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The European Film Academy is honoring German filmmaker Wim Wenders with the European Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wenders, who has been nominated for three Oscars and a Grammy, is known for works such as the Road Movie trilogy (1974-1976), Paris, Texas (1984), and Wings of Desire (1987).

“With this award, we celebrate Wim Wenders’ outstanding body of work which keeps exploring and experimenting with a curious eye and an open mind,” said Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy. “As one of the founding members of the European Film Academy, its Chairman from 1990 until 1995 and President until 2020, Wim Wenders has a strong connection to the European Film Academy and we’re additionally happy to also celebrate his outstanding commitment and say thank you.”

Wenders began his career as a film critic for various German publications, and was later a founding member of film distributor Filmverlag der Autoren.

In 1975, he...

German director Wim Wenders is to receive the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award at this year’s European Film Awards.

A founding member and president of the European Film Academy from 1996 to 2020, Wender’s films have received multiple awards including a Palme d’Or and Bafta for 1984’s Paris, Texas and a Golden Lion for 1982’s The State of Things.

He has won a European Film Award three times for 1988’s Wings of Desire, 1999’s Buena Vista Social Club and 2011’s Pina. His 2000 film Million Dollar Hotel won a Berlinale Silver Bear.

Three of his documentaries - Buena Vista Social Club,...

Hulu is giving Shark Week a run for its money this July with not one but seven National Geographic specials dropping on the streaming service at the start of the month. From Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie to Baby Sharks in the City, there are plenty of options for fans of these fearsome finned creatures.

Hulu also has a couple of fun offerings for adult animation fans with the full second season of Marvel’s Hit Monkey dropping on July 15 and Futurama returning for its 12th season on July 29th.

There’s not really anything notable in the way of original movies on Hulu this month, but Aliens, Step Brothers, and (500) Days of Summer are just a few of the noteworthy movies joining the library.

Here’s everything that’s coming to (and leaving) Hulu in July.

Hulu New Releases – July 2024

July 1

Attack of the Red Sea Sharks: Special Premiere...

Wim Wenders will be a special guest of Italy’s Cinema Ritrovato Festival dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past where a freshly restored copy of his “A Trick of the Light” (“Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky”), which pays tribute to forgotten pioneers of the moving image, will have its world premiere.

Shot by Wenders with a group of students from the Munich Film Academy in 1995 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinema, the film is about the origins of cinema and its German inventors: the Skladanowsky brothers who On Nov. 1, 1895, presented a show of eight film loops at Berlin’s Wintergarten, six weeks before the more famous Lumiere freres’ exhibition in Paris.

“A Trick of the Light” uses stylistic devices from silent cinema, including a hand-cranked camera from the 1920s that produces 16 frames per second. The film’s score by French composer Laurent Petitgand also pays homage to the silent film era.

Independent titles lead the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with Thea Sharrock’s comedy Wicked Little Letters starting in 685 sites through Studiocanal.

Written by Jonny Sweet and based on a true scandal from 1920s England, Wicked Little Letters centres on an English seaside town targeted by a series of obscene letters, that are investigated by a group of women from the area.

Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley lead the cast, that also includes Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby and Timothy Spall. Buckley, Vasan and Kirby were named Screen Stars of Tomorrow in 2017, 2021 and 2013.

It is the third feature from UK filmmaker Sharrock,...

Wim Wenders, the director of the Oscar-nominated Perfect Days on Hirayama’s (Kôji Yakusho) big lesson for his niece Niko (Arisa Nakano): “Come on, start living in the now. Now is now and then is then.” Photo: Master Mind Ltd.

On Tuesday, Wim Wenders' Perfect Days (co-written with Takuma Takasaki and starring Cannes Film Festival Best Actor winner Kôji Yakusho) received a Best International Feature Oscar nomination. Wenders has three Best Documentary Feature Oscar nominations:

Wim Wenders with Anne-Katrin Titze on using Yasujirō Ozu’s 3:4 format for Perfect Days and Anselm: “I got so much attached to it.”

In the second instalment with Wim Wenders we discuss the Yasujirō Ozu format and Cinemascope; Ts Eliot’s Little Gidding and returns to the...

Veteran German director Wim Wenders broke new ground during the Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning when he was nominated for his Japanese-language drama Perfect Days in the best international feature category.

This isn’t Wenders’ first Oscars rodeo. The 78-year-old German director has three Academy Award nominations to his name but all have come in the best documentary category. He was nominated in 2000 for the music doc Buena Vista Social Club about aging Cuban street musicians; in 2012 for Pina, a groundbreaking 3D documentary tribute to the work of legendary dance choreographer Pina Bausch; and in 2015 for The Salt of the Earth, a portrait of famed Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, co-directed with Salgado’s son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. Perfect Days does, however, mark Wenders’ first-ever Oscar nomination for a drama.

“It’s a bit ironic to be nominated for a Japanese-language film but at the same time a great honor for...

For over half a century, Wim Wenders has captivated audiences with both his fiction and documentary work. Twenty twenty-three marks a rare year in which he’s released films in both formats, and the ways in which they overlap highlight the director’s versatile skillset and unified humanistic spirit. The nonfictional Anselm and narrative Perfect Days make for a cinematic yin and yang, utilizing different techniques as part of a larger exploration into the elusive nature of finding expression and ecstasy through one’s work.

But the main topic of my conversation with Wenders was Anselm, his latest in a series of portraits of great artists. Subject Anselm Kiefer—not unlike Wenders himself—provides a captivating lens through which to view the changes undergone by their native Germany since World War II. The film’s survey of his life and art, from early controversial photography involving Nazi salutes to contemporary installations of sweeping scale,...

Judge throws out motion to dismiss case.

Jonathan Majors will stand trial for domestic abuse charges on November 29 after a New York judge threw out his motion to dismiss the case in a ruling on Wednesday.

The legal team for Majors, whose credits include Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Creed III and Sundance hit Magazine Dreams, asked the judge to keep certain “contested evidence” barred from public view in the run-up to the trial.

According to reports Judge Michael Gaffey did not immediately rule on that matter and gave attending press a November 6 deadline to oppose the request.

Majors, who...

Juliano Ribeiro Salgado directs with Ivi Roberg.

Orlando von Einsiedel’s UK production company Grain Media has boarded documentary The Mother Of All Fights, co-directed by Oscar-nominated Brazilian filmmaker Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

Currently in post-production ahead of completion in 2024, The Mother Of All Fights follows Brazil’s social change through the figure of indigenous activist-turned-politician Sonia Guajajara. von Einsiedel and Grain Media’s Chloe Leland will executive produce the film, in collaboration with producers Alice Aedy and Joi Lee of UK production company Earthrise.

The film is directed by Salgado and Ivi Roberg for their Brazilian firm Uacari Films. Salgado...

Lyon, France — Four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón and “Time Bandits” helmer Terry Gilliam will join a star director-studded lineup at this year’s Lumière Film Festival including Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne and Wim Wenders.

Cuarón is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner.

Gilliam will screen the newly restored version of his 1995 sci-fi thriller “Twelve Monkeys.”

One of Anderson’s latest shorts, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of four Roald Dahl adaptations to be released on Netflix later this month, will screen at Lyon’s plush 2,000-seat Auditorium, where he will give a masterclass.

Like other guests, he will not only be introducing a retrospective of his own films but works by others, as part of an ongoing drive by the festival “to strengthen the link between the past and the present of cinema,...

Marks the first time Japan has submitted a film by a non-Japanese director.

Japan has submitted Perfect Days by German filmmaker Wim Wenders for the best international feature film category at the 96th Academy Awards.

It represents the first time that Japan has selected a non-Japanese director in more than 70 years of submissions to the Oscars.

The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan chose the title from eight features, which is understood to have included strong contender The Boy And The Heron, likely the last feature of iconic animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, whose Spirited Away won best animated feature at...

One of the pleasures of Telluride is watching a master auteur accept the Silver Medallion. Telluride Executive Director Julie Huntsinger was shocked to discover that in the 50 years of the festival, no Silver Medallion was ever awarded to German filmmaker Wim Wenders. So this year, he brought his two Cannes selections, 3D documentary “Anselm” (Sideshow and Janus) and Competition title “Perfect Days” (Neon), whose star Koji Yakusho (“Shall We Dance?”) won Best Actor at Cannes. Despite its German director, Japan has chosen to submit the film for the Oscar.

At Thursday night’s first tribute, Werner Herzog dug into his pocket to fish out the Silver Medallion, and placed it around his old friend’s neck. “The same time several years ago Tom Luddy put this on my neck,” said Herzog. “I kept thinking, ‘this is an injustice if you hadn’t received this medallion in 1978, and 1981, and 1995, and 2015.’ Because...

The 15th Lumiere festival will run from October 14-22, 2023 and the Mifc classic film market from October 17-20.

Wim Wenders will receive the 15th annual Lumiere Award at Lyon’s Lumiere Festival in October, a week-long event celebrating heritage films and modern masters headed by Cannes’ Thierry Fremaux.

The German auteur is fresh off a double feature at May’s Cannes Film Festival with Special Screening 3D portrait of Anselm Kiefer Anselm and Perfect Days that premiered In Competition, scooped a best actor prize for its star Koji Yakusho and sold out worldwide via The Match Factory.

Wenders, an emblematic figure of New German Cinema,...

German filmmaking legend Wim Wenders will head up this year’s competition jury for the Tokyo International Film Festival, organizers announced on Monday.

Wenders is currently riding high — and his long-running artistic connections to Japan are more apparent than ever. The director’s most recent feature, Perfect Days, recently premiered at Cannes in competition and was widely hailed as his finest fiction film in years. An intimate character study following a middle-aged Tokyo man who has pared his life down to a routine of service and small pleasures, it won Cannes best actor prize for its inimitable lead, veteran Japanese character actor Koji Yakusho. The Hollywood Reporter‘s critic summed the film up as simply, “ineffably lovely.”

Over a 55-year career in film, Wenders, now 77, has won many of world cinema’s highest honors, including the Golden Lion for The State of Things at the Venice Film Festival (1982); the Palme...

Festival also set to host a retrospective of filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu.

German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to preside over the international competition jury of Tokyo International Film Festival, where he will also host a retrospective of influential Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu.

It will mark the first time Wenders has attended the festival since 2011, when his documentary Pina screened in the festival’s special screening section.

Wenders is known for features The State of Things, which won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1982; Paris, Texas, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984; and Wings Of Desire, for which he...

Exclusive: Neon is nearing a deal for North American rights to Cannes competition entry Perfect Days from The Match Factory in a deal pegged in the mid-to-high six figures.

The parties declined to comment.

Wim Wenders’ well-received Japan-set movie debuted today on the Croisette. The official synopsis for the movie reads: Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

Starring are Koji Yakusho (Babel), newcomer Arisa Nakano, Tokio Emoto (Norwegian Wood), Yumi Aso (Carnation), Sayuri Ishikawa, Tomokazu Miura (Adrift in Tokyo), Aoi Yamada (Netflix series First Love) and veteran actor and dancer Min Tanaka (The Twilight Samurai).

Related: Cannes Film Festival 2023: All...

Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” is a hot property in Cannes, and it’s yet to even premiere.

Several buyers are currently circling the Japan-set, music-infused title from master filmmaker Wenders, which bows in competition on Thursday. Sources tell Variety that interested parties so far include Utopia, Mubi, Sideshow and Janus Films and Sony Pictures Classics.

Wenders’ “Perfect Days” follows Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama, who seems content with his simple life. Outside of his everyday routine, he enjoys his passion for books and, in particular, for music. Over the course of the film, a series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

“Memoirs of a Geisha” star Koji Yakusho — whom some critics have tipped as a contender for Cannes’ best actor prize on Saturday — leads the cast as Hirayama. He also co-starred in “Babel,” a film that was honored by the Cannes Film Festival and earned Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Variety has been given a sneak peek of the trailer (below) for Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” which world premieres in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. It follows Hirayama, who seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

Koji Yakusho leads the cast. In 2005, he co-starred in “Memoirs of a Geisha,” which was nominated for six Academy Awards. In the following year, he co-starred in “Babel,” a film that was honored by the Cannes Film Festival and earned Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Along with his international success, Yakusho has...

After a pandemic induced 2020 hybrid edition, the 10th edition of the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival will take place as a wholly in-person event.

The festival will open with Benito Zambrano’s Mallorca-set literary adaptation “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” (Spain). Zambrano will be present with principal cast. It will close with the world premiere of William Nunez’s 1920s-set “The Laureate” (U.K.), based on the acclaimed war poet Robert Graves’ unconventional home life. Nunez and his principal cast, Tom Hughes, Dianna Agron and Laura Haddock, as well as the Graves family, will be in attendance. Both films are part of the international features competition.

Wim Wenders will receive the festival’s highest honor, the Evolution Honorary Award 2021, at the opening night ceremony and his film “The Salt of the Earth” (2014) will be screened.

Suzanne Lindon, whose “Spring Blossom” (France) is in competition at the festival, will receive the 2021 Evolutionary Award – New Talent accolade.

A thought-provoking film about the importance of architecture by three-time Oscar nominee Wim Wenders, and an investigative documentary about the troubled life and times of Egyptian heart-throb Omar Sharif are among 30 feature film projects to be pitched as part of the 8th edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market, which runs Sept. 3-5 at the Venice Film Festival.

The projects, which all have at least 70% of their funding in place already, include the works of many other leading filmmakers, such as Fien Troch, Martin Rejtman, Jean-Gabriel Periot, Marjana Karanović, Aditya Vikram Sengupta and Simone Jaquemet.

Wenders’ documentary “The Secret of Places” investigates the role played by architecture in our everyday lives. It takes viewers on a tour of architect Peter Zumthor’s best-known buildings, and accompanies him during the construction of two recent creations – the new Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the extension of the Fondation Beyeler in Basel.

Sofia Bohdanowicz’s account of her great-grandmother’s correspondence with another Polish writer is bafflingly dull

The high-mindedness, unworldliness and pure strangeness of this inert docu-fiction essay give it some interest – but frankly not much. Director Sofia Bohdanowicz has created an odd semi-fictionalised account of her researches into her Polish great-grandmother, Zofia Bohdanowiczowa, a poet who in the early 60s had a passionate correspondence with another Polish writer, Józef Wittlin, author of the first world war novel The Salt of the Earth. At the time, Bohdanowiczowa was in Toronto and Wittlin in New York.

Actor and co-director Deragh Campbell plays a bafflingly dull fictional version of Sofia called Audrey, and she is shown going through the letters in Harvard’s Houghton Library, this manuscript collection being labelled Ms Slavic 7. Minute after after uneventful minute drag by as she placidly reads these documents. Sometimes the pages themselves are flashed up on screen.

Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling: Fusion review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have only two matches, which is usually not a good sign, but neither is “Bridge Was Out”. Think about it… Yosemite Sam might get a kick out of it…and a lumpy head. Okay, I’ve got school in the morning, so shut up, sit back and let me ruin this show for you, one gripe at a time. Also, I’m told this is the most read wrestling review on the site, so take that Reader’s Digest.

Match #1: Zenshi defeated El Hijo de La Park The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

The two tried to literally sweep the legs out from under one another, but El Hijo took command of the match with suicide dive to the outside and then crotched Zenshi on the steel barricade.

Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile this June, we ask the filmmaker (this month: Lila Avilés) to identify their all time top ten favorite films. Aviles’ The Chambermaid is receiving its release on Friday, June 26th at the Film Forum in New York City via the Kino Lorber folks. We have a list that exceeds the ten mark, so in no particular order, here are top fourteen films of all time as of June 2019.

Au Hasard Balthazar – Robert Bresson (1966)

Barry Lyndon – Stanley Kubrick (1975)

Drifting Clouds – Aki Kaurismäki (1996) / The Man Without a Past (2002)

Fanny and Alexander – Ingmar Bergman (1982)

Fitzcarraldo – Werner Herzog (1982)

In The Mood For Love – Wong Kar Wai (2000) / Days of Being Wild (1990)

La Ciénaga – Lucrecia Martel (2001)

Love Streams – John Cassavetes (1984)

Nostalgia – Andrei Tarkovsky (1983)

The Salt of the Earth – Wim Wenders (2014)

Songs from the...

The German director on stunning 15th-century art, the magic of Nick Cave, and the spirituality of a Franciscan friar

Born in Düsseldorf in 1945, Wim Wenders directed his first film, Summer in the City, in 1971. He has since directed more than 60 films and documentaries, including the Palme d’Or- and Bafta-winning Paris, Texas (1984), and Wings of Desire (1987), for which he won the best director award at Cannes. He has received Oscar nominations for Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Pina (2011) and The Salt of the Earth (2014). His documentary Pope Francis: A Man of His Word is released on DVD this week.

Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, has revealed its seventh annual 15-film Short List of likely awards contenders along with its opening-night selection, Telluride and Toronto favorite “The Biggest Little Farm”, cinematographer John Chester’s poignant environmental portrait of life on a new California farm. The festival runs November 8 – 15.

Thom Powers, Doc NYC’s artistic director as well as documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film festival, oversees curation of the Short List of films that may be in the running for the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature. This year contains a spectrum of funders and distributors, including three from Netflix, three from his own Tiff selection and two from HBO.

Historically, most Doc NYC picks do land on the Academy’s official 15-film Oscar Short List. For the past five years, the Short List has had nine to 10 titles overlap, and four to five titles that were Oscar nominated.

Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, has revealed its seventh annual 15-film Short List of likely awards contenders along with its opening-night selection, Telluride and Toronto favorite “The Biggest Little Farm”, cinematographer John Chester’s poignant environmental portrait of life on a new California farm. The festival runs November 8 – 15.

Thom Powers, Doc NYC’s artistic director as well as documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film festival, oversees curation of the Short List of films that may be in the running for the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature. This year contains a spectrum of funders and distributors, including three from Netflix, three from his own Tiff selection and two from HBO.

Historically, most Doc NYC picks do land on the Academy’s official 15-film Oscar Short List. For the past five years, the Short List has had nine to 10 titles overlap, and four to five titles that were Oscar nominated.

Wim Wenders at L'Adresse‪: "Cinema is a very communal place. And community that's in many ways what Pope Francis is preaching." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

During lunch at L'Adresse across the street from Bryant Park in New York the day after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screening and reception of Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word at The Whitby Hotel, Wim Wenders told me about his collaboration with cinematographer Lisa Rinzler and sound engineer Régis Muller (Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado's documentary The Salt Of The Earth) when they were filming an interview with Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens.

‪Wim Wenders‬ on filming Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens: "We chose this quiet beautiful little spot because of its peacefulness. And all of a sudden this flock of parrots appeared and they made a hell of a noise."

Wim had just visited The Met Cloisters,...

Wim Wenders is a sophisticated man of cinema, a nine-time Cannes Palme d’Or contender who led the 1989 jury that gave Steven Soderbergh the Palme d’Or over Spike Lee. (He says he was not the architect of that collective decision.) The graduate of the ’70s German New Wave who has close ties to America has shown deep spirituality in such films as Cannes Best Director-winner “Wings of Desire,” “Faraway, So Close,” and “The Salt of the Earth.”

Still, choosing Wenders to direct a documentary about the Holy Father did not look obvious at first. It turns out that Wenders was raised in a Catholic family where “faith was important,” he told me at Cannes. He admired his father, a doctor who “lived life and his profession as a believer, he loved people and was always there for anybody who was sick.”

More recently, Wenders was struck by the joyful way his father embraced death,...

Wim Wenders is a sophisticated man of cinema, a nine-time Cannes Palme d’Or contender who led the 1989 jury that gave Steven Soderbergh the Palme d’Or over Spike Lee. (He says he was not the architect of that collective decision.) The graduate of the ’70s German New Wave who has close ties to America has shown deep spirituality in such films as Cannes Best Director-winner “Wings of Desire,” “Faraway, So Close,” and “The Salt of the Earth.”

Still, choosing Wenders to direct a documentary about the Holy Father did not look obvious at first. It turns out that Wenders was raised in a Catholic family where “faith was important,” he told me at Cannes. He admired his father, a doctor who “lived life and his profession as a believer, he loved people and was always there for anybody who was sick.”

More recently, Wenders was struck by the joyful way his father embraced death,...

There are very few directors who have made both top-notch narrative films and documentaries, among them Michael Apted, Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and a recent addition to the list, Cannes juror Ava DuVernay. But the German director Wim Wenders, who won the Palme d’Or for the masterful “Paris, Texas” in 1984 and recently was nominated for Oscars for the remarkable documentaries “Pina” and “The Salt of the Earth,” has to be near the top of the list.

And now he’s come to the Cannes Film Festival with “Pope Francis – A Man of His Word,” a modest and prosaically titled film about the Roman Catholic pontiff who has made it his mission to work on behalf of the poorest and most troubled, even if it means veering closer to controversial liberation theology than to the usual priorities of the Church.

The first thing to say about Wenders appearing at Cannes is that it’s probably a good thing that he’s doing so with a documentary. The 72-year-old director’s last few narrative films have been real duds: “Every Thing Will Be Fine,” “The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez” and “Submergence” were clunky and awkward.

Also Read: Cannes Film Festival 2018 Preview: No Selfies, No Netflix, No Problem

Meanwhile, his two prior documentaries were deserving Oscar nominees. 2011’s “Pina” was a bold and magical performance film about the pioneering choreographer Pina Bausch, with a brilliant use of 3D to create the spaces in which Bausch’s art could take place, while 2014’s “The Salt of the Earth” was a lyrical and incisive look at Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado, the father of Wenders’ co-director, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

“Pope Francis,” in many ways, is far closer to “Pina,” which is focused on performances of Bausch’s work, than to “The Salt of the Earth.” In fact, it’s also of a piece with other Wenders films like “Buena Vista Social Club,” because it is, in essence, a performance film.

That’s not to say that the pontiff sings or dances in the movie; his performance lies in conversation. The heart of the movie is Pope Francis sitting in a chair — sometimes a red brocade chair in a room with burnt orange walls, sometimes a pale chair in a garden surrounded by trees, with a church steeple in the distance — and delivering a message.

One of his first comments is, “The world today is mostly deaf,” and from there he spends the early stretches of the film upbraiding the Church for its emphasis on wealth. “I wanted a poor Church for the poor,” he says, and a moment later, “We either serve God or we serve money … As long as the Church is placing its hope on wealth, Jesus is not there.”

Also Read: Is Something Wrong With This Picture? Pope Francis Meets Trump

From there, we get a veritable Pope Francis’ Greatest Hits: washing the feet of poor South Americans (he himself is Argentinian), saying that it’s the duty of church officials to report pedophilia to the authorities, visiting refugees in Greece, decrying Donald Trump’s border wall and commenting, “If a person is gay and is searching for the Lord, who am I to judge him?”

The whole point of the film, driven home by black-and-white reenactments, is that the pope is a revolutionary in the mold of his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, who sought to moderate a truce between Christians and Muslims during the Crusades. But in tone and approach, this is an understated, affectionate film, more reverential than revolutionary; it’s less a portrait of the pope than a recital by him, with the boldness of his ideas undercut by the modesty of their telling.

In one way, that’s a strength of “Pope Francis” because it simply presents the man as he is, with a simplicity befitting the pope’s own demeanor. It’s not going to make converts out of anybody — I was raised Catholic, I’m definitely not one anymore and all the movie did was convince me that the pope is a good man.

Then again, Pope Francis is a healer, not a proselytizer. And Wenders knows enough to stand back and let him say his piece and make his peace.

Read original story Cannes Review: Pope Francis Documentary Is a Modest Film About a Bold Man At TheWrap...

Director Wim Wenders and Pope Francis during the filming of Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word, a Focus Features release. Credit : Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word (c) 2018 CTV, Célestes, Solares, Neue Road Movies, Decia, Pts Art’s Factory/ photograph by Arturo delle Donne

In celebration of the 5th Papal Anniversary of His Holiness, Focus Features has released the first trailer for Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word.

The film opens in theaters on May 18, 2018.

Wim Wenders’ (“Buena Vista Social Club,” “Pina,” “The Salt of the Earth”) new documentary, “Pope Francis – A Man of His Word,” is intended to be a personal journey with Pope Francis, rather than a biographical documentary about him.

The pope’s ideas and his message are central to this documentary, which sets out to present his work of reform and his answers to today’s global questions. From his deep concern...

Focus Features is jumping into documentaries in a big way. First they scooped up Morgan Neville’s Sundance breakout profile of Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” for June release. Now they’re opening Wim Wenders’ latest documentary, “Pope Francis — A Man of His Word,” for May 18. (This date suggests a likely global debut at Cannes.)

Producer Alessandro Lo Monaco worked closely with the Vatican on Gianfranco Pannone’s documentary about the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. The Vatican approached him about co-producing a documentary about the outspoken Pope Francis, who seeks to communicate directly with the people. Lo Monaco turned to three-time Oscar nominee Wim Wenders (“Buena Vista Social Club,” “Pina,” and “Salt of the Earth”).

When world sales agent Cinetic Media brought together “A Man of His Word” and Focus Features, chairman Peter Kujawski jumped on board. The documentary delves into the Pope’s relationship to his namesake,...

Focus Features is jumping into documentaries in a big way. First they scooped up Morgan Neville’s Sundance breakout profile of Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” for June release. Now they’re opening Wim Wenders’ latest documentary, “Pope Francis — A Man of His Word,” for May 18. (This date suggests a likely global debut at Cannes.)

Producer Alessandro Lo Monaco worked closely with the Vatican on Gianfranco Pannone’s documentary about the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. The Vatican approached him about co-producing a documentary about the outspoken Pope Francis, who seeks to communicate directly with the people. Lo Monaco turned to three-time Oscar nominee Wim Wenders (“Buena Vista Social Club,” “Pina,” and “Salt of the Earth”).

When world sales agent Cinetic Media brought together “A Man of His Word” and Focus Features, chairman Peter Kujawski jumped on board. The documentary delves into the Pope’s relationship to his namesake,...

A man in a detention center (left) meets Pope Francis (right) in Wim Wenders’ Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word, a Focus Features release. Credit : Focus Features

Focus Features has announced Wim Wender’s Pope Francis – A Man of His Word will open domestically in the U.S. on May 18, 2018. The film’s U.S. release announcement today coincides with Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent for Christians around the world. Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally. Written and directed by three-time Academy Award® nominee Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club, Pina, The Salt of the Earth), the documentary is a rare co-production with the Vatican, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and the Pope addressing his audience directly, answering the world’s questions on life, death, social justice, immigration, ecology, wealth inequality, materialism and the role of the family.

Pope Francis – A Man of His Word is intended...

In addition to Lisa Langseth’s sisterhood drama “Euphoria,” Alicia Vikander also hit last year’s fall film festival circuit with Wim Wenders’ globe-trotting romance “Submergence.”

Read MoreAlicia Vikander on Learning Accents in a Foreign Language and Her Favorite Robots

“Submergence” is based on the novel of the same name by J. M. Ledgard. Vikander and James McAvoy play a deep-sea researcher and a water engineer, respectively. The lovers are striving to reconnect although separated by oceans, continents, and civil war. Alex Hafner and Charlotte Rampling co-star.

The movie is the latest from the legendary German filmmaker Wim Wenders. He’s been having better luck as documentarian in recent years than as a narrative filmmaker. Non-fiction efforts “Pina” and “The Salt of the Earth” have received critical acclaim, while features like “Everything Will Be Fine,” shot in 3D and starring James Franco, have been widely panned.

“Submergence” opens in the U.

There are few directors that cinephiles continue to hold out hope that they have another great movie in them like Wim Wenders. Aside from documentaries like “The Salt Of The Earth” and “Pina,” it feels like an entire generation has passed since the German auteur, despite working a prolific clip, has delivered a truly great feature film. While major actors continue to line up and work for the filmmaker, recent efforts like “Every Thing Will Be Fine” and “The Beautiful Days Of Aranjuez” have failed to connect critically, and certainly haven’t commercially.

Continue reading James McAvoy & Alicia Vikander Fall In Love In Wim Wenders’ ‘Submergence’ [Tiff Review] at The Playlist.

Focus has acquired world rights to documentary; screens first footage of upcoming movies.

Focus Features has acquired world rights to Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word, a documentary feature about Pope Francis.

Written and directed by Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club), the film is only the second co-production that the Vatican has made with outside filmmakers and the first in which a Pope addresses the audience directly, discussing topics such as ecology, immigration, consumerism, and social justice.

Exclusive footage from the Vatican’s archive shows the Pope on journeys, sharing his ideas and ideals in different parts of the world.

Focus made the announcement at an event in Cannes to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

At the soiree the company showed first footage of Mary Magdalene, Darkest Hour, Atomic Blonde and Victoria And Abdul and confirmed that Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming fashion drama has wrapped shoot.

Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word is produced...

"If I don't take a photograph, I've made a terrible mistake." Magnolia Pictures has debuted a trailer for a documentary titled Harry Benson: Shoot First, about the life and work of famed photographer Harry Benson. He gained notoriety in the 60s when he was assigned to shoot The Beatles during their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. He has since gone on to photograph many famous musicians, politicians, and celebrities, and is still working today at age 86. There have been some superb docs about photographers recently (The Salt of the Earth, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, Smash His Camera, Finding Vivian Maier are the best of the bunch) and this looks like yet another fantastic profile of a talented artist. Enjoy. Here's a trailer (+ poster) for Justin Bare & Matthew Miele's doc Harry Benson: Shoot First, on Apple: Harry Benson: Shoot First charts the illustrious career of the renowned...

Wim Wenders’ “The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez” has received mostly negative reviews on this year’s fall festival circuit. IndieWire’s own Ben Croll gave the film a D grade and said that it’s “ploddingly, achingly dull,” and other reviews have described it as “inert and exasperatingly supercilious,” “prettily sunlit but otherwise insufferable,” and “a literal representation of how creatively bankrupt Wim Wenders has become.” An adaptation of Peter Handke’s two-hander play by the same name, the film features a conversation between a man (Reda Kateb) and a woman (Sophie Semin) as they discuss their childhoods, memories, sexual experiences, and more. Watch a trailer and clips from the film below.

Read More: The Essentials: The 10 Best Wim Wenders Films

Wenders has made plenty of acclaimed films over the course of his four-decade long career. His Road Movie trilogy – “Alice in the Cities,” “The Wrong Move,” “Kings of the Road...

As he jumps between narrative and documentary over the last decade, Wim Wenders‘ contributions to the latter genre have proved more fruitful, with his gorgeous 3D work Pina and the haunting documentary The Salt of the Earth. He came to Venice and Tiff this year with a new film in the former category, The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez, which follows a man and woman’s conversation about love, freedom, and beauty — shot in 3D, of course.

We now have the first trailer and batch of clips, something we recommend watching alongside our informative interview with the director from Venice. As for the film, we said in our review, “The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez, the latest wistful, contemplative narrative effort from German director Wim Wenders, is the type of “European Film” you might have expected Homer to stumble upon in an arthouse cinema in an earlier season of The Simpsons.”

Starring Reda Kateb,...

As an avid photographer myself, I truly love coming across a documentary that expands my mind about the artistic qualities and emotional power of excellent photography. Along with The Salt of the Earth (about legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado), the documentary Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures is the latest to leave me floored. This utterly inspiring and eye-opening doc examines the (entire) life of Robert Mapplethorpe, a controversial gay photographer whose work was banned from museums in the 90s because it was deemed too obscene. Boy were they wrong. Hearing him talk about his life and then seeing the photos he produced - I couldn't help repeating in my mind, "this guy is a true master of photography." Seriously. Robert Mapplethorpe never studied photography and had a fairly standard childhood. He eventually started exploring his sexuality while growing up and moved to New York City (spending time at the Hotel Chelsea), inspired primarily by Andy Warhol,...

The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez

Director: Wim Wenders

Writers: Peter Handke, Wim Wenders

Although we weren’t very enthusiastic about Wenders’ 2015 3D Canadian set narrative Everything Will Be Fine, which premiered at Berlin, the auteur has lined up his next two features already. We’re intrigued about his adaptation of Peter Handke’s play The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez. Wenders has a long collaborative history with Handke (he produced 1978’s The Left Handed Woman, which was Handke’s directorial debut, premiering at Cannes). Handke’s play consists of a dialogue between a man and woman one summer night as they share their feelings on all sorts of subjects. The play has been described as ‘investigating how and what we talk about when we talk about love.” We’re excited to see Alfama Films producing, a production company which usually backs exciting cinema from some of the world’s best auteurs.

If the films of 2015 have a common denominator it’s the fearlessness with which filmmakers approached the medium and took it in new directions proving that innovation is still possible and that not everything, both in content and form, has been explored. From a comedy shot entirely on an iPhone starring transgender actresses, to a film in sign language designed to be screened without subtitles, to a stop-motion animated feature that emanates more humanity than most live-action efforts, to a new immersive vision of the Holocaust from an emerging auteur, or a Brazilian hand-drawn musical odyssey about the dangers of the modern world, all granted us experiences unlike anything we've previously seen.

It’s hard to tell how many films I watched this year but I’m sure they were many. From that vast pool of cinematic works the 30 films below are the ones that stood out the most and remained ingrained in my memory as rewarding, delightful, moving, and even harrowing accomplishments. There were also films that simply didn't connect as strongly with me as they did with other journalists and audiences, thus they don't appear here. This is after all, like all of them, a very personal and subjective list of the films I loved.

Even with such an extensive list there are still other great films that deserve to be mentioned such as "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet," "Christmas, Again," "Mistress America," "Entertainment," "Felix and Meira," "Victoria," "Mustang," "The Wolfpack," "Xenia," Estonia's Oscar-nominated "Tangerines," "Buzzard," "The Salt of the Earth," "Guidance," "Cheatin'," "Black Souls,""The Mend," "Shaun The Sheep Movie," or "'71." One can only hope audiences will discover them and be compelled by their singular perspectives.

What were your favorite films of 2015?

Special Mention: "World of Tomorrow"

Don Hertzfeldt's thought-provoking and visionary Sundance-winning short "World of Tomorrow" is easily the best short film of the year, animated or otherwise. This 17-minute science fiction journey is a mind-bending study on the essence of humanity and how technology’s ferocious advances to know and control it all endanger our ability to notice what’s truly meaningful.

Read More: 'The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows' is One of the Most Profound Cinematic Experiences of 2015

30. "It Follows"

The best horror film of the year proves that an intriguing premise embedded into an intelligently written screenplay can bring a refreshing point of view absent in most studio productions. Director David Robert Mitchell takes classic genre conventions and twists them into a terrifying tale with morally ambiguous undertones.

29. "The Gift"

Wearing multiple hats Joel Edgerton demonstrated his storytelling and acting talents in an unpredictable psychological thriller that’s as unassuming as it’s disconcerting. An old friend reappears in a married man’s life apparently seeking to rekindle their past bond, but soon enough his good intentions will unveil much more sinister motives that makes us question who the real villain is. A stunning and perversely brilliant film that thrives on its misguiding simplicity.

28. "Heaven Knows What"

An accomplishment both in technique and emotional power, “Heaven Knows What” is an eye-opening experience brimming with unflinching truth. From the streets to the screen, the unbelievable story of Arielle Holmes is a fascinating example of the rare occurrence when cinema and reality blend almost seamlessly.

Read More: 'Heaven Knows What' Directors Josh and Benny Safdie Are Addicted to the Truth

27. "Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet"

Spearheaded by producer Salma Hayek, director Roger Allers and 8 of the world's most talented independent animators took Gibran's timeless poems and assembled a cinematic out-of-body experience that deconstructs our existential yearnings and translates them into mesmerizing animated wisdom.

Read More: Why 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet' is a Cinematic Out-Of-Body Experience Brimming with Animated Wisdom

Read More: Salma Hayek on 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet': 'His Poetry Talks About the Simple Things in Life That Unite Us All'

26. "James White"

This emotionally devastating character study put Josh Mond in the director’s chair for the first time and allowed Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon to delve into career-defining roles as a mother and a son struggling to accept each other’s shortcomings in the face of impending tragedy. Mond’s debut is an unforgettable portrait of unconditional love

25. "The Big Short"

The financial crisis and the white-collar criminals behind it are examined in an outrageously humorous and dynamically constructed adaptation of Michael Lewis's book. Director Adam McKay crafted his own visual language to paint a picture of capitalism in America that’s as brutally honest as it’s infuriating. His entire cast, in particular Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell, play along in this satirical exposé.

24. "The Second Mother"

Anna Muylaert’s crowd-pleasing, yet thematically complex gem delves into the intricacies of class in Brazilian society through the eyes of an endearing live-in maid. Regina Casé, in an Oscar-worthy performance, becomes Val, a diligent and humble housekeeper that has worked with the same wealthy family in Sao Paulo for many years and who only questions her role within this environment when her strange daughter comes to visit.

Read More: Anna Muylaert on Why the Protagonist of 'The Second Mother' is a Super Hero

23. "Kumiko The Treasure Hunter"

Losing grip on reality Kumiko, a solitary Japanese woman, leaves her monotonous and life and her adorable bunny Bunzo behind to search for the money Steve Buscemi’s character hides in the Cohen Brothers’ film “Fargo.” Knowing very little English and with no American contacts, she ventures in the Minnesotan wilderness. Armed with Rinko Kikuchi ’s outstanding performance, David Zellner and Nathan Zellner managed to create an endearing and poignant adventure at the intersection between fiction and reality.

22. "When Marnie Was There"

Notably current while still unequivocally timeless, Studio Ghibli’s latest film was confected with equal doses of heart-rending drama and life-affirming beauty. More than just a visually delightful tearjerker, "When Marnie Was There" is an animated lullaby that reassures our broken hearts will eventually heal- even from the most indomitable tricks of fate.

Read More: Review: Wondrous 'When Marnie Was There' is One of Ghibli's Most Profoundly Moving Works

21. "The Hateful Eight"

Sharp dialogue and the search for violent retribution are Tarantino staples, and in his latest Western the revered director channels these through a group of deceitful characters confined to a single location. Race relations are examined via the peculiar interactions of the murderous bunch - each with their ulterior motives and frightening reputation. With a magnificent score by Ennio Morricone, impeccable cinematography by Robert Richardson, and tonally perfect performances by the ensemble cast, in which Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell are the highlights, “The Hateful Eight” is a highly entertaining addition to Tarantino's selective filmography.

20. "What We Do in the Shadows"

This masterful mockumentary capitalizes on the general public’s obsession with reality shows and the allure of vampirism and its promise of eternal life. Four ancient bloodsuckers share a house in Wellington, New Zealand and decide to let a crew film their day-to-day routines as vampires living in the modern world. What ensues are a series of intelligently written occurrences that transform every known convention about these creatures of the night into hysterical gags.

19. "The Revenant"

To say Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest is breathtaking would be an understatement. Emmanuel Lubezkii’s work is absolutely astonishing. No other film this year captured this much beauty in every single frame. The Mexican-born Oscar-winning director has reached a new level of artistry here. Leonardo DiCaprio, in one of the best performances of his career, plays Hugh Glass, a man who escapes death to take revenge on the man who killed his son.

18. "Inside Out"

Pixar ventured into the difficult task of decoding the complexity of the human psyche in one of their best features to date. Emotions take on humanoid form in the brain of a young girl adjusting to life in anew city. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust must work together to shape her blossoming personality. “Inside Out” also gifted us Bing Bong, who will go down as one of the most memorable animated characters to ever grace the screen.

17. "Ex Machina"

Artificial intelligence crosses the boundaries of mere functionality to become self-aware and to replicate the behaviors of mortals in Alex Garland “Ex Machina.” The provocative screenplay evolves into a fascinating and often unsettling dissection of what it means to be a human being and the seemingly godlike power that comes from creating technology that resembles such qualities. Alicia Vikander is riveting as Ava - a mysterious female A.I.

16. "The Diary of a Teenager Girl"

Bel Powley is this year’s acting revelation and Marielle Heller the woman behind this charming, uncompromising, and original coming of age film, is one of most exciting new directors to emerge in recent memory. Burgeoning female sexuality is treated without moral judgment or shame, and it’s instead embraced in an empowering manner that overflows with truthfulness and charisma. Both Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård are outstanding in substantial supporting roles.

15. "Taxi"

Despite being banned from filmmaking by the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi continues to bravely expose the political and social problems of his home country with films shot in secrecy. “Taxi” takes the director through the streets of Tehran as he picks up an array of passengers with distinct concerns, beliefs, and opinions on the Islamic nation’s current situation: a young girl trying to make a “distributable” film, a guy who considers selling pirated films a cultural campaign, or a pair of elderly women whose fate depends on the survival of a couple fish. Though scripted, each encounter exudes honesty.

14. "The Duke of Burgundy"

Intoxicatingly atmospheric and full of evocative imagery, Peter Strickland’s follow up to his similarly unusual debut “Berberian Sound Studio” looks at the psychology of sexual desires with a seductive gaze. The line dividing power and submission is blurred and interchangeable between two lovers whose turbulent relationship is juxtaposed with the nature of butterflies. Eroticism derived from degradation and punishment is elegantly approached that suggest more than it explicitly shows.

13. "Phoenix"

The final sequence in this new collaboration between writer/director Christian Petzold and actress Nina Hoss is one of the best conclusions ever written. It’s subtle, yet strikingly revelatory. Departing from a Hitchcockian mistaken identity plot from the point of view of a concentration camp survivor, Petzold delves into Germany’s post war sentiments of guilt and the beginning of the long road to rebuild a superficially and morally shattered nation. “Phoenix” is also a love story coated in betrayal and the harsh realization that, when tested, even the strongest bond can be destroyed. Hoss gives an awards-deserving, restrained and perfectly nuanced performance.

Read More: Christian Petzold's 'Phoenix' is a Deeply Moving Film About Survivors Rebuilding Their Lives

12. "Timbuktu"

Today, perhaps more than ever, a film like Abderrahmane Sissako’s spellbinding “Timbuktu” is imperative. Capturing some of the most beautiful African landscapes ever seen on film and delicately arranging his stories to create a tapestry of human experiences, Sissako’s latest doesn’t abide by any political or religious dogma. Instead, his vision preaches openness and denounces the terrifying absurdity of the world according to extremist.

Read More: Promoting Tolerance: Abderrahmane Sissako on 'Timbuktu' and a Different Kind of Islam

11. "The Voices"

Playing Jerry, the most charming serial killer you’ll ever meet, Ryan Reynolds gives the best performance of his career in Marjane Satrapi’s wonderfully insane horror comedy. Adding to his already outstanding work as the lovable, if unstable young man, Reynolds also voices both of his character's opinionated pets. Stay tuned after the film for one of the most ridiculous credit sequences ever.

Read More: Too Insane To Ignore: Marjane Satrapi On Her Fascinating Sundance Horror-Comedy 'The Voices'

10. "Güeros"

Using one of the most cosmopolitan and complex cities in the world as his canvas, Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios delivered an audaciously original story that delves into many unique aspects of Mexican society wrapped up into a road trip adventure that helps two estrange brothers reconnect.

It’s a revitalizing work, and one of the best Mexican films of the last decade.

Read More: In 'Güeros' Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios Rediscovered Mexico City Via a Unique Road Trip

9. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

Read More: How Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Used Determinación to Go From a Small Town to Nyu to Sundance

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's Sundance champion is a tonally nuanced and visually inventive work that ingeniously beguiles you to fall in love with every instant of its strangely imaginative magic. This tragicomedy invokes tropes from a familiar realm and deconstructs or tailors them to the uniquely poignant circumstances of it's characters. It's nothing short of a cinephile's dream come true.

Read More: This is the Review That Tells You Why 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' is a Cinephile's Dream Come True

8. "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"

Constructed of gorgeously understated vignettes, which guide us through the grandeur of life by methodically focusing on the smallest but most resonant instants of it, "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" by Swedish writer/director Roy Andersson won the Golden Lion at last’s year’s Venice Film Festival. Delving into a wide range of quotidian dilemmas via darkly comedic exploits, this episodic tour de force is as insightful as it’s blissfully entertaining and distinctively stylized.

Read More: 7 Reasons Why Roy Andersson's Latest Film is a Must-See Philosophical Wonder

7. "Tangerine"

Sean Baker's riotous and perfectly acted latest film shot on an iPhone “Tangerine” centers on Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), two transgender sex workers on Santa Monica Boulevard who struggle to get by while dealing with heartbreak, revenge, and their dreams.

Baker captured an unseen side of Los Angeles through the eyes of two equally underrepresented characters who get a chance to showcase their comedic brilliance.

Read More: How Sean Baker Used Beautiful Accidents and New Talent to Deliver one of the Best Films of the Year

6. "The Look of Silence"

For “The Look of Silence,” the indispensable companion piece to "The Act of Killing," director Joshua Oppenheimer focused on the survivors, specifically on a brave family that persevered through the immeasurable pain that quietly permeates Indonesian society even half a century after the genocide. The subjects here are often quiet and contemplative, but their anguish transcends even when words fail to describe their tumultuous sentiments.

Read More: 12 Things Joshua Oppenheimer Wants You to Know About 'The Look of Silence'

5. "Anomalisa"

In "Anomalisa," a delicately melancholic observation on loneliness and the flawed human condition, acclaimed writer-director Charlie Kaufman and co-director Duke Johnson use stop-motion animation to tell a story of small proportions and big ideas. These existential observations include our fears, failures, insecurities and our desperate need to be loved by someone who can look pass our conspicuous scars.

Read More: Human at the Seams: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson Make Yearning Tangible in 'Anomalisa'

4. "The Tribe"

“The Tribe,” by Ukrainian debutant Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, is a film that communicates with its audience in a non-verbal manner. There are no subtitles or any other way to know exactly what the characters on screen are saying, but that’s never an issue for it to powerfully make its message heard. It’s the purest form of cinema because it can be shown anywhere in the world without modification, and the devastating result would be the same.

Read More: Interviewing Yana Novikova, Star of 'The Tribe,' Was a One-of-a-Kind Experience

3. "Boy and the World"

Alê Abreu’s “Boy and the World” is unequivocally the best animated film of the year. Drawn with the finest ends of an artist's heartstrings and painted with the colorful essence of undefeatable hope, Abreu’s utterly lyrical, visually captivating, musically driven, and extraordinarily sophisticated treasure is the animated equivalent of a childhood dream that thrives on sweet innocence and the pure ability to see the world truthfully for its dazzling beauty and its man-made dangers. As it continues to spellbind the globe with its unconventional artistry and thought-provoking observations, an Oscar nomination would be a more than deserved crown jewel.

Read More:Review: Why Alê Abreu's Sublime 'Boy and the World' is the Best Animated Film of the Year

Read More: How "Boy and the World" Director Alê Abreu Handcrafted His Heartfelt & Dazzling Animated Masterpiece

2. "Carol"

Exquisitely photographed and fueled by the two best performances of the year, Todd Haynes “Carol” depicts an ethereal and ravishing romance that’s sure to take your breath away. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett play two women from opposite worlds that meet serendipitously and fall madly in love for each other in a time yet unwilling to accept them. Carol (Blanchett) is a wealthy mother and wife whose desires are used against her threatening to stripped her of what she loves the most. On the other hand Therese (Mara) is a working class girl discovering herself and who finds the strength to follow her true instincts in Carol. Heartbreak has rarely been portrayed with such a delicate touch, thoughtfulness, and sincerity. Beneath the glossy Christmas-tinted frames is a story as universal as it is particular in which a single pleading look disarms you. Few films will make you feel such tangible and pure yearning to connect with another soul as Haynes masterwork does.

1. "Son of Saul"

First-time director László Nemes decided to look at the terrifying apparatus behind the Holocaust from the perspective of the Sonderkommando, a group of men whose experience was exponentially more harrowing than that of the average victim. Nemes focuses on a particular man, Saul (Géza Röhrig), a fictional character created from the limited information available on this special group and the filmmaker’s artistic sensibilities.“Son of Saul” is not only the best film of the year, but also the most ambitious debut in ages. Both conceptually and visually, the dynamic, yet organically contemplative vision of one man’s ordeal as he walks through the gates the hell is the work of a master auteur.

Read More: 12 Things Director László Nemes and Star Géza Röhrig Want You to Know About 'Son of Saul'...

2015 European Film Awards winners and nominations Best European Film A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. En Duva Satt På En Gren Och Funderade På Tillvaron. Sweden, France, Germany, Norway, 96 min. Written and directed by: Roy Andersson. Produced by: Pernilla Sandström. Mustang. France, Germany, Turkey, 100 min. Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven. Written by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour. Produced by: Charles Gillibert. Rams. Hrútar. Iceland, Denmark, 93 min. Written and directed by: Grímur Hákonarson. Produced by: Grímar Jónsson. The Lobster. U.K., Ireland, Greece, France, Netherlands, 118 min. Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos. Written by: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. Produced by: Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Ceci Dempsey and Yorgos Lanthimos. Victoria. Germany, 138 min. Written and directed by: Sebastian Schipper. Produced by: Jan Dressler. * Youth. Youth – La Giovinezza. Italy, France, U.K., Switzerland, 118 min. Written and directed by: Paolo Sorrentino. Produced by: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima and Carlotta Calori. Best...

Wim Wenders has always worked consistently, but he seems to be on a particularly prolific streak of late. This year alone has seen two of his pictures hit cinemas —his acclaimed Oscar nominated documentary "The Salt Of The Earth," and his far less acclaimed 3D drama "Every Thing Will Be Fine." He's already in post-production on his next film "The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez," and he's got a new picture cooking. Read More: The Essentials: The 10 Best Wim Wenders Films Variety reports that James McAvoy will star in Wenders' "Submergence." Based on the best-selling book by J.M. Ledgard and with a script by Erin Dignam ("The Yellow Handkerchief"), the story concerns the love sustained by a couple who are separated by distance and in extreme circumstances. Here's the book synopsis: In a room with no windows on the coast of Africa, an Englishman, James More, is held captive by jihadist fighters.

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

The End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt)

The last two trips director James Ponsoldt made to Sundance it was with two excellent dramas: Smashed and The Spectacular Now. This year, Ponsoldt returns with the often moving and consistently funny The End of the Tour. While the director’s latest may not be on par with his past two efforts, that’s not much of a problem considering the level of quality he achieves here. The End of the Tour follows a failed author,...

As 2015 winds down, like most cinephiles, we’re looking to get our hands on the titles that may have slipped under the radar or simply gone unseen. With the proliferation of streaming options, it’s thankfully easier than ever to play catch-up, and to assist with the process, we’re bringing you a rundown of the best titles of the year available to watch.

Curated from the Best Films of 2015 So Far list we published for the first half of the year, it also includes films we’ve enjoyed the past few months and some we’ve recently caught up on. This is far from a be-all, end-all year-end feature (that will come at the end of the year), but rather something that will hopefully be a helpful tool for readers to have a chance to seek out notable, perhaps underseen, titles from the year.

Note that we’re going by U.

Labyrinth Of Lies director Giulio Ricciarelli with Anne-Katrin Titze Photo: Aimee Morris

I met up with the director of Germany's Oscar submission, Labyrinth Of Lies (Im Labyrinth Des Schweigens), Giulio Ricciarelli, at the Loews Regency Hotel on Park Avenue, where I previously engaged Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth on working with Nick Cave, plus Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders on The Salt Of The Earth earlier this year. Chet Baker's music was playing in the lobby, reminding me of Bruce Weber's Let's Get Lost, upon entering the labyrinth to discuss Ricciarelli's impressive debut feature. It stars Alexander Fehling of Inglourious Basterds fame, with Johannes Krisch (Finsterworld, Revanche), André Szymanski, Friederike Becht, Johann von Bülow and Mathis Reinhardt, and is dedicated to the late great stage actor, Gert Voss, who is spectacular as the unsung real-life hero State Attorney General Fritz Bauer.

Alexander Fehling as Johann Radmann

Claude Lanzmann...

Anne-Katrin Titze presents The Salt Of The Earth - IFC Center Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

On September 18, at 3:05pm, as part of the Wim Wenders: Portraits Along The Road in New York, film journalist Anne-Katrin Titze will present Wenders' and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado's The Salt Of The Earth on the life and work of master photographer Sebastião Salgado.

Sebastião Salgado could be John Ford looking out over the plains

In an upcoming conversation on Until The End Of The World, Wim and I discuss Sam Shepard's influence before he worked with Volker Schlöndorff on Max Frisch's Homo Faber. We also talk about Yasujiro Ozu actors Chishû Ryû and Kuniko Miyake, Alfred Hitchcock and San Francisco, Chen Kaige and China, Robby Müller and Vermeer, and look forward to Michael Almereyda's Experimenter.

Starring Solveig Dommartin, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Jeanne Moreau, Rüdiger Vogler and Sam Neill,...