‘The Riverbank,’ ‘Elza’ Top Rio Film Festival Awards as ‘On Behalf of My Son,’ ‘The French Teacher’ and ‘London’ Scoop Key Prizes

 Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias, who won the Locarno award for their film "The Riverbank," have also won the Best Fiction Feature Film at this year's Rio Film Festival.Eryk Rocha's documentary "Elza" has won Best Documentary Feature Film.The awards were given tonight at a big ceremony at the famous Odeon cinema in Rio de Janeiro.

"The Riverbank" is set in Recife and tells the story of a young cleaner named Izaquiel (played by Caique Copque), who looks for love every night and meets a strong fisherman named Jeremias (played by Ítalo Martins).

As danger comes closer, they go deep into the mangroves, where the real and the mythical mix together, showing the hidden powers that control their lives.This is the first film they've directed together.It comes a few months after Farias won a Platino Award for his work editing Kleber Mendonça Filho's Oscar-nominated film "The Secret Agent."

"Elza" is the next film from Eryk Rocha after "The Falling Sky," which had a great showing at Directors' Fortnight.

The film is a full documentary about Elza Soares, one of Brazil's most famous singers and public figures.It uses rare old footage and personal talks between Elza and the director during her last years.It shows her long career and also gives insight into the person behind the fame.The project is supported by top companies like Aruac Filmes, Maria Farinha Filmes, Globo Filmes, RAI Cinema, and Gullane+.

Other Brazilian films from this year also won top prizes.

These include Gabriel Martins' film "On Behalf of My Son," which was picked for Toronto, Victor di Marco and Mário Picoli's "London," selected for Venice, and Ricardo Alves Jr.'s "The French Teacher," which just premiered at San Sebastián.

This year's Premiêre Brasil jury was led by veteran producer Esther García, also included were Jacqueline Lyanga, co-director of programming at the Berlinale; French producer Sophie Erbs; composer Flavia Tygel; and casting director Marcela Altberg.

The New Trends jury was headed by director and editor Karen Harley; screenwriter Maira Oliveira; producer Dora Amorim; and director and screenwriter Guto Parente.

The Felix Jury, which looks at films with LGBTQIA+ themes, was led by lawyer Ericka Gavinho; director and screenwriter Clara Anastacia; cultural critic Guilherme Terri, also known as Rita Von Hunty; filmmaker Vita; and cultural programmer Rodrigo Gerace.

See full list of winners below:

• Premiére Brasil
• 
  
• Fiction Feature Film: “The Riverbank,” dir. Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
• 
  
• Documentary Feature Film: “Elza,” dir. Eryk Rocha
• 
  
• Short Film: “Santo,” dir. Maria Luísa Alves
• 
  
• Director – Fiction: Gabriel Martins, “On Behalf of My Son”
• 
  
• Director – Documentary: Camila Valença, “Cão Sem Plumas”
• 
  
• Actor: Victor di Marco, “London”
• 
  
• Actress – ex aequo: Isabel Teixeira, “Diário do Fogo” and Grace Passô, “The French Teacher”
• 
  
• Supporting Actor: Pedro Goifman, “The French Teacher”
• 
  
• Supporting Actress: Renna Costa, Artia and Ísis Broken, for “The Riverbank”Screenplay: “On Behalf of My Son,” Gabriel Martins
• 
  
• Editing – ex aequo: Cristina Amaral, Fabio Meira and Juliano Castro, “A Extraordinária Vida de Vera Valdez” and Cristiane Oliveira and Tula Anagnostopoulos, “Foi Ali Guardar o Coração na Geladeira”
• 
  
• Cinematography: Luciana Baseggio, “The Riverbank”
• 
  
• Art Direction: Ana Paula Cardoso, “Funk”
• 
  
• Costume Design: Samy Sill, “London”
• 
  
• Sound Design: Moabe Filho, Guma Farias, Daniel Turini and João Victor Coura, “The Riverbank”
• 
  
• Original Score: Florencia Di Concilio, “The French Teacher”
• 
  
• Jury Award: “O Filho da Puta,” dir. Erica Maradona, Tania Anaya, Otto Guerra and Sávio Leite
• 
  
• Documentary Feature – Audience Award: “Fui Olhar Você Dormir,” dir. Anna Azevedo
• 
  
• Fiction Feature – Audience Award: “On Behalf of My Son,” dir. Gabriel Martins
• 
  
• Novos Rumos (New Trends)
• 
  
• Feature Film: “Não Estamos Sonhando,” dir. Ulisses Arthur
• 
  
• Short Film: “Ondas de Silêncio,” dir. Caio J. Bonfim
• 
  
• Director: Thais Fujinaga, “Talismã”
• 
  
• Actress: Nina Prado, “O Deserto de Luiza”
• 
  
• Actor: Pedro Leão, “Não Estamos Sonhando”
• 
  
• Special Jury Award: Cas from “Um Domingo,” dir. Maíra Bühler, Rô Albuquerque
• 
  
• Best Feature Film – Audience Award: “O Deserto de Luiza,” dir. Alan Minas
• 
  
• Felix Awards (For LGBTQIA+-themed films)
• 
  
• Brazilian Film: “The Riverbank,” dir. Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
• 
  
• International Film: “À voix basse,” dir. Leyla Bouzid
• 
  
• Documentary: “Father, Father,” dir. Jake Witzenfeld
• 
  
• Special Jury Award: “Morfeu e Caronte,” dir. Jocimar Dias Jr, Luiz Ulian
• 
  
• Honorable Mention: “Elephants in the Fog,” dir. Abinash Bikram Shah
• 
  
• TV Globo Acquisition Award: “Maria Vitória,” dir. Mário Patrocínio
• 
  
• Telecine Acquisition Award: “Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building,” dir. Bruno Santamaría Razo
• 
  
• Foreign Correspondents Association Award: “Let Us Be,” dir. Viviane D’Avilla
• 
  
• Honorable Mention: “144 – Apocalipse Não,” dir. João Paulo Cuenca
• 
  
• FIPRESCI Award
• 
  
• Best Latin American Film: “Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building”
• 
  
• Best Brazilian Film: “London”

How Busan Title ‘Selvi’ Turns a Nurse’s Working Hours Into an Endurance Test

At the center of the film 'Selvi' is a homecare nurse whose workday ranges from 12 hours to 72.

This is the first full-length movie by Tamil filmmaker Sailesh Rathnakumar, which is showing in the Busan International Film Festival's Vision-Asia section.

Anjali Patil plays the main character and produces the film through her company Anahat Films.

Rathnakumar wrote the story with cinematographer Bargav Sridhar, and Sreekar Prasad edited the film.

Selvi wants to become a nurse and work in Singapore.

When her childhood friend Kavitha tries to take her own life, Selvi takes over her shifts on top of her own.She spends her days going between private homes, taking care of families who don't really know her.

Rathnakumar says, "For someone like Selvi, a crisis doesn't come as a single big event.

It builds up through long working hours, extra duties, and small sacrifices that finally become too much to handle."  

The story's structure developed as Selvi's work hours increased from 12 to 24, 48, and then 72 hours.

As time passes, Selvi is always helping others, leaving her less and less time for herself.

The film begins with Selvi and her friends flying kites on a beach, before moving into home settings where her world becomes smaller.

Rathnakumar explains, "I wanted to show the possibility of looking up, of imagining something more than the immediate situation of one's life, through the kites."  

The production took time to find homes that looked lived-in and showed the class of the families living there.

Rathnakumar says, "Selvi is essential to a family's daily life, but is never treated as part of the family itself."  

Most of the nurses the director has met have come from rural areas to the cities for work.

He sees a hierarchy within the care industry, where some workers have the training and ability to go abroad, while others are stuck in unsecure jobs that are both personal and demanding with little recognition.

Since Sridhar was involved in writing the script, the camera plan was planned from the beginning.

The film follows only Selvi's point of view, and the audience learns things only when she does.

Prasad joined the project at the script stage.

During their first meeting, the editor pointed out scenes that could be removed without hurting the story, which saved time and money, Rathnakumar says.The director still shot those scenes, but none made the final cut.

Rathnakumar studied at the Prague Film School and started his career doing sound and music for veteran Indian editor B.

Lenin.

For Patil, Selvi's habit of putting her own plans on hold was a personal experience.

After finishing her postgraduate studies in design and direction at the National School of Drama in 2010, she started acting and became a key income for her family.She launched Anahat Films in 2021 with plans to write and direct, but spent the first five years producing for other filmmakers.

Patil says, "Our ambitions grow like fungi around our circumstances.

Also, in Indian culture, this behavior is celebrated.Putting others first to the point of total exhaustion.We are surrounded by so many Selvis, both men and women."  

The filming couldn't be done in order and was organized by location instead.

Patil kept track of her own makeup, hair, body, and voice as Selvi's health declined, using continuity photos and long rehearsals with the actors.She says, "I love being that human thermostat for the film."  

Wearing both acting and producing hats came at a cost.

The final scene was shot on Marina Beach at the end of a tough day, in a very short window of time.Patil was worried about whether the production could afford to return if they missed the window, and by the last take, the light had gone.Rathnakumar and Sridhar told her they had what they needed, but she wasn't satisfied.

"I remember walking away quickly from Marina Beach, crying because I was so frustrated, and hiding from the team.

I was thinking that, as a producer, I couldn’t even afford to take the time needed for the final close-up shot of the film," Patil says.

The actor, who has worked in films like "Naa Bangaaru Talli," "Newton," and "Kaala," also co-produced "The Moogai," which was shown at Sundance in 2024, and "The Shadowbox," which played at Berlin in 2025.

"Selvi" was presented as a work-in-progress at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum in March and received support from the Red Sea Fund.

Patil says international funding involves long waits, complicated contracts, and co-production treaties.

Indian filmmakers end up competing for the same grants as professionals from wealthier countries."There’s already an undisclosed gap right there that no one talks about," she says."And honestly, a lot of the time, I feel people still don’t know how to distribute independent Indian films in many parts of the world."

Rathnakumar points to character-driven Tamil films like "Maharaja," "Meiyazhagan," "Vaazhai," and "Lubber Pandhu," which found audiences alongside big star films like "Amaran." "I think the challenge for independent cinema isn’t whether audiences want to watch these films, but whether the films can actually reach them," he says.

Patil, who has worked in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil cinema, says Tamil filmmaking has made space for independent voices in the past two to three years, calling it "very, very hopeful for all of us."

Next up, Rathnakumar is producing Patil's feature film "Average Girl," the short film "Florescence," and Sridhar's directing project "Goliath." He is also developing "Uneventful Death of Mr.

Srinivasan," a comedy about a family whose celebrations turn into mourning when a 70-year-old man dies a day after his Bheema Radha Shanthi ceremony.

Meanwhile, Patil plans to step away from Busan to work full-time on a speculative sci-fi script she has been developing for six years.

"I won’t be postponing my ambitions like I did with Selvi," she says.

Box Office Boom for China’s Women Directors Feeds New Parallax Films Pickups From Shao Yihui, Yin Lichuan and Yang Lina

Three important filmmakers in China's growing movement of women-led cinema—Shao Yihui, Yang Lina, and Yin Lichuan—have new movies being promoted by Parallax Films, a sales company showing them to buyers at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan.

In the short film "Winning at Sleep," Shao uses humor to look at the idea of success and the culture of always competing.

The story follows an average girl who gets an unexpected chance to win through a strange competition.

In "It's OK," Yang works again with Wen Qi, an award-winning actress from "Angels Wear White" and "The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful." Wen plays a young teacher facing a serious health issue, while also dealing with the quiet relationship she has with her traditional mother.

The film explores ideas about what it means to be a woman and how much control a woman has over her body.

Yin's "A Joke" is the first Chinese movie that directly talks about sexual harassment at work.

The film follows a cleaner who secretly gathers evidence against her abusive boss over three years, then joins a young lawyer to take him down.

These films are part of a trend that began in 2021 with Shao's breakthrough film "B for Busy," which helped open the door for more stories centered around women in China.

Three years later, Yin's "Like a Rolling Stone" and Shao's second movie "Her Story" made over RMB845 million ($118 million) in China.

"Her Story" won best picture, best actress, and best supporting actress at the 38th Golden Rooster Awards, which are government-backed film awards in China.

Women directors have rarely seen success at these awards, making this a big moment for feminist filmmaking in the country.

On the festival scene, Luka Yuanyuan Yang's documentary hybrid "Chinatown Cha-Cha" also had a lot of success.

Parallax says that a growing number of young women are showing interest in films that talk about gender, relationships, and social pressures, proving that these movies can be very popular.Because of this, more investors, studios, and producers are now supporting projects led by women.

A new group of women directors are now working in both big studio movies and independent films, aiming for both box office success and festival recognition.

This group includes Yang (known for "Spring Tide" and "Song of Spring"), Teng Congcong (creator of "Send Me to the Clouds" and the series "To the Wonder"), and Vivian Qu (with "Angels Wear White" and "Girls on Wire").

Parallax also has other short films, like "Our Secrets," which won an award at Cannes.

Other short films like "Scorching," "Thirteenth Night," and "Fishtank" use fantasy to show what's going on inside their characters' minds."Orlo With Karma" is a coming-of-age love story from Kangdrun, the director of "Linka Linka." 

"Linka Linka," which won awards at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, looks at modern Tibetan youth culture in the city.

"100 Sunset" explores the Tibetan community in Canada.Anuparna Roy's "Lovers in the Blue Night" won at Venice.Other films include "Masayume," which won at Visions du Réel, and "From Dawn to Dawn," a documentary about family and identity.There's also "Shanghai Daughter," which is a mix of documentary and fiction."Now I Met Her" and "Embers" are more commercial movies that are part of the slate.

Recently, Parallax has signed deals for theatrical and digital sales in Europe, North America, and Asia.

"Linka Linka" has attracted a lot of interest from distributors, and "Masayume" is planned for a North American release in spring 2027.

Black Bear Acquires Rom-Com ‘Honeymoon / Funeral’ Starring Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee and Carrie Coon

Black Bear has bought the rights to make the movie "Honeymoon / Funeral" in their own country.The film is a romantic comedy with Rebecca Ferguson, Greta Lee, and Carrie Coon in leading roles.It was shown at a new movie market during the Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie's story is about two women who meet on a plane from Los Angeles to London.
One is going to her honeymoon alone after her girlfriend left her at the altar, and the other is going back home for her mother's funeral.They end up spending the whole week together.The movie is directed by Nahnatchka Khan, who also made "Totally Killer," and written by Julia Bicknell.

Katie Anderson, who is in charge of getting movies for Black Bear, said, "Honeymoon / Funeral" is a fresh and funny story that feels real and heartfelt.
She praised the acting of Rebecca, Greta, and Carrie, calling them some of the best actresses around.She also said they are excited to work with MRC and FilmNation to bring this movie to people.

Nahnatchka Khan and Jennifer Carreras are producing the film under their company Fierce Baby.
Julia Bicknell is also a producer.MRC provided the money for the movie and made sure it was made properly.FilmNation is handling the sales for the movie worldwide."Honeymoon / Funeral" is currently being finished, and filming wrapped up in London in September 2026.

Black Bear has several other movies coming up, including "Wicker" with Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, and Peter Dinklage; "Wife & Dog" by Guy Ritchie with Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike, and Anthony Hopkins; "Jason Statham Stole My Bike" directed by David Leitch with Jason Statham and Hannah Waddingham; "A Woman in the Sun" with Renée Zellweger and Sissy Spacek; "Jonah" with Greta Lee and Cooper Hoffman; and "Atmosphere" directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, based on a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

MRC has recently released movies like "The Love Hypothesis," "Wuthering Heights," "American Fiction," "Knives Out," and "Saltburn." Their upcoming films include "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York," "The Gallerist," "A Place in Hell," "The Best is Yet To Come," and "Eloise."

Sadie Sink in Talks to Star in ‘The Guest,’ Based on Emma Cline’s Bestseller

Sadie Sink, who recently became famous for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Jean Grey in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and was also part of the popular series "Stranger Things," is considering starring in and producing a movie based on Emma Cline's 2024 bestselling novel called "The Guest." 

The movie is being made by A24 and Square Peg, and the director is Lorene Scafaria, who has worked on films like "Hustlers" and "Succession." The book follows a clever person who takes advantage of others while trying to survive in the summer in the Hamptons.

"The Guest" was published in 2024 by Penguin Random House and was longlisted for the Pen/Faulkner Award.

It was also picked as a book club choice and was named one of the best books of the year by several major publications like The New Yorker, Time, NPR, and The Washington Post.

This news comes after Sadie left "Stranger Things" and joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

She was in the highest-grossing movie in the U.S.box office that year.She also had great roles in movies like "The Whale," which won an Oscar, and in stage plays like "Romeo and Juliet" and "John Proctor is the Villain," which won a Tony nomination.She will be in a new "X-Men" movie in 2028.

Lorene Scafaria has written and directed several other films, including "Hustlers" and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," and she also directed some episodes of TV shows like "New Girl" and "Succession," for which she was nominated for awards.

She is currently working on HBO's "I Love LA" as a director and producer.

Sadie Sink is represented by WME, Peikoff Mahan, and imPRint, while Scafaria is represented by UTA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Deadline first reported this news about the movie.

WandaVision Creator Jac Schaeffer Developing Stargate Series At Amazon

The Stargate might end up being called the Star-revolving-door by now, Empirians.Last November, Amazon announced a new Stargate series from a longtime fan of the franchise and Blindspot creator, Martin Gero.But just seven months later, Uncle Bezos decided to take down his wall, and Gero's Stargate was suddenly canceled before it had even started.Now, according to Variety, Amazon seems ready to try again with the Stargate, this time with Jac Schaeffer, the creator of WandaVision, on board to guide the new series through its ring-shaped portals.

Variety reports that Schaeffer, who has an overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios, is working on an entirely new Stargate series for Prime Video.

They expect a writers room to open soon, and producer spouses Joby Harold (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Tory Tunnell (Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters) will be helping to run things.However, there's no official info yet about what exactly Schaeffer has planned, or if past projects like the original 1994 Kurt Russell movie, Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate: Universe will be part of this new series or connected to it.That info is still top secret, at least for now.

We live in an era where sci-fi TV is at its peak—with shows like Alien: Earth to The Expanse, Foundation to Silo, 3 Body Problem to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds filling our screens with great speculative fiction.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be the right time to bring Stargate back after 16 years in the freezer.And if anyone can make it happen, it’s Schaeffer—her WandaVision and Agatha All Along both prove she knows how to handle genre storytelling and are still some of the best shows from Disney+’s MCU era.We’re all ready to go back down, down, down the Stargate road again—just as long as this one actually gets made.

André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever Movie

André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever

2026 | 1h 23m

Genre Documentary

Directors

Clayton H. Haskell

Zach Stafford

Writers

Frank Peluso

Zach Stafford

Cast

Jonathan Becker

Derek Blasberg

Philip Bloch

Producers

Eric Breen

producer

Walker Dalton

producer

Leslie Merlin

producer

Frank Peluso

producer

Dane C. Reiley

producer

Colman Domingo

executive producer

Raul Domingo

executive producer

Paula Wallace

executive producer

Keri Brooks

associate producer

Nora Clark

line producer: Savannah unit

Alda Matos

associate producer

Hannah Rockette

post-production producer

Elena Toccafondi

story producer

Caleb Wood

post-production producer

Composer

Terence Blanchard

music by

Cinematographers

Kevin Deloach

cinematographer

Milton Walker

cinematographer

Editors

Michael Pedraza

editor

Vin Sorrentino

editor

Elena Toccafondi

lead editor

Casting

Claudine Ingeneri

casting by

Ro Penuliar

casting by

Production Designer

Marko Orso

production designer: New York unit

Art Director

Micah Norton

art director

Costume Designer

Kara Talley

costume designer: Savannah unit

Makeup Department

Heather Ashberry

key makeup artist: Savannah unit

Taylor Early

hair assistant: Savannah unit

Wanda Edwards

additional hair stylist: Savannah unit

Naomi Hannon

key makeup artist: Savannah unit

Antoinette Hill

hair & makeup artist: New York unit

Latecka Moore-Early

hair department head: Savannah unit

Christina Vida Roldos

hair & makeup artist: New York unit

Chanse Tong

hair & makeup artist: New York unit

Release date

October 9, 2026 (United States)

Country of origin

United States

Official site

Official Website

Language

English

Filming locations

New York City, New York, USA

Production companies

Edith Productions

Savannah College of Art & Design