THE FESTIVAL BEAT ! Welcome to the N°975 release of our weekly newsletter

Weekly newsletter N° 974 documenting the festivals experience, reaching over 196 000 subscribers:  

Email us to be featured

FOLLOW US :        

> FOCUS ON CANNES   

Bruno Chatelin Honoured with UN Supported Organization @Cannes Film Festival

  Bruno Chatelin, back home with his lifetime achievement award 9th Annual AFI World Peace Initiative honours "Bruno Chatelin" @Cannes Film Festival alongside the “Embrace Award” given to Two Time Oscar Nominee Barry Alexander Brown whilst Student Oscars Committee congratulates Founder working year-round for peace through film. Founder HRH Princess Angelique A. Monet    Manuel de Collas LaRoche, Lorenzo Giovnelli, Michela Scolari Stephen Mao, Pr... 

 

Aissa Maïga's Marcher sur l'eau (Above Water) featured in Cannes Special Features

  Aissa Maïga's Marcher sur l'eau (Above Water) was a special treat at the Cannes special screening section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Set in the Azawak of West Africa in Niger Aissa follows a nomadic family in an area deprived of water. Beautifully told and made by the filmmaker and filmed by Rousslan Dion.   Maïga shows the close bonds of a family within a community in search of water. She follows the journey from walking for miles in sea...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

Léa Seydoux stars in four films in 74th Festival de Cannes

  Léa Seydoux was in four films at this year's festival: Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch in Competition, Arnaud Desplechin’s out of Competition Deception,  Ildiko Enyedi’s A feleségem története (The Story Of My Wife) and France, directed by Bruno Dumont In France,  Seydoux plays France de Meurs, a TV personality who both sees through and mirrors the superficiality of TV news reporting. Directed by Bruno Dumont in the Cannes of...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

Lamb wins "Prize of Originality" in 74th Cannes Festival Un Certain Regard

  Lamb from Iceland directed and written by Vladimar JOHANNSSON competed for the Camera d ‘Or in "Un Certain Regard" headed by jury president Andrea Arnold, maker of the out of competition documentary Cow. Here’s to the inclusion of animals in films and Lamb is the best in this division with a mythical story of walking "Ram men" who impregnate domesticated sheep.  Noomi Rapace in an outstanding performance as M...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

Better World Fund impact full event in Cannes 74

From images to action, the BWF joined forces with selected partners to create a platform assembling filmmakers, writers, scientists, environmentalists and project leaders to explore and activate palpable initiatives to preserve and protect the planet. The Better World Endowment Fund is composed of a team of world-class experts, influencers and activists from the business, academia, media and entertainment industries. This tribe of highly - influential people is continuously connected digitally a...

 

31.07.2021 | Cannes's blog

LATC Announces Revamped & Online Edition of its Annual Global Film & TV Program

 

    LATC Los Angeles Program Coordinator, Vanessa McMahon, attended 2021 Cannes Film Festival. On July 26, in Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles, Latin American Training Center- LATC, announced the new Online Global Film & TV Program from October 17th to 30th, 2021.   Registration is now open! Over two weeks, participants will have opportunities to learn, exchange experiences and network with well-known industry professionals, through panels, master classes, ...

> FOCUS ON LOCARNO

The Locarno Kids Award is launched: the first edition will go to Mamoru Hosoda

  Starting this year, a new award has been added to the Locarno Film Festival's list of honors: the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, given to someone capable of bringing cinema to younger viewers. At the viewing of the Piazza Grande presentation of Mamoru Hosoda's Belle: Ryū to sobakasu no hime (Belle, 2021), the master of animation will be the first to receive the award, and he will do so from Japan.  The Locarno Kids Award thus completes the Festival's offerings for chi...

 

04.08.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

The Festival is back: Locarno74 gets under way

The 74th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will be held from 4 to 14 August. © Yannis Drakoulidis - Netflix The Locarno Film Festival officially opens its doors to the public once again. The Palexpo (FEVI) and the Piazza Grande, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, are ready and waiting for the opening ceremony, featuring Laetitia Casta, winner of the Excellence Award Davide Campari, and the world premiere of Beckett, by Ferdinando Cito Filomarin...

 

04.08.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

StepIn 2021 — Envisioning a healthier workplace in the film industry

After nine successful years in existence, StepIn – Locarno Pro’s think tank – is back in the physical space. Once again, the initiative will allow for a free-flowing exchange of ideas between selected industry professionals and a host of prestigious speakers, all joining together on Thursday August 5th, during the Locarno Film Festival.   A proactive environment in which accredited professionals from diverse backgrounds can openly share their experiences with their c...

 

30.07.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

The Locarno Film Festival’s Leopard Club Award goes to Kasia Smutniak

© Andrea Gandini Kasia Smutniak, defined by artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro as “a skilled, very personal actress”, will receive the Leopard Club Award at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (4-14 August 2021). The award ceremony, slated for the evening of Friday 6 August in Piazza Grande, will be followed on Saturday 7 August by a conversation with the audience, moderated by Piera Detassis, at the Forum @Rotonda by la Mobiliare, plus a screening of the film Nelle tue mani ...

 

30.07.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

The Locarno Film Festival joins with UNHCR to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Refugee Convention

  The Alleys by Bassel Ghandour Gillian Triggs, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, will be our guest at Locarno to commemorate seventy years of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. On Sunday, 8 August, at Piazza Grande, she will greet the audience before the world premiere screening of&nb...

 

30.07.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

> FOCUS ON VENICE

Becoming Led Zeppelin by Bernard MacMahon selected out-of-competition

Becoming Led Zeppelin by Bernard MacMahon, with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant playing themselves, will feature in the out-of-competition section at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. Photo: Led Zeppelin by Dick Barnatt - Redferns_London_December 1968_Getty Images     Becoming Led Zeppelin, directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic), and co-written and produced by Allison McGourty, with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham a...

 

04.08.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

Jane Campion debuts her latest film "The Power of the Dog" at the Venice Film Festival

Jane Campion will debut her latest film The Power of the Dog at the Venice Film Festival. The film is set in Montana in the 1920's and stars Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Power of the Dog is an adaptation from a 1967 novel by Thomas Savage. Dunst plays a widow who with her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) moves to Montana to be with her husband George (Jesse Plemons) though his brother (Cumberbatch) is not happy with his new in-laws. The film opens at the New Yo...

 

01.08.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

Selection complete for the works of Venice VR Expanded /

  Virtual, in Satellite Venues and at the Palazzo del Casinò (Lido) 37 projects from 21 Countries / 35 VRChat worlds Michelle Kranot (President), Maria Grazia Mattei, Jonathan Yeo are the members of the International Jury   The selection is complete for the Virtual Reality works of the 78th Venice International Film Festival (1 - 11 September 2021) of La Biennale di Venezia in the section titled Venice VR Expanded, which will be held on the following dates and venues: ...

 

31.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

Venice Production Bridge Highlights

    The 6th edition of the Venice Production Bridge (September 2 to September 7, 2021), will be held during the 78th Venice International Film Festival. It will once again focus in particular on the presentation and exchange of original projects for films and works in progress, so as to foster their development and production. While we are not yet out of the pandemic, we are now more confident that, thanks to the vaccination, we will soon be able to leave ...

 

31.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

Audience Award - Armani beauty for the best film in the new Orizzonti Extra section

    The Biennale di Venezia inaugurates a new prize for the 78th Venice International Film Festival, to be awarded - by the spectators - to the best film of the new Orizzonti Extra section. It does so with the support of the Festival's main sponsor, Armani Beauty.   The new Audience Award – Armani beauty will be assigned through a voting process that will involve all the spectators of the Orizzonti Extra section, or rather, those who buy a single ticket, those who ha...

 

30.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

International Juries for the Venezia 78 Competition, for Orizzonti and “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film

  The International Juries have been selected for the Venezia 78 Competition, for Orizzonti and for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film of the 78th Venice International Film Festival (1-11 September 2021) of La Biennale di Venezia, directed by Alberto Barbera.   Venezia 78 The personalities convened as members of the Jury for the Venezia 78 Competition are: ·       Bong Joon Ho – president (South Korea), Ac...

 

30.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

> FESTIVALS IN FOCUS ...    

Evolution Mallorca Filmfestival Final call today

The countdown for the 10th anniversary festival edition is on! Last and final submission deadline is August 6th.     ...

 

06.08.2021 | Editor's blog

2021 Sidewalk Film Festival announces Feature Film Lineup (August 23-29)

  Jeff Daniels’ Television Event is the Opening Night selection and Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe’s The Beta Test is the Closing Night Choice     Sidewalk Film Festival announced their opening and closing night selections, special presentations and features for the 23rd edition of the popular and nationally-acclaimed Birmingham-based film festival which will take place August 23-29. Celebrating their highly anticipated return to theaters and presentation o...

 

06.08.2021 | Editor's blog

FILMOCRACY Presents: FESTDANCE 2021

 Unique Hybrid In-Person/Virtual Program Runs September 22-23 in Los Angeles and Worldwide Two Tracks of Panel Discussions, Workshops, for Film Festival and Filmmakers; Coffee Talks, Happy Hours, Industry Networking, and Screenings Round Out Program https://festival.filmocracy.com/festdance  Filmocracy, the world’s premiere digital screening, distribution and experience platform, today announced FESTDANCE, a must-attend industry summit for the post-COVID film festival age. ...

 

06.08.2021 | Editor's blog

6th “Beyond Borders” Doc Fest “of Castellorizo island: The Aegean Island where Documentary film meets History & Culture

6th “Beyond Borders” International Documentary Festival of Castellorizo island     A celebration of cinema and culture will be set up for the 6th consecutive year on the idyllic island of Castellorizo, Greece. The 6th "Beyond Borders" International Documentary Festival which takes place under the auspices of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou is to be held from August 22nd to August 29th and will ...

 

05.08.2021 | Beyond Borders's blog

MNFF7 Announces Its Festival Schedule With Over 120 Films Screening Across Five Days

  The 7th Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival will screen more than 120 films during its upcoming five day event, August 25-29. The film and event schedule is now available at https://middfilmfest.org/ as is the Films A-Z page with descriptions and trailers. So, go have a look, immerse yourselves and then buy your Festival Passes, Day Passes or Opening Night tickets which are now available at https://middfilmfest.org/ or through the Town Hall Theater box office. Individual Advance Ti...

 

05.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Northwest Film Forum's 24th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival Presented Virtually & In-Person September 16th - 26th

Northwest Film Forum's 24th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival Presented Virtually & In-Person September 16th - 26th Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 24th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest, which champions emerging and established talent, supports the regional film industry, and promotes diverse media as a critical tool for public engagement. This year’s festival, hosted Sept...

 

05.08.2021 | Editor's blog

First look at the 4th edition of the Caorle Independent Film Festival (CIFF)

  Caorle Independent Film Festival: also this year boom of registrations Among the highlights of the 4th edition: Caorle Unveiled, the social video contest dedicated to Caorle (Venice, Italy) and a fundraising campaign. At midnight July 20, submissions for the 4th edition of the Caorle Independent Film Festival (CIFF) officially closed. This cultural event, sponsored by the City of Caorle and the Veneto Region, has become a regular event for lovers and experts of independen...

 

04.08.2021 | Editor's blog

The Festival is back: Locarno74 gets under way

The 74th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will be held from 4 to 14 August. © Yannis Drakoulidis - Netflix The Locarno Film Festival officially opens its doors to the public once again. The Palexpo (FEVI) and the Piazza Grande, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, are ready and waiting for the opening ceremony, featuring Laetitia Casta, winner of the Excellence Award Davide Campari, and the world premiere of Beckett, by Ferdinando Cito Filomarin...

 

04.08.2021 | Locarno Dailies's blog

Arpa International Film Festival in the news

  Arpa is proud to continue the accomplished momentum of our former jury members, honorees, and filmmakers. In Recent News Arpa congratulates Emmy winning and academy award-nominated documentarian, filmmaker, and recipient of Arpa’s  Career Achievement in Directing, Joe Berlinger, on his nomination of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel and Murder Among the Mormons as Executive Producer.  Both shows have been nom...

 

03.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Hola México Film Festival presented by DishLATINO returns for its 13th annual edition

 September 17-25 during Hispanic Heritage Month Welcoming film lovers back to the silver screen to celebrate together the resilience and ingenuity of the film community Perdida, by the revered director Jorge Michel Grau, to open the festival Opening & Closing nights will take place at LA Plaza de Cultura Y Artes   The largest Mexican film festival outside of the Mexican territory, Hola México Film Festival presented by DishLATINO, returns for its 13t...

 

03.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Announcing the Films Coming to AJFF North

  When AJFF returns to the big screen later this month, it'll be with a diverse mix of dramas, documentaries, family-friendly fare, a Hollywood classic comedy, and even short films, in a series of in-theater and virtual screenings at the Aurora Cineplex in Roswell, as well as streaming in the AJFF Virtual Cinema. More About the AJFF North Film Lineup   Tickets on sale this Wednesday, August 4 at Noon. $16/person for screenings at the Aurora Ci...

 

03.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Sydney Film Festival will postpone the 68th edition of the Festival until 3-14 November 2021

  In light of the Sydney lockdown extension announced by the NSW Government last week, Sydney Film Festival will postpone the 68th edition of the Festival until 3-14 November 2021.   SFF remains committed to presenting a COVID-safe in-cinema Festival this year and will launch the full program and single ticket sales once lockdown has ended.   “Sydney Film Festival looks forward to returning to cinemas for a COVID-safe event in November, when we’ll come ...

 

03.08.2021 | Editor's blog

> FILMS IN FOCUS ...   

Big Sky Film Institute Annual Report

Bonus: DocShop 2021 Recorded Sessions   A YEAR LIKE NONE BEFORE For the first time in 18 years, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival did not swell the streets of downtown Missoula with film-goers. Filmmakers did not grace the stages at The Wilma, The Roxy, the Elks Lodge or the ZACC, where bucket seats stayed folded, popcorn machines empty and box offices dark. No showing off the MAM or the Radius Gallery to festival tourists, no chance meeti...

 

03.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Burgas International Film Festival 2021

With huge interest of the audience, a lot of guests and many side events the sixth edition of Burgas International Film Festival has passed. Yesterday during the last evening the winners were announced. The jury ( Kamen Kalev, Martina Apostolova, Kaloyan Bozhilov, Deben Van Dam and Atanas Cholakov) gave the big prize “Danny Lerner Award” to the movie “Mighty flash” and the director Ainhoa Rodríguez. In the short movie categories gave the prizes to “Muse&rdquo...

 

02.08.2021 | Burgas Film Festival's blog

Better World Fund impact full event in Cannes 74

From images to action, the BWF joined forces with selected partners to create a platform assembling filmmakers, writers, scientists, environmentalists and project leaders to explore and activate palpable initiatives to preserve and protect the planet. The Better World Endowment Fund is composed of a team of world-class experts, influencers and activists from the business, academia, media and entertainment industries. This tribe of highly - influential people is continuously connected digitally a...

 

31.07.2021 | Cannes's blog

Universal Studios Hollywood: WELCOME BACK!

  By Emmanuel Itier Needless to say that after waiting for over a year and half, due to the covid pandemic, my family and I couldn’t wait to be back in the land of the movies: Universal Studios Hollywood (https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us ). Our expectations were high, and we were not disappointed. Universal had managed the “tour de force” to build a new attraction, “The secret life of the pets: off the leash!”, revamp their legendary &ldq...

 

31.07.2021 | Editor's blog

> AWARDS WATCH 

Film Fest Ghent reveals the first nominations for the 21st World Soundtrack Awards

On behalf of the World Soundtrack Academy, Film Fest Ghent proudly announces the first batch of names for the prestigious World Soundtrack Awards 2021. The first round of nominees, in the categories of Film Composer of the Year, Television Composer of the Year and Best Original Song, includes established composers and emerging talent. Some composers even receive double nominations. Nicholas Britell, Daniel Pemberton and Emile Mosseri are nominated twice, with each of them obtaining a nod in th...

 

06.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Jackson Wild™ Media Awards Finalists Announced!

This year’s submissions included over 750 category entries from nearly 30 different countries competing for 24 awards.   Congratulations to the 2021 Jackson Wild Media Awards, our annual international competition considered to be the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking. Reflecting the growing importance of media to combat the global climate change crisis, this year’s submissions included over 750 category entries from nearly 30 different c...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

Congratulations to The 2021 Works-in-Progress Lab Recipients!

A partnership between Cucalorus & Working Films, the Works-in-Progress Lab (WiP) supports social justice documentaries being made by Black filmmakers. This immersive program gives artists a chance to engage distinct audiences for feedback and to create strategies for action related to the issues raised in their projects.   This year, five projects were selected for the WiP lab. We are beyond excited to share their projects with you!        ...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

Shriekfest Film Festival reveals the screenplay finalists for 2021!

The annual Los Angeles competition will kick off with an opening night gala September 30 LOS ANGELES (July Sept 26, 2021) –  The Shriekfest Film Festival, an international horror/sci-fi film and screenplay competition announces the 45 Screenplay Finalists selected for its International Screenplay Competition. The Finalists were selected from submissions from across the globe in the horror/thriller/scifi/fantasy genres!  Festival Founder/Direct...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

The 2021 Indy Shorts International Film Festival Winners

World Premiere “Homebird” Big Winner with Grand Prize & Audience Choice Awards  The 2021 Indy Shorts International Film Festival, presented by Heartland Film (Indy Shorts), successfully concluded its six-day run on Sunday, July 25. The festival showed growth across many areas, including record numbers in attendance and nearly double the number of films programmed from previous years. Indy Shorts guests were treated to a&nb...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

14th APSA Awards Ceremony & 3rd Asia Pacific Screen Forum

  David Wenham, Cliff Curtis, Tracey Vieira, Mayor Tom Tate We are thrilled to announce today that a full competition line-up will be delivered for the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with the Awards Ceremony and 3rd Asia Pacific Screen Forum to be presented on Australia’s Gold Coast in November.   When launched in 2007 on the Gold Coast, APSA was a groundbreaking initiative to create an Academy and Awards that would connect and celebrate the cinematic excel...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

Karlovy Vary IFF will honour Ethan Hawke with the Festival President's Award

Karlovy Vary IFF will honour Ethan Hawke, an American actor, director, and writer, who will receive the Festival President's Award at its 55th edition taking place August 20–28, 2021. The Award is given to actors, directors, and producers who have contributed in a fundamental way to the development of contemporary world cinema. (credit: Ethan Hawke, Paris Match, November 29, 2019, photographer Francois Berthier)   We are thrilled to welcome to Karlovy Vary an artist we&rs...

 

05.08.2021 | Karlovy Vary International Film Festival's blog

Lamb wins "Prize of Originality" in 74th Cannes Festival Un Certain Regard

  Lamb from Iceland directed and written by Vladimar JOHANNSSON competed for the Camera d ‘Or in "Un Certain Regard" headed by jury president Andrea Arnold, maker of the out of competition documentary Cow. Here’s to the inclusion of animals in films and Lamb is the best in this division with a mythical story of walking "Ram men" who impregnate domesticated sheep.  Noomi Rapace in an outstanding performance as M...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

Audience Award - Armani beauty for the best film in the new Orizzonti Extra section

    The Biennale di Venezia inaugurates a new prize for the 78th Venice International Film Festival, to be awarded - by the spectators - to the best film of the new Orizzonti Extra section. It does so with the support of the Festival's main sponsor, Armani Beauty.   The new Audience Award – Armani beauty will be assigned through a voting process that will involve all the spectators of the Orizzonti Extra section, or rather, those who buy a single ticket, those who ha...

 

30.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

4 Honorary Oscar Awards to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, Liv Ullmann and Danny Glover

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that its Board of Governors voted to present Honorary Awards to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Danny Glover.  The four Oscar® statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 12th Governors Awards on Saturday, January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles. “We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound imp...

 

30.07.2021 | Oscar The Academy Awards's blog

French Riviera Film Festival 2021 Awards Ceremony - Winners announced

The winners are in ...CONGRATULATIONS! Thank you to our special award recipients George Chakiris, Caroline Lagerfelt and Eric Roberts, and our filmmaker winners in attendance, Anna Fishbeyn and Colin Costello. Thank you to Eugenia Kuzmina for presen...

> PEOPLE IN FOCUS

SAFILM - San Antonio Film Festival in honor of Marcia Nasatir

  ...

 

06.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Dallas Screenplay Competition Announces Award-Winning Judges Lineup

The Dallas Screenplay Competition, presented by Torfoot Films and Event Horizon Films, revealed today the award-winning filmmakers who will select the top writers to be recognized during the Dallas International Film Festival.   Three time Oscar-winner Jana Memel, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, who most recently worked as showrunner for S.W.A.T. on CBS, Billy Kelly, screenwriter of Disney’s Enchanted, Disney Channel-writer Jonathan Hurwitz and award-winning director Johnathan Brownlee w...

 

05.08.2021 | AwardsWatch's blog

Christopher Backus and Skye P. Marshall are set to star in Chad Bishoff’s highly anticipated psychological-thriller Daft State

Christopher Backus (HBO’s “Big Little Lies”, Netflix’s “Mindhunter”, Apple TV+’s “Truth be Told”) and Skye P. Marshall (Netflix’s “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”, NBC’s “This is Us”), are set to star in Chad Bishoff’s highly anticipated psychological-thriller Daft State. Principal photography on the feature, written by Bishoff and Sam Harter, is set to commence on location in Omaha, Nebraska on A...

 

05.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Death of filmmaker Marc Haaz

Photo credit: Jean-François Maillot Marc Haaz: May 8, 1988 - July 30, 2021   Bio-filmography: Marc Haaz, born May 8, 1988 in Besançon, lives in Frotey-les-Vesoul, is educated at the Jean Macé college, then at the Haberges high school. These teachers noticed his pronounced taste for culture: member of the Young Jury of the International Festival of Asian Cinemas, organizer of theatrical performances and sword fights. He continued his cinema studies in Me...

 

02.08.2021 | Editor's blog

Aissa Maïga's Marcher sur l'eau (Above Water) featured in Cannes Special Features

  Aissa Maïga's Marcher sur l'eau (Above Water) was a special treat at the Cannes special screening section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Set in the Azawak of West Africa in Niger Aissa follows a nomadic family in an area deprived of water. Beautifully told and made by the filmmaker and filmed by Rousslan Dion.   Maïga shows the close bonds of a family within a community in search of water. She follows the journey from walking for miles in sea...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

Léa Seydoux stars in four films in 74th Festival de Cannes

  Léa Seydoux was in four films at this year's festival: Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch in Competition, Arnaud Desplechin’s out of Competition Deception,  Ildiko Enyedi’s A feleségem története (The Story Of My Wife) and France, directed by Bruno Dumont In France,  Seydoux plays France de Meurs, a TV personality who both sees through and mirrors the superficiality of TV news reporting. Directed by Bruno Dumont in the Cannes of...

 

01.08.2021 | Cannes's blog

International Juries for the Venezia 78 Competition, for Orizzonti and “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film

  The International Juries have been selected for the Venezia 78 Competition, for Orizzonti and for the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film of the 78th Venice International Film Festival (1-11 September 2021) of La Biennale di Venezia, directed by Alberto Barbera.   Venezia 78 The personalities convened as members of the Jury for the Venezia 78 Competition are: ·       Bong Joon Ho – president (South Korea), Ac...

 

30.07.2021 | Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice's blog

TIFF announces first honourees for 2021 TIFF Tribute Awards

Alanis Obomsawin - Photo credit: Scott Stevens / Denis Villeneuve - Photo credit: Ulysse Del Drago Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey, Co-Heads of TIFF, are delighted to announce that award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, singer, and activist Alanis Obomsawin will be honoured with the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media at this year’s TIFF Tribute Awards and Academy Award®–nominated French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award. T...

 

30.07.2021 | Toronto Film Festival Dailies's blog

 

Dusty Hill of ZZ Top bows out at age 72

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent One of the brightest lights of Classic Rock left the planet on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, and this is Dusty Hill from ZZ Top. Recently it was reported that Hill was stepping back from the band for health-related reasons, and now the gravity of those complications is clear. Co-head of the band Billy Gibbons announced the band will mourn but go on in his honor. Because the news is just breaking wide, here's a tribute that suits a legend. From...

 

29.07.2021 | Quendrith Johnson's blog

Peter Wollen's "Friendship's Death" at Cannes Classics in restored 4K print

" Friendship's Death (UK 1987) was part of the Cannes Classic series directed by Peter Wollen and produced by the BFI.  It stars Tilda Swinton as an alien named "Friendship" who was on hand to introduce the film and sad she hadn't seen it on a big screen since 1986 and "can't wait". Everytime she has seen it since then , Swinton conveyed that it feels "so modern and so fresh" even though there are "anachronisms in it like finding a sushi ...

 

29.07.2021 | Cannes's blog

Jon Gosier Honored For Financial Support of Filmmakers at 74th Annual Cannes

  The Film Financier and Investor Awarded as “Gentlemen of the Year”   Cannes, France—July 13th, 2021   Photo: Beachside Gala hosted by Better World Fund at 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival   Jon Gosier was a guest of honor at a private beachside gala organized by the Better World Fund at the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival. The invite-only event was one of this year’s most anticipated.   At the event’s culmination, Jon presented...

 

19.07.2021 | Cannes Market Dailies's blog

> "THE BEST FOR FESTS :

ONES TO WATCH FOR FESTIVAL CONSIDERATION

ENOUGH Lebanon's Darkest Hour
 

Documentary by Daisy Gedeon second feature documentary
Australia  june 2021 90 minutes (in post)
 

ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour follows Australian-Lebanese filmmaker Daizy Gedeon’s personal and independent introspection into how her ancestral homeland, the place her family was forced to flee in the 1970s because of the Civil War, has ended up in a state of complete catastrophe. It is a story of awakening in which Daizy is forced to abandon her idealism about Lebanon and face the cold, harsh truth about the country’s dark underbelly which is its most sinister enemy.

Daizy prosecutes the case against the corrupt political class which has reduced a proud people to beg for garbage collection instead of greatness and negotiate potholes rather than peace.

ENOUGH! is the plea and the prayer, the feeling and fierce determination of the 4.5 million Lebanese in Lebanon as well as the 16 million members of the Lebanese diaspora scattered around the world, whose hearts continue to bleed for a homeland they are desperate to return to and so deeply want to believe in...once again.

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Trailer

The Sound of Us directed by Chris Gero

"The Sound of Us" illustrates that during this critical time in world and U.S. history, music gives sound to hope and courage, allows us to grieve and be honest, and is the great, universal language that unites us all.

As the world grapples with unrest the profound truth remains that, through music, we are not alone.

The Sound of Us weaves inspiring stories about the beauty and goodness of music with interviews and performances by artists such as Ben Folds, Sarah McLachlan, Avery*Sunshine, Eric Whitacre, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Hiromi, Antonio Sanchez, Butch Walker, Will Wells, Patti Smith, and many more. Combined, these powerful vignettes illustrate how music heals us, gives us hope for the future through our children, keeps our heritage and history alive, allows us to have the most difficult of conversations, sheds light on current struggles, and continues to invite us back to the thing that unites us all - music.

The film is directed by Chris Gero, a Grammy nominated, American music industry executive, concert producer, record producer, songwriter, film director and composer, founder of Yamaha Entertainment Group of America and Chief Artist Relations Executive for Yamaha Artist Relations Group

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Ask for a screener I Trailer I  

Phil Liggett The Voice of Cycling
Documentary created by Nickolas Bird, Eleanor Sharpe, the filmmakers behind MAMIL (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) written by Eleanor Sharpe.

Documlentary Australia April 2021 1h 54

The life of legendary television commentator Phil Liggett MBE is inextricably entwined with the history of professional cycling. During a career that has spanned five decades, 15 Olympic games and 47 Tours de France, Phil Liggett has been there for every key moment in cycling over the last half century. The heroic triumphs, the appalling tragedies, the scandals and the controversies; Phil has seen it all, and told us about it with passion, knowledge and his trademark wit. As much as anyone, Phil Liggett has shaped the way the world sees cycling. #TheVoiceOfCycling

Website I Twitter I Facebook I Instagram I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Trailer

Aliens on Halloween by Riker Lynch
29 / 39 or 43 minutes, short comedy April 2021

In an attempt to snatch a sample of human DNA, two clueless aliens come down to Earth and crash a Halloween party in Hollywood.

Website I Twitter I Facebook I Instagram I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Stills I Trailer

Zero Gravity USA first film directed by Thomas Verrette

74 minutes First feature documentary USA April 2021

A diverse group of middle-school students go on the journey of a lifetime when they compete in a nationwide competition sponsored by MIT to code satellites aboard the International Space Station.

Website I Twitter I Facebook I Instagram I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Stills I Trailer

Only Human HOMO Directed by Igor Ivanov

Homo Adorans, Homo Amans , Homo Economicus, Homo Faber, Homo Ludens,Homo Ridens : which one are you which one are they really?

ONLY HUMAN – Homo… stages six profiles in six sequencess  cleverly interwoven. One dramatic story in 6 episodes featuring desperate characters in their quest for survival and love, or redemption. The jobless graduate becomes a grave-digger, the grieving widow a nun, the priests gamble and gangsters rule the courts. Only the lonely child may find some affection when hope springs eternal.

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Ask for a screener I Trailer I    

Safeguard: An Electoral College Story Documentary by Matthew Taylor

USA September 2020 77minutes

How do United States' presidential elections really work? And what would happen if we changed the rules? In Safeguard: An Electoral College Story, award-winning filmmaker M.A. Taylor answers those questions.

Website I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Ask for a screener I Trailer I EPK I Save our States I Facebook I  

ANGIE: LOST GIRLS by Julia Verdin

USA, 107 minutes, June 2020

One girl’s nightmare. A nationwide reality.

After escaping from a sex trafficking ring, one teenage girl struggles to reconnect with herself and her family after her ordeal. Ultimately, in order to find herself and rescue her helpless friends, she must confront her own fears and help lead the police to her traffickers - no matter the cost.

EPK I Poster I Synopsis I Cast & Crew Credits I Trailer I Julia Verdin's Bio I
 Interview with Julia I IMDB I Cinando I Lost Girls short (2016) I filmfestivals.com profile

 

FINDING MANNY by Kacey Cox

Canada, 56 minutes documentary, june 2020

BLUE MOTEL Award winning script by Ted Campbell
Feature film in production by Doval Bacall Films

Grand Winner Your Script Produced season 1  Platinum Remi Award WorldFest Houston

When his bank robber father injured in a recent heist seeks refuge at the desolate motel where he works, a motel clerk is forced to confront the truth behind a botched heist from his past.

Originally from Boston, Mass, Ted Campbell is a screenwriter and director who specializes in thoughtful, character driven thrillers. Ted will direct his heist thriller "Underground" with producer Ellen Wander of Film Bridge International. His contained, crime thriller “Blue Motel” won the Grand Prize in Your Script Produced screenplay competition. Ted will direct “Blue Motel” with Doval Bacall Films producing. Ted is a member of ISA’s Development Program. And was named to ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters To Watch list.

Ted finds inspiration in the works of the great noir writers Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald as well as his screenwriting idols Scott Frank, Shane Black, Tony Gilroy and Richard Wenk.

Ask for Ted Campbell’s script

SAVING NORTH - A RUSSIAN AMERICAN ODYSSEY by J Mitchell Johnson

Russia USA Feature documentary April 2020 Director's cut: 79 minutes

What happened, what can happen to the centuries old amazing wooden churches in north of Russia. Photographer Richard Davies trips to Russia and USA tell stories on human soul, hope and russian american…cooperation in restoring beauty.

Saving North is the story of a struggle for human and cultural survival in the mysterious and insular world of the Russian North. An outsider from England, photographer Richard Davies, enters this mysterious and vast region of the world with the hope of documenting both the glory and the tragic demise of its rapidly disappearing Wooden Churches. 

 I Trailer I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Cast I Crew I IMDB

SEKURITAS written and directed by Carmen Stadler

Romantic dark comedy 117 minutes 2019 Switzerland

Starring Kathrin Veith, Duraid Abbas Ghaieb, Jeanne Devos, Daniel Kasztura, Vilmar Bieri, This Maag

First feature film by Swiss director Carmen Stadler, produced by Claudia Wick for Abrakadabra Films AG

An office complex wishes for a love story before demolition. It chooses the lonely misfits for this story; those who go through security rounds at night, scrub toilets, experiment with recipes or rehearse their final speech. A poetic and twisted kaleidoscope that centers around desire, security and melodious noises which move through the entire fabric of the building.

Synopsis I Cast I Crew I IMDB I Cinando I Filmfestivals.com I Instagram I  
Website I  Festival placement I  

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible written  and directed by Matthew Taylor

USA 2019 Documentary 89 minutes

> NEWS IN FRENCH