Shudder have announced that they will premiere their queer, psychological thriller, Haze, at New York’s LGBTQ Film Festival, NewFest. It marks another addition to the growing number of queer genre films that festivals like NewFest can add to their programming to draw in genre fans who are members of the LGBTQ community and we're here for it. A young man returns home after rehab and uncovers the secrets of his town's abandoned psychiatric center. Cole Doman, Brian J. Smith, David Pittu, and Annie Golden star in a film written and directed by Matthew Fifer. Shudder released the first look still today and will stream Haze this Fall. Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural announced today that Haze (formerly known...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 5/3/2024
- Screen Anarchy
NewFest, a New York LGBTQ+ film and media organization, revealed the full lineup for their fourth annual NewFest Pride summer film series. NewFest’s five-day festival kicks off LGBTQ+ Pride Month from May 30 – June 3, 2024, in-person in New York and streaming throughout the United States, and will feature a mix of premieres and conversations, virtual screenings, and social events. The announcement came today from NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.
“It’s no accident that this year’s NewFest Pride starts on May 30; it’s part of our not-so-secret mission to celebrate Pride 365 days a year,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “We can’t wait to provide a space for the community to come together for bold new films and series, thought-provoking conversations, and joyful social gatherings. This moment calls for celebration and resistance, and we intend to offer opportunities for both in equal measure.
“It’s no accident that this year’s NewFest Pride starts on May 30; it’s part of our not-so-secret mission to celebrate Pride 365 days a year,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “We can’t wait to provide a space for the community to come together for bold new films and series, thought-provoking conversations, and joyful social gatherings. This moment calls for celebration and resistance, and we intend to offer opportunities for both in equal measure.
- 5/3/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The company’s new feature Ricky, directed by Rashad Frett, is building on the short of the same name that premiered at Sundance 2023.
New York-based Ramfis Myrthil, whose credits include Independent Spirit Award-nominated Cicada, is in Cannes with the international launch of his new company Ramfis Productions.
The company’s new feature Ricky, directed by Rashad Frett, is building on the short of the same name that premiered at Sundance 2023. The team is gearing up to shoot the feature version of Ricky in the US this summer, most likely in New Jersey. The story is about an ex-offender who is...
New York-based Ramfis Myrthil, whose credits include Independent Spirit Award-nominated Cicada, is in Cannes with the international launch of his new company Ramfis Productions.
The company’s new feature Ricky, directed by Rashad Frett, is building on the short of the same name that premiered at Sundance 2023. The team is gearing up to shoot the feature version of Ricky in the US this summer, most likely in New Jersey. The story is about an ex-offender who is...
- 5/22/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Andy Palmer has signed on to direct When They Come For Me as his next film, after wrapping production on the comedy The Re-Education of Molly Singer, starring Britt Robertson, Nico Santos, Jaime Pressley and Holland Roden.
The thriller from Citizen Skull Productions tells the story of six trapped locals during a lightning storm at Stonehenge that creates an electrical dome, where survival means fighting off ancient souls trying to take over their bodies.
German actors Werner Daehn and Adrienne McQueen are attached to star in the pic, which will shoot next year in Europe. Patricia Beauchamp, Alix Reeves and Adrienne McQueen wrote the script, with Liz Fuller, Matt Prater, Michael Roesch and Mark Myers set to produce for Citizen Skull.
***
Exclusive: Writer-director Matthew Fifer (Strand Releasing’s Cicada) has wrapped production on Treatment, a new LGBT-themed psychological horror film produced for Shudder,...
The thriller from Citizen Skull Productions tells the story of six trapped locals during a lightning storm at Stonehenge that creates an electrical dome, where survival means fighting off ancient souls trying to take over their bodies.
German actors Werner Daehn and Adrienne McQueen are attached to star in the pic, which will shoot next year in Europe. Patricia Beauchamp, Alix Reeves and Adrienne McQueen wrote the script, with Liz Fuller, Matt Prater, Michael Roesch and Mark Myers set to produce for Citizen Skull.
***
Exclusive: Writer-director Matthew Fifer (Strand Releasing’s Cicada) has wrapped production on Treatment, a new LGBT-themed psychological horror film produced for Shudder,...
- 11/12/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Writer, director and actor Matthew Fifer makes his feature debut with Cicada, a very personal urban romance that’s also a perceptive and searching drama about the legacy of childhood abuse. Films that revolve around buried trauma can be overly melodramatic affairs, but Fifer’s Cicada balances painful backstory revelation with the sensuous pulse of the present. His depiction of early-aughts twentysomething Brooklyn romance is alive to the rhythms of the city and understanding of how place as well as economic circumstance frame the ways we connect with one another. Fifer plays Ben, a bisexual who we meet as he’s engaging in […]
The post “It’s Really the Act of Saying the Words Out Loud, Bringing Darkness into Light, Negotiating the Past for Yourself”: Matthew Fifer on His Autobiographical NYC Drama, Cicada first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “It’s Really the Act of Saying the Words Out Loud, Bringing Darkness into Light, Negotiating the Past for Yourself”: Matthew Fifer on His Autobiographical NYC Drama, Cicada first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/5/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Triumph Over Trauma: Fifer & Mulcare Mine Catharsis with Poignant, Intersectional Drama
The importance of representation is a concept which, like many conceits, is more easily discussed as a far-off futuristic goal than an experienced reality. Often the desired thrust of conversations and criticism for those belonging to groups or experiences rarely reflected in the moving image results in a sort of awestruck paralysis when finally confronted by them. And such is the power of Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare’s directorial debut Cicada, which so gracefully navigates a complex myriad of trauma and intersectionality it jumps beyond the usual ‘first-wave’ feel these infrequent portraits feel like.…...
The importance of representation is a concept which, like many conceits, is more easily discussed as a far-off futuristic goal than an experienced reality. Often the desired thrust of conversations and criticism for those belonging to groups or experiences rarely reflected in the moving image results in a sort of awestruck paralysis when finally confronted by them. And such is the power of Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare’s directorial debut Cicada, which so gracefully navigates a complex myriad of trauma and intersectionality it jumps beyond the usual ‘first-wave’ feel these infrequent portraits feel like.…...
- 10/26/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to “Cicada,” Matthew Fifer’s Brooklyn-set debut feature, which premiered last year at several festivals, including Frameline, Outfest and BFI London.
“Cicada” was written and directed by Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. The film was inspired by events in Sheldon Brown’s and Fifer’s own lives. Fifer headlines the film alongside Brown, who also co-wrote the script.
The film follows Ben (Fifer), a young bisexual man who, after a string of unsuccessful and awkward encounters, meets Sam (Brown), a man of color struggling with deep wounds of his own. As the summer progresses and their intimacy grows, their pasts begin to crawl to the surface.
“We’re thrilled to be working on Matt’s debut feature ‘Cicada.’ It’s a thrilling and promising new voice, one that fits our family of auteurs,” said Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing.
The film also stars Cobie Smulders,...
“Cicada” was written and directed by Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. The film was inspired by events in Sheldon Brown’s and Fifer’s own lives. Fifer headlines the film alongside Brown, who also co-wrote the script.
The film follows Ben (Fifer), a young bisexual man who, after a string of unsuccessful and awkward encounters, meets Sam (Brown), a man of color struggling with deep wounds of his own. As the summer progresses and their intimacy grows, their pasts begin to crawl to the surface.
“We’re thrilled to be working on Matt’s debut feature ‘Cicada.’ It’s a thrilling and promising new voice, one that fits our family of auteurs,” said Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing.
The film also stars Cobie Smulders,...
- 6/4/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Queer drama received its UK premiere at the London Film Festival.
Peccadillo Pictures has secured UK and Ireland distribution rights to LGBTQ+ romantic drama Cicada in a deal struck directly with the producers.
Peccadillo hopes to give the US feature, directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare, a theatrical and digital release in spring 2021.
Cicada was meant to open BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival in March but saw its world premiere postponed when the even was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. It eventually debuted at Outfest Los Angeles in September and went on to play a raft of festivals,...
Peccadillo Pictures has secured UK and Ireland distribution rights to LGBTQ+ romantic drama Cicada in a deal struck directly with the producers.
Peccadillo hopes to give the US feature, directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare, a theatrical and digital release in spring 2021.
Cicada was meant to open BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival in March but saw its world premiere postponed when the even was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. It eventually debuted at Outfest Los Angeles in September and went on to play a raft of festivals,...
- 12/21/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
It’s summer in New York, and for 20-something Ben, bisexual and newly out, the city, it seems, is his oyster. And his snail — to quote Hollywood’s most famous coded exchange about sexual preference. In Cicada, an Intimate and frank story of gay love and identity, little is coded. The feature debut of writer-director Matthew Fifer, who also stars, produces and edits, tackles intense personal challenges with compassion and wit and, notwithstanding the teased-out events at its core, a bracing directness.
Playing characters drawn from their own experiences, Fifer and his co-lead, Sheldon D. Brown, who also has a writing credit,...
Playing characters drawn from their own experiences, Fifer and his co-lead, Sheldon D. Brown, who also has a writing credit,...
- 10/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
It’s summer in New York, and for 20-something Ben, bisexual and newly out, the city, it seems, is his oyster. And his snail — to quote Hollywood’s most famous coded exchange about sexual preference. In Cicada, an Intimate and frank story of gay love and identity, little is coded. The feature debut of writer-director Matthew Fifer, who also stars, produces and edits, tackles intense personal challenges with compassion and wit and, notwithstanding the teased-out events at its core, a bracing directness.
Playing characters drawn from their own experiences, Fifer and his co-lead, Sheldon D. Brown, who also has a writing credit,...
Playing characters drawn from their own experiences, Fifer and his co-lead, Sheldon D. Brown, who also has a writing credit,...
- 10/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 32nd annual NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ Film Festival is bringing queer cinema to audience’s homes this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The diverse offerings at this year’s virtual festival should delight LGBTQ cinephiles of many tastes. The queer film fest will offer screenings through October 27, and the following five movies are some of the best on display.
“Ammonite”
NewFest 2020 is not completely devoid of in-person events, thanks to a select few drive-in screenings. The first of which was “Ammonite,” the highest profile awards contender of the lineup. The film by Francis Lee depicts the real life relationship between paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saorise Ronan) in the 1840s. Those in attendance at the Queen’s Drive-In were lucky enough not only to experience the sweeping period romance, but also witnessed Winslet virtually present the inaugural World Queer Visionary Award to director Francis Lee.
“Ammonite”
NewFest 2020 is not completely devoid of in-person events, thanks to a select few drive-in screenings. The first of which was “Ammonite,” the highest profile awards contender of the lineup. The film by Francis Lee depicts the real life relationship between paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saorise Ronan) in the 1840s. Those in attendance at the Queen’s Drive-In were lucky enough not only to experience the sweeping period romance, but also witnessed Winslet virtually present the inaugural World Queer Visionary Award to director Francis Lee.
- 10/26/2020
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Early on in “Cicada,” a secondary character drops the old maxim, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that art is never finished, only abandoned. It’s a pointed moment of self-awareness in a film of many. Writer-director-producer-editor-star Matthew Fifer’s debut feature processes lived experience into a cracked, anguished work of autofiction, raggedly cathartic and needfully unresolved as it sketches young queer lives in different stages of self-acceptance. Delicately tracing the first summery blush of romance between two Brooklyn men respectively hindered by their own private trauma, “Cicada” is self-indulgent in the most forgivable, even fruitful, way, with stretches of nervy improvisation and everyday poetry that feel aptly rough and bruised. Nothing here seems to have been finished, or even abandoned, with ease.
In a normal year, “Cicada” would have completed a comprehensive tour of the LGBTQ festival circuit, picking up a word-of-mouth following along the way: It was originally set...
In a normal year, “Cicada” would have completed a comprehensive tour of the LGBTQ festival circuit, picking up a word-of-mouth following along the way: It was originally set...
- 10/16/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
While independent filmmakers have taken a hit with all the festival postponements, cancelations, and re-imaginings, there is a silver lining to upending business as usual. In the past, LGBTQ cinephiles hungry for quality films that represent the breadth and depth of queer life would have to go to a queer film festival to see the international titles or small comedies that may never make their way to Netflix. This year, they can stream some of the freshest films from all across the globe at home.
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
- 8/21/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Outfest Los Angeles is going virtual this year and they have unveiled their stacked lineup for the 11-day festival which kicks off August 20.
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
- 8/11/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Lgbtiq+ festival to launch BFI Flare at Home on streaming service BFI Player.
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival is to make a raft of titles and live Q&As available online following its cancellation on Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
BFI Flare at Home will host several features and shorts that were due to screen at the festival on BFI Player from March 20-29.
New titles will include Levan Akin’s Cannes award-winner And Then We Danced; Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau’s chamber piece Don’t Look Down; and Daniel Karslake’s documentary For They Know Not What They Do.
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival is to make a raft of titles and live Q&As available online following its cancellation on Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
BFI Flare at Home will host several features and shorts that were due to screen at the festival on BFI Player from March 20-29.
New titles will include Levan Akin’s Cannes award-winner And Then We Danced; Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau’s chamber piece Don’t Look Down; and Daniel Karslake’s documentary For They Know Not What They Do.
- 3/19/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, which was due to run March 18-29, has been cancelled just two days before it was due to open over coronavirus concerns.
Organizers BFI said it was making the move with “heavy hearts”, but that “due to the scale and complexity of running a large international film festival with filmmakers set to travel to it from across the world” it had been forced to make the decision.
More from DeadlineArnold Schwarzenegger Posts Coronavirus Message Starring Ponies Lulu & Whiskey: "Listen To The Experts, Ignore The Morons. We Will Get Through This Together"Australian TV Presenter Who Recently Met Rita Wilson Contracts CoronavirusBritish TV Shows 'Jeremy Vine' & 'Loose Women' Go Audience-Free Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
“BFI Flare is a very special and long standing festival with a loyal and dedicated following and we realise that this is a very disappointing situation for audiences,...
Organizers BFI said it was making the move with “heavy hearts”, but that “due to the scale and complexity of running a large international film festival with filmmakers set to travel to it from across the world” it had been forced to make the decision.
More from DeadlineArnold Schwarzenegger Posts Coronavirus Message Starring Ponies Lulu & Whiskey: "Listen To The Experts, Ignore The Morons. We Will Get Through This Together"Australian TV Presenter Who Recently Met Rita Wilson Contracts CoronavirusBritish TV Shows 'Jeremy Vine' & 'Loose Women' Go Audience-Free Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
“BFI Flare is a very special and long standing festival with a loyal and dedicated following and we realise that this is a very disappointing situation for audiences,...
- 3/16/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Lgbtiq+ film festival was due to run March 18-29.
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival has become the latest event to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The festival was set to run from March 18-29 and open with the world premiere of Cicada from writer, director and star Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare.
But the impact on international travel as Covid-19 continues to spread around the world has led to organisers shuttering the 2020 edition. In the coming days, organisers are exploring ways to share elements of the event “digitally”, in step with some other festivals.
“It’s...
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival has become the latest event to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The festival was set to run from March 18-29 and open with the world premiere of Cicada from writer, director and star Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare.
But the impact on international travel as Covid-19 continues to spread around the world has led to organisers shuttering the 2020 edition. In the coming days, organisers are exploring ways to share elements of the event “digitally”, in step with some other festivals.
“It’s...
- 3/16/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
We already know that the process of getting a pilot to series is difficult.
We also know that even when a major network commissions a pilot for a series they're considering, most of them don't get greenlit for series.
So can you imagine how difficult it might be for an independent pilot to get seen by networks and find it's way to series?
SeriesFest is a non-profit organization dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling.
Each June, SeriesFest culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace.
Dedicated to showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival also includes a musical performance and network screening at the world-renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre, in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres.
This year, Stevie Wonder played Red Rocks for the first time ever in conjunction with SeriesFest, and Usher joined him on stage. So,...
We also know that even when a major network commissions a pilot for a series they're considering, most of them don't get greenlit for series.
So can you imagine how difficult it might be for an independent pilot to get seen by networks and find it's way to series?
SeriesFest is a non-profit organization dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic storytelling.
Each June, SeriesFest culminates in a highly-curated and celebrated Denver-based festival and marketplace.
Dedicated to showcasing innovative episodic content, the annual festival also includes a musical performance and network screening at the world-renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre, in-competition independent pilot screenings, panels, workshops, live reads, parties and network television premieres.
This year, Stevie Wonder played Red Rocks for the first time ever in conjunction with SeriesFest, and Usher joined him on stage. So,...
- 7/4/2019
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
In a year when the growing role of Netflix in Hollywood raised age-old fears about the death of cinema, the question of what is television versus a movie versus a web series grew ever murkier. As younger audiences become increasingly blasé about the difference, preferring streaming sites to the movie theater experience, production companies are scrambling to engage them with quality online content. At the same time, the internet remains the easiest way for emerging filmmakers to get their work seen without having to rely on meddling middlemen or jaded gatekeepers.
Read More:Jerry Seinfeld, Demetri Martin and Female Bros: The 16 Best Web Series Of 2016
IFC Comedy Crib, Stage 13, Super Deluxe, and Vimeo all ramped up their original content production this year, and underrepresented filmmakers are taking risks and reaping the rewards. As a result, there are more high-quality web series to choose from than ever before.
Here are the...
Read More:Jerry Seinfeld, Demetri Martin and Female Bros: The 16 Best Web Series Of 2016
IFC Comedy Crib, Stage 13, Super Deluxe, and Vimeo all ramped up their original content production this year, and underrepresented filmmakers are taking risks and reaping the rewards. As a result, there are more high-quality web series to choose from than ever before.
Here are the...
- 12/29/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.