Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
Baby Boy is a 2001 American coming-of-age hood drama film directed, written, and produced by John Singleton and starring Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson and Taraji P. Henson. The film follows Joseph "Jody" Summers (Gibson), a 20-year-old bike mechanic as he lives and learns in his everyday life in the hood of Los Angeles.
Meagan Monique Good is an American actress and model. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film Eve's Bayou (1997) prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousin Skeeter (1998–2001). Good received further prominence after starring in the films Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Roll Bounce (2005) and Stomp the Yard (2007).
Gregory's Girl is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhill district of Cumbernauld.
Eve's Bayou is a 1997 American Southern Gothic drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel L. Jackson served as a producer, and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Meagan Good and Diahann Carroll. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 7, 1997. The film grossed $14 million domestically on a budget of $4 million, making it the most commercially successful independent film of 1997.
Stomp the Yard is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers on DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically black university who pledges to join a fictional Greek-letter fraternity. The film's central conflict involves DJ's fraternity competing in various stepping competitions against a rival fraternity of the same school. The film's script was written by Robert Adetuyi, working from an original draft by Gregory Ramon Anderson. The film was originally titled Steppin', but to avoid confusion over the 2006 film Step Up, the title was changed. Delta Sigma Theta along with other sororities like Gamma Theta were in the movie.
Jumping the Broom is a 2011 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Salim Akil and produced by Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T. D. Jakes, Glendon Palmer, and Curtis Wallace.
Slut in a Good Way is a Canadian black-and-white comedy film from Quebec written by Catherine Léger and directed by Sophie Lorain. It stars Marguerite Bouchard, Romane Denise, and Rose Adam as three teenage girls navigating their sexuality and rebelling against sexual double standards. The film premiered in Canada in March 2018 and subsequently screened at the Tribeca Festival.
Night Comes On is a 2018 American drama film directed by Jordana Spiro, who wrote the screenplay with Angelica Nwandu. The film was developed by Nwandu and Spiro at the Sundance Institute's Screenwriter Lab in 2014. It is inspired by Nwandu's experiences in foster care. The film premiered on January 19, 2018 at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was given a limited theatrical and VOD release by Samuel Goldwyn Films on August 3, 2018.
El Chicano is a 2018 American superhero film directed by Ben Hernandez Bray, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Carnahan. It stars Raúl Castillo, Aimee Garcia, and George Lopez. The film has been called the "first Latino superhero movie". It premiered in September 2018 at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was released in the United States on May 3, 2019. Frank Grillo and Lorenzo di Bonaventura served as executive producers.
Niles Fitch is an American actor who began his career as a child actor. He gained prominence through his role in the NBC series This Is Us (2016–2022). He received praise for his performance in the film The Fallout (2021).
Aniara is a 2018 Swedish-Danish science fiction film written and directed by Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja. The film is an adaptation of the 1956 Swedish epic poem of the same name by Harry Martinson. The film is set in a dystopian future where climate change ravages Earth, prompting mass migration from Earth to Mars. When one such routine trip veers off course, the passengers of the Aniara struggle to cope with their new lives.
La Llorona, also known as The Weeping Woman, is a 2019 Guatemalan horror film directed by Jayro Bustamante.
American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules is a 2020 American straight-to-DVD sex comedy film directed by Mike Elliott. It is the fifth installment of the American Pie Presents film series, a spin-off of the American Pie franchise and the ninth overall installment. It is the first film in the franchise to not feature Eugene Levy and also the first to contain no nudity. The film serves as a standalone sequel, revolving around Steve Stifler's relative Stephanie and her friends.
Marona's Fantastic Tale is a 2019 Romanian-French-Belgian animated feature film directed by Anca Damian and written by Anghel Damian. The film tells the life story of a dog as she travels between various owners and learns to navigate the challenges of being a pet.
Sneakerella is a 2022 American musical comedy film directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum and written by David Light & Joseph Raso, Tamara Chestna, Mindy Stern, and George Gore II. A re-imagining of the classic fairy tale Cinderella, the film stars Chosen Jacobs, Lexi Underwood, Devyn Nekoda, Bryan Terrell Clark, Kolton Stewart, Hayward Leach, Robyn Alomar, Yvonne Senat Jones, Juan Chioran, and John Salley.
Wobble Palace is a 2018 film directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko.
Firebird is a 2021 romantic war drama film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Peeter Rebane, based on Sergey Fetisov's memoir The Story of Roman. The film stars Tom Prior, Oleg Zagorodnii, and Diana Pozharskaya. Set in the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War, it tells the true story of forbidden love between a private and a fighter pilot.
Dijon Hendra Talton is an American producer, actor, singer and director. He won several awards as part of the cast of Glee, and has since continued to play small roles on television and film, as well as producing through his company The Talton Company. In his projects, he typically works with his cousin Meagan Good.
Tamara Bass is an American director, writer, producer and actress. She began her career appearing in films Bellyfruit (1999) and Baby Boy (2001). In 2019, Bass made her directing debut with the drama film If Not Now, When?.
