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According to a new study published on Thursday, the psychedelic drug Mdma can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The company sponsoring the research, Maps Public Benefit Corporation, said it plans to seek U.S. approval to market the drug at the end of the year.

“It’s the first innovation in Ptsd treatment in more than two decades,” said CEO of Maps Public Benefit Corporation Amy Emerson in a statement. “And it’s significant because I think it will also open up other innovations.”

To conduct the study, researchers examined the symptoms of 104 patients with Ptsd, some of whom were given Mdma and the rest given placebo pills during the course of three sessions, all one month apart. Both groups also received talk therapy.

Following treatment, 86% of the Mdma group improved on standard Ptsd assessment compared to 69% of the placebo group, based on assessments measuring symptoms such as nightmares and flashbacks.

Even if “Nadia, Butterfly” weren’t set during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics — the film offering an impressively staged glimpse into an alternate timeline where the world’s biggest sporting event hasn’t been postponed due to a pandemic — Pascal Plante’s sensitive and tactile second feature (following 2018 debut “Fake Tattoos”) would still feel like .

This intimate, unhurried story of a swimmer at the first major crossroads (or pool turn) of her life may not share the wry comic touch or May/December undercurrent of Sofia Coppola’s Japan-set romance, but it paints a similarly woozy portrait of self-discovery around a young woman who finds herself on the other side of the world. There’s even a karaoke sequence in the middle, a bittersweet drive back to Narita Airport at the end, and a bunch of Beach House cues on the soundtrack (a band that basically emerged from the morning-after haze left...

Leticia Dolera writes, directs and stars in eight lively episodes that bring us up close and personal with three women in crisis, in all their unfiltered, delusional and conflicted glory. A pregnant woman who lets out the odd fart, carries a pool float around with her so she can sit down without martyring herself to haemorrhoidal misery and apologises, mortified, after doing a poo in mid-labour. A lesbian painter, channelling Jane Bowles (or perhaps Debra Winger in Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky), takes Mdma to get through a friend’s daughter’s birthday party and, in her altered state, attempts to seduce one of the other mothers. A married woman with two daughters secretly gulps down her birth control pill, despite her husband’s grim determination to impregnate her with a longed-for son, who will be named Rafa (as in Nadal). Three women, subtly drawn with flashes of wit and not a trace of.

Initial slate includes thriller Silencio, comedy Lady-Like.

Los Angeles-based Octane Entertainment has launched female-driven sales and acquisitions division Fab, executives said on Wednesday (31).

Fab, an acronym for films which are For women, About women, and By women, aims to address the void in female representation and create a home for content powered by female, and those who identify as female, filmmakers.

Fab has kicked off talks with buyers in Santa Monica on an inaugural slate that includes: comedy Lady-Like starring Stephanie Simbari of Funny Girls; 1980s-set crime drama Mdma; nature survival drama Rust Creek; thriller Silencio; horror title The Ranger; and mother-daughter comedy Beautiful Darkness.

Octane Entertainment has launched a new sales and acquisitions division, Fab, which will focus entirely on films directed For, About and By women.

At Afm, the company will showcase the first six films under its new brand: the coming-of-age comedy Lady-Like, crime drama Mdma, the survival thriller Rust Creek, the fantasy-drama Beautiful Darkness, horror title The Ranger and the mystery thriller Silencio.

“It is no secret that not only are women disproportionally represented above-the-line but below-the-line as well,” said Kristen Bedno, director of sales and marketing at Octane, who created the Fab label. “By creating a film brand that recognizes the unique ...

Octane Entertainment has launched a new sales and acquisitions division, Fab, which will focus entirely on films directed For, About and By women.

At Afm, the company will showcase the first six films under its new brand: the coming-of-age comedy Lady-Like, crime drama Mdma, the survival thriller Rust Creek, the fantasy-drama Beautiful Darkness, horror title The Ranger and the mystery thriller Silencio.

“It is no secret that not only are women disproportionally represented above-the-line but below-the-line as well,” said Kristen Bedno, director of sales and marketing at Octane, who created the Fab label. “By creating a film brand that recognizes the unique ...

In 1985, the year First Lady Nancy Reagan dropped a hyperactive “Just Say No” music video with Casey Kasem and Latoya Jackson, the DEA criminalized a new drug: ecstasy. “Mdma,” Angie Wang’s semi-autobiographical drama about her whirlwind freshman semester as the drug queen of a private college she couldn’t otherwise afford, plunges us into the crazy days of those last legal months when the chemistry student’s handmade purple pills were potent enough to derail her life. Wang has a silent cameo as a club czarina who gives her younger self (Annie Q.) a portentous look. Otherwise, “Mdma” is all excess: giant hair, stacks of silver bangles, dramatic flashbacks, and lots of shouting, though curiously Angie sounds less like an immigrant’s daughter from the Newark tenements than a Valley girl throwing a temper tantrum at the mall.

Voice aside, east coast Angie does not fit in with her west coast classmates,...

"I know how to take care of myself." Shout Studios has released an official trailer for a film titled Mdma, telling the mostly true story of a drug ring that a young Asian American woman ran in the 1980s. This semi-autobiographical period crime drama is both written and directed by Angie Wang, and it's about the story of Angie Wang and her gritty past - she was just Chinese-American woman "scrambling for status in a world of white, west-coast privilege." This was originally titled Cardinal X when it premiered at a few film festivals last year. While in college, and only at the age of 19, Angie became one of California's top dealers of the drug known as "Ecstasy", or "X", officially called Mdma. It's a popular party drug that became common often at raves and underground dance parties in the 1990s. Annie Q. stars as Angie, and the film's full cast includes Francesca Eastwood,...

Adjusting to a new school and a new way of life can be challenging, but most students would perhaps join a club or start doing yoga or something. But not Angie Wang, a smart student who made a name for herself by cooking up and distributing Ecstasy, becoming one of the biggest players on the scene. We have an exclusive trailer for the autobiographical drama Mdma which recounts this turbulent story, written and directed by Wang herself. Fleshing out the cast are Annie Q. (The Leftovers),... Read More...

Director Angie Wang decided that the story of her youthful days as a struggling college student turned into a drug dealer was perfect for the big screen.

Wang took initiative to direct and to write the narrative film Cardinal X based on actual events from her life.

The film follows a college girl back in 1984, who struggled with college payments. She turned to making ecstasy in the chemistry labs and organized a drug dealing network in night clubs. Eventually, the fast-paced, high-life all came crashing down.

The film stars Annie Q, Francesca Eastwood, Elisa Donovan, Noah Segan, Henry Zaga, Yetide Badaki, Pierson Fode and Aalyrah Caldwell.

Lrm had an opportunity to speak with Angie Wang for Cardinal X at the press day event at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

We managed to talk about on what was real and fictionalized for the film, her previous life and putting it all on screen today.

As a first-time director who’s not a freshly minted film-school graduate, Angie Wang is a welcome rarity, not least because she’s segued to filmmaking in middle age. That outsider perspective is both a plus and a minus in Cardinal X, a semi-autobiographical drama that draws upon familiar, sometimes clichéd movie elements to tell a femme-centric, class-conscious story that hasn’t quite been told before.

The mostly true tale revolves around a resourceful collegian from a rough background who becomes a major player in the party-drug business of the early 1980s, soaring high until hitting bottom. In the performances of...

Francesca Eastwood has signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners for management. Eastwood starred in the SXSW festival film M.F.A. and was the lead actress in Outlaws and Angels alongside Luke Wilson and Chad Michael Murray, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. She’ll next be seen in a starring role in Angie Wang's Cardinal X, which premieres next month, and the Dan Bush thriller The Vault opposite James Franco and Taryn Manning, which will be released…...

Continuing their support for women directors, Horizon Award co-founding producers Cassian Elwes, Lynette Howell Taylor, and Christine Vachon, announced the winners of the second annual Horizon Award. Academy Award nominee Chloë Sevigny will bestow up-and-coming filmmakers Macarena Gaona, Juliette Gosselin, Shanice Malakai Johnson, and Florence Pelletier with the Horizon Award at a reception in Park City, Utah, with creative talent, producers, entertainment executives and media in attendance to celebrate these rising women directors and their achievements in independent filmmaking.

The Horizon Award ceremony and reception will take place on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 6:30 pm at the WireImage Portrait Studio at Village at the Lift (825 Main Street, Park City), co-hosted by Jeff Vespa.

The Horizon Award is an annual award that seeks to identify and mentor talented, up-and-coming female directors – the primary goal being to support women directors early enough in their development to help them overcome the hurdles in advancing their learning curve and careers.

In addition to the Horizon Award, the four winners will receive grants from the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. The Foundation supports the artistic achievements of female filmmakers through a series of grants that reflect Adrienne Shelly’s dedication to the art of filmmaking and her own successful transition from actress to filmmaker.

This year’s winners are:

Horizon Award First Place

Juliette Gosselin (University of Quebec in Montreal) & Florence Pelletier (Concordia University, Montreal)

Co-directors of "Mes Anges à Tête Noire"

Horizon Award Runners-Up

Macarena (Macqui) Gaona (New York University) Director of "Channel 999 and Channel 1000"

Shanice Malakai Johnson (Scottsdale Community College) Director of "End to the Suffering"

On making the announcement, Cassian Elwes said: “I’m so excited to announce the winners of the second annual Horizon Award. This year’s overwhelming number of submissions and caliber of work made it very hard indeed to pick just one winner – the jury identified one grand prize winner, and two runners-up. Additionally, we have added new partners to our already formidable team – proving that not only is the move towards gender equality in the zeitgeist, but that there are very real advocates amongst our peers. After the recent summit for systemic change (hosted by Sundance and Women in Film), I am more convinced than ever that we can make a difference and that history is on our side. I remain steadfastly committed to the idea that, one day soon, women will have exactly the same opportunities as men to direct movies.”

Franklin Leonard, Founder and CEO of The Black List and one of the award’s original advocates added: “We are passionate supporters of this award that recognizes fresh voices and perspectives in storytelling. This effort mirrors our own effort – the Black List's 500 Feminist Films project, created by our Director of Community, Kate Hagen. We look forward to mentoring the winners in the year to come.”

The jury was comprised of 38 influential directors, producers, and executives from the filmmaking community who viewed 483 short film submissions from over 200 colleges and universities world-wide, including the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, India, China, South Africa, Scotland, France, Mexico, Portugal, Columbia, Brazil, Russia, Serbia, the Ukraine, and more. This year, submissions increased by over one hundred from last year, with additional countries and universities participating. Submissions were received from Nyu, USC, UCLA, Chapman, Emerson, Penn State, Loyola Marymount, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, Syracuse, Tcu, Ryerson (Toronto), Oxford, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Delhi, and more.

Now in its second year, the Horizon Award provides an all-expense-paid trip for the winning female college students to the Sundance Film Festival, where they will have the opportunity to present their films to some of the industry’s most influential names. The winners receive mentorship, festival access, and important introductions by Elwes, Howell, and Vachon to agents, producers, executives, festival staff, and other influencers throughout the Sundance Film Festival.

The Horizon Award was founded by producer, Cassian Elwes ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club"), and Michelle Satter, Founding Director, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, in response to a Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles study that revealed that only 4.2% of the top 100 films each year from 2002-2013 were directed by women. Elwes partnered with Howell ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes," "The Place Beyond the Pines:), and Vachon ( "Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry," "One Hour Photo," "Far From Heaven"), to create the award as an opportunity for young female directors to have mentorship and networking opportunities in conjunction with Sundance, the home of American Independent film.

You can see links for more info on the study:

Phase I and II

Phase III

Sponsors and Partners for the 2016 Horizon Award are: The Black List, CreativeFuture, The Creative Mind Group, Done To Your Taste Catering, FilmLA, Indiegogo, Mprm Communications, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, Sundance Institute, Twitter, Verge, Vimeo, WireImage, Adina Design, and Women in Film. This impressive group has come together to support an award that they hope will continue to identify, nurture, and launch the careers of future female directors for years to come.

Full List of Jurors:

Stephanie Allain Producer ("Dear White People," "Hustle & Flow")

Dori Begley Magnolia Pictures (Svp, Acquisitions)

Amy Berg Director ("Janis: Little Girl Blue," "Deliver Us From Evil," "Prophet’s Prey")

Arianna Bocco IFC Films (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)

Robbie Brenner The Firm (Partner, President of Film)

Susan Carter Hall Painter

Amal ElWardi Zeal Media Company (Producer)

Cassian Elwes Producer ("Margin Call," "All is Lost," "Dallas Buyers Club")

Janet Grillo Director ("Jack of the Red Hearts," "Fly Away")

Poppy Hanks Macro Venture (Svp, Development & Production)

Catherine Hardwicke Director ("Miss You Already," "Red Riding Hood," "Twilight")

Lynette Howell Taylor Producer ("Captain Fantastic," "Mississippi Grind," "Big Eyes")

Liza Johnson Director ("Elvis & Nixon," "Return," "Hateship Loveship," "In the Air")

Eda Kowan Lionsgate (Svp, Acquisitions & Co-Productions)

Gina Kwon Amazon Studios (Executive, Comedy)

Helen Lee-Kim Good Universe (Partner, Head of International)

Laura Lewis CAA (Agent, Film Finance)

Alix Madigan Broad Green Pictures (Head, Creative)

Marianna Palka Actress/Director ("I’m the Same,""Always Worthy," "Good Dick")

Bruna Papandrea Pacific Standard (Producer/Partner)

Keri Putnam Sundance Institute (Executive Director)

Dee Rees Director ("Bessie," “Empire”)

Laura Rister Untitled Entertainment (Head of Production)

Rena Ronson UTA (Partner)

Michelle Satter Sundance Institute (Director, Feature Film Program)

Cathy Schulman Stx Entertainment (President & Chief Content Officer)

Lauren Selig Shake and Bake Productions (Executive Producer)

Mary Jane Skalski Producer ("The Visitor," "Mysterious Skin," "The Station Agent")

Lara Thompson E1 Entertainment (Svp, Worldwide Acquisitions)

Christine Vachon Producer ("Goat," "Carol," "Boys Don’t Cry")

Ruth Vitale CreativeFuture (CEO)

Angie Wang Director ("Cardinal X")

Hanna Weg Producer ("Septembers of Shiraz")

Tanya Wexler Director ("Hysteria," "Finding North," "Ball in the House")

Joanne Wiles ICM (Partner/Agent, Motion Picture Talent)

Pam Williams Pam Williams Productions ("Lee Daniels’ The Butler," "Fail Safe")

Lisa Wilson The Solution Entertainment (Co-Founder/Partner)

So Yong Kim Director ("Love Song," "For Ellen," "In Between Days")...

New production shingle Remark Films has come aboard as co-financer on the Keanu Reeves thriller Daughter of God, which Fortitude Int’l, CAA and Cassian Elwes are selling at Afm. Remark is backed by Daniel Grodnik’s Mass Hysteria Entertainment Company, Inc. and Wall Streeters Seth and Curt Kramer, and is aiming to develop and co-finance two to five features per year at budgets up to $10 million. Daughter of God is written and directed by Gee Malik Linton and marks Remark’s first project. Reeves, currently in theaters in the hitman actioner John Wick, stars as a police detective who investigates the truth behind his partner’s death while a young Latina woman (Ana de Armas) experiences strange happenings. Reeves, Linton, and Robin Gurland are producing while Elwes, the Kramer brothers, and Grodnik are executive producers. Filming is underway in New York.

Ketchup Entertainment has pacted with Altitude Film Entertainment...

James Franco has recruited a cabal of pals for his “proto-punk Forrest Gump goes to 1970’s Hollywood” lit adaptation Zeroville, now filming in La. Joining Franco and the recently announced Jacki Weaver are Franco’s The Interview co-star Seth Rogen, Megan Fox, Danny McBride, Dave Franco, Craig Robinson, Joey King, and Horatio Sanz. Franco is directing and stars as a naive loner who’s drawn to the film business, becomes mistaken for a Manson family member and gets hired as a film editor. Paul Felton and Ian Olds adapted the script from Steve Erickson’s 2007 novel. Franco is producing with Vince Jolivette for Rabbit Bandini Productions, Caroline Aragon, and Michael Mendelsohn for Patriot Pictures. Union Patriot Capital Management financed the pic and Embankment is selling internationally next month at Afm.

Brad Carter (True Detective, Sons of Anarchy) has been cast in Fox and New Regency’s The Revenant opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.

Francesca Eastwood and Pierson Fodé have been cast in 1980s college drama Cardinal X.

They will join The Leftovers star Annie Q in the semi-autobiographical film from Angie Wang.

The film follows Q as Angie, a working-class Asian girl who transforms herself into an expert in manufacturing and selling ecstasy to fund her way through university.

The film will chronicle her rise and fall as a member of the drug world, and then her redemption.

Eastwood will play Angie's college roommate and Fodé will play a fraternity boy she ends up dating.

Cardinal X is writer-director Angie Wang's feature film debut, and will be produced by Richard Bosner and Cassian Elwes.

Wang said: "As Asian-Americans, we endure so many stereotypes."

She added: "I am looking forward to exploding a few of them and highlighting the solidarity of the human condition. I'm thrilled to embark upon this journey with a...

• Game of Thrones' James Cosmo has signed on for Tomorrow. Martin Scorsese is executive producing the military drama. Cosmo joins previously announced cast members Stephen Fry, Stephanie Leonidas, Sebastian Street, Stuart Brennan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Paul Kaye, and Joss Stone. Martha Pinson, Scorsese's long-time script supervisor, will make her feature directorial debut with the film, which follows the lives of soldiers trying to re-immerse themselves into society. Street and Brennan wrote the script. They are producing alongside Dean M. Woodford. Emma Tillinger Koskoff is executive producing with Scorsese. [Variety] • Patrick Fischler, David Krumholtz, Fisher Stevens, and Clancy Brown have been cast in Hail,...

Francesca Eastwood and Pierson Fodé have joined “The Leftovers” star Annie Q in 1980s college-set drama “Cardinal X,” the filmmakers announced Friday. See photos: 62 Fall TV Actors Ranked by Popularity (Photos) Writer-director Angie Wang is making her feature film debut on the semi-autobiographical drama following Q as Angie, a working-class Asian girl from Newark who, out of financial necessity, transforms herself into an expert in the manufacture of the party drug ecstasy in the chemistry lab on the campus of her prestigious West Coast university. The film will chronicle her rise, fall and ultimate redemption. Also read: HBO Renews ‘The...