Festivals And Events

NIGHTSTREAM 2020 Unveils Full Program Ahead Of October Launch!

Lee B. Golden III

Back in August, the good folks behind Nightstream teased an exciting and massive effort shared among partnership between five film festivals, all of which endured a heavy shortfall thanks to the idiot pandemic that swept the world. The official line-up is finally here, host to rafts of features and shorts, as well as online panels and more, with Aneesh Chaganty’s Hulu thriller, Run, setting the pace for opening night with 37 more features there after, including a small handful of Nightstream Retro selections, lots of panels, and short film blocks hosted by each respective festival brand. Nightstream is a debut collaborative effort for virtual audiences, comprised of Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights. The online event runs from October 8 through 11 with select films available until October 14. Read on, and visit nightstream.org more details! NIGHTSTREAM is thrilled to unveil its program of films and […]

BEYOND FEST 2020: ARCHENEMY, SYNCHRONIC, POSSESSOR And More Lined-Up For This Year’s Festive “F*ck Covid” Edition

Lee B. Golden III

If you live in Los Angeles and you’ve heard of any of the new titles at all listed below for this year’s drive-in theatrical installment of Beyond Fest, chances are you’ll definitely want to get a handle on a ticket. The earliest screening will be on September 24 for sci-fi thriller, Possessor, from NEON in association with Well Go USA, next to 1966 classic thriller, Seconds, with John Randolph and Rock Hudson The main festival kicks off on October 2, host to an immediate round of titles such as Jim Cummings’s The Wolf Of Snow Hollow, which also marks the final screen performance for late actor Robert Forster, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s highly heralded Anthony Mackie sci-fi thriller in Well Go USA’s latest upcoming release, Synchronic, Adam Egypt Mortimer’s titlating superhero fantasy crime drama, Archenemy featuring Joe Manganiello, and Christopher Landon’s freakishly looking thriller, Freaky, which opens in the […]

Arrow Video FrightFest XXI: SKYLIN3S, PENINSULA, SPARE PARTS And More Announced For This Year’s Festivities!

Lee B. Golden III

Arrow Video FrightFest is taking major precautions for its 21st event in the wake of Covid-19 this year, although by no means you should let these hinder your enjoyment. Tickets are on sale and the line-up is freaking explosive this year with some highly-anticipated titles. Yeon Sang-ho’s Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula, the sequel to 2016’s Train To Busan, is one of four titles kicking off the festival on October 22, after becoming a theatrical hit in South Korea back in July, and releasing stateside from Well Go USA. The forthcoming premiere of Spare Parts also looks like another worthwhile crowd pleaser, in addition to Liam O’Donnell’s sci-fi action threequel, Skylin3s, Nightshooters helmer Marc Price’s Dune Drifter, Julius Berg’s The Owners which is currently out in the U.S., and Gabe Carrer and Reese Eveneshen’s Fantasia fave, For The Sake Of Vicious, to name a few. The announcement below is a […]

NIGHT IN PARADISE: Don’t Miss The First Teaser For Park Hoon-Jung’s Latest Thriller Out Of Venice

Lee B. Golden III

The Witch: Part 1 and New World director Park Hoon-jung’s new thriller, Night In Paradise, just premiered Out Of Competition this year for the 77th La Biennale di Venezia. Reviews are out and about as we speak for onlookers to gain some perspective but we do have a teaser to glance at ahead of its Korean release, TBA. Tae-gu, the ace of a criminal gang led by Mr. Yang, tries to clean up his life for his sick sister and nephew. Then one day, his sister and nephew are killed in an accident by someone who aimed for Tae-gu. Tae-gu decides to take revenge in shock. In the end, he removes the boss of another gang, and runs away to Jeju Island. Without knowing that his gang has already abandoned him, he meets Kuto and his niece, Jae-yeon who look after Tae-gu. Jae-yeon is dying from an illness, while Tae-gu […]

THE PAPER TIGERS

THE PAPER TIGERS: VOD Tickets On Sale Now For AAIFF 2020

Lee B. Golden III

The 43rd Asian American International Film Festival is bowing on October 1 through 11, and so if you live in the tri-state area and have been following Bao Tran’s gung fu comedy, The Paper Tigers, you’re in luck. The film just had its world premiere at Fantasia with more screenings on the way, and amidst the deluge of upward reviews, including my own, the film also scored a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this report. Limited tickets are now on sale for screenings of the film which stars Alain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mykel Shannon Jenkins as former gung fu prodigies of their youth who’ve fallen from grace through old age and lack of practice. When they learn of their Sifu’s murder, the trio are forced to dust themselves off and measure up to some of today’s young and cocky purveyors of martial arts in order to […]

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THE FATHER: Donnie Yen, Alec Baldwin, Frank Grillo Star In New Action Thriller Shooting Early 2021

Lee B. Golden III

Donnie Yen (Ip Man franchise) will star in The Father, according to Variety‘s Manori Ravindran. AGC International has acquired international sales rights on the action thriller which will launch for buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival as of Thursday this week. CAA Media Finance will handle U.S. distribution rights for the film as cameras get ready to roll early next year. Also casting Alec Baldwin (Mission: Impossible franchise) and Frank Grillo (Beyond Skyline), The Father is set in South Boston, and centers on Yen in the role of “middle-class Hong Kong immigrant John Chung, who is making the best of his family’s new life in America while working as a modest fish broker in the city’s docklands. When his teenage sons stumble upon four kilos of heroin and are hunted down by a local crime ring and corrupt cops, Chung must stop at nothing to protect them.” Tommy Wirkola […]

THE LAST JOB: Dreyfuss, Sorvino Star In New Action Thriller Selling For Voltage At TIFF 2020

Lee B. Golden III

Adam Lipsius (Amy & Sophia, Oceans Rising) will be making the case for buyers at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival with new action thriller, The Last Job. Voltage Pictures officially launched international sales on the pic which stars Academy Award-winners Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of The Third Kind) and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Mimic, Stuber). Written and directed by Lipsius, The Last Job centers on Ben Myers (Dreyfuss), an ailing ex-mobster who has lived a life filled with violence, crime, love, and loss. He is quickly taken out of retirement when one day, he comes home to discover that he’s been robbed of all his savings. Instead of turning to his police detective daughter (Sorvino), Ben tracks down the thieves in an increasingly brutal quest for answers that drives him to question what his life has been for. Confronting the end, will he make peace with […]

Fantasia 2020: CHASING DREAM, MARYGOROUND, MY PUNCH-DRUNK BOXER, WOTAKOI Among Award Wins And Special Mentions For The Virtual 24th Installment

Lee B. Golden III

2020 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster for the festival scene, and the good folks at Fantasia have been more than fortunate to have stood the test of time this year taking to the virtual stage. It’s especially an honor, personally, to have been one of the 475 accredited press sites for this year’s festival in getting to cover the titles we were able to, including Stéphan Beaudoin’s Yankee, Xia Magnus’s Sanzaru, Bao Tran’s The Paper Tigers, and more! My partner Christina and I still have a few more review pieces in the works, but in the meantime, the festival just announced the award winners and special jury mentions of this year’s virtual 24th installment. Check out what’s listed below, and I absolutely look forward to pushing this festival again next year. You can also click this tag to check out our reviews thusfar from the festival and have […]

LAAPFF XXXVI: ‘The Girl Who Left Home’, ‘The Paper Tigers’ Among Current Selection For The Upcoming Virtual Festival This Month Through October

Lee B. Golden III

As Visual Communications celebrates its 50th anniversary, the firm is proudly presenting the 36th edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival after scaling back its plans for a May launch. While full line-up awaits announcing, a small bundle of titles including Mallorie Ortega’s The Girl Who Left Home, and Bao Tran’s upbeat gung fu comedy, The Paper Tigers, which just had its world premiere at Fantasia since the weekend. The official schedule will go public on September 15, and you can learn more over at the official website. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF), presented annually by Visual Communications (VC), announced today that the 36th edition of the Festival will take place online from September 24 to October 31, 2020. Originally slated to take place in May 2020, the Festival postponed its in-person spring presentation due to COVID-19, and shifted to present the first Los Angeles […]

Lauren Russo and Xenia Leblanc in GRITTY & PRETTY

GRITTY & PRETTY Comedy Series Gloves Up For Dances With Films This Weekend!

Lee B. Golden III

This weekend will be the latest milestone for actress, comedian and filmmaker Xenia Leblanc, best known for her role as Young Red in the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black. She’s now taking to her newest endeavor with comedy series Gritty & Pretty, premiering the pilot episode for a virtual audience at LA-based online venue Dances With Films. Leblanc directs the current five-part series from her own script, in addition to starring opposite rising star Kelly Russo. The series centers on former high school besties Kira (Leblanc), a boxer fighting to save her gym from bankruptcy, and Lauren (Russo), who is stuck hosting an absurd Instagram TV talk show. Fifteen years since graduation, they are now struggling to find their true paths and make a living when they are abruptly reunited in the parking lot of the same building where they’ve both ended up working in. Also starring are […]

Fantasia XXIV Review: Xia Magnus’s SANZARU Gives Gothic Chills

Christina Ortega

Since the Fantasia Film Festival is starting soon (August 20th to September 2nd, to be exact), we here at Film Combat Syndicate have been lucky enough to get early screening access to some of the movies that will be shown there. As you can read in our teasers of the first wave, second wave, or third wave announcements, there were plenty of films to choose from. One of my choices was the Gothic/horror film by first-time director Xia Magnus’s Sanzaru, and I have to tell you, with this film, Magnus has made me into a fan! Sanzaru focuses on Eveyln, a nurse, who is living with a Texas family while caring for the ailing matriarch. Here is the official synopsis: Evelyn, a young Filipina nurse, is living on an isolated estate while taking care of Dena, the aging matriarch of a Texas family. As Dena slips deeper into dementia, Evelyn […]

MY LUCKY STARS: Join Scott Adkins For A Live Screening/Commentary This Friday Evening

Lee B. Golden III

Tickets are now on sale at 36 Cinema for a livestreamed event of Sammo Hung’s 1985 film, My Lucky Stars. The event, presented in association with the Made In Hong Kong Film Festival which held its 25th annual event last month, will be hosted this Friday by actor Scott Adkins with a live, interactive commentary where fans will also be able to ask questions during the film. The livestream is the latest move for Adkins into the online film discussion forum since production halted at the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic for his new Dolph Lundgren-directed action thriller, Castle Falls. A release date for that project is in tow for next year, while fans tuning into his YouTube channel throughout the summer can so far endulge a raft of interviews between Adkins and a bevy of action stars all around the world. A loose follow-up to Winners and Sinners, My […]

NIGHTSTREAM: Five Horror Festivals Unite To Thrill Fans Virtually This October

Lee B. Golden III

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of film festivals ended up shuttering plans for their events around North America this year. The Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, Overlook, and Popcorn Frights film festivals all fell victim this year, and fortunately, that’s not stopping the festivities one bit. The quintet is now forming a united front to bring fans a massive online film festival with Nightstream, and programmers from all five festivals are collaborating for the line-up which arrives in late September, ahead of the festival which will run from October 8 through 11. The films will be recognized as an official selection of each festival entity, while short film programs will be individually curated by each fest, along with a full slate of live events and panels taking place over that weekend. As announced by Nightstream: “Proceeds from the event will be shared with all participating filmmakers and […]

UNDERGODS: Catch The Trailer For Chino Moya’s Dark Fantasy Playing For Fantasia This Month

Lee B. Golden III

Chino Moya’s cerebral dark fantasy, Undergods, has an official trailer running online. The film is billed as “an otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline,” host to “a collection of darkly humorous fantasy tales about a series of men whose worlds fall apart through a visit from an unexpected stranger.” Set to an original, synth score featuring ‘80s electronica, UNDERGODS journeys through disparate eras and realities fusing failed 20th Century utopias and 21st Century Ikea nightmares. An unsettlingly entertaining, singular visual feast, UNDERGODS features a stand out, pan European cast that includes Kate Dickie (THE WITCH), Ned Dennehy (MANDY), Geza Rohrig (SON OF SAUL), Adrian Rawlins (CHERNOBYL), and an especially crazed Jan Bijvoet (BORGMAN). Made with the support of the BFI, (using funds from the National Lottery), the Wallonia Brussels Fund for Audiovisual and Cinema, the Estonian Cultural Fund, the Estonian Film Institute and Sweden’s Film I Vast, UNDERGODS is […]

Fantasia XXIV: Ten Titles Fans Will Definitely Want To See At This Year’s Virtual Festival

Lee B. Golden III

The third and final wave for the 24th and virtual edition of the Fantasia Festival is already up and running, and for this, I’m ready to dive into some serious shit this month with some great looking picks. Here’s a list of ten, including several of which I’ve already reviewed and saved in drafts to publish at a later time. You can expand the gallery images below by tapping the photos, or simply scroll down and read on, and follow this tag for forthcoming reviews on some of these and other titles ahead. Tickets are on sale as well and you can find out more at the official website. FRIED BARRY: This one makes zero apologies to you and your moviegoing sensibilities. Ryan Kruger makes his feature directing debut which has already garnered festival favor with actor Gary Green formidably playing a Cape Town junkie and deadbeat father whose conciousness […]

A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL: Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Aimee Long’s Feature Crime Drama Debut, Now Screening For Bentonville This Week

Lee B. Golden III

Ten years into a burgeoning filmmaking career with several shorts under her belt, Aimee Long emerged just three years ago to helm her latest independent feature debut, A Shot Through The Wall, which explores the all too concurrent and painful discussion of police brutality in America. The film stars Kenny Leu whose credits partly include Midway, NCIS: Los Angeles and Vicente Amorim’s upcoming Brazilian actioner, Yakuza Princess. Leu tackles a debut lead role from a script by Long who reteams with Daniel Langa who produced Long’s 2014 short, Distance. After shooting an innocent African-American man in Brooklyn, Mike Tan, a Chinese-American cop, wades through his guilt as he attempts to navigate the intricate and complicated worlds of media, justice, and racial politics in modern day New York. After an extensive wait, the film is finally screening this week for Geena Davis’s 6th Bentonville Film Festival which runs through August 16. […]

The Official Line-Up For The 19th New York Asian Film Festival Is HERE!

Lee B. Golden III

Last year’s New York Asian Film Festival was a pure blast with tons of hits, including awarded festivities with some famous faces on hand as well. I didn’t get to attend, but I did make some friends and worthwhile connections along the way, and while most in New York City won’t get to galvanize at this year’s 19th edition, the line-up looks just as robust and lively as ever. The festival postponed its July festivities months ago in response to the Coronavirus pandemic that has swept the North American continent and the world over earlier this year. Specifically with regard to the U.S., efforts to keep operations going for many festivals have chosen to go the online/digital route, and as such, NYAFF will be doing the same through its partnership with downloadable app, Smart Cinema USA. “Since the very first day of our launch, our goal is to always promote […]

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Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Matt Routledge’s IDTV Action Fest Entry, TRIBAL: GET OUT ALIVE, Now Available In The U.S.!

Lee B. Golden III

Debut director Matt Routledge’s new actioner, Tribal: Get Out Alive, is already enjoying a welcome disc release in the U.S. as of last month. Evolutionary Films is also making way for its UK release beginning August 17, though not before getting in some views under the auspices of this year’s forthcoming online addition of the Iron Dragon TV Action Fest. Elite military personnel Caitlin Ross retires from service after suffering from PTSD. Along with former team member and close friend Brad Johnson, they opted for the ‘easy life’ and now lead a small security firm. The company are hired by young, troublesome millionaire Richard Kenning to clear and secure the land and property he has recently inherited. Rumours and stories surrounding the land and buildings are dismissed until people start disappearing and the team end up locked in with no escape. It soon becomes apparent they are being hunted and […]

BLINDERS: Catch The Trailer For Tyler Savage’s Ride Share Suspense Thriller Ahead Of Arrow Video FrightFest

Lee B. Golden III

This year’s Arrow Video FrightFest is kicking off its four-day digital edition beginning August 28. Amidst its 24-movie schedule slate will be the world premiere of Inheritance director Tyler Savage’s latest suspenseful thriller, Blinders, on August 31. In the wake of a messy break-up, Andy decides to start fresh, relocating from Austin to Los Angeles. Eager to make new connections, he befriends Roger, an unusual rideshare driver. But when Roger’s behavior gets too strange for comfort, Andy blows him off, choosing to focus on a budding relationship with Sam. This unhinges Roger, who begins to torment Andy, ensuring that his stay in L.A. is short-lived. Blinders stars Vincent Van Horn and Michael Lee Joplin, and actress. Savage also wrote and produced the film with Dash Hawkins, with J.P. Castel, Chadd Harbold and Daniel Pisano serving as producers. The full line-up for Arrow Video FrightFest Digital Edition 2020 is now online, […]

THE FURNACE: Australian Gold Rush Western Joins Arclight Sales Slate, Takes To Venice This September

Lee B. Golden III

Australian writer Roderick MacKay’s feature directing debut, The Furnace, will have its world premiere at the 77th Venice Film Festival, which kicks off its ten-day run beginning September 2, 2020. The news came following this week’s prestigious Orizzionti Competition line up for the festival. The Furnace is set during the 1890s gold rush of Western Australia, and is described as an unlikely hero’s tale that navigates greed and the search for identity in a new land. Centered on a young Afghan cameleer who partners with a mysterious bushman on the run with two 400oz Crown-marked gold bars, the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown. Starring Ahmed Malek (Clash, Ext. Night), Jay Ryan (It: Chapter 2, Top of the Lake), […]