Fricke’s Picks: The Whore Moans, A New Ear Tonic

Bridgerton is back, with its first new episodes in more than two years. Which means, of course, that it is finally debutante season in Regency Mayfair again. Young noblewomen will vie for the coveted title of Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) hand-picked diamond—and eligible men will, in turn, compete for the heart of that sparkling specimen.

Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii was crowned Miss USA 2023 on Wednesday, more than a week after the previous titleholder resigned citing her mental health. Gankiewicz, a model who leads a female empowerment nonprofit, will hold the title until August—the remainder of the pagaent’s term, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. “I am ready to make a positive impact with this organization that I hold dear to my heart,” said Gankiewicz, of Maui, during a ceremony at the Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach. As the first runner-up, Gankiewicz was announced as the replacement for former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt, who stepped aside May 6.

With the effects of the 2023 strikes growing smaller in the rearview mirror, Quebec has fine-tuned its incentives and is revving up for more than just a simple recovery in 2024. In January, the Quebec Film and Television Council warmed up post-strike Hollywood with a trade mission to reacquaint producers with the province’s strengths: a […]

In a different world, had she not been readying her long-awaited sophomore feature, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” for its Cannes premiere, Rungano Nyoni might have spent the past few weeks preparing her family for its upcoming move to Zambia, the southern African nation where the director was born and spent part of her childhood.

Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa arrives at the Cannes Film Festival this week with his latest documentary, “The Invasion,” worried that the world’s attention has largely drifted from the Ukraine conflict in the two-plus years since Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion. The film premieres with a special screening May 16. Yet from the movie’s powerful opening […]

Based out of Chile and Los Angeles, Quijote Films, behind Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner “The Settlers,” has tied down a powerful alliance of international partners on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” the first feature of 2018 Cannes Cinéfondation top winner Diego Céspedes. An LGBTQ-themed drama, “The Mysterious Gaze” is set […]