James Baldwin: Last News

In director Rachael Holder’s feature debut, she uses the evolving streets of Brooklyn as the backdrop for a tender love letter to the borough about letting go.

Doechii has said the view that hip-hop and rap are not as “intellectual” as other genres of music is “rooted in racism”.The musician opened up about her reasoning while speaking to The Cut. She discussed how those genres helped shape her mixtape ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’, which earned her the trophy for Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards this year.“I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated,” she said.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, who was Oscar-nominated for “I Am Not Your Negro,” will be the Guest of Honor at the 56th edition of documentary festival Visions du Réel, which runs April 4-13. During the festival, Peck will deliver a masterclass and present a retrospective of his work, as well as a screening of his latest feature film, “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” Emilie Bujès, the festival’s artistic director, said Peck’s work was of “exceptional political impact and cinematographic force.” She added, his films are “inextricably linked to an alternative and engaged way of thinking about the world and its history, embodied by key figures which he has invariably made part of inspiring, precisely articulated and highly literary forms.” In a statement, the festival noted that his films “examine denials from official Western history, shining a light on aspects ignored by this account, often sketching a portrait of politicians or artists who have openly deconstructed it,” such as Congolese politician Patrice Lumumba in 1990’s “Lumumba, La Mort du prophète” and “Lumumba” in 2000, writer James Baldwin in “I Am Not Your Negro” in 2016, and, most recently, Ernest Cole with last year’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” Peck’s work is “a reinvention of activist cinema, which he transforms using a cinematographic, poetic and highly subjective language, freely intermingling genres and formats,” the festival said.

Die Hard 2 and A Soldier’s Story, has died aged 82.The actor died on Saturday (December 21), “peacefully” while “surrounded by family”, as confirmed by his publicist Erica Huntzinger. His cause of death was complications from diabetes, a condition Evans battled for several years, per USA Today.In a statement, Evans’ wife Babe said: “Art was not only an incredible actor but a devoted husband, friend, and source of light to everyone who knew him.“His laughter, passion, and love of life will be deeply missed.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Benjamin Washington (American Auto) and Elijah Wright (High and Low) have joined the fourth season of MGM+‘s gangster drama Godfather of Harlem as recurring guest stars.

New York Film Festival parent Film at Lincoln Center has set the slate for its Currents strand at the 62nd edition – 12 features and 28 shorts meant to complement the Main Slate with an emphasis on new, innovative voices.

People Just Do Nothing producer Roughcut TV has laid down its drama ambitions by striking a first-look deal with Fremantle following its recently-announced series.

EXCLUSIVE: The works of James Baldwin, author and civil rights activist, could be headed to the small and big screen after Fremantle North America struck a deal with The Baldwin Family.

Gregg Goldstein Raoul Peck‘s life is as fascinating as his films, filled with unexpected twists and turns. From his early stints as a cab driver and journalist, to a minister of culture post in his native Haiti, to teaching, to founding his Velvet Film production shingle to his breakthrough when he earned an Oscar nomination as producer/director with the James Baldwin doc, “I Am Not Your Negro,” the common denominator is Peck’s drive to make life better through his work.

Brent Lang Executive Editor LaKeith Stanfield, the Oscar-nominated star of “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Atlanta,” has joined Raoul Peck’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” The upcoming documentary chronicles the life and work of Ernest Cole, one of the first Black freelance photographers in South Africa, whose early pictures showed Black life under apartheid. They were images that shocked the world. Stanfield will be the voice of Cole, helping to bring his words to life on screen.

For editorial inquiries, please contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com and Sharareh Drury at sdrury@variety.com. PartnerStubbs Alderton & Markiles Besides advising a host of A-listers in their business transactions, Akselrud is known as a go-to corporate dealmaker.

Madonna took a moment to address the current Israel-Hamas conflict while on stage at The O2, expressing her exasperation at how human beings are capable of “being so cruel to one another”.The artist urged the crowd to “remember we are human beings here” because “we cannot lose our humanity” and to make a difference by bringing “light into the world”.Madonna had addressed the conflict briefly in the early shows of her four-night run of ‘Celebration’ shows at the London arena, saying on the opening night that “watching what’s happening in Israel and Palestine” breaks her heart. On the third show on October 16, however, she expanded on her comments.“Nobody wants to see what’s happening,” she said.

Pioneering British Black filmmaker Horace Ové has died, his family has announced. He was 86.

Naman Ramachandran Horace Ové, director of “Pressure” (1976), the first full-length Black British film, died on Sept. 16. He was 86.

Evening Standard in London, Porter lightened the mood by humorously talking about the separation. “The whole world knows I’m getting a divorce. Y’all want to talk about my divorce and Ricky Martin’s at the same time?” Earlier this summer, Martin also announced that he and his husband of several years are going their separate ways.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its lineup of documentaries this morning, a slate that includes the world premiere of a film on uncancelled comedian Louis C.K., as well as fresh work from nonfiction greats Raoul Peck, Frederick Wiseman, Errol Morris, Lucy Walker and Roger Ross Williams.

Billy Porter may soon have a chance at an Oscar with an upcoming biopic about renowned author and civil rights icon James Baldwin. The star is not only set to portray Baldwin, but he has also been tapped to co-write the upcoming film alongside Dan McCabe.

Luke Evans and Billy Porter showed off more than just their acting skills at the premiere of their new film, “Our Son”.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Magnolia Pictures and MK2 Films have acquired rights to Roaul Peck’s documentary about renowned photographer Ernest Cole. The untitled documentary chronicles the life and work of Cole, the first Black freelance photographer in South Africa, whose early work revealed to the world the shocking, brutal realities of Black life under apartheid. Magnolia will release the film in North American theaters, while MK2 will handle the rollout internationally. “Ernest Cole’s long and, at times, painful and tedious journey in America brings me back to a period of my life when my political commitment and artistic stamina were forged,” Peck said in a statement. “I profoundly feel, cherish and treasure his human eye on the facts of life and his piercing acuity over our terrible contradictions.”

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures and mk2 have acquired rights to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, about South Africa’s first Black freelance photographer.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to In the Company of Rose, a feature documentary about poet Rose Styron, widow of Sophie’s Choice novelist William Styron.