“Technoboys” is a Mexican movie starring Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Gabriel Nuncio. It is directed by Gerardo Gatica and Luis Gerardo Méndez, and written by Alexandro Aldrete.

“Technoboys” is one of those uproarious comedies where an old-fashioned boy band aspires to reclaim their musical glory, despite the world around them having transformed dramatically.

A film with a delightful self-awareness: it revels in its own absurdity.

Plot

An aging boy band makes the bold decision to return to the limelight. However, the times have shifted, and so have the members: one is now in a wheelchair, another has reinvented himself as a sexual guru, and a third has transitioned to living as a woman. They must navigate these changes to find success once more!

About the Movie

While it might not be the pinnacle of cinematic achievements—Apocalypse Now likely boasts superior reviews—we found ourselves laughing uncontrollably. “Technoboys...

“Technoboys” is a Mexican movie starring Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Gabriel Nuncio. It is directed by Gerardo Gatica and Luis Gerardo Méndez, and written by Alexandro Aldrete.

“Technoboys” is one of those uproarious comedies where an old-fashioned boy band aspires to reclaim their musical glory, despite the world around them having transformed dramatically.

A film with a delightful self-awareness: it revels in its own absurdity.

Plot

An aging boy band makes the bold decision to return to the limelight. However, the times have shifted, and so have the members: one is now in a wheelchair, another has reinvented himself as a sexual guru, and a third has transitioned to living as a woman. They must navigate these changes to find success once more!

About the Movie

While it might not be the pinnacle of cinematic achievements—Apocalypse Now likely boasts superior reviews—we found ourselves laughing uncontrollably. “Technoboys...

The Power is a new fantasy Prime Video series starring Halle Bush, Ria Zmitrowicz, Auli’i Cravalho, Toni Collette and John Leguizamo.

It is based on the novel written by Naomi Alderman.

The Power (2023-)

An “electrifying” series for more than one reason, and that is that these girls have the ability to electrify people at will. Quite the ability and one that serves as a reflection on gender and the abuse of power in this series that premieres on Prime Video on March 31.

Enjoy it.

Storyline

The world of The Power is our world, but with quite the twist of nature. Suddenly, teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. Following remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Eastern Europe, the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of power balance.

The Power (2023-) Release Date

March 31, 2023

Where to Watch The Power...

"Power Saves. Power Corrupts. Power Liberates." Prime Video has revealed the full official trailer for a new international thriller series titled The Power, adapted from the book by Naomi Alderman. It features an all-women set of writers, directors, and producers bringing this story to the screen. The world of The Power is "our world," but for one twist of nature. Suddenly all teenage girls in the world develop the power to electrocute people at will. It's hereditary, it's inbuilt, and it can't be taken away from them. Coming alive to the thrill of pure power: the ability to hurt or even kill by releasing electrical jolts from their fingertips, they rapidly learn they can awaken the Power in older women. Soon enough nearly every woman in the world can do it. And then everything is different. Obviously!! The ensemble cast includes Toni Collette as Margot, the Mayor of Seattle, with Auli'i Cravalho,...

The Power Trailer — Prime Video‘s The Power (2023) TV show trailer has been released. The Power stars Toni Collette, Auli’i Cravalho, John Leguizamo, Ria Zmitrowicz, Toheeb Jimoh, Josh Charles, Eddie Marsan, Zrinka Cvitesic, Halle Bush, Nico Hiraga, Heather Agyepong, Daniela Vega, Rob Delaney, Alice Eve, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, and Little Simz. Cast and [...]

Continue reading: The Power (2023) TV Show Trailer: Girls Develop the Ability Self-generate Electricity & World Power Shifts [Prime Video]...

Take another look at a series of 1-minute "Horror Shorts", directed by Floria Sigismondi, showcasing Nicole Kidman, Andy Serkis, Jake Gyllenhaal and a whole lot more:

Shorts include Nicole Kidman as "The Possessed"...

...Andy Serkis as "The Demented Clown", Floria Sigismondi as "The Mannequin"...

...Daniela Vega as "The Vampire"...

...Jake Gyllenhaal as "The Damned"...

..."Brooklynn Prince as "The Demon Child"...

...and Tiffany Haddish as "The Macabre Dancer".

Click the images to enlarge...

Florence Pugh (left) and Kíla Lord Cassidy in The Wonder Image: Aidan Monaghan/Netflix © 2022 If a crisis of faith is a journey from belief to doubt, the opposite could be referred to as a come-to-Jesus moment. Writer-director Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder (in select theaters November 2 and on Netflix...

First published June 3rd, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.

Don’t spend hours scrolling the menus at Netflix, Prime Video, and other movie services. I point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.

Movies included here may be available on services other than those mentioned, and in other regions, too. JustWatch and Reelgood are great for finding which films are on what streamers; you can customize each site so that it shows you only those services you have access to.

When you rent or purchase a film through the Prime Video and Apple links here, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)

both sides of the pond

Kick off Pride Month with a terrific double feature from brilliant Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio. His Disobedience (pictured above), from 2018, is a deliciously...

Premium U.S. Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya and Elefantec Global, co-founded by ex -Televisa top exec Pepe Bastón, have gone into production near Mexico City on six-part series “La rebelión,” which turns on one of the most powerful of recent drama series narratives: Women fighting back.

Described by Pantaya and Elefantec as a “melodramatic thriller,” the six-part series will premiere on Pantaya in the U.S. and Puerto Rico in the third quarter of 2022.

Typifying the kind of series that Elefantec aims to bring to Pantaya, “La Rebellion” boasts an impactful ensemble key cast of Aracely Arámbula, star of “La Doña,” Chile’s Daniela Vega, lead in the Academy Award-winning “A Fantastic Woman,” Ana Serradilla (“El hubiera sí existe”) and Adriana Paz (“Locked Up”).

First fruit of Pantaya-Elefantec production alliance, “La Rebelion” is directed by Spain’s Iñaki Peñafiel after his helming gigs on high-profile Spanish series “Express,” produced by Starzplay,...

Network: Netflix.

Episodes: 10 (hour).

Seasons: One.

TV show dates: June 7, 2019.

Series status: Ended.

Performers include:   Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Barbara Garrick, Paul Gross, Ellen Page, Murray Bartlett, Charlie Barnett, Josiah Victoria Garcia, May Hong, Jen Richards, Daniela Vega , Michelle Buteau, Ashley Park, Christopher Larkin, Caldwell Tidicue, Matthew Risch, Michael Park, Dickie Hearts, Benjamin Thys, Samantha Soule, and Juan Castano.

TV show description:

From executive producer Lauren Morelli, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City TV show is a Netflix revival of previous mini-series based on Maupin's book series. The 1993 original mini-series ran on UK Channel 4 and on PBS. In 1998, Channel 4 and Showtime produced the sequel More Tales of the City. In 2001,...

L.A.-based Spanish-language streaming platform Pantaya and global streamer Starzplay have revealed that production is underway on the period new drama series “Señorita 89” from Fremantle and the Larraín brothers’ Fabula, the latest co-production stemming from a first-look deal between the two, dating back to 2019.

The first fruit of that combined labor was global hit series “La Jauria,” available on Amazon Prime Video in Latin America and HBO Max in the U.S. Selected as one of Variety’s best international series of 2020, “La Jauria” stars “A Fantastic Woman” lead Daniela Vega and is directed by one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors Lucia Puenzo.

Sticking with a talent alliance that worked so well for Fabula and Fremantle the first time around, Puenzo also co-wrote and is directing “Señorita 89.” She is joined by co-screenwriters María Renée Prudencio and Tatiana Mereñuk, and co-directors Nicolás Puenzo...

Introducing a musical performance at the Academy Awards isn’t normally the biggest of deals, but for Chilean newcomer Daniela Vega, it was a landmark opportunity: At the 2018 ceremony, she became the first transgender person ever to present at the Oscars. The film that got her there, meanwhile, had already made history that same night. Sebastián Lelio’s uplifting drama “A Fantastic Woman,” in which Vega gave a luminous performance as a trans woman battling heartbreak and discrimination, won that year’s international feature award — becoming the first film with a transgender lead to win an Oscar in any category.

“Thank you so much for this moment,” Vega said from the stage, before segueing into a tribute to gay Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s much-nominated queer romance “Call Me by Your Name”: It was a minute of airtime that contained more global LGBTQ visibility than many a previous broadcast.

Having just pitched at the Sanfic-Morbido Lab, Chilean slasher flick project “Matria” will head to South Korea’s Bucheon (Bifan) in June on behalf of Ventana Sur’s Blood Window, where the project pitched to great success in late 2020. In the midst of its pandemic online market run, “Matria” has added two new key castings in award-winning Chilean actor Benjamin Vicuña and Argentina’s Gabriel Schultz. They join the already top-line casting of “Locked Up” standout Itziar Castro and “A Fantastic Woman’s” Daniela Vega.

“How much harm can a man do to a woman? Enough for his head to have a price on it,” starts the promotional material for the upcoming project from Chile’s Sandra Arriagada. An over-the-top, blood-soaked black comedy, “Matria” sees seven awful men held to task for their previous transgressions against women by being unwittingly entered in a battle-royal, seven-men-enter-one-man leaves-style event sponsored by the...

Nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa one said that in Latin America, poverty, injustice and other social problems are too prominent to be ignored. So, the question: Can cinema change the world? has a special importance. “It obsesses me,” Chilean director Pablo Larrain told Variety a few weeks back.

“I have been around many U.S. documentary filmmakers who say that they want to change the world,” replied director Maite Alberdi in that same conversation. Alberdi’s latest feature documentary “The Mole Agent” is short-listed for both the International Feature and Documentary Oscars this year, and only her latest work to make a major cultural impact at home and abroad.

“I don’t know if we are going to change the world with documentaries, but I think that we can plant questions in people’s minds, and in the media,” she added. “There are films, documentaries, that you can plan...

Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe”) and Alice Eve (“Belgravia”) have joined the cast of Amazon Studios’ upcoming drama thriller “The Power” as recurring guest stars.

Edwina Findley (“Treme”), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queen’s Gambit”) and Simbi Ajikawo (“Top Boy”) also feature in the cast as recurring guest stars alongside series regulars Zrinka Cvitešić (“London Spy”), Archie Rush (“Black Mirror”) and Gerrison Machado (“Prank”) and Pietra Castro (“Jingle Bell Bride”).

Previously announced cast members include Leslie Mann, Auli’i Cravalho, Tim Robbins, John Leguizamo, Eddie Marsan and Daniela Vega.

“The Power,” is a 10-part series based on Naomi Alderman’s international bestselling novel of the same name, produced by Sister for Amazon Studios, with Emmy Award-winning executive producer and director Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”).

In the series, teenage girls around the world develop the power to electrocute people at will. The power is hereditary, inbuilt and can’t be taken away from them. The...

Rob Delaney, Alice Eve and Edwina Findley are the latest stars set to join the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s The Power. The 10-part global thriller based on Naomi Alderman’s bestselling novel of the same name, comes from Chernobyl producer Sister and Emmy-winning The Handmaids Tale director Reed Morano.

In The Power all teenage girls in the world suddenly develop the power to electrocute people at will. It’s hereditary, it’s inbuilt, and it can’t be taken away from them. The Power follows a cast of remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Moldova, as the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of the power balance of the world.

Delaney, Eve and Findley will recur as Tom, Kristen and Helen, respectively. The newly added stars will act opposite Tim Robbins, Leslie Mann, John Leguizamo, Eddie Marson, Daniela Vega and Auli’i Cravalho.

Rob Delaney is among a group of new cast additions for Amazon’s global thriller series The Power, which is currently in production.

Based on Naomi Alderman’s bestselling novel set in a world where all teenage girls suddenly develop the power to electrocute people at will, the 10-part series is being produced by Sister (Chernobyl, Giri/Haji), with Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) directing and executive producing. Leslie Mann, Auli’i Cravalho, Tim Robbins, John Leguizamo, Eddie Marsan, and Daniela Vega have already been announced.

As a recurring guest star, Catastrophe co-creator star Delaney will play Tom, a much-loved news anchor, while Alice ...

Rob Delaney is among a group of new cast additions for Amazon’s global thriller series The Power, which is currently in production.

Based on Naomi Alderman’s bestselling novel set in a world where all teenage girls suddenly develop the power to electrocute people at will, the 10-part series is being produced by Sister (Chernobyl, Giri/Haji), with Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) directing and executive producing. Leslie Mann, Auli’i Cravalho, Tim Robbins, John Leguizamo, Eddie Marsan, and Daniela Vega have already been announced.

As a recurring guest star, Catastrophe co-creator star Delaney will play Tom, a much-loved news anchor, while Alice ...

The mostly virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close. The festival announced awards winners Tuesday night, trading an in-person ceremony for one broadcast live and hosted by Patton Oswalt. The biggest winner was Sian Heder’s coming of age drama “Coda,” which earned four U.S. Dramatic Competition awards, including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Other Big winners were “Summer of Soul,” which took home the two top U.S. Documentary awards.

Blerta Basholli’s “Hive” won three awards in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition: the Directing and Audience awards and the Grand Jury Prize. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing with Fire” earned two World Cinema Documentary awards.

A total of 72 features screened over the last week, along with 50 shorts, four Indie Series, and 14 New Frontier VR/new media projects. Those projects were judged by a jury made up of Zeynep Atakan, Raúl Castillo,...

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival awards went off at a very fast clip tonight, in an hour’s time. Host Patton Oswalt — or as he billed himself, “Discount Giamatti” — kept the jokes flowing.

Siân Heder’s Coda, which we first told you was swooped up by Apple with a rich $25 million bid, came up big. It won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize, U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and a Special Jury Ensemble Cast award too. Heder also won Best Director in the U.S. Dramatic section. The movie follows a girl named Ruby. As the only hearing person in an otherwise deaf family, she is divided about staying with them as their fishing business is threatened.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Summer of Soul took the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Documentary.

Blerta Basholli’s Hive, about a woman in Kosovo who fights against a patriarchal society and whose husband is missing,...

Tim Robbins has been tapped to replace Rainn Wilson in Amazon’s forthcoming “The Power” series after the “Office” alum had to step back from the project after production delays caused by the pandemic.

Robbins will play “the self-righteous and self-important Governor of Washington” and a “constant thorn” in the side of Leslie Mann’s character, the mayor of Seattle.

The 10-episode series is an adaptation of the novel by Naomi Alderman, taking place in a world where all teenage girls suddenly and inexplicably develop the power to electrocute people at will.

Per Amazon, “It’s hereditary, it’s inbuilt, and it can’t be taken away from them. Coming alive to the thrill of pure power: the ability to hurt or even kill by releasing electrical jolts from their fingertips, they rapidly learn they can awaken the Power in older women. Soon enough nearly every woman in the world can do it.

Lineup and Pre-Festival Announcements and News

Sundance 2021 Reveals Full Slate for Hybrid Festival, Including 72 New Features and Much More

‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ Enters Oscar Race with Sundance 2021 World Premiere

Sundance 2021 Jurors Revealed: Cynthia Erivo, Julie Dash, Daniela Vega, and More

Pre-Festival Analysis

Sundance 2021: 15 Must-See Festival Films You Can Stream at Home

The 9 Best Short Films Playing This Year’s Sundance Film Festival

Sundance 2021 Market: 15 Movies That Could Sell Big in a Year of Virtual Discovery

Sundance 2021 Reveals How the Virtual Festival Will Work For 70-Plus Films In 7 Days

Don’t Call It a Comeback: 2021 Film Festivals Remain Vital in Whatever Form They Take

Sundance 2021 Is All About Acquisitions as Distributors Resist Virtual Fest Launchpad

Hidden Gems and Big Surprises from the Sundance 2021 Lineup, from Tearjerkers to ‘Wtf Movies’

Sundance Wish List: 50 Films We Hope Will Premiere at the Festival in 2021

Sundance Prepares a Shortened, Seven-Day Festival, and...

“Harriet” star Cynthia Erivo and “Daughters of the Dust” director Julie Dash are among the 22 names selected to oversee the competition juries at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Erivo and Dash will lead the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury this year alongside Hanya Yanagihara, editor of the New York Times Style Magazine and author of the novels “The People in the Trees” and “A Little Life.”

Leading the U.S. Documentary jury are Ashley Clark, a curatorial director at Criterion Collection and formerly the director of film programming at Bam, “The Act of Killing” director Joshua Oppenheimer and Lana Wilson, whose Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana” premiered at Sundance last year.

“Our jurors have reached a high level of achievement in their individual fields and can bring their unique perspective to the process of analyzing and evaluating films,” Kim Yutani, Sundance’s director of programming, said in a statement. “We’re pleased to bring this accomplished,...

The Sundance Film Festival announced 22 jurors that will bestow this year’s awards at the digital ceremony taking place Feb. 2. The judges include actor Cynthia Erivo, Chilean actor Daniela Vega and sibling designer-filmmakers Kate and Laura Mulleavy.

The awards, which recognize standout artistic and cinematic prowess, are decided on by six section juries. As in previous years, festival viewers will have a role in deciding the 2021 Audience Awards, which are open to films in the U.S. Competition, World Competition and Next categories.

The U.S. Dramatic Jury is comprised of filmmaker Julie Dash, Tony-, Emmy-, and Grammy-winning Erivo and author Hanya Yanagihara.

Curatorial director at the Criterion Collection Ashley Clark, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer and Emmy-winning director Lana Wilson will make up the U.S. Documentary Jury.

The World Cinema Dramatic Jury will feature Istanbul-based producer Zeynep Atakan, filmmaker Isaac Julien and Vega. British documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto, executive...

The 22 jury members for this year’s virtually unfolding Sundance Film Festival have been revealed. Jurors include actors Cynthia Erivo and Daniela Vega, filmmakers Julie Dash and Joshua Oppenheimer, author Hanya Yanagahira (“A Little Life”), and many more. They will bestow awards on features and short films at the festival’s digital closing ceremony on February 2. The event will be live-streamed, and winning films will be available for special extended-run viewing the next day.

The awards, which recognize standout artistic and cinematic achievement, are decided upon by six section juries. As in years past, festival audiences have a role in deciding the 2021 Audience Awards, open to films in the U.S. Competition, World Competition, and Next categories.

As previously announced, the juried Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize was awarded to “Son of Monarchs.” Below are all this year’s jury members, with bios courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.

WarnerMedia’s rapidly growing new streaming service HBO Max has picked up hit international thriller “La Jauria” for the U.S. from Chile-based Fabula, owned and operated by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín, and Fremantle. The series will be available to stream starting Dec. 16.

“La Jauria” is showrun by Lucía Puenzo (“The German Doctor”), one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors, and stars Daniela Vega, the lead in the Academy Award-winning “A Fantastic Woman.”

Set at a private Catholic school in Santiago de Chile, “La Jauría” follows the case of a Catholic school student who stages a protest and becomes the unwitting center of a police investigation that exposes a disturbing online game in which men record and share videos of themselves abusing women.

In addition to Vega, the series features a standout cast of Latin American heavyweights, many Fabula regulars, including Antonia Zegers (“Fugitivos...

WarnerMedia streamer HBO Max has picked up the first season of La Jauría, Amazon Prime Video’s Spanish-language thriller from Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula, which made the Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman.

HBO Max will premiere the eight-part series on December 16, bringing subscribers the story of the disappearance of a young girl, who becomes the center of a police investigation into an online game that grooms men into assaulting women.

La Jauría stars Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) and Antonia Zegers (Fugitivos), while Lucía Puenzo is the director. Fremantle produced the show alongside Fabula and Argentine company Kapow. Fremantle handles worldwide distribution.

Amazon commissioned a second season of La Jauría in July after premiering it across Latin America and Spain. Chilean public broadcaster Tvn and the Consejo Nacional de Televisión (Cntv) are co-producers.

“It’s a gripping, compelling and timely drama that addresses important topical issues regarding...

WarnerMedia has picked up U.S. rights for Spanish-language series La Jauría (The Pack) for its HBO Max streaming service. 

The deal, with producers Fabula and Fremantle, will see HBO Max bow the series for U.S. audiences on Dec. 16.

Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) stars alongside Antonia Zegers (Fugitivos) in the Chilean crime drama focused on the sudden disappearance of a young girl at a Catholic school. As the police dig deeper into the crime, they uncover a deadly online game which recruits men to commit acts of aggression toward women. Co-stars include Mariana Digirolamo, Antonia Giesen, Paula Luchsinger,...

WarnerMedia has picked up U.S. rights for Spanish-language series La Jauría (The Pack) for its HBO Max streaming service. 

The deal, with producers Fabula and Fremantle, will see HBO Max bow the series for U.S. audiences on Dec. 16.

Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) stars alongside Antonia Zegers (Fugitivos) in the Chilean crime drama focused on the sudden disappearance of a young girl at a Catholic school. As the police dig deeper into the crime, they uncover a deadly online game which recruits men to commit acts of aggression toward women. Co-stars include Mariana Digirolamo, Antonia Giesen, Paula Luchsinger,...

Black Widow star also producing female empowerment tale.

Chilean auteur Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman) will direct Scarlett Johansson in sci-fi thriller Bride for Apple TV+ and A24.

Lelio is writing the screenplay with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo about a female creation who abandons the entrepreneur who created her to be his wife, goes on the run and forges her own destiny.

Bride is another in a line of female-empowerment stories from Lelio, whose A Fantastic Woman starring Daniela Vega won what was known as the best foreign language Oscar in 2018.

He also directed Gloria with Paulina Garcia,...

“Matria,” with “A Fantastic Woman” star Daniela Vega, and Raul Camarena’s “The Bus,” with Meraquí Pradis from “Dani Who?,” have both made the cut for December’s Blood Window Lab, the feature project competition at Latin America’s biggest genre movie market.

Part of Ventana Sur, a film-tv market-meet run by the Cannes Festival and Market and Argentina’s Incaa film-tv agency, the Blood Window Lab will be held online for the first time, running Nov. 30-Dec. 4. As state film funding plunges in Brazil and Argentina, 2020’s edition received a record 214 project submissions.

2020’s lineup shows Latin American fantasy genre at least holding up, despite the economic battering taken by many Latin American countries before and during Covid-19.

“Producers and directors are developing strategies to tell stories which are shaped to production realities but still maintain a freshness and do not ignore their social context,” Javier Fernández, head of the Blood Window program,...

Oscar-nominated Mexican thesp Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”) and Chile’s Daniela Vega, who starred in the Academy Award-winning 2017 drama “A Fantastic Woman,” have signed on to host a four-part documentary series about Latin American women who have survived state and gender violence, “Peace Peace Now Now,” which Vega has spearheaded and executive produces.

Aparicio, as the first indigenous Latina to be nominated for an acting performance and Vega, for her show-stopping role in the Oscar-winning drama “A Fantastic Woman,” have both been fierce advocates for the rights of the marginalized, the invisible.

Said Vega: “I’m thrilled to see how this project has evolved after two years in development. The characteristics and humanity of each host has enriched the stories of great women who defied wars and violence for years.” “It was an honor to meet them and bring their stories to the world,” she added.

Vega hosted the first episode...

“A Good Man,” the latest film from French filmmaker Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, is facing backlash at the Toronto International Film Festival for casting a cis actor in a transgender role.

Based on true events, “A Good Man” stars Noemie Merlant as Benjamin, a trans man in the midst of his transition while working as a hospital nurse. He and his wife, Aude, want to have a child, but Aude is barren. Despite having already completed his name change and struggling for acceptance among his family and friends, Benjamin decides to bear the child himself through in vitro fertilization, making his road to discovering his new identity even more turbulent.

While critics have praised the film for its empathetic approach, it has come under fire in LGBT circles as the latest example of the film industry not casting trans actors for trans roles. While there have been some notable exceptions, such as...

Global SVOD Amazon Prime Video has signed up for a second season of Spanish-language psychological thriller “La Jauria.” The show is the streamer’s first local Original series from Chile, produced by Fremantle and Fabula, run by writer-director Pablo Larraín (“Jacky”) and brother Juan de Díos Larraín (“Gloria Bell”).

Starring breakout superstar Daniela Vega (“A Fantasic Woman”), “La Jauria” is showrun by award-winning filmmaker Lucia Puenzo (“Xxy”).

“For Fabula it is important to tell our stories from Chile to the rest of the world. A second season of ‘La Jauria’ is also a recognition of the talent of our actors and actresses, our technicians, writers, directors and all the professionals involved in the process,” said Angela Poblete, regional head of TV at Fabula.

Set at a private Catholic school in Santiago de Chile, “La Jauría” follows the case of a Catholic school student who stages a protest and becomes the...

In a Gold Derby exclusive, we have learned the category placements of the key Emmy Awards contenders for Netflix. For this season, the streamer has returning hits “After Life” (Ricky Gervais), “Black Mirror” (Andrew Scott), “The Crown”, “Dead to Me”, “Glow” (Alison Brie), “The Kominsky Method” (Michael Douglas), “Ozark”, “Stranger Things” (Winona Ryder) as part of their 2020 campaign. Newcomers include “#blackAF” (Kenya Barris), “Living with Yourself” (Paul Rudd), “The Politician”, “Space Force” (Steve Carell) and “The Witcher” (Henry Cavill).

Below, the list of Netflix lead, supporting and guest submissions for their comedy, drama, TV movies and limited series. We’ve also got the full list of titles for variety, reality and other major genres. More names might be added by the studio on the final Emmy ballot. Also note that performers not included on this list may well be submitted by their personal reps.

13 Reasons Why

Drama Series

Drama Actor...

The Panama Film Festival (Iff Panama), with support from the Inter-American Development Bank, is unspooling a five-day online festival, running May 22-26, which includes film screenings and round tables.

Held on May 22, 23 and 24, three online round-tables – two moderated by festival director Pituka Ortega Heilbron and one by Tiff’s senior director, film, Diana Sanchez – questioned leading international talent, based in Latin America and Europe, about what film festivals and film production and distribution will look like after Covid-19.

The panelists were Jayro Bustamante (“Ixcanul”), Nicolás Celis (“Roma”), Cristina Gallegos (“Embrace of the Serpent”) Elena Manrique (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), production designer Enrique Caballero (“Roma”), and actors Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Luis Tosar (“Cell 211”), Ricardo Darín (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), Geraldine Chaplin (“Talk to Her”), Daniela Vega (“A Fantastic Woman”) and Marina de Tavira (“Roma”).

Several innovative new projects adapted to the lockdown period were discussed. For example, Spanish actor Luis Tosar...

Costa Rican documentary “Los Últimos,” by Álvaro Torres Crespo, won the $10,000 Iff Panama Film Match Award, in the first edition of Iff Panama Film Match – the Panama Film Festival’s Cinematographic Co-Production Forum for Central America and the Caribbean, supported by the Idb Lab.

Initially planned as an integral part of the on-site film festival, the event was restructured as a virtual forum, with 10 projects in development – from Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Panama, including four Panamanian projects.

The jury members – top Colombian producer Diana Bustamante, Thierry Lenouvel, one of France’s key co-producers with Latin America, and Inti Cordera, director of DocsMX, one of Latin America’s key doc events – said that “Los Últimos” was chosen “due to the relevance of its issues, history and central character, [as] ever more than before, messages from drawn from the knowledge of our indigenous peoples must be disseminated and promoted through...

The Panama Intl. Film Festival, (Iff Panama) the highest-profile film event in Central America, is using online tools to develop existing and new initiatives.

In one move, it has just completed its pix-in-post competition Primera Mirada, its new Su Mirada sidebar for women filmmakers from the region, and is now launching a new Virtual Co-Production Forum – the Panama Film Match – and a streamlined five-day online festival.

All initiatives are sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Iff Panama was initially slated to run from March 26 to April 1, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Undeterred, the festival has used online tools to maintain its crucial role in supporting new projects from the region.

Launched in 2015, Primera Mirada has served as an important springboard for projects from the region, providing vital post-production funding.

This year’s $10,000 first prize went to Dominican Republic revenge thriller “Rafaela,” by Tito Rodríguez (“Una fiesta inolvidable...

Fremantle and Fabula have dropped the first trailer of eight-part series “La Jauría” (“The Pack”), showrun by Lucía Puenzo (“The German Doctor”), one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors, and starring Daniela Vega, the lead in the Academy Award winning “A Fantastic Woman.”

Set up at Chile’s Fabula, run by writer-director Pablo Larraín (“Jacky”) and brother Juan de Díos Larraín, “Gloria Bell”), “La Jauría”

Amazon’s first-ever locally-produced Amazon Original in Chile will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in Latin America, Caribbean and Spain.

It also marks the first international series from Fabula.

Brought onto the market at February’s Fremantle Screenings in London and now the Series Mania-MipTV virtual marketplace, “La Jauría” is also first fruit of a Fabula-Fremantle multi-year first-look production-distribution alliance. Fremantle is its global distributor.

Co-written by Puenzo, and set at a posh private Catholic school in Santiago de Chile,...

Exclusive: Nico Hiraga, who starred alongside Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, has signed with Wme.

The move comes as he gets set to begin production on The Power, the feminist sci-fi series at Amazon from Jane Featherstone and Reed Morano, written by Naomi Alderman based on her novel. Leslie Mann stars in the 10-part global thriller, about a world in which, without warning, all teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. They rapidly learn they can awaken the Power in older women, and soon enough nearly every woman in the world can do it — and then everything is different.

Hiraga plays Ryan, who provides comfort to Jos (Auli’i Cravalho) when she feels most isolated. John Leguizamo, Toheeb Jimoh, Ria Zmitrowicz, Halle Bush, Heather Agyepong and Daniela Vega also star.

Hiraga, who played Tanner in Booksmart, is next up in the Netflix film Moxie directed by Amy Poehler,...

Berlinale Series will showcase projects from Jason Segel, Damian Chazelle, and Cate Blanchett.

An internationally vibrant and high-calibre Berlinale Series Market and conference kicks of today (February 24), reflecting a sense of opportunity and dynamism in contrast to the somewhat muted air that hangs over the film component of the Efm.

The small screen showcase premieres new shows from opening speaker Jason Segel (Dispatches From Elsewhere), Damian Chazelle (The Eddy), and Cate Blanchett, scheduled to speak with Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie, her co-creators on the detention centre drama Stateless for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Chazelle’s La La Land was...

Rainn Wilson has been cast as a series regular on Amazon’s “The Power” series.

The actor, known for playing Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” will play a man named Daniel Dandon. His character is described as “the self-righteous and self-important Governor of Washington and constant thorn in Margot’s [Leslie Mann] side. But when the Day of the Girls arrives, Dandon’s position begins to look decidedly precarious.”

Here is the official description of the series, which is an adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel:

“The world of ‘The Power’ is our world, but for one twist of nature. Suddenly, and without warning, all teenage girls in the world develop the power to electrocute people at will. It’s hereditary, it’s inbuilt, and it can’t be taken away from them. Coming alive to the thrill of pure power: the ability to hurt or even kill by releasing electrical jolts from their fingertips,...

Rainn Wilson has been cast as a series regular in Amazon’s “The Power,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Wilson will play Daniel Dandon, who is being described as “the self-righteous and self-important Governor of Washington and constant thorn in Margot’s [Leslie Mann] side. But when the Day of the Girls arrives, Dandon’s position begins to look decidedly precarious.”

Wilson is also part of Amazon’s upcoming “Utopia,” based on the popular U.K. format and in feature films “Blackbird,” in which he stars opposite Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon, and “Don’t Tell A Soul,” which will premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. His recent credits include the feature film “Meg” from Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Warner Bros., as well as small screen roles on “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Mom.” He also recently revised his undertaker role of Arthur from “Six Feet Under” in an appearance in “Transparent’s” finale.

Take another look at "Horror" shorts directed by Floria Sigismondi, showcasing Nicole Kidman, Saoirse Ronan, Andy Serkis, Jake Gyllenhaal and a whole lot more:

Shorts include Cynthia Nixon as the "Ghost Bride"...

Nicole Kidman as "The Possessed"...

...Andy Serkis as "The Demented Clown"...

...Saoirse Ronan as "The Mannequin"...

...Daniela Vega as "The Vampire"...

...Jake Gyllenhaal as "The Damned"...

..."Brooklynn Prince as "The Demon Child"...

...and Tiffany Haddish as "The Macabre Dancer".

Click the images to enlarge...

Amazon Prime Video in Latin America has added four new Amazon Original Series to their catalog from Argentina, Chile and Colombia, the first Originals from the territories. The series will be available on the platform in more than 200 countries and territories.

Chile’s “La Jauría” (“The Pack”) already broadcast on domestic network Tvn, will be joined by three series set to begin production in 2020: “Iosi, El Espía Arrepentido,” “Colonia Dignidad” and “Noticia de un Secuestro.”

From Chile, “La Jauría” is directed by award-winner filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, whose 2007 feature “Xxy” won four prizes at the Cannes Festival. The series stars Chilean Oscar-nominated “A Fantastic Woman” lead actress Daniela Vega in a story of a Catholic school girl who starts a protest against a deadly online game in which men are recruited to commit acts of violence towards women. The girl disappears and her story goes viral when a video of...

In today’s TV news roundup, Starz has released a trailer for Season 5 of “Outlander,” and Amazon Prime Video announced casting for “The Power.”

Castings

WWE superstars Sasha Banks, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Sonya Deville, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch and Natalya have been cast as participants in Quibi and WWE’s upcoming series “Fight Like a Girl.” Each episode follows each female wrestler as she shares her life experiences with a young woman dealing with personal issues that are holding her back. WWE chief brand officer and executive producer of the series Stephanie McMahon will decide the pairings. Susan Levison, Ben Zierten, Tom Forman, Jenny Daly and Jon Beyer also serve as executive producers.

Amazon Prime Video has announced further casting for its forthcoming series, “The Power.” Adapted from Naomi Alderman‘s novel of the same name, the 10-part thriller imagines a world in which all...

Amazon unveiled Tuesday that John Leguizamo, Toheeb Jimoh, Ria Zmitrowicz, Halle Bush, Heather Agyepong, Nico Hiraga and Daniela Vega have joined the 10-part global thriller The Power. Emmy Award-winning casting directors Nina Gold (Game of Thrones) and Carmen Cuba (Stranger Things) have brought together this impressive roster of stars that will join the previously announced cast that includes Leslie Mann and Auli’i Cravalho.

The series is based on the bestselling novel of the same name and is produced by Sister for Amazon Studios with Emmy Award-winning Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale) will executive produce with Jane Featherstone, Claire Wilson. The series is produced by Tim Bricknell and is the latest UK produced Amazon Original series. The Power is adapted for screen by writer, creator and executive producer Naomi Alderman, who is working alongside an all-female writers’ room,...

John Leguizamo and seven more actors have been added to the cast of Amazon’s feminist sci-fi series “The Power,” head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke announced during the Television Critics Association press tour Tuesday.

Other cast members joining previously announced stars Leslie Mann and Auli’i Cravalho on the 10-part global thriller series, which is based on Naomi Alderman’s novel of the same name, include Toheeb Jimoh, Ria Zmitrowicz, Halle Bush, Heather Agyepong, Nico Hiraga and Daniela Vega.

“The Power,” which goes into production in February, takes place in a world where all teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people and then find out they can awaken this ability in older women, according to Amazon.

Also Read: 'Lord of the Rings' on Amazon Casts 13 Series Regulars

Per Amazon, “The world of ‘The Power’ is our world, but for one twist of nature. Suddenly, and without warning, all teenage...

A region bustling with the winds of change throughout the 2010s — both progressive and retrograde — Latin America enjoyed a banner decade that witnessed the rise of films grappling with economic inequality, indigenous discrimination, and Lgbtq+ issues.

Mexico’s production continued to skyrocket (from Amat Escalante to Eugenio Derbez), Chile emerged as a powerhouse in both the arthouse and mainstream markets (with the Larraín brothers’ Fabula production company and the unofficial movement known as Chilewood), and countries like Panama (“Invasion”), the Dominican Republic (“Woodpeckers”), and Paraguay (“The Heiresses”) made strides towards a more consistent output of noteworthy offers. Although far from a definitive list, these 11 features give the world the opportunity to take a peek at the varied perspectives of Latin American creators, veterans and up-and-comers:

“Aquarius” (2016)

Vigorous and sensual, Sonia Braga commands director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s vital character study in her career-best work playing Doña Clara. The timeless Brazilian...

Sneak Peek a series of 1-minute "Horror Shorts", directed by Floria Sigismondi, showcasing Nicole Kidman, Andy Serkis, Jake Gyllenhaal and a whole lot more:

Shorts include Nicole Kidman as "The Possessed"...

...Andy Serkis as "The Demented Clown", Floria Sigismondi as "The Mannequin"...

...Daniela Vega as "The Vampire"...

...Jake Gyllenhaal as "The Damned"...

..."Brooklynn Prince as "The Demon Child"...

...and Tiffany Haddish as "The Macabre Dancer".

Click the images to enlarge...