The Lighthouse International Film Festival just announced its 2026 documentary lineup, and it’s stacked with world premieres, Sundance picks, and stories you won’t find anywhere else.

The fest runs June 10-14 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. This year’s doc competition includes 10 films spanning wildlife conservation, deep sea diving, indie horror families, and vigilante justice.

Two world premieres anchor the slate. Celluloid W-W-Wars follows stuttering director Allan Holzman’s wild ride through Hollywood, from working with Roger Corman to winning two Emmys. Our Colors Never Fade tracks LGBTQIA+ Ukrainians who left their lives behind to fight Russia’s invasion.

The headliner section features Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Superhero, about Seattle’s actual caped crusader who pepper-sprayed criminals until his identity got blown.

Other highlights include Seized, a Sundance doc about a police raid on a Kansas newspaper that turned into a constitutional nightmare, and My NDA, which follows three people who broke their silence agreements to expose rape and discrimination.

The fest previously announced special guests Jason Alexander and Tony Shalhoub, plus a revival screening of Big Night. Known for its beach-centric vibe, Lighthouse has been named one of MovieMaker’s “25 Coolest Film Festivals” twice.

For doc makers looking to break through, this lineup proves regional fests are programming just as bold as the majors.

Niall Horan is taking his new album on the road, and he’s starting big. The Irish singer just announced Dinner Party Live On Tour, a 26-date North American run produced by Live Nation that kicks off March 17, 2027 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Yes, St. Patrick’s Day.

The tour supports his fourth studio album, Dinner Party, dropping June 5 via Capitol Records. Stops include Brooklyn’s Barclays Center (April 4) and The Kia Forum in Los Angeles (May 22) before wrapping in Vancouver on May 29.

Tickets hit general sale Friday, May 15 at 10 AM local time on livenation.com. Citi cardmembers get early access starting today, and an artist presale opens Wednesday. VIP packages include access to a pre-show Dinner Party lounge, premium tickets, and early venue entry.

Horan’s summer is packed. He’ll play Rockefeller Center’s plaza in New York on June 12 as part of the TODAY show’s Citi Concert Series, then co-headline stadium shows with Thomas Rhett in Nashville and Hershey, Pennsylvania. The UK/EU leg starts September 22 in Birmingham.

His 2024 world tour sold over 1.2 million tickets. This time around, he’s leaning into the album’s themes of life, love, and the magic of gathering around a table. For an artist who’s sold 90 million records worldwide since his One Direction days, Horan keeps finding new ways to connect.

A 25-year-old trans-butch indie film is getting a second life. “By Hook or By Crook,” the groundbreaking 2001 debut from filmmakers Silas Howard and Harry Dodge, hits theaters next month in a newly restored 4K version.

The film follows Shy and Valentine, two gender-bending grifters navigating life on society’s margins. It was one of the first successful queer indie films shot on Mini-DV, and it made waves when audiences first saw it at Frameline and Sundance in the early 2000s.

Altered Innocence, the distributor behind “The People’s Joker,” is handling the release. The film opens in New York on June 12 and Los Angeles on June 16, then expands to Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin, and more cities throughout the summer.

The restoration comes courtesy of the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive, with support from Frameline, Outfest, and Sundance Institute. The Guardian called it “one of the best queer films of this century,” and Queerty says it “still feels just as fresh and original today.”

Howard went on to become the first openly trans masculine filmmaker to direct a studio film, helming projects like “Transparent” and “Pose.” Dodge is now a Guggenheim fellow and published author. Producer Steak House earned Emmy nominations for “Queer for Fear.”

For indie creators working on the margins, this one’s a reminder that scrappy, authentic work can endure.

The Grammy Awards are getting a new home. For the first time in over 50 years, the ceremony will air on ABC when it returns Feb. 7, 2027. Even bigger? It’ll simulcast on Disney+ and Hulu at the same time, marking the first streaming simulcast in Grammy history.

The news came during Disney’s upfront presentation in New York. The last time the Grammys aired on ABC was 1972, making this a pretty massive shift for music’s biggest night.

“This is an exciting time for us as an organization, a new home and a bold new chapter for the Grammy Awards,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.

The 2027 ceremony will broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Eligibility runs from Aug. 31, 2025 through Aug. 28, 2026, with nominations dropping Nov. 16, 2026. First round voting kicks off in October, and final voting wraps Jan. 7, 2027.

For indie artists grinding toward recognition, the move to streaming could mean broader access and a younger audience. For the Grammys, it’s a bet that the future of awards shows lives beyond traditional TV.

A brother and sister navigate the fractured landscape of childhood abuse in Memories of Giselle, a new graphic novel from rising cartoonist Katia Vecchio hitting shelves this summer from Image Comics.

The story follows Giselle as she’s haunted by her late grandmother’s memory and a recurring image of an empty boat, a symbol of the truth she’s buried for years. As she moves through adolescence, dealing with desire and trust, the pieces of her repressed past finally start coming together, revealing how deeply it’s shaped both her and her brother’s lives.

Vecchio, known for Silver Vessels and Painted, is making her Image debut with this deeply personal work inspired by true events. It’s drawn comparisons to Zoe Thorogood’s It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth and Kate Beaton’s Ducks for its raw, compassionate approach to difficult subject matter.

Foreword Reviews called it “a standout graphic novel” in a starred review, praising its tenderness and nuanced portrait of trauma’s lasting impact.

The book drops at comic shops June 17 and bookstores everywhere July 14. For indie creators tackling tough stories about survival and memory, Vecchio’s approach proves you don’t need to sensationalize trauma to make it hit hard.