Deadline’s Doc Talk Podcast: Why John Ridley Calls Oscar Contender ‘King Coal’ A “Phenomenal Documentary”

December is the most popular month for charitable giving by Americans – accounting for about a third of all donations made per year. Call it the spirit of the holidays, repeated viewings of A Christmas Carol, or a rush to get in tax-deductible gifts before the calendar year runs out.

As an internationally renowned director, Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho is, in a manner of speaking, a citizen of the world: Regularly premiering films at Cannes, frequently traveling to festivals elsewhere in Europe, Australia, and the United States.

EXCLUSIVE: D. Smith’s breakout documentary Kokomo City, a top contender for Oscar recognition, will make its debut on Showtime and Paramount+ on February 2, Deadline can reveal.

One of the favorites to make the Oscar documentary feature shortlist this year takes viewers to a remote area of Estonia, within the healing space of the smoke sauna. It is an ancient tradition in that part of the world, a way of “connecting family and friends to cleanse body and soul inside a place of peace and contemplation.”

At the beginning of the Netflix Oscar-contending short documentary Camp Courage, young Milana Abdurashytova takes out paper and makers and draws what she calls “a home of my dreams.” It’s a lovely cottage on a hill, with clouds dotting a sky of blue.

EXCLUSIVE: On the opening day of Oscar shortlist voting, Hulu announced it has acquired one of the contenders for short documentary recognition – Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story, executive produced by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone.

Police uncovered a huge drugs haul inside a 'business property' in Trafford after being called to row over parking.

Naman Ramachandran A range of subjects, ranging from hot button to mystical, await Academy voters considering the contenders from South Asia in the international feature category. The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses the first elections in one of the world’s youngest democracies to comment on what is lost as his country modernizes. The Variety critics pick, following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, sold to a raft of major territories worldwide, including Roadside Attractions in the U.S.

Jodie Comer was originally supposed to play Josephine in the new movie Napoleon, but she had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.

In a clip from the documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything, we hear the young entertainer singing an early version of what would become his signature tune, “Tutti Frutti.” But surprise! The original lyrics were different than the ones we know today: “Tutti frutti, good booty/Tutti frutti, good booty!”

Naman Ramachandran Ena Sendijarević’s “Sweet Dreams,” Netherlands’ submission in the Academy Awards international feature category, has secured North American distribution via Dekanalog. The film had its world premiere at Locarno, where it won the Pardo for best performance for Renée Soutendijk (“Suspiria”) and the second prize of the junior jury. The film debuted in North America in Toronto’s Centrepiece section and won the Silver Hugo new directors award at Chicago.

announced their relocation to Florida in November.Their presence would be the ultimate seal of approval for the 3-day festival of contemporary art and its decadent party scene.Art Basel begins properly on Friday but its cultural and commercial hedonism has already begun, with $1,000-per-plate dinners, all-night DJ sets, a relaxation space run by Deepak Chopra and works on show by Johnny Depp and Pierce Brosnan — not to mention half a dozen respected art fairs.Sanchez was spotted Sunday in Miami with Camila Cabello hosting a holiday celebration for reunited migrant families, but then returned to Los Angeles, while her fiance has been more elusive.

Bad Press, King Coal, Joonam and Fantastic Machine are all award-winning documentaries, yet in the race for Oscar recognition, they’re underdogs. Despite the many honors they have collected at festivals around the world, each of these exceptional films has struggled to land distribution, complicating efforts to get attention from Academy voters (on Monday, King Coal did lock down a deal with American Documentary for broadcast next year on POV). 

Did you know that James Blunt and Lindsay Lohan had a very brief fling many years ago?!

EXCLUSIVE: American Documentary has acquired Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s award-winning documentary King Coal for the upcoming season of POV, the longest-running nonfiction series on television.

Oscar-contending documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite will be making an appearance in cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland within weeks, courtesy of Dogwoof.

A victim of disturbing abuse had one shot to get help — and she didn’t miss it.

Todd Longwell In addition to a top-to-bottom organization overall, the Golden Globes has added two new categories for its next awards, for cinematic and box office achievement and stand-up comedy performance on television. The creation for a box office achievement award is clearly a move to attract viewers who have tuned out kudofests in recent decades because they tend to focus on little-seen movies.

Naman Ramachandran Zarrar Kahn‘s “In Flames,” Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category, has won the International Newcomer Award for the best film in competition at the 72nd International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany. The award carries a cash prize of €30,000 ($32,850). “In Flames,” a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies, premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and has had considerable festival play since, including at Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao.

Gabriel Iglesias, aka Fluffy, is one of the new stars in the second season of the Disney+ holiday series The Santa Clauses!