The Film Stage

Films by Kleber Mendonça Filho, Leos Carax, Shinji Sōmai, Abel Ferrara, David Lean, and more are among our recent recommended discs: link.amazon/B06nitaFL

"When we see older people having sex, it gives us a too-close-to-the-bone awareness of our own mortality." #QueenatSea director Lance Hammer talks with @danieleagan.bsky.social about returning after two decades:

At the 2026 Busan International Film Festival, Anuparna Roy talks with @danieleagan.bsky.social about Lovers in the Blue Night and conveying empathy in a world on fire: thefilmstage.com/anuparna-roy...

Fantastic interview with Nigel Galt, editor of Eyes Wide Shut. Among other insights, he debunks the nonsense about the "missing 20 minutes," that Stanley Kubrick was killed for exposing the Illuminati, etc. etc. etc. The movie is literally about a secret society. You don't need 20 more minutes.

"I hope for young filmmakers, they see it’s a process and an evolution, that you don’t just show up one day as a fully-formed, experienced person." We talk with Sofia Coppola about revisiting Marie Antoinette 20 years later:

All of a Sudden, Clarissa, La Gradiva, The Invite, and Tender Loving Care lead the 2026 Gotham Awards nominations. Explore the full list:

Village Rockstars 2 is as beautifully shot as any Malick film. Highly recommended. Hope she makes a third because this is Apu Trilogy level filmmaking.

"As long as a film can depict those emotions, those universal feelings, as long as we are connecting, we’ll be good. As long as AI and other elements don’t control us, control our emotions, we will be okay." Rima Das talks with @danieleagan.bsky.social at the 2026 Busan International Film Festival:

Explore the world of avant-garde pioneers Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler in our exclusive trailer debut for #Illuminations, world premiering at @docnycfest.bsky.social followed by an @anthologyfilm.bsky.social series. Watch: thefilmstage.com/explore-the-...

My annual feature tracking the films getting awards-qualifying runs is up. This will be updated through December. If you are a distributor and your run is not listed here, get in touch.

Calling all critics, voters, and list-makers! Here's all the 2026 films having one-week, awards-qualifying theatrical runs this year:

"Normally I’m the one who always obeys, someone passive. It’s fun doing this character once in a while, especially because there aren’t many roles like this in Thailand." @danieleagan.bsky.social talks with the team behind Inherit:

"I used my rules or principles to restrict or return to a more honest way of shooting—not only for Chinese films, but for films of all cultures." Gu You talks with @danieleagan.bsky.social about his Busan world premiere The First Taste of Loneliness:

Spoke with writer-director Noah Segan back at Sundance about his sterling debut The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. We talked about his favorite NYC movies, the importance of B&H Dairy, and Turturro's dancing for @thefilmstage.com

Todd Haynes will reunite with Cate Blanchett for his next film.

It's an incredible weekend to see a movie. Here's the best films now playing in theaters:

The 2026 Busan International Film Festival brought feature debuts from India, the Philippines, and South Korea. Read @danieleagan.bsky.social's recap:

"I don’t want to lose the city that we have. I don’t want to lose the objects that we have. I want to protect the things that are real." The Only Living Pickpocket in New York's Noah Segan talks with @thekentman.bsky.social about crafting his emotional crime drama: thefilmstage.com/i-dont-want-...

The U.K. poster for Marine Atlan's #LaGradiva. Read our Cannes review of one of the year's best films: thefilmstage.com/cannes-revie...

Finally getting a release nearly three years after its Sundance premiere, #Junk, now on MUBI, is a genre-bending addiction drama that packs a poignant punch.

Steve Pink’s #Terrestrial, now in theaters, is a pitch-black sci-fi comedy. Read @jaredmobarak.com's review:

Taking a very silly concept and playing it relatively straight, Anton Corbijn's A Talent for Murder is a fairly predictable, if watchable thriller.

Olivia Wilde's #TheInvite on HBO Max, the new 4K restoration of Sofia Coppola's #MarieAntoinette and the shorts of Mark Jenkin on MUBI, the Ethan Hawke-led #TheWeight on digital, and more. Explore our streaming picks of the week:

William Greaves and Sergei Loznitsa retrospectives, and more to see in NYC this weekend.

Me and Big John, chatting about his legendary career 🙌🏻

Eleanor Coppola's Making Marie Antoinette functions as both an engrossing time capsule of a young filmmaker finding her voice and a privileged peek behind the curtain of an initially misunderstood classic. Read our Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/nyff-review-...

Kubrick season yall let’s celebrate Big Stan!

LAIKA's #Wildwood, now in theaters, is a reminder of the magic and terror of the classic fantasy stories you may have grown up with, recaptured on a breathtaking scale. Read @yesitsalistair.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/bfi-london-r...

#Fatherland finds Paweł Pawlikowski in immaculate form, a film all but guaranteed to age like a fine wine. Read our Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/cannes-revie...

John Turturro shines in Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, an engrossing tale of coming to terms with the imbalance of the good and bad of a life, and if that even matters in the end. Read @thekentman.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/sundance-rev...

Tom Skerritt (1933–2026)

Our season-long deep dive into Stanley Kubrick's entire career begins with his earliest films.

In celebration of the release of @criterion.bsky.social's The Complete Kubrick box set, we are kicking off a season-long appreciation of the legendary director's entire career. Dive in and stay tuned!

The first trailer and poster for Kogonada’s zi have arrived ahead of a release next month. Watch: thefilmstage.com/haley-lu-ric...

#Wicker is an audacious, captivating film about an outcast woman, her wood-woven husband, and the village that collapses over their love. Read @thekentman.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/sundance-rev...

#PossibleLove is another novelistic gem from Lee Chang-dong, the kind of richly detailed and intricately scripted yarn in which themes of class, sex, and sociology are always on the table to be picked at. Read our Critic's Pick review as the film opens in theaters: thefilmstage.com/venice-revie...

an essential tool for end of year catching up

My annual guide on where to catch up with the essential films of the year. Happy watching!

Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes’ One in a Million tells an epic saga of exile and assimilation. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review as the Sundance winner opens in theaters:

Of Interest: Interview w/Michael Chaiken, the producer of Criterion's big new Kubrick box, via Nick Newman for @thefilmstage.com: thefilmstage.com/he-wanted-th... [NB: Some welcome news re the way-steep price tag: "I’m working with Criterion now on standalone editions."]

Alex Gibney’s four-hour opus Musk is a dense, probing, and ultimately terrifying exploration of the world’s richest man.

Looking to catch up on the best movies of the year? Explore our guide on where to stream the best films of 2026:

The new trailer for Lukas Dhont’s Cannes winner #Coward has arrived ahead of a December release. Watch: thefilmstage.com/coward-trail...

"The thing that I found so baffling is that certain factions of the Kubrick audience seem to think that Criterion can just take these films and just do whatever they please to them. And that is absolutely not the case." Read our deep dive with the producer of Criterion's The Complete Kubrick:

A manhunt begins in the first trailer for Jeremy Saulnier’s mystery thriller #Slayground, arriving next year.

At a time when people are flocking to theaters for docs like YCSE and History of Concrete, I hope this truly special film doesn't get left behind. It's got energy, personality and is for anyone who cares about culture or interested in a cocktail party where everyone is more interesting than you.

"Symbiopsychotaxiplasm gave us the license to do whatever we wanted." David Greaves talks about bringing Once Upon a Time in Harlem to life, memories of working with his father, and learning more about a foundational era of Black history:

The Criterion Channel's November lineup features Nicolas Cage, Jeremy Thomas, Roy Andersson, and more.

We're pleased to exclusively debut the trailer for Christine Haroutounian's surreal road picture After Dreaming, which makes its New York premiere this Sunday, October 25 at Asia Society.