"Stay independent as long as possible. The longer you can build leverage on your own, the stronger your position will be when you eventually enter the larger ecosystem." Sonia Evans spoke with entertainment attorney, professor, and author J. Christopher Hamilton:

"The question now is not only whether funding will be restored, but whether the nation still values the public institutions that preserve history, support artists, and ensure that important stories reach the public." Ife Olatunji writes about the federal funding cuts plaguing documentary filmmakers

"Despite the ways the trope might be construed, waiting around for a chosen one can leave us with flawed leaders whose prophecies make them as vulnerable to megalomania as to heroics." Sherin Nicole offers a critique of the chosen one myth as seen in film:

"At times, it feels as if all the threads the show has pulled together have unspooled to the point of no return. But in a fantastic trilogy of final episodes, every piece of the puzzle comes together." Kaiya Shunyata reviews THE AGENCY S2:

"Black Music Month provides the perfect framework to highlight the interconnected creative nature of making music that’s anchored in subliminal cinematic storytelling." Cortlyn Kelly highlights cinematic albums of the 2020s:

"While I found the film to be a baffling mess, I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes the WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER of the Gen Alpha crowd years from now." @unclecrizzle.bsky.social reviews NEVER CHANGE!

"The beauty of personal archives is that they reveal how Black life can look different from place to place, even during the same moment in history." Lance R. Williams writes about how going to Howard to become a filmmaker led him to be an archivist:

"We’re losing something uniquely human between tabs, under signal strength, and over social content. This film hopes to claw us back to reality." @812filmreviews.com reviews TOY STORY 5:

Looking at THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, MICHAEL, & MORTAL KOMBAT II, Brandon Lewis writes about the legitimacy crisis for critics, "with audiences no longer trusting them to give honest, uncompromised assessments of films and questioning whether they matter anymore.”

“IS GOD IS actually acknowledges that this cycle of violence can’t last forever. Finding an outlet for our anger is just one half of the equation." @lyvie.bsky.social writes a personal essay on Aleshea Harris’ debut:

"Then Hudson sang that damn song to Jamie Foxx. You could hear a pin drop." @odienator.bsky.social writes and reflects on the 45th and 20th anniversaries of DREAMGIRLS:

"As I begin to make my own acquisitions, I often think about how people are obsessed with one corner of Black cinema. But there are three other corners that people are not touching. What lies ahead for me is asking why people aren’t chasing these films?"

“i want to say this directly: sometimes I feel like awareness is the lowest tier of knowledge. to make people aware of something is great…[i’m] trying to move away from awareness toward making knowledge tangible, to make it something that people carry with themselves.” this interview is fantastic.

As someone who has interviewed her myself, I know that Maya is a great interview! This chat with @812filmreviews.com proves my point.

I've seen Maya Cade at a couple of screenings and know about her through other people. A true soldier of cinema, as Werner Herzog would call someone like this.

"Sometimes I feel like awareness is the lowest tier of knowledge[...] I think as I approach the five-year anniversary in August, I am now, especially in the last few years, trying to move away from awareness toward making knowledge tangible, to make it something that people carry with themselves."

"But when an industry decides who you are and what your potential is, people feel that weight. So, it’s really about removing that and giving you back your wings, however possible."-Maya Cade Wonderful article and exciting to think about the preservation and future of Black films.

Archives! & Optimism!! We truly love to see it ✊

"As I begin to make my own acquisitions, I often think about how people are obsessed with one corner of Black cinema. But there are three other corners that people are not touching. " It's a pleasure kicking of Black Writers Week on @ebertvoices.bsky.social by speaking with @mayascade.bsky.social.

Honored to participate in Black Writers Week at @ebertvoices.bsky.social! I look at the dual anniversaries of DREAMGIRLS. This time, Effie White's gonna win. www.rogerebert.com/black-writer...

'IS GOD IS is the latest in a growing roster of films that let their Black heroines express the full breadth of their fury." I've long admired @lyvie.bsky.social's work, so I'm not surprised that she murdered her debut in @ebertvoices.bsky.social. A phenomenal piece.

"The film works most of the time, largely because its subject is such interesting & warm company." @glenntkenny reviews ENO–shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards–which is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.

KRAKEN! A JAWS Lite Norwegian creature feature about an endangered fjord and a giant cephalopod. I wish it was better! More @ebertvoices.bsky.social: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/krak...

Before everyone moves on to DISCLOSURE DAY, I made my @ebertvoices.bsky.social debut writing about how both OBSESSION and BACKROOMS work as metaphors for AI psychosis: www.rogerebert.com/features/obs...

It was a delight to see such care, such community on screen. A rare gem. Check it out and read my review below:

My latest review is up! I saw the new Robin Hood, which will someday be a part of a Bleak Week near you.

Thrilled to be asked to be a part of this again!

Black Writers Week starts today at @ebertvoices.bsky.social and I can't wait to read the articles mentioned in @812filmreviews.com's intro! I show up, too! Visit every day this week for great work by Black writers. www.rogerebert.com/black-writer...

“It’s not every day that you see a film that reminds you of the work of Mike Leigh and David Lynch at the same time.” – @ebertvoices.bsky.social Mike Jenkin’s 16mm-shot hallucinatory time-travel seaside mystery ROSE OF NEVADA opens Fri, June 19 + director Q&As! www.ifccenter.com/films/rose-o...

This year, as America celebrates her 250th birthday, Carla Renata writes about the timeliness of Ava DuVernay’s searing documentary, 13TH:

"When films started showing people like me in those spaces, those films gave me permission to travel. In turn, travel gave me the opportunity to see beyond my block ..." Reginald Ponder reflects how seeing "Films [that] began to show Black faces in unfamiliar places” inspired his own travels:

"I think about how people are obsessed with one corner of Black cinema. There are three other corners that people are not touching. What lies ahead for me is asking why people aren’t chasing these films?" @812filmreviews spoke w/ Maya Cade abt the continuing mission of the Black Film Archive:

"Sarnoski’s third feature has a lot in common with his debut PIG particularly in the way it sets up a familiar genre tale only to completely subvert those expectations. This is the UNFORGIVEN of Robin Hood films.” @geniusbastard.bsky.social reviews THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD:

"As the stakes grow, the show has managed to salvage its beating heart, allowing its characters to become fully realized, complicated versions of the husks who took up the screen in season two." Kaiya Shunyata reviews HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Season 3: www.rogerebert.com/streaming/ho...

Today kicks off Black Writers Week at RogerEbert.com and Associate Editor @812filmreviews.com offers a preview of the great writing you can expect, writing "I hope you find as much richness, diversity, and delight in reading these voices as I have found in supporting them.” Full preview:

Oh hey, that's my review. Here's a link for the rest @ebertvoices.bsky.social: www.rogerebert.com/reviews/all-...

Costume designer, author, and professor, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, pays tribute to the late Albert Wolsky, who “was always generous with his time, thoughtful in his advice, and encouraging to emerging designers.”

The Bentonville Film Festival launches its 2026 launches on Monday and @Brian_Tallerico highlights some of the most interesting screenings worth seeking out, from Catherine Hardwicke’s STREET SMART, Isabel Sandoval’s MOONGLOW, and Dawn Porter’s WHEN A WITNESS RECANTS:

Are two of the biggest horror movies of the decade really about AI? @faroukk.bsky.social writes how BACKROOMS and OBSESSION may be films that “serve as effective metaphors for the horrors AI wreaks upon us.”

“Thee film is a general wash of generalized muted feeling, where nothing coheres because nothing sharpens into focus." @sheilakathleen.bsky.social reviews O HORIZON:

“It starts with great promise and a visually dynamic monster attack sequence. Then it settles into a mostly formulaic groove." @simonsaybrams.bsky.social reviews KRAKEN:

"While some elements of the story may seem quaint to other parts of the country, Andrew and Melissa Shea show us that Flag Day may be Three Oaks, but Three Oaks is us." @nellminow.bsky.social reviews FLAG DAY:

"The film is likely to poke, prod, stab, and sting at the ribs of its demographic until their hope for redemption runs out." Peyton Robinson reviews FIND YOUR FRIENDS:

"While one‑dimensional family dynamics and an uneven final act hold it back, Rebecca Hall’s anchored performance and Janicza Bravo’s atmospheric direction ensure the unease lingers." @rendy.bsky.social reviews THE LISTENERS:

“Director Erige Sehiri understands the power of the camera to capture the soul of a person in their visage, especially in such emotionally and politically turbulent times." @clintworthing.bsky.social reviews PROMISED SKY:

“It’s the type of slop, like those chicken nuggets made from pink slime, that may taste good at first but has absolutely no nutritional value." Cortlyn Kelly reviews STOP! THAT! TRAIN!

With the arrival of DISCLOSURE DAY, @nellminow.bsky.social takes a look at what Roger Ebert thought about some of the most famous and infamous alien movies, from the inspiring and friendly to the terrorizing and murderous, and from the big-budget blockbusters to the quieter gems:

“We’re lucky enough to have a studio like Cinema Fantasma creating wholly original works ... offering up a fantastic world that promises limitless tales and possibilities." @woahitsjuanito.bsky.social reviews I AM FRANKELDA:

For @ebertvoices.bsky.social's 20 Best Films of 2026 So Far, I wrote about Cherien Dabis’ masterful generation-spanning epic ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU* Read: www.rogerebert.com/features/the... *I had this in my top ten of 2025, but it's one of those split release years movies.

“This is a whooping-and-hollering movie. It’s more than satisfying. It’s bloody heaven." @mattzollerseitz in his 4/4 star review of THE FURIOUS, whose aesthetic he describes as "Looney Tunes in a slaughterhouse.” In theaters now: