‘Devotion’ to Open 2022 Urbanworld Film Festival, Full Slate Announced (EXCLUSIVE)

The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s All You See.

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama The Fabelmans has been announced as the opening film of 44th Cairo International Film Festival, running from November 13 to 22.

Christopher Vourlias Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” will open the 44th edition of the Cairo Film Festival, the Arab world’s venerable cinematic showcase, which takes place Nov. 13 – 22. The Oscar-winning director’s semi-autobiographical film, which follows the formative years of a young man who discovers movies as a means to help him see the truth about others and himself, earned a standing ovation following its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. This year’s event in the Egyptian capital, which takes place as most film festivals and industry events have returned to business as usual after two years of pandemic cancellations and disruptions, nevertheless unfolds against a backdrop of global uncertainty.

Emma Corrin showcased her edgy sense of style as she stepped out to the My Policeman premiere during 66th BFI London Film Festival at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday. The actress, 26, wore a multicoloured one-shoulder mini dress with an abstract spray paint design. Screen star Emma's ensemble finished high above her knee, with the garment tied on her shoulder with a crimped length of material fanning out to the side.

Janelle Monáe was fashionably late as she strolled onstage at the BFI Southbank, where she headlined the London Film Festival’s final major keynote ‘screen talk’ Friday afternoon. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After two editions which were altered due to the pandemic, the Berlin Film Festival is preparing for a full-blown in-person 2023 edition which they’ve titled “Let’s Get Together.”  The 73rd Berlin International Film Festival will take place from February 16 to 26, with the industry activities hosted as part of the European Film Market on Feb. 16–22, the Berlinale Co-Production Market on Feb. 18–22 and Berlinale Talents (Feb. 18–23), among other events. The Berlinale will also express its solidarity with Ukraine through dedicated events, such as face-to-face encounters and community film experiences. “Film festivals are places that strengthen freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and peaceful dialogue,” said directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.

While your future planning probably only extends to Thanksgiving, the Sundance Film Festival is already thinking ahead to January, the 2023 edition of their festival. Today,  the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the first two films in the lineup for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and they are the 25th Anniversary and digital restoration screening of “SLAM” and the uncensored director’s cut and restoration of “The Doom Generation.” Directed by Marc Levin and written by Levin, Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, and Richard Stratton, “SLAM” was first introduced to audiences at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in the U.S.

Japanese director Naomi Kawase will preside over the international jury of the 44th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, running November 13 to 22.

Naman Ramachandran Oscar and Venice-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”) and fellow filmmakers Georgia Oakley (“Blue Jean”), Roberto Minervini (“What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”) and Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) were among those who protested against the imprisonment of Iranian filmmakers and other incarcerated artists around the world, and to demonstrate support for the tenacious women of Iran who are challenging for their freedom at the BFI London Film Festival on Monday. They joined festival director Tricia Tuttle, producer Madeleine Molyneaux (“Gospel Hill”); actors Aurélia Petit (“Saint Omer”) and Taki Mumladze (“A Room of My Own”); actor and writer Mariam Khundadze (“To Batumi and every single memory”); writer Morgan M. Page (“Framing Agnes”); industry leaders Tabitha Jackson, Clare Binns and Jason Wood; and other festival delegates in a moment of solidarity and reflection.

Brent Lang Executive Editor 101 Studios has made a series of key executive hires. Eliot Goldberg has joined as the company’s head of unscripted and documentary programming, while Ellie Duque has been tapped as exec VP of brand partnerships. Both executives will work out of the company’s Beverly Hills office. Joanna Balin has been tapped as director of unscripted and documentary programming, with Brannan Goetschius named as head of audio. Both executives will become part of 101 Studios’ New York team. They join Dani Weinstein, who was announced as the new chief communications officer in July. “We are thrilled to welcome these very accomplished, well-respected executives into our 101 Studios Family. We are always looking for ways to expand our reach and expertise and we are lucky to have Dani, Eliot, Ellie, Joanna and Brannan join our ranks,” said 101 Studios CEO David Glasser

Italian producer Lorenzo Mieli gave a spirited and often humorous rundown of his career as a producer working with directors such as Luca Guadagnino and Paolo Sorrentino during a keynote talk at the London Film Festival Monday.

The strengths and possibilities of cinematic language were heavy on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s mind as he sat down for a keynote ‘screen talk’ at the London Film Festival on Sunday afternoon.

K.J. Yossman “White Noise” director Noah Baumbach spoke about his career highlights – and low points – as well as his creative partnership with Greta Gerwig during the BFI London Film Festival on Friday afternoon (Oct. 7). Asked about the eight-year gap between making “Mr. Jealousy” and “The Squid and the Whale,” Baumbach quipped: “I thought, you know what? I really needed about eight years off.” “No, it wasn’t by design, it was by accident,” he quickly clarified. “I sort of had two careers in a way. I had this early career very quickly and I was really figuring it all out as I was doing it. I had never really been on a movie set before I made ‘Kicking and Screaming.’ But I had this sense of how a movie should be and what I wanted a movie to be. And then after ‘Mr. Jealousy’ [the way] I experienced it at the time is that I was having trouble getting things made. I think, also, I didn’t really know what I wanted to make. And I think maybe, in some ways, my ambitions sort of exceeded my ability.”

Clayton Davis The inaugural Nuart Festival has been set for Oct. 21-30 to celebrate the reopening of the Nuart Theatre following its renovation. The 10-day fest will open with Oscar-winner Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” including an eclectic mixture of sneak previews and special screenings of films that made midnight movie history at the Nuart. Among the advanced screenings is “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” from Eric Appel, and starring Daniel Radcliffe ahead of its release on The Roku Channel. Co-presented with Film Independent, the film had its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. With Variety’s Owen Gleiberman calling it “witty and inventive.”

Michaela Zee editor Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival GEMS has announced its line-up for its ninth annual event, with “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” set to open the festival on Nov. 3. The “Knives Out” sequel follows Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he travels to Greece to solve another murder mystery. Along with Craig, the cast includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Baustista. Miami Film Festival will honor the ensemble cast of “Glass Onion” with the inaugural Ensemble Award. Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” will close out the festival on Nov. 10, with star Paul Dano virtually receiving the Precious Gem Award.

Emma Thompson, Stephen Graham, and Lashana Lynch passed through the London Film Festival on Wednesday, where they discussed their new film Matilda The Musical, directed by Matthew Warchus.

Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, N.C., will open its fifth edition with the screening of action-drama “Devotion,” starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, on Oct. 19. Along with the opening night screening, FF919 will also honor “Devotion” director J.D. Dillard with the New Horizon Award. Set during the Korean War, “Devotion” follows the U.S. Navy’s first Black aviator and his wingman, both of whom confront geopolitical uncertainty and racist hostility. The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation with Dillard. This year’s festival will close with the screening of Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” on Sunday, Oct. 23. Set at a private estate on a Greek island, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns to solve another murder mystery in the upcoming whodunit sequel.

EXCLUSIVE: Alon Schwarz’s hard-hitting documentary Tantura, revisiting the conflicting accounts around an alleged massacre of the residents of a Palestinian village by Israeli fighters in 1948, will open the 16th edition of New York’s Other Israel Film Festival.

Tricia Tuttle will step down as BFI Festivals Director following this year’s London Film Festival, the BFI announced today. She will remain in post through to early 2023 while the BFI recruits a replacement.