All That's Left of You (اللي باقي منك) is an upcoming drama film directed by Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis. Revolving round the experiences of a Palestinian family across three generations, the film highlights themes of displacement and resilience. The film is slated for its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 25 January.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for its 2025 Film Awards, showcasing a wide array of talent and storytelling that has left a significant mark on the cinematic world over the past year. This year’s nominations include super star flicks of the past year including Emilia Pérez, Wicked, Blitz, Gladiator II and many more. Amongst the nominees, are FOCUS 2024 speakers Robin Carolan for Best Original Score in Nosferatu, Valerie Déloof, Victor Fleurant, Victor Praud, Stéphane Thiébaut, and Emanuelle Villard for sound in The Substance, as well as Peter Straughan for Best Original Screenplay, Nick Emerson in editing ,and Nina Gold and Martin Ware for casting for Conclave.
Leigh Whannell, Blumhouse writer and director takes to the helm of upcoming reimagining Wolf Man. Starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner and Sam Jaeger, filming for Wolf Man took place in New Zealand. The howl-worthy horror flick is set for theatre release on 17 January.
The Bear actor and chef Matty Matheson stars in Toast’s latest as titled One of Those Nights. Matheson and a number of other complex customers find themselves in the midst of a chaotic night at renowned New York restaurant Marea, testing the restaurant’s restaurant's ability to handle complex, custom orders seamlessly. The short film was created in collaboration with the agency Arnold.
On 7 January, devastating wildfires erupted in Los Angeles fuelled by the Santa Ana winds. In addition to the devastation to the homes and local communities situated across the Palisades and Altadena areas, the popular entertainment city has started to feel the impact to its industry as productions come to a halt, significant events cancelled or postponed, and studios shut down operations.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson from The Roots steps back into his directorial shoes for SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) set for debut at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Following his Oscar-winning success in 2021 for Summer of Soul, the new documentary tells the story of Sly & the Family Stone. Key interviews include Chaka Khan, Nile Rogers and Clive Davis. The premiere will take place on 23 January with release for streaming on 13 February on Hulu.
Whilst critically acclaimed projects such as Baby Girl, Love Lies Bleeding and The Substance were the talk of many a tongue last year, 2024 saw a shameful 16% of the 250 top grossing movies directed by women. The representation of female directors in Hollywood has seen minimal progress in recent years, with recent studies highlighting persistent gender disparities in the industry, and within that, even further skews lacking in favour for female directors of colour. With awards season underway, can the display of disparity once again start the shift to more equitable representation in 2025 and beyond?
This year is gearing up for an super return, as DC and Marvel unveil their slate of projects. From the continuation of favourite franchises such as Spiderman: Beyond the Spiderverse and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, to new iterations of classics such as Superman and Fantastic Four, the Summer superhero flick extends to the whole year.