‘The Falling Sky’ Review: The Yanomami People Deliver an Apocalyptic Warning in Scorching Resistance Doc

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Gospel of the Beast,” a film from The Philippines director Sheron Dayoc, was named the best narrative feature at the Bali International Film Festival (aka Balinale) which concludes Friday. The film features a 15-year-old boy who accidentally kills a classmate, runs away and sets up an unlikely relationship with a man he barely knows.

Anna Marie de la Fuente As part of a strategy to build a new cinephile audience and revive the filmgoing experience in Brazil, São Paulo-based distributor O2 Play is theatrically releasing a selection of classic films, starting with A24’s 4K restored version of the seminal ‘80s Talking Heads concert docu, “Stop Making Sense” by Jonathan Demme. The company has also launched an app called “carteirinha de cinéfilo” (cinephile card), to offer moviegoers special discounts, collectibles and foster the theatrical experience.

Elon Musk’s Starlink has brought internet access to remote Amazonian tribes, with the result that some of the men have become addicted to porn.As reported by the New York Times, the Starlink satellite company struck a deal with former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, bringing online access to over 66,000 people in the Amazon rainforest.Starlink is a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, providing internet to over 70 countries, with the aim of providing global mobile broadband.There have reportedly been a number of positive impacts from the new service, including job and education opportunities, as well as access to emergency services.However, one repercussion that has left some locals unhappy is that some young men have started watching a significant amount of graphic sexual content online, and are sharing explicit images in group chats.One leader of the Marubo tribe named Alfredo told the paper that he was concerned about the development. “We’re worried young people are going to want to try it,” he said.

The indigenous Yanomami tribe living in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Brazil and Venezuela is dwindling. Only 35,000 remain.

It’s not all doom and gloom at the global box office as a handful of films reached milestones this week. 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has topped $300M worldwide, while Paramount’s IF and Sony/Alcon’s The Garfield Movie crossed the $100M mark.

Bury is set for its first Food and Drink Festival begins with dozens of stalls across the town centre and entertainment during the first half of the Bank Holiday weekend. The festival will see Bury town centre packed with pop-up food markets, artisan drinks, craft stalls, music and live entertainment between 9am – 4.30pm on Friday, May 24 and Saturday May, 25.

Thais Herrera, a Dominican mountaineer and adventurer, etched her name in the records of exploration by becoming the first woman from the Dominican Republic to summit Mount Everest. This monumental achievement, which occurred in May 2024, will forever be marked in her personal history.The remarkable journey to the pinnacle of Everest began long before Herrera set foot on the world’s tallest mountain.

Kristi Yamaguchi etched her name in history books when she gracefully ascended the medal podium at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France. At just 20 years old, Yamaguchi captured the gold medal in ladies’ singles figure skating, making her the first Asian American woman to achieve such a feat at the Olympics. Decades later, she reminisces on the whirlwind journey that changed her life forever.In an interview with PEOPLE, Yamaguchi shares her reflections on that momentous occasion, revealing that specific memories remain vivid even after all these years. “It was a wave of emotions,” she recalls.

Holly Jones Brazilian auteur Carolina Markowicz will head to Bucharest to hone her third feature, “The Funeral.” In development, the film was selected for the 2024 Pop Up Residency, pairing Markowicz with multi-prized Romanian producer Ada Solomon for a three-week consultancy. “It’s truly a privilege to be able to dialogue with an industry professional like Ada, a producer who has made some films I truly admire. Daring, original and different.

Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton are continuing their world tour for Bridgerton with a stop in South America!

Refresh for latest…:  After starting early offshore release on John Krasinski’s IF last weekend, Paramount expanded the imaginary friends film to another 56 international box office markets this session. The overseas frame was worth $20M, bringing the international running cume to $24M. With domestic’s $35M debut, the worldwide total is now $59M.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Brazilian directors Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha’s “The Falling Sky” delves into lives of the Amazonian Yanomami people, who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest where they are contending with a harsh humanitarian crisis caused by the massive invasion of wildcat miners searching for gold and cassiterite, a mineral used in electronics. This unique doc – which launches in Directors Fortnight – is inspired by the thoughts, expressed in an eponymous book, of Davi Kopenawa, a shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami who performs the reahu ritual, a collective ceremony to hold up the sky and prevent it from falling.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Brazilian social impact entertainment company Maria Farinha Films has taken a minority stake in Joanna Natasegara’s London-based production company Violet Films, which is known for high-profile docs such as “White Helmets,” “Virunga,” “The Edge of Democracy” and Prince Harry’s Netflix series “Invictus.” Leonardo DiCaprio and Barry Jenkins are involved as producer and writer, respectively, in Violet Films’ upcoming feature film adaptation of “Virugna” for Netflix. São Paulo-based Maria Farinha Films is a leading studio in Latin America, known for its hit Globoplay Original “Aruanas” — created by the company’s co-founders Estela Renner and Marcos Nisti — about four women in a São Paulo environmental NGO battling devastation wrought by a mining corporation.

Gisele Bündchen was recently captured in a heartwarming moment with her lookalike daughter, Vivian, as they strolled with their furry companion. The trio exuded pure bliss as they enjoyed a walk.The Brazilian beauty, renowned for her fashion career, has been dedicating her time to her loved ones in the past few years.

Paramount+ announced on Wednesday that South Park: The End of Obesity, its latest South Park exclusive event, will premiere in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, May 24, debuting in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria the following day.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Four-time Academy Award-nominated Ethan Hawke is attached to star in “The Last of the Tribe,” a jungle thriller set in Brazil’s Amazon. Written by Mark Bailey (“Downfall,” “The Volcano”), “The Last of the Tribe” is produced by Brazil’s Academy Award-nominated Fernando Meirelles (“The Two Popes,” “City of God”) and Academy Award-winning producer Ed Saxon (“Silence of the Lambs,” “Adaptation”). Hawke is set to play William Phelan — a washed-out Chicago cop turned corporate gun-for-hire — who finds himself in a wildly unfamiliar landscape, his assignment the murder of the last surviving member of an uncontacted Indigenous tribe.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

Callum McLennan The seventh edition of the Quirino Awards, an annual event dedicated to promoting animation in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, saw Spain win five of the 10 awards on offer. Housed in the Teatro Leal, in the Canary Island’s Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an eclectic and, at times, musical gala concluded an upbeat Quirino Awards. Pablo Berger‘s first foray into animation, the Oscar-nominated “Robot Dreams,” continued its charge, winning awards for best feature film and sound design.

Paramount+ has revealed the trailer for an upcoming documentary focused on Cyndi Lauper, titled Let The Canary Sing – watch the trailer below.Let The Canary Sing seeks to offer fans a deep dive into the pop icon’s storied career and legacy through archival footage and interviews with Lauper herself, as well as other prominent names in music including Boy George and Patti LaBelle among others.The upcoming documentary will also chronicle Lauper’s impact as an activist for queer rights and allyship, as well as womens’ rights.Watch the trailer for Let The Canary Sing below.Let The Canary Sing is due for release on the Paramount+ streaming platform exclusively on June 4 in the United States and Canada, followed by release in the UK, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria on June 5.The documentary will be accompanied by a soundtrack featuring Cyndi Lauper’s biggest hits, including ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, ‘Time After Time’, ‘True Colours’ and more.Directed by Alison Ellwood, Lauper said of the documentary via a press statement: “Over the years I’ve been asked to do a documentary about my life and work, but it never felt like the right time. Until now.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount+ has acquired the Cyndi Lauper documentary Let the Canary Sing and has set the premiere date for June 4 in the U.S. and Canada; the UK, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria can watch a day later.