Fan-favorite Everything Everywhere All At Once swept the noms, with 11 nominations (including Best Picture) – and is re-opening in theatres across the country! Everything Everywhere All At Once is opening Friday at Cal Oaks, Grossmont, Manville, Rohnert Park, Town Square, and Valley Plaza. 

The Banshees of Inisherin came out with a stunning 9 Academy Award nominations, and is returning to cinemas at Cal Oaks, Grossmont, Manville, Rohnert Park, Town Square, and Valley Plaza. 

All Quiet on the Western Front received 9 nominations, and is opening at Valley Plaza, Town Square, Cal Oaks, Rohnert Park, and Manville. 

Elvis received 8 nominations, including Best Picture, and is opening back up at Grossmont, Valley Plaza, Town Square, Rohnert Park, and Manville. 

The Fabelmans was nominated 7 times, and is playing at Cal Oaks and Grossmont. 

Tár was nominated for 6 Oscars, and is opening at Cal Oaks, Town Square. 

Top Gun: Maverick was nominated 6 times, returning to Cal Oaks, Grossmont, Manville, Rohnert Park, and Valley Plaza 

Avatar: The Way of Water received 5 nominations, and is currently playing at Cal Oaks, Grossmont, Manville, Rohnert Park, Town Square and in IMAX at Valley Plaza. 

The Whale was nominated for 3 awards, highlighting Brendan Fraser and Hong Chau’s stunning performances, and is now playing at Cal Oaks. 

Living opens Friday, and is nominated for 2 Academy Awards – opening at Town Square, Cal Oaks, Rohnert Park, and Manville. 

Women Talking received 2 nominations, and is now playing at Cal Oaks. 

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was nominated for Best Animated Feature, and is opening at Valley Plaza, Town Square, Cal Oaks, Rohnert Park, and Manville. 

To Leslie lead actress Andrea Riseborough was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and is returning to theatres at Town Square. 

 Get tickets now: https://www.angelikafilmcenter.com/ / https://www.readingcinemasus.com/ / https://www.consolidatedtheatres.com/  

The 95^th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 12^th at 8pm live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and I can’t wait to tune in! 

And now, the nominees… 

Best Sound 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte 

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges 

“The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson 

“Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller 

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor 

Best Original Score  

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann 

“Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz 

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux 

“The Fabelmans,” John Williams 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling  

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová 

“The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine 

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow 

“Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti 

“The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley 

Best Live Action Short 

“An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White 

“Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan 

“Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón 

“Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen 

“The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad 

Best Costume Design  

“Babylon,” Mary Zophres 

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter 

“Elvis,” Catherine Martin 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata 

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan 

Best Animated Short Film 

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud 

“The Flying Sailor,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby 

“Ice Merchants,” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano 

“My Year of Dicks,” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon 

“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon 

Best Animated Feature Film  

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley 

“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey 

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift 

“The Sea Beast,” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger 

“Turning Red,” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins 

Best Visual Effects 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar 

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett 

“The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy 

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick 

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher 

Best Production Design  

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper 

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole 

“Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino 

“Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn 

“The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara 

Best Original Song  

“Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren 

“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop 

“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler 

“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose   

“This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne 

Best International Feature Film  

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)  

“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)  

“Close” (Belgium) 

“EO” (Poland)  

“The Quiet Girl” (Ireland) 

Best Film Editing 

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen 

“Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers 

“Tár,” Monika Willi 

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton 

Best Documentary Short Film  

“The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga 

“Haulout,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev 

“How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt 

“The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison 

“Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones 

Best Documentary Feature Film  

“All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer 

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov 

“Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman 

“A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström 

“Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris 

Best Cinematography  

“All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend 

“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji 

“Elvis,” Mandy Walker 

“Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins 

“Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister 

Best Original Screenplay 

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert 

“The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner 

“Tár,” Written by Todd Field 

“Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund 

Best Adapted Screenplay 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell 

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson 

“Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro 

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks 

“Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley 

Best Supporting Actress 

Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)  

Hong Chau (“The Whale”)  

Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)  

Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)  

Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Best Supporting Actor 

Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)  

Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”)  

Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”) 

Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)  

Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Best Lead Actress 

Cate Blanchett (“Tár”)  

Ana de Armas (“Blonde”)  

Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) 

Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”)  

Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Best Lead Actor 

Austin Butler (“Elvis”)   

Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)  

Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)   

Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”)  

Bill Nighy (“Living”) 

Best Director  

Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)  

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)  

Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”)  

Todd Field (“Tár”)  

Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) 

Best Picture 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer 

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers 

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers 

“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers 

“The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers 

“Tár,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers 

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers 

“Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers 

“Women Talking,” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers 

Returning to NBC, the Golden Globes will be hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, premiering on Tuesday, January 10^th at 8pm EST – streaming live on NBC and Peacock.  

As for the nominees, you can catch The Fabelmans, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, She Said, and The Menu are playing in theaters now – with Avatar: The Way of Water, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Babylon coming soon! Find a theater near you: www.readingcinemasus.com 

Missed the news? We’ve got all the nominees here for you! 

Best Motion Picture – Drama 

• Avatar: The Way of Water 
• Elvis 
• The Fabelmans 
• Tár 
• Top Gun: Maverick 

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 

• Babylon 
• The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Everything Everywhere All at Once 
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 
• Triangle of Sadness 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama 

• Cate Blanchett, Tár 
• Olivia Colman, Empire of Light 
• Viola Davis, The Woman King 
• Ana de Armas, Blonde 
• Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 

• Lesley Manville, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris 
• Margot Robbie, Babylon 
• Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu 
• Emma Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande 
• Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama 

• Austin Butler, Elvis 
• Brendan Fraser, The Whale 
• Hugh Jackman, The Son 
• Bill Nighy, Living 
• Jeremy Pope, The Inspection 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 

• Diego Calva, Babylon 
• Daniel Craig, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 
• Adam Driver, White Noise 
• Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Ralph Fiennes, The Menu 

Best Motion Picture – Animated   

• Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio 
• Inu-Oh 
• Marcel the Shell With Shoes On 
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 
• Turning Red 

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language 

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) 
• Argentina, 1985 (Argentina) 
• Close (Belgium) 
• Decision to Leave (South Korea) 
• RRR (India) 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture 

• Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 
• Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once 
• Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness 
• Carey Mulligan, She Said 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture 

• Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Brad Pitt, Babylon 
• Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once 
• Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse 

Best Director — Motion Picture 

• James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water 
• Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once 
• Baz Luhrmann, Elvis 
• Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture 

• Todd Field, Tár  
• Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once 
• Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Sarah Polley, Women Talking 
• Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans 

Best Original Score – Motion Picture 

• Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin 
• Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio 
• Hildur Guðnadóttir, Women Talking  
• Justin Hurwitz, Babylon 
• John Williams, The Fabelmans  

Best Original Song – Motion Picture 

• “Carolina,” Taylor Swift (Where the Crawdads Sing) 
• “Ciao Papa,” Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro, Roeban Katz (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) 
• “Hold My Hand,” Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice (Top Gun: Maverick) 
• “Lift Me Up,” Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)  
• “Naatu Naatu,” Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj (RRR) 

Start planning your next movie night and get tickets now!

Click here to view the Official Sweepstakes Rules.

11 time nominee Dune took home 6 awards, followed by CODA, which won 3. Best Picture nominee Drive My Car – based on the short story by Haruki Murakami – took home Best International Feature, the second win for Japan. Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s directorial debut, marked Branagh’s first Oscar win, after 8 nominations. 

This historic show featured the second deaf man ever to win Best Supporting Actor (Troy Kotsur for CODA), as well as the third win – second in a row – for a woman for Best Director (Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog)! Similarly iconic, West Side Story earned Ariana Debose’s iconic win for portraying Anita – a role that won Rita Moreno the same award 60 years prior, marking her as the first Latina woman to win Best Supporting Actress – in a win that was similarly historic, as Debose is the first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Academy Award. As Debose said in her speech, “To anybody who has ever questioned your identity…. I promise you this, there is indeed a place for us.” 

Catch up on all the winners here: 

BEST PICTURE

WINNER: CODA

Belfast 

Don’t Look Up 

Drive My Car 

Dune 

King Richard 

Licorice Pizza 

Nightmare Alley 

The Power of the Dog 

West Side Story 

BEST ACTRESS 

WINNER Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye 

Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter 

Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers 

Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos 

Kristen Stewart, Spencer 

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 

WINNER: The Eyes of Tammy Faye 

Coming 2 America 

Cruella 

Dune 

House of Gucci 

BEST ACTOR 

WINNER: Will Smith, King Richard 

Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos 

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog 

Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick…Boom! 

Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth 

BEST DIRECTOR 

WINNER: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza 

Kenneth Branagh, Belfast 

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car 

Steven Spielberg, West Side Story 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG 

WINNER: “No Time to Die,” No Time to Die (Performed by Billie Eilish and FINNEAS) 

“Be Alive,” King Richard (Performed by Beyoncé and DIXSON)

“Dos Oruguitas,” Encanto (Performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda)

“Down to Joy,” Belfast (Performed by Van Morrison)

“Somehow You Do,” Four Good Days  (Performed by Dianne Warren)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 

WINNER: Zsuzsanna Sipos and Patrice Vermette, Dune  

Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, Nightmare Alley    

Grant Major and Amber Richards, The Power of the Dog 

Stefan Dechant and Nancy Haigh, The Tragedy of Macbeth  

Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo, West Side Story  

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 

WINNER: Summer of Soul 

Ascension 

Attica 

Flee 

Writing With Fire 

BEST EDITING 

WINNER: Dune 

Don’t Look Up 

King Richard 

The Power of the Dog 

Tick, Tick…Boom! 

BEST SCORE 

WINNER: Hans Zimmer, Dune 

Nicholas Britell, Don’t Look Up 

Germaine Franco, Encanto 

Alberto Iglesias, Parallel Mothers 

Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

WINNER: Sian Heder, CODA 

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive My Car 

Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth, Dune 

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter 

Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

WINNER: Kenneth Branagh, Belfast 

Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza 

Adam McKay and David Sirota, Don’t Look Up 

Zach Baylin, King Richard 

Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN 

WINNER: Jenny Beavan, Cruella 

Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran, Cyrano 

Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan, Dune 

Luis Sequeira, Nightmare Alley 

Paul Tazewell,

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT 

WINNER: The Long Goodbye 

Ala Kachuu 

The Dress 

On My Mind 

Please Hold 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 

WINNER: Drive My Car (Japan) 

Flee (Denmark) 

The Hand of God (Italy) 

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan) 

The Worst Person in the World (Norway) 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 

WINNER: Troy Kotsur, CODA 

Ciarán Hinds, Belfast 

Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog 

J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos 

Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog 

BEST ANIMATED SHORT 

WINNER: The Windshield Wiper 

Affairs of the Art 

Bestia 

Boxballet 

Robin Robin 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE 

WINNER:  ENCANTO

Flee 

Luca 

The Mitchells vs. the Machines  

Raya and the Last Dragon 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS 

WINNER: Dune 

Free Guy 

No Time to Die 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 

Spider-Man: No Way Home 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT 

WINNER: The Queen of Basketball 

Audible 

Lead Me Home 

Three Songs for Benazir 

When We Were Bullies 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

WINNER: Greig Fraser, Dune 

Dan Laustsen, Nightmare Alley 

Ari Wegner, The Power of the Dog 

Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of Macbeth 

Janusz Kaminski, West Side Story 

BEST SOUND 

WINNER: Dune 

Belfast 

No Time to Die 

The Power of the Dog 

West Side Story 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

WINNER: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story 

Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter 

Judi Dench, Belfast 

Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog 

Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard 

Watch the full Q&A here:

Rasmussen describes the unusual ways in which the story was concocted – having lived around the corner from his “main character” Amin’s real life host family, and forming a friendship with him at age 15. After years of curiosity, Amin finally grew comfortable enough to explain to Rasmussen why he left Afghanistan in the first place, and consenting to his story being told through animated documentary. A priority of their work was to make sure that Amin could control when and how his narrative was shared, so the utilization of the format of animated documentary was crucial to allowing Amin to maintain his privacy out of the public eye, as well as truly dive deeply into his own memories from years ago. They worked hard to balance narration and documentary format with finding a deeply human connection, by recording not just memory recollections through interviews, but also collaborating to record Amin’s modern life alongside it.  

While the topics of the film can be incredibly heavy- facing childhood trauma, homophobia, and a refugee status – the film also is able to portray the world in a hopeful light, exhibiting Amin and his current boyfriend shopping for a home and settling into a more welcoming world. Rasmussen desired to create an emotionally complex narrative that mimics reality, thus creating a much deeper emotional connection to the audience- in watching FLEE, you enter the story in full immersion, whether you connect to Amin’s life situations or not. This film reminds us that this story is not new, nor is it ancient- Amin’s story is continuous, living through history, and now through the art of film and in the hearts of its audiences.  

About the film: An animated documentary telling the true story about a man’s need to confront his past in order to truly have a future. Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, at 36, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for over 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built for himself. For the first time, he is sharing his story with his close friend. 

Watch the Q&A here:

 A core aspect of this film is the ability to recreate internal anxieties externally, through a myriad of voices inside and out of Violet’s own mind, thus giving the audience a thorough view her life truly through her own eyes. These voices overwhelmingly shape Violet’s decisions, causing her to be fully anxiety-ridden, not allowing her to experience living outwardly as her true self. Bateman describes the ways in which she herself had experienced a transformation from fear-based living into instinct-based living, a similar trajectory to her character’s. Part of her journey had her begging the question: what if this weren’t me telling myself these things? Would I accept and validate this commentary and judgement if it were coming from someone else? And what she realized, evidently, was no, no she wouldn’t.

               Most often, living surrounded by this fear and anxiety creates an illusion of life-or-death results in much more mundane situations – irrational fears can take over your life. Living by instinct is described as a way in which we, as humans, as animals, can conquer those irrational fears and live our lives as our most authentic selves. Bateman describes how seeing something like this when she was younger really could have changed her life- stating “if I had seen it at 19 I would’ve become myself faster”. It’s a message that is so important to so many people, encouraging audiences of all ages to reconsider whether they live their life on instinct, or from fear.

About the film: There is a voice inside your head. It’s not the voice that tells you, “You can do it. Go for it!” It’s the voice that tears you down. You call it your conscience or your “committee.” It’s the voice that tells you, “Change that shirt. If you wear that to the party no one will talk to you.” Consciously or unconsciously, you register this worst-case scenario, of no-one-talking-to-you-at-the-party, and you change your shirt. You keep making those choices, trying to avoid this voice’s “worst-case scenarios.” You do it in your professional life, your romantic life, your social life, until you are so far away from being yourself that you start to forget what that is. VOILET is a feature film that follows Violet Calder, a 32 year-old film executive who realizes that The Voice has been lying to her. Her entire life. Written, directed, and produced by Justine Bateman.

Watch the Q&A here:

      In 2018, Ekkapol Chantawong, a 25 year old youth soccer coach, and his team of 12 11-16 year old kids got trapped underground in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave for over two weeks, rationing food and drinking the clean water from a cave stalactite. After 10 days, British divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton discovered the team on a rock, and called upon the Thai military, U.S. Air Force, and British government to help rescue the boys. After 17 days of being trapped, the team and their coach were all rescued by the Thai Navy SEALs with the help of thousands of local and international volunteers.

               “The Rescue” tells the story of the rescue, featuring news footage of the event, interviews with survivors and rescuers, and recreations of the scenes within the caves. The crew describes what it was like to get those firsthand stories from survivors of the event in the Q&A, and the fascinating ways in which each story connected to one another. With the amount of volunteers, doctors, divers, military personnel that helped work to save the boys, everybody involved had their own individual experiences and perspectives that all came together like a scrapbook, every person able to provide a new piece of the puzzle that is this incredible story.

               The path to creating this inspiring documentary was certainly a journey, from getting the rights to produce the film from National Geographic to the end, from negotiating for footage rights with Thai Navy SEALs to handling certain topics such as spirituality, to answering the question of how do you tell a story when the whole world already knows how it ends? Through the twists and turns of its creation, “The Rescue” is a deeply moving and inspiring documentary that highlights the strength and willpower at the core of being human.

About the film: The latest film from Oscar®, BAFTA and multiple Emmy® Award-winning directing duo E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (FREE SOLO, MERU) chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of 12 boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Thailand. Following its world premiere at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival, critics are calling THE RESCUE “heart-stopping”, “rousing” and “truly astonishing.” The film brings alive one of the most perilous rescues in modern times, shining a light on the high-risk world of cave diving, the astounding courage of the rescuers, and the shared humanity of the international community that united to save the boys.

Please note, during the Q&A, Pauli Murray is referred to on occasion using she/her pronouns, since, as Pauli had passed away before pronouns and gender expression became a regular part of social introductions, we do not know whether Pauli would have preferred to be referred to with she/her, he/him, they/them, or other pronouns, but Pauli’s family often uses she/her pronouns for Pauli.  

Watch the Q&A here:

   My Name is Pauli Murray aspires to tell the life story of Pauli through Pauli’s own words. In their research for Cohen and West’s previous documentary RBG, they came upon the influence that Pauli had on Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her iconic career, and they wondered why, in all their research, they had never heard of Pauli before – thus, My Name is Pauli Murray was born. The crew was able to research through Pauli’s written work through the Harvard archive, which owns not only Pauli’s legal writings, but also Pauli’s personal letters, both sent to and received from Pauli, and audio recordings. All of these documents allowed Cohen and West to craft a narrative that told Pauli’s life story from Pauli’s own perspectives.

               With all of these documents being available, however, it is even more striking to consider how little many of us knew about Pauli before the documentary. As Cohen put it, “it kind of gave me a new understanding of how much we often miss”. So many pieces of history that don’t fit into a Eurocentric, heteronormative point of view are often erased when it comes to common knowledge and teachings of history. Cohen describes how many academics, especially black women, had been writing a great amount about Pauli, but the white, male narratives often pushed in history drastically overlooked them. When asked why we don’t often know as much about someone like Pauli Murray as we maybe should, Cohen cited “Racism, sexism, [and] fear of those who appear to be gender non-conforming” as a reasoning. “It’s hard to get attention when there’s not a whole movement around your ideas.” So often the lives, accomplishments, and narratives of black women (and black non-gender-conforming people) are erased from history, and this documentary aims to at least bring one incredible human being to the forefront of history once more.

About the film: Fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat, a full decade before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned separate-but-equal legislation, Pauli Murray was already knee-deep fighting for social justice. A pioneering attorney, activist, priest and dedicated memoirist, Murray shaped landmark litigation—and consciousness— around race and gender equity. As an African American youth raised in the segregated South— who was also wrestling with broader notions of gender identity—Pauli understood, intrinsically, what it was to exist beyond previously accepted categories and cultural norms. Both Pauli’s personal path and tireless advocacy foreshadowed some of the most politically consequential issues of our time. Told largely in Pauli’s own words, My Name is Pauli Murray is a candid recounting of that unique and extraordinary journey.

Watch the Q&A here:

Created during the rise of Coronavirus, Fauci is not only a glimpse into the sudden reality of Anthony Fauci’s rise to becoming the face of pandemic safety and public health, but a personal deep dive into Fauci as a person. Featuring interviews ranging from Bono to Bill Gates to former president George W. Bush, Fauci proves that no matter where your politics may lean, public health does not discriminate- we are all a part of humanity, and we are all susceptible to disease.

 Variety praises the film as “A documentary that merits a place in classrooms as well as theaters, as a preventative against the virus of cynicism.” Even producer Alexandra Moss, in the Q&A, that part of the goal of the film itself was to inspire young people to become scientists, doctors, and public service workers and make the positive changes that are so crucial to the public health of humanity. She explained that they are even currently planning for an impact campaign to reach classrooms to teach kids of all ages the strength and power that they can have to make a real positive difference in the world, including a partnership with Disney+. Though the world of studying – and experiencing – pandemics may seem purely depressing, Fauci presents the future in an inspirational light that will not dim.

Fauci is an in-depth exploration into the humanity of one of the figureheads of our time, examining his career from the HIV (AIDS) epidemic to Coronavirus – a 40 year span (through seven presidencies) of infectious disease research and prevention culminating in Anthony Fauci becoming a household name in terms of public health for nearly the past two years. Co-Directed by John Hoffman and Janet Tobias, Fauci is not just a portrait of a scientist, a physician, or a public servant, but instead it paints an honest the picture of the man behind it all. CNN.com raves that “Fauci makes no pretense about where its sentiments lie, lauding a figure whose critics have seemingly twisted his image beyond recognition in their attempts to demonize him.”

About the film: A glimpse into infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci who has led the U.S. fight against every epidemic the country has faced from AIDS to SARS to Ebola, and the ongoing COVID-19.

               Known for her stunning performances in films like Hereditary and television series’ like The Handmaid’s Tale, actress Ann Dowd paid a visit to Angelika New York to discuss her new film, Mass. Following two couples as they attempt to readjust themselves to life after one son commits a mass shooting, killing the other couple’s son and himself along with other students at their school, Mass is a deeply emotional – and thus deeply human – film. Dowd covers what it was like to prepare for such an emotionally taxing role, as well as the filming process and the importance of personal grief and healing after a tragedy.

Watch the Q&A here:

     Mass is a thoroughly emotional journey for the audience, but it was also a very involved experience for the cast. Luckily, Dowd had stated that there were instant connections among the cast, especially the four lead actors. They worked at rehearsals for several days before splitting up for three weeks prior to the shoot. Dowd cites these weeks as a moment that gave her time to really get to know her character Linda not as a written character but as a real human woman, as if she were a friend. It is so clear that the work that Dowd put into the depth and dimensions of her character, recognizing the past, present, and futures of Linda inside and outside of the script.

               The film itself was filmed over only 12 days – not even two weeks – 8 of which were spent in the church basement. Over that week, from daybreak to dusk, the actors would shoot the script alone in the room, with director Fran Kranz watching from another room in an attempt to have the most honest acting from the cast. Dowd describes the ways in which the atmosphere felt almost spiritual in its honesty as these characters search within one another for healing and closure in their grief. Not to mention the spirituality that is a given within the confines of a church basement, a place so close to worship – in the double-entendre title of Mass, exampling a mass shooting as well as a church mass: a gathering of people to heal together. As Dowd describes it, “it’s a film that, at the end of the day, is about healing. And healing is a beautiful thing.”

About the film: This explosive movie about two sets of parents who agree to talk privately after one couple’s son killed the others’ son in a school shooting, stars acting powerhouses Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, and Martha Plimpton. Writer/Director Fran Kranz has been compared by some critics to Tennessee Williams and represented one of the most acclaimed films at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. MASS is a powerful exploration of reconciliation and understanding and will offer audiences a chance to empathize with those who have lost.