New generation of filmmakers unveiled projects that blur fiction and documentary, reclaim overlooked histories, and probe urgent social questions, offering international partners early access to bold, globally resonant storytelling at Locarno’s Story Lab Pitching Session.
Producer Ed Guiney and director Radu Jude offered international film professionals a candid set of lessons on how trust, transparency, and the creative use of constraints can define, and ultimately strengthen, the producer-director relationship.
Jackie Chan’s Locarno talk offered a rare, practical breakdown of how creative control, cultural awareness, and long-term strategy can shape a sustainable career.
Canada used its spotlight at Locarno Pro to signal that international co-production is no longer an exception but a growing norm, backed by modernized treaties, robust financing, and globally competitive tax incentives.
Eduardo Casanova, the evocative director of a ScreenAnarchy favorite, La Piedad/La Pieta, has set out unto the World their new project, Silence. Silence reimagines the vampire myth to explore queer identity, HIV stigma, and social silence, spanning the Black Death and the AIDS crisis in 1980s Spain. Casanova is returning to Fantastic Fest with a series this time, and a queer vampire one at that. Silence premiered at the 78th Locarno Film Festival last weekend and they will bring it to the 20th anniversary edition of Fantastic Fest where their last film, La Piedad won Best Film at the fest. Casanova has evoked emotions with striking visuals in the past. Hearing that the director shot this series on 16mm just makes us…
On the island of Malta, two women get engaged in a string of horrifying murders.
Hot off yesterday’s announcement that it will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest next month, we have your first look at Bad Haircut the debut horror comedy from Michigan filmmaker Kyle Misak. When a college kid goes to a new place to get a haircut, he discovers that his barber is a psychopath. We have it on good authority from someone close to ScreenAnarchy that Bad Haircut will be one of the hidden gems of the festival. They have seen Bad Haircut and suggest that it be on everyone’s radar. Bad Haircut stars Spencer Harrison Levin, Nora Freetly, RJ Beaubrun and Beau Minniear. Personally, we’re a fan of Freetly’s socials and her expressive, hilarious comedy reels. Levin starred in found footage…
Did I choose this poster this week purely for the way the stem of the lily here threads the O in the typesetting? Well, not quite. The Gothic Romance and horror (coded with a black background and red text) vibes are strong with this design, given the mother and daughter cupped in the flower (and flame), one whispering to the other. The hand drawn imagery seems coated in a gelatinous layer, which is unusual in an era of razor-sharp photoshop. Also, that sweet, justified credit block, which I cannot read, but am happy it is there, as this is what distinguishes the poster here from falling too much in the trap of looking like a V.C. Andrews novel from the 1980s. Or maybe that is what the…
It was announced today that Sean Cisterna’s documentary, Silver Screamers, will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. Silver Screamers is a heartwarming and spine-tingling documentary that follows a group of spirited senior citizens as they embark on an extraordinary adventure far outside their comfort zones: creating a horror film. In a quaint retirement community, a diverse group of retirees ranging from former teachers to puppeteers find themselves yearning for excitement and creative expression in their golden years. Led by a local filmmaker in their community, the seniors pool their talents and resources to produce “The Rug”, a short horror film that will defy expectations and challenge stereotypes. As they dive into the world of filmmaking, they encounter unexpected obstacles and hilariously unforgettable…
Spike Lee (Inside Man, Malcolm X, Mo’Better Blues) and Denzel Washington’s (Gladiator II, The Equalizer series, The Tragedy of Macbeth) first collaboration in almost 20 years and their fifth overall, Highest 2 Lowest, masterfully reinterprets and reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s seminal 1963 crime-thriller, High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku), for the twenty-first century. High and Low, Kurosawa’s adaptation of Ed McBain’s 1959 crime novel, King’s Ransom, inarguably remains both cornerstone not just of 20th-century Japanese cinema and a key, trope-setting entry in the police procedural sub-genre. Deeply textured visually, narratively, and thematically, High and Low reflected contemporary concerns related to Japan’s post-war economic boom and growing inequality. Given its subject matter, High and Low always seemed ripe for re-adaptation and reinterpretation, especially from another point of view, preferably an entirely different…
