And we’re off!
Friday, May 29 — Happy Friday! Folks, it’s somehow already time to start talking awards – we have a Palme d’Or winner! Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, took home the big prize at the Cannes Film Festival. And – surprise, surprise – Neon acquired the rights to the film, making “Fjord” its seventh Palme-winning acquisition in a row.
“Fjord” got pretty solid reviews coming out of the festival, as did a few other titles like “La Bola Negra” and “Club Kid.” But, the general buzz is that Cannes was a bit of a flop this year – of course, the incredible strength of the festival last year might have something to do with that assessment. But I wonder if we’ll see that vibe trickle over to American awards bodies when the time comes late this year and next. Somehow, I’m already back in the awards brain zone, y’all! I feel both caged and exhilarated by the turn my life has taken.
Let’s leave it there for now, but keep an eye out for my “Fjord” review – and hopefully, reviews for a lot of other Cannes movies – later this year.
Without further ado … Action!
🏳️🌈 Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ film festival, has announced the winners of its third annual Filmmaker Fund, including Aphrodite Armstrong and Tierra Frost.
📽️ The “hella early” deadline to submit your film or screenplay to the 2027 Atlanta Film Festival is today! Submit films here, and screenplays here.
🎭 “Gutenberg! The Musical” is coming back to Dad’s Garage this June, more than a decade after the show’s original run in Atlanta in 2014.
🕶️ The Atlanta Fringe Festival starts today in Little Five Points and runs through Sunday, returning again June 5-7.
🤖 Amazon is creating an AI development plan. At its “AI on the Lot” event in Culver City this week, Amazon MGM Studios unveiled what’s calling “The GenAI Creator’s Fund,” which will give filmmakers, tech startups, and digital creators access to Amazon’s AI tools to develop TV shows and movies.
🎥 In other scary AI news, the Tribeca Film Festival is screening a movie called “Dreams of Violets” this year, which will be the first live-action, full-length, fully AI-generated film to be accepted by a major festival.
🍿 Netflix has announced it will put yet another big release in theaters (joining Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew”). David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” will get an exclusive two-week IMAX run starting Nov. 25 before it hits the streamer on Dec. 23.
💸 The premium theater experience company IMAX is reportedly in the early stages of considering a sale.
This week’s newsletter features an interview with Atlanta storyboard artist Mark Simon, and reviews of the new films “Backrooms” and “Two Women.” Plus, a peek at the art that I’m consuming, what’s playing this week at theaters, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
😌 You’re invited to the Wednesday Wellness Series with the Chastain Park Conservancy at Farm Chastain this June. Enjoy relaxing evenings of sound bath, Qigong, restorative yoga, and meditation surrounded by nature. Free and open to the community. Register today at Chastain Park Conservancy. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Storyboard artist Mark Simon celebrates forty years in film and TV
✏️ Mark Simon got his first Hollywood job on a small 1987 sexploitation science fiction film called “Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity.” Decades later, he’s worked on everything from “The Walking Dead” to “P-Valley,” making a name for himself as a storyboard artist across genres.
This year, Simon – who moved to Atlanta in 2018 and heads up the company Storyboards & Animatics – is celebrating 40 years in TV and film. He recently sat down with me to discuss his career, including his love for virtual storyboarding, and some of his favorite moments from the past 40 years.
🌎 Check out our conversation here.
An Evening of Purpose, Impact, and Hope
SPONSORED BY CHRIS 180
❤️ Join CHRIS 180 for the 2026 CHRIStal Ball, Sat., Aug. 15 at Curate. This elegant garden-party-inspired evening will celebrate healing, resilience and brighter futures while raising critical funds to expand access to mental health care for children, youth and families across metro Atlanta.
The gala will also honor Equifax’s Julia Houston and Georgia Power for their leadership, service and commitment to strengthening the Atlanta community.
Help CHRIS 180 bring healing, hope and life-changing support to more families across our community.
🎫 Tickets are on sale now, with sponsorship opportunities available.
‘Backrooms’ is disquieting, but runs into third-act issues
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🛋️ Have you ever seen something ostensibly normal – say, three shopping carts in the middle of an abandoned parking lot, or an empty, kitschy furniture store – and stared at it just a little too long? Long enough that the banality of it all suddenly becomes sinister, or the layout suddenly looks slightly “off“? In 2019, an anonymous user on 4chan gave a name to the spaces that emit that uncanny feeling – the Backrooms.
As an idea, the Backrooms originated as creepypasta – a term for online horror stories that proliferate across the internet and become legend. The idea was that somewhere in an alternate dimension existed an endless array of carpeted, vomitous yellow hallways that, if you weren’t careful, you might find yourself lost in.
In 2022, YouTuber Kane Parsons came into the mix, starting a web series that eventually became the inspiration for the new film “Backrooms,” directed by Parsons and written by Will Soodik. The film certainly capitalizes on the disquieting nature of the original post and the series that followed. But, it also begs the question of whether or not one unsettling idea merits an entire movie.
🛑 Check out my full review here.
‘Two Women’ is a zany sex comedy about middle age malaise
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🛠️ The art of the sex comedy has been lost in recent years, it seems – in America, at least. But this year, the French Canadians are bringing it back with a bullet.
“Two Women,” directed by Chloé Robichaud with a screenplay by Catherine Léger, is a modern update of the 1970 Canadian sex comedy “Two Women in Gold,” and takes its exploration of middle-aged, suburban malaise to charmingly comedic heights.
The film stars Karine Gonthier-Hyndman and Laurence Leboeuf as Florence and Violette, two nextdoor neighbors who find they have more in common than they initially thought – namely, that they are stuck in sexless marriages. As both women begin a series of affairs, “Two Women” humorously explores the breaking points of relationships, and how we either choose to come back from the brink or not.
🇨🇦 Read my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this weekend, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🎹 “Tuner” (pictured)
🛋️ “Backrooms”
🥖 “The Breadwinner”
💣 “Pressure”
Special Events:
🧠 “Idiocracy” @ The Plaza (Saturday-Wednesday)
👋 AtonementBooks: “Farewell My Concubine” Uncut in 4K @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🎭 National Theatre Live: “Playboy of the Western World” @ The Tara (Saturday-Sunday)
🧮 “Good Will Hunting” @ Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (Sunday-Wednesday)
😌 You’re invited to the Wednesday Wellness Series with the Chastain Park Conservancy at Farm Chastain this June. Enjoy relaxing evenings of sound bath, Qigong, restorative yoga, and meditation surrounded by nature. Free and open to the community. Register today at Chastain Park Conservancy. SPONSOR MESSAGE
What I’m watching … and reading … and listening to
Welcome to a new block for your enjoyment! We’ll kick back up Spotlight once we get into awards season later this year, but for now, I’m going to give little updates on what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching.
💉 Listening: Olivia Rodrigo’s first single for her new album, “Drop Dead,” made me sit up and take notice. But her newest single, “The Cure,” made me skyrocket out of my seat. Both singles are a sonic evolution, but “The Cure” is such a 180 from the first single – it makes me pumped to fall into the well of romantic angst that I’m sure we’ll be getting on June 12.
🌩️ Reading: I took a break from Brandon Sanderson’s “The Stormlight Archive” series after book three – I’m tryna read at least 40 books this year, and “Stormlight” books are TOMES, so they were cutting into my goal. But I’m back with “Rhythm of War,” and having a blast. Apparently there’s a lot of fantasy science in this book, and that bothers some people, but so far I’m locked in!
🏛️ Watching: For the next week, my watching schedule will be totally consumed by political thrillers. Conspiracy? Check. Alan Pakula? Check. Robert Redford? Double check! The Atlanta Film Critics Circle, of which I am a member, is putting out a list of the best political thrillers of all time this summer, timed with the 250th birthday of the U.S. I, for one, love that our brand of patriotism involves examining the ways in which our government has lied to and failed us! If you have any suggestions for movies I can’t miss, send them here.
Lights, Camera, Action!
🩺 I haven’t seen “Tuner” yet (my own fault), but I’ve been on the Leo Woodall train since “One Day,” and I really enjoyed this IndieWire interview with him about the film – especially the Dustin Hoffman anecdote in the intro.
🗣️ HBO and Turner Classic Movies released the first episode of a new podcast yesterday called “Talking Pictures.” On this episode, host Ben Mankiewicz talks with actress Rosie Perez about the films that shaped her career.
🇫🇷 For a little more Cannes action, check out this episode of “The Big Picture.” It came out before the Palme d’Or and other winners were announced, but hosts Amanda and Sean discuss their favorite films out of the festival and what it was like being on the ground in France.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
