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Vishal Bhardwaj and Shaunak Sen join new film fund initiative supporting independent cinema

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What are the vital ingredients an aspiring filmmaker needs when they have a story to tell but no outlet? Beyond a script, they need financial stability, production expertise, and industry access. Addressing this gap, Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures have launched a landmark feature film co-production fund of Rs 40,00,000 designed to back an emerging filmmaker with a distinct voice and a clear vision. In a significant boost to the independent ecosystem, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes) and globally acclaimed auteur Vishal Bhardwaj have joined the initiative as mentors. Sen is also attached to the selected project as an Executive Producer. The high-profile jury for the fund includes actor Imran Khan, filmmaker Arati Kadav (Cargo, Mrs), producer Aman Mann (All That Breathes), and renowned author and festival director Aseem Chhabra. Harshit Bansal, Founder of Humans of Cinema, shared that the idea took shape when Nazim Momin of Safarnaama Pictures—...
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Swindon is not enough – every new housing estate deserves a Dench Close

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Bond Place and Desmond Crescent have been named in honour of the 007 franchise after some scenes were shot nearby in the 90s – why stop there? James Bond fans have endured a rough few years. Ever since No Time to Die walloped off Daniel Craig, we’ve been stuck in a weird kind of limbo. There will eventually be a new James Bond film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, the most exciting director in the franchise’s history. But we don’t know when it will come out, or who will play Bond, or if 007 under Amazon will even be recognisable. In summary, we need something tangible to ground our anxieties. What we need is to pack up our things and head to north Swindon, to the site of the former Motorola manufacturing facility, where a new housing estate has just named a bunch of roads after James Bond. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/9XumsZ2 via IFTTT
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Are you sitting uncomfortably? How Backrooms upended the horror movie

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It was just a creepy picture on the internet. Now it’s the year’s freakiest film. Its 20-year-old auteur Kane Parsons and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve take us through the terrifying labyrinth Chiwetel Ejiofor has been on a lot of movie sets, but Backrooms was something different: a 30,000 sq ft labyrinth of apparently random corridors and chambers, all carpeted, fluorescent lit and decorated in the same sickly yellow wallpaper. It was so big that people were getting lost in it, says Ejiofor: “Especially on those first days. As you try to navigate your way around and you’re like: ‘I’m sure it’s this door, I’m sure that’s the way.’” He’s laughing at the recollection. “And you find yourself just back in the wrong corner of the whole studio and you’re like: ‘Get me some help!’” This is kind of the point of Backrooms – the movie and the online phenomenon that spawned it. It’s a concept that takes some unpacking, but as the premise for a buzzy A24 horror freakout, ...
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Parallel Tales review – Isabelle Huppert pens furtive sexual fantasy for Vincent Cassel in Asghar Farhadi’s latest

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Cannes film festival: Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi returns to France with this intriguing middleweight meta-drama featuring a cameo from Catherine Deneuve Asghar Farhadi is the Iranian auteur whose film-making style has always shown the high European influences of Antonioni and Haneke. He has in fact made two films in Europe: The Past in France and Everybody Knows in Spain. Now he returns to France and the French language for this diverting, middleweight meta-drama about betrayal and about a supposed link between voyeurism and creativity: do writers spy on the characters they have brought to life? Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/9kWXKsO via IFTTT
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‘There was a lot of addiction and trauma in my family’: why Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon plays a perfect Judy Garland

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As she takes on the icon in musical drama End of the Rainbow, Monsoon recalls a childhood spent watching Wizard of Oz on repeat – and explains why audiences are ready for trans performers in non-trans roles If these are strange times in America, they are particularly strange for Jinkx Monsoon, the 38-year-old actor, singer and drag artist who, since winning RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2013 and Drag Race All Stars in 2022, has become a huge breakout star. Monsoon, who has the white-lead-and-vinegar glamour of a 1930s movie star, has appeared on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and in countless viral clips from Drag Race – and in other words is widely well known. And yet, she says, when she walks down the street in certain American cities, it is in a state of “not knowing if someone’s going to recognise me and be excited to see me, or recognise something about me and be hostile. It’s a really interesting dichotomy.” She lets out a huge laugh. “But it also keeps me humble, I gotta say.” We are back...
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Parineeti Chopra joins Johnson’s Baby as new brand ambassador; launches nourishment range in Mumbai

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Parineeti Chopra has added yet another meaningful association to her journey as she has been announced as the new face of Johnson’s Baby. The actress attended a special event in Mumbai on May 12 to launch Johnson’s Baby’s new nourishment range, comprising milk and rice, and built around the concept of “Poshan Ka Pehla Sparsh” and the idea of “Food for Skin.” Over the years, Parineeti has emerged as one of the most admired names among the youth. From her film choices to her candid personality and relatable public image, she has always struck a chord with young India. Now, as a new mother herself, her association with Johnson’s Baby feels both timely and organic. Her personal journey into motherhood gives the campaign a layer of authenticity, making her an ideal brand ambassador for a name that has been synonymous with baby care for generations. Speaking about the association, Parineeti Chopra said, "Motherhood is truly a blessing, and I feel incredibly grateful to be experiencing ...
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‘Oh my God, did my dad and I fight’: Olivia Colman on the regrets triggered by new film Jimpa

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John Lithgow plays the gay and often nude septuagenarian father of Colman’s character in this bombshell-laden story of intergenerational queerness. She explains why her own dad would have ‘sat and cried all the way through it’ In Jimpa, Olivia Colman plays a woman called Hannah who leaves Adelaide with her husband and 16-year-old child to visit her father in Amsterdam. This is Jimpa – the word sticks better once you know it’s a compound of Jim and grandpa. At the airport, the teenager, Frances, who’s trans, drops a bombshell: they want to move to the Netherlands and finish their schooling there. Hannah and her husband, Harry, respond thoughtfully, not freaking out. But once they arrive in Amsterdam, Jimpa, played by John Lithgow, brings enough drama for everyone – something he’s been doing for 40 years, since he left his family for a fuller queer life than Australia at the end of the 20th century could offer. The film revels in revealing the sort of lifestyle he enjoyed instead. Cont...
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A Woman’s Life review – a breezy comedy of midlife crisis and same-sex affair

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Cannes film festival: Léa Drucker gives a bravura performance as a brilliant surgeon whose already chaotic life is further complicated by a same-sex affair with a journalist Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s new film is a hectic, garrulous, breezily agreeable comedy of midlife emotional upheaval, unencumbered by any serious or permanent concern about any of the passion and heartache that it briefly encounters. It’s also a movie that declines to allow its characters to be changed in any way by the excitements and disappointments that life has to throw at them. Léa Drucker carries off the lead with terrifically competent elan; there’s hardly a scene in which she is not interrupted by a call on her mobile, going into bravura walk-and-talk acting on the phone while on the street, arriving at the office or getting into or out of her car. She plays Gabrielle, a brilliant surgeon – what other sort is there in the movies? – who specialises in maxillofacial reconstruction. Gabrielle is battling budg...
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Huma Qureshi heads to Cannes 2026 after making waves at TIFF and BIFF with Bayaan

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Huma Qureshi is all set to return to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, adding another milestone to her steadily growing international journey. Over the years, the actor has built a strong reputation for balancing mainstream cinema with content-driven performances, and her Cannes 2026 appearance further highlights her expanding global footprint. Having attended Cannes previously as well, Huma has consistently represented Indian cinema on international platforms through her unconventional film choices and impactful performances. Whether it was her breakthrough role in Gangs of Wasseypur or critically appreciated performances in projects like Maharani, Monica O My Darling, Tarla and Leila, the actor has continuously backed stories that stand apart. She also expanded her global reach with Army of the Dead, directed by Zack Snyder. Last year proved to be particularly significant for Huma on the international front. The actor attended both the Toronto International Film Festival and the...
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SCOOP: Shahid Kapoor in talks to join Varun Dhawan in Anees Bazmee directed No Entry 2 

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Shahid Kapoor is among the most celebrated actors of Hindi Cinema, who is gearing up for the release of Cocktail 2. Known for his phenomenal acting talent, the actor was in talks with Anees Bazmee for a comic caper titled Ram Aur Shyam. But the film didn't materialise due to reasons best known to the stakeholders. But the latest we hear is that the combo might team up for the first time soon. According to reliable sources, Anees Bazmee is in talks with Shahid Kapoor to come on board the sequel to his 2005 cult comedy, No Entry. "While Varun Dhawan is locked to play one of the three leads, the makers have initiated a conversation with Shahid Kapoor. The actor has heard the basic idea and will soon take the complete narration," a source informed Bollywood Hungama. The source further informs that if Shahid agrees, this could mark the first ever collaboration of two of the most talented actors of the last 2 decades - Shahid Kapoor and Varun Dhawan. The dynamic shared by the ...
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