Premiering tonight at SXSW ’24 we get a brand-new clip from Dev Patel‘s directorial debut, MONKEYMAN!

Synopsis:

Oscar® nominee Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force feature directing debut with an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

The film’s international cast includes Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas (Hotel Mumbai, The Man Who Knew Infinity), Oscar® winner Jordan Peele (Nope, Get Out), Win Rosenfeld (Candyman, Hunters series), Ian Cooper (Nope, Us), Basil Iwanyk (John Wick franchise, Sicario films), Erica Lee (John Wick franchise, Silent Night), Christine Haebler (Shut In, Bones of Crows) and Anjay Nagpal (executive producer of Bombshell, Greyhound).

Serving as executive producers are Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney and Steven Thibault.

Universal Pictures presents a Bron Studios production, a Thunder Road film, a Monkeypaw production, a Minor Realm/S’Ya Concept production, in association with WME Independent and Creative Wealth Media.

Genre: Action Thriller

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande

Director: Dev Patel

Story by: Dev Patel

Screenplay by: Dev Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee

Producers: Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, Anjay Nagpal

Executive Producers: Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney, Steven Thibault

Universal Pictures Canda release MONKEYMAN April 5, 2024.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

By Mr. Will Wong

Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee co-direct ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY, which explores the fascinating story of Black trans singer Jackie Shane, raised in Nashville, but planting her roots musically in Toronto in their early ’60s, where she was prominent for her soulful vocals reaching #2 on charts locally including CHUM with “Any Other Way”.

Outspoken and ahead of her time in her defiance against the machine, Shane was a trailblazer unafraid of her living life authentically. Always on the brink of huge stardom, she made a conscious choice not to tour and then very suddenly she disappeared completely, with many suspecting that she had died. The Documentary paints a very human portrait through animation and recordings, of the brilliant Artist as someone who like the rest of us, longs for love and also is coping with a complicated family life.

We meet Shane‘s surviving family today who didn’t know her, but are able and willing to give her the love and respect she never quite had growing up in Nashville, as like them, we are just getting to know Jackie Shane’s story also.

ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY is an integral part of Toronto’s history and identity, and a mural of her can be seen at Yonge x Carlton paying tribute to her. Fun fact, Elliot Page and Sam Dunn, who directed a recent Docu-Series on Geddy Lee, are among the Producers.

The Film screens at SXSW ’24 as follows:

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story  at Alamo Lamar 5
Mar 9, 2024 11:15am—12:53pm

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story  at Alamo Lamar 8
Mar 12, 2024 2:15pm—3:53pm

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story  at Alamo Lamar 7
Mar 12, 2024 2:45pm—4:23pm

By Mr. Will Wong

Many of us might know Selena Gomez as a global superstar of Music and Television and without a film or TV series at SXSW ’24, many might be wondering, what’s the deal? Did you know that Gomez, through her Rare Impact Fund, is committed to raising $100 million dollars over the next 10 years to help give people access to the resources they need to support their mental health?

Her and her mother, Producer Mandy Teefey have teamed to launch WONDERMIND, which has a mandate to change the way we thinking about mental health and how we access resources about it.

The duo spoke at an SXSW ’24 panel today, Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health, with Dr. Jessica B. Stern, Solomon Thomas and Dr. Corey Yeager, held at Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D.

Some highlights from the Panel below:

Gomez and Teefey are asked about how WONDERMIND came about.

Gomez: “It honestly stemmed from a conversation we both had with each other. It was about our journeys and we ended up relating a lot to each other, and it was a turning point and I think it was about ‘how can we do that for other people?'”. “It really just stemmed from us wanting to help other moms and daughters to have real open and honest conversations and that turned into this.”.

Teefey: “When we were exploring new avenues of how to continue the mother-daughter component and really just trying to create family support amongst the conversations that you can do it together as a family, was really the message behind that. We realized that there’s not just one place that you can go to help you explore whatever you’re feeling. So what we did is – since we’re not doctors – we are our audience, we are our consumer. So what we wanted to do is build this world with several different pillars: Content, Tilm, TV, Podcasts, Product, and by the requests of the audience that is avid readers of Wondermind, we will be launching an app coming really soon. It’s gonna change the game on how we execute and how people can practice their mental fitness, without feeling like they’re putting the time.”.

“The top three reasons people don’t do therapy is they don’t have the time, they don’t have the insurance or they don’t believe it works.”.

Gomez is asked about the moment she decided to talk about her mental health.

Gomez: “I work in the weirdest industry and I just felt I didn’t fit in. My mom was very vocal and open about how she and I were feeling. We watchinged Girl, Interrupted when I was 12 and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what rehab looks like!’, and was confused by it. And then we had one of the most honest conversations that allowed me not to be scared. You can’t force someone to do it. There’s a lot of people who cared about me more than I cared about myself. I had to hit my rock bottom and at my time. It took a couple tries. I like to think that I’m in a much better place now.”.

Gomez also talks about feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders after releasing her 2022 Documentary My Mind & Me.

Gomez: “I released a Documentary and I was terrified to do it. I went back and forth on whether I’d do it or not. I think the moment I did that, I felt an insane amount of release because there wasn’t any hiding anymore. There wasn’t just this image that people could see. I can say it’s helped release a lot of anxiety of keeping it in, just to let people know I’m having a hard day or I just need a minute.”.

Gomez also talks about grappling with the concept of being kind to oneself.

Gomez: “It’s important to speak to yourself with kindness and I don’t think I really understood that. It’s funny because all the things I was bitching about back then, I’m so grateful for now. It’s really ironic. I think it’s taught me a lot about myself. It’s weird being able to see myself so long ago saying those things that I would never say to myself now.”.

The audience were encouraged as a take away to look within at three Ws in their own lives – to continue reflecting on these, building upon them and continuing to seek inspiration and share with others:

WISH – something that you wish for yourself, something you’d like to try to do, a goal you’d like to set.

WONDER – something that you can be curious about. A question you can ask yourself, non-judgmentally reflective. Something that’s going to inspire you, move you forward.

WIN – what’s something you’re doing well? Something you’re proud of. Something you want to keep
doing.

The Panel will be available on-demand. More here.

By David Baldwin

Ronnie Lipsick (Jackie van Beek) longs for the glory days, back when she was a talented soap star and not Mother to selfishly entitled Audrey (Josephine Blazier) and Norah (Hannah Diviney), who always comes last and is confined to a wheelchair. Her loveless relationship with her husband Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) is not much better. But a freak accident that lands Audrey in a coma may just turn things around for Ronnie and her family, even if it leads to a plethora of cascading lies and embellishments.

Though that certainly sounds bleak, AUDREY is actually laugh-out-loud funny. The dark humour permeates through the entire picture, yet never comes in front of the ridiculously odd situations this family finds themselves in at every turn. There is a whole lot of escalating cringe – mostly of a sexually depraved nature – and just as much charm and heart. You really feel for Ronnie’s plight and even if some of the things her family does are questionable at best, you want to see them succeed. Kudos to the core Cast for making this family so likeable, and to Blazier for doing such a good job portraying the narcissistic brat of a titular character.

As a debut feature from both Director Natalie Bailey and Writer Lou Sanz, it shows a lot of promise for future projects. And while I was not much of a fan of a third act shift from Comedy to Horror, I had a good time watching AUDREY otherwise. Maybe just avoid watching it with your parents.

Audrey screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 10 at 2:30PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 11 at 5:15PM at Alamo Lamar 8

Mar 11 at 5:45PM at Alamo Lamar 7

Mar 15 at 2:15PM at Alamo Lamar 6

By David Baldwin

Nina (Nahéma Ricci) just wants to go home. Stranded in the far North, she ends up at an isolated cabin in the woods with five guys celebrating a bachelor party. They are initially against her arrival, but gradually warm up to her. When a mysterious drifter ends up at the party, things take a sharp turn for the worst.

Saying any more than that would ruin the visceral nightmare HUNTING DAZE quickly becomes. The breathless intensity rarely dissipates over the course of its brief 79-minute running time. Instead, first time feature Director Annick Blanc just keeps ratcheting up the tension to unbearable heights. And nearly every moment outside of that is spent examining and basking in the sheer toxicity this group of men communicate and act within. Blanc deliberately frames the headstrong, gives-no-fucks Nina as being smaller and inferior to this bachelor party, and delights in using her to tear down stereotypes and any of your expectations.

The small Cast are good in their roles, with Ricci as the clear standout. I just kind of wish the film around them did not feel so drawn out. I understand Blanc’s intention of making the audience feel genuinely uncomfortable (why else would you have so many extreme facial close-ups?), but feel like the endlessness of some scenes could have been better reigned in. I watched HUNTING DAZE alone though. You might feel a bit different watching it in a big group, all collectively holding your breath and terrified of what comes next.

Hunting Daze screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 9 at 10PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 11 at 7PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 14 at 9PM at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 14 at 9:30PM at Violet Crown Cinema 3

By Mr. Will Wong

Jenny Carchman‘s Documentary WHATEVER IT TAKES takes us on a twisty journey to the unlikely, unveiling a dark web of corporate corruption at eBay that threatened to destroy the brand.

We meet Ina Steiner, Co–Founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and her husband David, who run a Blog which among other things, criticized eBay and other e-Commerce platforms. After doing this, they started receiving mysterious messages and package deliveries at their home. This escalated to the point where they genuinely feared for their lives, as their stalker(s) circled closer and closer to their home. The question though is who would be so invested in the couple that they would be all consumed in destroying their lives?

This Film explores the controversy which shook the world as we learned that multiple employees at eBay‘s Corporate Security Team were the masterminds behind this attempt to take down the Steiners, which resulted in guilty pleas and a $3 million fine to be paid by eBay.

Though we begin meeting the Steiners and become invested in their struggle, Carchman makes a sharp turn, instead exploring the politics and internal dynamics among the higher-ups at eBay and the Corporate Security team. The tone shifts from Thriller to more exploratory, where we learn about abuses of power and corruption, including a head of security who quickly got promoted to an executive position after joining the organization as a security guard, surrounding himself with young women he could manipulate.

Overall, a fascinating watch that uncovers some juicy, unsavoury things. We do wish it reconciled both sides of the story together a bit better, exploring more the part of the journey where these victims and how they confronted their tormenters. WHATEVER IT TAKES screens at SXSW ’24 as follows:

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 8
Mar 9, 2024 6:30pm—8:03pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 7
Mar 9, 2024 7:00pm—8:33pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 9
Mar 11, 2024 2:15pm—3:48pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 3
Mar 11, 2024 2:45pm—4:18pm

Whatever it Takes at Alamo Lamar 9
Mar 15, 2024 2:45pm—4:18pm

By Amanda Gilmore

Faced with rampant sexual violence on their college campus, a group of Tulane University students spent a year creating an immersive play from their real-life experiences. Building characters and scenes based on the sexual politics of their campus, the student actors confront hard truths.

Director Katie Mathews crafts an urgent Documentary about sexual assaults on campuses and the cathartic role art plays in both confronting trauma and healing from it. It’s her lyrical way of weaving these two worlds that makes Roleplay a standout among other films documenting assaults on campus.

Mathews follows her young subjects as they navigate campus life and in the safe confessional space in the rehearsal room where they become more vulnerable. Watching these young minds confront their traumas through art by performing characters that mimic what happened to them, shows the resilience of young adults and how finding an outlet can heal. It’s both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Roleplay screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 9 at 3:15PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 13 at 2:45PM at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 13 at 3:15PM at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 16 at 3PM at Alamo Lamar 8

By Amanda Gilmore

This emotional Documentary follows a group of women on a criminal justice crusade in Texas. The group filed a groundbreaking federal class-action lawsuit, the first to argue that sexual assault isn’t prosecuted because it’s a crime that predominantly affects women. The group is determined to hold police and prosecutors accountable for their inaction, but their resilience is tested as they face setbacks from the system they hope to change.

The heartbeat of An Army of Women is the subjects themselves. Their passion and determination are inspiring and symbolize unwavering hope and resilience for all survivors. Director Julie Lunde Lillesæter allows the women to tell their harrowing stories without judgment. Their honest, distressing experiences are singular from each other allowing audiences a deeper understanding of the lasting effects of trauma and the justice system set against them.

The crusade these women go on brings audiences into a corrupt judicial system that allowed sexual assaulters and rapists to go unpunished. The substantial evidence that these women had against their attackers should’ve resulted in charges. However, the police and prosecutors acted to protect the accused.

An Army of Women is a thought-provoking important documentary that should be seen.

An Army of Women screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 8 at 2PM at ZACH Theatre

Mar 12 at 2:45PM at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center

Mar 15 at 6PM at Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema

SXSW ’24 kicks off tomorrow, running March 8 through 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas! This Film and TV Festival is comprised of 115 features including 89 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 6 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 13 Texas Premieres + 80 Short Films including 19 Music Videos. The TV program includes 7 TV Premieres, 8 TV Spotlight World Premieres and 6 Independent TV Pilots. The XR Experience program includes 38 projects.

Highlighting this year’s Film & TV Festival are some high-profile titles like Monkey Man, the directorial debut from Oscar® nominee Dev Patel. Kyle Mooney also makes his directorial debut with New Year’s Eve disaster comedy Y2K, and Sydney Sweeney stars in Michael Mohan‘s psychological horror Immaculate.

Speakers at SXSW this year include a star-studded bunch like Pamela Adlon, Samantha Bee, Danny Brown, Michael Dell, Colman Domingo, Kirsten Dunst, Ilana Glazer, Selena Gomez, Nick Kroll, Conan O’Brien, Lilly Singh, Sydney Sweeney, Margrethe Vestager and more. Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, will headline a keynote panel alongside Katie Couric and Brooke Shields, kicking off SXSW’ 24 as well.

The Films & TV Awards will take place on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 7:30pm CT at the Paramount Theatre.

The Team will be covering the Festival virtually this year and here are our top picks at SXSW ’24!

DAVID BALDWIN

Arcadian
Hunting Daze
Grand Theft Hamlet
Monkey Man
Stormy

I love the eclectic style of SXSW and its emphasis on genre. Other festivals would go one way or another, but SXSW hits it right down the centre between sincere and weird — with a large helping of WTF sprinkled in for good measure. There are a solid mix of titles at this year’s fest, including a few that have been seen already (I dug Backspot and Smugglers, and our dear friend George Kozera was a big fan of Sing Sing) and plenty that have not just yet (Immaculate, Civil War, The Fall Guy — all can’t miss titles we will have access to in a few weeks). For my Top Five picks, I checked off the immediate titles that jumped off the page. A new Nic Cage joint? A French Canadian cabin in the woods thriller? An adaptation of Hamlet that takes place entirely in Grand Theft Auto? Dev Patel‘s directorial debut, which looks truly bad ass? A Documentary about Stormy Daniels, a young woman who you had to pretend to not recognize prior to her making the worldwide news? Like, what other Festival do you know of that would play in such a wide variety of places and genres, without the undercurrent of awards season coursing through its veins? It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I cannot wait to see how these titles all play out.

AMANDA GILMORE

Civil War
Babes
Monkey Man
Cuckoo
Omni Loop

This year’s SXSW has a stacked lineup. These are my most anticipated titles due to the talent attached, both behind and in front of the camera. I’m always excited to see what Alex Garland delivers next and Civil War‘s trailer had me on the edge of my seat. I loved Pamela Adlon‘s autobiographical TV series Better Things and can’t wait to see her feature Babes. Dev Patel is making his big directorial debut at SXSW with Monkey Man. That trailer is loaded with full-octane action. Hunter Schafer has had me locked onto her career since the first season of Euphoria, so can’t wait to see her in Cuckoo. And the talents, hilarious and captivating Ayo Edebiri stars alongside Mary Louise Parker in Omni Loop…need I say more?

MR. WILL

I’ve heard nothing but phenomental feedback about ROAD HOUSE, a re-imagining of the 1989 film of the same name.. but with an MMA twist! We’ve missed Jake Gyllenhaal and he rarely misses the mark. Should be exciting. Could things be going any better for Sydney Sweeney? IMMACULATE promises to be a thrilling ride and even outside the Festival, we’d be pumped to see this theatrically. Everything we’ve seen about Dev Patel‘s directorial debut MONKEY MAN has looked so intriguing and with Jordan Peele backing, we know we’re set-up for success. CIVIL WAR we’re sure is on everyone’s must-watch list – what a huge get for SXSW! And we are in it for fun, and Pamela Adlon‘s BABES certainly looks that. We can’t get enough Michelle Buteau after her first season of popular Netflix series Survival of the Thickest!

Festival schedule is here.

Happy SXSW ’24!

Today we get a new Trailer for Netflix‘s 3 BODY PROBLEM, ahead if its SXSW ’24 Premiere! THEY are coming!

TRAILER BREAKDOWN:
Over a haunting version of “This Bitter Earth” by Dinah Washington, the final trailer features the following dialogue against compelling imagery from the series.

I have to tell you something…something insane…but true…about all of us. It started a long time ago. – JIN CHENG (Jess Hong)
Back in 1977 they detected a sequence…called it the wow signal… – DA SHI (Benedict Wong)
What’s it say? – WADE (Liam Cunningham)

#

They are Coming. – YE WENJIE (Rosalind Chao)
Who are they? – SAUL DURAND (Jovan Adepo)
That’s the question, right? – DA SHI (Benedict Wong)

#

Oh Hello Darling – DA SHI (Benedict Wong)
When your consciousness ends in one world it could continue to exist in many other worlds – WILL DOWNING (Alex Sharp)

#

What do you think is happening? – AUGGIE SALAZAR (Eiza González)
I think we’re at war – RAJ VARMA (Saamer Usmani)

#

How will you be remembered? – YE WENJIE (Rosalind Chao)
As someone who fought back. – JIN CHENG (Jess Hong)

About THREE BODY PROBLEM:
A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history. The series stars (in alpha order) Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones) and Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy, True Blood) are co-creators, executive producers and writers of the series. Bernadette Caulfield (Game of Thrones, The X-Files) is Executive Producer. Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi), Ram Bergman and Nena Rodrigue are Executive Producers for T-Street. Lin Qi, the late former Chairman of Yoozoo Group, and Zhao Jilong, CEO of the rights-holder, The Three-Body Universe, are Executive Producers, along with Xiaosong Gao and Lauren Ma. Plan B Entertainment’s Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner are Executive Producers. Rosamund Pike and Robie Uniacke are Executive Producers for Primitive Streak. Derek Tsang and Andrew Stanton will direct and co-executive produce. Additional directors include Jeremy Podeswa and Minkie Spiro.