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Stephen Saito

@stephensaito.bsky.social
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Really fascinating to see in the shorts section at Telluride this weekend Vera Miao's "Rock Springs 1885," the centerpiece of her feature that played at Sundance earlier this year. It was a flashback that was clearly the best part of the movie and can't remember anyone else doing this.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Was quite chuffed to be invited onto @chrisreedfilm.bsky.social's Tribeca episode of Cinemaniax where we ended up highlighting a lot of great docs to come out of the fest this year, plus my favorite out of the narrative section "Caity."
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Annual reminder that to stream the Cannes Closing Ceremony live, Brut's Tiktok is the way to go (no translation) www.tiktok.com/@brutofficie...
tiktok.com
Brut. (@brutofficiel) is LIVE - TikTok LIVE
Festival de Cannes | Watch Brut. (@brutofficiel)'s LIVE on TikTok and interact with others in real time.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Really loved Dominga Sotomayor's Fortnight entry "Too Late to Die Young" and thrilled she's back with "La Perra," about a woman with an uncanny connection to her canine moveablefest.com/dominga-soto...
moveablefest.com
Dominga Sotomayor's
A pet would seem to complete a woman's life on the idyllic coast of Chile but it starts to open up an unresolved past in this strong drama.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Everything you've heard about "Club Kid" is true. I suspect it's going to be everywhere at the end of the year, so leaving the review here, but best to go in blind moveablefest.com/jordan-first...
moveablefest.com
Jordan Firstman's
After establishing himself as a great comic foil on TV, the multihyphenate makes a case for being an even better filmmaker with this dramedy.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Breaking my social media seclusion to report from Cannes, as I'm going to be surprised if I like anything better all year than Marine Atlan's "La Gradiva" in Critics Week, which seems like Laurent Cantet & Annie Baker's lovechild about a high school field trip moveablefest.com/marine-atlan...
moveablefest.com
Marine Atlan's
A celebrated cinematographer brings an exceptionally sharp observational eye as a director to this story of a chaotic class field trip.
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Reposted by Stephen Saito
tnyfrontrow.bsky.social @tnyfrontrow.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Suzannah Herbert's documentary Natchez, opening today at Film Forum (needs to be shown nationally), turns observation into engagement—with history, its witnesses, its falsifiers, and government's crucial (and endangered) role in its preservation and transmission: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Challenging Official Histories in “Natchez” and “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
Two stunning new documentaries—one filmed in Mississippi, and one in Russia—examine the ways that education comes up against indoctrination.
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Reposted by Stephen Saito
Sean P. Means @seanpmeans.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Sometimes finding "the one" at #Sundance — the movie that makes you love it with your whole heart — takes a minute. I found it, finally, in "Carousel," a tender romantic drama that stars Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, doing the best work in their careers. moviecricket.net/sundance-202...
moviecricket.net
Sundance review: 'Carousel' is a romantic drama that goes deeper than most, and showcases Chris Pine and Jenny Slate in career-best performances — The Movie Cricket
In the romantic drama “Carousel,” writer-director Rachel Lambert tenderly and precisely creates two characters who struggle to figure out whether love is worth the cost the second time around. Chris ...
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Haven't written about "Josephine" yet, but an exciting trend is how directors have rethought perspective with what can now be pulled off with slick camera moves. "The Huntress" adds that to a ferocious performance from Adrianna Paz as a mother hellbent on revenge moveablefest.com/suzanne-andr...
moveablefest.com
Suzanne Andrews Correa's "The Huntress" - Sundance 2026 Review
A sensational feature debut shares a sense of daring with its heroine, a mother in Juarez who lives with the great cost of violence.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Also plenty of fun, "Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty" in which Josef Kubota Wladkya attacks grief and ballroom dance with the same energy he'd bring to an episode of "Narcos." (As noted inside, I had no idea Rinko Kikuchi was the lead until the end, a remarkable turn.) moveablefest.com/ha-chan-shak...
moveablefest.com
"Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!" - Sundance 2026 Review
The "Catch the Fair One" director offers a jubilant surprise with this buoyant musical about a widow dancing around the death of her partner.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
God bless Ramzi Bashour for offering a juicy part to all-world star Lubna Azabal ("Incendies," "Blue Caftan") in an American film. To see her as a mother just as lost on the road as her wayward teenage son in "Hot Water" is a delight. moveablefest.com/ramzi-bashou...
moveablefest.com
Ramzi Bashour's "Hot Water" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
Lubna Azabal and Daniel Zolghadri make a perfectly mismatched pair to hit the road in Ramzi Bashour’s charming debut feature.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The more personal "The Oldest Person in the World" gets, as Sam Green makes a mission of visiting whoever has that title at any given time, the stronger it is and it's quite intimate by the end. moveablefest.com/sam-green-ol...
moveablefest.com
"The Oldest Person in the World" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
The "32 Sounds" director's endearing contemplation of mortality with visits to World Record Holders for age becomes a celebration of life.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
"Filipiñana" is an extremely dry satire that probably won't be to everyone's taste - I enjoyed it myself, but director Rafael Manuel definitely has an eye alone that's worth seeing this moveablefest.com/filipinana/
moveablefest.com
Rafael Manuel's "Filipiñana" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
A day on the links turns into a dark night of the soul in this carefully crafted and bitterly amusing reflection on Filipino history.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
One of the strongest docs is actually about Utah's Great Salt Lake, so the emotionally charged hometown screening was one of the highlights of the fest. A riveting look at coalition building in Abby Ellis' "The Lake" moveablefest.com/abby-ellis-t...
moveablefest.com
Abby Ellis' "The Lake" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
Spreading the gospel takes on a variety of meanings in this galvanizing look at an effort to save the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
If there were a Robert Redford Prize for a film that he actually had in mind when he started this all, I imagine "Bedford Park" would be one of the few in this year's lineup that would qualify. A raw emotional drama so mindful of the culture it's coming from. moveablefest.com/stephanie-ah...
moveablefest.com
Stephanie Ahn's "Bedford Park" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
The children of immigrants continue to face a precarious future when they can’t reconcile their past in this strong debut feature.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I usually don't go for nature docs, but "Nuisance Bear" has the novelty of following a polar bear into civilization and could easily be read as a tale of immigration right now. moveablefest.com/gabriela-osi...
moveablefest.com
"Nuisance Bear" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
A film about a stranded polar bear provocatively reconsiders what a nature film is when it asks an audience about their own as humans.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
No one is doing crime comedies like Macon Blair and "The Shitheads" may be the least cohesive of his films to date, but nonetheless quite fun. O'Shea Jackson and Dave Franco give way more multidimensional performances than you usually see in something like this. moveablefest.com/macon-blair-...
moveablefest.com
Macon Blair's "The Shitheads" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
The transport of a troubled teen by a pair of inexperienced guards leads to some marvelous mayhem in the latest from "The Toxic Avenger" director.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The totality of the destruction in Gaza is sharply conveyed in "American Doctor" where a trio of U.S. doctors work against the efforts of their own government to repair what they can and try to overcome a feeling of futility. moveablefest.com/poh-si-teng-...
moveablefest.com
Poh Si Teng's "American Doctor" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
A trio of U.S. physicians find that helping patients in Gaza requires as much speaking up on their behalf as mending their wounds in this devastating doc.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Midway through a solid Sundance with plenty of reviews. A thread below for anyone interested, kicking off with probably the discovery of the fest so far for me with Georgia Bernstein's "Night Nurse," a slippery psychosexual drama moveablefest.com/georgia-bern...
moveablefest.com
Georgia Bernstein's "Night Nurse" - Sundance 2026 Film Review
A sexually-charged relationship between a patient and his newly hired caregiver leads to a stunning debut feature.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Deeply bummed to hear it. You did great work and hope to see it continue elsewhere.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
She did throw a tantrum when it shifted from the silent Academy ratio to 2.35.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
I paid a visit Sunday morning and watched a father and his 7-ish daughter walk in 45 mins into the movie, take their seats and leave after another five.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
It was a first to get a PR e-mail for a movie with that much backing to have essentially a gmail address. "All inquiries are directed to press@melania-film.com." No names on it, no AMZ, no regional reps.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Under the radar since its Berlinale bow, but one of my faves this year "Timestamp," which chronicles a school year across Ukraine, is having special screenings in L.A. @laemmle.com 12/17 ahead of a digital release Fri. Connected w/director Kateryna Gornostai in Kyiv moveablefest.com/kateryna-gor...
moveablefest.com
Kateryna Gornostai on "Timestamp"
The director discusses capturing a crucial time in Ukraine as schools craft an education for a generation that must prepare for the unknown.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Absolutely gutted to hear of Tammie Rosen's passing. She constantly made the impossible seem like it was the easiest thing in the world and opened so many doors for so many, myself included. My deepest condolences to her friends and family. www.indiewire.com/news/obituar...
indiewire.com
Tammie Rosen, Beloved Sundance Communications Chief and Film Festival Mainstay, Passes Away at Age 49
The long-time publicist, known for her work at Sundance and Tribeca, passed away this week after a battle with cancer.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
At a "Sly Lives" Q&A, Questlove spoke about how D'Angelo agreed to be in it to talk about burnout (many wouldn't), recalling the pressure on him to take his shirt off each night for "How Does It Feel," which he saw from beyond the drums on tour. Went from thinking about all we missed to all he gave.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
You could also do a triple feature at Venice of the Noomi Rapace film "Mother," the Czech film "Father," and the Jim Jarmusch film "Father, Mother, Sister, Brother"
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
It wasn’t easy, even in L.A., to find a theater playing “Highest 2 Lowest,” but if it’s in your neighborhood, it’s unbelievable with an audience. Scrambling to think of a better stretch of theatrical experiences than Naked Gun, Weapons & now this. Spike and Denzel turned the NoHo 7 into the Palais.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
And Mytyslav Chernov on "2000 Meters to Andriivka," now making its way across theaters in the U.S. moveablefest.com/2000-meters-...
moveablefest.com
Interview: Mstyslav Chernov on "2000 Meters to Andriivka"
The "20 Days in Mariupol" director discusses about returning to Ukraine for this urgent look at the cost of combat from the frontlines.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
And Petra Costa on "Apocalypse in the Tropics," now on Netflix moveablefest.com/petra-costa-...
moveablefest.com
Petra Costa on "Apocalypse in the Tropics"
"The Edge of Democracy" director discusses her powerful follow-up, looking into how a growing fusion of church and state imperiled Brazil.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
It's been surprising the most buoyant directors I've talked to lately have been those with films about the most grim situations in the world. Maybe that's the attitude that pulls them through to begin with. Anywho, here's Julia Loktev on "My Undesirable Friends" moveablefest.com/julia-loktev...
moveablefest.com
Julia Loktev on "My Undesirable Friends: Last Air in Moscow"
The director discusses this landmark doc about Russian journalists racing against time to report on their government's free speech crackdown.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
This is great.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
You’ve been a daily inspiration for me and I know so many others. Will miss you in the masthead championing the best of the best, but eager to look for you in the credits as a producer where I know you’ve done the same since “What Happened Was”
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
"Bird in Hand" is the kind of mischievous misfit that are generally the best that Tribeca has to offer and Melody C. Roscher's debut feature is no exception. A thorny comedy about identity that takes the inspired tact of structurally unraveling as its character does moveablefest.com/melody-c-ros...
moveablefest.com
Melody C. Roscher's "Bird in Hand" - Tribeca 2025 Film Review
A young woman's return to see her mother on the eve of getting married threatens to become an event in and of itself in this anxious comedy.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Been following Bryan Poyser since I was in college, so the Tribeca entry "Leads" about professional ups and downs hit particularly hard, featuring a great performance from the generally under-utilized Heather Kafka. moveablefest.com/bryan-poyser...
moveablefest.com
Bryan Poyser's "Leads" - Tribeca 2025 Film Review
Heather Kafka gets a well-deserved spotlight as an acting teacher who wonders if her whole life is performative in this smart comedy.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
I’m convinced it was negotiated between Mulaney’s people and Newman’s people and someone told Randy on the day of and oblivious to all of it, he said “Nah.” I’ve been saying for weeks it would’ve been a perfect Larry Sanders subplot.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
I also was excited to talk to Sam Davis, who gathered together singing talent from a variety of viral videos from around the world, packed 'em in a bar and turned it into a touching drama about men shedding their inhibitions in "The Singers" moveablefest.com/sam-davis-th...
moveablefest.com
Sam Davis on Bringing Out the Soul of "The Singers"
The director discusses bringing people together - and formal ideas - in this stirring musical short where a night at a bar reveals a lifetime.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Some exciting stuff to share on day #1 of Tribeca - former location scout Paula González-Nasser turns out to be an impressive writer/director with "The Scout," recognizing how being let into other people's lives as part of her work allows her to reconsider her own moveablefest.com/paula-gonzal...
moveablefest.com
Paula González-Nasser's "The Scout" - Tribeca 2025 Film Review
A location scout confronts not feeling as if she's in the right place in her life in this elegant and transfixing character study.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Took me a while, but the Cannes Closing ceremony is streaming on Brut's Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@brutofficie...
tiktok.com
Brut. (@brutofficiel) is LIVE - TikTok LIVE
DIRECT - Festival de Cannes | Watch Brut. (@brutofficiel)'s LIVE on TikTok and interact with others in real time.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Started the fest w/ "Enzo," but saving it for last. I refrained from getting personal in my review, but Laurent Cantet's "Human Resources" was a gateway to my love of foreign films & that his last film is about a teen whose eyes are opened to other worlds, well... moveablefest.com/laurent-cant...
moveablefest.com
Laurent Cantet's "Enzo" - Cannes 2025 Film Review
"BPM" director Robin Campillo brings his longtime collaborator's final film to the screen with the fire of a young man & considerable wisdom.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I worry I might be too big a fan of Canadian filmmaker Anne Émond to be trusted, but as a longtime admirer, it was thrilling to see her throw her all into "Peak Everything," a wild end-of-the-world comedy with a meaty role for Piper Perabo. moveablefest.com/anne-emond-p...
moveablefest.com
Anne Emond's "Peak Everything" - Cannes 2025 Film Review
The director delivers some sunshine in dark times with this wild romcom in which an anxious man with a broken lamp finds light elsewhere.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Had a great time in the frigid cold of Louise Hémon's "The Girl in the Snow," set at the turn of the 20th century, but feels very 21st as a teacher tries to bring education to a rural community in the Alps that wants to hold onto their old unscientific beliefs. moveablefest.com/louise-hemon...
moveablefest.com
Louise Hémon's "The Girl in the Snow" - Cannes 2025 Film Review
This crafty drama concerns an educator who's come to enlighten a rural village at the turn of the 20th century and feels she's regressing.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I wouldn't want to know much myself about "A Useful Ghost" going in, but Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke finds a novel way to reckon with recent history in Thailand by suggesting how ingrained the supernatural is in everyday life to delightful effect moveablefest.com/ratchapoom-b...
moveablefest.com
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's "A Useful Ghost" - Cannes Review
History doesn't happen in a vacuum, but a Hoover holds the key to exploring a painful past in this sly, provocative satire from Thailand.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Probably the filmmaker I'm most excited to see where she'll go next is Alexe Poukine. There's some genuinely original editing choices at the start of "Kika," her spry second narrative feature about a social worker who moonlights as a reluctant sex worker. moveablefest.com/alexe-poukin...
moveablefest.com
Alexe Poukine's "Kika" - Cannes 2025 Film Review
Manon Clavel delivers an engaging turn in this sly character study of a social worker who turns to sex work stimulates in unexpected ways.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I joked with someone how nice it was to learn Felix de Givry did good for himself after playing the adrift deejay in Mia Hansen-Løve's "Eden." Apparently that set was where he met animator Ugo Bienvenu & they co-wrote the deliriously imaginative adventure "Arco" moveablefest.com/ugo-bienvenu...
moveablefest.com
Ugo Bienvenu's "Arco" - Cannes 2025 Film Review
A pair of kids from different eras try to close the gap in this inventive and socially conscientious animated adventure.
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
It's been noted elsewhere the fest is filled with remarkable child performances and some of the strongest are in "The President's Cake," a charming coming-of-age tale set in '90s Iraq where a girl is tasked w/baking for Saddam without being able to afford ingredients moveablefest.com/hasan-hadi-p...
moveablefest.com
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
A gem in the ACID lineup was "Entroncamento," a sensational Portuguese crime drama about an outsider to a community who gets ahead in being able to size up her surroundings in ways the locals can't see moveablefest.com/pedro-cabele...
moveablefest.com
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I wasn't prepared at all for Valery Carnoy's "Wild Foxes," which really announces "Last Summer" heartthrob Samuel Kircher as a star who's going to be sticking around a long time, playing a young boxer who contends with the psychological fallout of a freak injury moveablefest.com/valery-carno...
moveablefest.com
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
It might've not been such a surprise after Lloyd Lee Choi's shorts "Same Old" & "Closing Dynasty" have been knockouts in recent years, but his feature "Lucky Lu" is a stunner, a modern "Bicycle Thieves" riff that may share a similar body but infused w/singular soul moveablefest.com/lloyd-lee-ch...
moveablefest.com
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Stephen Saito @stephensaito.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
It's been a joy (and at least a lil exhausting) to spend the week digging into Directors Fortnight and Critics Week at Cannes, but wanted to share a few of the discoveries and pardon the 🧵...
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