Category: Entertainment

J.M. Harper’s documentary “Soul Patrol” garnered the top nonfiction honor at the 28th annual Sarasota Film Festival. About the first all-Black special forces unit in the Vietnam War, the doc premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

“We are so honored to receive this award,” said “Soul Patrol” producer Sam Bisbee, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for “The Perfect Neighbor.” “I’ve always had the best experiences at Sarasota, starting with our film ‘Robot & Frank’ in 2012. The film community there is just so wonderful.”

Despite critical acclaim and winning the Sundance U.S. documentary directing prize, “Soul Patrol” is still seeking distribution. Submarine’s Josh Braun, the film’s sales agent, told Variety that the doc is “on the path” to finding a home.

“Festivals like Sarasota, the Berkshires, the Hamptons, and Woodstock are an important part of the infrastructure,” Braun said. “Particularly for films that haven’t found their deal yet.”

Last month, Braun sold the Sundance 2026 title “Cookie Queens” to Roadside Attractions. The film about the $800 million worth of cookies that Girl Scouts across America sell annually took home the SIFF special jury doc prize.

Rory Kennedy returned to SIFF for the fourth time with her doc “The Trial of Alec Baldwin.” The film is a revealing portrait of Baldwin after the tragic on-set accident on the movie “Rust,” which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

“We are longtime admirers of the Sarasota Film Festival and its deeply engaged audiences,” Kennedy said. “’The Trial of Alec Baldwin’ is particularly suited to the big screen — where its tension, complexity, and sense of disbelief unfold most powerfully as a shared, collective experience.”

Kennedy said that she has partnered with “a terrific distributor” to release the doc in theaters this fall.

On April 19, after a screening of “In the Hand of Dante,” director Julian Schnabel received the SIFF Achievement in Directing Award. Kenny Anderson received the Achievement in Sport Award.

Libby Ewing garnered SIFF’s narrative feature jury prize for “Charliebird.” The film previously won the Tribeca Festival 2025 Founders Award for Best U.S. narrative feature.

Audience awards went to Ari Selinger’s “On The End” for best narrative film and John H. Cunningham’s “Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers” for documentary.

SIFF awarded “In Plain Sight” the best U.S. narrative short. Best documentary short went to “40 Days In Saratoga” and best animated short was awarded to “My Neighbor.”

“I’m honored to help close out the 28th year of the Sarasota Film Festival by celebrating the exceptional films showcased this year,” said Mark Famiglio, SIFF President and Chairman of the Board. “At its core, the festival exists for the community – to champion diverse voices and the power of storytelling.”

Consisting of 47 features and 39 short films, the festival kicked off on April 10 with a screening of “Deep Water” and concluded on April 19.

When explaining why they chose British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. as the international guest of honor at this year’s Projeto Paradiso National Talent Network gathering in Recife, the initiative’s executive director Josephine Bourgois said it was because Davies Jr’s “My Father’s Shadows” is a film that “could have been made by a Brazilian filmmaker.” This feeling was confirmed over the director’s visit to the Northeastern capital, where he showed his BAFTA-winning film at the imposing Cinema São Luiz. 

“I had never seen my skin tone shot like [it],” said director Stefano Volp following the busy Saturday night screening. “‘My Father’s Shadow’ brings such a poetic and honest experience about masculinity, and particularly Black masculinity, to Brazil,” echoed filmmaker Fernanda Lomba. “Akinola bravely and generously weaves a fabulous patchwork of memory, private life, and Nigeria’s history. We have a lot to learn from this filmmaker’s gentle radicality [in Brazil].” 

In a conversation with lauded Brazilian screenwriter Jaqueline Souza earlier in the week, the Davies Jr. mentioned how he realized in the last few years that there is a “big bridge between Brazil and Nigeria that maybe a lot of Nigerians are not cognizant of.” “We share a lot within our spirituality, the way we see the world, food, and politically as well.”

Speaking with Variety at the event, the director recalls first visiting Brazil a few years ago and going to Rio de Janeiro to see landmarks such as Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana Beach. “But everybody I met kept telling me I needed to go to Salvador. When I finally visited, it was almost like a psychedelic experience. It was one of the most striking feelings I have ever felt. It was like a fever dream; everything felt so vivid. I was there for maybe four or five days. When people describe ‘My Father’s Shadow’ as a fever dream, this is how I felt about Salvador.”

With “My Father’s Shadow” being released in Brazil at the end of the month, Davies Jr prepared a special treat for the city he felt so connected with: a screening with live score performed by the film’s musicians, Duval Timothy and CJ Mirra. Since the drama is being distributed by Filmes da Mostra, the distribution arm of the Mostra de São Paulo, Davies Jr is also taking the event to the city where he held the Brazilian premiere back in October. 

“I remember telling my Brazilian distributors once we struck a deal to show the film in Brazil that it would be incredible to have a proper premiere in Salvador,” adds the director. “I wanted to do something with the film in the city. I wanted to give the audience in Salvador something that felt truly special.” As for the São Paulo screening, the filmmaker called it a “gesture of our appreciation for having the film housed within such a fantastic, prestigious festival.”

The director’s time in Brazil is being captured by a duo of documentarians working on a special short film about how “My Father’s Shadow” resonates in Brazil. Director Lucas Crystal and cinematographer Henrique Alves first approached the British-Nigerian filmmaker at the Mostra de São Paulo, and have been closely following him on his latest visit.

“We thought about making a documentary when we realized that Akinola’s journey through Brazil would mimic that of Brazilians themselves, starting in the Northeast and going all the way down towards the south,” says Crystal. “We felt there was a poetry in this geographical mirroring, and we wanted to tell audiences about this bridge between Brazil and Nigeria, one we didn’t even know existed before meeting Akinola at the Mostra.”

The filmmaking duo says their film will be even more relevant given that Brazil will hold presidential elections at the end of the year. “Akinola’s film is very political and can talk to audiences at this key moment in our political history. We are about to make a choice that will define life for generations of Brazilians,” emphasizes Crystal, with Alves adding that films like “The Secret Agent” and “I’m Still Here” have opened a national appetite for political stories, but there’s still a lack of Black-focused and Black-led political narratives. “As a Black filmmaker, Akinola’s work spoke directly to me in a way Brazilian films haven’t in a while.”

With such a special connection to the Latin American country, would Davies Jr. ever embark on a Brazilian co-production? “Absolutely, I’d love to,” he says immediately. “It would be incredible to figure out the right relationship. I’ve met incredible Brazilian producers and filmmakers and everybody has been really generous and clever. I am sure when the time is right and the perfect opportunity arises, one hundred per cent, I’d love to work with Brazil. There is a bridge to be built. There is a big Brazilian community in Lagos, so hopefully we can find the right story for co-production. I am completely open to it.”

And the feeling is mutual when it comes to the Brazilian counterparts. Lomba, a filmmaker who works directly with strengthening the presence of Black creatives in Brazilian cinema through Nicho 54, says Davies Jr.’s visit to Brazil is “part of a certain Black zeitgeist, a moment where creative and business connections are heating up between Brazilian and African filmmakers thanks to a shared cultural imaginary. I believe we are witnessing the beginning of a long-awaited collaboration.” 

To Davies Jr., being able to connect with the diaspora is even “more important” than he realized while making his film. “The response to the film has been overwhelming. When you make an authentic piece of work, people in the diaspora can resonate with the film regardless of where they are. I think we need to see more of each other’s films. I think there needs to be a lot more collaboration and a lot more sharing of resources, concepts and ideas between filmmakers.”

“I think for so much of the world, especially the Anglophone world, we look towards the U.K. and the U.S. and suddenly that seems to dominate the conversation, but there is a huge underserved Francophone community, there’s a Caribbean community, a Latin American community… We just need to figure out more ways of connecting.”

“Union County,” a recovery-focused drama starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo, has been acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

The film, directed by Adam Meeks, casts Poulter and Centineo as two fictional characters (brothers grappling with opioid addiction) amid the real-life participants of a court-sponsored drug rehabilitation program in rural Ohio. Meeks’ extended family lives in this part of the state, and the story developed from those close ties; his uncle introduced him to the drug court judge, who invited him to sit in on a meeting.

“Working with Oscilloscope on ‘Union County’ is an affirmation of the film we made, which aspires to be in conversation with so many of the great independent films they’ve distributed over the years,” Meeks said in a statement. “We’re so proud to partner with them to bring this film about community and human connection to cinemas and audiences across the country.”

“Union County” earned rave reviews and an extended standing ovation following its Sundance Film Festival premiere in January. The Park City audience cheered loudest for Annette Deao, who has worked as a therapist helping people navigate addiction recovery via this program for more than 20 years. Deao appeared in Meeks’ 2020 short film and plays herself in the feature. In fact, nearly everyone in the film is a nonprofessional actor, bearing their own truths on camera.

Oscilloscope Laboratories will release “Union County” theatrically in the summer or the fall of 2026.

Oscilloscope’s SVP of Acquisitions Aaron Katz said, “It’s rare to see recovery portrayed with this level of honesty. Adam delivers a grounded, deeply emotional, and unsensationalized look at a community confronting a crisis that feels all too familiar today, while still leaving room for hope. Anchored by a phenomenal, seamlessly integrated performance from Will Poulter, the film is both moving and uplifting, and we’re excited to bring it to audiences.”

In his review, Variety’s Peter Debruge praised Meeks for his execution of the hybrid narrative and how it tackles the opioid crisis.

“The make-or-break ingredient turns out to be British actor Will Poulter, whose immersive commitment dovetails beautifully with Meeks’ unvarnished sensibility,” Debruge wrote. “Meeks’ raw, honest movie fits neatly within a tradition of red-state escapees who remain committed to depicting the communities they know best with empathy and compassion.”

Poulter and Centineo, who played brothers-in-arms in last year’s A24 drama “Warfare,” also contributed behind the scenes: Poulter is billed as a producer on the film with Centineo as an executive producer.

Other producers on the film include Brad Becker-Parton, Martha Gregory, Stephanie Roush, Faye Tsakas, Sean Weiner, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Ellyn Daniels and Will O’Connor. Executive producers are Anita Gou, Caroline Clark, Luca Intili, Lauren Shelton, David Darby, Christine D’Souza, Julia Nelson and Greg Nobile. “Union County’ is a Ley Line Entertainment and Burn These Words production, presented by Seaview and Arkhum Production in association with Kindred Spirit and Wait A While Films.

The deal for the film was negotiated by Oscilloscope’s Katz, with WME, D’Souza and Nelson representing the filmmakers.

D4vd has been charged with murder following his arrest last Thursday for the murder of a teen girl whose decomposed body was found in the trunk of his Tesla.

At a press conference on Monday, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the singer, whose real name is David Burke, would face a first-degree murder charge which could potentially make him eligible for the death penalty. He will also face charges for lewd acts with a child and for dismembering the girl’s body.

The victim, Celeste Rivas Hernandez, went to Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills on April 23, 2025, Hochman said. That was the last time she was seen alive, he said. Her body was found five months later. Hochman declined to say how Rivas was killed, but said the coroner’s report would be released shortly.

“There is physical evidence and there is forensic and digital evidence that we intend to present in court to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hochman said.

Hochman alleged that Burke was having a sexual relationship with Rivas, who was 14 when she died and 13 when she ran away from home.

Burke is accused of murder with multiple “special circumstances” that make the case eligible for either the death penalty or life without parole. Those include “lying in wait,” murder for financial gain, and murdering a witness to a crime — as Rivas is considered a witness to the lewd acts charge.

At the press conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell defended the decision not to release details of the investigation sooner.

“My duty is not to fuel speculation,” he said. “It’s to deliver justice, and that requires patience and discipline on everybody’s part. This investigation was driven by a single purpose — to secure justice for Celeste Rivas and for those who loved her.”

Burke was arrested and held without bail last week following a lengthy investigation by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

The case began back in September 2025, when LAPD officers were called to the Hollywood tow yard to investigate a foul odor emanating from the car, which had been in the yard for days. The police found the decomposed body placed inside of a bag in the front trunk of the Tesla, which was registered in Hempstead, Texas to D4vd. The car was impounded the previous week after being abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors complained of a rotting smell.

Early reports indicated that D4vd was cooperating with the investigation. A week after he was linked to the body’s discovery, he canceled the remaining dates of his U.S. tour.

The body was soon identified as Rivas, who was reported as missing in 2024 when she was 13. In November, the LAPD confirmed that they were investigating a trip that D4vd had taken to the Santa Barbara area sometime during the spring of 2025 following Hernandez’s disappearance, and the medical examiner’s office said the LAPD had blocked the office from releasing details about the death.

Finally, an answer to one of life’s great questions: can $45 million fit in the waistband of a man’s G-string?

That would be a yes, as Channing Tatum’s experiential business Free Association Live has pulled off a significant capital raise to fund the global expansion of “Magic Mike Live” – a theatrical revue of skilled and sexy male dancers adapted from Tatum’s film franchise “Magic Mike.”

FA Live, co-founded by Tatum, Peter Kiernan, Reid Carolin, and Vincent Marini, has raised $45 million in debt and equity financing to mount more “Magic Mike” shows around the world. The experience has already staged sold-out runs in London and Las Vegas, with New York and Australia up next. A multi-year tour across Asia and Europe is also in the works.

The fundraise includes a strategic investment from Jeff Bewkes and Kevin Tsujihara’s Alignment Growth, a media and entertainment investor, and debt financing from East West Bank. 

“Our incredibly successful and beloved London and Las Vegas experiences have made it clear that ‘Magic Mike Live’ has tapped into something powerful,” said Kiernan, CEO of FA Live.  “This investment comes at a pivotal moment for the company — it enables us not only to expand the IP globally, but also to think more ambitiously about how we leverage our track record and infrastructure in live entertainment to develop new IP, new formats, and bold new ways of engaging audiences worldwide.”

Since its debut in 2017, the live show has entertained over 2 million guests from 70+ countries with over 6,000 performances across engagements in Miami, Dallas and Berlin. Earlier this year, Tatum appeared on “Today’ to announce the NYC residency, which counts strong pre-sales for its October debut. Tatum has also personally invested in this latest raise for FA Live, which operates independently from his film and TV production company. FA Live also counts COO Kosha Shah Eisenberg and chief brand officer Cody Carolin.

“Experiential entertainment continues to be one of our highest-conviction investment themes, fueled by a sustained shift toward immersive, memorable experiences over material goods,” said Tsujihara, managing partner at Alignment Growth. “FA Live has built one of the most successful live entertainment franchises of the past decade.”

East West Bank managing director Todd Steiner said the institution was “excited to partner with FA Live as they expand. As the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, East West Bank brings decades of experience in developing financing strategies tailored to the unique creative and operational complexities of the entertainment industry.

Next in development is a collaboration with Lionsgate on a live show inspired by the “Step Up” film franchise, set to debut in 2027.

The Raine Group, Eisner Law, and VirtuGlobal served as advisors to FA Live, which is repped by CAA. Granderson De Rochers served as advisor for Alignment Growth and Loeb & Loeb served as advisor to East West Bank.