Merry Christmas!

by Cláudio Alves

It's the season to be jolly, so happy holidays to all The Film Experience readers, wherever you are across the globe.

I don't know about you, but in my family, there's a tradition of watching a film together on Christmas day, and I'm still pondering our options for today. Maybe we should go with the All of Us Strangers screener since that is technically a Christmas movie. One of its best scenes embraces all that barbed nostalgia and merry melancholia, lights twinkling while the Pet Shop Boys' “Always On My Mind” sounds off its queer lament in the background. Then again, that's probably not the merriest of choices, a gift of tears rather than cheers. Still, it's a beautiful film whose adaptation choices probably deserve a post of their own. But that's a matter for another time. Today, we celebrate.

Do you have a similar tradition? If so, what movie will do the honors in 2023? And beyond Andrew Haigh's ghost story, is there another film from this year that joins your Christmas canon?

TIFF '23: Getting into the Christmas Spirit with ‘El Sabor de la Navidad’

By Abe Friedtanzer

It always feels a little strange to watch a Christmas movie long before the holiday season, but that just means getting into that wintry mindset ahead of time! El Sabor de la Navidad, a Spanish-language comedy from Mexico, is notable because it’s produced by Salma Hayek Pinault and stars Mariana Treviño, who is the best reason to watch last year’s A Man Called Otto. It’s a lighthearted portrait of an extended family and others connected to them trying to get through a holiday that brings far too many conflicting personalities together…

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Another quiet weekend in theaters with only one major new wide release

By Nathaniel R

The situation didn't improve at the box office post-Thanksgiving without much in the way of new films for people to see. That said, in the absence of competition Violent Night performed above expectations, thanks to the "Violent" in the title and its memorable marketing hook 'Santa Claus goes to war with criminal intruders in a rich family's home'.

Weekend Box Office (actuals) Dec 2nd-4th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
VIOLENT NIGHT	THE FABELMANS
1 BLACK PANTHER WAKANDA FOREVER $17.5 (cum. $393.6)	1 ★ THE FABELMANS $1.2 (cum. $5.5) 638 screens

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Emmy Category Review: Outstanding Television Movie

by Juan Carlos Ojano

In a surprise, Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square was announced the winner of Outstanding TV Movie at last night's Primetime Creative Arts Emmys, securing Netflix another win in this category after missing last year. While this category has gone low-profile in recent years (being “demoted” from the main ceremony to the Creative Arts), the work represented in this category is still worth recognizing and worth checking out. Unlike last year, four networks are represented in this category of five (with Prime Video getting double nods). For the last time, here were the nominees...

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Are you there Link? It's me, Nathaniel

• US Dish is hosting a viewing party contest for romcom lovers. You can enter until the 26th and the winner has to be wiling to host an online viewing party with their friends and vlog about it afterwards. The prize is $2000
• MCN Gurus of Gold weigh in on the Best Picture and Best Director races
• Guardian excellent and rare interview with Sacha Baron Cohen as himself rather than in character about Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Trial of the Chicago 7, and his activism
• Slate really interesting piece about the way Hallmark has tried to avoid politics and their babysteps towards the modern world via their very popular Christmas movies

More after the jump including Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Zhao, Sound of Metal, new biopics, and new adaptations of old best-sellers...

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