Any film that earns you, personally, the greatest number of Oscars since Walt Disney is a tough act to follow, so one must admire Sean Baker’s lack of pretension in succeeding Anora with a tribute to one of the, let’s say, three least-reputable film genres: ’60s / ’70s Italian sex comedies. Speaking with Variety, the writer-director-producer-editor revealed intent to soon begin production on his “love letter” to such, all the while (seemingly) confirming rumors it would star Vera Gemma, daughter of industry legend Giuliano Gemma. With shooting eyeing a 2026 start, we may see what comes of this—hopefully with as much nudity and more laughs than its predecessors typically offered—by next year.
If Miguel Gomes has seemingly never made a film sans passion, the concept of his passion project seems somewhat redundant. Nevertheless, he’s spent some years attempting to make Selvajaria, also known as Savagery, and a few years ago was even reported to have completed it. When we spoke with him in 2024, Gomes predicted he’d roll cameras at the “beginning of the year 2026.” Right on target: per an Instagram post (via Ryan Swen) from cinematographer Rui Poças, production is underway on the adaptation of Euclides da Cunha’s Rebellion in the Backlands, which tells of the 1897 war between the nascent Republic’s army and the native inhabitants of Canudos.
Gomes was upfront to us about Savagery being “a tough film to do,” requiring “lots of construction” of “a village damaged by war.” But he is nothing if not ambitious, and there are too few filmmakers of his imagination not to bank hopes on what’s to come.
Much smaller—as in: zero-information—items come from a Variety round-up of titles recently awarded funding. Of particular note are new films from: The Love That Remains‘ Hlynur Pálmason (On Land and Sea); Leviathan, Caniba, and De Humani Corporis Fabrica visionary Véréna Paravel (Cosmofonia); Trenque Lauquen‘s Laura Citarella (Las Italianas); The Costume, a new project by Corneliu Porumboiu; and, cheeky as ever, Eduardo Williams, who will follow his two The Human Surge and The Human Surge 3 with The Human Purge.