Karen Benardello

Karen Benardello
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As a life-long fan of films and television shows, and an endless passion for writing, Karen Benardello decided to combine the two for a career. She graduated from New York's LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic in 2008. Karen has since been working in the press in New York City, including interviewing film and television casts and crews, writing movie and television news articles and reviewing films and televisions series. Some of her highlights include attending such local events as the Tribeca Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and New York Comic-Con, as well as traveling across North America to attend such festivals as the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and the Toronto International Film Festival. She has been a member of the Women Film Critics Circle since 2012, and the New York Film Critics Online since 2019.
As a life-long fan of films and television shows, and an endless passion for writing, Karen Benardello decided to combine the two for a career. She graduated from New York's LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic in 2008. Karen has since been working in the press in New York City, including interviewing film and television casts and crews, writing movie and television news articles and reviewing films and televisions series. Some of her highlights include attending such local events as the Tribeca Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and New York Comic-Con, as well as traveling across North America to attend such festivals as the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and the Toronto International Film Festival. She has been a member of the Women Film Critics Circle since 2012, and the New York Film Critics Online since 2019.

DOC NYC : Steal This Story, Please! Review

©Courtesy of DOC NYC Making sense of the world by finding emotion and meaning in unexpected places is a vital trait of two of the leading, powerful pillars of truth-seekers – documentary filmmakers and journalists. Reporter Amy Goodman shares her fearless reporting on global injustices, media consolidation and the fight for independent journalism in the…

Paramount Launches Hostile Takeover Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery From Netflix

Paramount has approached Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholders with an all-cash offer, CNN is reporting. The film studio will place the bid in order to gain control of Hollywood’s most lucrative mass media and entertainment conglomerate. Paramount’s offer to purchase WBD comes after Netflix placed a bid on Friday. However, Paramount was originally considered to be the…

Rosemead Amplifies the Impact of Mental Health Stigma in the Immigrant Community

©Courtesy of Rosemead Existing in the limited space between belonging and being an outsider amplifies many people’s emotional journey of struggling with mental health. Their determination to overcome the shame of mental illness is the main driving force of the new crime thriller, Rosemead. Acclaimed Director of Photography, Eric Lin (The Exploding Girl), made his…

Audience-Controlled Interactive Slasher Movie ‘Slay Day’ to Premiere in Theaters in Fall 2026

Kino Industries’ CtrlMovie will release the interactive slasher film, Slay Day, in theaters in fall 2026, Variety is reporting. The drama will ask viewers in each theater to collectively vote on each critical decision using their smartphones. As a result, each audiences’ choices will alter the story as the movie plays on the big screen….

Zootopia 2 Roars Back with Heart, Humor and Sharp Social Commentary

©Courtesy of Disney The most circumstantial fluke discovery amongst novice investigators can unwittingly lead to a significant, unexpected change in society. That journey not only drove the action in the 2016 animated buddy comedy, Zootopia, but also its new sequel, Zootopia 2. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman once again lead the voice ensemble cast for…

Philadelphia Film Festival: Train Dreams’ Joel Edgerton Anchors a Soulful Portrait of a Life Shaped by Fate

©Courtesy of Netflix The most masterful study of a man’s seemingly simplistic life tries to make sense of the underlying tragic and fateful circumstances he has long faced. Instead of placing blame for his difficult situations on others, he accepts his life’s mystery with a hard-earned grace. Joel Edgerton’s protagonist of Robert Grainier in the…

James Cameron Reveals Development on Last Train From Hiroshima Delayed

©Courtesy of National Geographic James Cameron has shared that production on his long-in-development movie, Last Train From Hiroshima, has once again stalled. The Oscar-winning director shared the news during a recent appearance on The Town podcast with Matthew Belloni. This update follows Cameron optioned the film rights to author Charles Pellegrino’s 2010 book of the same…

Philadelphia Film Festival: Eternity Finds Humor and Heart in Elizabeth Olsen’s Search for Everlasting Love and Fulfillment

©Courtesy of A24 The recently departed are guided into their next phase of existence just as they were in life – by a bureaucratic system that’s meant to maintain societal order. The new fantasy rom-com, Eternity, offers a sharp commentary on life’s flaws that shape a person’s journey toward enlightenment. The film’s wry commentary about…

NYCC: Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat Season 3 / Press Conference with Actors Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson and Eric Bogosian, and Executive Producer Hannah Moscovitch

@Courtesy of AMC+ No one quite captures the mysticism and heightened reality of supernatural beings who bask in the glory of fame in an effort to reclaim their story quite like Lestat. The infamous titular anti-hero of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat is a leading eccentric supernatural being, who has turned to a career of…

Black Box Diaries to Screen in Director Itō Shiori’s Native Japan After Controversy

Japanese journalist Itō Shiori will release her documentary, Black Box Diaries, in her native Japan for the first time on December 12. The film will premiere at T·Joy PRINCE Shinagawa in Tokyo. The movie has not yet screened in her home country because it received controversy over its alleged use of footage without consent, Unseen…