Anthology Series ‘Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series’ Aims to Celebrate Emerging Filmmakers

EXCLUSIVE: Next month’s Micheaux Film Festival in LA will honor Bron co-founder and President Brenda Gilbert with the Oscar Micheaux Trailblazer of Excellence Award and filmmaker and Spike Lee collaborator Ernest Dickerson with the Michael Ajakwe Pioneer of Influence Award.

Christopher Vourlias Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.” The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the $100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K.

Christopher Vourlias It had been nearly three decades since a film was last screened in Ciné Apollon, an open-air theater in the resort town of Edipsos on the north shore of the Greek island of Evia. But the arrival of several hundred moviegoers on June 15 for a screening of French filmmaker Coline Serreau’s “La Belle Verte” (The Green Planet) offered a much-needed sense of rebirth: for the cinema, and for an island that was devastated by catastrophic wildfires last summer.As part of wide-ranging efforts to revitalize struggling communities and give a boost to the local economy, the organizers of the Thessaloniki Film Festival this year launched the Evia Film Project, a five-day event that underscores the perils of climate change and offers the film industry a chance to explore the possibilities of green film production.

Another month, another bunch of new releases from everyone’s favorite boutique home video label, Criterion Collection. In the latest batch of releases, out this September, see Henri-Georges Clouzot’s fable of suspicion in a Nazi-occupied French town “Le Corbeau,” get a Blu-ray upgrade.

Even as Cannes just wrapped up last month, and Tribeca is still going on this week, all eyes on the Festival circuit are turning towards Fall, and the all-important stops like Venice, Toronto, and Telluride that will be kicking off the fest circuit likely to set the table for awards season.  And others are making early moves now as New York Film Festival organizers were in town last week holding a reception for studio and PR reps and press to pump up interest in their Fall festival even before that other aforementioned NY based fest got rolling with its opening night. Leaders of the Toronto International Film Festival were also in town this Spring holding meetings and lunches to assure the industry it would be returning to business as usual in person this Fall. All the festival heads are busy seeing early previews of films that hope to use the Fall fests to launch Oscar campaigns.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorEnergaCamerimage, the international art of cinematography film festival, will honor visual arts pioneer Ulrike Ottinger with its Avant-Garde Achievements in Film Award during its 30th edition, which will take place Nov. 12-19 in Torun, Poland.Ottinger, known for work that challenged audiences’ notions of visual arts, has stayed active for five decades across film, photography, theater, opera and exhibition.

Ted Sarandos To Be Named Entertainment Person Of The Year At Cannes Lions

After honoring “Reservation Dogs,” “Dopesick,” “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” and Dan Rather yesterday, the Peabody Awards continued their four-day rollout revealing seven additional winners. To no one’s surprise, HBO Max’s “Hacks” and the PBS docu-series “Philly D.A.” were among the winners.

Showtime announced the new half-hour anthology series Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series premiering Sunday, June 12. All 5 episodes will be available on streaming and on-demand for Showtime subscribers and will also air weekly on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Fleabag and Stranger Things star Brett Gelman is to lead Entitled, a Showtime/Channel 4 series about an American widower who must get to know his British wife’s estranged family in their crumbling gothic mansion in the English countryside.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Stranger Things” actor Brett Gelman is set to star in “Entitled,” a half-hour comedy series ordered at Showtime in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K.Created by Matt Morgan (“Mister Winner,” “The Mimic”), the show follows Gabe (Gelman), an American widower who must get to know his British wife’s estranged family.

Kate Winslet looks so stylish while arriving for the L’Oreal Lights on Women Award Ceremony held in Cannes, France on Friday (May 27).

Anne Hathaway is being crowned the haute couture queen of the Cannes Film Festival. And fans of the brunette bombshell are digitally reveling over the early-2000s diva’s fashionable resurgence. “Can we all take a moment to appreciate Anne Hathaway looking like a goddess in Cannes,” tweeted an admirer of the Oscar winner, alongside a snapshot of her in a sequin, floral-print two-piece ensemble by Schiaparelli. “I love this Anne Hathaway renaissance we’re going through,” chimed another. Making her debut at the annual silver screen soirée over the weekend, Hathaway, 39, repeatedly turned heads in high-fashion finery for the premiere of her feature flick “Armageddon Time,” starring Anthony Hopkins, 84, and Jeremy Strong, 43. And immediately after touching down in France on Wednesday, the blockbuster beauty transformed the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport into a virtual runway, sashaying through in a chic, loose-fitting pantsuit.  From there, Hathaway ditched her trendy traveling togs to don a white strapless Armani Privé gown, reminiscent of her “Princess Diaries” glamor, on the film festival’s star-studded red carpet Thursday. The flawless fashion plate continued to outdo herself throughout the duration of the weekend, rocking a blue mini dress by Gucci Friday, stunning in a coffee-colored Louis Vuitton number Saturday and beaming in a hot pink piece by Valentino Sunday. And the luxe looks sent Hathaway enthusiasts into a full-on Twitter tizzy. “Anne Hathaway at the cannes film festival.

Cannes Film Festival.Members of the production team for “Butterly Vision,” by Ukrainian director Maksym Nakonechni, protested the ongoing war in Ukraine while on the red carpet Wednesday.In front of Salle Debussy, the second-largest theater in Cannes, the team — including producers Darya Bassel and Yelizaveta Smit, plus actress Rita Burkovska — held a banner that read, “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive or disturbing to talk about this genocide?”The sirens heard on the red carpet stairs were meant to symbolize air raids in Ukraine, while the protestors held signs that read “sensitive content” over their faces.Not only were they demonstrating the ongoing devastation in Ukraine, but they were also attempting to show the extent of Russian censorship.The film “Butterfly Vision” explores a similar idea, albeit in a fictional world.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentIn its first year as an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, Campari is celebrating the arts and creativity at the world’s most glamorous film festival.Campari has had quite a presence in the South of France fest with an exclusive Campari lounge in the Palais des Festivals and an evening beach club party that was open to the public, drawing one of the biggest crowds at Cannes.“At the heart of Campari, there’s a passion for creativity. We really believe in the power of unlocking creativity fueled by passion,” said Julka Villa, the CMO of Campari, in conversation with Variety at the Variety Studio presented by Campari at the Cannes Film Festival.“Cinema definitely the pinnacle of creativity,” Villa added.

Lise Pedersen As the boundaries in cinema become increasingly fluid, emerging filmmakers whose films have been selected at the Cannes Film Festival have been discussing their journey from documentary to fiction at the Cannes Market’s Cannes Docs sidebar.Curated by the Documentary Assn. of Europe, the panel on Sunday brought together Ukrainian director Maksym Nakonechnyi, the director of Un Certain Regard title “Butterfly Vision,” and Erige Sehiri (“Railway Men”), the Tunisian director of “Under the Fig Leaves,” which had its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.The titles are fiction debuts for Nakonechnyi and Sehiri, who are both experienced documentary filmmakers.Inspired by the conflict in Ukraine’s Eastern Donbas region that has been ongoing since 2014, “Butterfly Vision” is the story of a young Ukrainian soldier who returns home after being held captive for months and discovers she is pregnant after being raped by her Russian warden.

Celine Dion is currently in celebration mode as she marks the milestone 15th anniversary of her important record D'elles.MORE: Céline Dion celebrates amazing milestone after new tour updateALSO: HELLO! launches Jubilee T-shirt collection to celebrate Queen Elizabeth in styleHer team shared a copy of the album's cover art, a black and white photo of the singer, along with a message celebrating the record.VIDEO: Celine Dion shares heartfelt message with her fans as she announces career news"This week marks the 15th anniversary of Celine’s D'elles album," it read. "Released in May 2007, this incredible concept album celebrates Womanhood. "The lyrics of all thirteen songs were written by influential authors from France and Quebec: Françoise Dorin, Christine Orban, Nina Bouraoui, Marie Laberge, Lise Payette, Denise Bombardier, Nathalie Nechtschein, Jovette Alice Bernier, Janette Bertrand and George Sand."MORE: Celine Dion announces incredible tour news to her fans amid recoveryThe French record was recognized as one of her most ambitious and became one of her biggest critical successes, along with being a commercial hit as well, reaching number one in several French-speaking territories like France and Canada.Her fans quickly took to sharing their thoughts on the record as well, most simply using heart emojis for the same.Celine marked 15 years of her album D'ellesOne wrote: "Awesome album," while another said: "One of the best." A third added: "Thank you for the great album and music," while one also commented: "I love this album.