Cannes Docs Unveils Packed Program for First Virtual Edition

The BFI London Film Festival is shifting much of its activities online for its 2020 edition as it contends with the fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Although the festival is due to take place Oct.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThe Cannes Marche du Film Online, which hosted its first ever digital edition last week, has revealed that it had 10,002 participants take part in its virtual marketplace.The largest delegation came from the U.S., which saw 1,500 participants log on, followed by France (1,400) and the UK (950). The majority of the overall pool were European (5,900).

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE: Enlightened Kingdom is producing the John Stephenson Obe-directed feature Lady of Heaven about Lady Fatima, the daughter of the prophet Muhammad.Separated by 1400 years, an Iraqi child, in the midst of a war-torn country, learns the importance and power of patience.

Counting On star Joy Anna Duggar is going through some major life changes this summer. She and her husband, Austin Forsyth, just moved into their brand new home with their two-year-old son, Gideon.

Christopher Vourlias Director Joseph Mangat’s “Holy Craft” won the Docs-in-Progress Award at an online ceremony Friday evening to close the Cannes Docs sidebar of the Cannes Film Market Online.Presented as part of the Showcase Philippines during Cannes Docs, “Holy Craft” (pictured) is a documentary examining the peculiarities of religion, labor and capital intersecting at a Catholic handicrafts factory in the Philippines.

As the Virtual Cannes Market heads into its final days, the majors have begun to flex their monetary muscle, with MGM closing a deal for remaining international territories on Endeavor Content's hotly-anticipated Bill & Ted sequel and several studios vying for the Will Smith/Antoine Fuqua escaped slave actioner Emancipation, which is expected to close a high eight-figure worldwide deal before Virtual Cannes wraps up.

It was only a matter of time. The 2020 Toronto Film Festival, set to run Sept.

Pink as a pop of bubblegum and only a little more substantial, Magnus von Horn’s “Sweat,” one of the Cannes 2020 Official Selections that plays during this week’s Cannes Virtual Market is, despite all the cardio, a curiously low-blood-pressure affair.

A prison service spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the restrictions on daily life have 'helped save lives'.

Depeche Mode are set to stream their LiVE SPiRiTS concert film in its entirety next week via YouTube.Performed in Berlin as part of the Global Spirit Tour, the 2018 show features sporadically in the group’s acclaimed SPiRiTS in the Forest documentary which is coming to DVD/Blu-Ray on June 26.To celebrate the home release, Depeche Mode have teamed up with Live Nation to bring the full LiVE SPiRiTS gig to YouTube next Thursday (June 25).

On June 17, CAA held a Town Hall event under its Amplify banner that saw agency brass, talent, activists and organizers discussing actionable steps that can be taken to create more equitable industries. Started in 2017, the Amplify Conferences are meant to bring together leaders from across entertainment, media, sports and tech for a series of panels and conversations to discuss the equity in Hollywood and beyond, with the overwhelming majority of attendees being people of color.

Christopher Vourlias The Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition, a virtual platform for Russian content hosted by film promotion body Roskino, wrapped this week with a slew of sales and an affirmation that global players are increasingly looking to tap into the Russian market.The online market welcomed some 600 international participants from 70 countries, with the largest number of buyers coming from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Japan and China.

Louis Bell has been named ASCAP songwriter of the year for the second year in a row, thanks to hit songs including “Sucker” (Jonas Brothers), “Without Me” (Halsey) and “Goodbyes” (Post Malone feat. Young Thug).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAmid the health crisis, Cannes’s virtual Marché du Film has rejigged Cannes Docs as a digital-only event giving feature documentary film professionals access to tailored program of events on a dedicated platform. Congolese filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi will be the special guest of the 5th edition of Doc Day.

The Ascent” (known as “Black Ops” in the US) with the film the first to have its premiere in virtual reality via AltspaceVR. The event will be called “The VR Film Festival” and will premiere at 7pm BST via the AltspaceVR app.To access the event, you simply need to log into the AltspaceVR app and have access to an Oculus headset, or similar.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterFantasia’s upcoming virtual edition, which will run August 20 – September 2, will kick off with the first showing of Neil Marshall’s horror The Reckoning. Set in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague, Charlotte Kirk leads the cast of the movie about the witch hunts that followed the crisis.The fest has revealed a total of eight world premieres alongside films from the SXSW and Tribeca line-ups that have yet to screen for the public.

Ted Johnson AFI Docs, to take place as a virtual film festival from June 17-21, unveiled a slate of titles on Monday that is heavy in topics having to do with race and gender.Among the 59 films in the lineup is Women In Blue, an examination race, gender and violence in the Minneapolis police department. Also on the list of movies is 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, which chronicles the 1970s movement for gender equality in the workplace.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterSheffield Doc/Fest, one of the key events in Europe’s factual calendar, has unveiled a line-up for its 2020 edition featuring 115 films from 50 countries, including 31 world premieres.As Deadline previously reported, this year’s edition, which runs from June 10, will take place largely in an online capacity due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic.The fest is launching a VOD platform with pay-per-view and subscription options for UK-based audiences that