Alamo Drafthouse Sets ‘Godzilla’ Anniversary Screenings; ‘Spencer’ To Close Austin Film Festival; Lord & Miller Headlining Infinity Fest – Film Briefs

Naman Ramachandran Teemu Nikki’s Venice and Antalya winner “The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic” won the Golden star for best film at the 5th El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, which wrapped Friday. The award carries a cash prize of $50,000.The film’s lead Petri Poikolainen won best actor, while Maya Vanderbeque, the young star of “Playground,” won best actress.

Naman Ramachandran Yomna Khattab’s “Fifty Meters” (Egypt) was the big winner at the CineGouna Platform, the El Gouna Film Festival’s industry arm created to support and empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. This year, the CineGouna Platform disbursed awards worth $300,000 across 13 projects in development and seven films in post-production.

Naman Ramachandran Palestinian filmmaker Said Zagha was turned away by Egyptian authorities in Cairo on his way to the El Gouna Film Festival to pitch his new project.The U.K. permanent resident has a Jordanian passport that indicates he is of Palestinian origin.

Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa are ready for their big movie debut!

K.J. Yossman When a friend told director, writer and actor Missy Malek about a real-life group of disabled drug dealers operating in London, Malek instantly knew she had the makings of a film.“The second I heard it, I was like, ‘Yes, yes, amazing.

IFC presents Mia Hansen-Løve’s Cannes entry Bergman Island, Searchlight debuts Antlers, Film Movement brings Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy to the arthouse this weekend, as A24’s surprise hit Lamb and Greenwich Entertainment’s The Rescue go wider week two after a strong open. It’s early days but a nascent specialty revival may be in the works ahead of a stream of potential hits from The French Dispatch to Spencer to Belfast.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to The Accursed, the first feature from writer-directors Elizabeta Vidovic and Kathryn Michelle, which will be released in theaters and on demand November 12.

Naman Ramachandran The fire that engulfed a section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival’s Festival Plaza on Wednesday turned out to be a minor deterrent as the event’s fifth anniversary got off to a rousing start on Thursday.The fire, the cause of which has not yet been confirmed but is possibly a short circuit, was contained swiftly, with Samih Sawiris, chair of festival parent company Orascom Development Holding, personally supervizing repairs.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFor the Rome Film Festival’s 16th edition — which opens Thursday — Artistic Director Antonio Monda has secured high caliber guests such as Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton, who are being fêted.

Alamo Drafthouse Wednesday announced the opening of its Manhattan theater as the chain expands it footprint in a slowly recovering arthouse market.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAlamo Drafthouse, the movie theater du jour of cinephiles, is finally ready to open the doors to its first Manhattan location.Starting on Oct. 18, customers will be able to visit the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan to get their fix of popcorn, buffalo cauliflower and beer while watching the latest blockbuster unfold on the big screen.

Naman Ramachandran A massive fire that broke out at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival on Wednesday is now under control, organizers have confirmed.Shortly after the fire broke out, dramatic videos of the incident were posted on social media. Watch: A massive fire has broken out in the main hall of the El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt, one day ahead of the opening ceremony, according to local media reports.

K.J. Yossman Alongside the Beatles, fashion designer Mary Quant was one of the pioneers of the 1960s “British invasion,” which saw the world go nuts for U.K.

Selome Hailu editorThe Austin Film Festival has announced new additions to its 2021 lineup, including the Kristen Stewart-starring “Spencer” and Stephen Karam’s “The Humans.” The festival will take place in Austin, Texas and online from Oct. 21-28.“Spencer” will be the festival’s closing night piece.

K.J. Yossman Jeymes Samuel was inspired to make his Western-themed feature debut “The Harder They Fall” after growing up watching genre flicks on BBC One and feeling disappointed by the way they depicted women and people of color.Samuel, who grew up on Harrow Road in London, U.K., acknowledged his passion for the genre was unusual but explained that the BBC “were just hammering us with Westerns when I was growing up.”“I loved cinema.

K.J. Yossman BFI London Film Festival has revealed its line-up for its second Works-in-Progress showcase, including a documentary about Hong Kong’s draconian National Security law and a TV narrative feature starring Sir Lenny Henry and Malachi Kirby (pictured above).The showcase will take place on Oct.

“Cult classic” is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays. There are even films that purposefully hope to earn that title as if there’s some formula to attain the status.

After three years as the Executive Director and Co-Head of the Toronto International Film Festival, Joana Vicente is heading to the Sundance Institute as their new CEO. She will start her new job at the beginning of November, splitting her time between Sundance’s office in New York, Los Angeles and Park City, UT.