Deragh Campbell: Last News

Guy Lodge Film Critic Thirty-five years after “When Harry Met Sally…” asked the question of whether straight men and women can be friends without sex getting in the way, “Matt and Mara” rephrases it with more anxiously fraught social stakes — raising the accompanying and ever-relevant query of whether two neurotic writers should really fraternize with each other at all. The fourth feature from Canadian writer-director Kazik Radwanski is an itchy, unsettled and often poignant relationship drama, consistent with his previous works not just in shared personnel — notably lead actors Deragh Campbell and Matt Johnson, who also headlined Radwanski’s 2019 breakout “Anne at 13,000 Ft.” — but in a tingly, seasick storytelling sensibility that makes something volatile and cinematic out of ostensibly static material.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Family Portrait,” written and directed by Lucy Kerr, has debuted its trailer ahead of its world premiere in Locarno Film Festival’s Cineasti Del Presente section. World sales are being handled by Flavio Armone at Lights On. “Family Portrait” follows a sprawling family on a morning when they have planned a group picture. After the mother disappears and one of the daughters becomes increasingly anxious to find her and take the picture, the rest of the family appears to resist any attempt to gather. “Initially presenting itself as a realistic portrayal of a family on an idle but hectic summer day, the film progressively descends into a realm where time and space lose their grip, transforming the family portrait into a solemn and enigmatic ritual of transition,” according to a press statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has an exclusive trailer and poster for the horror-comedy Sorry About the Demon, written and directed by Emily Hagins (V/H/S), which is slated to premiere on Shudder on January 19.