Genre Film Festivals Across The Country Partner For Nightstream Virtual Event

Call it Operation Reboot. When the 77th Venice Film Festival kicks off Sept.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the piss-poor American response to the virus has really hurt movies in 2020. Not just the industry, but film festivals where everyone gathers in close quarters.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorA film festival is about more than just the films and the festival center. It is about the location, the journey, the experience.

Amanda N'Duka pmc-editorial-managerAmerican Black Film Festival (ABFF) wrapped its 24th annual celebration with The Best Of The ABFF Awards.

Patrick Hipes Executive Managing EditorThe Hamptons Film Festival will open its virtual and drive-in edition with the world premiere of With Drawn Arms, the documentary about the legacy of Olympian Tommie Smith’s fist-raising moment at the 1968 Olympics.The film will also be awarded HIFF’s Film of Conflict & Resolution Award, given to a project that deals with the complex issues and societal effects of war and violence, and the attendant human dramas, in creative ways.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Venice Film Festival’s Virtual Reality section is going entirely online this year, but expanding its scope via a platform and also a satellite network that will make it accessible worldwide.In normal times the competitive sidebar launched in 2017 by co-curators Michel Reilhac and Liz Rosenthal – who put Venice ahead of the curve in the VR arena – was held on the Lazzaretto, a tiny island a stone’s throw from the Lido that was a leper colony in the

Janet W. Lee American Black Film Festival creators Jeff and Nicole Friday will launch Social Justice Now Film Festival, which will run from Oct.

Walker (Mo McRae) takes an immediate dislike to Boston (Trai Byers) when they first meet under Houston’s unforgiving sun: They’re digging a latrine, and Walker can’t abide Boston’s high mannered speech in conjunction with his skin tone, which is lighter than Walker’s by several shades. They tussle.

As we start to look past the nightmare that has been 2020 and look forward to a (slightly) more hopeful 2021, we’ll start hearing of the winter film festivals’ plans soon. First, it was Sundance announcing plans for a shorter edition of the festival, still taking place in person.

The Berlin International Film Festival, the last of the big A-list festivals to be held in Europe before the coronavirus lockdown, has committed to holding a physical event next year. The 2021 Berlinale is set to run February 11-18.

The Venice Film Festival, the first major in-person cinema showcase of the COVID-19 era, is requiring participants to wear face masks during screenings and take a coronavirus test if they are arriving from outside Europe. According to guidelines published Thursday, fans and the general public will be kept away from the red carpet during the Sept.

Have you ever wanted to see Colin Farrell and John Malkovich in a brutal mano a mano? Or Jessica Chastain beat up a French killer in a Boston park after dark, or get into a catfight with fierce nightclub-cum-gambling-den owner Joan Chen? Ava, directed by Tate Taylor (The Help, Ma), gives you all that and more. And yet despite those obvious highlights, it’s hard to recommend Ava as a whole.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsThe IFP Gotham Awards on Thursday opened submissions for its 30th annual awards show, which last month shifted to January 2021 because of the pandemic. Organizers also said today that they are introducing a new category, Best International Feature, a director and producers award in which the key roles of director, producer and screenwriter should be based outside the U.S.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorDamien Navarro’s first day on the job as the executive director of Outfest LA was the day after the festival’s closing night last year. Of course, no one could have imagined that this year’s edition of the LGBTQ festival would be taking place during a pandemic.Navarro and his team quickly pivoted to putting together a virtual event.

Vivienne Chow The Hong Kong International Film Festival named Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s “The Cloud in Her Room” and “This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection” by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese as winners of its Firebird Young Cinema competitions, despite the event having been canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.The festival was initially postponed from its usual spring slot to summer due to the coronavirus, and was eventually canceled.

Ellise Shafer editorThe Savannah College of Art and Design has announced that the 23rd edition of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival will take place in an all-virtual format this year from Oct. 24-31.During the week-long online event, programming will include live film premieres, spotlights, competitions, events, Q&As and forums, including the Docs to Watch and Wonder Women series.Georgia’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival is the largest university-run film festival in the U.S.

NEW YORK -- This year's New York Film Festival will be held largely virtually and in outdoor screenings, organizers said Thursday while unveiling a lineup featuring new films from Chloe Zhao, Steve McQueen and Azazel Jacobs. The major fall film festivals, which often jockey for the chance to premiere the season's top films, have this year worked in concert to salvage what they can from a more limited array of films and a drastic reduction in attendees.

Rebecca Rubin News Editor, OnlineThe New York Film Festival unveiled the main slate for its 58th edition on Thursday.This year’s selections showcases titles from 19 different countries and spotlights both emerging and veteran talent.

Janet W. Lee California Film Institute’s fundraising forum DocPitch will be held virtually at 7 p.m Aug.

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorEXCLUSIVE: Media Guarantors, the Fred Milstein-led completion bond firm that has helped launch dozens of domestic and international productions, is being sold by parent Cast & Crew to Boston-based SpottedRisk, a four year old insurer that specializes in niche entertainment products.SpottedRisk CEO Janet Comenos says the lack of quality pandemic insurance is top of mind at the combined company, which now has an expanded toolkit to tackle it, although products will