Courtney Howard Writer: Last News

Courtney Howard Writer-director Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song” wastes little time posing deep, morally complex and compelling questions: If we could spare our loved ones from oppressive despair and heartache, would we make any sacrifice to do so? If we could clone ourselves without anyone knowing, would we? How do we identify to others and ourselves?Part unconventionally-deconstructed love story, part high-concept sci-fi-tinged melancholic drama, the ultra-sleek, elegantly-realized tale is centered on one man’s journey toward answers and self-resolve in the face of death. The feature (which debuts at AFI Fest before its release in theaters and AppleTV Plus global premiere Dec.

Courtney Howard Writer-director Lynn Roth instinctively knows how to pluck the heartstrings with her heartrending historical drama, “Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog.” Her adaptation retains the wit and wisdom found within the pages of Asher Kravitz’s novel “The Jewish Dog,” whose unconventional conceit chronicling the Holocaust through the perspective of a German Shepherd lends itself to plenty of poetic and fantastical realism on screen. Yet the family-friendly feature all too frequently falls into conventional trappings that it unwittingly sets up for itself, particularly when it strays from the pup’s point of view.Kaleb is born surrounded by the love of a Jewish German family, the final puppy birthed on a warm, sunny day.