Events
SDIFF 2024 presents ‘Nightbitch’: Howl like you mean it!
A woman who put her career on hold to become a first-time stay-at-home-Mom finds her smaller world taking an almost supernatural turn.
This is an odd one ya’ll. The film is touted as a body-horror dark comedy but struggles to find a role, a category, a niche that it fits into neatly and properly that can tell a potential viewer why they want to watch this movie. This is actually perfect for Nightbitch anyway, for our nameless protagonist Mother is also struggling with literally everything – being a first-time mother to a rambunctious baby boy, contending with an also-nameless husband (Scoot McNairy) whose job keeps him away more than half the time, regretting the fact that she gave up a career as an artist for motherhood, oh and also, noticing strange changes happening to her body. Make sure your diaper bag is stocked and let’s dive into this!
So our new Mom (Amy Adams) just hates the stuff that other moms seem to find enjoyable, most especially the story-and-singing time held at their local library, full of mostly other moms and their loud children, dutifully singing along mindlessly to that repetitive garbage that makes one want to rip their own ears off. Mom is stuck in the repeat of minutiae involved in caring for a baby, all alone too, and laments finding herself becoming more and more bestial and less and less super-mom who can do everything. At one point this thought of less-than-human starts becoming literal, as Mom starts experiencing things like a proto-tail and extra hair that’s damn too close to fur for comfort. But what can one do, other than endure and continue on? Our Mom decides to actually lean into the beast nature of things and see where it takes her!
The nameless husband that Scoot McNairy plays, a man who is so milquetoast and bland and unhelpful that he might as well be a cardboard cutout, lends himself to a trend of similar characters McNairy has played elsewhere. We get the feeling that he is simply there to give Mom a target to lash out against, as she accuses him of helping her set aside her adult dreams of artistry in favor of family, even as he fires lamely back that that was what she told him she wanted. He fails to put up any struggle when Mom tells him she wants a separation, and we can almost see him shrink further in Mom’s eyes when that doesn’t happen, for her feral new nature is spoiling for a fight, or multiple fights. A good old-fashioned screaming and throwing things match could lead to some epic make-up sex, or at the very least actually clear the air between our nameless parents, but no. They argue they cry, they separate, and of course, Mom takes the baby, graciously allowing Dad to come to visit and take the baby for outings. But hope for reconciliation is pretty non-existent.
Our Mom may have decided to lean into the strangeness of her bodily changes, her being chased around by follower canines that may or may not be the bestial natures of her fellow mothers, even the very basic nature of what it means to be a mother, but only up to a certain point. As much fun as it is to shed her human envelope and run in her fur at night might be, a tiny completely helpless human will still be waiting at home for her to come back to feed and take care of him. This crushing responsibility versus the very real freedom of being a beast is one of the many contradictions lacing the film, and perhaps the most prevalent, due to the simmering resentment Mom feels at being both freed and constrained in literally the same breath.
There isn’t so much an end to the film, more like Mom finally resigns herself to be completely changed from who she was before she became ‘Mom’, but still grasping at some shred of self left that doesn’t necessarily stem entirely from her child. Entirely contradictory but in a sympathetic-to-motherhood kind of way, Nightbitch asks the audience to remember that while ‘Mom’ maybe her new all-encompassing title forever, she did and does still have a name, and dreams to realize, too.
Events
Nandamuri Kalyan Ram’s Upcoming Film Builds Massive Hype

The much-anticipated film Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi, produced by NTR Arts and Ashoka Creations, is all set to unveil its official teaser on March 17, 2025. Featuring Nandamuri Kalyan Ram in the lead role and veteran actress Vijayashanthi making a powerful comeback, the film is expected to deliver a gripping action-packed family drama.
The Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi teaser launch event is scheduled for:
Date: March 17, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM IST
Venue: AAA Cinemas (Screen 1), Hyderabad, India
Fans who cannot attend in person can watch the teaser across YouTube, Twitter (X), and other social media platforms, as it will be released online simultaneously.
Pre-Teaser Hints at High-Octane Action
Ahead of the teaser launch, the makers released a gripping pre-teaser, which showcased Kalyan Ram in an intense look—seated on a boat, shirt bloodied, signaling an impending storm of action. Complemented by Ajaneesh Loknath’s electrifying background score, the clip has already generated significant buzz online.
Directed by Pradeep Chilukuri, Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi promises to blend action, family drama, and strong emotional elements, making it a highly awaited release for Telugu cinema fans. With Vijayashanthi portraying a powerful IPS officer, the film is expected to bring a strong narrative backed by stellar performances.
Nandamuri Kalyan Ram’s New Action Avatar Vijayashanthi’s Comeback in a Fierce Role High-Quality Production Backed by NTR Arts Intense Pre-Teaser That Has Raised Expectations
Stay Updated on Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi For the latest updates, teasers, trailers, and exclusive insights into Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi, follow NTR Arts’ official pages and stay tuned for March 17!
Events
VINCE GILLIGAN TO RECEIVE WGAW’S 2025 PADDY CHAYEFSKY LAUREL AWARD

Multiple Primetime Emmy- and Writers Guild Award-winning film and television writer, director, and producer Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) has been named the recipient of the WGAW Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement. The award is presented to a Guild member who has “advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the television writer.” Gilligan will be honored at the WGAW’s 2025 Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 15 at the Beverly Hilton.
“‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’” said Gilligan. “Cribbing from a better writer is about all I can think to do right now, preoccupied as we all are by what has happened to beautiful Southern California. But this award is a true honor, and I appreciate it deeply.”
Gilligan was born in Richmond, Virginia, and raised in Farmville and Chesterfield County. While attending NYU, Gilligan won the Virginia Governor’s Screenwriting Award in 1989 for his screenplay Home Fries, which was later made into a movie starring Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson. This award led Gilligan to land an agent and enter the industry. He wrote 1993’s Wilder Napalm before joining season two of The X-Files in 1995. In addition to writing nearly 30 episodes, Gilligan went on to become an executive producer of The X-Files. He was one of the creators and executive producers of the spin-off series The Lone Gunmen.
In 2008, Gilligan created Breaking Bad, widely considered to be among the greatest television shows of all time. It was one of the most-watched cable series in history during its run and it is currently the highest-rated show on IMDb.
Gilligan went on to co-create the Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul in 2015 with Peter Gould. Together, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were named “TV Programs of the Year” ten times by the American Film Institute and won four Peabody Awards, sixteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Writers Guild Awards. In 2019 Gilligan wrote and directed the film El Camino, a coda to the Breaking Bad finale from 2013.
Named after one of the most influential writers in entertainment history, the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement is the WGAW’s highest award for television writing. Past Television Laurel Award recipients include Linda Bloodworth Thomason, Yvette Lee Bowser, Merrill Markoe, Jenji Kohan, Diane English, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Bochco, Susan Harris, Stephen J. Cannell, Shonda Rhimes, David Chase, Marta Kauffman & David Crane, Larry David, Garry Marshall, and Alison Cross.
Events
SDAFF 2024 presents ‘Dead Talents Society’: I hate this world!

So our Rookie (Gingle Wang) hasn’t been dead terribly long as other ghosts would describe it, and isn’t terribly familiar with the big business that the haunting and urban legend celebrity ghosts perpetuate. When the offerings at a ghost’s grave or shrine begin tapering off and especially if they stop, for any reason or none at all, the ghost in question has 30 days to either obtain an official haunting license or glitch out of existence, basically forever. And for some reason, our Rookie isn’t ready to do that just yet.
The rivalry between the two main celebrities of our ghostly world, Catherine (Sandrine Pinna) and her haunted hotel versus Jessica (Eleven Yao) and her horde of fakes, is just like the smiling poison you’ll see between live celebs on any reality TV show today. Catherine has her tried and true methods that work most of the time, while Jessica seems intent on trying out a bunch of new methods to take her haunting mythos worldwide, though neither of our lady poltergeists are impressing the Chairghost (Di-yang Huang) terribly much at the moment. And our Rookie is trying rather desperately to follow in either of their footsteps, inevitably resulting in hilarious if not pathetic shenanigans.
Like any rookie out hunting a job, our Rookie attends a ghostly seminar and performs miserably, but she manages to meet Catherine’s self-proclaimed manager Makoto (Chen Bolin), and gets taken back to the hotel for some professional haunting lessons from the legend herself. Spectral hijinks ensue, as Catherine and Makoto try so very hard to find a talent, a haunting niche, something that can give our Rookie recognition in the ghost world so she doesn’t go poof forever!
The problem is, is that our Rookie just doesn’t seem to be good at, well, anything. Like any ghost, she actually has unfinished business and that’s why she’s still stuck on this earthly plane, but the how and why of her death, and the very real rage and sorrow she still feels because of it, is something we the living can actually all relate to as well. As she dutifully dons schoolgirl garb and Jack Skellington makeup to repeat her chosen phrase, “I hate this world!”, our Rookie is building her own urban legend to rival even Catherine and Jessica, but even in this she feels herself a fraud. Makoto and the others helped her basically put this whole thing together, and while it might save her spectral butt from glitching out, it doesn’t address her personal grievances, which is kinda the whole point of ghosts.
The leading ghosts are about to compete in a ghost-off for the Golden Ghost Awards, its all being dead-broadcast amongst the dead talents society and the competition is totally fierce, yo! But even as she gamely tries to continue the urban legend she began with help, our Rookie finds herself realizing that she doesn’t have to be declared special or hugely popular, to deserve to continue to exist. No, her death wasn’t fair at all, and to make our Rookie continue to struggle for acceptance, recognition, and to be seen in the afterlife, isn’t fair at all either. No wonder that even in the beginning, our Rookie had decided to use, “I hate this world!” as her catchphrase.
Full of heart and sympathy for the struggles of recognition that both the living and the dead can totally understand, Dead Talents Society boasts plenty of jump scares and ghostly gore but from an adorably jaded behind-the-scenes point of view!