Blue Mountain Film Festival Hires Former TIFF International Programmer

Although we are apparently never going to stop talking about this year’s Oscar season, others are already putting plans in place for next year’s Oscar season.

EXCLUSIVE: Javed Iqbal: The Untold Story Of A Serial Killer, which was banned in Pakistan two days before its scheduled release in theaters, will now see the light of day as the opening movie of the 2022 UK Asian Film Festival.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBlue Note New York has announced the 11th Annual Sony Presents Blue Note Jazz Festival. The festival kicks off on June 1 with a free show in Washington Square Park headlined by Robert Glasper — who performed on the Oscars Sunday night — in association with Washington Square Park Conservancy.Taking place at major venues across New York City, including Blue Note New York, Sony Hall, The Town Hall, and SummerStage in Central Park, this year’s festival features performances from George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Chris Botti, Charles Lloyd, Macy Gray, Kenny G, Al Di Meola, Madeleine Peyroux, Dave Holland & Kenny Barron, Robert Cray, Kenny Garrett, José James, Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), Bilal, DOMi & JD Beck, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Theo Croker and so many more legends, with a major headliner announcement on April 26.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEgyptian filmmaker Amir Ramses, who has tackled controversial social and political themes including pedophilia in works such as “Curfew” and the doc “Jews of Egypt,” has been appointed director of the Cairo Film Festival. The news that Ramses will head Cairo, which is the grande dame of Arab film events, follows shortly after prominent producer Mohamed Hefzy stepped down as Cairo fest president earlier this month.Hefzy was replaced as fest president by veteran Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy, 81, a local megastar, who is taking over the event’s presidency for the second time after a first term between 1998 to 2001. Ramses, who was previously artistic director of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival between 2017 to 2021, is now expected to take on a broader role at Cairo extending beyond artistic director into a general manager position.

ABFF Ventures LLC, producer of the American Black Film Festival (ABFF),  announced that its custom-built online platform, ABFF PLAY, has broadened the company’s global footprint offering studios the opportunity to reach beyond the annual film festival to showcase content targeted to Black audiences.

The head of an international film festival in Lithuania has expressed support for the proposed boycott of Russian cinema, despite the majority of major fests declining to join the movement.

At Water’s Edge, a mesmerizing queer dance short from the acclaimed, trailblazing transgender choreographer, and Homo Pol, a short dance documentary film by Amadeus Pawlica focused on the LGBTQ community in Poland.Monday, March 21, brings nine more in a program exploring relationships at opposite ends of the age spectrum, from budding young love to the Alzheimer’s-induced fading memory of a relationship more than 40 years in the making.Also part of Week 2 programming is the German short Pussy Cruising, a humorous take and fantastical riff on the subject posed by the question, “What would cruising among lesbians look like?”The seven films packaged in Week 3 examine the prejudices, discrimination, and other hurdles, some of them self-imposed, faced by people with queer identities, particularly as faced by those living in Iran, Finland, Greece, Spain, North America, and Chile — with The Bodies of Siegfried, Emilio Rodriguez’s documentary offering a visual exploration questioning the limits of art and pornography.Finally, queer challenges, from identity and self-image to romantic relationships, are explored in the final six selected for Week 4, beginning April 4 and ending April 11.Tickets per program, offering a full week of streaming, are $10, or $25 for a full festival pass.

There’s no denying that Baz Luhrmann is going big for his new film, “Elvis.” From the over-the-top style and the “What the hell?” accent from Tom Hanks, the musical drama seems like a must-see event. And when you have such a stylish, uber-theatrical musical film, what better place to debut than at Cannes? READ MORE: ‘Elvis’ Trailer: Austin Butler & Tom Hanks Star In Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama About The King Of Rock & Roll According to Deadline, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s drama of the rock-and-roll legend starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Tom Hanks, will world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has confirmed.The movie currently has June 24 release date, which means it couldn’t open the festival unless Warner Bros. Pictures decides to have it bow on May 17 to kick off the milestone 75th edition.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival is a showcase of some of the best films from around the world made by some of the most respected filmmakers alive today. Oh, and it’s also an event that loves to showcase at least one tentpole, blockbuster film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok has become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival on time for its 75th anniversary and will give the cultural event a wider-than-ever platform comprising one billion users around the world.While it banned selfies on the red carpet several years ago, Cannes is looking to draw global eyeballs and will provide TikTok users with some exclusive content from backstage, glamorous red carpet scenes and interviews with talents. Aiming to position itself as a top entertainment destination and content creator, the banner is also launching the #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical short films – between 30 secondes and 3 minutes.

J. Kim Murphy The Kyiv-based Molodist International Film Festival has penned an open letter to the film community calling on other festivals to join in a boycott of Russian films as a response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.The festival’s statement cites an ongoing effort by modern Russia to “separate culture from politics” and to “[use] that same culture to distract the West from Russia’s wars, human rights violations, censorship and persecution of political dissidents.”“There are Russian filmmakers and intellectuals who have been truly vocal in their dissent and criticism of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine throughout these years, and we know some of them personally,” the statement reads.

Two family dramas, the feature film Freda and short film You Can Always Come Home, have earned the top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format with in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4 through tomorrow.

The Santa Barbara Film Festival unveiled winners for its 37th edition on Saturday morning, bestowing its Audience Choice award to the Irish-language film Róise and Frank.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorEva Zaoralová, the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s artistic advisor and its artistic director for many years, has died, the festival confirmed Friday.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorThe Sun Valley Film Festival, which will be returning in-person for its 11th annual event from March 30 to April 3, has announced additional awards and films that will be screened this year.Variety will present this year’s Pioneer Award to Danny Strong on April 1. As a writer, director, actor and producer, Strong has earned two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two WGA awards, a PGA Award and a Peabody Award — with credits ranging from both parts of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” to “Dopesick.” Previous Pioneer Award winners include Shaka King, Aaron Paul, Eliza Hittman and Mark Duplass.Also on April 1, the Rising Star Award will be given to Netflix’s “Outer Banks” cast members Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Carlacia Grant.

Native sons and daughters of the American South have offered many a meditation on the soil where their lineage was replanted. But the observations and insights of documentarian Jon-Sesrie Goff form something that strikes with the potency of prayer.

Lest there be any lingering doubt, director Ramin Bahrani intones in narration over his first documentary feature “2nd Chance” that this is a metaphor for America. This isn’t particularly surprising given that his subject Richard Davis, a pioneer of the concealable bulletproof vest, straddles the country’s dark fascinations with violence and capitalism.