Latest news with #WeAreGuardians'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Freestyle Digital Media Acquires ‘A Spartan Dream,' Sets Limited Theatrical Release- Film News in Brief
Freestyle Digital Media— the independent film arm of Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios—has acquired the distribution rights to 'A Spartan Dream' and will release it in select theaters for one week, starting Aug. 15. 'A Spartan Dream' is a romantic-comedy adventure film riddled with fantasy and myth. Based on a true story, the film follows an ancient-Greece-obsessed American who travels to the land of his ancestors to sell his old family homestead. However, plans go awry when he falls in love with a beautiful Greek woman; he changes course to salvage the village and change history. More from Variety Daytime Emmy-Winner 'Venice The Series' Returns for Season 7 on Vimeo (EXCLUSIVE) Vimeo Hires Google Cloud AI Exec Philip Moyer as CEO Vimeo Is Shutting Down Its TV Apps This Month The film stars Peter Bundic, Georgia Mesariti, Katerina Didaskalou, Renos Haralambidis, and Nikos Tsergas, and is the feature directorial debut for M. Achilles. It gained attention after winning Best Feature Film at the 2025 Prague Actors and Filmmakers Film Festival. The movie's theatrical run will take place in five cities between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. It will simultaneously become available on VOD platforms, and the DVD will release in September. The release marks another step the fast-growing, diverse slate of independent films that Freestyle Digital Media aims to showcase for wide audiences. The 'We Are Guardians' film impact campaign team has raised over $1 million in support of the Indigenous-led movement to protect the Amazon rainforest and its people. The majority of the impact campaign funds will be directed to the forest guardians featured in the film and Indigenous-led initiatives, including projects and training for Indigenous women. The money will also be used to build the infrastructure necessary to achieve the film's long-term impact goals, support the film's release, fund accessible community events, educational theatrical experiences and opportunities for viewers to engage in person with Indigenous movement leaders. 'The film's impact campaign is an essential part of the project,' Edivan Guajajara, the film's director, said. 'It's not just about showing the story, but mobilizing people, creating strategic partnerships, influencing policies, and inspiring everyone to join this fight. The world needs to understand that protecting Indigenous peoples is protecting the planet. Every viewer can become a guardian. That's our mission.' Produced by Fisher Stevens with Leonardo DiCaprio as executive producer, 'We Are Guardians' is an environmental documentary that follows the Indigenous forest protectors of the Amazon as they risk their lives to fend off illegal loggers and land invaders. In addition to raising money, the impact campaign has delivered drones, radios, firefighting equipment and cameras to forest guardians as well as building monitoring bases. Following its premiere in June, the theatrical release of 'We Are Guardians' opens in New York on Friday and will continue its showings nationwide through September. The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) has chosen eight honorees to receive the 2025 Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECAs). Among honorees are Isaac Banks, 'The Trophy King,' John B. Barrett, 'Recall,' Daniel Cotroneo, 'Yae: Blind Samurai Woman,' Eythan Maidhof, 'Class Clown,' Mariscela Beatríz Méndez, 'The Middle,' Josh Pickering, 'Boundless | HomeAid,' Steven Jacob Russell, 'Hammer' and Alexa Wolf, 'To Fade Away.' The ECAs support the next generation of visual storytellers by spotlighting and honoring early-career and emerging Directors of Photography. 'The Emerging Cinematographer Awards reflect the important values that ICG stands for — fostering talent, mentorship, and supporting a strong creative community,' says John Lindley, ASC, National President of the ICG. 'These honorees represent the future of our craft, and we're privileged to elevate their visions at this pivotal moment in their careers.' 'By recognizing outstanding talent at the earliest stages of their careers, the ICG is proud to help open doors and create opportunities for emerging Directors of Photography to thrive in this dynamic industry,' says Steven Poster, ASC, Chair of the Guild's ECA committee. Eduardo Fierro, SVC, 2013 ECA alumnus who now joins this year as the new Co-Chair of the ECA committee, adds, 'It's an honor to step into this role and help continue the tradition of uplifting fresh voices in cinematography. As an ECA alumnus, this has been a full circle experience for me. The ECAs celebrate both artistic excellence and the spirit of mentorship that defines our community.' The 27th annual awards gala and reception will be held at the Television Academy Saban Media Center Wolf Theatre, on Sept. 28. Vimeo has announced the full list of their first Short Film Grant winners. The program, which was launched earlier this year in March, is set to provide aspiring filmmakers with industry access and the opportunity for distribution to Vimeo's global audience. 'For two decades, Vimeo has served and inspired millions of filmmakers and film enthusiasts around the world,' says Philip Moyer, the CEO of Vimeo. 'We are incredibly proud to partner with industry leaders, Nikon and RED, on this new grant program to accelerate the future of storytelling and launch a new generation of filmmakers. Together we will provide filmmakers with resources, mentorship, and a trusted platform to create exceptional short films and connect with a global audience.' The 2025 winners were selected by a jury of industry professionals including David Lowery ('The Green Knight), Charlotte Wells ('Aftersun'), Sean Wang ('Didi'), Savanah Leaf ('Earth Mama') and cinematographer Adam Bricker. Recipients of this year's award will receive $30,000 each in funding for their films, as well as personal mentorship opportunities with the selection jury and the Vimeo Curation Team. Winners will also receive the latest Z CINEMA line of professional equipment and a Vimeo Standard subscription. See below for the full winners list. 'Spaceboi,' directed by Andrew J. Rodriguez 'La Selva,' directed by Sofia Camargo 'I Remember the House Was Red,' directed by Carmen Pedrero 'The Only Man to Ever Exist,' directed by Annie Ning 'The Ineffable Hum,' directed by John C. Kelley Pathway Pictures and SheNYC Arts have wrapped production on the dark comedy feature film 'Sheepwell,' starring Michole Briana White, Alix Lapri, Connor Paolo and producer Lauren Elizabeth Harris. Based on the Off Broadway play of the same title by Margaret Rose Caterisano, director Kim Caicedo adapted the story into a screenplay alongside Danielle DeMatteo. 'Sheepwell' is described as a feminist thriller that reveals what happens when an overconfident traveler messes with the wrong woman. Denise Grayson also acted in the film. 'Upon reading the script for the first time, I was immediately consumed by these women and the eerie, twisted Southern landscape that they're trying to survive in,' Caicedo said. 'This film is more than just a mystery and a thriller. It's a real-life depiction of what women in our society have to fear and fight for every day.' DeMatteo, who is also the founder and artistic director of SheNYC Arts, added, 'Sheepwell' is an incredibly special story that's kept all of us up at night at SheNYC, ever since we first read the original play script. We had the privilege of bringing it to life on an off-Broadway stage back in 2023, and it's going to be even more thrilling and shocking on screen.' Best of Variety Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We Are Guardians' is a window into on-the-ground efforts to save the Amazon rainforest
It's easy to forget sometimes that, alongside everything else that's crowding your news brain right now, deforestation in the Amazon is still a massive crisis for the planet, one that is fast reaching a point of no return regarding our ability to curtail its terrible impact. Movies love superheroes that take on their villains with big-stage swagger. But documentaries thrive on underdogs and when it comes to standing up to the illegal logging and mining that's flattening South America's leafy canopy, Indigenous people have more than shown their mettle against buzzing chainsaws or buzzy politicians. The energetic dispatch 'We Are Guardians' from directors Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman, is the latest advocacy feature to bring cameras into the Amazon to juxtapose beauty and devastation — as well as a David vs. Goliath battle as it's experienced on the ground. We meet soft-spoken family man Marҫal, from the Indigenous territory of Arariboia, whose decades-old group of organized, unpaid, weapons-trained and face-painted 'forest guardians' take the fight directly to loggers, wherever they can sneak up on them, at great risk to their lives. (Their foes are armed too.) Though Marçal speaks eloquently of his holistic view of their mission — he's protecting the water, the trees and the region's wildlife — he also shows concern that the Amazon's uncontacted peoples stay free of interference too. Read more: The 27 best movie theaters in Los Angeles Meanwhile, activist Puyr Tembé from the Alto Rio Guama territory is working hard to get more Indigenous women into politics and in seats of power — a tall order at a time (filming mostly took place between 2019 and 2022) when rapaciously pro-agribusiness Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro openly treated the rights of Indigenous peoples as dismissable and a nuisance. As Tembé articulates, it takes a reforesting of the mind and heart to catalyze progress. These dedicated warriors certainly earn our admiration in the good/evil binary of the conflict, but complications help give the documentary shape, as in the attention given a crusty logger named Valdir, who agreed to be featured on camera. A logger for over 50 years since he was 8, he knows exactly what's wrong with his job, but is trapped in the maw of an industry as a means of survival for his family. Even a wealthy landowner can come off like a victim here, as is the case with Tadeu, a businessman who in the 1990s started an ecological sanctuary on his 28,000 hectares, and whose complaints to the Brazilian government about illegal encroachment on his land fall on deaf ears. There's a comprehensiveness to how 'We Are Guardians' lays out a big, knotty problem of environment, politics, geography and business — internationalized yet hyper-local — while spotlighting the Indigenous push-back efforts. But the movie's verité style of thumbnail portraiture doesn't always dovetail neatly with the other elements: the unloading of facts, getting those drone shots in and projecting a thriller-like atmosphere. Coming on the heels of the aesthetically sharp and immersive 'The Territory' from a couple years ago (which covers some of the same ground), 'We Are Guardians' feels more like a highlighting of issues than a documentary journey that takes you somewhere. But sometimes, it's whatever gets out the message, right? When it comes to climate change, our media diet is starved. So if you need that refresher course in the importance of saving the Amazon, 'We Are Guardians,' like a well-made pamphlet, does the job with plenty of efficiency and heat. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘We Are Guardians' is a window into on-the-ground efforts to save the Amazon rainforest
It's easy to forget sometimes that, alongside everything else that's crowding your news brain right now, deforestation in the Amazon is still a massive crisis for the planet, one that is fast reaching a point of no return regarding our ability to curtail its terrible impact. Movies love superheroes that take on their villains with big-stage swagger. But documentaries thrive on underdogs and when it comes to standing up to the illegal logging and mining that's flattening South America's leafy canopy, Indigenous people have more than shown their mettle against buzzing chainsaws or buzzy politicians. The energetic dispatch 'We Are Guardians' from directors Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman, is the latest advocacy feature to bring cameras into the Amazon to juxtapose beauty and devastation — as well as a David vs. Goliath battle as it's experienced on the ground. We meet soft-spoken family man Marҫal, from the Indigenous territory of Arariboia, whose decades-old group of organized, unpaid, weapons-trained and face-painted 'forest guardians' take the fight directly to loggers, wherever they can sneak up on them, at great risk to their lives. (Their foes are armed too.) Though Marçal speaks eloquently of his holistic view of their mission — he's protecting the water, the trees and the region's wildlife — he also shows concern that the Amazon's uncontacted peoples stay free of interference too. Meanwhile, activist Puyr Tembé from the Alto Rio Guama territory is working hard to get more Indigenous women into politics and in seats of power — a tall order at a time (filming mostly took place between 2019 and 2022) when rapaciously pro-agribusiness Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro openly treated the rights of Indigenous peoples as dismissable and a nuisance. As Tembé articulates, it takes a reforesting of the mind and heart to catalyze progress. These dedicated warriors certainly earn our admiration in the good/evil binary of the conflict, but complications help give the documentary shape, as in the attention given a crusty logger named Valdir, who agreed to be featured on camera. A logger for over 50 years since he was 8, he knows exactly what's wrong with his job, but is trapped in the maw of an industry as a means of survival for his family. Even a wealthy landowner can come off like a victim here, as is the case with Tadeu, a businessman who in the 1990s started an ecological sanctuary on his 28,000 hectares, and whose complaints to the Brazilian government about illegal encroachment on his land fall on deaf ears. There's a comprehensiveness to how 'We Are Guardians' lays out a big, knotty problem of environment, politics, geography and business — internationalized yet hyper-local — while spotlighting the Indigenous push-back efforts. But the movie's verité style of thumbnail portraiture doesn't always dovetail neatly with the other elements: the unloading of facts, getting those drone shots in and projecting a thriller-like atmosphere. Coming on the heels of the aesthetically sharp and immersive 'The Territory' from a couple years ago (which covers some of the same ground), 'We Are Guardians' feels more like a highlighting of issues than a documentary journey that takes you somewhere. But sometimes, it's whatever gets out the message, right? When it comes to climate change, our media diet is starved. So if you need that refresher course in the importance of saving the Amazon, 'We Are Guardians,' like a well-made pamphlet, does the job with plenty of efficiency and heat.
