What Director to Rank Next?

by Cláudio Alves

I don't know about you, but I had a lot of fun ranking Hayao Miyazaki's feature filmography. So much so that I feel inspired to do the same with some other beloved auteur. The only issue is deciding which director to rank next. In those write-ups, a commenter suggested David Lynch, so he's on the list of candidates, but there are many more possibilities, storied careers full of fascinating films. Why not put it to a readers' vote and let you choose who you wish to read about? That's exactly what we're doing, and you have ten possibilities to choose from, all of which have works I love and a filmography small enough to be manageable…

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Kelly Reichardt's "Showing Up" is one for the fans

by Cláudio Alves

As the resident Kelly Reichardt fanboy around these parts, it's my duty to inform the TFE readership that Showing Up is currently available on PVOD, and it's another smashing success from the director. Admittedly, such effusive verbiage is at odds with the film proper. You see, Reichardt has produced a film of such self-evident smallness it seems to arrive pre-labeled as a minor work in the auteur's canon. Then again, all of the director's features could be similarly described by those misaligned with her insularly specific wavelength. No Kelly Reichardt film feels big, not even when containing sprawling landscapes, multiple storylines, or the ghost of past lives haunting present earth.

And yet, Showing Up takes things to another level, closing itself in a cantankerous mood and hyper-precise milieu, playing with anti-dramatics to the point it feels like a provocation directed at those who don't get it. In other words, this may be Reichardt's version of 'one for the fans'...

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NYFF: Kelly Reichardt continues her perfect track record doing absolutely no wrong with the subtle marvel of 'Showing Up'

by Jason Adams

The worlds that writer-director Kelly Reichardt grants us access to with her movies are special places. Even if they’re filled with terrors, as they very often are – her wonderful 2013 eco-thriller Night Moves is not as out of place as it might initially seen – they’re all so delicately spun you might find yourself not breathing lest the spell be broken. The grace on display in her work is meditative, plaintive, lovely even in the most dire of straits. They are quite simply always one of my favorite places to visit. 

And her latest titled Showing Up, which reunites Reichardt with actress Michelle Williams for the first time since 2016’s Certain Women, is another wondrous, delicate world – one I know I’ll be returning to time after time, year after year, to soak in, to absorb whatever wonders and mysteries I can from someone whose view of existence I’m thankful for receiving every single damn time...

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Cannes at Home: Days 10 & 11 – The End Is Upon Us

by Cláudio Alves

The last days of the 75th Cannes Film Festival saw the premiere of many buzzy titles, including some that were declared Palme d'Or frontrunners on the spot. Albert Serra celebrates his first stint in the Main Competition with Pacification, a film that might not be for everyone but will undoubtedly satisfy the director's fans. Hirokazu Kore-eda returns after Shoplifters with another found-family crowd-pleaser, Broker. Lukas Dhont's Close reduced many to tears, but I'm not convinced. His debut was similarly acclaimed in Cannes, only to receive much-deserved backlash when seen by wider audiences. Kelly Reichardt seems to have delivered a low-key marvel with the Portland-set Showing Up, starring frequent collaborator Michelle Williams. Finally, Léonor Serraille closed the competition screenings with her sophomore feature, Mother and Son.

Just hours before Vincent Lindon's jury announces its choices, the Cannes at Home miniseries comes to an end with Serra's The Death of Louis XIV, Kore-eda's After Life, Dhont's Girl, Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy, and Serraille's Jeune Femme…

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75th Cannes. Director's Fortnight Lineup

by Nathaniel R

The 54th edition of Directors Fortnight, a sidebar which plays alongside Cannes 75th Official Selection films, has announced its lineup for this May's screenings and festivities. The opening night ceremony will honor director Kelly Reichardt with the Carrosse d'Or for her oeuvre, which they describe like so

"Political humanistic and grounded in American land, her seven feature films tell an intimate counter - history of her country, attached to territories and underdogs." 

The lineup this year includes the following 23 features (if there's an asterisk it's a first film and thus also eligible for the Camera d'Or)...

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