QuoteCelebrating it's 25th anniversary, next month MUBI is proud to present a brand new, 4K restoration of THE IDIOTS. Lars von Trier's only feature made under the Dogme 95 "Vows of Chastity", THE IDIOTS centers on a Danish commune whose members aim to disrupt bourgeois society by spontaneously feigning physical or mental disabilities in public — including a new recruit (Bodil Jørgensen) motivated by a secret sorrow.

Previously censored upon release, this darkly comic and ultimately devastating film is now presented restored and uncut, as a highly provocative work which contemplates the very value of provocation.

QuoteSpecific details about the book are being kept under wraps, but we understand the work will, in some way, chart Baumbach's life and career through key experiences and his relationship with cinema.

QuoteOver the past year, I have spoken with Ferrara, Weller, Redman, Borrelli (who is now a hypnotherapist), "Cat Chaser's" director of photography Anthony Richmond, executive producer Josi Konski, first assistant director Louis D'Esposito (now co-president at Marvel Studios) and second assistant director Glen Trotiner. I also heard from Milián, via a brief email sent by his publicist. Co-executive producer Guy Collins provided some scant recollections via email (basically that the film remains a fond memory despite certain "dynamics" between Ferrara and the cast). He referred all other questions to Peter Davis, who politely declined to be interviewed. (Panzer died in a freak ice skating accident in 2007; Leonard died in 2013 and Durning in 2012). Other performers, including Forrest and McGillis, also politely refused interviews, and Santoni, as well as several associate producers and crew members, did not return calls or emails.

The accounts of those willing to be interviewed comprise a multifaceted, sometimes tragic story, about a would-be classic crime caper that wasn't properly developed or released—and, with the right tools, effort and publicity, still could be.

QuoteImagine a world just a few years from now. You're a (documentary) filmmaker, and you've just made a film about something really important, that everyone needs to know. Maybe it's a new human rights doc, or one about serious climate change issues, or maybe the seedier sides of AI and tech, where people are sex-trafficking underage robots perhaps (an actual phenomenon which came up during the panel on AI), or maybe it's some other subject none of us can guess right now, because the filmmaker has been keeping it under wraps as they expose new truths.
 
While it's always a struggle to finance films, let's imagine you've been lucky, and you've raised some mix of grants, donations, and other financing, and are now ready to bring the film to the world. But you find that there are now just four big studios remaining – Amazon, Apple, Disney, and (because they are my client, and I've helped them make this transition) REI Co-Op Studios. Everyone else has been merged, closed or bundled. And none of them want to buy and distribute your film. Because your film is not pure entertainment, or a docu-soap, celebrity-driven, reality-TV-esque, or some (soft) political scandal. Your film is hard-hitting, and the remaining distributors are afraid to buy it because it might piss off China, or India, or President Tucker Carlson.
 
So, your film plays the festival circuit. It gets a great response, and great reviews. But you are preaching to the converted, alongside a bunch of other filmmakers doing the same. The actual impact is small, because you aren't getting distributed the way you should – and neither are they. But no one in the audience is complaining, because they think they're getting a full diet of media, with multiple options on these streamers – there's a lot to choose from.
 
Oh wait. This sounds a lot like today, doesn't it? Because this is the situation we're already kinda in now, with only a few differences, and we're definitely headed down this path. Because – with few exceptions - none of the streamers are buying the films I've been seeing this weekend at MountainFilm, or other festivals I've attended recently. They want entertainment, and nothing too serious.
 
But something else has become apparent while I've been here at MountainFilm – we can't afford to amuse ourselves to death (per Neil Postman); we don't have the time.  David Hanson, of Hanson Robotics who created Sophia, the AI powered robot that wowed us this weekend, told us he believes we have eighty years left as a human civilization unless we figure out how to make a better, more empathetic (to us humans) AI system. And that might be optimistic, as Bill McKibben told us the day before that he thinks we have 6.5 years to make a difference on climate change You don't have to agree with these two specific prognoses, but you'd have to be an idiot not to see the myriad challenges facing humanity and not think that things are just a little bit urgent.
 
The stakes are high. We need action. We need artists telling the stories not just of "reality" TV, but of reality, and of possibility (-ies). But we can tell these stories all damned day; if they aren't heard and seen, they are meaningless. Art can only lead the way if it's not bound (solely) by the means of commerce and entertainment.
 
And the only way to force these stories to be heard is going to be through collective action around policy. It's unlikely that we can go so far as to break up the monopolies that are entertaining us to death, but we can force them to fund and carry our stories. And this is not some crazy pipe dream. As others said in Telluride – we can do better, America. Canada just passed C-11, which is forcing any streamer that operates in Canada to fund a certain amount of Canadian independent content. The EU and the UK both have similar rules in place, and in some cases require a 30% quota of localized content. Australia is now considering the same.
 
As an audience member in Telluride reminded me during my Soapbox speech – most of these rules have been made to preserve local culture and voices versus the dominance of American content – and we might have a hard time fighting for American independent voices, when America, well, dominates. While I agree, the fact remains – important stories are not being told, and we must try. And here's where I get more controversial – because I think we can only win this battle if we join forces with the many voices on the Right who also feel left behind by the dominant media. There are many chances for strange bedfellows here – because in reality, none of us are being served.
 
This has also been done before. We wouldn't have things like PBS and ITVS if a small group of people hadn't gotten together and forced change. They said – these are our airwaves, and we need a diversity of voices and stories, and real news, and quality content. It worked before, and we have a better case now – this is our internet, our future, and we need – demand – to shape the future we deserve. To learn about the possible futures most of us can't even imagine, and that aren't just being shaped by the dominant commercial narrative.
 
But we can only do it if we join together and make it happen. Our film organizations and film festivals are letting us down – no offense, as I know they are just trying to keep the doors open – but they are too focused on exhibition, audiences and sponsors, and not on the advocacy we need. We don't have things like AIVF anymore. In their absence, we have one another. We have to force the field to get together and help us take action for our future. Let's force that to happen.
 

QuoteAcademy Award® nominee Florence Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano plays Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
 
Oppenheimer also stars Oscar® winner Rami Malek and reunites Nolan with eight-time Oscar® nominated actor, writer and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh.
 
The cast includes Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Dylan Arnold (Halloween franchise), David Krumholtz (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises).
 
The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment's Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.

Oppenheimer is filmed in a combination of IMAX® 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX® black and white analogue photography.