“Cookie Queens” Is Sweet With Substance
(L–R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for “Cookie Queens” by Alysa Nahmias, an
(L–R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for “Cookie Queens” by Alysa Nahmias, an
(L–R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the “Filipiñana” premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in
(L–R) Jennifer Robinson, Selina Miles, Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, and Brittany Higgins attend the “Silenced” premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on
(L–R) Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Poh Si Teng, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, and Dr. Mark A. Perlmutter attend the premiere of “American Doctor” by Poh Si Teng,
(L–R) Atlas Green and Sam Green attend the Q&A for “The Oldest Person in the World” by Sam Green, an official selection of the 2026
Maria Bamford attends the “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story” premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22,
(L–R) Gayle Rankin and Domhnall Gleeson attend the premiere of “The Incomer” by Louis Paxton, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo
“This film is about expansion and pleasure and living to your absolute fullest. It’s about being sensual and sexual and hilarious and lost.”
“I think the biggest inspiration is teenage female friendship,” says Manners about her new film. “I drew a lot from my own experiences at an all-girls school growing up and how huge and exciting and painful and exhilarating and kind of everything these friendships felt.”
Using archival footage and reenactments interspersed with film and photos shot in Vietnam by the young men comprising the “soul patrol,” J.M. Harper crafts a backdrop of a country that was readily sending Black men to risk their lives in the jungle even as their civil rights were being disputed back home.