AFI Festival Celebrates Cinema in Pivot to Virtual Screenings and Events

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese state media gently trolled the U.S. on Wednesday as the presidential election ground its way into an inconclusive second day.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPatriotic and gritty war film “The Sacrifice” topped the mainland Chinese box office for the second week. It earned $28.6 million over the weekend, lifting its ten-day cumulative score to $106 million, according to data from Artisan Gateway.Of that weekend score, some $1.6 million was earned from 670 Imax screens.

sexual assault victims, but McNamara agreed to be identified by the Sunday Times, which ran her picture on the front page.Hay Festival chair Caroline Michel said her colleagues are committed to supporting McNamara in seeking legal action and said the festival will not return to Abu Dhabi while the sheikh remains in his post.“What happened to our friend and colleague Caitlin McNamara in Abu Dhabi last February was an appalling violation and a hideous abuse of trust and position," Michel said in a

sexual assault victims, but McNamara agreed to be identified by the Sunday Times, which ran her picture on the front page.Hay Festival chair Caroline Michel said her colleagues are committed to supporting McNamara in seeking legal action and said the festival will not return to Abu Dhabi while the sheikh remains in his post.“What happened to our friend and colleague Caitlin McNamara in Abu Dhabi last February was an appalling violation and a hideous abuse of trust and position," Michel said in a

media reports). Artisan Gateway did not immediately respond to a request for comment.This time last year, the North American box office had brought in just about $9 billion of what would wind up being an $11.4 billion 2019, with China reaching $9.2 billion.

China is officially home to the world's biggest movie box office. Movie ticket sales in China for 2020 climbed to $1.988 billion on Sunday, surpassing North America's total of $1.937 billion, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorTubi has begun a content relationship with Chinese film and television studio Wanda Pictures, with two titles coming to the Fox-owned free streaming outlet.Original and exclusive English-dubbed versions of Detective Chinatown 2, which is No. 6 on China’s all-time box office chart, will be on Tubi soon in the U.S.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterProminent Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke has announced he is departing the Pingyao International Film Festival, which he co-founded four years ago.The fest has not yet made an official statement but the director made the surprise announcement yesterday during the closing day of the fourth edition, telling local media he was looking for the event to “get rid of Ji Zhangke’s shadow and let it gain independent vitality” and that he was opting to “leave when it

Vivienne Chow Chinese director Jia Zhangke has quit the Pingyao International Film Festival that he co-founded four years ago. The festival will be handed over to the Pingyao city government, sparking speculation and concerns over how the reputable young festival will next develop.The internationally-renown auteur dropped the bombshell at Sunday’s press conference that concluded the fourth edition of the festival.

Rebecca Davis editorThe competition section of China’s Pingyao Intl. Film Festival on Friday awarded top prizes to Russia’s Philipp Yuryev, Serbia’s Ivan Ilkic, and Chinese directors Li Dongmei and Wang Jing.

Kaleem Aftab The Lumiere Film Festival paid homage to Greek actress, singer and politician Melina Mercouri this week with a mini-retrospective on what would have been the centenary of her birth.The centerpiece event was a screening Thursday of “Never on Sunday,” the 1960 musical drama directed by and co-starring her regular collaborator, husband Jules Dassin, who was put on the Hollywood Blacklist for being a member of the Communist Party, and moved to Europe.Mercouri and Dassin met at the

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmEXCLUSIVE: MTV Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to 76 Days, a raw and emotional look at the struggles of the people of Wuhan, China, in the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak. Directed by New York filmmaker Hao Wu (People’s Republic of Desire) and China-based journalists, Weixi Chen and “Anonymous,” 76 DAYS made its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

Back on Sept. 30, 2019, the Houston Rockets played the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association in a preseason game that was the first official action of the 2019-20 NBA season. Over a year later, that long, strange journey came to an end when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2020 Finals to win their 17th title in franchise history.

coronavirus pandemic, featuring musicians from the outbreak's initial epicenter in an attempt to aid in the psychological and emotional healing process.Zou Ye, a composer from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected late last year, said that Saturday night’s concert is part of an effort to work through frustration and helplessness on the way toward love and tolerance and, hopefully, some meaning to what he calls “nature’s tremendous revenge.”Musicians from the Wuhan

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesThe 43rd iteration of the Mill Valley Film Festival may not look as it has in previous years due to COVID-19 with many of its sections navigating online, but that in no way detracts from what the fest, running Oct. 8-18, will and already has accomplished on the artistic front.

Paris Hilton held a protest in Utah on Friday to call for the closure of the Provo Canyon School, the boarding school where she says she was abused as a teen. Hilton organized the protest in a park near Provo Canyon School, along with several hundred others who shared stories of abuse they say they suffered there or at similar schools for troubled youth.

A Latino love story that spans decades; a documentary about Billy Tipton, the influential jazz musician who was revealed after his death to have been transgender; and the groundbreaking directorial debut from one of the pioneers of the New Queer Cinema are among the seven LGBTQ films that will be featured at the AFI Festival 2020.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticYou may not have noticed it, what with so much content coming out on Netflix each week, but the company has been ramping up big time on original animation over the past two years. From last year’s Oscar nominee “I Lost My Body” to internal productions “The Willoughbys” and “Klaus,” Netflix’s cartoon offerings have already reached a point to rival Pixar and DreamWorks.