🌸The Spring Read

Welcome to the first issue. Every first Sunday of the month, this is where we talk about what's going on in the movie world — the festivals, the awards chatter, what's worth watching when you don't know what to watch. Casual, family-style. No takes, just a friendly read.

Last month at the movies

The 98th Academy Awards aired in March, and the family race for the Watcher's Award is locked in over on the Results tab. Anyone who hadn't seen everyone's pick by ceremony night is forever frozen at their final tally — that's the rule. Catch-up logging still counts toward your personal stats, just not the trophy. Take a look at the call-outs section for who pulled the upsets.

Festival circuit

A few that are heating up this season:

• Tribeca kicks off in early June. Watch this space for the ones that generate the loudest hallway buzz.
• Cannes runs mid-May and we'll have a quick recap of the Palme d'Or contenders in next month's issue.
• Sundance is a long way off, but the films that broke from this past January are still trickling into wider release — keep an eye on the ones that picked up specialty distribution deals.

Indie spotlight

If you only have time for one this month, the recommendation is whatever looks the strangest in your streaming app. Critics have been kind to the small-budget character pieces lately — and a lot of them are landing on Mubi or A24's streaming arm before getting wider rollout.

What to look out for in May

• Cannes coverage and a couple of guesses at which titles will be in the awards conversation by year-end
• A check-in on box office — what's working, what isn't, and what the studios are reading into it
• Maybe a piece on streaming-vs-theatrical for awards eligibility, since it keeps shifting

Have something you want covered? It's just me writing — but if there's a film you can't stop thinking about, mention it the next time we gather. It'll probably end up in here.

That's it for this one. Catch the next issue the first Sunday of May.