Recent articles
July 16, 2026
‘Romería,’ ‘The Blood Countess,’ ‘Resurrection’ Set for Costa Rica Film Festival as Event Focuses on Afro-Caribbean Cinema and Female Filmmakers
The Costa Rica Film Festival kicks off next week with a program featuring major festival hits such as Carla Simón’s “Romería,” Bi Gan’s “Resurrection,” Diego Céspedes’s “The Mysterious Gaze of the ...
variety.com
July 15, 2026
Disney Exec, Top Producers Say ‘Real Competition Is No Longer in Tax Incentives’: Local Talent and Efficient Film Commissions and Producers Are Key
In the almost 30 years since Steven Spielberg’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was shot in Costa Rica, much has changed in the country’s film industry. From a virtually nonexistent market in the l...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Puerto Rico Film Festival Welcomes Costa Rica as Official Country in Focus (EXCLUSIVE)
The Puerto Rico Film Festival has announced Costa Rica as the official country in focus for its upcoming 17th edition, taking place August 19–23. The announcement marks the first time the festival ...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Ana Istarú to Appear Alongside Director Daughter Ardélia Istarú in ‘Quemada’ Via Valentina Maurel’s Tres Tigres Label (EXCLUSIVE)
Renowned Costa Rican actor, playwright and poet Ana Istarú will appear alongside daughter Ardélia Istarú in the latter’s next directorial outing, “Quemada.” Valentina Maurel’s production company Tr...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Fantastic Lab Winner ‘We Won’t Let the Goat Die’ Bolstered by New Partners, Santiago Durán (EXCLUSIVE)
Four years after Ariel Escalante’s “Domingo and the Mist” premiered to acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, Costa Rica’s flourishing Incendio Cine label continues to strike key co-production deals ...
variety.com
July 13, 2026
Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s ‘Spells to Revive a Witch,’ About Mythical Fortune Teller Soralla de Persia, Gets Backing from Spain, Uruguay (EXCLUSIVE)
Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s upcoming “Spells to Revive a Witch” has found new partners in Spain’s Testaferro and Uruguay’s Guay Films. The hybrid documentary, headed to the Costa Rica Media Market,...
variety.com
July 12, 2026
Emerging Directors Need to Be ‘Brave,’ ‘Curious,’ ‘Pushy’ and ‘Fearless,’ Say Industry Leaders Behind Future Frames Program
During this year’s banner 60th anniversary edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Variety hosted a panel in collaboration with Allwyn to discuss the longstanding success of the Eu...
variety.com
July 9, 2026
Acclaimed Chilean Filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento Bids Farewell to Directing With Affecting Childhood Sexual Abuse Drama ‘Behind the Rain’
Renowned Chilean filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento has a long history of prodding at memory in her films. The veteran has directed more than 30 features addressing the situation of women in a patriarchal...
variety.com
July 8, 2026
Karim Kassem Broaches Migrant Issues in Lebanon With ‘Pipes’: ‘A Lot of People Are Being Affected by War but We Don’t See the Whole Picture’
Lebanese director Karim Kassem remains one of the most prolific directors in the MENA region despite the sociopolitical instability of his home country of Lebanon. “Pipes,” having its world premier...
variety.com
July 6, 2026
‘Five Years, Four Months’ Co-Director Esteban Hoyos García on Urgency of Remembering Colombia’s Disappeared Ahead of Right-Wing Presidency
When director Juan Miguel Gelacio first began listening to the stories of mothers searching for their disappeared sons in Colombia, he thought it would make an interesting documentary. Then, he bel...
variety.com
July 5, 2026
Harvey Keitel Shooting Film Written by Wife Daphna Kastner, Calls Out ‘Danger’ of AI When Mentioning Michael Caine AI-Narrated ‘The Odyssey’ Audiobook
Harvey Keitel, who is at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival for the third time to present a screening of Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets,” has revealed he is shooting a new film written by his wife, ac...
variety.com
July 5, 2026
Jesse Eisenberg on Why It Would Be ‘Silly’ to Leave U.S. Because of Trump, Says ‘The Debut’ Is ‘The Opposite of AI’ Following A24 DeepMind Partnership
Despite recently obtaining his Polish citizenship, “A Real Pain” director Jesse Eisenberg is not thinking about leaving the U.S. anytime soon. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where he i...
variety.com
July 4, 2026
Jesse Eisenberg Says He Doesn’t ‘Want to Be Associated’ With Mark Zuckerberg: ‘If This Guy Is the Creator of This World, I Don’t Want to Live in That World’
Actor-director Jesse Eisenberg, who is at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival as the recipient of this year’s President’s Award, spoke about not reprising his role as Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s u...
variety.com
July 3, 2026
Dustin Hoffman Emotionally Accepts Karlovy Vary Award, Says Filmmaking Makes Him ‘Feel Alive’: ‘Grateful to Have Had the Opportunity to Do What I Love’
Legendary American actor Dustin Hoffman recalled his decades-spanning career while accepting the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the opening ceremony of the 6...
variety.com
June 27, 2026
‘Pinocchio Unstrung’ Sees Wooden Doll Covered in Flesh and Blood as Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield Teases ‘Kooky, Crazy and Fun’ ‘Avengers’-Style ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble’
Barging through the doors of the Poohniverse nose-first, Pinocchio has officially come to the company of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi and Peter Pan with Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s “Pinocchio Unstrung.” The ...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
‘Border’ Meets ‘Stand by Me’ in ‘Fränk,’ a Coming of Age for the Manosphere Era by ‘Tenet’ Assistant Director Tõnis Pill
A grim, personal real-life case inspired Tõnis Pill’s directorial debut, “Fränk.” When the director was a young boy living in a small Estonian town, a person with an intellectual disability died af...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
Lloyd Kaufman Looks at Legacy of Legendary Troma Entertainment: ‘It Birthed the Marvel Cinematic Universe’
Appearing on a screen straight from the legendary Troma Entertainment headquarters in Long Island, New York, veteran producer and filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman has both hands occupied: one is gripping a ...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
‘Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me’ Director Kirsty Bell on How Legendary Musician Influenced New Generation of ‘Rock Stars’ Like Yungblud
When pioneering producer and filmmaker Kirsty Bell set out to make a film about legendary American musician Eddie Cochran, she didn’t want to merely chronicle his brief career. Looking back at the ...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
‘Macbeth,’ ‘Gaslit,’ ‘Silent Rebellion’ Win Raindance Awards With ‘Serena’ Winning Inaugural Best Horror Prize
Daryl Chase’s “Macbeth” won Best U.K. Feature at this year’s Raindance Film Festival, with Marie-Elsa Sgualdo’s “Silent Rebellion” winning Best International Feature, Katie Camosy’s “Gaslit” winnin...
variety.com
June 23, 2026
How Jane Fonda Came to Star in Katie Camosy’s Greenpeace-Produced Directorial Debut ‘Gaslit’
It is not everyone who can say Jane Fonda stars in their feature directorial debut, an honor Katie Camosy boasts in “Gaslit.” The documentary follows the iconic actor and activist as she takes a ro...
variety.com
June 23, 2026
Alex and Diego Barragán Discuss Crafting Genre-Bending ‘Jardines del Bosque,’ About Mexico’s Disappeared: ‘Far More Frightening Than Any Horror Story’
In “Jardines del Bosque,” brothers Diego and Alex Barragán drink from the fountain of classic coming-of-agers such as Rob Reiner’s “Stand by Me” and Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” with a tou...
variety.com
June 23, 2026
Joseph Zentil and ‘Halloween’ Star Dylan Arnold on Championing American Biker Culture With ‘Born to Lose,’ ‘Chemistry’ With ‘Love Story’ Breakout Sarah Pidgeon
Director Joseph Zentil always knew he wanted to direct a feature film. Watching a close friend persevere through recovery following a major motorcycle accident proved the right inspiration for his ...
variety.com
June 21, 2026
Kit Harington Says ‘Growing Need’ to ‘Take the Reins on the Creative Front’ Led Him to Directorial Debut ‘Psychopomp,’ Starring Harry Melling: ‘I Feel Less Exposed’
British actor Kit Harington spent years on the set of some of the biggest films and TV shows of the last decade, from his breakthrough role as Jon Snow in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” to Sir Henry Muck ...
variety.com
June 17, 2026
Raindance Founder Elliot Grove Praises ‘Exceptional’ Connor Storrie, Says ‘Some of the Most Exciting Filmmakers Working Today’ Come From Horror
Ahead of kicking off the 34th edition of Raindance Film Festival, founder Elliot Grove still keeps the event’s original mission ethos to his chest. Raindance, the largest independent film festival ...
variety.com
June 17, 2026
‘April X’ Director Michel K. Parandi Says Casting Connor Storrie Before ‘Heated Rivalry’ Felt Like Casting Harrison Ford in ‘Blade Runner’: I Was ‘Telling Everybody He’s Going to Be a Movie Star’
Producers urged Michel K. Parandi to take his time and audition as many actors as possible for the main role of Baxter in his long-gestating sci-fi “April X,” but the French-American director knew ...
variety.com
June 16, 2026
‘Succession’ Star Brian Cox to Receive Raindance Icon Award (EXCLUSIVE)
Ahead of kicking off its 34th edition in London tomorrow, the Raindance Film Festival has announced it will award Golden Globe-winning actor Brian Cox with a Raindance Icon Award. The Scottish acto...
variety.com
June 16, 2026
RioFilme Has Boosted Shanghai Presence, as Filmmakers Praise ‘Continuous Support’ and ‘Increased Investment’ in Local Films
It’s been two years since Walter Salles’s Oscar-winning “I’m Still Here” catapulted Rio de Janeiro to screens all over the world, and momentum has continued to build thanks to coordinated efforts b...
variety.com
June 14, 2026
Banu Sivaci’s ‘Hear the Yellow’ Sweeps Taormina Film Festival Awards, ‘Animol,’ ‘Piccolo Miracolo’ Take Home Prizes
Banu Sıvacı’s “Hear the Yellow” has swept the main awards at this year’s Taormina Film Festival. The drama, which started its festival journey in Berlin back in February, was elected Best Film and ...
variety.com
June 13, 2026
Russell Crowe Recalls ‘Sticking to His Guns’ About No Sex Scenes in ‘Gladiator,’ ‘Failed’ Sequel, ‘Fantastic’ ‘Highlander’ Reboot
Russell Crowe proudly recalled “sticking to his guns” about not having sex scenes with Connie Nielsen in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.” Speaking at the Taormina Film Festival, the New Zealand-born act...
variety.com
June 13, 2026
Gore Verbinski Says We Need a ‘Rating System’ for AI Use in Films: ‘If You Use AI to Write a Script, You Get an F’
American director Gore Verbinski, who is at the Taormina Film Festival in competition with “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” spoke about the challenges of labelling the use of AI in films as the te...
variety.com