Over the years, independent filmmaker Michael Almereyda has acquired a cult following. He directed Twister, an adaptation of Mary Robison's novel Oh!, featuring Crispin Glover as Howdy, the dysfunctional brother in a dysfunctional family. Almedreyda also helmed a modern-day interpretation of Hamlet with a cast that included Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray, and Julia Stiles.

But in today's marketplace, his newest film New Orleans, Mon Amour never saw the light of theatrical release. Instead, Almereyda's post-Katrina recovery story will go the route of video on demand (VOD). New Orleans, Mon Amour will make its debut on July 15 on Cable VOD via Cinetic, followed by portals iTunes and Amazon VOD. Variety's Anne Thompson has an exclusive clip from the film.

Meanwhile, Mean Magazine is beginning a new series called Cinemash which re-creates scenes from well-known movies in short online films. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will next be seen together in (500) Days of Summer, kick off the series this Tuesday, with Marc Weber's Summer. The two actors will interpret a scene from the cult classic Sid and Nancy. Microsoft's Zune will make the Cinemash films available for download; the shorts will also stream on MSN this summer.

Destino, a lovely and appropriately surreal collaboration by Salvador Dali and Walt Disney, is available in its entirety on YouTube -- -- at least for now. Watch it while you can!

You might have heard that legendary choreographer Pina Bausch has died. She was 68 years old. Now Wim Wenders has stopped production on his 3D dance film Pina. YouTube has a clip from Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her, featuring Bausch.

Speaking of Almodovar: here's the English-language trailer for his new film Broken Embraces, starring -- once again -- Penelope Cruz.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York will be Revisiting Tarkovsky from July 7 - 14. We're especially excited about the chance to see Andrei Rublev on the big screen and curious about the documentary Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky, billed as "touching, highly personal and provocative record of the lingering effects of Tarkovsky on an extraordinary range of individuals."

Myna Joseph's Man, a short about two sisters' coming-of-age, was one of the most memorable films at last year's New Directors/New Films. We just found out that you can watch it online.

New York isn't wrong to call Man "unsettling," but if you want really unsettling (in a good way), you should take a look at the trailer for RoboGeisha, from Machine Girl director Noboru Iguchi.

Finally: "Great Moments in Cinema Ruined by Cookies."

Follow us on Twitter for more up-to-date news and links.

Pablo Larrain's wicked Tony Manero, named for John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever, was the most thrilling selection at the 2008 New York Film Festival. The story of Raúl (Alfredo Castro) and his troupe of dancers eager to put on a disco show in a local taverna could have played like another "art-conquers-all" fairy tale like Billy Elliot and all the rest.

But before the fearsome backdrop of Pinochet's Chile, Raúl's single-minded determination to wear that white suit and dance on lit glass tiles becomes infected with violence and seemingly bottomless despair. By turns hilarious and harrowing, Tony Manero is full of shocking surprises and potent characterizations. [****]

Tony Manero opens today at New York's Cinema Village.

More from  J. Hoberman, Andrew O'Hehir, and  Kevin Lee. Aaron Hillis has a podcast with director Pablo Larrain, and the trailer is on YouTube.

Agnès Varda's The Beaches of Agnès offers an intimate look at the filmmaker's remarkable career. She travels from the beaches of her childhood all over the world to relive the important events of her existence. Varda, also an accomplished photographer, fills the frame with unexpected and often glorious images.

It's rare that Marcy will apply the word "inspirational" to a film. The Beaches of Agnès opens this Wednesday in limited release.

Antonio Luigi Grimaldi's Quiet Chaos has a dour theme -- the father of a little girl (Nanni Moretti) loses his wife --, and a dull poster -- said father sitting on a park bench. Yet,  this understated film about one man's unusual ways of coping with grief is surprisingly funny and full of small, earned pleasures.

We could do without the hard-sell voice-over, but the new U.S. trailer for Ponyo, the latest by Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, looks amazing. Ponyo, featuring voices by Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, and Lily Tomlin, opens on August 14.

More Miyazaki:

• A.O. Scott takes another look at Princess Mononoke
• Jürgen on Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service
• Jürgen's review of Tales from Earthsea

Whatever Works, starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, and Ed Begley Jr, opens tomorrow. Read Marcy's review.

An epic drama set in the Sicilian village where he was born, Tornatore's Baaria boasts a $30 million budget and a large ensemble cast featuring Italy's biggest stars, including Monica Bellucci and Raoul Bova. The Italian filmmaker is best known for Cinema Paradiso which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1990.

Baaria is the first Italian film to open the Venice Film Festival in two decades and will be in competition for the prestigious Golden Lion. This year's festival will run from September 2 -12.

Literary super star couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida wrote the sceenplay for Away We Go, the story of Burt and Verona (John Kransinski and Maya Rudolph), a thirty-something couple who take to the road in search of the perfect home for their unborn baby. Sam Mendes directs -- and he lays it on thick, with broad humor, sweeping sunsets, and theme music instructing the audience just how to feel.

Away We Go opens in theaters today. Marcy reviews.

Some of our favorite links of the last week. You can follow us on real time on Twitter at aboutworldfilm.

• David Lynch launches Interview Project, with new episodes every three days. First up: Jess (pictured), who's proud only of being alive.
• You've probably already seen the trailer for Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant, starring Nicolas Cage -- but you might as well give in and watch it again.
• Guillermo del Toro talks about The Hobbit, his vampire novel The Strain, and the future of movies: "In the next 10 years, there will be an earthshaking Citizen Kane of games."
• How a dead serious novel became the nightmare satire of Strangelove: Bilge Ebiri on Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Peter George's Red Alert.
• Veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles (Matewan, Return of the Secaucus 7, Sunshine State, Silver City) can't find a publisher for his novel Some Time in the Sun.
• Eight great minutes from Fritz Lang's 1924 Die Nibelungen: How Siegfried Slayed the Dragon.
• More online viewing: The Auteurs streams six classic Cannes winners, including Black Orpheus, L'Avventura, Cleo from 5 to 7, and The Cranes are Flying. (US only.)