The WWII fable actioner “Inglourious Basterds,” written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, world-premiered in May at the 2009 Cannes Film Fest, where it won the Best Actor prize for Christophe Waltz.  The Weinstein Co. and Universal will release the picture in the U.S. on August 21.

The film’s long gestation is best recounted via anecdotes shared by writer-director Quentin Tarantino’s friends and colleagues.  Pieces of the story and elements from the script would pop up in casual conversations between Tarantino and his friends. 

Lynn Shelton, whose third feature, Humpday, has played with great success at Sundance, Seattle, and Cannes Festivals, says she’s “always been interested in the boundaries of sexual identity and on how fluid or rigid those boundaries might be.” Magonlia will release this serio comedy July 10.

The dramatic tension—and squeamish humor—in Humpday comes from the fact that, as wild and open as they would like themselves to be, the two main characters are both so heavily invested in being straight that when they push the boundaries of their heterosexuality, it shakes them to the very core.

Louie Psihoyos’s “The Cove,” a new documentary, which premiered in January at Sundance Festival and will be released by Roadside Attractions in July 31, is getting a lot of attention (and awards) and for good reasons.

The movie centers on Ric (Richard) O'Barry and his work in Taiji.  Psihoyos says: I was curious at first about why he wasn't allowed to talk at this conference. Then, when I found him, he explained that he was going to talk about this secret cove in Japan where the dolphin traffickers select most of the dolphins for dolphinariums and parks. He told me they were slaughtering the ones they didn't choose and using them for school lunch programs. I couldn't imagine any civilization killing dolphins and Richard invited me along the following week to see Taiji, the little town with this big secret.