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Camerimage’s decision to premiere “Rust,” the controversial western in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live round fired from a prop gun by actor/producer Alec Baldwin, is being met with backlash. Camerimage is a yearly film festival set in Toruń, Poland, that is dedicated to the art of cinematography, and the “Rust” premiere is being billed as a celebration of Hutchins’ life.

“Almost three years after the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, a Ukrainian cinematographer who was part of the festival family, Camerimage is set to honour her memory and remind the world of her legacy,” reads the festival’s announcement. “A special World Premiere screening of the film ‘Rust’ will take place, followed by a unique panel discussion with the film’s director Joel Souza, cinematographer Bianca Cline, and Stephen Lighthill, Halyna’s mentor from her beloved film school, AFI.”

It’s a programming decision...

Here’s a piece of inspiration for all female (and male) cinematographers. The ASC welcomes Dp Katelin Arizmendi as its new member. Read Arizmendi’s story —from camera assistant to ASC cinematographer.

Katelin Arizmendi ASC

Katelin Arizmendi ASC grew up in Oakland, Calif., but has lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the last 10 years. She attended the University of California-Santa Cruz for an experimental film study focused on film theory. Following that, she received a master’s degree in cinematography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she fell in love with shooting 35mm and 16mm film. Her first feature was the 2018 Blumhouse psychological horror film Cam. Her second, the disturbing drama Swallow, was well received at the Tribeca Film Festival and later earned her an ASC Spotlight Award nomination as well as a nomination at the Camerimage Film Festival for Cinematographer’s Debut.

Katelin Arizmendi ASC

I moved to L.

A frank and stylishly made tale of coming of age and sexual frenzy in New Mexico, “National Anthem” commands your attention well before its centerpiece scene: Charlie Plummer, in a red sequined dress and grungy platinum-blond wig seemingly torn from the lookbook of mid-‘90s Courtney Love, performing drag to Alannah Myles’ whiskey-soaked power ballad “Black Velvet.”

The actor, a fair-haired 25-year-old so reedy he’s liable to get swept up with the tumbleweeds billowing across the desert, fulfills the promise of his breakout performance as another sort of cowboy in Andrew Haigh’s “Lean on Pete.” Dylan’s (Plummer) drag turn in this powerhouse moment is such a total 180 from the repressed construction worker we see in the opening moments, shouldering the burdens of caring for his little brother and sauced single mom. That’s because his American dream and sexual identity have been totally shattered by a spirited community of queer rodeo performers.

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo in ‘Past Lives’ (Photo Credit: Jon Pack / Courtesy of A24)

Past Lives took home top film honors at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, held on February 25th in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The film also earned Celine Song the Best Director award, with American Fiction‘s Cord Jefferson and May December‘s Samy Burch earning screenplay honors.

On the television side, The Last of Us collected two awards: Nick Offerman for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series and Keivonn Montreal Woodard for Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series. Beef also netted two wins, with Ali Wong awarded Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and the show earning the Best New Scripted Series award.

2024 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature (Award given to the producer.)

All of Us Strangers

Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin,...

Another big award show took place this weekend (in addition to the SAG Awards), the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which celebrates indie film and TV. One thing about this awards show is that their idea of independent sometimes makes me scratch my head a bit, with HBO’s big-budget The Last of Us nominated a whole bunch in the TV category, along with Netflix’s Beef and several other streaming shows, which I’m not sure one could call independent. For films, there’s a $30 million budget cap. For TV, I’m honestly not sure what the benchmark is because Last of Us was notoriously an expensive show to shoot, costing at least $100 million.

Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...

The best in independent film and television were honored at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!

Plenty of A-List stars were in attendance at the event on Sunday afternoon (February 25) at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.

Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated.

American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.

Make sure to check out our post with photos of Every celeb who attended the event! Also check out our best dressed list.

Head inside to see the full list of winners…

Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…

Best Feature (Award given to the producer)

All of Us Strangers

Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey

American Fiction

Producers: Cord Jefferson,...

The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday at the traditional Santa Monica beach tent location, with Aidy Bryant hosting. “Past Lives” took home the coveted Best Feature award, with “Beef” being honored as Best New Scripted Series. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below.

Best Feature

“Past Lives”

Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon

“All of Us Strangers”

Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey

“American Fiction”

Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair

“May December”

Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon

“Passages”

Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd

“We Grown Now”

Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro

Best Lead Performance

Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Jessica Chastain, “Memory”

Greta Lee, “Past Lives”

Trace Lysette, “Monica”

Natalie Portman, “May December”

Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”

Franz Rogowski, “Passages”

Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”

Teyana Taylor,...

While the likes of Oppenheimer, Barbie, and Killers of the Moon will likely battle it out at the Oscars, Film Independent Spirit Awards is putting the spotlight on the indie productions of the year, with budget ranges from $10,000 to $28 million. May December, Past Lives, and American Fiction lead the nominations for the 39th ceremony, each taking five nods.

Other highlights include All of Us Strangers and Passages for Best Feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt and Earth Mama for Best First Feature, Kokomo City and The Mother of All Lies for Best Documentary, Glenn Howerton for BlackBerry, Marin Ireland and Anne Hathaway for Eileen, Marshawn Lynch for Bottoms, How to Blow Up a Pipeline for Best Editing, Godland and Tótem for Best International Film, and more.

See the nominations below ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 (a full two weeks before the Oscars), hosted by Aidy Bryant.

Best...

Erika Alexander stars as Coraline and Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in ‘American Fiction’ (Photo credit: Claire Folger © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC)

American Fiction, Past Lives, and May December lead the list of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Each of the three films picked up five nominations and will be going head-to-head in the Best Film and Best Supporting Performance categories. Films and TV shows earning four nominations included The Holdovers, I’m a Virgo, The Last of Us, and Passages.

The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 25 on the beach in Santa Monica. Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live) is on board to host.

“This year’s exciting group of Spirit Award nominees reflect the undeniable strength and vitality of independent storytelling – this is the beating heart of film culture today,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent. “It’s especially thrilling to see so many nominees...

Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.

The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.

The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.

Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...

Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.

The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.

The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.

Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.

The full list of nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards has been announced!

Movies are only eligible for a Spirit Award if they have a budget of less than $30 million, so there are some awards favorites like Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon that are not nominated here.

Aidy Bryant is set to host the 2024 awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25. The event will no longer air on television and will instead stream on YouTube.

American Fiction, May December, and Past Lives lead the pack this year with five nominations each.

Head inside to check out the full list of nominations…

Keep scrolling to see the full list of nominations…

Best Feature (Award given to the producer)

All of Us Strangers

Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey

American Fiction

Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair

May December

Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell,...

At the beginning of National Anthem, writer-director Luke Gilford’s exquisite-looking and subversive debut feature, 21-year-old Dylan (Charlie Plummer) lives a particularly burdensome and monotonous life. Within his small, rural, isolated New Mexico community he supports his family by shoveling gravel at temporary construction gigs and returns to his one-bedroom home to feed and take care of Cassidy (Joey DeLeon), his younger brother. Most nights his alcoholic hairdresser mother goes out late and returns home with drunken flings, forcing her two sons to sleep on the couch. It’s a difficult, lonely existence, and throughout his primary caretaking Dylan sees no opportunity to escape.

But that pendulum shifts when Pepe (Rene Rosado) pulls up in a pickup truck and offers a group of day laborers some extra work. Lacking many options, Dylan obliges and soon discovers an alternative lifestyle just 30 minutes down the road. Initially tasked with bailing hay at House of Splendor,...

Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica” is oblique in its depiction of characters in crisis, yet never obtuse. He and cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi shoot the film in the boxier Academy ratio, locking the film into a nearly permanent state of portraiture. They capture everyone, but primarily Trace Lysette’s titular character, from intimate and unexpected angles. Monica will be far away, have her back to the camera, cast her gaze downward, or have only a portion of her torso in the frame.

Continue reading ‘Monica’ Review: Trace Lysette Stuns in Andrea Pallaoro’s Quiet Family Drama [Venice] at The Playlist.

Mirrors are more than just refracted light — they are how we see ourselves and a reflection of how others see us. Reflections are everywhere in “Monica,” an understated family drama starring Trace Lysette as a woman who reluctantly returns home to see her estranged and ailing mother. Shot in an elegant 1:1 aspect ratio, we see Monica through French doors left ajar, in the glass frames of childhood photos, and the patina of the antique mirror in her mother’s girlish bedroom. If there is a reflection to be found, Monica is there.

Caustic and frail, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson) doesn’t recognize her daughter, though it’s unclear whether that’s the dementia or because Monica is trans. Spare but poignant, “Monica” is

The film opens with New Order’s “Bizarre Love,” on an extreme close-up of Monica in metallic tanning goggles. Outside in her red convertible, we see her in profile from slightly behind,...

Click here to read the full article.

After supporting turns in Transparent and Hustlers, the magnetic Trace Lysette takes the lead as a woman who returns home to care for her dying, long-estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson) in Andrea Pallaoro’s Venice competition entry Monica. It’s an all too rare instance of a trans actress occupying nearly every frame of a fictional feature. The result, alas, doesn’t live up to the promise of the occasion, turning the character’s journey into fodder for a sluggish exercise in formalism.

As in his previous movies, Medeas and Hannah, the director (collaborating with screenwriting partner Orlando Tirado) tries to wring tension from visual and narrative austerity — a mostly static camera, deliberate pacing and parsimoniously doled out bits of backstory. But Hannah had a masterful Charlotte Rampling seeming to invent new ways to embody unhappiness before our very eyes, and Medeas was imbued with an atmospheric,...

Dune‘s Greig Fraser won the top film prize at the American Society of Cinematographers’ 36th annual ASC Awards, which were handed out tonight in Hollywood.

Denis Villeneuve’s epic based on the classic Frank Herbert novel was one of the two films coming into tonight with the most momentum, having won the cinematography prize at the BAFTA Film Awards last week. It beat out The Power of the Dog, which fetched the Critics Choice Award that same day.

Katelin Arizmendi, the second unit Dp on Dune, accepted the award for Fraser, who recently tested positive for Covid and was unable to attend the ceremony. Arizmendi read a speech from Fraser, who ASC win for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases was his second after 2017’s Lion.

The other nominees for the marquee film prize were Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog, Bruno Delbonnel for The Tragedy of Macbeth,...

Los Angeles The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) presented its annual awards during a virtual ceremony today, with Erik Messerschmidt, ASC claiming the top prize in feature film for Mank. The 35th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards also honored Aurélien Marra for Two of Us in the Spotlight Award category, and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for the documentary The Truffle Hunters. Winners in the TV categories included Steven Meizler for The Queen?s Gambit; Fabian Wagner, ASC, Bsc for The Crown; Jon Joffin, ASC for Motherland: Fort Salem; and Baz Idoine for The Mandalorian. TCM?s Ben Mankiewicz hosted the awards show, which was streamed live from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood. Below is the complete list of winners and nominees: Feature Award – presented by Roger Deakins, ASC, Bsc, Cbe and James Deakins -Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for Mank – Winner -Phedon Papamichael, ASC, Gsc for The Trial of the...

“Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt upset “Nomadland” Dp Joshua James Richards, the Oscar favorite, at the 35th annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards on Sunday. The win for David Fincher’s monochromatic biopic, with Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) struggling to churn out a first draft of “Citizen Kane,” was a surprise, given the momentum that has been with Richards since he won Camerimage’s prestigious Golden Frog last year. However, Richards (previously nominated for the Spotlight Award for “The Rider” but is not a current ASC member) still remains the Oscar favorite for shooting Chloé Zhao’s Best Picture frontrunner (she is also the favorite to take Best Director).

Yet it is a breakthrough achievement for Fincher’s go-to cinematographer from “Mindhunter.” Messerschmidt recreated a Golden Age of Hollywood in black-and-white, shooting with the Red Ranger Helium Monochrome, and bolstered by the Cinefade variable depth of field tool to emulate...

The American Society of Cinematographers is announcing its winners today for the 35th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards this afternoon in the feature film, documentary and television cinematography categories.

They represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months.

The Society is bestowing the ASC Board of Governors Award to filmmaker Sophia Coppola for her contributions to cinema through her body of work. It is the only ASC Award not given to a cinematographer and is reserved for industry stalwarts who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.

The Michael Chapman & Allen Daviau Student Heritage Award is being awarded to Ai Chung for A Young Tough in the Michael Chapman Graduate Category and Elias Ginsberg for Milk Teeth in the Allen Daviau Undergraduate Category.

The virtual ceremony is being streamed live via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.

The American Society of Cinematographers’ Spotlight category, introduced in 2014 to focus on DPs working with more limited budgets and less conspicuous marketing–including those operating in the foreign language realm–features one of the few women (Katelin Arizmendi) nominated across the ASC’s seven competitive groupings. The winner will be announced during the organization’s 35th annual ceremony, being staged virtually from the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood on April 18. Here they give a taste of their modus operandi, aesthetic and inspirations.

The American Society of Cinematographers’ Spotlight category, introduced in 2014 to focus on DPs working with more limited budgets and less conspicuous marketing–including those operating in the foreign language realm–features one of the few women (Katelin Arizmendi) nominated across the ASC’s seven competitive groupings. The winner will be announced during the organization’s 35th annual ceremony, being staged virtually from the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood on April 18. Here they give a taste of their modus operandi, aesthetic and inspirations.

Group recognises cinematography on Mank, Nomadland, News Of The World and other awards contenders.

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced the nominees for its feature film and Spotlight awards.

In the feature category, Erik Messerschmidt is nominated for Mank; Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7; Joshua James Richards for Nomadland; Newton Thomas Sigel for Cherry; and Dariusz Wolski for News of the World.

Nominated for the Spotlight award, which recognises cinematography in independent, foreign or art-house films, are Katelin Arizmendi for Swallow, Aurélien Marra for Two Of Us and Andrey Naydenov for Dear Comrades!

Last year,...

The American Society of Cinematographers on Wednesday set its nominees for the 35th Asc Outstanding Achievement Awards, recognizing the best in feature film, documentary and television cinematography over the past 14 months. Winners will be revealed April 18 in a virtual ceremony from the Asc Clubhouse in Hollywood.

The marquee Feature Film category this year features awards-season staples including Erik Messerschmidt for Mank and Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7, both from Netflix, and Chloé Zhao’s go-to Dp Joshua James Richards for Seachlight’s Nomadland. Also in the running is Newton Thomas Sigel for A24’s Russo Brothers-directed Cherry and Dariusz Wolski for Universal’s News of the World.

Papamichael has been nominated for five Asc Awards including last year for Ford v Ferrari. He lost to Roger Deakins for 1917; Deakins went on to win the Oscar, marking the 15th time the Asc winner has gone on to scoop the Academy Award in 34 years.

“Cherry,” “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Nomadland” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” are among the films nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) in the feature film category.

The Asc nominees for feature film, documentary and television cinematography represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months. Last year’s Asc feature film winner was Roger Deakins for “1917,” who went on to win an Oscar for best achievement in cinematography.

Winners will be named during the 35th Asc Outstanding Achievement Awards on April 18.

The virtual ceremony will be live streamed via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page at 12:30 p.m. Pt from the historic Asc Clubhouse in Hollywood.

The complete list of this year’s nominees are:

Feature Film

Erik Messerschmidt, Asc (“Mank”)

Phedon Papamichael, Asc, Gsc (“The Trial of the Chicago 7″)

Joshua James Richards (” Nomadland”)

Newton Thomas Sigel, Asc (“Cherry”)

Dariusz Wolski,...

The cinematography for “Mank,” “Nomadland,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “News of the World” and “Cherry” has been nominated as the best film work of 2020 by the American Society of Cinematographers, the Asc announced on Wednesday.

The first four of those films were expected to be recognized by the Asc and are thought to be strong contenders for the Oscar for Best Cinematography, but “Cherry” came as a surprise. The Russo brothers film came out in February to withering reviews and had not been considered an awards contender until the Asc included its cinematographer, Newton Thomas Sigel, in its list of nominees.

“Cherry” landed that nomination over a group of films that included “Tenet,” “Minari,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Judas and the Black Messiah” — and “Da 5 Bloods,” a more high-profile film that was also shot by Sigel.

In the Spotlight category, which singles out cinematographers from films that...

The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) has weighed in with picks for the best cinematography in film and television over the last year. Like other major guild ceremonies including the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, the Asc nominees are looked at closely by Oscar pundits considering the overlap between guild members and the Academy. Over the last decade, the eventual Oscar winner for Best Cinematography has at least been nominated for the Asc prize for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases.

Last year’s ASC winner was Roger Deakins for “1917.” Deakins also won the ASC prize for “Blade Runner 2049.” In both cases, the legendary Dp went on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Wally Pfister for “Inception” and Emmanuel Lubezki for “Gravity,” “Birdman,” and “The Revenant” are other recent examples of Asc winners who also prevailed at the Academy Awards. The Asc...

Carlo Mirabella-Davis's Swallow is showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries starting October 31, 2020.I am profoundly honored to be introducing my film, Swallow, to the viewers of Mubi’s iconic programming. Swallow follows a woman in a controlling marriage who has pica, the urge to eat dangerous objects. I think of the movie as a tiramisu of genres: body horror, dark comedy, and a domestic drama all rolled into one. Swallow is a film that will frighten you, make you laugh, and make you cry, hopefully fostering a psychologically cathartic experience.The film was inspired by my grandmother, a 1950s homemaker who, as a response to a difficult marriage, developed various rituals of control. She was an obsessive hand washer who would go through four bars of soap a day and 12 bottles of sanitizing alcohol a week. I think she was looking for order in a life she felt increasingly powerless in.

Sundance Film Festival alums that receive a ton of acclaim usually have one of two paths. They either end up as Oscar players, taking that strong buzz and carving out a path in the awards season, or they crumble under the weight of added expectations. For every one of the former, there’s multiple each year of the latter. Charm City Kings, while not firmly stuck as a disappointment, certainly is a step down from what Sundance crowds seemed to suggest. This is not an Academy Award player in the slightest, and frankly, isn’t a particularly satisfying experience. Headed this week to HBO Max, it’s likely to wind up forgotten about before too long, despite some promising aspects to it. The movie is a drama, mixed with a bit of a coming of age tale. For as long as he can remember, Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) has wanted...

Editor’s Note: Nathan Halpern is the Emmy-nominated composer behind the scores for “The Rider,” the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “Minding the Gap,” “One Child Nation,” and many other award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries and independent films. You can read his previous IndieWire essay about collaborating with Chloé Zhao on “The Rider” here.

From the beginning, director Carlo Mirabella-Davis was drawn to the idea that the music for “Swallow” would connect to mid-century Hollywood aesthetics, evoking what he called a “Douglas Sirk-ian kind of callback to the Hitchcock style of filmmaking.” At the same time, this film – set in the modern day – is not a retro exercise. The music needed to be in authentic dialogue with the psychological state of our lead character Hunter (Haley Bennett), whose complex emotional journey takes her to some unexpected places.

More from IndieWireWith Arthouse Shocker 'Swallow,' Haley Bennett Tackles the Feminine Mystique in...

Puerto Rican director Ángel Manuel Soto stuck with his decision to bring on cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi for Sony’s “Charm City Kings” despite the studio’s desire for someone with more experience. Though Arizmendi’s credits included just a pair of indie features, Soto knew that her use of naturalistic light with touches of heightened realism were ideal sensibilities for his high-octane, Sundance-winning, Baltimore-set coming-of-age story about an African American boy, Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), eager to be part of the city’s dirt-bike-riding subculture.

“My work can be stylized but doesn’t stray from what the story needs,” Arizmendi says. There was a photogenic quality to the overgrown trees, abandoned buildings and lived-in textures of the city she was portraying that she didn’t want to eliminate or sanitize. Judicious use of vintage Panavision Ultra Speed lenses helped her capture its raw beauty by adding light flare and a sense of foreboding.

It’s called pica, and it involves wanting to consume things that most folks would consider completely inedible. You might have heard it mentioned on TV, or come across it in an article on psychological disorders. Hunter Conrad (Haley Bennett) has no knowledge of the phenomenon whatsoever; it’s not something that she would conceive of in a million years. All this young woman knows is that her husband Richie (Austin Stowell) is handsome and successful, their house could have come out of a modern-deco magazine spread, money is not an issue,...

“Swallow” opens behind the blonde head of a young woman as she stares out at a placid lake, in a Hitchockian shot that recalls moments of “Vertigo” that loom behind the golden swirl atop Kim Novak’s own head. With his first feature, writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis interrogates just that kind of Hitchcockian movie: the one where a male auteur terrorizes his leading lady through voyeuristic content and form. Haley Bennett stars as Hunter, a blonde afflicted with a self-destructive impulse to consume inedible household objects, putting her character, and the actress, through the emotional wringer.

But Mirabella-Davis imbues his take on the myth of the feminine mystique, here gone awry in the form of a housewife coming undone, with hope, redemption, and female agency often missing from movies like “Vertigo” or “The Birds.” In this vision, Hunter suffers a buried, distinctly female trauma that, by the end of the film,...

Not every documentary lends itself to a narrative adaptation, but “12 O’Clock Boys” begged for it. Lotfy Nathan’s 2013 portrait of Baltimore dirt-bikers captured carefree speed demons careening through narrow streets, while a young boy dreams of joining their crew. On its own terms, Nathan’s scrappy non-fiction gem was a riveting action movie and an inner-city coming-of-age drama all at once. “Charm City Kings” fits the material into a more formulaic narrative mold. Despite a lot of familiar beats, the potential of the original comes through, with a sentimental portrait of childhood dreamers and the reckless men who inspire them.

Guided by Angel Manuel Soto’s slick direction and a breakthrough performance from Jahi Di’Allo Winston, the movie works overtime to energize real-world struggles with the thrill of street life. At the same time, “Charm City Kings” channels Yasujiro Ozu’s ability to foreground sensitive child performances in a story loaded with adult situations.

“Charm City Kings,” directed by Angel Manuel Soto and written by Sherman Payne, is an earnest coming-of-age story about a Baltimore 14-year-old named Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) torn between joining the Midnight Clique, an extreme dirt bike crime gang in stormtrooper-esque shiny white breastplates, or becoming a veterinarian. While that setup might make eyes roll, it’s inspired by the 2013 documentary “12 O’Clock Boys,” in which an actual kid (real name Pug) wrestled with those same options. The film’s truly ridiculous plot choices — the phony twists that make you leave the theater feeling like you’ve inhaled a tank of carbon monoxide — are its own invention, bolted onto a likable, if formulaic, charmer.

Soto opens on home movie-style footage of Mouse’s older brother Stro (Tyquan Ford) pushing himself to “hit 12,” rearing up on his bike’s back wheel until he’s as straight as a clock hand. Stro,...

IndieWire reached out to the cinematographers behind the scripted narrative features premiering this week at Sundance to find out which cameras, lenses, and formats they used, and why they chose them to create the looks and meet the production demands of their films. Here are their responses.

Films appear in alphabetical order by title, and are organized by section:

1. U.S. Dramatic Competition

2. Premieres

3. Midnight

4. Next

5. World Dramatic Competition

Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition

“Blast Beat”

Dir: Esteban Arango, DoP: Ed Wu

Format: Red Helium 8K S35 Raw 6:5

Camera: Red Helium

Lens: Lomo Anamorphic Round

Wu: This was a film made with heart, blood, tears and soul. We fought for what we wanted creatively even though we had a limited budget for what we were trying to achieve. We knew that we wanted to make an “Uber-Metalized American Latino Adventure” movie, meaning we wanted to have some serious kick...

Pica, or the compulsion to consume things nowhere to be found on the food pyramid — like handfuls of dirt, stray pieces of jewelry, or a juicy double-a battery — serves as a metaphor for one woman’s struggle against the patriarchy in Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ “Swallow.” A bold and unconventional thriller made real by the evolution of lead actress Haley Bennett (a prize winner at the Tribeca Film Festival) from porcelain housewife to jagged-edged reactionary, this striking debut (not counting earlier shorts or co-directed behind-the-music doc ”The Swell Season”) ignores the medical side of the eating disorder in favor of a far more radical psychological reading.

While not as graphic as 2013 German shocker “Wetlands” (with its grimy public toilet seats and queasy scenes of tampon swapping) nor as gory as 2002’s “In My Skin” (which took the concept of “cutting” to extremes), “Swallow” adopts the same basic strategy as those films, using...

In Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei’s paranoid thriller “Cam,” an erotic webcam performer finds her followers stolen by a doppelganger who hijacks her channel, pushes the sexual envelope farther, and otherwise seems determined to destroy her life. Call it identity theft of a sexy, possibly supernatural kind.

There’s not much depth to this low-budget but resourcefully flashy enterprise, which is hyperactive in presentation to the brink of being grating. Nor is there much (if any) satisfactory resolution to the central mystery. But the combination of a sex-worker milieu, suspense mechanics and speed-of-the-internet pace should appeal to genre fans looking for something different — but not too different — from the norm. It certainly worked for Fantasia jurors, who gave the film their best screenplay and first feature prizes, and Netflix buyers, who acquired “Cam” from the Montreal-based genre fest.

In her all-pink home “studio,” Alice aka “Lola” (Madeline Brewer from...