The Daily

In the spotlight this week: Mario Monicelli, Michael Snow, Gordon Parks, Fronza Woods, and the Japanese New Wave.

Artforum opens the season, and we already have best-of-2021 lists from Cahiers du cinéma and Vanity Fair.

So far, most critics have been gung ho, but a few are expressing reservations.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Elena Ferrante adaptation wins best feature, screenplay, and breakthrough director—and scores a nod for Olivia Colman, too.

The composer and lyricist who reinvented the American musical was “more of a film buff than a theater buff.”

Mike Leigh, Hayao Miyazaki, Céline Sciamma, and Jessica Beshir discuss their work, and Farran Smith Nehme launches a newsletter.

The newly opened museum celebrates the centenary with a two-part retrospective.

Brief notes on films arriving from Mike Mills, Tatiana Huezo, Jane Campion, Robert Greene, and Radu Jude.

Having won major prizes in Berlin and Cannes, the director has been talking openly about his background, influences, and working methods.

Paul Newman’s forthcoming memoir, Bill Gunn’s 1981 novel, and Melissa Anderson’s Inland Empire are among this month’s notable titles.

A new podcast delves into the life and work of Chantal Akerman, and Reverse Shot opens a new symposium.

Over time, the former child star learned to love his work.

Julia Ducournau’s Titane, Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?, and Florian Zeller’s The Father lead with four each.

MoMI presents a conversation with the director about his new memoir and a screening of A Room with a View.

This week heads in all directions—noir, musicals, and the avant-garde.

Kenneth Branagh and Philip Barantini lead the race for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

So far, the Museum’s programmers have selected nearly twenty films that they believe “will stand the test of time.”

As Denis Villeneuve prepares Dune: Part Two, writers delve into the religious and political ideas that inform the new franchise.

A lost Iranian melodrama returns, Reverse Shot and Caligari tell us scary stories, and Robert Mitchum is the star of Noirvember.

MoMA, the Cinémathèque française, Film at Lincoln Center, and Ecstatic Static present a set of adventurous programs.

Two great podcasts launch new seasons, and another expands on a new book about New York movies.

In the run-up to Friday’s opening, Wright has put together a delectable issue of the Observer New Review.

An outstanding course on Kieślowski, the revival of a Sundance award-winner, and a couple of ranked lists are among this week’s highlights.

This year’s round sees a category shake-up and two female writer-directors out front.