By Amanda Gilmore

This shocking Documentary tells the story of Paul Fronczak and his family. In 1960s Chicago, the Fronczaks had their baby stolen from the hospital. Fifteen months later a toddler is abandoned in New Jersey. The FBI claimed this toddler was Paul Fronczak, but was he?

The Lost Sons is a compelling watch that keeps its audience gripped from beginning to end. Director Ursula Macfarlane documents this unbelievable story to the screen with powerful interviews from the Fronczak family and those who helped Paul investigate his true heritage. There are twists and turns throughout the story. Some mysteries become solved while other dark family secrets remain unveiled.

This is a powerful Film which examines one man’s desire to find his biological family. Along Paul’s journey, we are reminded about the importance of biological history and heritage. In the end, we understand that knowing our family and their history helps inform our identity. 

Overall, Macfarlane brings her audience on an emotional journey of an entire family that experienced something unimaginable.

The Lost Sons screens at SXSW: Tuesday, March 16 5PM ET.

By Amanda Gilmore

In a dystopian near-future Brazil, an authoritarian government orders all citizens of African descent to move to Africa. This creates chaos that results in Antônio (Alfred Enoch) being separated from his pregnant partner Capitu (Taís Araujo). Although Antônio isn’t aware that Capitu is still in Rio de Janeiro with an underground resistance movement, he stays in their apartment and refuses to leave the country without her.

At the core of the Film is the outstanding performances from Enoch and Araujo. Enoch shines in moments both quiet and loud, such as conversing with his loved ones and making speeches to the public on his balcony. Araujo is captivating, particularly in scenes involving her being quiet and expressing her emotions through movement. Her standout moment is towards the end when she demands her fellow resistance fighters listen to her.

Executive Order is a powerful film and Director Lázaro Ramos has created good pacing that conveys the script’s overall message about the power of fighting peacefully against a government using violence and force. 

Executive Order screens at SXSW: Tuesday, March 16 at 3 PM ET.

By Amanda Gilmore

This informative Documentary uncovers the story of how a network of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worked together to create the opioid crisis.

Co-Directors Brendan FitzGerald and Nick August-Perna dive deep into the corruption from people at the top to the victims. We get to hear from people who illegally sold oxycontin, a lawyer attempting to hold the corporations accountable and one recovering addict. Through these subjects’ stories, a line is drawn directly from the pharmaceutical companies who know the drug is highly addictive, to the doctors who over-prescribe it, to the pharmacists who turn a blind eye. This clear line exposes a system of corruption and an atmosphere of claiming ignorance when approving suspicious requests.

This enthralling Documentary delivers complex information in a clear, easy way to understand. Unfortunately, there is so satisfactory resolution for The Oxy Kingpins, as the epidemic is ongoing. However, it leaves you with the hope that an upcoming Nevada court case brought against the companies will hold them accountable.

The Oxy Kingpins screens at SXSW: Tuesday, March 16 at 1 PM ET.

By Mr. Will Wong

Directed and written by Wes Hurley, this autobiographical Dark Comedy details his journey from a child fleeing the USSR with his mail order bride mother, to the United States. The Film through its central character Potato (Tyler Bocock), looks at his sexual identity and awakening with quirky humour as he goes through high school trying to conceal this part of his life from his adoptive father and homophobic schoolmates.

It also examines the American fetishization of Russians, but at the heart of the Film is the love story between mother (Marya Sea Kaminski) and son, her courage to create a better life for him at all costs even if it means being in a loveless union. And what would happen to Potato and his mother should his homophobic father John (Dan Lauria) find out about his sexuality?

The Film takes on a unique tone which goes from comedic to suspenseful but all parts entertaining. A few surprise appearances also including Mean Girls’ Jonathan Bennett as Jesus Christ!

POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA streams at SXSW Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 11:00 AM is in-competition in the Narrative Features category. More here.

HOLLYWOOD SUITE announced today that it will be premiering Documentary Short What About Our Future? on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 9pm ET.

Directed by Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos and Cláudio Cruz, the Film follows a group of teens who organized the largest climate strike in Vancouver’s history, which included appearances by famous environmental activists Greta Thunberg and David Suzuki.

There also will be a conversation brought to you by David Suzuki Foundation and Hollywood Suite taking place which you can register to be a part of, on April 29, 2021 at 7 PM ET. You can register here.

By Mr. Will Wong

Rachel Fleit directs this heartfelt and intimate portrait of the talented Selma Blair. After going public with her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, the Actress known for her roles in Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, Hellboy and many more fan favourites, has lived her life as an open book as she bravely battles against the illness.

Just picked-up by Discovery + in the U.S., the Film first will premiere at SXSW this week and without giving too much away, it grapples with a few things. Her relationship with her ailing mother, her love of her son Arthur and her own mortality as she elects to undergo Stem Cell Therapy, which has a 7% mortality rate.

Blair doesn’t hold back and we get all of her and her vulnerability – emotional and physical – which is almost too heartbreaking to watch at times. It is impossible not to love her even more after seeing this as she navigates her grief with a dash of humour. We can’t wait for you to see this too!

The concisely-told Film screens at SXSW Tuesday, March 16, 2021 3:00 PM to 4:29 PM and is part of the Documentary Feature Competition.

Mongrel Media x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win a Digital Download of MY SALINGER YEAR starring Margaret Qualley (Once Upon A Time…. in Hollywood).

Synopsis:

In New York City in the late ‘90s, Joanna (Margaret Qualley) is a young aspiring writer who lands a day job at J.D. Salinger’s literary agency. While her eccentric, old-fashioned boss Margaret (Sigourney Weaver) assigns her to answer Salinger’s voluminous fan mail, Joanna struggles to find her own voice.

See the Trailer:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet below for a chance also!

Rules and regulations here.

MY SALINGER YEAR is available now digitally and on-demand via Mongrel Media.

(Photo/video credit: Mongrel Media)

Nominations were announced today for the 93rd Academy Awards with Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and leading the pack this year is David Fincher‘s MANK with ten nominations. The Netflix release details the life and uphill battles of Citizen Kane Co-Writer Herman J. Mankiewicz. NOMADLAND which comes into the Best Picture race as an early favourite, had seven nominations.

While there weren’t many major surprises, Lakeith Stanfield finds himself up against his Judas and the Black Messiah Co-Star Daniel Kaluuya for Supporting Actor, with no Lead Actor in the race for the Oscar for the Film. While Jodie Foster was victorious at the Golden Globes, The Mauritanian wasn’t a factor in today’s nominations.

Complete list of nominees below:

Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Directing
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Original Screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger

Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Animated Feature Film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Animated Short Film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People

Best Live-Action Short Film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye

Best International Feature Film
Another Round
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time

Best Documentary Short Subject
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

Best Original Score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul

Best Original Song
“Fight For You,” Judas and the Black Messiah
“Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7
“Husavik,” Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Io Si (Seen),” The Life Ahead
“Speak Now,” One Night in Miami

Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal

Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
Pinocchio

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio

Best Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet

Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet

The Oscars air live Sunday, April 25, 2021 on ABC at 8 PM ET.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

The 2021 Grammys were about female empowerment with female Artists taking home top prizes this evening at the socially-distanced ceremony hosted by Trevor Noah, which clocked-in at almost four hours.

Beyoncé became the most awarded female Artist of all time at the Awards, honouring Music’s best, bringing her hardware tally to 28 Grammys tonight.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for folklore, her first of two Discs to be released in 2020. Swift became the first ever female Artist to take Album of the Year three times, previously winning with 1989 and Fearless.

H.E.R. took Song of the Year with I Can’t Breathe, a powerful track inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Megan Thee Stallion also was a big winner taking Best New Artist, also winning a Grammy for Best Rap Song with her collaboration with Beyoncé, the Savage Remix.

Record of the Year went to last year’s award-sweeping Billie Eilish for her track All I Ever Wanted. She also took Best Song Written For Visual Media with Bond theme No Time to Die.

Some performances from tonight:

Complete list of winners can be found here.

(Photo credit: Grammys)

Another new sneak peek at Disney’s CRUELLA surfaced tonight! This new re-imagination of the fashionable villain in 101 Dalmatians comes to theatres in May!

Synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Emma Stone (“La La Land”) stars in Disney’s “Cruella,” an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinemas most notorious – and notoriously fashionable – villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. “Cruella,” which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar® winner Emma Thompson (“Howards End,” “Sense & Sensibility”). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

See the new Sneak Peek!

Disney’s CRUELLA arrives in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access Friday, May 28, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)