Guadalajara Film Festival Launches Competitive TV Section, Episode 0

Kaleem Aftab The Cairo International Film Festival scrapped the red carpet and press conference for Egyptian filmmaker Islam El Azzazi’s debut feature and competition film “About Her” after a number of sexual misconduct allegations were made against the director and surfaced in the hours before the film’s world premiere this week.The first of the allegations against the director was submitted anonymously to Daftar Hekayat, an Arabic blog that shares stories of sexual violence survivors in their

Kaleem Aftab British film “Limbo,” a wry refugee drama, directed by Edinburgh-born director Ben Sharrock and produced by Spain’s Irune Gurtubai, won the Golden Pyramid for best film at the Cairo Film Festival on Thursday.Told in a pleasing deadpan style, “Limbo” recounts the story of a Syrian musician, played by the BIFA nominated rising star Amir El-Masry, who is placed on a Scottish island when awaiting his request for asylum to be processed.

Ann-Marie Corvin Cairo International Film Festival’s 42nd outing saw films directed by women or featuring female-centric stories dominate its short film section, Cinema of Tomorrow.Films receiving their world premieres at CIFF included Saudi Arabian director Sara Mesfer’s second self-funded short, “The Girls Who Burned the Night,” a 25-minute story of two sisters and a small act of rebellion that ends in violence when one is refused entry to a grocery store.According to Mesfer, the film was

Ann-Marie Corvin With the success of Netflix’s Egyptian horror series “Paranormal” and a slew of streamers such as Viu and OSN seeking locally produced originals, the TV market in Egypt is set to undergo rapid change.In response, Cairo International Film Festival’s TV Pitch Market, part of the festival’s Industry Days program and now in its second year, joined forces with Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) to shape 11 TV projects into a “pitchable” form this week.MEMI, a University of Southern

Rumours have been swirling in Europe this week that the Berlin Film Festival will be postponed amid continuing high coronavirus numbers in Germany and across the continent.

The Macao International Film Festival (IFFAM) awarded its best film honor Tuesday to rising Scottish director Ben Sharrock's indie breakthrough Limbo. The film had been considered one of the hidden gems of this year’s coronavirus-hit Cannes Film Festival selection.

José F. Rodriguez and Karen McMullen have joined the Tribeca Film Festival programming team led by fest director and VP of programming Cara Cusumano as the New York event plans its 20th edition.

Leave the snow boots, parkas and glove warmers in the closet, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is coming down from the mountain and straight to your living room.Organizers on Wednesday said that this year they will premiere over 70 films on a custom online platform during the seven day event. There will also be some socially distanced screening opportunities around the country.

As the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals demonstrated earlier this year, a memorable celebration of cinema can still be held in the middle of a pandemic. The next major cinephile event on the calendar is America’s independent cinema showcase, the Sundance Film Festival.

Kaleem Aftab While it may seem a bit odd that the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival is world premiering his new film, “Curfew,” at the Cairo International Film Festival, the director in question Amir Ramses says it makes perfect sense. “There was no way I would consider El Gouna for my film because it’s a direct conflict of interest,” he says.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTwo years ago Egyptian film producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy was appointed president of the Cairo Film Festival with a mandate to revamp and relaunch the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence. Having largely accomplished that with last year’s watershed edition, Hefzy had to face new challenges this year, contending with COVID-19, of course.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Cairo Film Festival kicks off its 42nd edition Wednesday as a mostly physical event with the Middle East premiere of Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his hit stage play “The Father,” for which co-writer Christopher Hampton and actor Rufus Sewell are expected in attendance.“I think it’s one of the best films of the year,” fest president Mohamed Hefzy tells Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: The 34th Israel Film Festival Los Angeles has confirmed its line-up for this year’s edition, which will be held entirely online for the first time.

Remember film festivals? Especially in person ones? Well, they won’t be returning for a bit, but 2021 will still be filled with festivals, just of the mostly virtual variety. One such fest is the Slamdance Film Festival, which has in the past taken place alongside the Sundance Film Festival.

Also Read: Ava DuVernay's Array Acquires Slamdance Winner 'Residue'Slamdance’s newest program is called “Unstoppable,” and it will feature 22 short films from up-and-coming disabled filmmakers, or ones that feature actors with disabilities or highlight the conversation of disabilities in today’s world.

Dave McNary Film ReporterThe Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodics for the mostly virtual 27th edition of the festival — a number that equals previous editions of the festival.The opening night film, which will screen at a drive-in in Joshua Tree on Feb. 13, is the world premiere of “No Trace” (Nulle Trace) from Canadian director and screenwriter Simon Lavoie.

Christopher Vourlias Even in the best of times, a young film festival might expect growing pains as it preps for its third edition. But the organizers of the Africa Rising Intl.

Dave McNary Film Reporter“Waikiki” and “Hawaiian Soul” won the Made in Hawai’i awards at the the 40th edition of the Hawai’i International Film Festival.The awards were announced at a virtual gala held Sunday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEmily J. Hoe took over as executive director of the Singapore International Film Festival just as the world was waking up to the coronavirus as a full-on pandemic.

Naman Ramachandran As is customary, the local fare on offer at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is linguistically and thematically diverse, reflecting the nature of the island city-state.The opening film, Tan Bee Thiam’s “Tiong Bahru Social Club,” is presented in several languages, including English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil.