- To Make People Aware of Something is Great: A Conversation with Maya Cade (June 15, 2026)
Nearly five years ago, in August of 2021, Maya Cade unveiled Black Film Archive. Her online database, with films spanning from the early days of cinema to, at the time, the 1970s, put many rare films and treasures of Black cinema under one digital roof. In the days and months that followed, the site became an instant success. In the years that have followed, it’s become an indispensable resource.
Since 2011, Cade has moved at a torrid pace, serving as a programmer-in-residence at Indiana University (2022), becoming a scholar in residence at the Library of Congress (2022-2024), programming the “Try a Little Tenderness” screening series for the Academy Museum (2023), and growing a corresponding newsletter to the site. Recently, Amy Heller and Dennis Doros, who are preparing to retire, announced that Cade will become the owner and president of Milestone Films–the imperative distributor they founded that has restored the works of Charles Burnett, Kathleen Collins, Ayoka Chenzira, Bridgett M. Davis, and more.
Cade spoke with RogerEbert.com over Zoom about the continuing mission of Black Film Archive, the next boom for Black independent film, and taking over Milestone Films.
I first spoke with you on behalf of Vulture in 2021. Back then, the Black Film Archive was relatively new (it began in August of that year). What’s been your mission over the last five years?
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 think as I approach the five year anniversary in August, I am now, especially the last few years, trying to move away from awareness toward making knowledge tangible, to make it something that people carry with themselves. I think the last five years have been many things. I’ve had really wonderful opportunities to speak about Black cinema at large across the world. It’s really wonderful. But I think one of the joys has been being an archivist for Black directors. I help them with their own archives by gathering their material.
So, the Black Film Archive is not just the digital archive that you see. A lot of the work is tangible, like ensuring that another generation can learn from the papers and materials, the physicality of what these directors have to offer. Helping them get their things in an archive and finding out what they desire are some of the questions I’m fielding. Which is such an honor. To be able to speak not only to audiences that hope to discover their work, but also them, and ensuring that their work is always discoverable, that’s the real joy.
That’s fascinating because when the Black Film Archive began, one of the major twists of it was that it was an accessible digital archive. But you’re talking about marrying the digital and the physical conception we have of an archive. Was that always how you envisioned the Black Film Archive, with that two-prong approach?
So what’s interesting is that my archival sensibility comes to me by being from the South. Black American families in the South often have a family archivist, the person who is assigned to be the historian for the family. For my paternal family, for a long time, that was my grandfather. For my maternal family, it wasn’t necessarily anyone in particular. But right before the idea of Black Film Archive launched, I was building a digital archive for one part of my family. So my mom was mailing me undeveloped film from cameras, and I was processing them, scanning them, working the images to identify people, and all of these things as part of my first pandemic-era project. The building of Black Film Archive is an extension of that kind of tangibility of family archives.
Consequently, in many ways, I feel like these artists are members of my family. I want to protect them with the integrity of what your family is protected with. Not in the sense that I would flatten the truth. I don’t mean that. What I mean to say is that so often I meet Black directors who have not been given the care that they deserve, and their life and their career is shaped by that lack of care. I don’t want this to be another point of entry that is also shaped by that instinct because when you have an industry built on white supremacist principles as Hollywood is, the idea of how to sell something, what gets into certain festivals, what gets into certain things, all of these things are based off the commodification of something and the commodification of something has very specific rules.
Now you’re in an era where that commodification is also being said by the audience. This commodification and the belief of what Black film can do, I feel like Black Film Archive breaks those rules because it still is a widely visited website. It is the largest Black film newsletter. There are a lot of things that go into this that break the idea that Black film is one thing.
When you’re talking about handling these artists and their work with care, often, and of course you’re intimately aware of this, I find that when something is rediscovered, when you learn about its backstory, you find that they were kneecaped from the beginning by systematic forces that were out of their control.
What’s really interesting is that the idea of what Hollywood can do for a Black director is already this small [brings her hands within an inch of each other]. So what people are envisioning for their lives through Hollywood is already tiny. What is often happening is that if people are getting celebrated, they’re getting celebrated without compensation. If they are a public figure, they’re a Black public figure. The idea of who they exist as in the public imagination is tiny. So what I am often doing is showing people that there is a world for them. Whether they made a film in the 1990s, whether they made a film in the 1970s, their film never got out into the world. I want to show them that there is a world ready for them.
And so to answer your question directly, what possibility do these directors, writers, stars even feel? It depends. How we receive something is based on many factors: how someone looks, colorism, whether they have the right agent. It’s not a simple calculation. Also, what is their measure of success? That’s another important factor. And if someone has felt stifled from day one, that follows them. So, part of having kinship with elders of all stripes, is allowing them to tell the narrative of their life. It’s allowing them space to feel the hurt and harm that’s been waged against them. It’s reminding them that that point in the past doesn’t have to stop them today. And while it’s fair for them to feel that way, there is a world waiting for you.
I’ll give you a perfect example. Another part of what I am often doing is spending time in archives, trying to get a real sense of the history of Black film—not just the history that we know it to be—which led me to finding Bridgett M Davis’ “Naked Acts” in an archive two years ago. It had never received distribution. I brought it to Milestone Films where I am now the president and the co-founders, Dennis Doros and Amy Heller, automatically said “yes, we’re gonna distribute this” within a day of seeing the film. I also asked if I could be the creative consultant on the release: so, press, how the restoration happens, working with the director, all of those things.
“Naked Acts” becomes a wild success for its category. But a part of the narrative that Bridgett has around “Naked Acts” is that everyone rejected it for distribution, and sometimes people feel like stones are meant to be unturned. So when “Naked Acts” was a success, when we released it in 2024, I went to Bridgett and I was like: I feel like you should make another film. I finally convinced her and now I’m a producer on said film, which is called “Helga,” and we were able to raise a production budget of $25,000 in three days this past weekend. So, a lot of the work that I do is trying to support people’s vision for their own lives and using the resources or whatever I can to ensure that that’s possible.
Did it take much coaxing to get Bridgett to take another swing as a filmmaker?
It’s interesting, with Bridgett specifically, we talk really often. Every time we talk, I tell her: The world is ready for you. I’m not necessarily pushing harder than it’s necessary, but just that reminder is so important. I think there’s a lot of noise in the industry. There’s a lot of people saying your turn is over. That noise exists. I’m not adding to that chorus. I’m trying to start a new one. I’m trying to say: Listen. We need you. So many things are inspired by your existence. Let’s add another thing for people to be inspired by. 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.
We’ve been lucky enough to live through an era where so many Black films are being rediscovered from so many filmmakers, which was their only work. They never really got that extra swing due to the emotional and the professional violence of these systems. How much of an emotional hurdle is it for these filmmakers to re-enter this space?
That’s interesting. I’ll give you a perfect example. After “Naked Acts,” I was on a tear. I thought I was going to find all these films and it’s going to be so great. But not every process is simple. “Naked Acts” was simple. It was kind of a dream moment. It was at an archive in the best possible condition. Afterward, I started reaching out to this other filmmaker who has a second career now, a completely different career—I was able to find her because that career is public facing—and I wrote to her a note about how “Naked Acts” has come out and it was just featured in The New Yorker. This is what I’m excited to do. She wrote back to me and basically said that not every stone is meant to be unturned. She was grateful that from the description of her film that I would be interested in it, but she wasn’t ready to revisit it right now.
I think the most important thing is to respect the agency of artists. People often talk about Larry Clark, for example, who only wants this film to be shown in a cinema. Why would we be in an era that does not respect the agency of artists? Something about how people feel about the commodification of things, the misplaced instinct is to suggest that something else is possible. That you can have riches and all your dreams are going to come true. But what if that is no longer your dream? What if you feel satisfaction in the fact that you created something? And the commodification actually isn’t about the artist, it’s actually about an audience who demands more and more and more and more. But the artist doesn’t want a part of that. That’s actually a harder conversation to have. As we are talking about the industry now, that’s something I’m often speaking about with artists, with writers and stars. How do you maneuver that?
I mean, history tells us that we are about to enter a Black independent boom. I say this specifically because when we think about Melvin Van Peebles and how he innovated Black film in that era and opened the Blaxploitation boom, it’s because there was no other avenue. Hollywood was not going to accept his vision and Melvin Van Peebles was an uncompromising person. So the natural instinct was to create a new avenue for expression. A generation later the same thing happens with Spike Lee. Once “The Wiz” is a financial failure, Hollywood says, “I’m no longer investing in Black cinema.” There is no avenue after the Blaxploitation boom ends.
So, it makes way for Spike, it makes way for his contemporaries, it makes way for Miramax and all of these people to kind of say that if the major studios aren’t going to invest in this, then we are going to have investment in this moment and take a risk. When that wanes, suddenly, of course, the studios are making buddy cop films that are approaching Blackness in a way that is accessible and acceptable for the Hollywood fascination. The buddy cop becomes the vehicle in which Blackness is safe. That extends through the 2000s when we have comedians as stars. But once the transition from video to digital happens, Black independent filmmakers kind of get left behind. There isn’t a conscious effort to continue that investment. Things continue, but it’s not the Miramaxes. History tells us, however, that when we are being neglected, we always innovate. Often when people ask me if I feel optimistic about the future of Black film history, I tell them that I have no other choice but to be optimistic about the future of Black film. If Hollywood dismisses us, there is always something. The considerations are much different now, but there is always something.
You’re taking over Milestone Films. Do you see it as different from the Black Film Archive or will you try to fold them together in some way?
As I’m taking over Milestone, it is the largest Black-owned film distributor period, because I will be owner and president, not just president. There’s a weight of responsibility there that is so exciting for me. I think this is the natural evolution of a lot of what I’ve been doing, but as I know it to be at this moment, Black Film Archive will continue to be its own thing. I’m deeply committed to Black Film Archive’s future. Milestone Films will be its own thing.
But what is also true is that many of the most watched films of the Black Film Archive are Milestone Films: “Killer of Sheep,” “Losing Ground,” “Alma’s Rainbow,” “Naked Acts.” These are films I now distribute. I now have direct relationships with those filmmakers. So I think the advantage of being the creator and curator of Black Film Archive, as I go onto this era of Milestone Films, is I have an objective relationship with the audience I’m trying to serve. That, originally, was actually the entire intention of my work. I want to serve an underserved audience directly, and it’s really joyful to be in a position of doing so.
I think there are challenges ahead. When people say the industry is changing, theatrical is changing, that’s true. It is changing. But I never see change as an inherent negative. As you know, my previous career was being an audience strategist. That’s what I’ve done for Criterion and other places. At those places my question was always: How does something reach its audience directly? It’s a challenge that I feel very ready for, and Dennis and Amy through this transition have helped me answer it every which way.
As I make my own acquisitions, which I’ve begun to do, I’m often thinking about how people are obsessed with one corner of what Black cinema is. But there are three other corners that people are not touching. What lies ahead for me is asking why aren’t people chasing these films? Often when I contact rights holders, they’re like: No one’s ever asked me about that film before. So, we think that the touchstones of Black cinema have already been touched. But really I find every day that there is more and more and more and more. It’s just about the right person coming in at the right time.
- From My Block to Wakanda: Movies and Black Travel (June 15, 2026)
I’ve always been interested in travel, but as much as I wanted to go to these faraway locations, I found comfort in just staying put. Watching TV and later movies actually fed into this duality. On many of the TV shows, there were these cities like New York and Paris that seemed exciting, but early on, I never saw people who looked like me in those spaces. I wanted to go but wasn’t sure if those places would embrace me. Then there were areas where it was clear I wasn’t wanted, and growing up in Chicago had already taught me to avoid those neighborhoods that proudly said I wasn’t welcome.
I grew up on 35th and King Drive on the South Side of Chicago not far from where the White Sox played, and it was known that the neighborhood of Bridgeport wasn’t a place for Black people, especially after dark. One could easily imagine that my longing to travel was overtaken by the reality that I wasn’t accepted everywhere, which resulted in me choosing to go nowhere. Movies changed that.
Films began to show Black faces in unfamiliar places. Many times they showed the joy of relaxation and exploration, while other times they showed the barriers and violence that came with going to areas where my skin color was unwanted. But movies gave me the permission to travel and the courage to go places where I was welcomed and not so much. For many of us, Black movies have been both a passport and a warning, influencing the way we think about our next steps domestically and globally.
One of the films that stands out for me is “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Starring Angela Bassett as Stella Payne, a single mother who sends her son to live with relatives so she can rekindle her love life, it showed Black people meeting other Black people. It said the diaspora is waiting for you, that the beaches and the sun weren’t just meant for others, and this spoke to me. The fact that the filmmakers prominently showed Black people as integral to the destination also made Jamaica appealing. Add to that the fun Delilah Abraham (Whoopi Goldberg) and Stella were having and I was all in. In Jamaica, Stella found a reset from the mundane and the overwhelming to go along with magnificent views, beautiful people, friends, and romance. I wanted to tap into that groove.
Part of that groove could be found in subsequent films like “Girls Trip” and “Last Holiday.” In “Girls Trip,” The Flossy Posse—composed of Regina Hall, Tiffany Hadish, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah—gather in New Orleans to attend Essence Fest. Their reunion reminds us of the safety found in community, and like Jamaica, New Orleans is a bastion for Black love and Black power. “Last Holiday,” conversely, combines tragedy and dreams into a wild adventure. It sees Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah), a department store worker in New Orleans, who, upon learning that she may be dying, decides to take that trip to a famous spa town in the Czech Republic. Georgia’s journey is about not having regrets, like never traveling.
Unfortunately, not every excursion is what appears on the brochure. We know, as Black people, there are places we go that will traumatize us, educate us, and even reject us, and movies have been there to map out the trials and tribulations of Black travel.
For many of us, we don’t have to be reminded of how the South is particularly traumatizing due to the brutality and unchecked biases associated with that part of the country. Our parents sent us there in the summers to connect with our families as well as educate us on our heritage, which includes the trials as well as the triumphs. Movies like “Eve’s Bayou,” “The Color Purple,” “Johnson Family Vacation,” and “Madea’s Family Reunion” give us a taste of family gatherings and of traveling to reconnect and learn. These explorations are vital to our upbringing, but the experiences are not always pleasant. Nevertheless, we venture to these places and beyond to replenish and recapture our stories. Those first trips have a profound impact on our desire to travel and on the underlying reasons we choose where to go.
There was a reason people like James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Josephine Baker left this country, and that reason is still evident in the ongoing migration of Black people to other countries. When I traveled to Ghana last year, there were over 500 Black Americans being sworn in as citizens. Be it luminaries or ordinary people, one study of Black travel found that Black tourists often travel “to escape day-to-day responsibilities, to seek novelty, and to feel a sense of belonging to family, ancestry, and racial community.”
Black folks are on the move to get away from racism, to find some peace of mind, or to flat out escape a situation that might kill us or lock us up. The latter is where Stony (Jada Pinkett Smith) found herself in the movie “Set It Off.” Like Stony, many of us have never even been outside our city or our neighborhood for that matter. However, Stony’s predicament required that she make some travel plans quickly so she could venture into Mexico as a life-saving measure.
When it comes to looking outside of America’s borders, with “Black Panther” I noticed a different way people began to talk about Africa after its release. Instead of fear about the continent dominating the conversation, there was a curiosity and pride associated with reconnecting with the motherland. A passport stamp to the Kingdom of Wakanda, for instance, can be purchased online. The movie excited Black people so much that even imaginary travel to Wakanda was desirable. While we can’t tie the jump in tourism to sub-Saharan Africa to this one film, travel blogs rushed to offer Black Panther–inspired trips, connecting Wakanda’s look to real African landscapes. The film reframed Africa as a place of innovation, beauty, and possibility, changing how many of us thought about traveling there.
In my current travels, I encounter all of these emotions and experiences. I just returned from Paris, where I went to see Black players from all over the world compete at the 2026 French Open: Gaël Monfils, Coco Gauff, Victoria Mboko, Naomi Osaka, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe, and Chicagoan Taylor Townsend, among others. I took a Black Paris tour and learned about the contributions and impact Black people have had on Paris culture. Having these players in the same city gave me comfort that I was not alone. Interestingly, Naomi Osaka received a lot of negative feedback for hosting a gathering for Black tennis players. Even as travelers, whether we are professional athletes or a curious traveler like me coming to celebrate, there is still a level of hateration. It is hard to explain to people who are not Black the totality of our feelings. Yet it would seem obvious, even to the outsider, that when people fail to see images of themselves in many spaces and places, they relish the opportunity to connect with their communities whenever and wherever they can.
And that’s what these films did for me. They made me want to commune with my people across the globe. 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, neighborhood, and city. The world became bigger and smaller at the same time. So what are you waiting for? Let’s plan that next trip, like now!
Wakanda Forever!
- Intro to Black Writers Week 2026 (June 15, 2026)
This is the third year I’ve helmed Black Writers Weeks in my role of Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com, a privilege received with the immense support and trust of Chaz Ebert, and each year, I am astounded by the breadth of the pieces we receive. They’re sometimes anniversaries commemorating pop culture items reframed for today’s readers; pressing critical arguments offered on contemporary film, television, and music; personal pieces about traveling and mental health. Some articles are by talented regulars and some are by brilliant new writers.
As I have combed through them what has thrilled me most is how they’ve made me think and re-shape my lens. That means that I’m not always in agreement with what a writer is arguing. Which is a great outcome. Not solely because reading differing viewpoints makes me a better writer, editor, and person—someone capable of seeing the world through another’s eyes, thereby altering my own perceptions—but also because Blackness is not monolithic. There is no single, correct outlook or way of phrasing. There isn’t a static conception of what Blackness sounds or moves like, other than to say that Blackness is the state of being in communion with one another.
So, as we traverse this week, highlighting work by Black writers leading up to and through Juneteenth, be in communion with the thoughts, hopes, beliefs, and visions that are shared on RogerEbert.com.
And to help you navigate the week, here’s a brief rundown of some of the pieces we’ll be publishing. Brandon Wilson pays tribute to “Logan’s Run,” Odie Henderson looks at the stage and film versions of “Dreamgirls” (he’s also in conversation with me about John Singleton’s “Baby Boy”). Jourdain Searles uses “Set it Off” and “Girl 6” to consider how Black women in their pursuits of money and pleasure were depicted in 1996. Mack Bates will tribute Alfre Woodard’s performance in “Passion Fish.” Soraya Nadia McDonald examines “Beloved.”
Some of the other long-form pieces you’ll find will be Cortlyn Kelly’s ingenious cinematic albums listicle, Lyvie Scott’s approximation of the Black woman anti-heroine as expressed in “Is God Is,” Brandon Lewis’ vision of film criticism in the Letterboxd era, David Moses’ interrogation of Black movie star, Danielle Momoh’s interview with Chicago avant-garde filmmaker Tatsu Aoki, Sonia Evans speaking with Entertainment Attorney and Syracuse Professor J. Christopher Hamilton, and Brandon Towns’ ode to the anti-capitalist cinema of Boots Riley.
I will also be in conversation with Maya Cade about the five year anniversary of the Black Film Archive. Additional pieces include: Sue-Ellen Chitunya sharing how film saved her mental health, Carla Renata offering her thoughts about the passing of Clarence B Jones and the rolling back of Civil Rights laws, Ife Olatunji scrutinizing the federal cuts to documentary filmmaking, Sherin Nicole critiquing the Chosen One trope, André Hammel paralleling Jiu-Jitsu and fatherhood.
As evidenced by the wealth of writing arriving over the next seven days (Monday, June 15- Sunday, June 21) in the sixth year of its existence, Black Writers Week has only grown stronger. I hope you find as much richness, diversity, and delight in these voices in reading them as I have found in supporting them.
Here are our past Table of Contents for BWW 2021, BWW 2022, BWW 2023, BWW 2024, BWW 2025.
- 250 Years Later and Blacks Are Still Politically and Racially Enslaved (June 15, 2026)
“Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation…But 100 years later the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.”
These are the words delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the March on Washington. A day in which Americans were encouraged “to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. “A day in which we were warned the most dangerous thing in America isn’t racial and economic divide…it’s silence.
This year, America will celebrate her 250th birthday. A birthday marred by history, that by today’s standards, attempts to continuously be re-written. A history where women, immigrants and people of color are challenged daily with a certain sector of society not acknowledging their contributions to the making of this country. Yet, that freedom and justice seem to not be applicable to “just us,” but those individuals who are entitled and privileged by birthright.
2026 marks another very important birthdate: The 10th anniversary of Ava DuVernay’s groundbreaking documentary “13th,” which examines the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States. DuVernay’s film operates with a clear viewpoint: The American criminal justice system is deeply rooted in systemic racism and that mass incarceration is a modern evolution of slavery. Not your historical chattel slavery, but a type of slavery which captures the mind, body and spirit to the point of paralyzing. Both birthdates coincide as the United States Supreme Court has slowly eroded, destroyed and ignored the U.S. Constitution for the purposes of power and greed for the elite. The same constitution that envelopes the 13th Amendment.
DuVernay’s “13th” tried to warn us about the impending possibilities of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 being rolled backwards: An act that had officially dismantled systemic segregation and outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations, employment, and federally funded programs.
Presently, instead of celebrating the liberties citizens marched, died and were slain for, Americans are currently experiencing a twilight zone of social and political revolution, where overzealous policing of education and birthright citizenship are being weaponized against people of color, women and the LGBTQ+ communities. As recently as May 2026, executive orders terminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, offices and funding across the federal government and federal contracting workforce have been signed by the Trump administration.
In addition, key rollbacks have included reversing a previous executive order on policing reforms (which banned chokeholds and no-knock warrants), eliminating a directive ensuring that Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms are deployed in a non-discriminatory manner, and undoing a voting rights directive that helped federal agencies facilitate voter registration. The latter hits at the same registration process being challenged with gerrymandering of maps to suppress votes nationwide.
In many ways, “13th” couldn’t be timelier. As we approach the midterms, per the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, candidates have been speaking of reverse discrimination, pushing for criminal justice reform and increasing the prison population with immigrants pending deportation, particularly those accused of violent crimes.
The freedom and justice outlined in the landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, so beautifully and memorably orated by the Reverend Dr. King, contains a message that has come back to haunt this generation. A speech crafted by the baddest speechwriter of all–Clarence B. Jones. Jones (who recently passed at the age of 95) lived long enough to witness the hopes he and Dr. King longed for caught in the grips of a vengeful racial and economic divide.
With the recent passing of Mr. Jones, one can’t help but recall the reflecting pool with hundreds of people from every race, creed and color standing within the warm arms of a vocal hug that rang out with excitement, vigor and a desire that our country had finally sewn up the great divide of humanity. A reflecting pool that, after undergoing a needless renovation by Trump, no longer serves as a mirror of humanity and common decency, but a watery grave eerily reminiscent of the oceans that claimed millions of our ancestors.
When one combines the words of the Baddest Speechwriter of All, Clarence B. Jones, with the work of Ava DuVernay—who’s among our bravest filmmakers—with the specter of America’s 250th birthday, if for nothing else, we’re reminded that America and the rights of all Americans are always worth fighting for despite the hefty price tag. So, until that day, Black people will continue to honor and celebrate our legacy on Juneteenth while praying for clearer skies ahead.
With that in mind, it’s worth returning to Jones’ words, spoken by Reverend Dr. King: “However, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last, Free at last, Great God a-mighty, We are free at last.”
- Deborah Nadoolman Landis Pays Tribute to Costume Design Legend Albert Wolsky (June 12, 2026)
One legend pays tribute to another: Deborah Nadoolman Landis (“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Blues Brothers”) writes about Albert Wolsky, who died in May.
Albert Wolsky created some of the most indelible images in popular culture: his costumes for “Grease”—from John Travolta’s swaggering black leather to Olivia Newton-John’s unforgettable good-to-bad girl transformation and the candy-colored jackets of the Pink Ladies—have become Halloween staples. Perhaps his perfect collaboration with Bob Fosse was on “All That Jazz,” with Ann Reinking topped with a black bowler hat, black tights, and pure attitude. That remains the image that defines Fosse’s style.
Although Wolsky was born in France, he grew up uptown in Washington Heights. We were both graduates of George Washington High School, separated by half a generation in a diverse neighborhood where everyone played on the street. An inauspicious start: his family ran a travel agency, and his father wanted him to join the business, which he did, though not for long. What followed was one of the most distinguished and enduring careers in costume design. Drawn first to the theater, Albert found his artistic home on Broadway, where he developed a keen eye for character, period, and storytelling that would become his hallmark. He brought that same intelligence and sensitivity to film, building a body of work spanning more than five decades and encompassing an extraordinary range of genres, styles, and collaborators.
Albert’s filmography reads like a survey of modern American cinema. From the downtown grit of Lenny (1974), the now-iconic Grease (1978) and the brilliant theatricality of All That Jazz (1979) to the forties elegance of Bugsy (1991), the hilarious Galaxy Quest (1999), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the restrained period costuming of Revolutionary Road (2008), groundbreaking Birdman (2014, and the visionary future of Ad Astra (2019), Albert’s costumes never called attention to themselves. Instead, they served the story – as he did. Albert understood that the greatest costume design is not decorative—it is personality made visible.
His long collaborations with directors such as Paul Mazursky, Bob Fosse, and Sam Mendes speak to the trust he inspired among filmmakers. Directors returned to Albert because he was elegant, serious about the work, a good listener, understood narrative, and possessed the rare ability to translate ideas into clothes that felt authentic, inevitable, and alive. His contribution helped define performances and shape audiences’ understanding of the world unfolding on screen. His actors won awards, and so did he, including two Oscars and the Costume Designers Guild Life Achievement Award.
Yet Albert’s contribution to our profession extends well beyond his remarkable credits. For decades, he devoted himself to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a governor and representative of our Branch, before we had one. He believed deeply in the value of our role on every production and worked tirelessly to ensure that costume designers had a voice within the institution and the broader film community. His stewardship helped raise our prestige and strengthen the visibility and standing of costume design during a period of profound change in the motion picture industry.
Those who knew Albert speak as readily of his warmth and kindness as of his accomplishments. He was always generous with his time, thoughtful in his advice, and encouraging to emerging designers. Students and young professionals regarded him as a master practitioner and a patient mentor. He understood that each generation inherits the responsibility to nurture the next and embraced that duty with grace. Albert Wolsky’s legacy extends beyond awards, celebrated films, and historic productions, encompassing the many artists whose lives he touched. He has strengthened our field—making it more respected, connected, and humane. Albert was an artist; we will miss him, and we are profoundly grateful.
- Official Trailer for 'How to Live on Earth' Cumberbatch's Optimistic Doc (June 15, 2026)
🌎 "What if the answer to our biggest challenges has been here all along? Welcome to the world's greatest how-to video!" Open Planet has revealed their main official trailer for the documentary titled How to Live on Earth, presented by and featuring actor Benedict Cumberbatch. This is primarily only getting a UK theatrical release this summer before it's on YouTube later in the year. And strangely it hasn't played at any festivals yet despite being a good one to show. How to Live on Earth is an ambitious, visionary doc film that explores our vital connection to nature and its role in our future. Unlike many other depressing docs about climate change, this one is optimistic. "Heart-warming, entertaining, energising, the film presents a hopeful vision of a future within reach – one in which nature thrives, and so do we. Lead contributors include Xiye Bastida, a climate justice activist, Dan O'Neill, a field biologist, wildlife filmmaker, and explorer, and Sam Kass, a former White House chef & senior policy advisor on nutrition, who all share fascinating stories that bring to life the extraordinary value of nature and the jeopardy of a world without it." Sounds good. I hope this film can actually encourage people to really make a difference & take better care of this beautiful planet. // Continue Reading ›
- Stuck Inside 'The Last House' Trailer with Greta Lee & Wagner Moura (June 15, 2026)
"We are safe. We are home. But most importantly – we have each other..." Netflix has revealed the chilling first official trailer for a mysterious sci-fi thriller titled The Last House, the latest movie made by director Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me, Fast X) for Netflix. Another intriguing concept about a family who is trapped inside their house by a strange storm. Reminds me of Vivarium and other trapped inside thrillers with a similar premise. From the writer of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, a family of four are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out, and must work together to survive against both their dwindling resources and the mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped. How long will they stay stuck in there? Starring Greta Lee as Riley, Wagner Moura as Jason, plus Riley Chung & Emma Ho as the kids, with Noah Alexander Sosnowski, Gabriel Barbosa, & Sam Lerner. I'm always into watching these movies to see how far they push the story and how it's all explained. I'll be watching for sure. // Continue Reading ›
- Watch: Adorable Chinese Short Film Promoting Pixar's 'Toy Story 5' (June 15, 2026)
"This isn't flying. This is falling with style." To promote the release of Pixar's sequel Toy Story 5 in China coming up this summer, Disney commissioned the Shanghai Animation Film Studio to create a special short film inspired by the toys. Specifically about a Buzz Lightyear toy. The 3-minute short has debuted online for everyone to watch – it's a "silent" short without any dialogue to translate. After 3 sequels before, this time the toys are finally going to deal with the elephant in the room – technology. Buzz, Woody, Jessie are challenged after being introduced to what kids are obsessed with today: electronics. The villain is a high-tech frog-shaped smart tablet named Lilypad voiced by Greta Lee (introduced in the teaser). The regulars are back in TS5: Tom Hanks returns as ever loyal cowboy Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, and Joan Cusack saddles up again as Jessie. And interestingly, Andrew Stanton is directing - he has made plenty of Pixar movies before, but this is his first Toy Story movie. From Toy Story 4 (in 2019), Tony Hale is returns as Forky, and Bonnie is back to round up her toys, too. This short film is titled "Toy Story 5: Zhuazhou" and follows the story of a special Buzz toy (and his pals) being passed down to the next generation. Watch below. // Continue Reading ›
- New 4K Restoration Trailer for PTA's 'Boogie Nights' Movie from 1997 (June 15, 2026)
"I plan on being a star. A big, bright shining star." Park Circus has revealed a new official trailer for the 4K restoration & re-release of the early PTA classic Boogie Nights. Years before he would go on to finally win his Oscars, Paul Thomas Anderson's breakout movie was this one - Boogie Nights in 1997. It premiered at the Toronto & New York Film Festivals in the fall before opening in theaters in October that year and doing pretty well at the box office for a little film about adult films. Boogie Nights is PTA's swirling portrait of the porn industry in California of the 1970s & 1980s. Through the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler, the film sketches a world full of ambition, fame, addiction, and a craving for family. Big, energetic and tragicomic: a modern American classic about people who want to be seen. Featuring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Nicole Ari Parker, and the iconic Philip Seymour Hoffman. It earned a few Oscar noms but didn't win any. All these years later and it's still considered one of PTA's best movies, about a lot more than just pornography. Roger Ebert wrote: "Through all the characters and all the action, Anderson's screenplay centers on the human qualities of the players... Boogie Nights has the quality of many great films, in that it always seems alive." Boogie on. // Continue Reading ›
- Flashy 20th Anniversary Trailer for Pixar's 'Cars' Movie - The First One (June 14, 2026)
"I didn't come all this way to see you quit." Disney & Pixar have revealed a brand new 20th Anniversary trailer for the 2026 re-release of the Pixar hit Cars, which first hit theaters in June 2026. Almost 20 years ago exactly! This was one of the movies we were excited to watch during the first summer of FirstShowing launching also 20 years ago. Even though Cars didn't get great reviews from critics at first, it was a huge hit worldwide and spawned many sequels + theme park rides + merch (and so much more). I also think it's way better than most people remember. This first Cars movie (sequels are different) is quite good, a thoughtful rumination on finding family and discovering small time life may be for you. 20 years ago today, a stop in Radiator Springs showed us that the journey matters as much as the finish line. Cars features the voices of Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, with Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Keaton, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, and George Carlin. This one is for all the racing fans out there. So wild realizing that it has been 20 years since the first Cars! So much has happened over 20 years... // Continue Reading ›
