The Film Stage

The Film Stage is your go-to destination for everything related to cinema, focusing on independent and international films. It offers a wealth of information, including in-depth coverage of film festivals, insightful reviews, engaging features, interviews, and podcasts, along with the latest news and trailers. Founded in the fall of 2008 by editor-in-chief Jordan Raup and managing editor Daniel Mecca at the University of Buffalo, The Film Stage has grown significantly. Now based in New York City, our diverse team of writers contributes from around the world, providing coverage of top film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, TIFF, Sundance, NYFF, Locarno, SXSW, and more throughout the year. The Film Stage is also an accredited source on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

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The B-Side Ep. 163 - Ryan Gosling Part II (with Cory Everett)

1 day ago | thefilmstage.com | Dan Mecca

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we return to one of our earlier subjects: Ryan Gosling! Our B-Sides are The Ides of March, Gangster Squad, Only God Forgives, and First Man.
Reformed Sex Clubs, Wealthy Donors, and Thai Dinners: How a Portland Arts Institution Finds Innovative Ways to Champion Cinema

2 days ago | thefilmstage.com | Nick Newman

It is quite possible, circa 2025, that there are a greater number of North American film institutions than North American citizens who actively watch films. It thus behooves those centered on an increasingly marginalized medium to grease the wheels; one of the surest means is (somewhat paradoxically) dipping into coffers for an event that boasts famous attendees and those with money to donate.
Japan Cuts’ 2025 Lineup Features Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Teki Cometh & More

4 days ago | thefilmstage.com | Nick Newman

The last decade of cinema has brought no greater certification than Kiyoshi Kurosawa as Japan’s preeminent filmmaker. The thought occurs to me looking at the programming for Japan Society’s 2025 edition of Japan Cuts, sponsored by GU, running July 10—20, and North America’s foremost showcase for Japanese cinema that boasts four of his features––two new, two repertory, two named Serpent’s Path, and one on a head-spinningly rare 35mm print.
Cannes Review: Imago Finds a Chechen-Born Filmmaker Searching For Home

1 week ago | thefilmstage.com | Dan Mecca

Halfway through Imago, an engaging documentary from Déni Oumar Pitsaev, the director has a conversation with his mother about the piece of property she bought for him in Pankisi (a valley in Georgia near the Chechnya border). When he asks why she purchased it, she responds: “…so you don’t get lost, with no homeland… everyone needs a homeland.” This idea of “home” seeps through every frame of the film. In 1996, as the First Chechen War raged on, young Déni fled with his mother to Russia.
NYC Weekend Watch: Hatari! on IB Technicolor

1 week ago | thefilmstage.com | Nick Newman

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. Roxy CinemaWe’re presenting an IB Technicolor print of Howard Hawks’ Hatari! this Friday and Sunday; Friday also brings Mad Max: Fury Road on 35mm and Agnès Varda’s Lions Love (…and Lies); prints of John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan play on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. BAMThe Sealed Soil begins playing in a new restoration (watch our trailer debut).
Cannes Review: A Poet is a Darkly Humorous Tale of Failed Creative Pursuits

1 week ago | thefilmstage.com | Jordan Raup

Far removed from the mournful yearnings of A Quiet Passion––much less the quotidian, calming rhythms of Paterson––Simón Mesa Soto’s Medellín-set second feature finds unexpected poetry in the jagged, pained misery of dashed dreams and misinterpreted, career-ending good intentions.
Cannes Review: Koji Fukada’s Love on Trial Gracefully Unpacks Idol and Agency

1 week ago | thefilmstage.com | Blake Simons

What is love? For some, it is mutuality––a chemistry, care, and concern that blossoms into an equally supportive relationship. For others, it is devotion––a one-sided, obsessional affection that the lover finds selfless. Japanese idol group Happy Fanfare sing about love, but they’re not allowed to pursue their own––such is the “No Love” clause present in their contracts.
Cannes Review: In Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, Crime is a Losing Game

1 week ago | thefilmstage.com | Rory O'Connor

For the second time in three years, Cannes’ competition ends with a film in which Josh O’Connor plays a scruffy, late-20th-century man with some knack for pinching masterpieces. Following (spiritually or otherwise) Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera is Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, an experiment in form so thorough and self-assured that even Robert Bresson might have appreciated it.
Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident Wins Palme d’Or; See Full List of Cannes 2025 Winners

2 weeks ago | thefilmstage.com | Jordan Raup

Juliette Binoche’s Cannes jury has unveiled their winners for this year’s edition, awarding the Palme d’Or to Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, marking NEON’s sixth Palme in a row. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value picked up the Grand Prize while Oliver Laxe’s Sirat and Mascha Schilinski’s The Sound of Falling tied for the Jury Prize. The Secret Agent also picked up a rare two wins, Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura.
Daniela Forever Trailer: Timecrimes and Colossal Director Nacho Vigalando Returns with Sci-Fi Tale

2 weeks ago | thefilmstage.com | Jordan Raup

Having spent much of the last decade directing television, Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalando returned to the festival circuit last year with his first feature since 2016’s Colossal. Daniela Forever, which premiered at TIFF, stars Henry Golding, Beatrice Grannò, Aura Garrido, Rubén Ochandiano, and Nathalie Poza in a sci-fi tale about love and loss. Now set for a July 11 theatrical release, the first trailer has landed from Well Go USA.