Author: Josh Hornbeck

Josh is the founder of Cinema Cocktail, and he is a writer and director, podcaster and critic, and communications and marketing professional living and working in the greater Seattle area.

Shook (2020) | June 2

When Mia, a social media star, becomes the target of an online terror campaign, she has to solve a series of games to prevent people she cares about from getting murdered. But is it real. Or is it just a game at her expense. – IMDb.com

Director: Jennifer Harrington

Cast: Daisye Tutor, Emily Goss, Nicola Posener, Octavius J. Johnson, Grant Rosenmeyer, Stephanie Simbari, Joy Gohring

Country: United States

Distributor: Shudder

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes

Platform: Shudder

Special Programming: Midnight Movies

Special Events: Filmmaker Conversations

Where to Watch

Filmmaker Conversations

Even the Rain (2010) | June 2

As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply. – JustWatch.com

Director: Icíar Bollaín

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Luis Tosar, Raúl Arévalo, Najwa Nimri, Karra Elejalde, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Raúl Arévalo

Country: Spain

Distributor: Vitagraph Films

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Platform: Netflix

Where to Watch

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema, Parts 7-9 (2019) | June 2

As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women. – JustWatch.com

Director: Mark Cousins

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Kerry Fox, Debra Winger, Thandiwe Newton, Sharmila Tagore

Country: United Kingdom

Distributor: Janus Films

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 3 hours, 12 minutes

Platform: The Criterion Channel

Special Programming: Documentary Cinema, Long-Form Cinema

Where to Watch

Residue (2020) | June 2

A young filmmaker returns home after many years away, to write a script about his childhood, only to find his neighborhood unrecognizable and his childhood friends scattered to the wind. – JustWatch.com

Director: Merawi Gerima

Cast: Obinna Nwachukwu, Dennis Lindsey, Taline Stewart, Derron “Rizo” Scott, Jacari Dye, Julian Selman, Tyree Wormley

Country: United States

Distributor: ARRAY Releasing

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Platform: Netflix

Special Events: Filmmaker Conversations

Where to Watch

Filmmaker Conversations

Homegoings (2013) | June 2

Through the eyes of funeral director Isaiah Owens, the beauty and grace of African-American funerals are brought to life. Filmed at Owens Funeral Home in New York City’s historic Harlem neighborhood, Homegoings takes an up-close look at the rarely seen world of undertaking in the Black community, where funeral rites draw on a rich palette of tradition, history and celebration. Combining cinéma vérité with intimate interviews and archival photographs, the film paints a portrait of the dearly departed, their grieving families and a man who sends loved ones “home.” – JustWatch.com

Director: Christine Turner

Cast: Isaiah Owens

Country: United States

Distributor: Public Broadcasting Service

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour

Platform: The Criterion Channel

Special Programming: Documentary Cinema

Where to Watch

Lucky (2020) | June 1

May, a self help author with all the answers, suddenly finds herself stalked by a masked man who mysteriously reappears every night. Even when she kills him. May struggles to get help from the people around her as she fights to stay alive. Is this paranoia, or is she doomed to accept her new reality? – JustWatch.com

Director: Natasha Kermani

Cast: Brea Grant, Dhruv Uday Singh, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Kausar Mohammed, Kristina Klebe, Leith M. Burke

Country: United States

Distributor: Shudder

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 23 minutes

Platform: Shudder

Special Programming: Midnight Movies

Special Events: Filmmaker Conversations

Where to Watch

Filmmaker Conversations

Binti (2019) | June 1

Twelve-year-old Binti was born in the Congo but has lived with her father Jovial in Belgium since she was a baby. Despite not having any legal documents, Binti wants to live a normal life, and dreams of becoming a famous vlogger like her idol Tatyana. Elias (11) runs his ‘save-the-okapi-club’ without the help of his father, who’s moved to Brazil following his divorce with Elias’s mother Christine. When their annoying neighbour invites Christine on a romantic trip to Paris, Elias, upset and angry, runs away to his treehouse. At the same time, police raid Binti and Jovial’s home, sending the two on the run, and Binti into the path of Elias. When their parents meet shortly after, Binti quickly sees the perfect solution to all her problems. If she can match her dad with Elias’s mom, they can get married and stay in Belgium. – JustWatch.com

Director: Frederike Migom

Cast: Caroline Stas, Joke Devynck, Mo Bakker, Tatyana Beloy, Aboubakr Bensaïhi, Bebel Tshiani Baloji, Alix Konadu, Kuno Bakker, Frank Dierens

Country: Belgium

Rating: PG

Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Platform: Kanopy

Where to Watch

Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema, Parts 4-6 (2019) | June 1

As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women. – JustWatch.com

Director: Mark Cousins

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Kerry Fox, Debra Winger, Thandiwe Newton, Sharmila Tagore

Country: United Kingdom

Distributor: Janus Films

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 3 hours, 12 minutes

Platform: The Criterion Channel

Special Programming: Documentary Cinema, Long-Form Cinema

Where to Watch

Paradise Hills (2019) | June 1

A young woman is sent to Paradise Hills to be reformed, only to learn that the high-class facility’s beautiful facade hides a sinister secret. – JustWatch.com

Director: Alice Waddington

Cast: Emma Roberts, Eiza González, Milla Jovovich, Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina, Jeremy Irvine, Hunter Tremayne

Country: United States

Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Platform: Kanopy

Special Events: Filmmaker Conversations

Where to Watch

Filmmaker Conversations