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"Wow you're home is super nice." It might be a good idea to never meet your fans. It can be super awkward if you ever meet them – maybe even dangerous. Yet another eerie new film about parasocial relationships. Holiday House is a short film created by Alex Heller, who also directed & starred in the indie film The Year Between a few years ago. Heller describes it as "mysterious, miniature movie." A content creator feels obligated to let her internet benefactor visit her workshop. His arrival explores uncomfortable boundaries of a parasocial friendship. Starring AnnaSophia Robb as Shelley & David Brown as Marky, with Antonio Marziale & Adrienne Becker. It is very similar to the other short called Followers about a similar home invasion. I also always reference Ingrid Goes West as the original film about parasocial relationships, where people create extremely unhealthy connections to folks they only know on social media. Freaky!

How To Date Billy Walsh is a teen romantic comedy directed by Alex Pillai. The Prime Video film follows the story of two high schoolers Amelia and Archie who have been friends since childhood. Archie is harboring secret feelings for Amelia but hasn’t told her and when he decides to do so, Amelia falls for the new transfer student Billy. Will Amelia end up choosing Billy or Archie? How To Date Billy Walsh stars Sebastian Croft, Charithra Chandran, and Tanner Buchanan in the lead roles with Daisy Jelley, Kunal Nayyar, Nick Frost, Lucy Punch, Guz Khan, and Charles Camrose starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the love triangle in How To Date Billy Walsh here are some similar films you should check out next.

The Kissing Booth (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

The Kissing Booth is the first film in a trilogy directed by Vince Marcello. Based on a...

In a city where you can discover a film festival every weekend of the year, perhaps the most unique of such offerings is located in Rockaway, Queens. Taking place just a few blocks from the beach, the 6th edition of the Rockaway Film Festival will occur August 19-August 27, and we’re pleased to exclusively debut the lineup of award-winning documentaries, premieres, live music and dance performances, shorts programmes, and rare repertory screenings.

Organized by Sam Fleischner and Courtney Muller and sponsored by Blundstone®, Istic Illic Pictures, and NYC Ferry, this year’s edition will open at their flagship outdoor theater, Arverne Cinema (constructed using scraps of boardwalk that were destroyed during Hurricane Sandy), with Disney’s famous feature masterpiece Fantasia. There will be a program of shorts preceding it by cine-magician Oskar Fishinger, whose groundbreaking animations changed the cinematic frontier. The festival will also present the New York Premiere of...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) announced its winning films at a ceremony this morning in Santa Barbara.

“This 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival drew filmmakers from as far as Turkey, India, Israel, and Sierra Leone, half of whom were women,” said Sbiff’s Programming Director, Claudia Puig. “We were delighted with the enthusiastic reception to our diverse program of 200 films from 43 countries. Cinema is one of the most powerful vehicles for empathy, providing a window of understanding to all who seek to look through it. We thank the filmmakers in attendance and our avid Santa Barbara audience for so heartily embracing the festival experience. Several films prompted standing ovations and packed theaters, marking 2023 a full-throttled return to celebrating cinema from around the globe.”

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place February 8 – February 18. Official events included screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes,...

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Starf***ers"

Where You Can Stream It: Mubi

The Pitch: A mere 15 minutes is all it takes to be wholly transported into the somewhat Lynchian and altogether entrancing, surrealist mind of queer filmmaker Antonio Marziale with this utterly transcendent short that was presented in competition at Sundance, Telluride, and Berlinale last year.

The film follows an escort (Cole Dolan) who visits with a Hollywood big-shot (Jonathan Slavin) that promised him stardom ... in time, and with some, ahem, favors in the mix. Things go a bit off the rails, however, when a familiar face (that of Marziale himself) unexpectedly joins in on the fun. Part thriller, part fever dream, all queer vengeance, this movie is a shock to the system...

Antonio Marziale's Starfuckers is now showing exclusively on Mubi in most countries—including the United States, United Kingdom, India, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada—starting November 10, 2022, in the series Brief Encounters.A “me-too” revenge story that’s also a musical soundscape drag performance. It was a pitch that triggered frowns. We knew Starfuckers was a risk, both terrifying and exciting, and there is no better place to create from.I learned in the early stages that in addition to writing the script, recording the lip-sync audio was an essential part of conveying the film’s tone and playfulness (and darkness). I found a sound mixer in LA named Dusty Moon, and recorded the voices for the lip-sync under the influence of a large iced coffee. With zero context of the script, Dusty handed me a mic as I yelled “You, You Didn’T Answer My Phone Calls” and “Are You Saying There’S Pedophiles,...

Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including new restorations of Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom I & II ahead of the third installment beginning to roll out right after Thanksgiving. Additional highlights include Christos Nikou’s Apples, Lorenzo Vigas’ The Box, Paweł Łozińsk’s The Balcony Movie, and Antonio Marziale’s short Starfuckers, along with films by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Park Chan-wook, Lucrecia Martel, and more.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

November 1 – A Married Woman, directed by Jean-Luc Godard | For Ever Godard

November 2 – No Ordinary Man, directed by Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt | Portrait of the Artist

November 3 – Time to Love, directed by Metin Erksan | Rediscovered

November 4 – Apples, directed by Christos Nikou | Mubi Spotlight

November 5 – The Assassin, directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien | Hou Hsiao-hsien: A Double Bill

November 6 – Daughter of the Nile, directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien | Hou Hsiao-hsien: A Double Bill

November...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.Newsi ran from it and was still in it.The Filmmaker Magazine editorial staff shared their annual roster of 25 New Faces of Independent Film, including Antonio Marziale, Darol Olu Kae, Lucy Kerr, and more.John Waters will return to directing with Liarmouth, an adaptation of his own novel of the same name. It will be his first film since 2004’s A Dirty Shame. The Edinburgh International Film Festival has been shut down after the charity that runs it, the Centre for the Moving Image (Cmi), announced it has called in administrators and made 102 out of the 107 current staff redundant. Mark Cousins wrote about the closure of the “feminist, unbridled, Nonconformist Scottish and passionately international” festival in the Guardian. The legendary actress Angela Lansbury died this week at age 96. "She moved so easily between film,...

On the heels of a successful in-person event that welcomed such stars as Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, Liev Schreiber and “Dopesick” creator Danny Strong, the 2022 Sun Valley Film Festival, which ran from March 30 to April 3, announced its juried film award winners.

Best narrative feature film went to “Linoleum,” directed by Colin West. “Holy Emy,” helmed by Araceli Lemos, received a special mention. Ron Howard’s “We Feed People” netted the fest’s audience award.

The winners were announced during the Idaho fest’s annual awards bash, which took place at Whiskey Jacques on Ketchum’s main drag of town, and was hosted by filmmaker Bobby Farrelly and comedian Hayes MacArthur, with a musical performance by the Nude Party.

Voting jury members at the fest included Jo Addy (global film and entertainment director of Soho House), Eric Bress, Trevor Groth (film financier at 30West) and producer Heather Rae.

Other awards went to “Mama Bears,...

With nearly every feature film at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival reviewed, it’s time to wrap up the first major cinema event of the year. We already got the official jury and audience winners here, and now it’s time to highlight our favorites.

Our Sundance contributors have shared their top picks from the festival, also including a handful of shorts (with a more substantial shorts overview coming soon). Check out everything below and stay tuned to our site, and specifically Twitter, for acquisition and release date news on the below films in the coming months.

Mitchell Beaupre

1. Emily the Criminal (John Patton Ford)

2. After Yang (kogonada)

3. Speak No Evil (Christian Tafdrup)

4. God’s Country (Julian Higgins)

5. A Love Song (Max Walker-Silverman)

6. Resurrection (Andrew Semans)

7. Nanny (Nikyatu Jusu)

8. Happening (Audrey Diwan)

9. Emergency (Carey Williams)

10. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Sophie Hyde)

John Fink

1. The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier...

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its short film program, curated from an all-time high of 10,374 submissions.

The films — encompassing categories like domestic and international live-action as well as animation — will screen throughout the hybrid festival in person, at satellite venues, and online.

“Short films are such a vital part of the independent storytelling culture that Sundance Institute has consistently put its full support behind. We’re all happy for the opportunity this year’s hybrid in-person and online,” said Kim Yutani, director of programming at Sundance.

In addition to the new crop of shorts, Sundance will also roll out a retrospective titled “From The Collection,” celebrating four decades of its notable past creators. These include works from the likes of Garrett Bradley, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cheryl Dunye, Nash Edgerton, Tamara Jenkins and Taika Waititi.

“The films selected for the ‘From the Collection’ program run the stylistic and subject matter gamut,...

Netflix has a big summer ahead of them, with some of their most popular series facing down the sophomore slump (how ya been, Glow? How're things, Luke Cage?). But they’ll have plenty of competition: Amazon's got a marquee miniseries straight from the BBC; CBS is going online with a delectably bizarre historical drama; and YouTube – yes, that YouTube – gets in the game with its response to Stranger Things. Here's your must-stream guide for the month of June. (We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to draw attention to your non-streaming TV options,...

Netflix has a big summer ahead of them, with some of their most popular series facing down the sophomore slump (how ya been, Glow? How're things, Luke Cage?). But they’ll have plenty of competition: Amazon's got a marquee miniseries straight from the BBC; CBS is going online with a delectably bizarre historical drama; and YouTube – yes, that YouTube – gets in the game with its response to Stranger Things. Here's your must-stream guide for the month of June. (We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to draw attention to your non-streaming TV options,...

Hitting Netflix on June 8, 2018 is an edgy comedy called Alex Strangelove. The film was written and directed by Craig Johnson (The Skelton Twins), and produced by Ben Stiller (Zoolander), Nicky Weinstock, and Jared Ian Goldman (Ingrid Goes West). The film will star Daniel Doheny (Adventures in Public School), William Ragsdale (Fright Night), Joanna Adler (American Crime Story), and Isabella Amara (Spider-Man: Homecoming).

Alex Strangelove tells the story of Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny), a well-rounded high school senior with a wonderful girlfriend Claire (Madeline Weinstein) and a bright future ahead of him – and with plans to achieve his last teenage milestone by losing his virginity. But things get complicated when he meets Elliot (Antonio Marziale), a handsome and charming gay kid from the other side of town, who unwittingly sends Alex on a rollercoaster journey of sexual exploration, kicking off a hilarious and moving adventure of love, sex and friendship in...

"I'm over it Dell, this whole thing - sex, love - I'm out." Netflix has debuted a trailer for a teen comedy titled Alex Strangelove, the latest feature from director Craig Johnson (of The Skeleton Twins and Wilson previously). This quirky sexual awakening story is about a high school senior named Alex Truelove, played by newcomer Daniel Doheny (from Adventures in Public School), who has a "wonderful girlfriend" named Claire. Things get complicated when he meets Elliot, a "handsome and charming gay kid from the other side of town", and this "unwittingly sends Alex on a roller-coaster journey of sexual exploration, kicking off a hilarious and moving adventure of love, sex and friendship in our liberated and confusing modern times." The full cast includes Antonio Marziale, William Ragsdale, Joanna Adler, Isabella Amara, Ayden Mayeri, and Madeline Weinstein. This looks fresh and fun, all about the challenges of modern sexuality. Here's...

Netflix has released the trailer for the upcoming original film Alex Strangelove. Written and directed by Craig Johnson, the filmmaker responsible for the fantastic Bill Hader/Kristen Wiig drama The Skeleton Twins, this film takes a sweet and honest look at life as a teenager who goes on a surprising journey of sexual exploration. Daniel Doheny plays the lead character, Alex Truelove, a well-rounded high school senior with a swell girlfriend (Madeline Weinstein) who is keen on finally having sex with Alex. But when Alex meets Elliott (Antonio Marziale), a charming gay kid from across town, he starts to …...

If you found yourself wishing “Love, Simon” had a little less love and a lot more sex, “Alex, Strangelove” might be more up your alley. The latest from Craig Johnson, the writer/director of “The Skeleton Twins” and “Wilson,” “Alex Strangelove” is a raunchy teen comedy in the vein of “Superbad,” with a coming-of-age story as sweet as the one in “Love, Simon.” Although the first trailer only teases a fraction of the gross-out humor and sex talk in the actual movie, it should be spicy enough to whet your appetite.

Starring a peppy cast of relative unknowns, the story follows high-schooler Alex (Daniel Doheny) on a classic teen comedy quest: How to lose his virginity. The problem is Alex seems totally uninterested in having sex with his girlfriend, Claire (Madeline Weinstein). When he meets curly-haired Elliott (Antonio Marziale) at a party, he thinks he might be bisexual. But his...

Funny, cute and good-natured, but also trying a bit too hard to achieve those qualities, “Alex Strangelove” is equal parts homage to the teen comedy genre and an earnestly seriocomic coming-out story. Writer-director Craig Johnson’s fourth feature is probably his best to date, hitting the target more consistently than “The Skeleton Twins” or “Wilson.” Still, his best is surely yet to come, on the day he finally relaxes a bit and prizes emotional truth over antic comedy. Nevertheless, “Strangelove” should please a fair number of viewers when it launches day and date June 8 on Netflix and in limited theatrical release.

Amiable beanpole Alex Truelove is a straight-a suburban high-school senior. He’s also a confessed nerd — though hardly scorned as such, since he’s been elected class president.

His small circle of guy pals is considerably altered by the arrival of new girl Claire (Madeline Weinstein from “Beach Rats”), who’s smart and droll,...

When “Love, Simon” hit theaters earlier this year, it was celebrated as a moving but flawed studio movie about a gay teenager. For the first time ever, Lgbtq teens across the country could go to a movie theater, stuff popcorn in their faces, and witness a version of their lives on screen. Of course, we all know that teenagers are more likely to use Netflix than buy a movie ticket these days. That’s why “Alex Strangelove,” a delightfully strange little film about a teenage boy figuring out he’s gay, is so darn refreshing.

As the debate about whether Netflix is ruining movies lingers on, “Alex Strangelove” provides a pleasant reminder of the streaming behemoth’s powers for good. In some ways, the pros and cons of Netflix versus theatrical are illustrated by the differences between “Love, Simon” and “Alex Strangelove.” Whereas “Love, Simon” has dreamy Nick Robinson in...

Network: Netflix. Episodes: Ongoing (half-hour). Seasons: Ongoing. TV show dates: August 7, 2015 — present. Series status: Has not been cancelled. Performers include: Mika Abdalla, Ysa Penarejo, Victoria Vida, Genneya Walton, Alyssa Lynch, Jody Thompson, Belle Shouse, Danica McKellar, Maxwell Haynes, Sarah Desjardins, Johannah Newmarch, Markian Tarasiuk, Antonio Marziale, Maddie Phillips, and the voice of Melissa Mabie. TV show description: A Steam (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) educational tween comedy, the Project Mc2 TV show is set in the fictional town of Maywood Glen, California. The story centers on McKeyla McAlister (Abdalla) and her three best friends Camryn Coyle (Penarejo), Adrienne Attoms (Vida), and Bryden Bandweth (Walton). The arrival of the bright and scientifically minded McKeyla, at Maywood Glen Academy, arouses the suspicions...