IFC Films Acquires SXSW Audience Award Winning Doc ‘Bad Axe’

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMenemsha Films has taken distribution rights in North America to Thomas Roth’s drama “Schaechten – A Retribution” in a deal with Berlin-based sales company Picture Tree Intl. PTI has debuted the film’s trailer, and will hold an invitation-only private screening of the film for buyers in Cannes.Neil Friedman, president of Menemsha Films, said: “The film ‘Schaechten’ is a true discovery.

HBO’s Original two-part documentary “George Carlin’s American Dream” will debut later this month.Directed by Judd Apatow (“The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”) and Michael Bonfiglio (“May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers”), the doc will air on HBO on back-to-back nights, with Part 1 premiering on Friday, May 20 at 8:00-9:55 p.m. ET/PT, followed by on Saturday, May 21, at the same time.Both episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max beginning Friday, May 20.

Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorInternational sales company Andana Films has acquired Islamic State documentary “Rojek,” which has its North American premiere in Hot Docs’ Canadian Spectrum section on Saturday.The film, which had its world premiere in the International Competition section at Visions du Réel, will have a theatrical release in Canada through Maison 4:3.In the film, director Zaynê Akyol talks to imprisoned members of the Islamic State, alternating their words with aerial views of the countryside. It is “an unexpected look at a far-reaching current political issue, and a film whose subject matter and rhythm create an impressive cinematic object,” Andana stated.Mariam Zaidi at Hot Docs said: “The Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly Kurdish, as well as the international coalition, have succeeded in dislodging the Islamic State from their last stronghold and ending their project of establishing a caliphate in Syria.

Fathom Events and filmmakers Jon and Andrew Erwin announced at CinemaCon that the events cinema company will team up with the Erwins’ Kingdom Story Company to release the documentary “Johnny Cash: Redemption of an American Icon” this fall. The documentary from the faith-based filmmaking brothers will recount a critical period in Cash’s life and career.

Adrienne Warren and Joshua Henry will announce the 75th Annual Tony Award nominations on Monday, May 9, Tony organizers said today.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Baena’s Spin Me Round, which made its world premiere at SXSW last month, has seen its North American rights get scooped up by IFC Films and AMC+. The pic will hit theatres and VOD and stream exclusively on AMC+ this summer.

EXCLUSIVE: RLJE Films has acquired North American rights to the Western Murder at Yellowstone City, directed by Richard Gray (Robert the Bruce), for release in theaters and on demand on June 24.

Robert Morse has sadly died.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is this season’s most anticipated title followed by Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” at No. 2.

EXCLUSIVE: The 44th annual Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival has announced its first wave of film titles and festival highlights. Festival-goers can look forward to more than 120 films as the festival takes over Telluride’s majestic box canyon Memorial Day weekend, May 26-30, 2022. The festival will include 31 features and nearly 100 shorts.

The full Tribeca Film Festival lineup of 109 feature films from 40 countries and 88 world premieres for the 2022 event that takes place June 9-18 has been announced. It’ll be interesting to see if some of the films at the festival will end up being popular breakouts, land major studio/streamer distribution, or eventually move on to get recognized during awards season.

Omari Hardwick (Army of the Dead), Kelly Rowland (American Soul) and Rome Flynn (How to Get Away with Murder) have signed on to star alongside Marsai Martin in Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films’ upcoming feature Fantasy Football. The film directed by NAACP Image Award winner Anton Cropper (Black-ish) has entered production in Atlanta and will debut exclusively on Paramount+ later this year.

The NBA’s Golden State Warriors today announced the launch of Golden State Entertainment, a new affiliate company that will create original content rooted in the worlds of sports and entertainment.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Jerry and Marge Go Large,” a comedy starring Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening, as well as new films from directors Lena Waithe and Ray Romano, will premiere at this year’s Tribeca Festival.As previously announced, the 2022 edition of the Tribeca Festival will kick off on Wednesday, June 8, with the world premiere of “Halftime,” a new Netflix documentary centering on Jennifer Lopez.See the full lineup below:OPENING NIGHTHalftime (United States) – World Premiere. A new Netflix documentary film that follows global superstar Jennifer Lopez, as she reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist, and navigates the second half of her career continuing to entertain, empower, and inspire.

seven Ukranian filmmakers urged for a cultural boycott of Russia, claiming that it would be “an attempt to cleanse the world of the propaganda of a terrorist state”.Statements were released by several filmmakers including Volcano director Roman Bondarchuk, Valentyn Vasyanovych (Atlantis) and Nariman Aliev (Homeward) explaining their reasoning.At Visions du Réel, producer Illia Gladshtein and director Nadia Parfan, whose film Heat Singers screened at the festival in 2019, sat on the panel. They were joined by Maksim Nakonechnyi, whose debut film Butterfly Vision will show at Cannes next month, and photographer-director Artem Iurchenko (Cursed Days, 2018).Nakonechnyi has been shooting in Ukraine since the first days of the war in February.

Morgan Neville’s company Tremolo Productions is officially in production of an untitled Andy Kaufman documentary alongside Josh and Benny Safdie’s Elara Pictures. The Emmy-nominated Alex Braverman will direct the feature-length film.“No matter how many times I watch Andy Kaufman’s work, I feel like I’m seeing a magic trick for the very first time,” Braverman said.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIFC Films has acquired worldwide rights to the SXSW award-winning documentary “Bad Axe.” The deeply personal film is directed by David Siev, and follows the director as he returns home to rural Michigan. There, he captures his Asian-American family’s quest to keep their local restaurant alive, amidst the backdrop of pandemic and Trump-era political and racial tensions. It’s Siev’s feature debut.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAs the Cannes Film Festival will announce its Official Selection on Thursday, Variety is starting to get a slightly clearer picture of what 75th edition will look like, though fewer titles than usual have leaked. Led by Cannes’ artistic director and general delegate Thierry Fremaux, the selection committee has been flooded with late submissions and is now in the thick of deliberations.Most surprisingly, according to two well-informed sources, there will even be a David Lynch feature film which has been completely off the radar and stars Laura Dern — either as a cameo or a supporting role — along with some other Lynch regulars.We already know the sun-dappled celebration will land several high-profile films from U.S.