The Ones Who Greive is about to premiere in Austin, Texas at this years edition of Fantastic Fest.
Writer & Director Quarxx had a conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell about the filmmaking process to realize his latest film. Here is that conversation:
Prior to flying from Italy to Austin for the North American premiere of Death Has No Master Jorge Thielen Armand had a conversation about the film. The challenges in the five year journey to realize the movie, the casting and the work that he and cinematographer Luis Armando Artega did to find the visual language of the film.
The Squirrel the new film from writer and director Markus Lehmusruusu is set to have it's world premiere at fantastic Fest 2026. I was able to have a conversation with Markus and actor Mimosa Willamo about the journey to bring this story to cinematic life. The Squirrel is also Finland's entry to the Academy Awards for best International Picture. Bonus, my cat Batman makes an appearance.
Here is the the teaser trailer for Robert Arron Mitchell's new movie, Coyote Teeth. The movie is currebtly being submitted to film festivals.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
My name is Robert Aaron Mitchell, and for the past year, I have been crafting this cinematic experience. First and foremost, the movie should speak for itself, or I have failed as a filmmaker. That being said, perhaps a little context is not a bad thing.
I live in Dilley, Texas, which is a small town in South Texas that is the location of one of the largest detention centers in the United States of America. Its primary purpose is to incarcerate families. As of this writing on June 13, 2026, over five hundred babies have been imprisoned here. This place is run by the for-profit corporation Core Civic. The Orwellian name of this place is the South Texas Family Residential Center. In actuality, it is a concentration camp to enrich shareholders. I live next door to this monstrosity.
I think a lot about evil. I also think about a phrase that is uttered many times, “This is not us.” These four words negate a 250-year history of the United States of America. This is us. We live, operate, and benefit from the machine and systems of cruelty of this country.
My motivation in crafting this cinematic experience was my attempt to stay sane so I can assist people who are being devastated by the United States of America, so I can continue to decolonize my mind as well as continue the work of dismantling the systems of cruelty I live in. I am a lifelong student of Midnight Movies, and with all earnestness, I have done my best to craft a film worthy to be called weird. The movie is ultimately about complicity.
Dead Lover is the 2025 Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival closing film. The last midnight madness screening of the year is always a bittersweet night/morning. It is also a celebration of the programme and the filmmakers who premiered their films throughout the ten nights. Tonight Dead Lover directed by Grace Glowicki and co written by Grace and Ben Petrie has a new poster ahead of the closing night screening.
There is nothing like Toronto in September. The Toronto International Film Festival arrives and brings such a great energy and vibe to Canada's largest metropolitan area.The energy of the city gets amped up even more than any regular day. The cinematic world descends upon the downtown streets. Red carpets are rolled out. Doors of tinted windows are opened. Actors and filmmakers from Argentina to Tokyo and everywhere else step onto the streets. Crowds gather eager for a glimpse, a selfie or a hastily scrawled signature on a blu-ray or a glossy photo or a restaurant receipt. There is nothing like Toronto in September. Except for me, all of the above is true, except there is nothing like a Midnight Madness premiere in Toronto in September.
Curator Peter Kuplowsky tirelessly searches for the ten films of cinematic genre note. The Midnight Madness programme has such a storied history. It is a film festival within a film festival. Many have noted the audiences of TIFF. Those audiences by 11:59 p.m. are still up, amped and ready. Beach balls are hit and smacked around the venue. Peter's selected playlist - curated for each of the ten movies - is playing loud.
As the Royal Alexandria aka The RAT fills up so to does the din of the buzz of the crowd anticipated what genre delights will soon unfold. Will it be an intense, look at the screen through fingers covering your eyes horror film. An action film where the sound of effects of bone-crunching kicks rattles the ear drums of the over thousand people in attendance, will the movie be a gross out funny genre destroying cinematic opus you may only see once?
I will preface the following with this...I am anticipated all of the 2025 Midnight Madness movies. If I had to pick three these are the three I will pick today...tomorrow, well that maybe a different story.
I have been following the movies of Matt Johnson and his motley crew of filmmakers since The Dirties (2013) This extremely talented group crosses genres, tones and film making techniques with ease. I cannot wait to see their latest film.
KARMADONNA
Just look at at just one of the publicity stills which was released to the media. I have been covering film festivals since 2007. I cannot recall such in your face publicity photos. This comes as no surprise as the director of Karmadonna Aleksander Radivojevic also directed a film entitled A Serbian Film by many accounts, mine included one of the most intense films ever made, I was at the international premiere of A Serbian Film at SXSW in 2010. That film still haunts me. Good luck Toronto.
THE FURIOUS
I cannot wait to see this movie! Kenji Tanigaki action choreographer SPL, Flash Point and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In helms his own action movie. Get ye to the theater as fast as humanly possible!
Robert Aaron Mitchell deep in South Texas filming a rattlesnake for his next film. (Do not attempt this at home)
"I am making something vastly different than The Bobby Diamonds Story) I am an American living during this time in America. I have a lot of rage inside because of the fascism this country has become. As I say this another mass shooting has taken place. This time in Minneapolis. Year after year after year these tragedies occur and nothing positive has been done. Gun laws have gotten more lax as time goes on. This country is entering a period of severe instability. The civil war never truly ended. It has remained as embers of hate all these years later. We are entering another period of civil war. While this film I am currently mired in does not directly address these issues the film is serving as a primal scream and it would be naive to think my environment is not playing a role in my artistic endeavors. At the end of the day during the production and post-production phases on my new work I am striving to make a scary fucking movie."
Here is a first look teaser trailer:
On the latest episode of the Bratt's Bin movie podcast The Crow (1994) is discussed. Robert Aaron Mitchell joins Jared Bratt and Carl Diamond as the trio conduct a deep-dive conversation about the movie which premiered thirty years ago this year. Entertaining and informative here is the video.
I was able to have a great interview with director and writer Kenichi Ugana over zoom. We spoke about The Gesuidouz and the reception the movie had at the world premiere at the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival. We spoke of our mutual love of punk music and horror films. The challenges of making the movie and how they were overcome. The incredible cast he assembled to realize the movie. Here is our conversation.
On my last day at the 2024 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival I was able to have a sit down conversation with Ukrainian filmmaker Pavlo Ostrikov. We spoke about his science fiction movie U Are The Universe. The seven year journey it took to realize the film, finding his cast, the design of the movie as well as what life is like during the war to stop the Russian invasion.
Here are some more exclusive stills from U Are The Universe.
The first Saturday is very special during the Toronto International Film Festival. King street is closed for festival street. There are a lot of food trucks, film related vendors, music fills the air. The hot humid late Toronto summer gives way to a brisk evening. The sun sets, the city glows and around The Royal Alexandria the buzz of the audience making their way to midnight movie can be heard. This year the buzz was palpable as Joseph Kahn returned to the Midnight Madness programme with his latest film, Ick. A creature feature, much different then his underground hip hop battle movie, Bodied - which was a huge hit in 2017 at tiff. Joseph assured me that the audience would have a different yet equal amazing film experience. At the red carpet world premiere I was able to talk with actor Zeke Jones who plays Griffin in the movie Ick. Here is our conversation.
Excitement was definitely in the air surrounding The Royal Alexandria theatre as the first Saturday of the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival was nearing the midnight hour. Anticipation was high as Joseph Kahn's new film Ick was set to have it's World Premiere. Kahn's previous film Bodied also received it's World Premiere at Midnight Madness. That screening was one of the all time great premieres of the programme. Ick is Kahn's take on the creature feature. As he said to me he wanted to make a film that he watched as a kid in the 1980s. I spoke with actor Harrison Cone who plays quarterback Dylan on the red carpet
For a movie to be premiere during the first Friday at the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival you know it has to be special. John Hsu's Dead Talents Society is a film made with a lot of love and heart. The story itself is infused with a lot of love, heart and found family.
In the world of Dead Talents Society when one has passed away and entered the realm of the newly dead the person has to start scary the living or in 30 days they will cease to exist all together. Gingle Wang plays The Rookie, a teen who has suddenly passed away. She must start to scare people to acquire a hunter's license to stave off complete non-existence. There is only one giant, glaring problem, The Rookie does not posses any talent to scare anyone.
Having failed spectacularly in front of a jury of specters. The Rookie meets Makato (Bo-lin Chen) who is sympathetic to her dilemma. He introduces her to his crew. Most notably, Catherine (Sandrine Pinna) and a hilarious side kick played by Soso Tseng.
Here is my conversation with director/writer John Hsu and actor Gingle Wang:
The last time I saw Mena Suvari in Toronto was in 2007 when she was at the Midnight Madness World Premiere of Stuart Gordon's Stuck. It was great to speak with her ahead of the World Premiere of Joseph Kahn's new creature feature, Ick. Always a delight, smart, funny and insightful. Here is Mena and I's conversation on the Midnight Madness red carpet at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
The excitement was very present the first Saturday of Midnight Madness at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. As present as the mysterious substance that is everywhere in Joseph Kahn's new creature feature, ICK. The ick is around doing not much, until it is doing something...trying to consume everyone in it's path. Leading the stellar cast is Brandon Routh. Brandon plays Hank a guy who had it all, quarterback, the girl Staci (Mena Suvari) and then it's all gone like a Mellencamp song. He starts working at the high school as a janitor and becomes a science teacher. He is still in contact with Staci and her husband Peter (Ted Kim) As the ick begins to threaten the town Brandon leads the town in a heroic charge against the mysterious substance. In person, Brandon is a delight, charming, charismatic and possessing great sense of humor. Here is our conversation.
Joseph Kahn has returned to the Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival with his latest film ICK. He premiered Bodied here in 2017 and that screening was one of the all time best premieres I have attended at Midnight Madness. This time around Kahn and his team of collaborators are shifting gears and take us to a small town focused on the high school. A mysterious gross substance has been around for years. Not doing much just....around... It has been dubbed the ick. Then one day it is not static, it has started to move and consume. The town is very much in denial. Conversations mirror those that were centered around a certain corona virus of this decade. It is always great when I am able to talk to Joseph Kahn. He is a filmmaker I can listen talk about the craft for hours. Here is our conversation from the red carpet.
Nacho Vigalondo's Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film played in the prestigious Platform section. I was on the red carpet and spoke with actor Bèatrice Grannô who plays the title role Daniela.
Nacho Vigalondo's latest film Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere in the prestigious Platform section at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. I was on the red carpet for the premiere and spoke with actor Henry Golding about his acting process, grief and working with Nacho Vigalondo.
Nacho Vigalondo's latest film Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was in the prestigious Platform section of the festival. I was on hand and was able to talk about the movie, dreams, grief, the internal struggles of being an artist. The first time I interviewed Nacho was in 2011 when one of his short films was included in ABC's of Death which also had a world premiere at tiff in the Midnight Madness programme.
