Film
§ Recent
The Institutional Eye: Mapping the Global Film Circuit
As Cannes unveils its final sidebars and Tribeca prepares for its 25th year, the film world balances the discovery of new talent with the loss of Bollywood legend Asha Bhosle.
Dissecting the New Cinematic Landscape: From Horror to Art-House
The latest dispatch from the Truth & Movies podcast navigates the diverse terrain of Lee Cronin’s genre work and the nuanced narratives of Petzold and Mascaro.
The Weather in Lynch’s Tunnel
A new soundtrack mix and a Berlin exhibition revisit the eerie synchronicity and enduring sonic legacy of David Lynch.
The Architecture of Interruption: Animating Life in Shamattawa
Filmmakers Seth and Peter Scriver spent nearly a decade turning the chaotic realities of a remote First Nations reserve into an intimate, animated family portrait.
The Architecture of Attention: Inside a 24-Hour Cinema Experiment
As traditional moviegoing etiquette fades, a London event explores what happens when we replace rigid rules with radical flexibility.
The Fragmented Ambition of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
Following the visceral success of Evil Dead Rise, director Lee Cronin falters with a sprawling, incoherent expansion of a classic horror franchise.
§ All stories
Ferzan Özpetek’s Meta-Melodramatic Tribute to the Labor of Cinema
In "Diamanti," the Turkish-Italian filmmaker blurs the lines between performance and production, centering the seamstresses who build the visual worlds of the screen.
The Persistent Present of Barbara Kopple
As Los Angeles hosts the "This Is Not a Fiction" festival, the filmmaker’s seminal documentaries on American labor struggles receive a timely restoration.
The medical fault lines of Beef Season 2
The second season of the A24 and Netflix drama shifts its focus from road rage to the systemic failures of reproductive healthcare.
The Transpacific Resonance of Country Roads
A new podcast season explores how John Denver’s 1971 anthem became an unlikely pillar of Japanese animation.
The Architecture of Absence: Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron
In her debut feature, the filmmaker synthesizes a career spent investigating the porous boundaries between family history, migration, and the cinematic image.
Alfred Hitchcock and the Mechanics of Release
Examining the psychological bridge between horror and hilarity in the work of cinema’s master of suspense.
The Formal Evolution of the New Directors/New Films Festival
As the annual showcase at Lincoln Center and MoMA enters its second week, Clemente Castor’s "Cold Metal" exemplifies a new wave of opaque, genre-blurring cinema.
Christian Petzold’s Cinema of Ambiguity
In his latest psychodrama, the German director examines the unsettling calm that follows a tragedy, trading traditional grief for a haunting, Ravel-inspired study of dislocation.
The Architecture of the Fringe: Cannes 2026 Completes Its Map
While the Official Selection captures the headlines, the announcement of the 2026 sidebar lineups reveals where the festival’s true kinetic energy resides.
Kantemir Balagov’s Long-Awaited Return to Cannes
Kantemir Balagov’s New Jersey-set drama "Butterfly Jam" leads an eclectic slate of nineteen features at the 58th edition of the Directors’ Fortnight.
Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail Reimagines the Dystopia of Aging
In Gabriel Mascaro’s latest film, a state-mandated retirement age becomes a tool for social engineering and a catalyst for a surreal journey of resistance.
The Restoration of High-Gloss Provocation
New restorations of Radley Metzger’s 1970s films highlight a brief era when adult cinema aspired to the aesthetics of high-end art house production.
The Architecture of Influence: Olivier Assayas Decodes the Kremlin
In a sprawling, three-hour adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s novel, French auteur Olivier Assayas explores the surreal intersection of media production and Russian political power.
Cannes Critics’ Week Breaks Tradition with Its First Animated Opener
The 65th edition of the Cannes sidebar highlights a new wave of storytelling, led by Phuong Mai Nguyen’s surf-and-skate animated romance.
The Speculative Logistics of the Self
Artist Ayoung Kim’s U.S. debut at MoMA PS1 explores the intersection of digital narcissism and the sprawling infrastructure of global transport.
The Illustrated Theater: Capturing the Ritual of the Cinema
As the digital and physical realms of film distribution blur, MUBI Notebook’s comic series "Funnies" offers a stylized look at the enduring act of going to the movies.
The Echo of the Clown: Billy Wilder’s Mirror
In the comedies of Billy Wilder, the spotlight on the screen serves as a reflection of the audience’s own vulnerabilities and delusions.
Jia Zhang-Ke and the Uncanny Future of the Auteur
The Chinese director’s recent experiment with generative AI reveals a complex relationship between traditional art-house values and the technological vanguard.
The Ghost in the Waveform: Cinema’s New Archival Thriller
A new film from Kevin Walker and Jack Auen explores the legend of a Vatican-suppressed device that claimed to turn history into a television broadcast.
A Changing Guard on the Croisette: The Cannes 2026 Lineup
Artistic director Thierry Frémaux reveals a selection that pivots toward new voices and speculative narratives, including a strong showing from Japanese cinema.
Reconstructing the Absent Father in 1990s Nigeria
In his debut feature, Akinola Davies Jr. uses the medium of film to inhabit a relationship he never had, set against a hazy, reconstructed 1990s Nigeria.
Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus Reimagines the Horror of Repression
Opening the 55th edition of New Directors/New Films, the Australian filmmaker’s debut feature blends creature-feature tropes with a devastating portrait of queer isolation.
The Friction Between Generative AI and Legacy IP
OpenAI shutters Sora, ending a billion-dollar Disney partnership, as Paramount secures $24 billion in Middle Eastern funding for its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
John Early’s Melodramatic Performance of the Self
As the Los Angeles Festival of Movies enters its third year, John Early’s directorial debut explores the intersection of Golden Age artifice and modern digital influence.
The Reductive Logic of the Guilty Pleasure
A defense of the 2001 stoner classic argues that the "guilty pleasure" label is a reductive way to engage with subcultural artifacts.
The Architecture of Suggestion: Re-evaluating the Lubitsch Touch
Decades after its coinage as a marketing slogan, Ernst Lubitsch’s signature style remains a masterclass in cinematic grace and the power of what is left off-screen.
The Murky Waters of Dutch Cinema
Decades after Dick Maas defined the Dutch blockbuster with a scuba-suit slasher, his sequel to "Amsterdamned" suggests an industry still struggling to surface.
Transitions in the Cinematic Calendar
From the upcoming lineups at Cannes and San Francisco to the passing of Mary Beth Hurt, the film world navigates a season of legacy and renewal.
Frederick Wiseman’s Institutional Map of America
As the nation approaches its semiquincentennial, a series of retrospectives honor the late filmmaker’s role as the preeminent chronicler of the American civic machine.
Warner Bros. and the High-Stakes Gamble of the Auteur
As Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler sweep the 2026 Oscars, the industry wonders if this historic night marks the end of an era for the big-budget director's vision.
The Sturges Remedy: Cinema for a Fractured National Identity
As contemporary anxieties weigh on the American psyche, the chaotic comedies of Preston Sturges offer a unique form of cultural medicine.
Cinema’s New Borders: From State Censorship to the Second Screen
India blocks an Oscar-nominated docudrama to preserve diplomatic ties, while Netflix defends its scripts against claims of "second-screen" pandering.
The Mechanics of a Master: Re-examining John Ford’s Formative Years
A new study by Lea Jacobs explores how the industrial machinery of Hollywood shaped the aesthetic legacy of one of its most celebrated directors.