"An AI Divide So Wide You Could Drive A Truck Through It"

Mar 21, 2024

Happy Thursday, friends. It’s been a week for eye-catching metaphors:

A Tale of Two SXSWs: “An AI Divide So Wide You Could Drive a Film Industry Through It.” “If we don’t understand how technology is being adapted as a filmmaking tool, we leave ourselves helpless to shape the conversation around what we collectively hold dear: the creation of motion pictures through eyes and heart of imperfect human beings.”
Hollywood Contraction Hits Entertainment Executive Jobs: “This is a Full Scale Depression.” “Meet whoever tells you that you should meet this person or that person, network outside of your comfort zone. Don’t just talk to your circle of friends and your few agents.”

We don’t hate that last piece of advice. And with a ton of new work out this week, it’s a great time to say hello to peers. Let’s dive in.

Roll of Honor

Premieres, Awards, and More. Say hello to featured members on the app.

These Worlds Are Not What They Seem

3 Body Problem: An Ambitious War of the Worlds. “It is occasionally transcendent… adapting highly conceptual science fiction into embodied character arcs”(Vulture). Perry Yung, Cast; Laura Blair, Location Manager. Netflix.
Immaculate: All is Not Well in the Nunnery. Starring Sydney Sweeney, this is a “cheeky, freaky, lushly designed horror movie” (LA Times). Michael Mohan, Director; Andrea Chlebak, Colorist; Sarah Colvin and Evan O'Brien, NEON. AMC Theaters March 22nd.
Palm Royale: An Interloper at the It Club. “A bit Desperate Housewives, a bit Mad Men, a bit Big Little Lies – this glam drama about 60s high society has everything [Kristen Wiig] needs to shine” (The Guardian). Ted Mahoney, Post-Production Supervisor; Jayme Greene, Art Department. Apple TV+.
Roadhouse: Florida Bouncer Beware. The remake of the Patrick Swayze cult hit is “staged with a verve and wit and dynamic grittiness” (Variety). Grant Hewlett, VFX Supervisor; Angelica Lopez, Finishing Editor; Paul Hsu, Supervising Sound Editor. Amazon Prime.

Magnetic Personalities

Stormy: Fame and Frenzy. The film “wisely lets these issues [of misogyny, female power, and agency] linger” (NYT). Wolfgang Held, Shiho Fukada, Derek Howard, Cinematographers; Ben Kaplan, Inbal Lessner, Editors. Peacock.
The Reverend: Minister of Music. The film may “even bless you with a bit of spiritual inspiration” (Film Threat). Nick Canfield, Director; Iris Ng, Matt Bockelman, Additional Camera. Criterion Channel.
Unseen: What It Means to Be Undocumented. Don’t miss Director Set Hernandez’s wonderful long-form interview in The Moveable Feast this week. Diane Quon, Executive Producer; Felix Endara, Producer; Jesse Kerman, Animator; Richard Hama, Additional Cinematography; Dorian Gomez Pestaña, Co-Producer; Daniel Chávez, Screenwriter; Josaen Ronquillo, Post-Production Producer. POV

(Millennial) Childhood, Revisited

Butterfly in the Sky: LeVar Burton Reflects on ‘Reading Rainbow’ Journey. Dava Whisenant, Executive Producer; Justin Lacob, Producer. AMC Theaters
Quiet On Set: Nickelodeon’s #MeToo Story Was Hiding in Plain Sight. Lisa Kalikow, Co-Executive Producer; Katie Sadler, Assistant Camera. MAX
The Tuba Thieves: NYT Critics Pick. Rachel Nederveld, Su Kim, Producers; Jeffrey Winter, Distributor; David Teague, Supervising Editor; Derek Howard, Director of Photography.

Slamdance Hybrid Doc ‘Starring Jerry As Himself’ Acquired By Greenwich Entertainment. Jonathan Hsu, Producer.
Tribeca Film ‘The Secret Art Of Human Flight’ Acquired By Level 33. Hannah Dweck, Theodore Schaefer, Executive Producers; Benjamin Wiessner, Tina Carbone, Producers.
Sundance’s AI Afterlife Doc ‘Eternal You’ Gets Theatrical Release in the U.K., Germany. Moritz Riesewieck, Director; Konrad Waldmann, Tom Bergmann, Cinematographers; Lisa Zoe Geretschlaeger, Editor; Kelsey Koenig, Executive Producer.

BAFTA TV Nominations announced. Click to see Portrait members behind the shows, including White Nanny, Black Child / David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived / The Bear / Beef / The Last of Us / Love & Death / Succession.
SXSW Audience Award Winners Announced. See Portrait members behind the award winners on the app, including: Monkey Man / Bob Trevino Likes It / Resynator/ My Dead Friend Zoe / Clemente / Oddity / Bionico’s Bachata / Can / Frank / Meat Puppet / Sangre Violenta / Sangre Violeta / STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A. / Neo-Dome.
American Cinematheque Launches Major New L.A. Documentary Festival.

Check out the Discover Tab on Portrait for grants, programs, festivals, and jobs.

Have an opportunity to share? Post it on the app or fill out our form.

Discovery Days (3/21 deadline)
Canadian Writers Program (3/21 deadline)
Creative Capital Award (3/22 deadline)
Canadian Writers Program (3/22 deadline)
HollyShorts Screenplay Contest (3/22 deadline + discount)
Austin Screenplay Competition (3/22 deadline + discount)
Points North Fellowship (3/25 deadline)
The Writers Lab (3/28 deadline + discount)
Gertrude Conference TV Pilot Competition (3/30 deadline)
Kickstarter Long Story Short (3/31 deadline)
Humanitas New Voices Fellowship (4/1 deadline)
The Black List x TRW Collection (5/1 deadline)
Austin Screenplay Competition (5/24 deadline + discount)
SFFILM Doc Fund (5/31 deadline + discount)
See more spring + rolling deadlines in our interactive database in the app.

Have a job to share? Share it on the app or fill out our form.

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