The credits roll, the music fades, lights go up, tears dry, and the audience is on their feet with rapturous applause. This is what the BAM theatre looked like when the CultureCon screening of Queen & Slim finished. What at first seems like a story of resistance toward police brutality, quickly gives way to a more stoic, yet resigned story of romance.
At only 19 years old, first time director Phillip Youmans is already making his mark on the film industry. His debut feature film, “Burning Cane,” won the Founders Award at the Tribeca Film Festival this April making Youmans the first Black director to win the award and the youngest director to show a film at the festival.
Queen & Slim starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie-Turner Smith screened October 10th to an audience at Brooklyn’s Culture Con. The film, written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe and two time Grammy winner Melina Matsoukas follows the story of Queen (Turner-Smith) and Slim (Kaluuya), who after their first date, are on the run from the law after shooting and killing a police officer in self-defense during a traffic stop.
Burning Cane was the talk of the Tribeca Film Festival this past April when it won the festival’s top prize. Not only that but it’s director, first-time filmmaker, Phillip Youmans became the first Black director to win the Founders Award and the youngest director to have a feature film shown at Tribeca, at 19 years old.
Tribeca TV Festival hosted a slew of different television shows, both old and new, across a host of networks and streaming platforms this past weekend. One of the shows included includes Dickinson from Apple’s new streaming service Apple TV+. Dickinson is a coming-of-age comedy that gives an inside look at the life of poet Emily Dickinson.
Amidst all the flurry and fabric of New York Fashion Week, Elle held an event at The Shed to honor its October cover stars, Lizzo, Camila Cabello, and Billie Eilish who they call “brave and bold female artists”.
Everyone’s favorite big red dog is coming back to the big screen in a big way. Clifford the Big Red Dog (2020) directed by Walt Becker stars Rosie Perez, John Cleese, Jack Whitehall, and Kenan Thompson. The movie, much like the animated series, follows the story of a young girl named Emily and her misadventures with her beloved enormous sized puppy, Clifford. The Knockturnal was able to visit the set of Clifford the Big Red Dog on its last day of filming for a behind the scenes look at all the action.
After the Wedding (2019), starring Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup, and Julianne Moore, is a remake of the 2006 Danish film by the same name, about a woman who travels from India to New York in search of funds for her orphanage.
Director Todd Douglas Miller and Composer Matt Morton held a talk after a screening of their film, Apollo 11. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, chronicles the 1969 Apollo 11 mission from days before takeoff to after the astronauts returned home. It includes original footage from the expedition and celebrates the 50 year anniversary of the historic moment in American history and was formatted to be viewed in 65mm IMAX.
Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding is making his return to the Broadway stage as Billy Flynn, the smooth, fast-talking lawyer, in the iconic musical, “Chicago,” after wrapping up a run on London’s West End.