He didn't know who Trepper was, but was intrigued and delved into the files and footage. There were more than 20 reels of film in this trove, showing interviews with Trepper conducted by a French crew, led by Jean-Pierre Elkabach, from the 1970s, and confiscated at the airport. After Trepper was denied the right to move to Israel, and was put under round-the-clock surveillance, Elkabach and other supporters in France mounted a campaign to allow him to leave Poland. The head of the French intelligence service said that Trepper had collaborated with the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation of France and betrayed members of the Resistance to save his own skin. Trepper's allies fought this in court and won, resulting in the French spy chief being removed. However, there remains many enigmatic aspects to Trepper's story, and for Wolski that is the point. 'I made this film because I deeply believe you can't be sure of what happened in the past,' he says. 'I mean, we have problems finding out what's going on around us now, so how do you get to the truth about some event that happened 80 years ago?' He adds: 'I don't agree with journalists and historians who try to base their work on documents in the archives.' One of the issues is that the competing intelligence agencies, including the French, Poles and the KGB, were all planting false information as part of their campaigns of disinformation during the Cold War. One of the central issues is whether Trepper genuinely collaborated with the Gestapo after he was captured or, as he claimed later, he was feeding them false information and alerted the Soviets that the Red Orchestra had been compromised. 'I have a lot of doubts [about whether he genuinely betrayed the Allies], and I would even go as far as saying that I don't believe that,' Wolski says. 'But maybe, he just wanted to save his life. I don't know. I mean the thing is that we cannot judge.' He adds: 'I don't want to judge some of the decision made during the war, when their lives were threatened. We don't know how we would behave in that situation. Completely different rules applied at that time, so it's really hard to go there.' One of the issues dealt with in the film was the antisemitism that was prevalent in Poland, especially after the 1968 student protests. 'Antisemitism is still present in Poland. I think we have a huge problem [with that], especially its impact in the past. A few years ago, when we had a different government, they clamped down on historians who were trying to find out the truth [about Polish antisemitism].' He adds: 'For some reason, we cannot accept that it happened. But, when your life is miserable, you have to find someone to blame, and the Jews are often [an easy target].' He says: 'This story is also about the Westerners who really wanted to help someone that was living [under a despotic state] in the East.' Wolski himself had to deal with the divisive nature of politics in Poland. When he first submitted the project to the Polish Film Institute, under the previous conservative government, he was rejected. He had explained he wanted to be even handed but he was told that if he portrayed Trepper as a traitor he might get his funding. But, later, after a change in the expert in charge of the decision-making at the institute, he got his funding. At another funding body in Poland, the decision-maker questioned whether Trepper was actually Polish as he was born in an area that was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the time. 'The Big Chief' is produced by Anna Gawlita at Kijora Film. The co-producers are Polish Television TVP S.A., INA, Atoms & Void, KBF, and the Mazovia Institute of Culture. It is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Visions du Réel Crowns ‘The Prince of Nanawa' as Grand Prix Winner, ‘The Vanishing Point' Claims Burning Lights Award
Clarisa Navas' 'The Prince of Nanawa' claimed Swiss doc fest Visions du Réel's top prize, while Iranian filmmaker Bani Koshnoudi's 'The Vanishing Point' took the top Burning Lights honor. Clarisa Navas' 'The Prince of Nanawa' has taken home the Grand Prix at international Swiss doc fest Visions du Réel, while Bani Koshnoudi's 'The Vanishing Point' earned the top award in the Burning Lights section. More from Variety Raoul Peck on His Cannes-Bound George Orwell Documentary and the Threat of Dictatorship: 'Terror Comes Slowly' 'The Golden Swan' Director on Bringing to Screen Her Brother's 'Journey From Hate to Reconciliation' Before Murder by Terrorists Rosie O'Donnell's Doc 'Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children With Autism' Sets April Debut on Hulu (EXCLUSIVE) Argentina's Navas, best known for her 2020 San Sebastián-winning film 'One in a Thousand,' spent a decade filming 'The Prince of Nanawa.' The documentary follows the story of Ángel, a charismatic boy with fierce love for his Guarani roots and a vision for his Paraguayan hometown of Nanawa. With a camera in hand, Ángel helps craft his own story. The jury, comprising Japanese film festival director Hama Haruka, U.S. filmmaker Eliza Hittman ('Never Rarely Sometimes Always,' 'Beach Rats') and Greek director Athiná-Rachél Tsangári ('Attenberg,' 'Chevalier,' 'Harvest'), praised the film as 'a work that straddles autofiction, fiction and non-fiction with confidence and humility… The camera becomes a communal, familial instrument that passionately records the microcosm of youth as it negotiates borders and boundaries. The filmmaker's gaze is hospitable and tender – without ever sentimentalizing or othering their subject.' The Grand Prix comes with a 20,000 CHF ($24,000) cash prize. The Special Jury Award in the same section went to 'To Use a Mountain' by Casey Carter, which investigates the six rural U.S. sites once considered for nuclear waste disposal. Marie Voignier's 'Anamocot,' which chronicles a French scientist's lifelong search for the mythical Mokélé-Mbembé, received a Special Mention. Koshnoudi, an exiled filmmaker and visual artist whose work has been shown in exhibitions around the world, picked up the festival's second most prestigious award for 'The Vanishing Point,' which breaks her family's decades-long silence about a disappeared cousin executed during the 1988 purges in Iran. In their citation, the jury, made up of U.S. filmmaker Scott Cummings ('Realm of Satan,' 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always'), French producer Thomas Hakim ('All We Imagine as Light'), and Georgian-Swiss director Elene Naveriani ('Blackbird, Blackbird, Blackberry') called it 'a bold and radical exploration of shared pain and collective resistance,' commending how the filmmaker 'opens her family history to unlock a kaleidoscope of materials, both personal and political, past and present, that culminates in a manifesto of resistance against the regime.' The award comes with a 10,000 CHF ($12,000) cash prize. David Bim's 'To the West, in Zapata' had a strong showing, picking both the Burning Lights Special Jury Prize and the International Critics' Prize – Prix FIPRESCI. A Special Mention also went to 'Fierté nationale: de Jéricho vers Gaza' by Sven Augustijnen, which follows a Palestinian diplomat's journey from the occupied West Bank to Gaza's border. In the National Competition, 'The Multiple Lives of Andres' ('Les Vies d'Andrès') by Switzerland's Baptiste Janon and Belgium's Rémi Pons claimed the top prize. Inspired by a novel about an early 20th century cart driver, the film depicts his contemporary twin, a truck driver navigating a contemporary Europe obsessed with profit. The prize comes with 15,000 CHF ($18,000). Laura Coppens' 'Sediments' picked up the runner-up Special Jury Award, and 'Toute ma vie' by Matias Carlier received a Special Mention. The audience award went to Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 'Cutting Through Rocks' by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki. Visions du Réel's artistic director Émilie Bujès praised the 2025 selection as 'a true bulwark against the standardization of both cinema and ideas.' 'The 154 films presented at the 2025 festival offer a myriad of prisms through which to explore contemporary documentary cinema and to discover bold, personal, and singular cinematic voices. I'm delighted to see that this year's awards reflect this ambition, notably including films created over extended periods of time. This confirms our deep commitment to offering powerful and original cinematic experiences,' she said. All winning films had their world premieres at Visions du Réel. The festival runs until Sunday evening, with its curated online selection available until 20 April. Find all the awards for Visions du Réel 2025 here: International Feature Film CompetitionGrand Jury Prize'The Prince of Nanawa' by Clarisa Navas Special Jury Award'To Use a Mountain' by Casey Carter Special Mention'Anamocot' by Marie Voignier Burning Lights Competition'The Vanishing Point' by Bani Khoshnoudi Special Jury Award'To the West in Zapata' by David Bim Special Mention'Fierté nationale: de Jéricho vers Gaza' by Sven Augustijnen National Competition'Les Vies d'Andrès' by Baptiste Janon and Rémi Pons Special Jury Award in the National Competition'Sediments' by Laura Coppens Special Mention'Toute ma vie' by Matias Carlier International Medium Length and Short Film CompetitionJury Prize for the Best Medium Length Film'Les Voyageurs' by David Bingong Jury Prize for the Best Short Film'Another Other' by Bex Oluwatoyin Thompson Special Youth Jury Award for a Medium Length Film'Objects Don't Randomly Fall From the Sky' by Maria Estela Paiso Special Youth Jury Award for the Best Short Film'The Town That Drove Away' by Grzegorz Piekarski and Natalia Pietsch Special Mention from the Jury of the International Medium and Short Film Competition'Khmerica' by Thibaut Amri, Antoine Guide and Lucas Sénécaut Wide AngleAudience Award in the Wide Angle Competition'Cutting Through Rocks' by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki International Critics' Award – FIPRESCI AwardFirst feature film presented in the International Feature Film Competition or the Burning Lights Competition'To the West, in Zapata' by David Bim Interreligious AwardFeature film of the International Competition that highlights questions of meaning and human solidarity'Nuit obscure – 'Ain't I a Child?'' by Sylvain George Perception Change Project AwardPrize awarded to a film that sheds light on the current issues that will define the world of tomorrow'The Family Approach' by Daniel Abma Zonta AwardThe ZONTA Creation Support Award rewards a female filmmaker whose film, selected in the Burning Lights or National Competition sections, reveals mastery and talent and calls for support for future creations.'And the Fish Fly Above Our Heads' by Dima El-Horr Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Cristin Milioti, Jenny Slate and Paul Giamatti Make Big Moves in the Limited Races Emmy Predictions: Supporting Actress (Limited/TV Movie) — Netflix Boasts Multiple Standouts With Erin Doherty, Emma Corrin, and Fatima Bojang Emmy Predictions: Supporting Actor (Limited/TV Movie) — Will 'Adolescence' Young Breakout Star Owen Cooper Make History?
