DocLab’s Caspar Sonnen on the 15th Anniversary of IDFA’s Pioneering Interactive Program

Steve Bronski, a cofounding member of the British synth-pop trio Bronski Beat, died Thursday. The BBC reported his age as 61. No cause of death or other details were given.

Selma Blair calls a «pioneering» film for women.The actress co-starred with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in the rom-com, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year. When reflecting on the film, Blair told ET's Nischelle Turner that the movie was «pretty fun» to be a part of.«That is amazing, that film, I am still so close, obviously, with Christina Applegate and Cameron, always.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe 2022 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its short film program, curated from an all-time high of 10,374 submissions.The films — encompassing categories like domestic and international live action as well as animation — will screen throughout the hybrid festival in-person, at satellite venues, and online.“Short films are such a vital part of the independent storytelling culture that Sundance Institute has consistently put its full support behind.

The Sundance Institute today unveiled the Short Film program for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the “From the Collection” program—a lineup of 40 shorts from festivals past that will be available for streaming online, in celebration of the nonprofit’s 40th anniversary.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWWE has announced the first participants in its NIL (name, image, and likeness) program.The sports entertainment giant has selected 15 college athletes to take part in the inaugural version of the Next in Line program as they call it, with the class encompassing participants in sports like track and field, basketball, amateur wrestling, and football. Among those taking part are A.J.

Netflix is partnering with the non-profit organization IllumiNative on a new program, designed to support the work of early and mid-career Indigenous producers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Cuomo, terminated from a prominent CNN anchor job over the weekend, is giving up another perch.Cuomo is also leaving SiriusXM, where he hosted a regular weekday radio program, “Let’s Get After It” — a title borrowed from a catchphrase he employed as part of his primetime program on CNN.“The way my time ended at CNN was hard. While I have a thick skin, I also have a family, for whom the past week has been extraordinarily difficult.

Naman Ramachandran A panel of industry experts will present workshops at the Creating Content for the Global Marketplace program from Netflix and Stage 32.

Paris Hilton took a trip down memory lane!

Michele Amabile Angermiller IHeartmedia announced that Beata Murphy has been named program director for KIIS-FM in Los Angeles.

Emilio Mayorga “Ray and Manny,” “Witch’s Business” and “Worldoscope” feature among the five animation projects chosen for the 2nd Women Animation Directors Mentoring Program, run by Ventana Sur’s Animation!Launched with the aim to boost gender parity and build a more equitable and diverse animation industry, the initiative has been launched in alliance with the Annecy Festival’s MIFA market, Argentina’s Institut Français and, for the first time, the Quirino Ibero-American Animation Awards.Five

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWWE is launching a new program to offer a pathway to its roster for college athletes.The new NIL (name, image, & likeness) program has been dubbed Next in Line.

Liza Foreman A record 5,100 short films were submitted to the Cairo Film Festival’s short film competition this year, thanks to a new collaboration with FilmFreeWay. Around 1,200 shorts are sent in more usually for the region’s only A-list festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThe Industry Program of documentary festival IDFA launches Friday as an in-person event, while also offering remote access for those who are unable to get to Amsterdam.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElectric Monster Media, a newly formed digital media roll-up company, has acquired React Media, whose popular YouTube franchises built around reaction videos include React, People vs. Food (formerly Replay) and Try Not To.React Media, previously known as FBE (Fine Brothers Entertainment), was originally formed by brothers Rafi and Benny Fine in 2004, who hit it big as YouTube creators in the platform’s earlier days.

Frameline, the arts nonprofit that hosts San Francisco’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, has announced seven new selections for their 10th annual Frameline Voices short distribution program. 

Marta Balaga Running from Nov. 17 to 28, the 34th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is going to “feel festive,” promises programmer Sarah Dawson, anticipating even more heated discussions than usual.“I do expect this to be a bigger feature.

Michael B. Jordan and girlfriend Lori Harvey are celebrating a year of love!

Angelique Jackson Searchlight Pictures has acquired script rights to “The Defender,” starring Sterling K. Brown as the pioneering lawyer Scipio Africanus Jones, who risked his life and career to defend the Elaine Twelve — a group of 12 Black sharecroppers sentenced to death for allegedly being involved in the murder of a white man during the Elaine Massacre of 1919 in Arkansas.George Tillman Jr.

Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey are ringing in one year of love! The pair celebrated their first anniversary on Tuesday and gave fans a look into their private romance on Instagram. «Happy Anniversary,» the 34-year-old  actor wrote alongside a few photos of the couple, including one with Harvey kissing him on the cheek and another of the pair playfully posing for a selfie.