Gravitas Ventures Lands Hot Docs Pic ‘The Gig Is Up’; Burbank Film Festival Fetes Bridges Family; ‘The Manson Brothers’ & ‘Samantha Rose’ Dates – Film Briefs

A film festival is about more than just the films and the festival center. It is about the location, the journey, the experience. Here on Deadline we’ll be bringing you updates on what it’s like to be on the ground at the Venice Film Festival, which continues on schedule for the second year in a row despite the pandemic disrupting other events.

It’s late August, and while the leaves aren’t falling just quite yet, the Fall Film Festival season is upon us. As usual, the Venice Film Festival always starts with the Telluride Film Festival following on its heels just a day or two later.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired rights to Lanie Zipoy’s film The Subject, starring Jason Biggs, Aunjanue Ellis, Anabelle Acosta and more, with plans to release it in select theaters across the U.S., as well as on TVOD and digital platforms across North America, on October 22.

Chris Willman Music WriterThe Nashville Film Festival will return in late September and early October with a hybrid slate of in-person and online screenings and events — with several music documentaries figuring into the programming, including docs about Brian Wilson, the pioneering 1970s all-female rock band Fanny and the MTV-era group A-ha, plus the world premiere of a film that takes John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas into Nashville’s famed RCA Studio B.Music-based films take up only a sliver of

William Earl Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival has announced that it will extend its multi-year partnership with Variety for its 39th edition (March 4-13, 2022). The festival will partner with Variety’s Streaming Room on an International Feature Film Nominees Roundtable scheduled for next year before final voting begins on March 17, 2022.

Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog will be a headline gala at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.

It is said that with age comes wisdom and that adage feels strikingly true when it comes to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The prominent Central European event is the one of the world’s oldest film festivals, founded in July 1946, a month before Locarno launched its first festival and few months before the Cannes Film Festival unveiled its first edition in September that same year.

Ethan Shanfeld Gravitas Ventures has acquired the North American distribution rights to “Paper Tiger,” written and directed by Paul Kowalski. The drama/thriller film will be released on VOD/digital on Aug.

Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival made the controversial decision to honour Johnny Depp with its Donostia Award.

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Last Night in Rozzie, a Boston-set drama starring Neil Brown Jr, Nicky Whelan, Jeremy Sisto and Kevin Chapman. Sean Gannet directed the pic, which will now get a day-and-date release beginning September 17.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNew Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who is the former head of the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is starting to put his stamp on the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema with a lineup comprising comedies and genre films alongside more straightforward auteur cinema, driven by a desire to make the selection “more audience friendly,” as he puts it.

Jennifer Yuma editorThe Toronto International Film Festival has revealed that Jessica Chastain, star and producer of “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye,” will receive the Tribute Actor Award at the festival’s 46th edition this year.“Jessica has brought to life such strong and inspiring roles for women, from the films that have screened at TIFF such as ‘The Debt,’ ‘Take Shelter,’ ‘The Martian,’ ‘Crimson Peak’ and ‘Molly’s Game,’ to the upcoming world premiere of ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ at the Festival –

If there was ever doubt about the resilience of the cultural sector during times of great turmoil, one only need look to the Sarajevo Film Festival to see how an industry can, quite literally, rise from the ashes. The festival began during the Bosnian War in 1995, in the midst of a near four-year siege on Sarajevo, which ravaged the capital. To this day, it remains the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorKarlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, the leading cinema event in Central and Eastern Europe, will honor American actor, director, and writer Ethan Hawke, who will receive the Festival President’s Award at its 55th edition, taking place Aug.

Selome Hailu editorThe Toronto International Film Festival announced which films will fill the TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness, and Wavelength sections at this year’s edition of the event, which runs from Sept. 9-18.

The 59th edition of New York Film Festival is taking shape and today Film at Lincoln Center announced Pedro Almodóvar’s latest drama “Parallel Mothers“ starring Penélope Cruz, as the Closing Night selection of the festival. “Parallel Mothers” will make its North American premiere on October 8 at Alice Tully Hall.

Manori Ravindran International EditorA whole lotta love is heading to the Venice Film Festival, which has just added the forthcoming Led Zeppelin feature documentary to its lineup.Bernard MacMahon’s “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” which was recently completed, will screen out of competition.More to come.

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe Jerusalem Film Festival is gearing up for a late August start, with celebrated Cannes title “Where is Anne Frank?” set to open the 38th edition of the fest.Directed by Ari Folman, the animated film centres on Kitty, Anne Frank’s imaginary friend whom her diary was addressed to, who magically comes to life at the family home in Amsterdam and sets out on a quest to find her.“Where is Anne Frank?” will kick off the festival at the Sultans Pool Amphitheatre,

Natalie Anderson has revealed she has filmed her first big screen role. The former Emmerdale star who found fame on TV and stage has spoken exclusively to HELLO! magazine about her dream role, starring with Liam Neeson and Monica Bellucci ahead of her 40th birthday."In my early 20s, the big screen was my goal.