In honor of the newcomers in ‘The Florida Project,’ we’re celebrating the best non-professional movie performances, from ‘American Honey’ to ‘City of God.’
Sean Baker’s Tangerine remains one of the most audacious and poignant indie films of the past couple years. Newcomers Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez brought a searing authenticity to a story about trans women of color living in Hollywood, characters rarely if ever explored on screen wit…
June is a month of victory for the LGBTQ community. It’s the one time of the year lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, and all other spectrums of queer sexualities and gender identities come together to honor the queer heroes who rioted, fought, and persevered before us. It’s a …
Movies have long been a means of escapism, where one can slink away from their chaotic or mediocre lives into the anonymous oasis of a movie theater, or more often lately, into our streaming-equipped bedrooms and living rooms. I often think of Pauline Kael’s “Trash, Art, and the Movies…
With the official nomination announcement just a couple short weeks away, Oscar season is in full swing, and everybody loves a surprise category spoiler. In 2015, female performers had a particularly strong showing at the movies, leading to an overstuffed slate of potential Best Actress and Best Sup…
One of the most fascinating Oscar narratives to play out this season belongs to a curious film by indie stalwart Sean Baker titled Tangerine. Everything about it flips a big fat middle finger to convention: Baker cast Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, two non-professional transgender actresses, …
There are a few guaranteed things actors can do to get nominated for an Oscar. They can play someone with a disability or a disease, go to method extremes (hey, Leo), or play a transgender character. The only problem is, every major transgender role in a mainstream film has been played by a cisgende…
Talk of the Oscars has been taking up much of our time lately, but let’s take a break to highlight this year’s top indies. The Independent Spirit Awards, considered the most important awards in the indie film world, revealed their nominees on Tuesday.
Although not as publicized as award-winner Me and Earl and the Dying Girl following this year’s Sundance film festival, Tangerine was also a movie that got a lot of people talking. It’s the first film shot entirely on an iPhone to get a theatrical release, but that’s not the onl…