EXCLUSIVE: Traces of Home, the award-winning documentary debut of filmmaker Colette Ghunim, has set its U.S. theatrical release.

The film from Watermelon Pictures, executive produced by Melissa Barrera and John Leguizamo, will open September 18 at Angelika Film Center in New York City (a special preview screening will take place there on Sept. 16, followed by a Q&A with Ghunim and Barrera). Traces of Home opens in Los Angeles on Sept. 25 at the Laemmle Royal and Laemmle Glendale, before expanding to additional cities nationwide throughout October.

The documentary won the Grand Jury Prize in U.S. Competition at DOC NYC last November and earned Best Documentary Feature at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. We have your exclusive first look at the film in the trailer below.

Traces of Home “follows Ghunim as she travels with her parents to the homes they were forced to flee as children in Mexico and Palestine, transforming a personal search for connection into a wider examination of generational trauma, memory, and belonging,” notes a synopsis. “Filmed over five years and woven with evocative animation and archival footage, it is both a meditation on memory and an unflinching look at what it means to find our way back home to ourselves.”

In a statement, Ghunim commented, “Traces of Home was a transformational portal toward deep reconciliation, both with my family and within myself. It is not just a film; Traces of Home is sacred medicine, made for those called to heal generations of pain in their own lineage.”

“Colette has created something incredibly intimate and universal,” said Barrera, the Mexican-born actress known for Abigail, two of the Scream films, and In the Heights. “The film asks profound questions about identity, family, displacement and belonging, while never losing sight of the deeply human stories at its center. All of us can see a little of ourselves in Colette’s family and her journey and I can’t think of anything more important right now than finding points of connection between us all instead of continuing to sow divisiveness.”

Traces of Home is directed by Colette Ghunim and produced by Sara Maamouri, Dan Rybicky, and Capella Fahoome. Along with Melissa Barrera and John Leguizamo, executive producers include Keith Wilson and Dena Takruri. Cinematography is by Hosni Ghunim, Monica Wise and Rafic Saadeh; editors are Sara Maamouri, Loulwa Khoury, and Laura Moya. Omar Fadel composed the score.

Watermelon Pictures, based in Chicago, is “a film production and distribution company committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented filmmakers across the globe through the powerful medium of storytelling. Rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, the company was founded by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali in 2024.” Its productions include The Voice of Hind Rajab, the film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania that earned an Oscar nomination for Best International Film, and American Doctor, an expected Oscar contender this year that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Watch the trailer for Traces of Home here:

Filmmaker John Carpenter and actors Colman Domingo and Charlize Theron have been named as this year’s honorees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures‘ annual fundraising gala in October.

The gala, co-chaired by Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, is set for October 17.

Theron will receive the Icon Award, celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global impact. Carpenter, a director and composer, will receive the Luminary Award, given to an artist whose singular contributions have expanded the creative possibilities of filmmaking. Domingo will receive the Vantage Award honoring an artist who is helping to challenge dominant narratives around cinema.

“The Academy Museum Gala is a celebration of the artists and storytellers whose work continues to shape the cultural impact of cinema around the world,” said Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma. “For our sixth annual Gala, we are honored to recognize John Carpenter, Colman Domingo, and Charlize Theron, whose extraordinary careers exemplify the creativity, innovation, and excellence that continues to move the industry forward.”

The Academy previously announced upcoming programs that include Theron in conversation with the museum’s Teen Council on August 22, featuring a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Carpenter will host three nights of screenings of his films, including Halloween (1978), on September 26, in celebration of The Horror Show, the Academy Museum’s new large-scale exhibition.

The 2026 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee, also announced today, includes Jessica Alba, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, Jon M. Chu, Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Galitzine, Ludwig and Serena Göransson, Regina Hall, Kate Hudson, Jessica Lange, Greta Lee, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Rami Malek, Demi Moore, Olivia Munn, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Questlove, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, Bird Runningwater, and Teyana Taylor.

Matthew McConaughey has starred in multiple rom-coms, but there’s one in particular that he says still makes him money even after 20 years.

In a new interview, the actor said that How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days still brings him money in residuals after all these years.

“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is the gift that keeps on giving,” McConaughey said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I think it’s probably my favorite romcom I’ve done.”

He added, “And it still pays the best mailbox money of any film I’ve ever done. By far. By lengths.”

Other romantic comedies McConaughey starred in include The Wedding Planner (2001), Failure to Launch (2006), Fool’s Gold (2008), and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), among others.

McConaughey said he used to be able to pinpoint the spike in residuals, saying, “When it used to be just DVDs or cable, every March I’d get a big check because Valentine’s Day.”

“But, I mean, look: the movie for me, for that genre, let me just own that genre. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days … that’s a real anchor in the rom-com genre through time,” he added.

Donald Petrie directed How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which is based on the picture book by Michele Alexander and Jennie Long. The screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, and Burr Steers revolves around advertising executive Benjamin Barry (McConaughey), who makes a bet he can make any woman fall in love with him. At the same time, writer Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) plans to write an article about how to make a man dump you.

In an interview from 2024, McConaughey’s co-star, Kate Hudson, revealed she was open to a sequel, saying on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, “All that matters would be the script and if Matthew and I would be into the script. I think we’re both totally open but it’s just never happened.”

Watch Matthew McConaughey’s interview in the video below.