‘The Hobby,’ Documentary About Board Game Players, Debuts Clip Ahead of SXSW Premiere, Vortex Media Handles Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

As a champion freediver, Jessea Lu describes in the early minutes of her own documentary, “7 Beats Per Minute,” the film’s title reflects the heart rate a freediver should target to ensure success during a competitive diving event. There’s no question such a sport sits as one of the world’s most dangerous, the act of holding one’s breath for a protracted length of time while engaging in any number of underwater activities.

It was a scatter-shot Real Time from Bill Maher on Friday night. During the course of his conversations, the blame game fell on just about everyone, from politicians to tech titans to those staging St. Patrick’s Day parades.

After the critical success of its first season, “House Of The Dragon” assured HBO that the “Game Of Thrones” brand would rebound after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ disastrous final season of the original show.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Belgian filmmaker Sofie Benoot‘s “Apple Cider Vinegar,” which has its world premiere in the International Competition section of Visions du Réel, has been picked up for world sales by Filmotor. The trailer and poster are being released exclusively by Variety. The film is narrated by actor Sian Phillips, who appeared in “I, Claudius” and David Lynch’s “Dune,” and is a veteran nature documentary narrator.

EXCLUSIVE: Andscape, the Black multimedia platform from Disney and ESPN, on Monday revealed &360, a new documentary anthology intended to explore the influence of Black culture on American society, expanding perspectives, telling previously untold stories, and revealing truths about some of the biggest sports and cultural moments of our time.

Siddhant Adlakha The nature documentary is inherently preservationist, but Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes” offers environmental persuasions not through verbal arguments, or even an aesthetic appreciation. Rather, its meditative, hyper-fixated approach to process — as seen through the eyes of seasoned lepidopterists — proves so hypnotic that any appeals or augments the movie makes are deeply felt before they’re intellectually understood.

Amber Rose spilled the tea on her relationships with famous rappers during a recent interview.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Plastic People” is one of those essential state-of-our-world documentaries. If and when it gets a release (it premiered this week at SXSW), I urge you to see it, to ponder its message, to consider what it’s saying about how microplastics — plastic particles that are less than 5mm in length, though the key ones may be microscopic — have invaded our food, our water, our air, and, quite specifically, our bodies. For decades, it’s been a trope of environmental filmmaking to showcase the ugliness of landfills, and to ask where all the plastic we throw out is ultimately going to go.

William Earl administrator It’d be easy enough for The Black Keys — singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — to remain in rock star mode at this point in their career. After all, they’ve reached the top of their craft: radio hits, arena tours, festival headlining slots, and twelve albums.

Selome Hailu At a festival known for raucous audiences, Dev Patel‘s “Monkey Man” made for the rowdiest screening yet. During the SXSW premiere of the actor’s directorial debut, Austin’s Paramount Theater was filled with cries of “We love you, Dev!” and “India!” that can only be described as guttural. The crowd’s love for Patel only grew more fervent as the film went on, revealing not only a new cinematic voice, but a surprisingly political action thriller that saw Patel’s character take on the Hindu caste system with teeth, knives and blood.Dev Patel receives a standing ovation after a #SXSW screening of his feature directorial debut "Monkey Man." pic.twitter.com/OcpjhByVSu “The action genre has been abused by the system,” Patel said while introducing the film.

Addie Morfoot Contributor In January, prolific songwriter Diane Warren received her 15th Academy Award nomination in the best song category for “The Fire Inside,” for the film “Flamin’ Hot,” directed by Eva Longoria. On March 10, Warren held onto her Oscar record in the category for more nominations without a single win when she lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for their “Barbie” song “What Was I Made For?” But Warren doesn’t have much time to wallow in self pity.

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American rights to the romantic comedy The Zombie Wedding. The film is based on the eponymous interactive play and is the first title to launch the Weekly World News IP-driven studio slate of movie projects. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall 2024 release date.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer When Colman Domingo steps to the stage to introduce the SXSW premiere of his new film “Sing Sing” — a deeply affecting depiction of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the titular maximum security prison in New York — he gets a standing ovation before a second of the film has screened.

Will Hollywood experience another actors strike in the coming months?

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Where’s the outrage?” That’s the theme that underlies just about every news report on Donald Trump, and nearly every documentary that spins around him. That would include “Stormy,” a reasonably absorbing film that presents the Stormy Daniels saga from Daniels’ point-of-view, revealing her to be a compelling and highly conflicted figure.

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about the legendary Billy Preston that’s set to debut tonight at SXSW might not see the light of day.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Paris-based Cat&Docs has acquired world sales rights for “Grand Me” by Iranian filmmaker Atiye Zare Arandi. The documentary, about an Iranian girl in the middle of a custody battle, is set to world premiere in the NEXT:WAVE strand at CPH:DOX on March 18. Set in Esfahan, Iran, “Grand Me” follows Melina, who has lived with her grandparents since her parents’ divorce.

EXCLUSIVE: UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has said the 40% indie film tax relief will bring balance to a movie sector that has swung too far towards big-budget fare in recent years.

EXCLUSIVE: Brand management company Foundation Media Partners is leading development, packaging, and production on a new slate of projects for cheerleading and dance team company Varsity Spirit.

Christopher Vourlias Grasshopper Film has acquired North American distribution rights to “Holding Back the Tide,” Emily Packer’s meditation on New York’s oysters and their transformations in the face of an uncertain future. The film, which world premiered at DOC NYC last fall, plays this week at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.